BOY I FANCY IS MESSING WITH MY EMOTIONS

Dear Coleen

I’M 17 and I’ve really liked this boy for ages. When I finally plucked up the courage to tell him, he just said “OK, thanks” and changed the subject.

He’s known for months now that I like him and sometimes makes jokes about it at my expense and then other times he flirts with me and makes me feel as if he likes me, too.

We’ve become quite close but I can’t tell if it’s just an ego boost for him or it’s because he either has feelings for me or values our friendship.

I really need to know if I’m wasting my time and should move on or if I should hold out and see what happens. My head is fried.

Coleen says

HE sounds very immature and possibly also a player. Personally, I think if he genuinely fancied you, he’d have done something about it by now.

But he still likes the fact that you like him – as you said, it is an ego boost. It’s mean to play with someone’s emotions in this way.

If I were you, I wouldn’t let my head be fried by this any more. I think all the signals are there that he doesn’t want to take it any further and he’s messing with you.

The next time he makes one of these jokes at your expense, you need to say, “Well, that was then and this is now. I thought I liked you but the way you reacted put me off and I don’t feel that way any more.”

Maybe that’s a lie but it’ll help you close the door and move on.