How should I handle this situation with the girl I like? I need all the advice I can get, please.?

Alright, so we're both 17 year old seniors in high school.

There's this girl that I really, really like, and I'm about 98% sure she has feelings for me as well. She a little on the quiet and reserved side, and tells almost no one her feelings. Her and I began texting and talking almost daily in early March and have just grown closer and closer over time. We're now as close as ever yet I can't get any mention of her feelings whatsoever out of her. I told her how I feel about a month ago, and how I feel we have something very special and it has great potential. She quickly pulled out the "oh well you're my best friend" BS.

I already feel like she is my girlfriend, in all honesty. We do so much together and have spent almost all of our time together this summer. Just the last two days we've gone out to eat together (alone) several times, I ran some errands with her, we rode together to visit a friend who lives an hour or so away, and I've just hung out with her at her house a ton. I feel different when I'm with her than when I'm with other girls. I'm very good friends with all of her girl friends, and I'd honestly consider a couple of them to be my best friends. I'll go places with them alone and I just don't feel the same. I don't really get the same vibe, if that makes sense. Also, being so close to some of her closest friends means I get fed a lot of the stuff she tells them. They all know I like her, and will kind of question her every so often. They said it's so blatantly obvious she likes me no matter what she may try to portray. They say every time she tried to play it off it's an obvious act to try to throw them off. She's even basically admitted to my best girl friend that she likes me but doesn't want to admit it. My best girl friend tried to explain how she is scared to death to admit her feelings because she feels it will change everything between us and she never wants to lose what we have (this is her best guess after talking to her). She said some more things but it was in girl talk and I really didn't understand it. She did say, however, that as long as I'm around, this girl will never go after another guy. I basically have her, even if she'd never admit it. She said she'd definitely pass over other guys for me.

There's just little things that make me think she likes me like extreme flirting and touchiness (like tickling, poking, just touch in general) from an otherwise non-flity girl (and it's not just friendly flirt, I know the difference). She's also told me some things one night (all on her own, I didn't coax this out) when I was with her out by her pool that really stood out to me. She said things like: "I feel there are no other guys out there like you" "You're pretty much the only guy I talk to" "I basically hate all guys. I mean, I don't hate you obviously, but I hate most of them" and "I KNOW I have trust issues". The trust issues one stood out to me because my best girl friend said that her and her last boyfriend had a really bad breakup and something seemed to hurt her badly. No one knows for sure because she doesn't tell anyone ANYTHING, but they all seem to agree something happened that changed her. I don't know if this has anything to do with why she won't tell me she has feelings as well, but I have to assume it does.

I've done everything to prove to her all I want to do is be with her and protect her, and that I would never hurt her again, I just don't know what to do next. Hell, just a couple days ago I chewed out some little b*tch that used this girl for her house because the girl I like refused to do it and I'm naturally very protective of her. I made her apologize and basically forced her to admit she did indeed use her. The girl told me she really appreciated me setting her straight and that she would've done it but she didn't want drama (a BS excuse, she's too passive to confront anyone). She means the world to me and I would literally do anything for this girl. I love her to death and in all honesty just want the truth. I feel the fact that I dumped my heart to her and she is still around and is even closer to me means something. I feel she would've run away had she not felt anything.

Thank you for reading. I know it was very long. Any advice girls? Should I just continue getting closer and wait for her to come around?