Dear Panel,

My name is Raquel. I am a 16 year old girl. One of the most important things in my life is being with my friends. I like to meet new people and try new things.

Paul is the guy that has been giving me all these confusing problems. He is 18 soon to be 19. He graduated from High School last summer and is planning on leaving the area we live in to go to college this coming summer. Paul is always going out and meeting new people. He knows everyone around where I live and he likes to party a lot. We are kinda opposites: he has the "bad" image. And I have the "good" image.

Best Friends Only

I met Paul two years ago. Right away we hit it off. He was the only guy I could really talk to. We would stay up all night talking on the phone. I just felt really comfortable around him. We never officially became boyfriend-girlfriend. We did date a couple times but it never turned into anything serious. We would talk almost every night and he just became like a best friend to me.

I Never Went Out with Him

He would always get upset because I would never go out with him. It wasn't because I didn't like him, I just didn't want to be commited to anyone back then. During our long phone conversations Paul would always say things like I was the only girl he could really talk to, I was too good for him, he would tell me that he loves me, and he would say things like he would change just for me. But I would never go out with him.

I Began To Miss Him

We kept in contact over the months. I dated other people and so did he. Last summer I lost contact with him totally. His phone number wasn't working so I couldn't get a hold of him for almost 3 or 4 months. I started to really think about how much he meant to me and how I never wanted to loose him. We had been through so much together. He was the only guy I could talk to and he made me so happy when I was with him. I would get emotionally upset just thinking about him. I told myself if he ever called me again I couldn't just let him go again.

He Tried Again

Well he did finally call me on Christmas night. I was so happy and we talked about everything till 6 am the next morning. He told me that he really missed me and that we need to see each other again. He also asked me questions like "Do you love me?" and "Could you ever see us together?" I didn't know how to answer these questions so I just kinda said something stupid not wanting him to really know how much I cared about him.

We Almost Had Sex

A couple days later we got together and went out to eat. (We ended up staying together from 2 p.m. till 3 a.m.) I had a lot of fun with him and we were just talking about everything. By the end of the night we ended up kissing and I knew I wanted to be with him. (Later he told me he never meant for this to happen when he first picked me up) He kept telling me that he loved me and that he could see us going out. We almost ended up having sex together but luckily we didn't. (We are both virgins.)

He "Dumped" Me

He called me two days later and was very mean. I had never in my life seen him act like this. He was saying things like, "I'm not going to go out with you because I don't have to and If I want to be with a girl I can just call somebody." Everything he was saying was crushing my heart I just wanted to be with him and he didn't want me. I tried to hold back my tears but finally I just started crying and told him everything. I told him how I felt when I lost contact with him and how much I loved him.

After I finally told him how much he meant to me he was like a totally different person. He told me he was sorry and that he loved me. He said that he was having a bad day and he just had all this anger built up. He told me his two best friends that he spends most of his time with are moving far away. He told me that he wants to be with me but there are all these problems. Like what if we fall in love and he has to leave for college. He said things like I was too good for him and I know he was worried about loosing his lifestyle if he had a girlfriend. We talked for a long time just like old times he was being really sweet and I knew I loved him. He told me he just needed to think about things. He told me he would call me.

He Said He'd Call Me

So a couple days went by and I still hadn't heard from him. Two weeks went by and I still hadn't heard from him. I was scared to call him after our last phone call because I thought he would think I was bothering him by wanting a relationship too badly and I wanted to give him his space. I started getting really depressed trying to find out what went wrong. So one day I couldn't stand it and I called him. He said he had a friend staying with him lately and he has to bring him to the bus station that day. He said he had to go to the bathroom and that he would call me back. I must've sounded kinda disgusted because he said "I'm not lying. I will call you back."

It's a week later and he still hasn't call me. I don't know what to think about this whole thing. Everytime I think about him I get upset and I cry a lot.

What do you think Paul is thinking? Should I be mad at him and forget about him?

-- Raquel L.

Allana, Charlie, and Diva answer this question.