Firstly, yeah, I have a Girlfriend and in 4 days we will complete 2 years of realtionship
About sakura's "case"
I think both mamsmilk and you are wrong in a way(mamsmilk I wish everyone in the world was like you)
It's not easy as mamsmilk say, but it's not impossible as you say...
I know because I already had an situation like yours, tough I was younger at the time and I think being younger made it easier, since social circles were less estabilished
Long version in spoilers, for the ones who don't want to read crap just avoid
Spoiler (highlight to view)
But it went like this:
I had this girl I knew since we were like 7 years old, when I was about 13 I started noticing her and vice versa. The problem was, she didn't grew to be so cute and I + my 4 friends were something like the popular group, when I told them about she liking me they laughed and say she was ugly etcetc. This went on the whole year, she tried to talk to me and I always dished her out only considering how other would look at me. Started dating a cuter girl I didn't like and stuff. In the end of the year after class she took me to a deserted place and started crying, saying she liked me and how I was acting different from the boy she liked. I got angry and said...well things one person should never say to another. Days after that she left the school, I felt like crap and cryied a lot and then decided I would NEVER look down on someone because of looks, likes and dislikes. The next day I said the same thing I told you guys to my friends, 2 of them said "do whatever you want" and the other 2 said "I agree with you"... These two guys, 3 years later are still my best friends, people I love the most. who support me in any situation, that I trust with all my being.
I liked a girl who looked...normal and knew she liked me, once I told about this to my "friends"(not the part about me liking her) and they said, "how pitiful, she's so ugly. In the end of the year After some time with this going, me ignoring her, she trying to talk to me. She said she like me and that I was acting different from how I was before, I hurted her a lot, she cryied and left the school. After that I decided I wouldn't look doen on others because of looks nor likings.
I told my friends about that(four at the time) 2 just "ignored" and the other 2 agreed with me, and today are still my best friends.
Now I think, what would I be today if I never had told them about how I felt?
I would still have the same "friends" , still "like" the same girls, I would still be the shit I was then
I know it really isn't easy to be open about it, but I just HIGHLY recommend him to tell them, by doing this he will only be separating, the persons who can bring him joy and the ones who are just holding his happiness back....
Well telling them or not, I really wish the bst to you since I can relate to this