Why is he not a worthwhile friend? He was trying to get out of an awkward situation, so he breezed past it to talk about something else. That new topic was also extremely awkward, but in a way less focused on him. The problem with 'hints' is that they can be totally misinterpreted or invented out of thin air. OP thought that she was being obvious and that her friend was reciprocating but he din't notice and was just being friendly. Should they eventually have a conversation about it? Of course, but the friend panicking in the moment doesn't make the friend a worthless human who should be ignored. Not that OP needs to stay friends with her crush for any reason, but we shouldn't be so judgmental over something that, as described, is a minor social faux pas at worst. This is a story where OPs life sucks and there's no one to really blame for it.

I hope you're this forgiving the next time one of your friends ignores what you have to say. OP may have mistaken his friendliness for something more, but there's no excuse to change the subject without even acknowledging it. I don't know how you feel when you're ignored, but I consider it to be rude and selfish on the other person's part, regardless of what they make the new topic of discussion about, which makes them worthless.

Like I said, the friend panicked. They don't feel the same way but don't want to hurt their friend and are young enough* to have this freak them out. It's not the nicest thing in the world, but it's not the end of the world either and with a later conversation it should be possible to smooth things over pretty quickly. *These two are obviously not adults. Adults don't rely on hints or freak out at the smallest rejection.