General Question

dr_sickness's avatar

I need help with what to do with this guy at my school. Can anybody help me!

Asked by dr_sickness (18points) April 1st, 2016 from iPhone

Hi yes, so
There is this guy who is in two of my classes, I see him a lot and I talk to him quite a bit, or, he talks to me quite a bit as well, but there is a difficult catch to this situation; I am a gay male, he is convinced that he is straight, but no matter what he says, his actions don’t match his proclamation of he is straight (not gay). I know he is in denial, everything points to it, when we were first started talking and getting to know each other about 5 months ago, he did not say that he was straight as adamantly as he says it now, it is just the whole “distancer and pursuer” dilemma that makes him deny and push me away, then pull me back so much. He flirts with me. No matter how much he denies it and makes excuses for it. He does. And no tricks I learn from the Internet about persuasion or getting people to like you or getting them to do what you want, work on him because a,) this situation is too specific, b.) the world is dominated by heterosexual circumstances, so it never works bc he is in such denial, c.) I know, yes I could also be seen as in denial here too, but there are some odds that weigh to the favor of him being in denial, and it’s not just me, my psychologist, my mother, one of my teachers from last year, they all see it, but they don’t just see it in my favor, they do see the alternative as well, but it is more weighted towards the point of this question/whatever you wanna call it. He might not be 100% gay, but there is no denying that he is somewhat subconsciously attracted to me. He keeps saying the whole “IM NOT GAY” thing to me, but then keeps flirting with me and like whenever we talk in person, he cannot keep a straight face for long and keep from smiling at me, no matter what the topic. And when he smiles at me sometimes; it’s that kind of smile you do when you think someone is cute and have a little crush on them and are trying to get them notice you. Yeah, he does so many attention seeking behaviors around me. He wants my attention. And he does not act like he does around me when he’s around his other friends. Male or female. He has talked about his dick to me in the past so much. I know generally how big his dick is. He acts like the things I do are so weird or creepy or like he’s mad about them when we talk over text, but when we talk in person, he can’t help from laughing and smiling when we talk about stuff or giving me this look, that is semi flirtatious. I have so many examples of him flirting with me, enough to the point where I can tell it’s not just me miss interpreting it. So my question here is; any advice on what I should do??? I have an idea if something to do over the summer, but he said he was gonna be busy over the summer, a couple months ago, and then said “but yeah maybe with Rebeka and Britney (two of our friends), sure, and given the other the circumstances, he’s just kinda avoiding hanging out with me alone and making excuses. Another note; we on occasion will skype each other sometimes, which is like hanging out alone virtually, since it’s only us, and whenever we do that, he is always avoiding all my questions and smiling and like hiding whenever my mom walks passed/comes in to talk to me, he just kinda stares into the camera smiling at me sometimes. I have an idea for over the summer I can talk about if people actually answer and stuff, I know this is long but yeah, I really need some help.

Observing members: 0 Composing members: 0

28 Answers

RedDeerGuy1's avatar

Just be a good friend for now. DON’T push him. Or you will push him away.

trailsillustrated's avatar

Immature, not able to process and be honest about his own feelings pass on it for now.

zenvelo's avatar

If he is gay (or not!) he is probably very confused while he is finding himself. People do that at different ages; one of the big mistakes we all make is assuming others have explored certain questions about ourselves at the same rate we have.

So, be a friend, as @RedDeerGuy1 said. Listen when he talks but don’t push the subject.

And really, you can always call Dan Savage, an expert on all aspects of sexuality, especially about non hetero aspects. Call the Savage Love Podcast at 206–302-2064 or email Dan at mail@savagelove.net.

Pandora's avatar

My daughter had a friend back in High School that all of us just knew he was gay. She and her other female friends thought we were wrong and that he was just effeminate and we were being closed minded on what a boy should be. To our surprise he married a female. But she was very masculine so we still thought he was in denial. Sure enough. A year into his marriage they divorced and he moved away from everyone he knows and last we heard has come out and was in a relationship with a guy.

My point is that maybe he isn’t ready to come out to himself, much less his local world. He may never come out while he is in school. He may be holding off till he is far away and can feel freer to do so without having to think how those around him will respond. Ultimately, it is his call. He doesn’t need you to help facilitate things. As @RedDeerGuy1 has said, be a friend. He may simply want someone to know secretly without actually saying it out loud to them or himself for now.
But if it’s too much for you to be teased, let him know that he needs to cut out the flirting even if it is in jest.

Inspired_2write's avatar

Sometimes the chase is all the person is after not the ‘catch”.
Leave this person alone to “play” games with other unsuspecting souls to wonder the same things?
Some people just like to play with anothers emotions, and that is an indicator of selfish motives.
Move on to better people who are honest and respect others better.

tinyfaery's avatar

Just leave it alone. In fact, for your own sanity, you should try to end this thing (whatever it is) between you two. No where in the question did you state that you really liked this guy. If he’s straight then you have no chance. If he’s open to homosexual relationships then he is teasing you and/or leading you on.

I don’t know about men, but straight girls love to flirt with lesbians. I think they just like attention, for the most part.

This is coming from someone in the community, me. Leave it alone. You will only end up getting hurt. If he is questioning and he likes you then he will come to you. Don’t play his flirty games.

Dutchess_III's avatar

Maybe he isn’t gay. That is possible you know.

“He is convinced that he is straight,” but you don’t think he is? And you want to prove it to him? You know, what you’re doing is just as bad as people trying to convince you that you aren’t really gay, there is just something wrong with you. How does that make you feel? Just leave the poor guy alone.

Here2_4's avatar

What she said. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
It does not matter what you feel you know, or what anyone else feels they know. So long as that man claims he is straight, then that is how you treat him.
In regards to flirting, I have known several people who just naturally seem flirty, but it is just how they are, no matter who they are with.
From another perspective, I have also known people who were so smitten by someone, they thought that person was flirting with them.
I am not telling you these things to hurt your feelings. I am telling you this because you are set on one track and right or wrong, you are likely headed for some real heartache. Maybe this friend is toying with you. Maybe you are toying with yourself. The fact is, the only thing the young man has offered you is friendship. That is all you can ask for unless he starts saying otherwise.
If you were female, and interested in him, I would still advise you to stay at friendship unless he indicated he felt otherwise. You cannot, and should not pressure people into a relationship they are not ready for.

Dutchess_III's avatar

This question just bugged me last night. I started getting pissed, actually.

Here are a couple of my experiences with men, as an attractive, very attractive young lady:

“With a body like that you’re just built for sex!” I think I was supposed to be flattered. I wasn’t.

Some guy I’d never seen before walked up to me in the club and said, “Come on! Lets get out of here! You want me! You know you want me!” (Warning flags went up….I had to respond very carefully because this could tip over into aggression. The more aggressive the advance, the more aggressive the reaction to rejection.)
“Well, I’m rather busy at the moment. Excuse me,” and my girlfriends and I discreetly packed up and left. In a protective group.

A girl friend and I were in line at Denny’s after the bars closed. Some drunk old guy, old enough to be our father, started harassing my friend and would not back off no matter how politely and gently she rejected his advances. He just got more and more aggressive. My friend was much more passive than I, and she turned and with big frightened eyes said, “That guy won’t leave me alone!”
I was taller than her, and I put her behind me, stepped up to the guy and said, “Leave. Her. Alone. She is not interested.”
He got pissed, started calling me names, telling me it was between him and her, and she WAS interested, just look at the way she was staring at him now!!! (She was terrified.)
They finally threw him out.

The catch is, every single one of those men read something that was not there in me and my friend. They read flirtation in the briefest, unintentional and accidental eye contact, or a throw away smile or laugh. When I danced with someone, and they were on the sidelines with 70 other men, they were convinced I was actually dancing just for them, just to flirt with them. I was just teasing them, see.

They really wanted me, so they convinced themselves that I wanted them just as bad, and saw shit that was not there.

And sometimes I felt like screaming “I AM NOT INTERESTED!!!” but they would think I was just playing hard to get and being so CUTE. Plus they’d also get angry. We try really hard to avoid angry men.

Now, there is one line in your story that makes me think of these few instances, which are but a drop in the bucket of unwanted sexual harassment I endured in my young adult life, and that is: ”...he did not say that he was straight as adamantly as he says it now

He is not interested in you sexually, no matter what you THINK you see, or wish you saw.

Leave the guy alone stop and trying to get into his pants.

dr_sickness's avatar

I haven’t said all lot of this to him, at least recently, these are my own internal thoughts, stop acting like I’m this horrible person for having my own free will to believe what I believe. But I do consider the possibility of him not being gay, I don’t think he’s 100%, and never really have (no one is 100% of either extreme of sexuality), so again, can it. The evidence for the contrary however is to great, and I have many psychology articles that can back up some of the behaviors that show him as in denial, not even related to sexuality some of them are. Another point I can bring up; when I do bring it up to him or thinks I am even slightly, he begins denying and denying, and then providing very little evidence for his argument. But when I don’t bring it up or he doesn’t thing I’m trying to, he’s all smiling flirtatiously and saying stuff that is sometimes a little flirtatious and he doesn’t try to actively resist it. And by his OWN logic, if you don’t deny something a bit, you are it. He said that about something we were talking about the other day. You guys will never be able to know the full story because you won’t be able to see us in person, you won’t be able to talk to him, and you won’t know all the things that have transpired between us bc that would take so long to type and I kinda just remember them at times. He’s not the type to manipulate people, he’s said how wrong that is himself, and toying with someone is manipulation, sooooooooo…
Case in point

Response moderated (Unhelpful)
Response moderated (Unhelpful)
Response moderated
Response moderated
Response moderated (Unhelpful)
tinyfaery's avatar

@dr_sickness I sent you a PM. I’m not attacking you. Please read the PM and consider what I said.

Response moderated (Unhelpful)
Response moderated (Off-Topic)
Response moderated (Off-Topic)
Response moderated
Response moderated
Response moderated (Unhelpful)
Response moderated (Off-Topic)
Response moderated (Off-Topic)
Response moderated (Off-Topic)
Response moderated
longgone's avatar

[Mod says] This thread is in General. Please keep all responses helpful and on-topic.

ibstubro's avatar

@dr_sickness you ask, “what to do with this guy at my school?”, but I don’t see where anyone asked you what you see your options as, here.

What’s your question for us?
Friendship or not?
Try for more or not?

”[I]t’s not just me, my psychologist, my mother, one of my teachers from last year, they all see it.”
You see to have a strong support group in real life. If you tell us what you need/expect from us, and if we can support/advise you on-line, we will.

It sound’s to me as if your real life support group is warning you off expecting something more rewarding from your relationship with this guy. @tinyfaery seemed to agree with that advice, while at the same time having your back.
As crudely as you feel like some people here expressed it, your take-away seems to be about 100% – step back (way back) from your romantic feelings for this guy.

Answer this question

Login

or

Join

to answer.

This question is in the General Section. Responses must be helpful and on-topic.

Your answer will be saved while you login or join.

Have a question? Ask Fluther!

What do you know more about?
or
Knowledge Networking @ Fluther