I'm confused, and need help!?

Okay, so i met him my freshman year, when he was a junior. We had first period together so we would talk and he had a girlfriend at the time so i never pursued anything. This year however he is single. During the summer we exchanged numbers and we would text till late at night. He even started calling me "pooh" (as in the teddy bear) and when we go to second period he hugs me every morning. One night I finally told him i liked him. His response was that he wasn't expecting it. He said he never thought that i would like him. I thought it was going to be weird for us afterward and that he was no longer going to continue to hug me. But surprisingly he still does. One of my closest guy friends told me that maybe now that he knows he'll look at me differently and he might like me. Should i continue to go after him or just stop?