I never got to say "I love you"... and I still want to. What do I do?

If the guy chose partying and drinking over you, then I don't think he's worth your time. I'm not saying you should change him, although drinking in his age is probably illegal (assuming he's the same age as you). You can never force a person to change...the change has to happen willingly on his side. If he needs help with the drinking problem, then give him help, but if either drinking or no drinking, he still thinks that you and him hanging around with his friends is equivalent to a "burden" or "no fun", then this guy clearly does not deserve you.

this is gong to sound a little patronising, so I apologise in advance...

firstly about the drinking.
you're not emotionally attached enough to this guy, to intervene on his drinking. Someone like his family should do that. Its not your job, nor should it be. If you feel his drinking is too harmful, then don't be friends with him

secondly, about telling him you love him.
men freak out when a girls tells them they love them, even when their in a relationship. If you tell him you love him, he'll probably take that as an emotional blackmail to restart your relationship. The result will be it will push him away from you. As a general dating rule, anyone saying they love you less than 3months into a relationship is a red flag.

thirdly about the being in love. (this is the patronising bit)
love is an ambiguous word with lots of different meanings. Please try and considered that you maybe associating other emotions with love, such as excitement, lust, and attraction.

I've done a lot of 'research' into drinking (13 years of heavy drinking).

I've often wondered why alcoholics get the finest women.

When we're sober we're creative, fun to be around, hard workers, ...
But when we're drunk, things change drastically, as you may know.

I can't say that your friend is an alcoholic. He must decide for himself.
Until he does, there is heartbreakingly little hope for the two of you.

"Light burdens, borne long, grow heavy."

Will you send me a friend request? Please?

Ted

Don't talk to him again, tell him that what he does, you can accept that. If he change then you should give him a chance , if he not then move on, there are a thousand guys waiting for you don't waste ur time on guy that not good for u.

Okay, if you can't deal with the drinking, then he's probably not a good choice for a BF... He needs to distance himself from all this crap, or you're never going to be able to have a good relationship. Unless he's older than you, by quite a bit, then he shouldn't be drinking and partying like this at his age, anyway. If you love him, then try to help him.