I’m a college sophomore, and i have this friend who is a year senior. but he’s almost the same age as i am, and we’ve been friends for a year and a half. he’s nice to be around and he keeps telling me that i’m the one he opens up to, which is true upto a limit. but he tells me nothing about stuff that bothers him, and that bothers me.

when he signs off each night he adds ‘luv u’ to the msg, and gets rather upset if i dont say so. but at the same time he insists that he’s not in this for love, he doesn’t want me for a girlfriend, and that i should not misunderstand his intentions. but he basically pretends i dont exist in front of his raucous group of friends. he says it’s to protect both of us from all the needless non stop teasing that will result if they knew.and when we hang around campus, he likes to sit in a corner where not many will notice us (it’s a rather open place, and we’re in a conservative area; a boy and girl together will definitely raise eyebrows). he hasnt done anything odd except hold my hand all the time, which i think is uhh….not-so-platonic. we usually just talk after dinner, we go for a walk for an hour or something. we used to do that almost everyday. now we seem to be running out of topics. i’m usually a chatterbox but i’m always quiet around him, and he’s usually quiet but talks more with me. these days we both walk in silence, and its rather upsetting.

a lot of boundaries seem to be blurred here, and i’m not sure what to do. he’s a very sensitive guy, and i don’t want to hurt him. i ‘d like him around as a good friend, but i don’t find him particularly attractive.i’d really like some advice.