Hi there!

It is so exciting and nerve-wracking to catch feelings for a friend, especially if you have been in that friendship since childhood. My first piece of advice for you would be to reach out to him and ask him to hang out, one-on-one, a few times as friends. Whether that be going to the park or the mall, grabbing coffee, or just watching a movie together, having some one-on-one time with him without the pressure of dating will help you to gather your thoughts about your feelings toward him. This will ultimately help you to make the decision whether or not you want to tell him about these feelings.

If you find yourself wanting to tell him your feelings, there are two ways to go about it: texting him or doing it in person. It is totally up to you how you would like to tell him. If you're feeling a little anxious about it, I would say to text him. Something as simple as "Hey, I think you're great, and I would love to grow our relationship a bit more. How would you feel about going on a date sometime?" would be a good text. Also, texting him about your feelings rather than doing it in person provides the advantage that he doesn't need to reply right away. He will have time to think over his answer rather than jumping to a conclusive "yes" or "no" on the spot. Here is an article with some advice regarding texting your crush about your feelings: https://www.lovepanky.com/flirting-flings/get-flirty/how-to-tell-someone-you-like-them-over-text.

If you decide to take the in-person route to tell him, remember to stay confident. An advantage of telling him in person is that you will be able to see how he initially reacts, which can be a great indicator of whether or not he feels the same way toward you. However, make sure that you are prepared for whatever his response may be. In case he says no, make sure that you are ready to handle that response in a calm manner, because you don't want to risk losing your friendship with him in the long run! To show him how you feel, you can say something along the lines of "I've had feelings for you for some time now, and I was wondering if you'd like to try a date."

Overall, I want you to know that it's totally okay if he says no. You are an amazing person, and you deserve love and happiness, and if he's not the one for you right now, you will find that person soon! Best of luck and I hope this all helps! Here is one last article that I think might be helpful to this situation: https://socialself.com/blog/tell-friend-you-like-them/.

Best wishes and don't hesitate to reach out if you need any more help!

Rebecca