Whenever I make a movement towards my kitten, not sudden movement, he arches his ba

[whimsicalator]

Then he'll swing around and come back while looking at me. Or he'll scamper off completely and hide somewhere while licking himself off.
My movements aren't sudden....!

Here are a few things you should know:
1) I have never hurt him. On the infrequent occasion that I step on his tail or paw, I pick him up and coo to him while I stroke his chin.
2) I don't think it's fear because A) he sleeps next to me when I sleep. B) he also lets me pet him and rub his ears the way he likes if I approach him carefully (as opposed to normally). C) If I make kissing sounds or our eyes meet, he'll slowly and quietly crawl over. D) Even if I ignore him, he'll silently slither over until he gets really close and then he'll land on all fours on my chest with a little squeak.
3) This is a kitten who, if it were up to him, would not let me leave my house. I can't go to the washroom without him following and if I try to shut him out, he's on the other side of the door crying. When I leave, he's on the other side of the door crying too. If I go to another room and out of sight, he immediately follows because he appears to not want me out of sight. So I really do find his behavior unusual.

Only thing I can think of: it COULD be that in my efforts to discourage him from frolicking all over my kitchen counters like it's Mardi Gras, I spray him with water, pick him up by the scruff, or loudly/firmly say "NO!" (Though none of it has worked....I've tried different things over the past 5 weeks)
Or it could be that he is really mad that I have not let him out onto my balcony or hallway anymore (he escaped to get to those places a few times...whenever I open the door) as he usually meows by the doors in frustration.

Either he is playing a game, or he is mad at me for leaving him alone for long periods (mostly I go to class for a few hours and come back but sometimes I am gone for the whole day...no different than someone who has a 9 to 5 job!) or he is mad that I ignore him (I play with him for at least two hours a day but he constantly, constantly meows for attention....he's only 14 weeks, I'm his third home already, and I'm pretty sure that the idiots who had him before separated him from his mother at younger than 9 weeks) or he is mad or scared of me because of the spraying/loud scolding.

If he is mad for one of the reasons that I can't necessarily control (like being away or ignoring him to do things), how do I make him happy again? If he is scared/mad over the scolding and spraying, how do I win his trust again without sacrificing some level of discipline so that he doesn't bring this habit of running on my kitchen counters with glee from kitten-hood into cat-hood?

I don't know! What am I doing wrong?!

I love my baby and I shower him with love most of the time (except for when I'm ignoring him or firmly scolding him to get off the counters) but I worry that he is starting to hate me or something.

I have had him for a month now. I don't think he did this before (or if he did, certainly not as much as he does now....)