[Skulhedface]

That's about the biggest problem right there is that you guys ARE still in high school. I hate to say this because I am usually an optimistic person, but reality is that as time goes on, the chances of meeting someone in high school, going on to marry them and living happily ever after are falling exponentially. I don't know why, and I'm not so presumptuous as to say I have my finger on it, but life is such. Nobody ever said life was fair, and the only way to even the odds, or shift life to favor you at least once in awhile, is to allow yourself to realize:

The average human life span is about 75 years. Do you have cancer? Heart trouble? Terminal illness? If you answered no to any of these questions, then what you should look at is that, assuming you're a HS Senior, you still have about 58 years to live. Things don't happen right away. Odds are you will not find the love of your life in high school (not saying it WON'T happen, but it's not beyond the scope of reality here) So you have about 58 years to find the love of your life. My biggest mistake in love was trying to rush it all, to try and grab for my slice of the pie before I was ready for it, and it all came down on me in the end. As a result, I lost the girl of my dreams but I am fine with it because I realize life DOES go on, that we do care about other people but the only person in anyone's lives that can make anything better for themselves is themselves, and that in the end we are happy if the other is happy.

So essentially, it's good that you do care for this girl's feelings, but the worst thing you could do in my opinion ( I added that because ultimately it's YOUR decision) is try to jump into something romantic with this girl. If she needs you, it's as simple as being there. If you two hang out enough, and you be yourself, it will show. Girls aren't stupid, she will be able to pick it up sooner or later. Whether something bigger develops between you two is up to her because obviously you don't mind it becoming something bigger. But don't inflate your hopes too high, because you'll be building this up in your mind and set your expectations so unrealistically that on the chance you finally DO make your feelings known, she will shy away from it and wreck the friendship.

Bottom line, be SUBTLE about it, DON'T let your hopes inflate TOO big, and if she doesn't catch on (or chooses not to catch on) think about this: Maybe she's being polite and trying to turn you down gently (after all, girls aren't stupid) because she DOES value your friendship, and SHE feels that taking it to another level will ruin that. Ultimately, if you feel for this girl like you say you do, if you really have substance behind those words and not just teenage lust, then you should be comfortable knowing that even though you two together isn't in the cards, at least you made her happy. At least, if her life is going bad and there's little YOU can do about it, that little you COULD and DID do will mean so much more for both parties in the long run. Give it time.