Sometimes people, especially young one, do not know what they want or have an hard time putting it in words or may deny to themselves that they want it or simply have unconscious rules that forbids to look for what they want if some conditions are not met.
He may actually be in love you and nourish great feelings for you. However, he’d like to learn how to manage them and make them coherent with the picture he has of himself or the man he would like to be for himself or the others around him. Maybe he thinks that the best way to handle them is to ignore them, and act cold with you so that they may eventually pass. Maybe he does not want to be a slave of passion, or maybe someone or even you said something that change how much he enjoys the relationship. What is his parents or friends told him he looked so lousy when he spent time with you, what if his friends were beating him easily at some competition because he was daydreaming about you, what if you put great expectations on him by mentioning a relationship that could last forever? There are things he may not be willing to discuss, because he is ashamed of them in front of you, they make little sense in front of you, yet they are important in other context. He is at crossroad, he is putting other needs in front of the need to stay with you. One can barely discuss them, they are not real reasons, because you can always find a way to move past them, it is just his decision to not put effort into changing his ways for you.
He mentioned he had an exam and needed space. What if during that week he just could not concentrate on the study and was daydreaming all the time about you? He may have noticed his weakness. He also admitted it somehow by telling you that his feelings were quite strong. What do you do if you cannot do both things at once? You have to choose. Maybe he is secretly angry with you because he sees you as the cause of his “sickness”, a love that makes him feel pain and does not allow him to do anything else. You did nothing wrong of course, such “fatalities” just happens, and he knows that, that’s why he act cold and he is not showing anger. You know his choice: he’d like to sort his feelings out.
So there is a choice for you to make as well: you may wait for him, think about him, tell him that you are actually waiting for him to sort his feelings out, that you are patient, that once he knows what to do and feels better you’d like to be friends or maybe lover again if he so desires, tell him that with time he will manage to handle his passion. Mind you tough, if you follow this path, be alert that the thing that keeps him away from you may actually be another girl (like many posts above said), hence know your risk. You may mention to him you’d like to know whether there is another girl so that you may step back. If it is no problem for you that he may be spending time with another girl, tell him that it is not a problem he is undecided. Maybe you can look for someone he trusts and may talk to for an advice. (sorry you may not be good enough to give him advices, because he’d like to keep a peer to peer relationship with you, and he is proud)
The second option is not wait for him, forget about him and look for someone else who may fill the emptiness he left. It is easier said than done tough. But you may actually find someone who does not have these problems and be happy with him in the present, rather than waiting for a future that may never come. Actually, if you find someone else, and you share this experience with him, he may learn from that person.
Though I run this site, it is not mine. It's ours. It's not about me. It's about us. Your stories and your wisdom are just as meaningful as mine. 