Like @Skaggfacemutt, when I was in high school, this boy had a crush on me. I considered him a very close friend, and I loved him like a brother, but I definitely had no romantic feelings for him at all. He often told our mutual friends that he was “in love” with me, and often came up to me for friendly hugs. I had mixed reactions to his feelings. I felt a little guilty because I cared about this boy and didn’t want to hurt his feelings. I thought about what it would be like for us two to begin a relationship, but it just didn’t appeal to me one bit. His crush was very flattering but also slightly annoying, too, as I felt suffocated. Sometimes I used to flirt with him playfully (it sounds mean but I was just a kid in school, remember), although he knew that was all he would get from me.
I also had a boyfriend a few years back. Our relationship was extremely brief, in fact I almost forgot about it until this question. We’d been together for a few weeks when he asked that awkward question: “What do you feel for me?” I told him I cared about him and was enjoying our time together and wanted to see where things went, when he suddenly became very pushy and said, “Don’t you love me? We’re boyfriend and girlfriend, after all.” I said that it felt too soon to consider this love, and he was offended and told me he loved me, and told me that I was supposed to love him too. About a week later we broke up. It was awkward, and I often wondered if it was weird for me not to return this person’s feelings. In the movies, when somebody loves someone who doesn’t return their feelings, I find myself thinking, “But how can you reject him when his love for you is so strong?” But in real life it doesn’t work like that. It’s just awkward and guilt-inducing.