5 school days to make him yours

It's all very well leaving things to fate, but sometimes you need a plan...

Before beginning, let go of the following feelings...

-he probably won’t like you anyway,

-he doesn’t know who you are,

-he’s out of your league

You are almost certainly brilliant, and with a bit of luck and a few little tricks, any person worth a dime would be lucky to have you. Say it out loud! Now, let's begin...

1) Work out where he's at with relationships. Has he come out of a long-term thing that broke his heart and he’s on the lookout for a rebound? Is he shy? Or a player? Does he actually want a relationship? Working this bit out will give you a massive head start...

2) Get him used to seeing you more in his life… Have you got any mutual friends? Are there ways you can be around him without actually following him and jumping out from behind things? If not, think about other ways your paths can casually cross, and make sure it's always effortless. Finding someone hiding under your bed is never cool.

3) Make the best of yourself, but don't go overboard on makeup. It's amazing what a difference a little bit of mascara and Vaseline can make! Teachers and crushes are surprisingly on the same page when it comes to makeup, less is definitely more...

4) If you haven’t already, become mates with him so he’s not completely freaked out when a random face he’s seen in the corridor thrusts themselves upon him. Also you’ll get to know each other and decide exactly what he’s like ( in real life not just in fit profile pictures online) and decide whether he’s worth the effort. If you decide he is, then carry on. In these group situations, show you’re independent, happy and fun, and make an effort to contribute to conversations if he is.

5) Be extremely careful about checking him out online. It's a huge temptation, but stalkerish behaviour is most definitely not cool, so don't go too far.

6) People love talking about themselves, so in his eyes you’ll look like a pretty cool girl wanting to hear him chat about something. If you get a chance to talk to him, ask lots of questions! But make sure you talk about how great you are as well (if only to make Whatever After proud...) Listen to what he says and remember random things about him, unfortunately girls are usually better at this than boys so he might be confused and ask ‘How do you know that?’ to which you casually say-‘You told me’ and stand your ground of rightness.

7) Remember: Don’t ever let a boy interrupt your schedule! Don’t change yourself for him or randomly bail on plans you’ve already agreed on with your best mates. If he wants to meet up, your time and plans are as important as his. If you change everything to suit him, you won't look cool and aloof.

8) Exploit your experiences of his interests. Don’t lie or boast, but casually drop these points in conversation. If you really disagree with him on something for example a band he hates and you love, debates can be a fun and flirty way to show your personality, as long as they are more playful than viscious.

9) Try to prevent embarrassing moments. We here at WA are very good at making total fools out of ourselves in front of people we fancy. It's not the end of the world, but if you can avoid activities that increase the likelyhood of falling on your bum at this time, it might be an idea. Save roller skating for when you're a couple.

10) If other girls flirt with him see how he responds. Don’t copy their flirts or be like them though, be yourself. If it’s something they always do to each other then why are they still just friends? At this point you need to assess how much he actually likes this girl. What’s his body language saying? When you come along and he picks you he’ll think it was his complete choice, but it’s your personality that stole his heart.

11) Don’t insult him too much. It’s fine to make jokes sometimes but be the girl to make him feel good about himself especially if he doesn’t have much self esteem. He’ll trust you and feel comfortable around you unlike other girls who tease him and kick him in the balls for a joke. Without being an idiot, flatter his manliness.

12) When you’re out with him it’s not pathetic to play the ‘I’m cold poor silly me forgetting to bring a coat’ move. If he offers, gage how much he actually wants to give up his coat. Does he look like he’s just saying that because he knows the rules to offer but is reluctant to follow through? You may accept if this is not the case.

13) If you feel you know him enough, invite him and his best mate out to a friend’s party or something. It’s not a date because friends are involved but the atmosphere of being together outside of the pressures of a school environment could bring you closer. Also in the evening he may be more relaxed.

14) Making the first move- if you know he likes you but you are nervous it’s completely fine to not make the first move, but if you're getting good signs, don't feel like you can't for any silly reasons of chivalry. If you want to go for it, er... go for it!

15) You are a mature and valuable woman, protect yourself from getting hurt, be aware of the dynamic between you and use informed judgement to progress the stages. It’s annoying when he doesn’t reply to his texts or messages but don’t bombard him, if you know how to play hard to get this is attractive to guys who like you but don’t show it, but after a while they might hate it and give up on you completely. So play this move carefully.

Basically, you are great, and yeah we're not going to pretend that bagging a guy doesn't involve a bit of game play. But if you find yourself hiding up a tree, pretending to be someone you're totally not, or laughing at jokes that are simply NOT funny, then maybe it's time to work out if this guy is actually for you in the first place...

Good luck lovelies!

This feature was written by What reader Sarah. If you want to write for us email us at hello@whateverafter.co.uk