The Way You Make Me Feel

"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep, because reality is finally better than your dreams."
-Dr. Seuss

Lila's P.O.V.

A lot can happen in one month. And a lot did happen in one month. Dougie finally managed to come to terms with Danny and Jazzie being together. They even quickly replaced Tom and I as the most publicized McFly couple. I didn't mind, though. Plus, Jazzie enjoyed having the spotlight on her. Dougie had managed to break his own personal record by having five different flings in one month. Tom and I reached our seven-month mark to the media's surprise. Oh, Harry proposed to Kate. She said 'yes', of course. There weren't any official wedding plans yet, though. I think they were planning on waiting a couple of years before the wedding. And as for me, I still hadn't told Tom that I loved him yet.

I didn't know why I couldn't tell him. He'd told me hundreds of times that he loved me, so it's not like I'd be flat out rejected or anything. I'd honestly planned on telling him about fifty times. I would always think up these romantic situations where I would tell him that I loved him. But, every time I would get close, the words just wouldn't come out. I couldn't bring myself to say it, even though I knew that I loved him.

I could tell that it was starting to take a toll on our relationship as well. Now, I'd known Tom my whole life, so naturally, I knew exactly what he was thinking. He probably thought that I would break up with him. It had gotten to the point where he was almost paranoid. I knew that he didn't want us to break up, and I didn't plan on breaking it off with him. But, that didn't stop him from thinking that I would.

"Hey," I said as I walked into our flat after work one day. Tom looked up from his laptop and smiled at me before averting his eyes back to the screen.

"How was your last day at the internship?" he asked me, not looking up from his computer.

"It was alright," I said with a shrug as Tom quickly closed his laptop and gave me a quick peck on the lips. "I've gotta find an actual job now, though."

"That should be fun," Tom said lightly as he went to a closet and began searching through it. I watched him in curiosity as he pulled out a couple of suitcases and threw them on the floor. I raised my eyebrows at Tom as he looked down at the suitcases.

"What are the suitcases for?" I asked as he looked at me with a smile, showing off his single dimple.

"We're going away," Tom said as he handed me a suitcase. "So, get packing. We're leaving in - " he paused to look at the clock. " - five hours."

"Seriously?" I asked as he nodded.

"Yeah. I just bought the tickets," he said before quickly pecking my lips.

"Where are we going?"

"Rome," he said as my eyes widened in shock. "I know that you've always wanted to go there, so I figured that this would be a good opportunity to go. Think of it as a congratulations on finishing your internship type thing."

"You didn't have to do that," I said as Tom grinned at me and began walking towards his bedroom with a suitcase in hand.

"Yeah, I did," he called back to me. "You deserve this. Plus, I kind of wanted a vacation."

"Tom?"

"Yeah?" he called from the other room. I looked down at the suitcase as I bit my lip, wondering why the hell Tom was with me. He was way too good for me. I mean, he was probably the sweetest boyfriend ever, and I couldn't even say that I loved him out loud. But, I came to realize that I could, I'd just chosen not to.

"I love you," I said simply, suddenly realizing how easily it came out. Tom's head suddenly popped out from the doorway with wide eyes.

"Really?" he asked timidly as he walked out of his bedroom. "Love is a big four-letter word, after all."

"I'm sure," I said as I nodded vigorously, tears beginning to sting my eyes. I had no idea why I suddenly was displaying so much emotion, but it seemed to just hit me like a ton of bricks. I'd always wanted to be able to say that I was in love, and now I finally could.

"I love you, too," Tom said as he walked up to me and pulled me into an astounding kiss. It wasn't like one of those long, passionate kisses that you see in the movies, though. It was innocent and somewhat short, but it was filled with a type of love that I'd never felt in a kiss before. And I guess that's a better kiss than Hollywood could ever manufacture.

"I feel like an idiot, crying like this," I said once Tom pulled away from me.

"Don't feel like an idiot," he said as he wiped my tears away and smiled at me. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting to hear you say those words, Paterson."

"You have no idea how long I've been wanting to say them," I said with a short laugh before Tom kissed me once more.

"Alright, enough of this mushy crap," he said finally. "Go pack."

"You've got an amazing way of ruining moments," I said as he playfully rolled his eyes at me.

"Go pack!" he yelled as he lightly pushed me towards the door to my bedroom while I laughed. I reluctantly went into my bedroom with the suitcase and began packing. In my opinion, packing was the worst part of going on a trip. There were so many things that you had to remember, but you would always forget one of the most important things. Like a toothbrush, for example. I always forget to bring a toothbrush.

"Hey... Yeah, mate, she said that she loved me... I know! It's been - what? - seven months?... Well, that obviously means that she's not gonna leave me... Of course, how could I ever not listen to Danny Jones?... Alright, well we're leaving in a few hours... Yes, it's today!... Mate, I told you yesterday that we were leaving today!... I really think you need to get your memory checked, Jones... Alright, I'll talk to you when we get back... Bye."

I didn't intentionally eavesdrop. I'm not that terrible. Tom was just speaking loud enough so that I could hear what he was saying. It's not like I can turn my ears off! Anyways, I thought that it was cute how he called Danny to tell him what I said. It was kind of like something a child would do. You know, call their best friend immediately to tell them that they kissed the girl they'd liked for a while. As I said before, though, I thought it was cute.

"Are you ready yet, Li?" I heard Tom yell from his bedroom. I smiled at his lack of patience and began dragging the suitcase out of my bedroom.

"You're so impatient," I mumbled as I faux-glared at him, struggling with my suitcase.

"But, you love me," he said with a smile as he took my suitcase from me and began carrying it out of the flat with ease.

"Unfortunately, I do," I said jokingly as I walked past him and down the stairs. I was about halfway down the stairs when I heard Tom calling my name. I looked up at him to see one hand in his pocket and a nervous look on his face.

"Yeah?" I asked as he bit his lip and looked down at his feet.

"Never mind," he said, almost in a disappointed voice. "It can wait."