The Way You Make Me Feel

Lila's P.O.V.

"Austin! I'm home!" I yelled as I closed the door to the apartment behind me. Tom decided not to come up and meet Austin. I don't know why, though. He made some lame ass excuse that he had to go home and rehearse with his band. I knew he was lying, though. Tom was probably the worst liar I knew.

"Why?" Austin asked as he walked into the living room. I rolled my eyes as I took my coat and scarf off and threw my keys on the coffee table. This was typical Austin. He just wasn't the caring type. I don't think that most girls would be able to deal with all of the put downs and rude comments. But, I was able to deal with it. I'd always had a tough shell. I could take practically anything. The only problem was that it all just bottled up inside of me.

"Because this is typically where I come when I'm not out," I said as he shrugged and came over, giving me a kiss. I could taste the alcohol on his breath as he pulled me closer to him.

"So, where were you anyways?" he asked as he plopped down on the couch. I could tell that he didn't really care, but I decided that I would answer nonetheless.

"I met up with one of my old friends," I said vaguely as he turned on the television and scrunched up his nose.

"Which one?" he asked. "Don't say that Cathy girl. She's so fucking annoying."

"You don't need to be rude," I said bitterly as he shrugged. "I actually met up with my best friend from Harrow."

"Which one is that?" he asked as he flipped through the channels.

"Tom Fletcher," I said as Austin's head snapped in my direction with his brows furrowed.

"Isn't he the guy from that really terrible band?" he asked as I felt my fists clench. Sure, earlier that day was the first time in six years that I'd really spoken to Tom, but it didn't change the fact that he was still a good friend of mine. I hated the fact that Austin just insulted all of my friends before he even got the chance to meet them.

"His band isn't terrible," I said through gritted teeth.

"Come on, Li," he said as I glared at him. "Have you ever even heard them?"

"No, but...," I said trailing off towards the end.

"Trust me on this one, Lila. Once you hear them, you'll see. They're complete crap," Austin said.

"He's still my friend! So, stop being such an asshole," I yelled at him before storming into our bedroom and locking the door behind me. This wasn't anything new. We had these fights all the time. It had sort of become a routine at this point.

"You're being hypersensitive!" I heard Austin yell from the other side of the door as tears streamed down my face. "I'm going out!"

"Fine!" I yelled as I wiped away some of my tears. After I heard the front door slam behind him, I quickly took out my cell phone and scrolled through my contacts. I quickly stopped at my friend, Tara, and dialed her number. Tara was one of my friends from back in the States. I didn't call her much, seeing as it cost a fortune, but she was the only one of my friends who knew about my problems with Austin.

"Hello?" I heard on the other line. My eyes widened when I heard who it was. And it definitely wasn't Tara.

"T-tom?" I sobbed. "I'm s-sorry. I d-dialed the wrong n-number."

"Lila? Are you crying?" I heard Tom ask over the phone.

"N-no," I lied.

"You're lying. What's wrong, Lila?" Tom said as I smiled a little and wiped a few tears away. I silently debated over whether or not I should burden Tom with all of my relationship issues. I'm sure he didn't want to hear me talk about it, but I didn't have anyone else. Not to mention, he was always a good person to talk to.

"Austin," I said simply, no longer crying. "He's being... annoying."

"How so?" Tom asked as I rubbed my eyes.

"He's always putting me down and insulting my friends. I mean, it normally never gets to me, but today he just made me snap," I said as I reminisced on the day's earlier events.

"He doesn't sound like he's good enough for you," Tom said, his voice becoming a little uneasy.

"I wouldn't say that," I said with a sigh. "I have a feeling he's the best I could get, Tom."

"That's not true," Tom said as I blushed. "No one's good enough for you."

Just as I was about to respond, the door to the bedroom swung open and Austin stood in the doorway with a bouquet of roses. Part of me wanted to roll my eyes and push him out of the room, but I couldn't do that. At least he had the decency to admit he was wrong and apologize.

"Who are you talking to?" Austin asked as I remembered that I was still on the phone with Tom.

"Oh, um, no one," I said as I heard Tom sigh on the other end of the phone.

"Uh, Lila, it sounds like you're busy. So, I'll talk to you later, okay?" Tom said as I looked back up at Austin.

"No, I can talk," I said quickly, not wanting to end my conversation with Tom.

"No, you can't. I should probably go, anyways. Good luck with the whole Austin thing," Tom said sadly as I felt a pang of guilt shoot through me. I didn't want to hang up on Tom for Austin.

"Oh, okay. Um, bye," I said slowly.

"Bye, Lila," Tom said as I hung up my phone and turned towards Austin. I placed my hands on my hips, waiting for his pathetic apology. Part of me hoped that he wouldn't apologize and just break up with me. But, I knew that wouldn't happen because he was holding roses in his hands.

"I am so, so sorry, babe. I really didn't mean it. And I'll never talk badly about any of your friends ever again. I promise," Austin said as he held out the roses for me. "Please forgive me."

"Fine," I said with a small smile as I took the roses from him. "But, this is the last time, Austin. I'm being serious."

"Of course. It won't happen again, babe," Austin said as he leaned in and kissed me.

This happened every single time. It was like a cycle. I would always say that this was his last chance. But, I never stuck to it. I was too scared to end up alone. I just didn't know that I'd never be alone with Tom around.