What should I do......? Please help me!!! <3?

I am a freshman in high school this year, and I really like this sopre that is in my math cl. We have to sit on opposite sides of the room, but our teacher does change the seating chart often. My friends older brother is very good friends with him, but the guy I like (let's call him Max) is considered popular within the high school. He's not like all the others though...he is smart, nice, and outgoing. I'm pretty shy around people I don't know, especially guys, and I have a few friends who are 'popular' but I'm not really somebody who everyone knows. I'm just wondering how I should get to know Max more? It seems like it would be a little awkward to just get up and talk to him before school in math (both of our homerooms as well) while he is talking to his other sopre friends. Please help me! I don't want him to necessarily know that I like him yet...I just want to start off as friends. :) Any advice would be soo helpful! Thank you so much <3 (Haha, I know I already posted this question, but I'm hoping to get more answers if I post it a couple times :)