wasn't as bad as i thought it was gonna be

He might be bi idk (although bisexuals are never mentioned lmao )he dated that guy in middle school although it may as well be pretend to be "normal" lol

I recognized it as a BL trope, a lot of times the love interest won't identify as gay or bi, it'll be a "I'm straight but I like you" situation. The other straight guy identifying himself as heterosexual adds to this, as it's also common for the B lead in a BL to identify as gay or bi, like a contrast to the main character-sexual actual love interest.