I'm a 19 year old girl and my 17 year old guy friend says he's in love with me, what do you think?

imagine2019yyy
So, I've been talking with this friend for pratically a year now, we met through friends in common and we became good friends pretty quickly. He's been one of my best friends, he always wants to help me and all that, and we love to talk about anything, basically a good friendship. He often flirts with me and all that, and once it actually got pretty sexual (which I try to brush off) and later (I don't remember in what context) I told him I saw him as just a friend and that I like him very much as such. I was never sure if he actually liked me or if he was joking, but I told him that anyways. However, on the other day he admited he does like me and that he's in love with me. I told him that's not how I perceive him and obviously he said he knows that and that it was fine (basically he didn't push it at all). I told him that that wouldn't change anything in our friendship and wouldn't turn it weird and it didn't, we're the same friends as always and he never made an issue out of me rejecting him. But like, I don't like him and I'm not in love with him, but I also never disliked his flirting or the fact that he likes me? In all honesty I even like it and now I'm thinking that even if I don't like him I kinda have a crush on him or something and I'm confused. Anyways, what do y'all think of this?
I'm a 19 year old girl and my 17 year old guy friend says he's in love with me, what do you think?
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