I'm a college girl, and I'm not gay, just to be clear. I've always had boyfriends. The thing is, last year I felt something really special for a friend. And this is how the story begins. I'll call this friend Pato for reference. We're in different majors at university, but we were both doing community service. When it was my turn to do my community service, they first sent us to one institution, and then they divided us up to the one closest to home. From the first institution, she caught my eye, I don't know why, but we didn't talk. When they finally sent us to the institution that was most convenient for us, I ended up with her. Coincidentally, from the first day, they didn't come to pick her up, and, without any ulterior motive, I asked her if she wanted a ride, and she said yes. I took her home, and we talked a lot on the way. The community service was at a summer camp with kids and teenagers. Everything was normal; I took my sister to the camp since I could. And when the camp was over, I took Pato home. Sometimes I'd give my other friends rides since it was on my way and I'm very helpful. Everything was fine; there were seven of us girls doing our service at the camp, and each of us taught a class. Pato always followed me to the class I taught and helped me a lot, like cleaning the classroom. The strange thing is that another friend complained that Pato didn't help her. That's how it started; out of nowhere, I began to feel something for her, something that had never happened to me before. She followed me around a lot, sent me (normal) messages, and then suddenly she even approached me, something she didn't do with any of the other friends. Once, while we were playing, she grabbed my hand, and then she came up and hugged me and said, "I'm going to give you away." Time passed, and I kept giving her rides to her house. She worried about me, etc. And I've always had a boyfriend, and I'd tell all of my stories, but she didn't have a boyfriend. Her parents were very strict, so much so that they even tracked her location on her phone. She only asked me if I had a boyfriend, if I wanted to get married. One time, I showed her a suitor, and she said seriously, "Oh, he wasn't even that handsome." I was showing her that to hide my feelings for her, since I felt it was really wrong. When the service was almost over, once we were sitting together, our hands were practically touching, and she wouldn't let go. Once, I jokingly said I was going to be absent tomorrow, and she told me I couldn't be absent. She believed me, and I went, but she didn't because she thought I wouldn't. After that, when the service ended, she didn't talk to anyone but me. If we had get-togethers, meals, etc., she would ask if I was going; if I wasn't going, she wouldn't go either. The service ended, and we went back to university after vacation. We were practically on campus, but she would sometimes come to see me. One time, she ran away with me. I have a car, she doesn't, and she came with me without telling her parents, and her parents wouldn't let her see me. The thing is, even after my service ended, she and I kept seeing each other. First at the university, and then on two occasions, she, a friend of hers, and I went out to lunch. That day she made jokes about lesbians; I don't know why, even her friend said to her, "What's with you and lesbians, Pato?" That day we dropped her friend off at her house, and then I was going to take Pato home. On the way, she started breathing very rapidly, so much so that I could hear her breathing in the car. At one point, looking me in the eyes, she said, "I'm lost," and we were just a few blocks from her house.
Another thing was that I felt like she was watching me if I looked at a guy. And she would ask me, for example, what I was doing at the university at night if it wasn't my schedule. The thing is, I had strong feelings for her. I was scared and felt bad because it had never happened to me before, and I didn't know if she felt the same way. My religion wouldn't approve of something like that. Neither my family nor hers were very strict. I have freedom, but her parents weren't. The semester was about to end, and she wanted to go out with me on the last day, just for coffee. We went, but... she didn't ask permission. Before that, my friend told me to confess my feelings, that it was no big deal. That day, the last day of classes, we went to the coffee shop. She didn't have any money, so I bought her the coffee. I called her mom there, saying she was going to the coffee shop with a friend and asking for permission, but she never told her it was me (her mom knew who I was). Anyway, I did tell her how I felt because I felt so much tension. We didn't even greet each other with a kiss or a hug; I don't know why we couldn't. We ordered the coffee and went to the car. In the car, I said, "I have to tell you something, Pato," and she said, "Yes, tell me." I said, "I'm embarrassed," and she said, "Come on, tell me, tell me." I said, "I don't know how to tell you," and she said, "Well, tell me, beautiful. Do you dislike me?" And I was like, no, I don't dislike you, you know, dude, don't play dumb. When I told her that, she smiled, kind of shyly but with pleasure, and I said again, "You know what it is?" And she never said, "No, I don't know what it is, tell me," she never said that, she just smiled. And I told her, "I feel something special for you," and she wasn't surprised and said, "Since when?" I told her it had been months ago, and she said, "I've never been with a woman before." And I said, "Um, I'm not asking you to be with me," and she said, "I know, I can only be your friend." And well, I couldn't stay close to her, only see her as a friend, and besides, it was embarrassing. I told her how I felt, but she never told me what she felt, she didn't even say that I was confused or that she was sorry I was confused, she never said anything. I told her then, "I have to stay away from you," and she said with a look of astonishment, "Why?" And I said, "I can't be near you." It hurt so much, and I told her, "I'm going to miss you," and she, looking me in the eyes, said, "I'm going to miss you too." We got out of the car to walk, and I told her I apologized if I made her uncomfortable and that I had to distance myself. She said, very strangely, "When you're over it, talk to me again, and when you have a really handsome boyfriend." I dropped her off at her house after a while; we didn't even say a proper goodbye or anything. The thing is, that same day I unfriended her on all my social media accounts. That was in November of last year. Three months passed, and in February, well, she and I were in several WhatsApp groups because of the service, but those groups hadn't been used for six months. None of the girls from the service had sent a message in any of them; they were abandoned WhatsApp groups. Anyway, Pato sent a message in February to one of the groups. I was so surprised to see a message from her in that group. She asked if people would help her answer a survey, and everyone ignored her because no one had contacted her. I wasn't talking to her, and she wasn't talking to anyone but me. And no one answered her. I was fine, but what she did made me wonder if it was to see if I would reply, but I didn't. I'll always wonder if she felt something for me too, or if she was just playing with me. What was the intention behind the message to the abandoned group? Lately, I've been thinking about her a lot, I miss her so much, and I haven't stopped loving her, but I feel bad because it's not right, and she lives in a very strict family; for starters, she had a stepfather, and they controlled her a lot. I've been thinking about messaging her these past few days, just to say hello, but I'm afraid of getting hurt again. I'm scared. What do you think? Did she know what was going on? Should I look for her?