Does my 7th grade crush like me back?

Ok, so I'm a middle school girl and I'm in 7th grade. At the moment I have a crush on this boy who is sending mixed signals.

One day during science class, my friend next to me asked me who my crush was, so I told her. My friend had said that he was on her bus, and that she could ask him who he likes (they're good friends)

So the next day at school, my friend says that my crush said he liked me, and he was blushing and everything when he told her on the bus. It seemed like he was really into me.

But then the next day after my friend told me what happened, I had asked her to tell him that I like him back.

He ends up denying it and told her he was joking, and that I'm a creepy stalker. But when he told her that, my friend said that he sounded serious.

Why would he be joking if he acted like he really likes me before?

Also, before this happened, there were some pretty clear indicators that he liked me:

•Stared all the time
•Looked nervous and shy around me
•Followed me
•Acted differently towards me than other girls (didn't talk to me, etc.)

But I'm still really confused. He's a shy guy, so maybe he's lying that he was joking? I'm really confused. I need some help...