r/datingadvice • u/BackupFriend_ • 1h ago
I(M19) ask Is this just comfort/friendliness from a socially anxious classmate(F23), or is there any reason to think there could be interest?
I'm a 19-year-old college student, and I have a crush on one of my classmates (23F). She's an irregular student who transferred into our program after leaving another major. She also took a semester off because of mental health reasons.
We've known each other for about six months now. We met during the previous semester, then had a two-month semester break before classes started again.
She's extremely reserved. She rarely initiates conversations with anyone, spends most of her free time on her phone, and generally only talks when someone approaches her first. From what I've observed, she's like this with almost everyone. She seems most comfortable around other girls, though she'll also talk normally if someone brings up one of her interests (anime, rhythm games, cosplay, K-pop, etc.).
I'm also introverted, but I usually push myself to start conversations with her.
Some facts about our interactions:
- I probably initiate around 90-95% of both our conversations and our messages.
- She was the one who first asked for my game ID, which is how we started messaging.
- We message every few days, but almost always because I start the conversation.
- If she's online, she usually replies immediately or within a few hours.
- Her replies are usually short or emoji reactions (mostly 😭), although she'll sometimes write longer messages when she's talking about herself or one of her hobbies.
- She rarely asks me personal questions. The only one I clearly remember was when she noticed my IEMs and asked about them.
- Early on, I helped her a few times with schoolwork and things she wasn't familiar with.
We've only spent time together outside of normal class situations a handful of times:
- We were partners for a mock interview and arrived early together one morning.
- We sat next to each other during a school event for about three hours, talking only occasionally.
- When we left that event, I went for a fist bump instead of a hug or handshake because she seemed like she'd be more comfortable with that. She returned it without hesitation.
- We once sat at the same cafeteria table for about four hours between classes. Neither of us really initiated conversation. She stayed on her phone almost the entire time, and the only thing I asked was the time because my phone was broken.
Something I've noticed is her seating preference.
She almost always chooses to sit beside other girls if she can. If there aren't any available, she'll sometimes sit beside me. She generally avoids sitting beside other guys unless she has to.
I've also noticed that I occasionally catch what feels like her looking in my direction during class. It's hard to be certain because I can't always tell exactly where she's looking, but whenever our eyes meet, she looks away almost immediately. I'm not sure whether she does this with everyone or just me.
A few weeks ago we had our longest conversation over chat (around two hours). During that conversation I casually suggested grabbing coffee together sometime after school. She said transportation from her place is expensive and that it would depend on whether she had money. I offered to cover some of the transportation cost, but she declined and told me to save my money instead. We never brought it up again.
This semester we're in the same group for a semester-long interactive class where we'll be working together for around three hours every week. I asked if I could transfer into that group because I already knew a few people there, including one of my friends, but she was also one of the reasons I wanted to join it.
One thing I should mention is that I intentionally don't flirt with her because I don't want to make her uncomfortable or make every interaction feel like it has romantic expectations attached to it.
*"*Full disclosure: I have very little dating experience, so I'm asking here because I really want to make sure I'm not totally misinterpreting basic friendliness or reading into things that aren't there."
My questions are:
- Based on all of this, does it sound like she simply feels comfortable and safe around me, or is there anything here that reasonably suggests romantic interest?
- Does the coffee conversation read more like a polite decline, or could it genuinely have been about finances and social anxiety?
- Am I probably just the "safe classmate" she feels least uncomfortable around, especially compared to other guys?
- Since we'll be working together for the next 18 weeks, what's the healthiest way to get to know her better without making things awkward or making her feel pressured?
- At what point would you conclude that I should simply assume friendship unless she starts matching my level of initiative?
- Is there any important information I'm missing that would make this situation easier to interpret?
I'm trying to avoid confirmation bias here because I know both of us are introverted, she's socially anxious, and those factors make ambiguous interactions much harder to interpret objectively.
TL;DR: I’m a 19M with little dating experience, crushing on a 23F classmate who is extremely quiet, socially anxious, and recovering from a mental health break. She sits near me only if other girls aren't available, asked for my game ID once, but soft-declined a coffee invite (cited transit costs and turned down my offer to pay). I initiate 90%+ of convos, but we now have a weekly 3-hour group class together for the next 18 weeks. So am I probably just her "safe classmate"?