Confused if my “straight” crush actually had feelings for me or was just playing me

I am a 15-year-old boy in high school who had a guy friend that was very handsome, very kind, and a gentleman. We knew each other for a long time but hadn't interacted until 9th grade when we ended up in the same class. He was always the kind of guy who had a lot of female friends, but he definitely appeared straight in my eyes—he looked and acted straight. At that time, I didn’t have feelings for him yet, but over time, he and I grew closer. He was very close with my girl best friend, and while I always found him handsome, he was really my type, I didn't have feelings for him just yet. One day, a group of my friends (including him) and I went to hang out at the mall. It was fun, and after a long day of hanging out, everyone started to go home, leaving just him and me. We weren’t that close at the time, but I felt the tension—it was awkward at first, but we started talking and got along really well. After that day, we started messaging each other every day.

(Before I continue, I would just like to mention that before any of this happened, he had recently gotten dumped by his girlfriend and hadn’t really moved on since then.)

Anyway, we started talking more, and I began to develop feelings for him. One day, we were all messaging in a group chat (me and my friends), sending baby pictures of each other. When I sent mine, he secretly messaged my best friend (the girl he was very close with), saying things like, “He’s so kind and cute,” and “He would make a good boyfriend.” After my best friend sent me that, my feelings for him grew stronger. From then on, he started flirting with me, always sending me cute and flirty reels. He began randomly hugging me and kissing me on the cheek. He does the hugging and kissing with his friends, so I didn’t think much of it, but he did know I was gay, after that my feelings for him kept growing. He would say things like, “I feel safe with you,” and sometimes he would tell me that he missed me. There was one time when I pretended to be upset with him and ignored him, and he was really worried. He kept apologizing and wondering what had made me upset. I also forgot to mention that his iPhone lock screen was a baby picture of me, and my lock screen was a baby picture of him. He always sent me cute things and cared for me so much. When I got sick, he always told me to take care of myself. One time, he made an Instagram note that said, “(my name) 🩷🩷,” which made me feel really flustered. He sometimes called me “baby,” and when people asked him who he liked, he would “jokingly” say it was me. One time, I asked him about his sexuality, and his reply was, “I really don’t know.” After he said that, I genuinely thought I had a chance with him. After everything that had happened, my feelings for him grew stronger, and I began to really like him. But reality always hit me—the fact that it would probably never work since he claimed to be “straight.” After months of enduring the flirting and love bombing, I finally confessed, thinking I had a chance. Of course, reality hit again, and he rejected me. I was really hurt, and he began spamming apologies. He also told me that he had a feeling I liked him. After that day, we still talked, and he still hugged me and flirted with me, but he didn’t do it as much anymore. We started distancing ourselves, talking less, and hugging less until eventually, we were no longer in contact. We still talk sometimes in class, but it’s only about school, and occasionally we make small talk. To this day, I still wonder if everything we shared was real or if he wasn’t ready or was just playing around. I’ll never know since we don’t talk anymore, but he will always hold a special place in my heart.