It might feel a little awkward, but the best thing that you can do is talk to him! It stinks to be stuck in a gray area in a relationship, but the easiest way to get inside of his head is just to ask. It sounds like you two are close, and it might be scary to bring up the topic of defining your relationship, but the payoff is huge—you’ll have so much of the anxiety of not being sure about things lifted off of your shoulders. Who knows? He might be wondering the same thing and not know how to bring it up. It’s totally normal to be confused in a situation like this, but it sounds like nothing is going to change unless you speak up! The worst that happens is that he doesn’t feel the same way, but it sounds like you guys are good enough friends that you’d be able to move past it, and knowing for sure how he feels will make you feel a lot better. There’s no perfect formula for how to navigate a relationship and no way to predict what’s going on in a guy’s head, so an honest conversation is the best way to figure out what’s going on in his head.

It really depends how his behavior makes you feel. If you feel like your boyfriend is joking around and are comfortable having a conversation with him, an honest conversation might be a good route! See if you can get to the bottom of what’s bothering him, and make sure that he knows how you feel too. That said, if you ever feel unsafe, or if your boyfriend ever tries to control your behavior, your relationship might not be normal, and the best thing to do is to reach out to a trusted adult or friend for help. You should never feel controlled or unsafe in a relationship! If you’re feeling weird about something that your boyfriend has done and don’t feel like you can talk to him about his behavior, check out the resources at loveisrespect.org to figure out the best way to move forward. It’s always okay to reach out if you feel that you need help!

Balancing a relationship with all of your other responsibilities as a teen is really tough! That sounds really stressful, and while some arguments can be okay if they’re productive, it shouldn’t be putting a strain on your relationship. You guys sound like you really care about each other, and the main problem is not enough face time. When you and your boyfriend are on different schedules, it’s really easy for little frustrations to build into big fights, and that’s no good. It might help to figure out a time for a weekly date night! It can take a lot of pressure off of trying to see each other during the week if you have an established night to hang out to look forward to. It doesn’t have to be something extravagant—there are plenty of free or cheap dates that won’t break the bank. The point is just to see each other more, because that can go a long way toward taking strain off of a relationship.

As cheesy as it sounds, being in love is about your actions, not how many times you say the words. Saying the “L word” is a big deal, and your boyfriend might not be completely comfortable with it—that’s totally normal! No one is keeping track of how many times that you and your boyfriend say that you love each other. It can seem like everyone is saying it, but what’s really more important is that you’re both comfortable and happy in your relationship and that you treat each other with love and respect. Even if you don’t say it out loud very often, you can show your boyfriend how much you care in other ways. Keep in mind that open communication is vital to a good relationship, so if this is really bothering you, you might want to bring it up to your boyfriend! Just let him know how you feel and give him the chance to respond. He might not realize that it’s been bothering you, and having an honest conversation about it might make you feel a lot better.

This guy sounds nice, but the bottom line is that you’ve only been seeing him for two months! It’s awesome that you’re seeing someone that you’re so comfortable with, but if he’s really the perfect guy for you, he’ll understand that you need to choose the school that is the best fit for you—even if that means that you guys will have to continue with long distance for a bit longer. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t go to your dream school if it happens to be in the same state as your boyfriend, but he shouldn’t be the deciding factor. At the end of the day, you know yourself the best, but college is a big deal, and it’s important to pick a place with the programs you need to make the most of school.

That sounds like a tough situation. Your feelings toward this guy might be changing because of what your parents think of him, or you guys might just be growing apart—and both of those are totally okay! You know yourself best, so you might want to take some time to think about whether this is a relationship that you want to stay in. What is making you feel differently about the relationship? You might also want to talk to your parents or friends about it. If you talk to your parents, you might want to find out if they have reasons for not being fans of your boyfriend other than that he was kept a secret. Sometimes it’s really easy to put on blinders in a relationship, so they might see something that you don’t that would explain why you’re feeling this way.

Long distance can be tough, but it’s definitely possible! It’s hard not to be with the person that you love, but if you need to do long distance, it doesn’t mean that the relationship has to end. Long distance is something that you have to talk about together and both make sure that you’re ready. It can take a lot of time and effort to stay in touch with a significant other if you guys are in different states, but if the relationship is right, it might be worth it.

It’s really hard to not feel secure in a relationship. Does he like me? Are we going to break up? You deserve to feel confident about how your relationship is going and feel like you know what you can expect from it. If this is weighing on you mentally, it might be time to break up for good. If you’re just not sure what’s going on in his head, the best thing that you can do is talk to him! It might feel a little bit awkward to bring up, but it’s the best way to figure out how to go forward. The bottom line is that you deserve someone who makes you happy consistently and allows you to be in a stable relationship!

Guys can be soo confusing. Your boyfriend could be stressed about a million different things: school, family stuff, his job—and it’s also possible that he’s thinking about your relationship. The only way to get inside his head and resolve whatever is going on is to ask him about it. Just let him know that you’re always there to talk, no matter what’s bothering him. Successful relationships are built on open communication, and giving him the chance to talk about what’s bothering him will really help to clear up some of the confusion that you’re dealing with.

If the issue is that his schedule is really full, you guys might want to consider setting up a weekly date night! It doesn’t have to be anything elaborate, just a chance to hang out. Knowing that you have a scheduled time to see each other each week can take some of the pressure off of talking all day, every day, which might help him if he’s dealing with a stressful schedule.

Rough patches are tough. You guys might just not be on the same page about something, and that could be the cause of this tension. On the other hand, you guys might be growing apart. It’s hard, but it does happen, especially if you’ve been together for 3 years. The best thing that you can do is talk to them to see what’s going on. Whether it’s a little frustration that hasn’t been resolved or a bigger issue, you guys can’t work through it if you don’t talk about it.

It sounds like you’re in an awesome relationship. As cheesy as it sounds, love is something that you have to feel and decide for yourself—it’s a big deal. If you’re feeling happy and safe in this relationship, and you feel comfortable saying that it’s true love, then that’s totally fine! The best thing you can do is enjoy your relationship and be honest with your partner if anything is ever bothering you, and encourage him to do the same with you. The key to a great relationship is communication—if you guys are being honest with each other about how you’re feeling, there’s less of a chance for little annoyances to get out of hand and turn into big fights.

It’s tough to be in a relationship without the support of friends and family. That doesn’t mean that you’re not in love, but if other people around you are expressing concern, it’s worth it to listen, even if you don’t agree. If you feel like your parents or friends are against your relationship, you might want to sit down and talk with them about why they don’t like the person who you’re dating. Let them know where you’re coming from, but what they have to say about your relationship from an outside perspective might be really useful, since it’s easy to put blinders on when you really like someone. The most important thing is that you feel happy and safe in your relationship.

It’s really tough to get over an ex, especially if he’s your first love. It might be love that you’re feeling, or it might be you missing being in a relationship—it’s hard to say! If you don’t see yourself getting back together with him, for whatever reason, and seeing him is affecting your focus in school, you might want to consider taking a break to focus on yourself. Breakups are really difficult, and sometimes you just need a break from someone, whether it’s in person or online.

That sounds like a conversation that your friend needs to have with her boyfriend! It’s easy to put blinders on when you’re in a relationship, and that might be what’s going on with your friend. Let her know that you’re there for her, and are always around to talk about it if she wants to. The best thing that you can do to help your friend is to let her know that you’re there for her and to encourage her to talk to her boyfriend. If they both like someone else, it might be time for them to part ways, but that’s a decision that they’re going to have to make together.

Breakups are tough, especially if it’s your first relationship. It’s completely normal to still have feelings for an ex 5 months later, but that doesn’t make it any easier. It might be love, but if it looks like you guys aren’t getting back together, it might be time for you to take some time to yourself to start to get over her. Jumping into another relationship is tempting, but it’s not always best in the long run. Until you’re ready to move on from an ex, it’s hard to start dating someone new without constantly comparing them to your ex, which isn’t fair to you or the new person. It’s really tough, especially when you like someone, but the best thing to do might be to take a break from seeing this girl, either in person or on social media, until you’re in a better place in terms of moving on.

The best thing that you can do is talk to him about it. It might feel a little awkward to talk about when you guys will meet each other’s families, but open communication is key in a healthy relationship. The best way to approach this (because he might feel nervous or not ready) is the put it on the table as a possibility in the future, and ask him when he might feel comfortable taking that step. This takes the pressure off of meeting your family as an immediate thing, and will let him be honest about how he’s feeling.

It’s tough when you have feelings for two people, but it happens. You really need to sit down and think about these relationships, because it’s not fair to be so emotionally tied to another person if you’re dating someone else. It sounds like you’re really close to both of these guys. Calling your feelings love or just friendship is something that you really have to work out for yourself. Because everyone is different, it’s hard to say that love has one set definition that applies to all relationships—it can really vary depending on the situation. You might want to talk to a trusted friend about this if you’re struggling to work through it on your own. It makes sense that you would want both of these guys in your life, but it’s really important that you work out for yourself who you really want to be in a relationship with to make sure that no one gets hurt.

It might be, or it might not be! It’s tough to say. Couples who never fight aren’t necessarily the most in love; just like having occasional fights doesn’t mean that a couple doesn’t love each other. Sometimes the person who loves you most can drive you the craziest, and if you’re talking about small fights about little annoyances, those are normal in a relationship. Make sure you’re not just in a relationship for the drama—the best parts should be when everyone is happy, not fighting.

BUT if you ever feel threatened or unsafe because of an argument, that is not okay. You should feel safe in your relationship, and if you’re ever feeling threatened, you should seek help from a trusted adult or friend. For more information about these types of relationships and how to seek help, please see the resources at loveisrespect.org.

As lame as it sounds, you just know when a relationship is right. In a good relationship, you should feel happy and safe with your partner. Relationships are built on communication, and being comfortable saying what’s on your mind to your partner and having them feel the same way is super important in a successful relationship. It’s hard to generalize what a good relationship is because everyone is different.

It’s hard to say—love is a big deal. If you feel comfortable with this guy and happy in the relationship, then it definitely could be love. Since everyone is different, realizing that you love someone is a really personal thing. There’s no set definition of what a relationship has to be like for the people in it to feel that they love each other; it’s a realization that you have to make on your own.

It sounds cliché, but love is something that you feel for yourself. Everyone is different, so it’s hard to have a single definition of what love is. If you and your partner are both feeling happy and comfortable in your relationship, and you guys are ready to say that it is love, then that’s awesome! Love is about feeling safe with and respected by your partner and knowing that you’re with someone you can count on.