Is it friendship oder something more?

So this is a long story, sorry if I bore you! There's this guy I met in 6th grade, and we became instant friends. Perhaps not close friends, but we can make each other laugh and are at total ease with each other. We're going into our junior Jahr of high-school. Towards the end of sophomore year, I was starting to see him as Mehr than a friend, but I've been hurt before, so I wouldn't let myself get too involved. I don't even know if he has a girlfriend, and that'd be a good thing to find out first. I did like him in 6th grade, but we were just little kids. It didn't mean anything and faded, well, until now. I decided I'd go through summer break and think about it then without seeing him every day, complicating things. I wasn't really thinking about him much until I was flipping through my Jahr book and saw his picture. It wasn't any dramatic herz racing, palms sweating, blah blah blah. No, I just noticed myself smiling and getting a sweet warm feeling. It seemed better than the infatuation I've been in before. I'm not saying I'm in love, but something is there, something I've never felt before. I hate school as much as the Weiter guy, but I've found myself looking vorwärts-, nach vorn to it a little, one of the reasons being to see him again. Still, I don't know if he even likes me like that. I could see it either way, and I haven't totally decided if I like him yet. What does it seem like from an outsider's perspective? What should I do when school starts again?