"Don't...don't tell me what I feel," he said, more strongly than he felt. He hated when he felt like a child, and right now that's how Dylan was making him feel. "And everyone in the room already knew, except for Stephen, and I just...I just wanted to know what Jamie was thinking. What all of you were thinking. It's not like I went and told Uncle Harry." He was being defensive now, but this wasn't all his fault.
"And I do love you, Dylan. I don't know if I'm in love with you, but I love you. I care about, and I want you to be happy, and healthy and safe and it's killing me that you're not. And it feels like someone ripped out my heart when I think about you dying." He pressed his fingers against his eyes, willing the tears back.
"I know exactly who you are, Dylan. And I knew what I was doing when I said something, but I thought it needed to be said." He took a breath, and looked back at Dylan. "And you didn't say it just to be mean. You meant it, at least at that point in time."