1. She thinks you’re playing her. When a girl suddenly becomes distant, it means she saw something or maybe heard something that scared her, or she just felt that you were not genuine with her and she’s taking a step back to make sure you’re not fooling her.

2. She thinks you’re not interested. If she gets a vibe that you’re not that into her, she will distance herself and let you pursue her because she is not sure if you two are on the same page.

3. She’s not sure about her feelings. She’s trying to figure out if she really likes you or if she’s just lonely. She’s trying to think clearly so she doesn’t lead you on.

4. She wants to know if you’ll miss her. Some girls distance themselves to see if you’ll actually miss them or it won’t matter to you. The only way for her to know is to wait and see if you’ll notice her absence.

5. She’s guarded. When a girl is guarded, she’ll freak out when she really likes you because she knows that if things don’t work out, it will really hurt her and she really doesn’t want to feel this way again. She wants to know if you really want her the same way she wants you.

6. You two have history. If you ‘almost’ dated or she used to like you but you didn’t really give her a chance, she might be afraid of repeating the same mistake with you again. She wants to be sure if things are really different this time.

7. She’s still trying to move on from her previous relationship. Sometimes girls know when they still need more time to move on before they let someone else in. In that case, she just really wants to talk to you without you being a ‘rebound’ and sometimes the lines are blurred.

8. She doesn’t want to push you away. She doesn’t want to come on too strong or show too much interest so she doesn’t push you away. She is trying to keep her cool until you make her feel that it’s okay for her to be herself with you.

9. She’s trying not be friend zoned. If she feels like maybe you’re friend zoning her, she will back off because she probably wants more — until you prove otherwise.

10. Someone else may be putting more effort. If she feels like you’re not making any effort and someone else is, she might be leaning more towards someone who actually shows her that he wants her.