The Way You Make Me Feel

Lila's P.O.V.

"Are you kidding me?" I asked in annoyance as I glared at Austin. It was my birthday today. I was hoping to have a nice romantic evening with my boyfriend. But, of course, why should I get what I want? Nope, it can never happen. That's why Austin decided to take a last minute trip with his friends, leaving me all alone on my birthday. Typical.

"I'm sorry, babe," Austin said as I crossed my arms over my chest. "I completely forgot it was your birthday. But, we've had this planned for a few weeks!"

"Yeah, I get it," I said bitterly as Austin sighed in relief, not picking up on my bitterness.

"So, we're cool?" he asked as I shook my head and grabbed my coat and purse.

"Yeah! Just perfect! Have a nice trip," I said sarcastically as I stormed out of the apartment and into the cold autumn air. As I walked down the street with no real destination, I tried convincing myself that this was the final straw. All I could think about was how I would break up with Austin as soon as possible. But, I knew that I wouldn't follow through with it. Yes, it sounds stupid, but I was afraid of being alone. One of my biggest fears was growing old and owning, like, fifty cats. Well, that and rejection. Other than that, nothing really scared me.

I concluded that this would be the worst birthday of my life. Yup, that sounded about right to me. I sighed as I thought about what I would do that night. Eventually, I concluded that I would either get really drunk, or sit at home and watch sappy movies with a carton of ice cream at hand. I figured that either of them would be good alternatives to what I was doing now. You know, wandering the streets aimlessly, hoping that my dumbass boyfriend would wake up and realize that he should be spending the night with me and not his friends.

Just as I was about to walk into the movie rental store, I felt my phone vibrate in the pocket of my jeans. I bit my lip, reluctant to look at the caller I.D. in case it was Austin, and pulled the phone out of my pocket. When I looked down at the small screen, I let out a sigh of relief when I saw Tom's name appear along with a funny picture of him.

"Hey, Tom," I said with a small smile, happy to be hearing from my best friend.

"Happy birthday, Li!" Tom said excitedly over the phone. I was relieved to know that at least one person remembered my birthday. I mean, so far no one had wished me a happy birthday! Not my boyfriend, not any of my friends, not even my own father! But, at least Tom remembered.

"Thanks," I said. I couldn't help but giggle when I heard Danny's booming voice ask Tom if they could sing "Happy Birthday" to me.

"No, Dan! Maybe later," Tom told him. "Sorry about that. So, any big plans for tonight?"

"I don't think so. Austin forgot that it was my birthday, so he's got plans to go on a trip with his mates for the weekend. I just figured that maybe I'd either get drunk or watch a really depressing movie," I said.

"How about you do neither of those and go out with me and the lads instead," Tom suggested as I smiled. I bit my lip, wondering whether or not I should take Tom up on his offer. Yes, Austin would get very upset if he knew that I'd be going out with 4 guys on my birthday. But, I didn't really care at that point. Anything was better than being alone. Besides, Tom's my best friend! I'd rather spend my birthday with him than with Austin, anyways.

"I guess that works," I said. "But, I was really looking forward to seeing The Notebook."

"I guess you'll just have to suffer and deal with the fact that you're going out with us instead," Tom said bluntly.

"Yeah, my life sucks," I said sarcastically.

"Ouch," Tom said as I laughed. "Alright, I've gotta go. But, be ready at eight! We're picking you up."

"Got it," I said. "See ya later, Tommy."

"Bye, Lila," Tom said, annoyed that I called him Tommy. As I hung up the phone, I realized that maybe my birthday wouldn't be all that terrible. I'd be spending it with people that actually cared about me.

>>>

Eight o'clock rolled around sooner than I thought it would. It took me longer than I anticipated it would to find the right outfit and doll myself up. But, in the end, I was rather pleased with how I looked. I was wearing a dress that was sort of in between casual and formal. It was a nice color that complimented my eyes and flowed along with my body.

"Hello, Thomas," I said with a bright smile as I answered the door when it rang at 8:01. He stood paralyzed in front of me with a dreamy smile on his face. It took him a few seconds to come to his senses and realize what was going on, before turning a slight shade of pink.

"H-happy birthday, Lila," he said as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into a hug. It wasn't like our usual friendly hugs, though, it was more meaningful than that. And in the pit of my stomach, I felt a weird feeling. I don't really know how to explain it. All I know was that it confused me. This had never happened to me when I'd hugged Tom before. So, I tried brushing it off and telling myself that it was just something that I'd eaten from earlier.

"Thanks," I said with a blush as Tom looked down at my outfit. "Am I overdressed?"

"No! No, you look perfect," Tom said as I blushed even more. "C'mon, let's go. Everyone's waiting downstairs."

When Tom dragged me out of the apartment building, I saw the guys and some other people as well. There was Danny, Dougie, Harry, and two girls. One of the girls had dark brown hair and dark, mysterious eyes. The other girl, though, had red hair and blue eyes that sparkled against her freckled face. I later learned that the girl with the dark hair was named Kate, and she was Harry's girlfriend. Dougie's girlfriend was the one with the red hair. Her name was Jenny.

"They're all really nice," Tom muttered in my ear as we walked outside. "Trust me."

"I always will," I whispered to him as everyone came up and greeted me with hugs. If I had looked back at Tom, I would've seen him standing a few feet behind me and everyone else with a small smile tugging at his lips.

As the night progressed, I found myself having a surprisingly good time. We first went out to dinner, before heading out to a club. It kind of sucked that I had to watch as all of my friends danced with each other. I couldn't dance with anyone, seeing as my pathetic boyfriend wasn't there to dance with me. So, I sat at the bar, observing Danny try to pick up his girl of the night. I scoffed and ordered another drink as I turned my attention to the dance floor, where Dougie was dancing with Jenny and Harry was dancing with Kate. But, my attention didn't stay on them for long. It lingered on Tom, who was dancing with an unfamiliar face. I bit my lip as a sudden rush of jealousy swept over me. Now, I'm not usually the type to be jealous, and to be completely honest, I didn't even think that it was jealousy at the time. So, I just tried to convince myself that I was just feeling that way because I was lonely.

And as I turned back to face the bartender, I realized that I was still alone. Everyone had someone, except for me. I was in the same predicament that I would've been in if Tom hadn't invited me to join them on their outing. I was still going to get drunk and be alone. The only difference was that I was getting drunk at a posh club, instead of a dirty pub filled with lonely people. But, I think that I would've been happier at the pub filled with lonely people, because I'd fit in there. Here, at this place, I was like purple in a sea of yellow. I clashed with everything that this club was about.

"Apparently I'm a crap dancer," I heard Tom say as he collapsed into the chair next to me at the bar. I smiled at him, glad to see that he didn't forget about me.

"But, we've always known that," I said as he nodded in agreement. I didn't want to ask what happened with the girl. I could simply assume that she didn't think he was good enough for her. She looked a little stuck-up, if you ask me.

"Yeah," he said with a sigh as he ordered a drink. "So, why are you still all alone? It's your birthday, Li. Have a little fun."

"I've got a boyfriend," I stated with a frown. "There's not much fun that I can have while he's miles and miles away."

"Lila, I know that it's not my place to say anything, but as your best friend, I feel the need to," Tom said as I looked at him with confusion. "What are you doing? You're with a complete asshole."

"He has his nice moments," I muttered as Tom looked at me skeptically.

"Really?"

"Yes," I said. "They're very rare, but they do happen occasionally."

"Come on, Lila," Tom said, trying his hardest to make me open my eyes. "You're miserable with him and he obviously doesn't care about you! I just don't want to see you get hurt."

"I'll be fine," I said shortly as I looked down at my drink. "At least we've got each other, right?"

"Forever," Tom said with a smile before we left the club and went back to his place to watch The Notebook.