Please advise

I’m sorry that this story is as long as it is but, to those of you who are willing to read this and give me advice, thank you.

The story begins on my first day of ninth grade, there was a really cute boy in my science class who for the sake of the story we will call James. I have been diagnosed with severe anxiety and I am generally a very quiet person so my friend circle is limited and I would never dream of ever talking to him. Months of me liking him pass and it’s the day before Thanksgiving break. I have caught him looking at me a few times but I figure it’s nothing and I am reading too much into it because I like him. Then, we are in math class together and we are playing a review game where if you answer the question correctly, you have to throw a basketball into a trashcan for an extra point. I threw the ball and missed so one of my friends (we will call him Liam) started laughing and saying that I was terrible at basketball. I was laughing because it was true and we are good enough friends that I know he was joking. As I was going back to my seat, James stopped me and told me that it was a good shot. I told myself not to read into it because I tend to be a little (or a lot) delusional. That night I was eating dinner with my family and I got a notification that somebody on TikTok had viewed my profile. I jokingly asked wouldn’t it be crazy if it was James? So, imagine my surprise when I unlock my phone to see that it actually was him. i double-checked with my friend who rides his bus. I told her that I liked him and she enthusiastically told me that we would make such a cute couple. The rest of Thanksgiving break passed uneventfully and when I got back to school, everything was back to normal. The only exception being that James would always come talk to Liam and always tried to bring me into their conversations. Liam didn’t like that, he says I’m too quiet.

Anyway, James continued to view my TikTok profile at least once a week. One day in early December I was feeling a little goofy and I decided to follow him. I didn’t really think he would accept the request but he did, and he followed me back. About a week later, we were in math and when James came over to talk to Liam Liam told him that I thought he was cute. It wasn’t a lie but I was surprised that Liam somehow guessed. That night, James messaged me on TikTok. (I know, all of my friends have informed me that it is weird to talk to somebody over TikTok but my parents won’t let me get Snapchat so it is what it is.) he asked if what Liam said was true and I decided to be honest and told him it was. I was a little worried that he might have a girlfriend but my friend had asked him if he liked anyone while they were on the bus and he told her no. I told James that I didn’t say anything because I was worried he might have a girlfriend and that I hoped it wouldn’t make anything weird. he told me not to worry about it and that it wouldn’t make anything weird. He then told me that he wasn’t good looking anyway. Some people have said that that seems really pick me but my friend told me that his last girlfriend had cheated on him so he was kind of insecure now. I asked him if he didn’t want me to think he was cute and he replied with, “I didn’t say that”.  After this whole exchange, I felt confident that he didn’t have a girlfriend.

After this, we talked to each other every day. He would say goodnight and good morning almost every day. He was the one who initiated all but one of the conversations. He told me about his ex who cheated on him and we talked a lot. Eventually, it was New Years Day and I was telling my friend about how we had been talking and she told me she thought he had a girlfriend. Why she didn’t think to mention this before when she knew I liked him, I don’t know. Anyway, I asked him if he had a girlfriend and he said he did. We haven’t talked since then because i don’t know what to do in this situation. He still stares at me in school, to the point that other people have begun to notice it and make comments to me about it.

Basically, my question is, what do I do? I miss talking to him every day but I feel like I shouldn’t anymore because he has a girlfriend. Despite everything, I still like him even though I know i shouldn’t. Do I just continue to ignore him? Or should I confront him about playing with my feelings?