Haha, I had a similar situation. As some of you may know, I'm gay, but you wouldn't be able to tell if you hung out with me. I have a really close friend (my best friend) who I met a few years ago. We used to hang out almost everyday when we first met. I told him i was gaty maybe a year after we met, and he was fine with that. Maybe a couple years after we met, I noticed that I started to really like him a lot. He was also very confusing at times, one time we were playing video games and he just outright kissed me, and I didn't know what to do. Another time he got really physical with me (caressing my chest, we'd wrestle and it'd get semi homo erotic, this happened a lot actually). I couldn't really keep my secret much longer, so I ended sending him a huge text about my feelings for him, and the worst thing happened, he rejected me.
I told him it was fine and that I could deal, and he still wanted to be my friend, but I was really hurt inside. The thing that got me the most though was the avoidance of all the things we did that made me question him...
I tried avoiding him, but he always wanted to hang out, as if I didn't just poor my heart out to him and he shit on it. It was painful, but I tried to stick it out, the most difficult thing is trying to move on when you're faced with the person you love almost on a daily basis. I thought about ending our friendship, I even moved out of town thinking it would hurt less, and it did, but I ended up moving back.
I realized how much of q friend he considered me, and I started to realize how selfish I was. He was always a good friend, and despite the things he tells me, I have to respect his decisions.
I guess what I'm saying is rejection can be nasty, but time heals all wounds. I still like the guy, and we're still best friends, but I know we aren't right for each other, and my crush subsides with each passing day.