u/Sage-of-Sorrow

I (28M) have been avoiding my neighbor (26F) for a whole year.

1.5 year ago last winter a cute girl knocked on my door and asked me to help move a couch. she told me she was moving into the apartment upstairs with her sister. she was very nice and friendly and gave me compliments and asked me about myself. we talked here and there and it was nice so eventually I gave her flowers and asked her out. she said it was a lot and maybe next time try something else. then she started coming up to me a lot and being really nice but I was high and paranoid so I thought maybe she just felt bad for me and I started avoiding her for like 3 months, but eventually she was trying to get my attention and when she did she was a totally different person- but I was surprised tired and high so I just kinda stood there confused until she awkwardly walked away, then I went back to avoiding her again until eventually I kinda came back around and gave it another try. The problem then was I came on way too strong, cause I had no car and no job and nothing to do, and she tolerated it mostly but when I talked to her about it she just said she didn't mind but she didn't want to go into my apartment which at the time I took as an excuse so I just went back to avoiding her. then her mom died 2 months later and I just felt like there was no fixing it so I kept avoiding her, and that was half a year ago. anyways she caught on to what I was doing pretty quickly and kinda gave up on talking to me. she used to come up and talk to me constantly but now she won't even look at me unless I call out to her. she does play with my dog and talk to him and sometimes she tries to make small talk but she is terrified and akward around me, and I am usually high so I am terrified of her as well.

please understand, she has never had a boyfriend, she doesn't talk to guys, and she doesn't even really have any friends. she is very religious and spends all her time with her family. I am unemployed and get high constantly (I had really bad long covid for 3 years, halfway before we met, but I am doing better now, also untreated manic bipolar 1 but I am taking meds now as well) and I have never really talked to a girl like her ( a genuinely good girl) so my approach left much to be desired and by the time I realized my misunderstanding I had already made things so weird I don't know what to do. everyone says I just need to talk to her and to stop wasting time but I don't know how. I made a post about this a few days ago and everyone said to just leave her alone which made it worse cause now I feel like I am going to bother her if I say anything. This girl likes me she just doesn't like the way I act or do things sometimes because I am not very good with girls especially christian virgin girls who get upset when you say or do things you aren't supposed to (which I do often).

the obvious thing to do is just talk to her, and she makes it pretty easy for me to do just that but I am oblivious stupid scared ashamed and insecure so I always have some excuse, and I feel like she is getting tired of giving me chances cause she comes around less and less the more I try to pretend we don't know each other and leave her alone. sorry for the long post and rambling this has been on my mind for a while and I feel stuck. I need some help or advice.

TLDR; beautiful innocent girl literally appears on my doorstep and moves upstairs but lack of social skills, insecurity, and general stupidity caused me to fumble really really bad.

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u/Sage-of-Sorrow — 9 days ago

I (28M) have been avoiding my next door neighbor (26F) for over a year.

She introduced herself to me last winter by knocking on my door and asking me for help. I asked her out once before a few months later and she didn't go but she started being really nice and friendly after that and I thought she pitied me so I started avoiding her. Then later she seemed to want my attention again and she was even nicer and more open when she approached me, but I was having some issues and I was a bit confused by her behavior so I just kept avoiding her, then eventually came back and tried again but came on too strong and she set some boundaries, but I thought she was just rejecting me so I just went back to avoiding her, but it became a habit that has lasted for 9 months now. So we haven't talked for that long, I mean we talk but not really it's' just pretending if that makes sense. I don't know if I am allowed to talk to her or if she wants to talk to me so it just stays like that. I am high sick insecure and unemployed and she has her own values and context that are distinct and related to how she is dealing with the situation, and in hindsight I should have approached her very differently than I did, and I should have never stopped talking to her and avoiding her. She has tried to make small talk a few times, and I try to get the courage to talk to her as well, but its like theres this wall, and its easier to just stay on the other side for both of us. Does that make sense? What can I do?

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u/Sage-of-Sorrow — 11 days ago