Search Results: asking questions teachers

In one of my classes, I sit by three of the most outgoing, popular guys, & I'm starting to get confused about my feelings for a guy who sits to the left of me.

The two of us aren't really in the same social groups (I'm pretty well-liked but not as popular as him), but we still talk a lot. One of his friends was telling the class an embarrassing story about the guy to my left, who then wanted to tell it from his POV. Instead of telling the whole class, he turned to me specifically, and when I looked at his friend telling the story, the guy to my left said "No, don't look at/listen to him! Just look at me. Just focus on me." When people asked him why he was just telling me, he said that he only really cared what I thought.

I work really hard in school and people think I'm smart, and when people were joking about me getting a high grade, the guy subtly defended me & told them they shouldn't be laughing just because I did well. Although he doesn't do his work, it seems like he's suddenly started asking the teacher more questions during class.

He also does things like really laugh at all my jokes, yell out funny things when I jokingly tell him to, and joked that he was afraid of me since I was smart (which I didn't think was a good sign haha).

What do you take from this? I know we're at least pretty good friends, but is that all I should think? I've been thinking that I could at most be a friend to him since he is popular (in the sense of stuff like going to parties every weekend, being really well-known in school, etc). Is there any way I should/could test where we stand?