Best friend. Love? I...don't...know...UGH.?

Alright, so my best friend of five years, "John", tends to have difficulty in expressing his emotions. I've had feelings (that I pushed to the side) pretty much the entire time we've been close. I don't hesitate to say that I love him. But, he's always said that we're meant to be best friends, nothing more. We both go to different colleges, and this is the longest we've been apart. He has started to act more affectionate, and I get tons of hugs when we're together (I didn't get them before, and I'm definitely not complaining). A few weeks ago, he was being REALLY affectionate, so much so that I was freaked out. He ended up sending me flowers because I had a bad week, and I asked him if he had any feelings. He told me all these sweet things, and that he had been comparing every other girl he met at school to me, and thinking about me all the time. I freaked out, and told him that I didn't know what to say, and I needed to think. I didn't talk to him for a weekish (big mistake), (CONT)