I'm the One with the Crush on the Teacher's Pet and My Classmates Think I'm Mad at Him

So there's this kid in my class named Tyler. He’s like, super smart and always gets stuff right when we have questions or tests. It’s not that he’s trying to show off or anything; it just feels like he knows everything without even trying. Anyway, lately, I’ve been having these weird feelings whenever he’s around, which is almost all the time because we’re in the same classes and hang out at lunch too. But here's the thing, I’m not sure if my classmates know how much of a crush I have on him or if they just think there’s something else going on between us. It started last month when Tyler sat next to me during a group project. We were supposed to be working on this science experiment, but we ended up chatting about all sorts of random stuff instead. It was cool, I felt like I could actually have a real conversation with someone who understood what it’s like being in middle school without making fun of my interests or feelings. Then there’s the time Tyler helped me study for that big history test last week. He pointed out things on my notes and explained parts of our textbook in ways that made sense to me. When I got an A, everyone thought he was just tutoring me because they see how I struggle sometimes compared to him. But it wasn’t like that, I wanted him to help because I genuinely care about what he says. Now the problem is that after every time we talk or work together, some of my friends seem to think there’s a rift between us. Like, whenever Tyler gets called out for doing something cool in class or at school events, people start talking behind my back as if they’re waiting for me to blow up or something. But the truth is, I’m just trying my best not to look like some kind of jealous mess around him. I keep getting these looks from people that make it feel like they want me to confront Tyler about whatever rumors are floating around. And yeah, maybe a part of me wants to tell Tyler how I really feel. But what if he doesn’t feel the same way? Or worse, what if everyone thinks we’re actually fighting and then finds out I have these feelings for him? So now every time someone asks if everything is okay between us or talks about Tyler, my heart races and I start sweating like crazy. I’m honestly just trying to keep it together until I can figure out what the heck I should do next. I guess the question is: am I really the asshole for keeping all of this inside? Or are people being unfair by thinking there’s something going on that isn’t there?