Could use some advice

For some background info: I'm 16(M)(11th grade) and came out to my friends ~2 weeks ago. They didn't really make a big deal about it and were very supportive. I haven't told my parents yet, but I have no doubt that they will support me regardless. There's a guy in my class I've had a crush on for about 3 months and I'm struggling to figure out if he might also be gay. I recently mentioned that I was gay to him in passing and he mentioned that he hadn't ever really had a crush on anyone, boy or girl. Another issue is that our friend groups don't really have any overlap. I usually hang out with the nerdy awkward kids, whereas his group consists mostly of the somewhat "cool" sporty kids. I've been trying desperately to get closer to him, but he always has friends around who I don't feel comfortable with. For a long time I was cynical about relationships in elementary and secondary school, believing that people were just unable to tell the difference between friendship and love, but since November I suppose I've had a change of heart and have adjusted my claim to just most relationships. My sister's gay friend (18M) suggested that I get closer to the girls in my class and put out some feelers that way.I suppose I'm asking you all for advice on how best to go about finding out if he's gay and interested, or at the very least get him thinking about his own sexuality.PS I try to avoid confrontation at all costs and am really awkward and socially inept.Rereading this, sorry for the rambling