How do I tell him I'm not interested without hurting his feelings???

Ok, so I was at a social last Monday with a society I like going on socials with, really drunk, having a fun night, then this guy from another society that sometimes joins is, who I've briefly spoken to before in 3rd year, seems like a really nice guy to have as a friend asked me out. But the problem is I'm a 1st year who's never had a boyfriend before, has aspergers so I find this kinda thing difficult, I've only spoken to him briefly before, he was nervous around me & I don't really feel the same way he feels about me. He's at a different stage in life to me cause he's more mature than me & everything, he's from a different background & he wasn't dancing or anything. I handled it badly on the night because I was very drunk & when he asked the question, I was shocked so just went blank & found it hard to look at him, then he said to look at me & because I'm inexperienced in this field, I said I don't know I'll have a think about it, I will have probably led him on a bit, which I will apologize for because it wasn't the right thing to do. He did well bless his heart because after that because he would make a better friend rather than boyfriend, I just vented all my problems about life on him & because I was drunk I didn't really ask him enough about him. I appreciate him for not trying to snog me or anything, but he have me his number. So my friend who's gonna be my housemate next year who's in his society told me more about him & details which made the situation worse cause it made me feel I had even less in common with him than I'd thought in the first place & more uncomfortable with the situation than I was, but she told me he loved girls that look like me & was talking about me with her on their society's nights out, despite the fact that I'd only spoke to him briefly before. To complicate things even more a fortnight ago from that night at the same type of social event I pulled a guy I actually liked who is also a 1st year, I was talking to him (& kissing/snogging) almost the whole night, we had a lot in common and he was so much fun too! We exchanged numbers at the end of night. Haven't seen him since cause his halls are a long way from the campus but he texted see you soon, not sure how far this will go but it'll be brill if it goes somewhere, it felt more right, I felt more comfortable & if there are people with more in common with me like him, I'm happy to wait for these kinda relationships which will potentially last longer & I'll be happy to enter. How do I tell the guy that asked me out that I'm not interested without hurting his feelings, I'll apologize to him for handling it badly & leading him on, but I need to be honest & be able to move on, is it ok if I ask to still be friends, should I do this face to face or should I message him. He was brave enough to ask me face to face so it does kinda make sense to tell him the truth that way. What words would be good to use? please help!!!

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