Prompt: Overhearing something they're not supposed to

This is follows right after chapter 6 (coerced confessions) but can be read on its own as well!

"I'm in love with him, okay!"

He felt his heart stutter at the screamed confession. Everything slowed around him.

"I'm in love with him."

If possible, his chest tightened even further at the heartbroken, whispered, confession. Lily Evans was in love with him?

"What?" he managed to croak out.

Quick as a whip, both girls' heads turned to him. Evans' face was a mask of shocked horror. But Marlene, though equally surprised, had a look of smug satisfaction painted across her face. "That's my cue," she said, stepping around James and closing the door to the classroom after her. Only then did he turn to face Evans.
"What did you say?" he whispered, not daring to believe it. Not foolish enough to hope.

"Nothing. It was nothing. Don't worry about it," she mumbled, not meeting his eyes.

"Evans." He was a glutton for punishment. But he had to hear her say it.

She turned to face him– a slow, silent, tear trickling down her cheek. "I'm in love with you. All right?"

He was already shaking his head before she'd finished her statement. "No. No," he whispered, mostly to himself, "No. You're lying."

"Why would I lie about this, James?" he cringed at her use of his name, his traitorous heart squeezing painfully hard in his chest at it.

"You have to be," he said, "because you wouldn't be this cruel."

"Cruel?" the tears fell in rapid succession down her face.

"Cruel," he confirmed, steeling himself against the obvious pain written across her features, "You know: willfully causing pain or suffering to another, and not feeling concern about it. Cruel." James knew entirely how hypocritical he was being, cruelly throwing his accusation of her own (unintentional) cruelty in her face. But he couldn't stop his rising anger as her confession played on a loop over and over in his head; and he wouldn't allow himself to hope– to willingly open himself up to that kind of hurt again.

"I never meant to hurt you–" she started.

"Oh, really? You could've fooled me," James kept his tone cold, violently shoving aside every part of him that wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms, and comfort her.

"James–" she tried again.

"No. You let me think we could be more– don't deny it," he snapped when she opened her mouth to protest, "We may have started out as a fling. One that was strictly physical, at least to you, and I was willing to respect that boundary. I was in love with you, Evans, but I knew I would take what I could get. Then it was more. We spent all our time together. All our friends knew we were together, even if you still refused to admit it."

"And I was willing to go along with it," he said, giving a shake of his head at his own naivete. "I was willing to be your boyfriend in everything except name, because I had you. And so I dared to hope for more."

"We were more. I knew we were more," she admitted, "I was just scared about what being more meant."

"So you talk to me, Evans!" he exploded, "You talk to me, you tell me the truth, and we work it out together! You don't just end it without any explanation– with a lie– and expect me to go back to just being your friend!"

"I'm sorry!" she yelled at him, her tone pleading "I'm sorry I was scared. I was scared of how much it meant to me– how much you meant to me. I was scared. But I never meant to hurt you. I am in love with you!"

"Stop! Stop saying that!" he rounded on her.

"What? That I'm in love with you, James? I thought you wanted me to tell you the truth!" she yelled back, her temper rising to match his.

"You're not being fair," he said.

"I'm not being fair? James. You're the one with the unfair standards. You said you wanted me to have told you the truth. To have talked to you. And now I am– and you're mad at me about it?"

"What I wanted was for you to tell me the truth when we were together. To have told me that you maybe had feelings for me, even that you were scared! But you are being entirely unfair in telling me all this now." He could see the hurt and confusion in her eyes, and took a calming breath before he continued: "You decided we should be friends. And I went with it. I was happy to take whatever you were willing to give. Then you decided we should be more than friends– and I was ecstatic. And then you decided that no, in fact, you would not like to be my girlfriend or anything more and in fact we should just be friends. And it killed me. But I accepted it. Because that's what I do with you, Lily! Somehow, when it comes to you I lose all sense of self-preservation. I would've done whatever you wanted, just to make you happy. But this. This is too much." His heart felt like it was being wrenched in two, watching her face slowly crumble, but he was determined to protect his heart this time. To maintain at least some composure and sense of self-worth.

"I was in love with you, Lily," he said, his voice catching, as he numbly reached forward to steady himself on the back of one of the chairs in the classroom– utterly drained.

"Was?" she whispered, sinking down into a chair, defeated.

"I was in love with you, Lily. But you ended it without so much as a thought as to how I felt– just leaving me to pick up the pieces of myself."

"I'm so sorry I hurt you. It was never my intention, but I–"

"Don't." he almost begged, before taking a fortifying breath and continuing: I finally, finally, found someone who makes me happy. Maybe it isn't what we had, but she makes me happy. And she cares about me, and what I want. And for you to tell me–now– that you think you're in love with me? Now that's just not playing fair."

He rose from his chair and walked to the door, pausing with his hand on the handle and offering her one final truth: "Because I would hurt her for you. And in the end I'd end up alone."