@marcuslarcus,
Okay, I'm sick and tired of this.
Not you, personally, and my apologies for the rant, but I see these questions pretty much constantly here.
There is a whole generation growing up and about to go out into the world that is so utterly terrified and paralyzed by a potential rejection that they will do nothing unless they are 100% guaranteed of success.
That is not what life is all about.
Life is about taking intelligent risks.
Foolish risks, like seeing how far you can go before you OD, driving drunk, or not using a condom? Forget about those. No problem in avoiding those and, if you are, I salute you for it.
But this is a risk, too. It is a teeny tiny one.
What is the worst that can happen? I mean that absolute, incredibly worst ever, ever, ever?
That you suffer social embarrassment?
Honey, people suffer social embarrassment every single day and they get over it.
That you lose a friend?
She wasn't your friend before you started college. News flash - she may not be your friend afterwards, regardless of what happens, even if you never ask her out.
This is virtually a risk-free situation you have in front of you. You already study together, and she already initiated it. All you have to do is take her out for coffee (and please pay! Not because you're the guy but because you're the one doing the inviting), have a lovely time and, at the end of it, say, "I had a really good time, and I hope you did, too. You want to make our next get-together a real date? Say, this Saturday night?"
And then you see what happens.
There are no guarantees in life. You are going to apply for graduate schools you may not get into (there was no absolute guarantee you'd get into college unless we're talking about an open admissions school). You are going to apply for jobs which you may not be hired for. You are going to try for houses and apartments that you might not get.
Life does not come with guarantees.
Rant over.
Thanks for listening, and I hope it works out for you.