Kinda short post but theres this guy who ive been talking to for the last 2-3 years on and off online, we were in the same class in highschool middle of covid but since gone to different colleges so havent seen each other for ages. He reached out first, we talked on and off but more frequently over the last year. Hes been asking me to hang out A LOT. i honestly cant deal with it. i dont feel ready to date until im financially stable and living 100% from my own income. ive just been giving him polite "no"s to all his invitations with varying reasons, hoping he would get the hint, but he hasnt. at one point, he asked me out about 10x in the span of 2-3 days. i got overwhelmed and didnt reply, and he responded to this lack of messaging by asking if i hate him. im honestly just tired. i just want to have a male friendship without them thinking me being nice and helping him with their problems is showing romantic attraction. hes also been liking a lot of angsty "youre playing with my feelings and it hurts my heart" shit on instagram. i swear i havent been meaning to do any of ts. also recently been kinda pressuring me into sending a photo of me or voice recording so that he knows what im like now. I dont know how im going to cut this off if i ever do get a bf that isnt him, because i definitely cant keep talking to him forever. I havent been playing with his feelings, jist trying to keep a healthy friendship. i dont get how you can fall for someone through texts on a screen. AITAH for not liking him back, or somehow giving him mixed messages?

edit on reddit repost- we did not talk at all in highschool. maybe once. and i had a mask on the whole time, was depressed so i didnt rlly look at peoples faces, so i barely know what he looks like and he doesnt know how i look either. theres no way i can fall for him through messages on a screen, but I dont feel comfortable meeting him in real life because hes a complete stranger.

writing this from dorm room at 2am running on 3hr of sleep from writing essay. sorry if information does not line up or have typos.