EDIT: Sorry, just realised I neglected to put genders in the title. I'm male, she's female.

Essentially, the scenario goes as follows: there's someone I met I really like, and I feel like I've felt a significant connection to her on several occasions. I've had some really good, extended conversations with her, but I rarely see her otherwise.  We've probably spent around 4 hours total together. I'd like to spend more time with her, get to know her better, but I'm not crazy about spending time around the people she hangs with.

The people she hangs around with are probably about as close as you get to any clear set of popular kids at my school, and to be honest, that's not a bunch of people I really like spending time with. I want to be clear, it's not that they're bad people, in fact generally they're really quite nice. They're not the cast of Mean Girls or anything; but damn if it isn't dull as all hell being around them. Not her, and not a few of the others, but most of them, and that majority pretty much sets the conversation.

More than that, even - it's kind of suffocating. Some of them, I think, are the type to accessorise with humans rather than actually form friendships. Also most of them have decided I'm 'adorable', which is nice but also kind of patronising / terrifying in its intensity.

It's not just about discomfort, it's also that I just really don't know what to say in that kind of social environment. I'm bad at small talk, and they're 100% small talk. She's, the girl I have a crush on, 4 foot smarter than anyone else in the room. 

Really, what I could use advice on is how to progress on the whole getting to know her scale. Set my discomforts aside and enter the fray of these guys? Find another context? I feel like it's way too early for a date potential, but am I wrong? Or something else entirely? Any ideas would be both incredibly useful and much appreciated

Thank you for indulging my adolescent ways! :)
user
I don't know how to get to know this girl I like better, and I don't know how to spend more
assistant
EDIT: Sorry, just realised I neglected to put genders in the title. I'm male, she's female.

Essentially, the scenario goes as follows: there's someone I met I really like, and I feel like I've felt a significant connection to her on several occasions. I've had some really good, extended conversations with her, but I rarely see her otherwise.  We've probably spent around 4 hours total together. I'd like to spend more time with her, get to know her better, but I'm not crazy about spending time around the people she hangs with.

The people she hangs around with are probably about as close as you get to any clear set of popular kids at my school, and to be honest, that's not a bunch of people I really like spending time with. I want to be clear, it's not that they're bad people, in fact generally they're really quite nice. They're not the cast of Mean Girls or anything; but damn if it isn't dull as all hell being around them. Not her, and not a few of the others, but most of them, and that majority pretty much sets the conversation.

More than that, even - it's kind of suffocating. Some of them, I think, are the type to accessorise with humans rather than actually form friendships. Also most of them have decided I'm 'adorable', which is nice but also kind of patronising / terrifying in its intensity.

It's not just about discomfort, it's also that I just really don't know what to say in that kind of social environment. I'm bad at small talk, and they're 100% small talk. She's, the girl I have a crush on, 4 foot smarter than anyone else in the room. 

Really, what I could use advice on is how to progress on the whole getting to know her scale. Set my discomforts aside and enter the fray of these guys? Find another context? I feel like it's way too early for a date potential, but am I wrong? Or something else entirely? Any ideas would be both incredibly useful and much appreciated

Thank you for indulging my adolescent ways! :)
user
I've met a girl I really like, but I'm struggling to progress from meet-ups to a date, and it's probably helping
assistant