The thought of having to do something like that just makes me feel repulsion because I could never live with myself if I hurt someones feelings.
Yeah, but its one of those "damned if you do, damned if you don't" sort of situations. If you tell them the truth, yes, they'll probably be hurt at first, but if you tell them early on enough, they'll be able to move on. If you don't tell them truth and string them along, you risk having their feelings deepen, and then they'll
really fall hard when they finally stumble upon the truth. That's actually a worse hurt.
And, of course, if you go out with them because of pity, well,
you won't be happy knowing that you're deceiving them, and
they won't be experiencing the love and dedication they both expect and deserve from a relationship. And if they find out that you were lying to them the whole time? Damn. That's a recipe for future emotional baggage for this person.
Conclusion: you got to choose from the lesser of the three evils. Hiding out is only going to make things worse... and it'll tarnish your character. Most of life's problems aren't going to be solved by avoiding them. It's better to buck up and deal with uncomfortable situations right away.