You have feelings and they are just confused..there is nothing wrong with that. It is normal to stay away, whether it's him or you. As much as it feels right to rush into a conversation before both of you are ready, it's not... it can only ruin things or at the very least set things back a whole heck of a lot.

If you two aren't dating/in a relationship, there is no need for either of you to tell the other that you want/are taking a break. There is no responsibility on either of you to share that with the other person.