"Tell him how I feel and risk him freaking and bolting."
Do you want to risk this? It may be a huge mistake. Personally, I can only handle being a friend with benefits. The serious shit scares the crap out of me and I do whatever I can to sabotage it.
"How does one, especially an extremely introverted hermit, make friends?"
No idea since I am not an "extremely introverted hermit" but meetup is a good start.