Hey Reddit,
I’m looking for some advice on a situation that’s been bothering me for a while. My family and I moved into our neighborhood about three years ago. When we first moved in, we greeted our neighbors, including a family with two daughters who are around my age, who live right next to us. For context, I’m a college student living at home, and so are the daughters.
In the beginning, I would greet one of the girls (the one I’m potentially interested in) with a simple “hi, how are you doing?” and she would respond politely. It was just friendly neighborly interactions. Over time, my family and I became friendly with her dad, who really seems to admire me for being a hardworking student with a good job and hobbies. He often talks highly about his daughters to me and my family and helps us when need anything.
However, after a few months, the girl I was greeting started ignoring me completely, walking right by me without acknowledging my presence. This happened like once or twice. I decided to just move on and stop trying to talk to her.
On another occasion, I managed to have a short but pleasant conversation with her sister, Friendly kind conversation nothing out the blue. But soon after, she started hiding from me whenever she saw me, she would like hide behind bushes, which made me feel like I had done something wrong.
Now, it’s been three years since I’ve had any real interaction with either of them. The sister still hides from me, and the girl I’m interested in just acts normal we don’t talk. She she goes upon her day when I see her and so do I. My dad thinks they might both like me but are too shy to know how to act, especially since I have a good relationship with their dad, who might be talking about me to them, possibly making jokes or suggesting we get to know each other. Which I find really funny if that’s the case.
Recently, while I was outside talking to their dad, the girl I’m interested in came out to hand something to him. She didn’t greet me until her dad said “ Your not going to greet the neighbor prompted “ She gave a quick greeting and I did the same she went back inside. She does greet my parents and wave at them when she sees them, though.
I’m at a loss for what to do. The awkwardness has been going on for three years, and I want to break the ice, whether she’s just shy or if there’s another reason for the behavior. Any advice on how to handle this situation and possibly get to know her better would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!