Why did he brush me off?

[Lashawnsx3]

There's this guy who I had history class with for a semester that had an obvious crush on me for over a year now. When we had the class together he would always stare and smile at me when I walked in, he would talk and laugh about me to his friends, he'd get jealous when I talked to my guy friend, etc. He only talked to me once though and it was brief about an assignment we had and that's it. He acted normal when he was talking to me, though he didn't make eye contact with me. After that class I didn't see him for a semester. Fast forward to recently, when we saw each other around school he would always stare and smile at me or stare at me with a somewhat sad look. When I didn't smile back at him (because I was nervous or caught off guard) I'd literally watch him sigh with sadness. I said hi to him when I walked past him and he said it back after I said it twice but didn't give eye contact. Anyways fast forward to yesterday I finally worked up the courage to talk to him after I saw he purposely sat near me in the cafeteria. And before I approached him he did smile at me but like I said earlier he caught me off guard and I freaked so I just looked down and I saw him give a sad sigh. So when I went up to him and asked about the class we had together he played dumb at first and then he kind of sassed me and seem like he didn't want to be bothered so I just left him alone. I haven't seen him since then and I kind of think he's avoiding me but then again, the world doesn't revolve around me so I don't know.

I will admit on my part I didn't flirt as much as I should have because I was shy and was afraid he didn't really like me but was planning on using me. But when I talked to him I thought that would make him feel more comfortable to approach me and not just continuously stare at me for over a year.

Why is he acting like this? I'm 21 and he's 24/25 and I just feel like we're too old for this nonsense, especially for it to go on for this long

[Anonymous]

He'd talk and laugh about you to his friends? That doesn't sound very nice of him.
He might not have made eye contact with you (when talking with you) and looked somewhat sad, recently, because he had a guilty conscience).
You had to say hi to him twice before he answered you and later on he sassed you? He doesn't seem very friendly.
You didn't need to flirt. You said hi at times and talked to him, thus creating an opening for him to talk to you, that's if he liked you.
As far as whether a guy likes us or not, I recommend reading any one of Josette Sona's free ebooks to get some general knowledge about guys and what characteristics to avoid when you see them.

[Wagsjr]

You said this has happened for a while year?

Well first of all, props to him for staying on the hunt for that long if he truly has a crush on you. If you like this boy you need to throw him a bone because the last thing you want is to regret not giving more obvious clues. He may be giving up FINALLY. At least from your story that is what is sounds like.

Maybe try dropping some hints. For me, I was never confident enough to realise someone was hitting on me, my girl had to SERIOUSLY drop hints. Lol

[Lashawnsx3]

But why do you think he would give up now? When I start dropping the most hints? He was persistent even when I was being (unintentionally) standoffish.

[Wagsjr]

There could be a lot of variable to this. At this point without being in your shoes, I can only guess.

I have met guys who are all in it for the thrill of the hunt. I'm friends with guys who only want to hook up and when an actual relationship is proposed, they disengage.

I'm not mentioning those to scare you, but to add more prospective. He could be really shy. The whole idea of this is to try and crack this guy right? So if we are going to do that, I need more detail.

How close have you gotten to him? I mean are you friends or have you never really ever had a conversation with him until the point where he sassed you? (I'm rolling with the sass part just in case, but my guess is that it was an unintentional vibe he put out. I'm guilty of sassing my current girlfriend when I'm in a weird mood when it's entirely not involving her.)

To your best knowledge, is he single? You may find that a dumb question, but you'd be surprised.

Any extra details you think could help us crack this guy.

The best advice I can give without those extra details, just in case you need an answer quick, is to continue to do recon if he means this much to you. At this point I believe that approaching him is probably the only way to initiate dialogue. Especially since he's been eyeing you up for at least a year. If he were confident enough to approach you, he would have done it by now.

[Wagsjr]

Something just clicked with me. I bet he has a fear of rejection. That unintentionally standoffish incident might have confinced him that you are not interested? Im shy and fear rejection so will really only persue someone I have a high chance of getting.

Talk to the boy. I'll retract my statement about giving hints because it seems like he has been trying to read your hints for too long. You need to be steight forward

Remember this. Expect the worst, hope for the best. At the very least find closure in knowing the answer to this question you are having by talking to him. Even if that answer is rejection. I promise, it will hurt worse not knowing what could have happened. I know from experience.

[Anonymous]

I agree. I think he's too old to be acting like a shy teenager.