Why am I suddenly feeling this way about my best friend?

okay so I have this really good guy friend and we're always talking. I always only liked him as a friend but recently, i've been having this tingly warm feeling everytime I see him. it all kind of started i guess when i thought he was going to move away and i would never see him again. but then thankfully he didn't move and ever since then i've been having these feelings. and the way he acts around me kind of makes me think if he likes me? like for example once, we were playfully arguing and as a joke he was like "fine if you don't like me, i'll get in trouble and get myself kicked out of school and you'll never see me again and i'll never bother you again" and once someone was bothering me he was like "stop bothering her. she clearly doesn't want you to do that so leave her alone. unless you want me to get you in trouble". and then overall, he talks to me more than any other girl and he acts nicer to me than to any other girl. like one time we were in cl having to do presentations and he came and sat next to me and was like "angela (my friend) should go first!" then he laughed and was like "nah not angela, alex (me) i like alex!" and he also sometimes acts as if he's trying to impress me. like once we were paired together to move a table and he was like "yes! teamwork!" and we high-fived then we carried the table and he was like "i wanna do it by myself!" and then when i was having trouble on one side he joked and was like "look i can lift it with one hand!" then he was like "i have muscles you know! ask my friends! and i think he might have flexed but i didn't see cuz i turned my head towards the front where we were carrying the table. and then he gets really concerned if i'm upset about anything. and even my friends are like "he spends so much time around you". so i guess what i'm asking is does he like me?? and why am i suddenly feeling this way towards him? why now not earlier? and i'm kind of noticing these little things about him that i love like he's very hard-working, dedicated, and pionate about what he does and i'm beginning to think he's really cute. what's going on?? does he like me and do i like him? and if i do why do i like him now instead of earlier??