How do you tell a guy you're not interested, but possibly salvage a chance at friendship?

The best way to do that is by telling him the truth. By your age most guys have realized that attraction is a weird, mysterious thing that either happens or doesn't. There's no rhyme or reason to it unless the person has hit some kind of other league, like a Cindy Crawford or Will Smith, that virtually everyone agrees is attractive. So he should understand that is the way it goes. I think tontow's advice is good, but I would drop the "just" from your graceful let down. It's a pejorative term that only makes the rejection make emphatic.

And then let him decide what he wants to do. It may take him a few days to decide. Prepare yourself for either outcome and see how things go from there.

For the first guy let him know straight forward how you feel-that's he's just a friend and that's how it's just always going to be.

I don't think you have to tell him that you've got your eye on someone else because that would hurt him especially since you're not sure as to how that situation will turn out.

For the second guy- Let him know that you're interested and maybe go on a "date" and see how that goes over, like if ya'll act like a couple to show you're both interested in each other. Always be straightforward with guys because they're not as emotional as girls and they really like the bottom line.

Most of the time, depending on what kind of guys you're dealing with, if the mature ones think of you as a bitch you probably are being one. And since, you don't want to be seen as one always be truthful because lies always lead to other lies.