Crush, Capital C

How deep it goes — Deep and real, mostly from a distance

What's probably going on — This isn't a passing thing. It's lasted months, it keeps getting stronger instead of fading, and you like specific things about them: how they treat people, the way they laugh, something they said that one time. If they ended up happy with someone else, you'd try to be glad for them, even if it hurt. What's missing is closeness. You know them in pieces, mostly from watching and a handful of real conversations, so a lot of this feeling is still waiting to find out who they are up close.

Signs it's more than a crush

· It's lasted months and hasn't faded

· You like them on their off days too, and you worry when they're struggling

· You've noticed their flaws, and it didn't change much

· You can name real reasons you like them, not just “they're perfect”

Signs it's lighter than it feels

· You haven't spent much real time together, just the two of you

· Most of what you know comes from class, the hallway or their stories

· Around them, you're too nervous to be yourself

· You haven't seen each other through a rough moment yet

What to do with it — Close the distance a little at a time. Start conversations, ask real questions, find ordinary reasons to be in the same place. You don't have to decide anything today. The goal is to know them well enough to know what this is.

What not to do — Don't let it take over everything: your grades, your friends, your mood every time they don't text back. And don't treat telling them as all or nothing. There's a lot of room between silence and a big confession.

One line for you — A feeling this real deserves to meet the real person.