Flirting
2 mo

Is this an inappropriate relationship?

About two and a half years ago, I was getting ready to study. I liked to listen to livestreams or podcasts while doing so, and came across this small creator on YouTube. Over time, I became a regular on his lives, and because his following wasn't that big, he began to recognise my user, and over the course of a year or so, became friends, more or less. I'm not the parasocial type, so I never felt that emotionally connected, being fully aware that this was just some dude on the internet at the end of the day. Anyway, between then and the next year, he really blew up online (3 million on TikTok, 2 million on Instagram). Anyway, I had been consistently watching his content and I guess I became kinda 'known' in his community just cause I'd been there so long and he'd direct a lot of attention towards me during lives. But life got busy and I didn't join his lives for a while, and when the semester ended, I was gonna come back but it showed that he hadn't streamed in months. So I DM'd him, not expecting a reply, but he replied in seconds and I don't know, since then we've talked everyday, which is about three months now. And I guess what shocked me was how affectionate he is. He's not the type to do a lot of fan service, so I guess the flirting caught me off guard. It's probably like platonic flirting, but still. Anyway, he said if he's ever in my city or it I'm in his, he wants to take me to dinner. The problem is the age gap lol. He mentioned something about university to me, and I realised he thought I was older, so I corrected him that I'm actually a senior in highschool, which he didn't seem to mind. And I guess if everything is just friendly, then it probably doesn't matter that much. Most of my friends outside of school are late 20s/early 30s anyway. He's 28 and I still don't think he's aware that I'm 17. I don't know, he's really sweet and respectful and none of my friends see eye to eye about it. Age of consent is 17 where I live and 16 in his state
Is this an inappropriate relationship?
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