Is it worth figuring this out?
Someone in one of my classes approached me around two months ago and we've been hanging out a lot since then. We are both in college, he is a few years older than me. He is the only person I would consider a friend here on campus. There are a lot of people I talk to, such as my suitemates and club members and whatnot, but we don't hangout outside of those occasional meetups. Not like I do with this person, at least.
He confessed to having a crush on me last night. I really should've noticed it sooner and ended things somehow; backed off maybe. I had some inklings, and a few glaring red flags, but I give people the benefit of the doubt to an irrational degree. I haven't spoken to him about it since. I don't think I can. (I've mentioned in many unrelated conversations that I'm not in the mood to date anyone/no one is on my radar.)
I **really** can't deal with friends having crushes on me. I'm not sure why. Whatever it is, I get physically sick and anxious and depressed. Especially now because I feel like I've failed somehow, getting to the end of my first year of college with zero friends. I have 1 high school friend I'm very close with, she's my bestie, but my parents (and her) really want me to branch out.
Is it worth trying to preserve this friendship? I've only known him for a few months, I'm sure I could find other people in the future. He's nice and I like talking to him but.. I dunno. Maybe that's the anxiety tainting my opinion of him now. What would I even do to fix this? Can I? Has anyone had a similar experience?