Yep, had a similar experience myself, except i fell for someone i knew very well. We beat around the bush for a while, but there's only so long you can hide emotional confusion and frustration like that; ie she's going to find out/realize what's going on. Best advice i can offer is to just go for it. You can't worry about the future while living in the present.
When i finally told my friend what was going on, whe made it clear that she didn't feel the same way. I'll admit, it hurt for a long while, and it took us nearly a year to start talking like we used to again. It's been a while longer now, and we're really good friends again. It's tough sometimes, and sometimes i'd swear that there's more to our relationship, but fo rnow it's what we've got, and it's pretty good. Good luck man.
p.s. as horrible as it sounds, there's no better way to get one girl off your mind, than to find anotherone to put there
