I think I'm in love with a younger boy.

The tRouble with bOys is they’LL always break your heart.

You’re not in love, you’re in crush. And seriously, a 1 year difference? Don’t be ridiculous.

Of course it is okay to be attracted to him; a one year difference does not make you a pedophile at all. Depending on what state you’re in, it might not be okay to have sex with him. For example, in my state 17 is the legal age of consent so if a 17 year old has sex with a 16 year old it is considered statutory rape.

When I was 16 and at a church weekend retreat, a girl a year older asked me to dance, and we spent the rest of the evening together. She was the first girl to ever pay attention to me first and to be interested in me. I still think of her fondly tons of years later.

Do you see him at school? Do you know what he likes at all? Start by running into him at break and just say hello and ask him how he is doing. If that happens a couple times in a couple weeks, he’ll get the message and start talking to you more.

And if you find out here is a movie he is interested in, it is perfectly okay for you to arrange a way to see it with him.

Good luck!

You’re in high school and everything there, socially speaking, is, well, ridiculous. People think all kinds of stupid stuff and other people actually care because it is so easy to get ostracized for what you do. So if you see the younger boy, for example, they’ll make fun of you, and call you pedophile, and generally try to shame you, just for fun. Because high school kids are cruel when they get into packs.

So. Can you stand up to that? Can you not care? Can you do what you do knowing you have what? One more year left? Two? Soon you’ll be out of there, but it could be a hellish two years if you are a sensitive person.

As to getting to know him—you might want to do that in private. Approach him on Facebook or even call him. Do it privately. I’d rather not do it on Facebook because that leaves a record that might come back to haunt you if he turns out to be a douche.

So you call him, and tell him you wanted to talk to him about the weekend. What did he think of such and such or so and so. Tell him you noticed him dong this or that and you thought that was pretty cool. Also tell him why you think you like him, only don’t do it in a gushy way. Do it matter of factly so it’s more deniable if things go wrong.

In doing this, you are kind of feeling him out. Does he respond? How shy is he? (He might not be ready for going out). Does he seem to be acting positively towards you?

If you get a sense that he is positive, just tell him that you were thinking of going to something, whatever, even back to the PE class thingy, and doing whatever, and would he like to go with you. You’d like it if he did, because you like his company.

It’s not love. But you are attracted to him. You need to spend time with him to see if you do like him when you do stuff, not just from afar. Give yourself a chance. Don’t throw yourself at him. Just be natural and talk about what you want and what you like. Don’t try to impress him. If it because forced, you can forget it.

And always look for how he’s responding to you. If he seems excited, then good. If he seems distant, it’s not going anywhere. If he acts shy, well it’s probably because he’s shy around girls, or shy in general. This is just because he’s new to it. If that’s the case, expect him to make mistakes and accidentally insult you or be stupid or something. Give him a break. He probably likes you if he’s trying.

Good luck.

I agree with @syz, you are not in love, you have a crush, as you say, you don’t even know this guy anyway as you have never spoken to him. It surely can’t be love yet.
Ok well ive just deleted my comment as @wundayatta has put it better than me. Well said.

Mariah is right on target. You can look, but you cannot touch.

Why am I suspicious that this is one of the here—again-gone-again folks who like to do short creative writing vignettes.? I have a little of list of his/her forebears. Now all gone again.

There is nothing wrong with the age difference. Go for it. Contact him and ask him out for coffee or a soda.

Thanks for the answers. I’m from Germany, I know that it’s not love, sorry for being confusing. Since English isn’t my native language, I didn’t quite find the right words.
I’ll be done with school in a few months…I think I just exaggerated the situation in general >.< It’s quite embarrassing for me now:D
I just have the problem that I’m extremely shy…

One year is nothing, and as you get older it becomes even less. The reason girls tend to date boys older than themselves is that boys in general tend to mature (emotionally and mentally) more slowly than girls, so usually, a girl will find that a boy of her own age or younger is too immature for her. But of course there are always exceptions; if he’s more mature than average for his age you’ll do fine, and once you’re both out of your teens you won’t even notice the age difference.

I think if you’re both under 18 it doesn’t make you a paedo…