Unsure if he is interested?

I will try and make this as concise as possible.

Ok so this past year I am attending a new college. Many of my classes are large (100-250 students). In my astronomy class, I sit on the far left side of the room in the middle. The class holds 150 students so it is fairly spread out. Well on the first day, I was just casually scanning out the students in the class, only to check if I knew anyone else that I could maybe sit with. As I was scanning the room, I made eye contact with one guy in particular (lets call him Tom). Good looking guy, not sure what grade or how old he is though. Looks older. We made solid eye contact for about 5 seconds, and I then looked away. No big deal at this part.

Well the class meets once a week. And every time we do, it is like a glancing game with him. I will catch him looking at me or he will catch me looking at him. Just look away right after. He sits on the same row as me, but opposite side of the room so we have a clear line of sight. My friend has noticed him looking too though. Honestly I don't even know why I look, I know better than to fall for a straight guy. But there is just something intriguing about him.

A little observations about Tom ... he seems reserved. Doesn't really talk to anyone that I have ever seen at this point. Quiet, and always looks serious. I have even seen himself outside of class elsewhere and he is the same. Kind of awkward around people, especially when I am around him. I'm probably just seeing things. Nothing about him tells me he could possibly be gay or bi.

A few days later I went to a party by myself (how sad lol), but it was fun. It was late at night, many were drunk, it was a casual party though. The music was so loud, and I started talking to the guy next to me. We were joking how loud the music was. After a bit of talking, Tom walked up to us and started talking to me and joining in on the joke (I think he was friends with the guy tho). We just all laughed, and Tom and I were just chatting (more like shouting with the loud music) about the party. The room was very dark with glow lights being the only light, so I don't know if he willingly approached me, or just approached because I was talking to his friend. But either way, he openly had a few laughs with me, and was open and fun. Could be the alcohol I suppose. Not soon after, my friend grabbed me and dragged me off to talk to someone else. That ended there.

Going back to Astronomy the next week after the party, he changed seats for the first time. This time sitting a few rows back to where I couldn't really see him. I saw him from the corner of my eye looking over at me once. When I did occasionally glance over to him, he had his head down or hand covering the left side of his face so no eye contact. He seemed more reserved, and just separated himself from the class. I know he has a few select friends like I do though, just by the interaction at the party and seeing him with a best friend of his. Bizarre :dry:

This all sounds so stupid now that I am typing it, like elementary school crushes lol. I just have never dealt with a weird situation like this before, and am confused. I think I am interpreting signals wrong in this case and stupidly thinking a straight guy is interested even though I purposely avoid it, but that's why I am looking for advice and maybe an explanation. I have issues with self-confidence and image :icon_sad:, and approaching him wasn't a plan of mine. I'm only a freshman and still look like a boy, and he looks more matured. But I'm sick of these petty games, and just want an answer. I don't know, any advice or answer would help. :icon_redf