Forget All You Know

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
-Maya Angelou

Lila's P.O.V.

"He's using you, Li!" Tom said as a bitter laugh escaped my lips.

I'd been out of the hospital for about a month now. I took Jazzie up on her offer of having me live with her. I liked Jazzie. I mean, she was a character, but I liked her. I liked all of my "old" friends. They all had such different personalities, so being around them was never boring. I saw them all almost every day. Well, Tom I definitely saw - or had long phone conversations with - every day. He barely kept me out of my sight. But, it wasn't annoying either. It was actually quite comforting.

"Using me?! It's our first date!" I argued back as Tom crossed his arms over his chest and went to sit down on the couch next to Dougie.

Yes, I have a date. Shocking, right? Well, I know that you all think that I have feelings for Tom, and honestly, I do. Well, I think I do. I'm not really sure where I'm standing on that subject at the moment. I just figured that for right now, I shouldn't let myself fall for Tom. But, that's only because I don't want him to be freaked out by me or anything.

"Still...," Tom said in a somewhat defeated tone. "You shouldn't be dating him!"

"You're not my father, Tom! You can't tell me who I can and can't date!" I yelled as Jazzie and Danny walked into the room with bottles of beer filling their arms. Danny glanced between Tom and I with an uneasy smile on his face. He gently placed a beer on the coffee table in front of Tom before grabbing onto Jazzie's hand and gently pulling her into the kitchen.

"Oi! Where are you two going?" Dougie said as he stood up to leave. "Don't leave me alone in here!"

"Sit, Dougie," I said while pointing at the couch. "You're the only thing that's keeping me from killing Tom right now."

"God, he's like a dog," I could hear Danny's booming voice say from the kitchen. "Just does what everyone tells him to do."

"Danny! Shut it!" Tom yelled, making Danny's voice suddenly stop.

"Seems he's not the only one," I heard Jazzie say with a chuckle.

"Anyways, Lila, I'm just saying that this guy could hurt you! What if he's abusive or something?" Tom said, his voice softer now than it was before.

"Trust me, I've seen him. I think you have a better chance of beating me up than he does," I said as Dougie tried to conceal his laughter. Tom simply glared at me and punched Dougie's arm to shut him up.

"That's not the point, Lila! It's just that...well, I think that you should be with - " Tom began, but was cut off by a scream coming from the kitchen. The three of us exchanged glances before all rushing to the kitchen.

"Sorry," Jazzie said with a sheepish smile. "I thought I saw a...snake."

"A snake? In your flat in London?" Tom asked skeptically as Danny shrugged.

"Where?" Dougie asked excitedly as his eyes began scanning the kitchen floor. I rolled my eyes before making my way towards the front door of her flat.

"I'm going! I've gotta meet him in ten minutes. Bye guys!" I said with a smile before quickly exiting.

Tom's P.O.V.

"What is wrong with you?!" Jazzie yelled as she slapped my arm. "You can't tell Lila that you love her!"

"Why?" I asked, offended that she thought that my idea was crap.

"It would be a train wreck! She barely even knows you! Don't you think it'd be a bit odd to tell her that you're in love with her when she's only known you for a month?" Jazzie said, making me realize that it was quite a stupid idea. "You're lucky that I stopped you."

"Wait," Dougie said as he tore his eyes from the ground. "So, there's no snake?"

"No, Doug," Danny said as Dougie pouted and walked into the other room, followed by the three of us. Dougie managed to plop himself down on the sofa rather quickly, not wanting to be bothered by my love life (or lack there of). I sat down next to Dougie as Danny gave Jazzie a kiss.

"Get off of my sister, Danny," Dougie said as he glared at the happy couple. "Just because I'm allowing you two to date doesn't mean that you can snog her in front of me!"

"Excuse me, Dougie, but I don't think that we need your permission," Jazzie shot back as Danny wrapped his long arms around her waist. Dougie opened his mouth to argue back, but was interrupted by me.

"It seems as if we're the only lonely ones," I said, suddenly feeling lonely. Everyone had someone. Lila had her new guy, Jazzie and Danny had each other, and Harry and Kate had each other. Dougie was the only one other than me who was alone.

"Speak for yourself, mate," Dougie said, causing me to frown. "I've got a girl."

"A girl? Not multiple girls?" Danny asked in astonishment as Dougie glared at him.

"Yes, a girl. Singular! Her name's Eva," Dougie said. "She was one of Lila's nurses."

I couldn't take it anymore, so I made a pathetic excuse to leave. I didn't want to admit that I was truly alone. I didn't have anyone, and I didn't want anyone who wasn't Lila. I was so in love with her that seeing anyone else just wasn't an option, because I knew that I'd never be as happy as I would be if I were with her. I guess it was my own fault that I was lonely. I guess it was because I wasn't trying hard enough. Whatever the reason, though, I wasn't about to change. I didn't want to be unhappy just so that I could say I was with someone.

When I got back to my flat, the first thing I did was walk into Lila's old bedroom. I sat on the bed that she used to sleep on and looked around, letting old memories hit me. I stared at the door that she used to slam when she was mad. I looked out the window that she claimed inspired so many of her designs. I embraced the sheets that we would become one in. And then I fell asleep, hoping to feel better when I arose.

I looked around the church and saw familiar faces. All of my friends were there, even my family was there. They were all happy, they were all smiling. I began to walk down the aisle to see Lila and a man standing at the other end with a priest. Lila and her husband. I quickly ran up to them, their backs facing me. I couldn't let Lila marry him. She was supposed to marry me.

"Lila!" I yelled as I ran towards her. "You can't do this!"

"Who are you?" she asked as she turned to face me.

"It's me! It's Tom!" I yelled as she shook her head and began backing away from me. "You can't marry him, Lila! You're supposed to marry me! We're supposed to have kids and grow old together!"

"I'm sorry, I don't know you," she said as she looked around anxiously. "You must be thinking of a different person."

"No, I'm not! I love you!" I said frantically as I began to walk closer to her, grabbing her shoulders.

"I don't know who you are!" she yelled. "Just get away from me!"

"Lila, it's me! Your best friend! We're supposed to get married, Li! Three coins, remember?" I said as I looked into her scared blue eyes.

"Somebody get him off of me! Get him away!" she yelled as I felt two people grab onto my arms and drag me away from her. I looked up to see Dougie pulling on one arm and Harry pulling on the other.

"Guys, tell her who I am! Tell her she knows me!" I begged.

"Mate, I think something's wrong with you," Harry said as they continued to drag me out of the church. I looked up to see Lila crying out of fright while Jazzie went up to the altar to comfort her. Off to the side I saw Danny standing, shaking his head as he watched me being pulled out of the church.

"No! Lila, I love you!"

I suddenly woke up with beads of sweat accumulating on my forehead. I looked over at the clock and sighed as a few tears escaped my eyes. It was a dream. Just a dream. Or maybe it was more like a nightmare for me. My two biggest fears in the world in one nightmare. I guess you can assume that after that nightmare, I couldn't really help but wonder how Lila's date went.

So, I decided that I would go to her and Jazzie's flat and ask her right then and there. At three in the morning. In my boxers. I know it doesn't make much sense, but I wasn't thinking logically at the moment. It was three in the morning after all.

"Tom?" Lila asked in a groggy voice when she answered the door. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was out for a walk and just figured I'd see how your date went," I said with a smile as she looked at me with a confused look in her tired eyes.

"You went for a walk at three in the morning in your boxers?"

"I'm a morning person," I said cheerfully. "So, how was your date?"

"I don't know. Fine, I guess. I don't think I'll be going out with him again, but it was nice," she said with a shrug. "Why do you care, anyways?"

"Well, we're friends, right? And friends talk about this sort of thing," I said quickly, suddenly feeling somewhat hyperactive.

"I suppose," she said slowly. "But they usually wait until the later the next day to ask. Not early the next morning."

"Do you want me to leave?" I asked sadly, understanding that I was acting like a freak.

"No," she said quickly. "I can make some tea."