Year 12s: what will be the first way you research your future options? >>

What's the deal with this guy?

Over the last few weeks I've started talking to this really cute outgoing guy in one of my classes alot. He's the kind of guy who has tons of friends, and a lot of girl friends, but he is single and doesn't do random hook-ups.

It started out that he would always initiate talking to me (mainly when we were alone though) and he would always give me a big smile in the hallways. In the last few days though, I've noticed that he's become pretty shy around me. When I talk to him when other people are around, he no longer acts like the confident chatty guy he usually is. However, on the same day he doesn't talk to me, he'll something like coming up and playfully tapping my stomach with his binders as he walks by when I'm talking to other people.

But, in the hallways now instead of giving me his usual outgoing smile, he does this awkward thing where he like avoids eye contact and then looks at the last minute, and when we make eye contact he gives me a shy (or maybe just half-hearted?) look/smile. I've also noticed that if I go over to hangout with him and his friends (both guys and girls) he will hardly look at me or talk to me.

Is this just him trying to let me know he's not interested without being mean about it? I'm so confused, I would love to pursue him if I knew he was acting shy because he was interested- I would be fine with bringing that shyness out of him and getting flirty with him! However, if he's acting this way because he's not interested, I don't want to make a fool out of myself and creep him out. What do you guys make of this?