[quote=idlehands]
Oh, well that would be my error. I thought you were female. Damned avatars. I could understand the trepidation and the fear of reprisal then.
[/quote]
It doesn't matter what gender he is, love is love, and your original advice still stands. Rare, handle it the way you want, but straight up telling him and dealing with the consequences will be far better than hiding who you truly are and letting it destroy you from the inside.

So what if your friends are homophobic? Then they are not the right friends for you, you are young, and I promise that once you move out of school, most of your old friends will not matter at all.