Friendzone. The dreaded region between relationship and acquaintance. The area where you must neglect all feelings and act cool because it’s not like you’ve had a crush on the guy/girl for a month plus now. Instead, you smile and politely nod as your heart is crushed by your crush (is the term a hint all in itself?).

While blunt rejection may come as a shock, had you picked on the apparent hints they insisted they gave you, maybe you would be in a happy relationship with someone else. Okay, maybe you would just not be eating an entire tub of ice cream on a Tuesday night, but hey, we can still dream of a happier alternative…

We have all given hints before and questioned why they hadn’t picked up on them. What's more is that we have probably all received them--occasionally without knowing we were being given hints at all. So what are these obvious clues that everyone claims to give but never receive? Here are five signs someone doesn’t like you “like that.”

1. No Rain Checks.

You take the brave step of asking someone to hang out; it may be casual or maybe you are extremely courageous and asked him/her out on a real date! Wohoo! Good for you! And then, they respond with a sympathetic, “Sorry I’m busy!” Which is completely understandable because, sure, people have lives. Yet, if after a few times of trying to hang out without that person attempting to offer alternative days/times, it is usually a pretty good sign they would rather maintain the friend status.

2. Lack of Physical Contact

In your head (clouded by giddiness): *OMG he touched my arm!* *Commence goosebumps*

In reality: He accidentally tripped and breached your personal bubble; the touch was more like a slight graze.

Subtle touches are a classic sign of flirting. Is she jokingly hitting your arm when you make fun of her? Is he touching your back as he squeezes by, pretending the doorway in which you are standing is much smaller than it actually is? If your interactions constantly lack any form of “unnecessary” delicate physical touch, maybe she/he is not into you.

3. ALWAYS the First to Contact

This one can be tricky. Often times it seems to fall on the guy in the relationship to text the other first (which is a whole different conversation in itself). With that assumption, if you are the one repeatedly initiating the conversation, that doesn’t always mean that they don’t enjoy your attention. Instead, it comes down to their response. If they reciprocate your excitement or continue the conversation whenever you text them, then you may have yourself a winner! If not, I’m sorry dude.

Okay but let’s just agree that there should be a textbook on how to decipher text messages; that shit is complicated, man.

4. The Distancing Phase

Okay, you have admitted it to yourself. You have a crush on the cute girl in your class or that attractive boy at the front desk. It. Is. Happening. Now what? After a few weeks of simply just talking, you want to see if maybe, just maybe, they have started to feel the same butterflies as you have. That’s when you start to lay on your best moves.

Now, on the reverse side, we have all been on the receiving end of someone switching from just talking to trying to flirt. For the most part, you can tell the difference. Now how do you respond? Oftentimes, if you reciprocate the feelings, you will lay on your best moves. If not, you’ll begin the distancing process.

It’s when you start to laugh and smile less during your conversations, cut your interactions short, or even savagely pull the, “Oh my gosh, you are such a great friend!” card. Whatever it is, if your flirtation transition lacks reciprocation, she/he is probably giving you a hint.

5. Nope.

While "no" comes in numerous forms--nope, nah, I have a boyfriend/girlfriend, I’m seeing someone, let’s just be friends--they all translate to no. While this is not so much of a hint, some people still don’t quite get it, so I’m including it. Bottom line is, honey, no means no.

But you know what will never hurt your feelings? Pizza.