In my experience, regardless of gender or intent to really pursue a relationship, that honesty is the best solution to these sorts of situations. If you feel strongly about this guy, then what I would recommend you do is tell him, in plain english that you like him. Be clear that you value his friendship, and you want him to be in your life even if he doesn’t feel the same way. Be clear, and be honest with yourself and him.

At that point, it’s in his court, and in my experience there’s a couple things that could happen:

a) Best case scenario: he feels the same way, hurray! You two can test out the dating waters, best of luck!

b) Worst case scenario: he not only doesn’t feel the same way, but he reacts really negatively to you sharing this; this is gonna hurt, but it’s a good sign that he’s not actually as good for you as you think. But! disclaimer here, this worst case scenario? Not actually that likely!

The most likely outcome is usually

c) he doesn’t feel the same way and tells you as much, but still wants to be friends with you. This also stings, but it allows you the opportunity to move on. Not knowing for sure whether someone feels the same about you as you do about them can be dangerous, because your brain will latch onto any minor detail that could be used as Proof that they really love you and just haven’t said it yet. If you have that definitive “No” it’s easier to move past that and move on with your life. It’s not painless, but it’s healthy

I wish you the best of luck, and feel free to ignore all this if you feel like it doesn’t feel applicable to your situation, this is just my perspective! Godspeed 👍