Since you still like your crush, there will be a natural inclination for you to want to believe that the ambiguity in his response must mean he is in the process of coming to terms with how he feels about you.

When you asked your crush if he likes you and he replied, “I don’t know,” you naturally didn’t want to believe that this was the end.

A considerable amount of time has passed since you developed a crush on this guy.

Throughout this period, so much of your thoughts have centered around what it would be like to date him.

You have envisioned what a life with your crush would be like.

Mentally, you have repeatedly seen yourself doing a variety of your favorite interests with him, such as dining out, photography, traveling, working out, etc.

You have imagined deep-rooted conversations with him about every topic under the sun that intrigues and interests you.

Conversations where there is an openness and honesty that makes you feel as though you are talking to someone you can be open and free with.

The idea that he could be someone you get to experience a formidable amount of emotional safety with has been a constant.

It took a while for you to finally ask him if he likes you.

You struggled with the idea of it at first, as fear and doubt simmered.

You would have much preferred he be the one to tell you that he likes you and sweep you off your feet with chivalry by consequently courting you.

There were several moments where it seemed as though he was about to do just that.

He would compliment you on a given day, leaving you elated, thinking that the next time you saw him, he would finally tell you that he likes you and start courting you.

Sadly, that wouldn’t happen.

Week after week, what seemed like hints that were leading up to him finally telling you that he likes you never came to fruition.

During this period, you became so desperate you talked to other mutual friends about him.

All you wanted to know was to get any kind of reassurance from them that he liked you.

The feedback was always a mixed bag, but there were enough positive reassurances that there was a surge of hope every time you heard it.

It is this buildup of hope that finally compelled you to ask him if he likes you.

Which brings you to where you are now.

After all of this buildup over weeks and months, there is a part of you that doesn’t want to believe that it has ended with those words, “I don’t know.”

But sadly, it has, and the sooner you acknowledge and accept this, the better off you will be.

Keep in mind that everything you have been going through mentally for the last few weeks and months in relation to him hasn’t been his own experience in relation to you.

On the contrary, he has been living his life freely, devoid of incessant thoughts of you.

All of this buildup led to you developing a formidable amount of emotional investment in him.

None of this buildup occurred on his end.

He was just living his life with the occasional interaction with you.

Given this reality, he never developed the same emotional investment in you.

Although this is hard to accept, given how the last few weeks and months have triggered deep-rooted emotions in you for this crush, his own experience was nothing of the sort.

There is no emotional investment on his part, which means that the implied ambiguity in his reply was not due to him still coming to terms with his feelings.

He chose to be ambiguous with his reply so as not to hurt your feelings.

Nevertheless, he is hoping that those words were enough to get you to register that he doesn’t like you, at least not in the way you like him.

With this intention, he is hoping you let it go and move on, and so you should.