He claims that he has no feelings for you, you’re just a friend. When really, he’s in denial and very oblivious. In the back of his mind, he has feelings for you. He denies his feelings for you as he’s afraid to mess up the entire friendship. He doesn’t confess his feelings until very later on in the story. He may be a bestfriend, but he takes that role seriously. He play flirts as a “joke”