We’ve all been there. There’s this one person you can’t out of your head. Their name on your phone makes you drop everything just to check the notification. When you sit by them in lecture your heart skips a beat. It’s that one person your head over heels with but for the life of you can’t tell if they feel the same way.

You’ve read into every little thing they do and still, your mind can’t come to a decision.

I hate to break it to you, but you statistically speaking the odds are not in your favor. If you attend a large university like I do with just over 20,000 undergrads it hard to rationalize finding “the one.” I mean, sure, you might find someone who you think is “the one,” but the odds of them thinking the same about you with that many available suitors narrows the field a little.

With that in mind, you're bound to run into the uncomfortable situation in which you have feelings for someone and they just don’t feel the same way. Now the most uncomfortable part for both of you is communicating that issue. Inevitably one of you has to break and tell the other how you really feel and it’s going to be a lot worse if you’re the one pouring out unrequited and unreturned feelings.

So before you go ahead and start confessing your heart out take a look at the situation around you, because even though they may not outright be saying they’re not interested, they might be trying to. So in hope of sparing you some of your dignity, here are some of the signs that they might not be that into you:

1. They already have a significant other

This one may seem obvious but some people don’t take it to heart. If someone flat out tells you that they have a significant other, chances are they’re not interested. Or they’re a jerk.

2. You're always the one communicating with them first

If you look at your conversation with said person (male or female) and you always seem to be the one staring the conversation maybe it’s time to consider the fact that they may not be that interested in talking to you. If you’re always the one who approaches them and goes out of the way to start the conversation, there may be a reason for that.

3. They leave you on read. Like a lot

Again, if you look at your virtual communications, and you often tend to be the last one to respond they may not just be “too busy to respond.” People often spend time communicating with the people they care for and if they don’t really take the time to talk to you that can speak volumes.

4. Body language is key

The way people feel can often be determined by the way they orient their body in perspective to others. If you find when you sit next to them and they often angle away or avoid physical contact with you this may be a sign they’re not as comfortable with you are you are with them.

5. They talk about other people in front of you

Some people take the fact that the person they like is talking about other people they’re interested in front of them as them trying to make them jalousie. This is rarely the case. This usually just genuinely means that they’re interested in someone else. Do yourself a favor and stop reading into things.

6. They don't ask you as many questions as you ask them

Can be in a text situation or an in-person conversation. If you seem to be the one always asking questions and always initiating new topics for discussion it may be that they’re not that interested much in the conversation itself, or you.

7. Limited amount of one-on-one contact

Whenever you try to talk to them they always seem to be surrounded by a million people. Whenever you ask them to hang out they always drop the “Yeah, who else is going?” card. They could, in fact, be the most popular person alive or they just don’t want to spend time with you alone. The latter meaning that chances are they’re not trying to make a move on you.

8. They seem to avoid you in social settings

You wave at them when they pass you in lecture but they don’t take the empty seat next to you. They always seem to float away when you’re hanging out in groups. Chances are if they had feelings for you they’d be jumping at the opportunity to spend time with you.

9. They seem to be the busiest person alive

If you’re always asking them to hang out and they always have an excuse it might be time to ask yourself if, they may not actually want to hang. If they were really interested they would find the time eventually.

10. They just don't seem to be getting it

No matter how obvious you’ve been about liking them they just aren’t taking the hint. This might mean that they don’t want to get it. They might be pretending that they’re oblivious simply to avoid the awkward conversation in which they have to let you down.

Obviously, all of these signs are subjective and completely dependent on the person. When in doubt there’s no harm in just taking the leap and asking them, and if the answers not exactly what you wanted to hear at least now you know. It doesn’t mean you and that person weren’t meant to be friends, it just means you’re not each other’s “meant to be.”

No matter if they do or don’t feel the same way, just know that at the end of the day it doesn’t really matter anyway.