Love-Hate Relationship

by Nina
(Australia)

I like a guy who I never used to get along with. We are both 17 and go to school together. We hang around with the same small group of close friends but have never gotten along ourselves; we would argue about pretty much everything and always have conflicting opinions.

Over the past year or so, we have learned to get along better. We can hold a decent conversation and be nice to each other in the group. Anyway, I've also realized I like him. I tried to ignore it at first, but it's been ages and it isn't going away. I don't know what to do.

While we get along better and don't act like we hate each other anymore, it's still pretty awkward between us outside of a group situation. It seems strange for me to even go up and say hi to him and would be weird for me to talk to him on facebook. Our friends often tease us about actually having a 'love-hate' relationship or secretly liking each other, which we have both always taken great offense to. This also means that when we are having a good conversation one of them will often make a remark and that will immediately end it. Neither of us have had a relationship before (that I know of), and I am pretty awkward and shy around guys in general, and it's worse with him. I don't think I'd have the confidence to go right up and tell him.

I have no idea if he would feel the same, sometimes I think I notice possible signs but I suspect I'm just over-reading pointless things. How can I drop hints that I might like him without being obvious, and how can I pick up clues that he might like me more easily?

We really don't have much in common, like I said we have very conflicting opinions about everything from trivial things to deeper matters, and we have completely different personalities and like different things. I have a lot of trouble starting a conversation with him that isn't awkward or obvious.

I really like him and I don't think it's going to go away anytime soon. Could you give me any hints on how I can talk to him without it being awkward? How can I hint to him that I might like him and read into whether he might feel the same? How can I develop a better friendship with him? Is there even any point in a relationship between two such completely different people?