General

Love help

I met a guy late Feb online through a friend and we got along pretty well. The three of us would often Skype and play LoL together and during some point in one of our conversations, I started to like him. Then I found out that my friend who introduced me to him also liked him. The thing is, it turns out that he is in fact gay (good thing for me, bad thing for her) and that he has a 5~6 year long crush on his mate. His crush (who doesn't like him back) was, at the time, ignoring him and he was really depressed for a week. They eventually started talking to each other and everything was good until now.

We've basically been talking to each other for every night since we first started and I really enjoy it but I can't understand why he talks to me. It can't be because he likes me because he likes someone else already. And it can't be because we're just friends or else he wouldn't be spending almost every night until 12~1 to talk to me... So I'm just really confused (and sort of in denial). I do like thinking about him and the things he does but sometimes I interpret his actions as meant specifically for me when they're probably what he does to everyone. Then my day just gets kind of gloomy when I realise that I'm not as important to him than he is to me.

Anyway, today he told me that his thoughts for his crush are coming back. He can't force them to go away and all he's been thinking about is his crush. It bothers me because I really want to help him but I don't know how to so I've just been asking a bunch of questions for him to answer... He said that he doesn't want a rebound crush so I've crossed out the option of telling him that I do like him (although that is just one of the reasons... another reason is because I'm scared of what might happen if I do confess). He knows that his crush doesn't like him so I don't think he wants to feel like this anymore. What do?

Any help would be appreciated, otherwise this is just a post to let me open up because I can't tell my friends seeing as they're all homophobes and that I'm a pretty quiet and closed up person in general. And no we haven't met irl. I've seen him at tutor but he didn't notice me because I sort of hid... I'm planning to go see him and my friend tomorrow though but I don't know if I should seeing as I'm so shy.