Rejection is a part of life. You can't run away from it, because sooner or later it will happen to you. If you are always afraid of getting rejected, you will not get very far. Many of the things that take us to different places and stages in life require taking some sort of risk. When you take a risk, you are bound to get rejected by some (thankfully not all). That's why if you want this to work, you'll have to step up and tell him how you feel.
Since you aren't good at showing how you feel and hinting them, then just tell him up straight that you have feelings for him. It is scary and you will feel nervous, but just think that if you don't this, then you won't know how he feels about you back. It's best to know than to end up lost and just wondering about it.
If it turns out tha the likes you back, then that's great! Go and celebrate your "victory" because you deserve it. This will be one of your many victories you'll experience in the future and you should enjoy them.
But if he happens to reject you, then that's okay too. It's his feelings and you should respect them. If that happens, then just say that it's okay, you're cool with it, or something like that and proceed to act normally with him. Don't make him feel bad for rejecting you by crying, getting mad at him, or saying something mean. You will experience many more of these in the future so it's good to have some practice.
So that's why, just go ahead and do it. Confessing is like rippping off a band-aid. You have to do it and you got to do it fast.
