<human>: Hey guys. I've been thinking on this for a while. Decided to come to reddit for help.

A little background on me then her, for setting the scene. Feel free to ask anymore questions if you're curious.

I am currently attending community college, never dated, never even had a kiss.    We are both total nerds, and that's one of the reasons why I'm in love with her. She is attending college in-state and is a senior next year. I'm going to be a sophomore. We know each other threw mutual friends. 

This is where the "fun" begins.

She has had one very bad relationship in the past, I think around when she was 17/18. I don't know if it was truly that bad (I know that's not my place to go to), or if she's over-exaggerating, which she sometimes does. She always tells our group to "not date" and has a little sass about anyone that tries to tell her differently.

I haven't felt feelings for someone in a year or so. Feelings this strong? Maybe never.

How do I proceed? I've heard rumors from people that she likes me but then again one of my best guy friends was having a conversation with her recently, and asked about it. She just vaguely responded with "I'm not ready for dating yet".

What should I do? I've been thinking of a couple of options.

I could:

Straight up ask her out on a super chill informal date, like ice cream or something. This would be done in person.

Talk to her more, with a little more personal stuff thrown here and there. Figure out exactly why she's avoiding every guy that throws himself in her path.

Take it slow and be a good friend. When it's feeling warm, I make my move.

or (this is last resort in my mind)

Move on. 

If you have any suggestions for anything at all please let me know!

Could you distill the essence of the text into 1-3 sentences?
<bot>: In love with mutual friend of our group. She was in a past relationship that hurt her badly, emotionally. What do?