Nah if a chick friend zones a guy he knows and even if he doesn't it's solved by just asking. Woman aren’t coy about telling a man they aren’t interested. Especially one they are around all the time.
Depends though.
There are some deliberately terrible people out there.
Someone would think something as simple as "are you interested or not ?" or "This is a DATE correct ?" would get the straightest most direct answer.
I've had people just basically say "Yes" when in reality they weren't sure yet and they were just
feeling me out or worse, looking for a come up (free dinner, trips, gifts etc.)
I don't think this is characteristic of ALL women but there are definitely some people out there
that don't just say "I'm not interested" or better yet "Let's just see where it goes...."
I've been there myself so I know for sure that there are women who'll tell it to you straight
but there are also liars and schemers.