Yeah I reckon going straight forward with it is pretty scary and nerve wracking, easy for me I'm a very obvious person and people can tell what I'm feeling most of the time, I get overexcited and have the biggest reactions for everything, no joke, maybe you can hint that you like him, flirt with him, ask a friend to tell him type thing or just try to be more than friend type behaviour, eg.
Touching shoulder, shy smile with him, longer hugs type thing, he will soon catch on hopefully that you do like him.
