Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

❛ We could be the greatest team

that the world has ever seen ❜

Lottie was worried. Her brother should have been here by now. He was 1 hour late and he wasn't even picking up his phone. This wasn't like him. Yes he was late a lot of times but he always picked up his phone, especially when it's one of his sisters. What if something happened to him? No one would know; he was home alone since Harry had left for his tour. What if- Lottie's concerns were interrupted by her phone ringing. She picked it up immediately after seeing that it was Louis.

"Where the fuck are you?! You were supposed to be here an hour ago and you aren't even picking up your phone!" She yelled at her brother.

"Calm down Lottie. I'm sorry I'm late and that I didn't contact you but I overslept and just woke up." Came the calm reply

That actually made sense. Of course he'd overslept. She mentally face palmed. Here she was so worried and didn't even think of that. When she didn't say anything, he continued, "I couldn't sleep last night so went to sleep a little late and hence overslept. You shouldn't worry so much Lottie."

"Why couldn't you sleep? Of course I worry about you Lou, you're my brother."

"Eh. Just thinking about stuff." He said the same thing everytime he was thinking about his past, about One Direction. And considering Louis was still close to 3 out of the 4 boys, it was obviously Zayn's thoughts keeping him awake. Lottie's heart pained everytime she thought of Zayn and her brother. They were so close. The best friends, the partners in crime, Zayn was the brother Louis wanted and needed. And now neither of them even talked to each other. She knows that what Zayn did after their mum died wasn't right but she also knew Louis wasn't a saint too. But apparently Louis thinks that he didn't do anything wrong.

" I'll be there in 2 hours. Don't worry too much okay? Love you."

" Okay. Be here soon, love you too." 

Lottie knew she had to do something and soon. Before her brother went so deep into it that he couldn't come out. Zayn and Louis were both being stubborn asses and it was high time someone did something about it.

She had a plan but she'd need help for that. She thought for a minute and called Liam, one of Louis' best friends and his ex bandmate.

"Hey Lottie. Is something wrong?" She heard Liam's voice on the other side of the phone.

"Hey! No, nothing is wrong, don't worry. But I do need your help. I need to talk to Gigi Hadid and I know you have her number. Will you send it to me?"

"Why do you need to talk to Gigi?"

"It's about Zayn and Louis. Please don't ask any further questions because I am not saying anything else right now. I need Gigi's help for this, please." She explained before Liam could argue.

"Ok. I won't ask any questions but you know I can't give you her number like this." Dammit, she should've known he'd say this. She thought for a moment and then said, " Okay I understand, but you can talk to her right? Tell her I need to talk to her about those two stubborn idiots and give her my number so she can contact me."

" Lottie, I don't know what you're planning but I know Louis won't be happy. So for your sake, I hope you know exactly what you're doing and how it will turn out to be. I'll talk to Gigi but please think about it again."

"Thank you Liam. And I'm sure of what I want. Louis misses Zayn a lot but wouldn't say or do anything. So I need to step up and help him, like he's always helped me. You just talk to Gigi alright?"

"Okat fine. I'll trust you to know what you're doing. I'll talk with Gigi today and update you on what she says." The call ended after that.

Lottie knew that what she was going to do might cause problems. Louis will hate that she's trying to interfere but she has to do this for him. If it works out, Louis will be really happy again and maybe she'll see the old Louis again, and that's what she wants. And even if it doens't work out, Louis will probably be mad for a few weeks and then forget about it like it never happened. So it wouldn't turn out as bad as Liam thought, she knew that. Or, she wasn't so sure but it'll definitely be better that the worst. She hoped it would be, atleast.

Gigi was having a relaxed day off, with Khai finally asleep when her phone rang. 'Who's it right now.' she thought, confused. She couldn't think of anyone who'd call her right now. The caller ID said 'Liam'. That's weird. While Liam and Gigi had talked on several ocassions and they had given each other their numbers, they weren't really anything more than a couple of acquaintances. If Liam was calling her, there might be something important.

"Hello. Hey Liam"

"Hey Gigi. How are you? I hope I didn't interrupt anything important." Liam greeted her.

"I'm great, thanks. And don't worry, I wasn't doing anything." Gigi replied. "How are you?"

"I'm great too, thanks." He said. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

And that's when Liam told her everything. Charlotte Tomlinson wanted to talk to her. Something related to Zayn and Louis. And she'd given her number so that Gigi can contact her. She didn't know what to do.

"You don't have to decide right now. I'll text you her number as she asked me to. You can decide whether or not to contact her later. But if you decide not to contact her, tell me so she doesn't wait." Liam said when Gigi failed to reply for a few minutes.

Gigi nodded and said a 'yeah okay' when she realised that he couldn't see her. The call ended right after that and now Gigi was in a dilemma. She knew how much Zayn missed Louis and his other bandmates and Gigi hated to see him this way. They sometimes talked about it but Louis and Harry were a topic neither brought up, especially Louis. Louis was a sore subject for Zayn. He missed him so much but at the same time he was hesitant to contact him. At some level, Gigi understood the hesitancy. Now it was up to her what to do. Charlotte might have a good enough plan to actually contact her for it. But what will Gigi do? 

While Gigi wishes Zayn was friends with his bandmates again and talking to Louis would be going in that direction and already reaching halfway through, they had hurt Zayn too. When Zayn was receiving all the hate from the fandom for leaving, his bandmates never defended him. They kept shut. Yes, they were hurt and angry, given how Zayn had told them, but they were like brothers and it hurt him a lot when they didn't defend him. Of course, Zayn wasn't an angel too. He'd told them about his decision like two nights before it went public and that would have hurt the boys too. And then there was Louis' X Factor performance in 2016 which hurt Louis more than anything.

Her internal monologue made her realise that both parties had hurt each other. They were hoth still hurt and sad but neither wanted to take an initiative to actually correct it. Gigi made an instant decision; she wanted to be the person to take that initiative and help Zayn and the boys. She picked up her phone, went to Liam's chat where he'd sent Charlotte's phone number and dialed the number immediately. 

Chapter Text

❛ That without you here, life is just a lie

This is not the end, this is not the end ❜

It's been two days since Lottie set her plan in motion by contacting Gigi. Luckily enough, Gigi called back the same day and was in agreement with their plan. Which is supposed to be today. All Lottie has to do is do something that will remind Louis of Zayn. Whenever he missed Zayn, he'd go to this little café about 15 minutes away from their home where Louis and Zayn spent a lot of time when they were in One Direction. And it turns out, Zayn does the same. Although a little less since the café is far from his home but he does that. And yes, you guessed it. Their plan was to remind them of each other so that they'd visit the café, meet, and hopefully talk. It was far reaching but Lottie was almost sure it would work. 

Something that would make Lottie's work easier is that these days, Louis often thought about the days of One Direction and of Zayn. So it'll not seem too abrupt if Lottie brought that topic up. Now remained the question of how she'll approach it. But Lottie decided to just go with it when it happens. 

That afternoon when she walked into the living room, her brother was staring outside at their garden, very deep in thoughts. And he was thinking of Zayn, again. This week must have some significance to their friendship because Louis has been thinking about it way too much this week. But today, it'll work in her favour.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked.

Louis' face snapped to look up at her as she sat on the couch in front of him. 

"Huh? Oh nothing." He replied off handedly.

"Come on Lou. I know you well enough to know it wasn't nothing. And I think I have an idea of what you were thinking about too." She said.

"Oh? Do tell me Lots."

"Zayn." Was all she replied. Louis' face went blank and he didn't reply for a while.

"Whatever gave you that idea? Why the fuck would I think of him?" He tried to bring disgust in his tone but it came out sad.

"You know why Louis. I know you miss him. Just give him a call you know. Please?" She reasoned.

"Why should I call him Lottie. He is the one who hurt me. HE left the band with barely any notice. HE said he'd come to my performance and then ditched me there too. That one day when I needed him more than anything. And he wasn't there, like always." Louis replied with a hurt and angry tone.

"You know him Lou. He has social anxiety. It's not easy for him to be in front of that crowd. And he would also be meeting his best mates after a long time." At that she heard a snort of 'yeah right'. She sighed. She had to go a bit hard now.

"And it's not like you're all saint now, are you. You hurt him too, Lou. So bad. What about that?" Louis was now giving her a shocked look.

"I hurt him? What did I do to hurt him Lottie? Do explain." He yelled at her.

"You honestly believe that you did nothing wrong?" She was surprised. Louis thought he hadn't done anything wrong? He had hurt Zayn so much too and he didn't even know what he did?

"You're saying you don't know what you did? Oh god Lou how stupid are you?! You don't even know what you did." She was close to yelling too.

"After Zayn left the band, he was getting so much hate. Most of the 1D fans were hating on him for leaving. And what did you do? Never once did you defend him! None of you guys ever spoke a word in his defence! You just kept shut. Yes you were hurt but when half the world was against you, you'd expect your best mates to defend you. But NO! You did nothing to defend him. You let people hate on him. You think that wouldn't have hurt Zayn? It would have hurt him more than he probably hurt you. And you don't even know that you did wrong." She was definitely yelling. She was so angry at her brother for being so oblivious. Her brother was just staring at her, shocked. So she continued, "So for one second, keep your ego and pride aside and call your fucking best mate! This is what mom wanted you to do too!"

She regretted the last line as soon as it came out of her mouth. She couldn't believe she just said that.

Louis was close to tears now but his face looked very angry. "I can't believe you brought mom in this argument. That was low, Lottie." He yelled at her. "I need to get out of here, now." He said that and went to grab his coat.

Before Lottie can process what was happening, he was by the door. "Don't wait for dinner. I'll be back late." Louis yelled and left, slamming the door.

Lottie wasn't sure of her plan now. She had just jeopardized it. It would have definitely worked if she hadn't brought up mom but she had. She had screwed up, bad. But she couldn't do much other than wait for Louis to get back home now. She grabbed her phone and texted Gigi.

'Louis left but I think I screwed up and I'm not sure our plan will work now.' She tossed her phone back on the couch and sank deeper into it, her hands on her head, as she thought of how bad she had screwed up. 

Gigi didn't know how she was going to talk to Zayn. She had talked to Lottie two days ago and they had planned on how to reunite those two idiots. Gigi had to remind Zayn of 1D and Louis for their plan to work. And she had no idea how she would do it.

"Gi. Kendall had called when you were asleep. She said she would come over today evening since it's been way too long since she has met Khai." Zayn told her, entering their bedroom.

"She met Khai 2 days ago." I replied with a laugh.

"You know how she is Gi. She loves Khai so much and she should spend time with Khai whenever she can and wants to. She's your best friend and Khai should know her." Zayn said, smiling slightly. Gigi just nodded.

This was a nice time to bring up the boys. Things had set up perfectly for her. All she has to do now is not mees up.

"You're right. But what about your friends, Zee?" I questioned.

"I don't have any friends close enough to meet up with Khai." He said a little too quietly.

"That's bullshit and you know that. The boys would love Khai more than they love you." I chuckled at that. "Khai should know about YOUR bestfriends too Zee."

"Gi please don't start this now. We haven't talked in years. The only contact I've had with any of them is a small talk with Niall and Liam. And don't even get me started with Louis and Harry." He said, shaking his head slightly. "I hurt them and they hurt me. They don't want anything with me now."

"Don't say that. As you said, you both hurt each other so it's even now. Talk to them Zee. Give them a call, text them, anything. Maybe you can start with Harry or Louis. Start with the difficult ones first so it's easier later. Call Louis, Zayn. I know how much you miss him. I've seen you going through old photos and videos of yours. You miss them but you are being stubborn. Call Louis or anyone you want. Take a step towards building your friendship back with your brothers, your partner in crime." Gigi reasoned with him.

"I can't do this. Especially not Louis." He was shaking his head. Gigi tried to argue back but he interrupted her, "I just can't do it Gi. Don't argue about it. I CAN'T DO IT." He said the last part a little loudly.

For a few seconds, both of them remained where they were before Zayn got up. "I need some time alone Gi. I'll have dinner out somewhere. Don't wait up." With that he just went down the stairs and out the door.

Gigi sunk back into the bed. She hated seeing him like this but this was needed. Now she just hoped it had worked well for Lottie too. 

She went for her phone to text Lottie that Zayn had left when she saw her text. Oh god, Lottie wasn't sure if she was successful with the plan. But atleast Louis had left home. Maybe it will work. Hopefully it will. But all she can do is wait and hope for the best. 

Chapter Text

❛ Now my heart's breakin' and I don't know what to do ❜

Louis had left home half an hour ago, furious. He was a lot calmer now though. He had taken the last 30 minutes to kick around stuff to use up all his anger and now he was finally calm enough to sit back and kind of relax. He thought of going to the little café but that would just bring up memories he didn't want to revisit now, so he just settled for the park not far from said café. 

As much as Louis tried not to think of Lottie's words, his mind seemed to wander there. After a while, he gave up trying to fight it and sat down on the park bench to ponder. He had never before tried to see his and Zayn's fight from his point of view. He had hurt Zayn so much and he was going around thinking that it was all Zayn's fault. It was Louis' fault, he understood now. He started it all by not being there when Zayn needed him. It still hurt that he wasn't there after him mom died but he can understand a little better now. Louis had brought this upon himself and all this time, he had gone around blaming Zayn.

As much as he hated to admit, Lottie was also right about their mom. She did want him to make amends with Zayn. Louis had tried and Zayn didn't want that. So, Louis had let his ego get in the way and leave it at that. He wouldn't go around begging for Zayn to be his friend he didn't want that. But now, he had to rethink that too. He was still so mad about that day but he also understood that maybe Zayn wanted to show him how much Louis' lack of support earlier had hurt him. It didn't sound like something Zayn would do but when someone is hurt, you never know.

Louis didn't quite know what to do. He missed Zayn, of course he did, everyday. Everytime he was having a smoke, he'd miss Zayn. Everytime Freddie was home with him, he missed Zayn. Zayn was the only one Louis had talked about wanting children. Now he had one and Zayn wasn't even here for that. Freddie had also picked up drawing and painting at school and he would draw something for him and Harry everytime and Louis thought of Zayn everytime. If only they had been better at helping Zayn through his anxiety, if only they hadn't ghosted Zayn, if only they had defended him when he needed it, if only Zayn had opened up a little bit more, if only Zayn had given them a little more notice before leaving, if only Zayn was there that night. There were too many if onlys.

Louis remembered the day they'd all sat down to get to know each other the first time. They'd clicked instantly, becoming closer than ever in a matter of hours. They had spent days together as friends before starting to work together. That night, Louis had promised himself that whatever happened, he wouldn't let those 4 get in harm's way. He had promised himself that he would protect them from everything. He wouldn't let anyone break them apart. He had always been protective of those he loved and those 4 boys had taken the place of someone he loved. He broke that promise. He let them all break apart because of the management. He hadn't protected Liam during their tours and Liam had to turn to alcohol. He hadn't protected Niall from the management when they didn't let him have a kneww surgery or when they cut off his mic. He hadn't protected Harry from getting that womanizer image. And above all, he hadn't protected Zayn when his anxiety and eating disorder. Louis noticed that Zayn wasn't eating much but he brushed it off. Zayn's mental health had affected so much and Louis hadn't done anything. He broke all the promises he'd made to himself that first day.

Louis sank back on the park bench, running his hands through his hair. He thought of all those days he had spent with 4 of his best friends. He missed those days; he missed it when he could be himself with his friends. He just sat there going through his memories for ten minutes. There were so many promises they had all broken, especially the ones Louis had made to himself. But they weren't completely broken. They still had time. They only needed someone to take an initiative towards mending those broken promises. And today, Louis decided it was going to be him. He took his phone out of his pocket, scrolled through Liam's chat to months ago, clicked on the contact, and called the number.

Louis had left home half an hour ago, furious. He was a lot calmer now though. He had taken the last 30 minutes to kick around stuff to use up all his anger and now he was finally calm enough to sit back and kind of relax. He thought of going to the little café but that would just bring up memories he didn't want to revisit now, so he just settled for the park not far from said café. 

As much as Louis tried not to think of Lottie's words, his mind seemed to wander there. After a while, he gave up trying to fight it and sat down on the park bench to ponder. He had never before tried to see his and Zayn's fight from his point of view. He had hurt Zayn so much and he was going around thinking that it was all Zayn's fault. It was Louis' fault, he understood now. He started it all by not being there when Zayn needed him. It still hurt that he wasn't there after him mom died but he can understand a little better now. Louis had brought this upon himself and all this time, he had gone around blaming Zayn.

As much as he hated to admit, Lottie was also right about their mom. She did want him to make amends with Zayn. Louis had tried and Zayn didn't want that. So, Louis had let his ego get in the way and leave it at that. He wouldn't go around begging for Zayn to be his friend if he didn't want that. But now, he had to rethink that too. He was still so mad about that day but he also understood that maybe Zayn wanted to show him how much Louis' lack of support earlier had hurt him. It didn't sound like something Zayn would do but when someone is hurt, you never know.

Louis didn't quite know what to do. He missed Zayn, of course he did, everyday. Everytime he was having a smoke, he'd miss Zayn. Everytime Freddie was home with him, he missed Zayn. Zayn was the only one Louis had talked about wanting children. Now he had one and Zayn wasn't even here for that. Freddie had also picked up drawing and painting at school and he would draw something for him and Harry everytime and Louis thought of Zayn everytime. If only they had been better at helping Zayn through his anxiety, if only they hadn't ghosted Zayn, if only they had defended him when he needed it, if only Zayn had opened up a little bit more, if only Zayn had given them a little more notice before leaving, if only Zayn was there that night. There were too many if onlys.

Louis remembered the day they'd all sat down to get to know each other the first time. They'd clicked instantly, becoming closer than ever in a matter of hours. They had spent days together as friends before starting to work together. That night, Louis had promised himself that whatever happened, he wouldn't let those 4 get in harm's way. He had promised himself that he would protect them from everything. He wouldn't let anyone break them apart. He had always been protective of those he loved and those 4 boys had taken the place of someone he loved. He broke that promise. He let them all break apart because of the management. He hadn't protected Liam during their tours and Liam had to turn to alcohol. He hadn't protected Niall from the management when they didn't let him have a knee surgery or when they cut off his mic. He hadn't protected Harry from getting that womanizer image. And above all, he hadn't protected Zayn when his anxiety and eating disorder got bad. Louis noticed that Zayn wasn't eating much but he brushed it off. Zayn's mental health had been affected so much and Louis hadn't done anything. He broke all the promises he'd made to himself that first day.

Louis sank back on the park bench, running his hands through his hair. He thought of all those days he had spent with 4 of his best friends. He missed those days; he missed it when he could be himself with his friends. He just sat there going through his memories for ten minutes. There were so many promises they had all broken, especially the ones Louis had made to himself. But they weren't completely broken. They still had time. They only needed someone to take an initiative towards mending those broken promises. And today, Louis decided it was going to be him. He took his phone out of his pocket, scrolled through Liam's chat to months ago, clicked on the contact, and called the number. 

Chapter Text

I know how much people hate this but please read!

I'm sorry I couldn't update and have left you all hanging like this but my exam is in 10 days and I'm very stressed so I couldn't find time to write it. I'll definitely write it after my exams. I will NOT abandon this so don't worry. My last exam is in 20th December. I hope you all understand.

Now, a lot of times when I say I don't have time and the next update is gonna be late, I end writing the next part in a day or two. Don't want to get your hopes high, but this might happen haha.

Thank you for reading this and the book! Also, if you have any plot ideas for after this series, OT5 friendship ones, comment them :)

Chapter Text

❛You gotta help me, I'm losin' my mind❜

Zayn wished he'd gotten his coat before leaving. It was freezing. He had realised it as soon as he stepped out of his house but he didn't want to go back inside. Now, he wished he had. He's walking around aimlessly in this cold, subconsciously going towards the café. Today was supposed to be a good day. Both him and Gigi had a day off after a long time, but Gigi had to go ahead and ruin it by bringing the boys in the conversation.

Zayn had been so angry when he left his house but after thirty minutes of nothing but his thoughts, he realised that Gigi was right. They'd both hurt each other and now they were both being stubborn. In the last decade, Zayn had achieved everything he'd thought was impossible for him and he was so happy he'd been wrong. He used to think 'if being wrong meant this, he'd rather be wrong than right'. He never thought he'd be the part of the biggest boyband on the planet. He never thought he'd meet his best friends at the X factor auditions. He never thought he would experience the best and worst days of his life with 4 of his brothers. But he had.

Zayn never would have thought that he would not talk to the boys for 5 years straight. And that happened too. Now he wished he wasn't wrong. He wished he never thought that being wrong was better than being right. He would have rather that things never got this bad between the boys and him. Zayn always knew that they'd both been at fault but he never tried to make it right. Maybe he should have. All it would have taken him was one phone call. Just one little touch on the screen and he just knew that right now, the boys would have been hogging Zayn's guest bedroom and the couch. A little smile formed on his face at the thought which went down immediately when he realised that he hadn't. He hadn't done any of that and the boys were so far away from him.

'You can still do that' a voice inside Zayn said, sounding suspiciously like Gigi. The voice is right, he thought. He can still make this happen. If there was one thing he was still sure of with the them is that they can never be angry with each other for long. They'd had fights all the time during the 1D days. Some would resolve within hours, some within days, some within weeks, some even took months but they did resolve them eventually. The only difference was, this one took years. But Zayn was sure they'd be back to being the idiots like before soon enough.

With a new hope, Zayn reached down in his pocket for his phone. He'll call Niall. Call him a coward but no amount of hope will get him to call Louis or Harry first. Before he can tap on the call button beside Niall's number, his phone vibrated, indicating that someone was calling him. He checked the ID but it was an unknown number. 'Weird, ' he thought, 'how is there an unknown number calling him on his personal number? ' He debated not picking up but he had a feeling that he should pick this one up. So he did.

'Hello?'

"Zayn?" A soft voice whispered so quietly that he almost missed it. It was a voice he recognised. There were very few voices in this world he would recognise at any time and this was one of them. Even if he disguised his voice Zayn would recognise it. So what that he hadn't really heard that voice in over 5 years? He still knew this voice and he recognised the tone too. Louis was nervous, which he understood, but why was Louis calling him now? After all these years?

In his thoughts, he forgot to answer. Another louder call of 'Zayn?' brought him back from his reverie. "Louis?" He heard a sigh on the other end at that.

"I know you probably don't want anything to do with me right now but I have to talk to you; I need to talk to you. Can we meet up please? If you're in London?" Louis said, his voice begging. 

"I-yeah sure. Meet you at the café?" Louis would know which café, he hoped at least.

"Yeah that's good. I'll be there in 15 minutes." His voice full of relief

"Okay. I'll be there in 20 too I believe." Zayn replied. He hesitated a moment before saying, "You're wrong. I will never want nothing with you, no matter what." With that, he dropped the call, not waiting for a reply. 

Chapter Text

❛We'll be alright❜

Louis has been at the café for 10 minutes now without any signs of Zayn. What if he doesn't come? What if he wants nothing to do with Louis despite what he said? No, he did say he was farther than Louis was. He also said he'll never not want anything to do with Louis. He'll come, he'll have to.

Louis doesn't know what he will say when Zayn is actually here, he doesn't even know where to start. He doesn't even know when all this had even started. Was it when they were overworked or has it always been like this. Zayn said he never wanted to be in the band. So he has been living like this since 2010? Or was that just something he said in that moment and didn't mean it. Louis doesn't want to believe that the person with whom he had best years wasn't living his best years then. That was too much for him to even think.

Louis had almost given up when he heard the café door open almost 20 minutes after he had arrived. He saw Zayn before Zayn saw him. He looked so different but at the same time he looked like the Zayn from years ago. His hair were now dyed pink. Louis never thought pink would suit him but it definitely did. His eyes still the same light brown but they didn't shine like they did all those years ago during one direction. His appearance did break something in Louis. He looked alright but he could see that Zayn had struggled to get here. 

He got out of his thoughts when Zayn started walking towards him. Louis had been in his head for a couple minutes it seems. He stood up as Zayn made his way towards him, not knowing what to do. Does he smile? Does he shake hands? Does he hug? He settled with a little smile. Zayn smiled back, of course he did.

"Zayn." He said as Zayn finally reached his table. He stood there awkwardly because he still didn't know what to do.

Zayn stood there for a couple minutes, not knowing what to do either. Louis hates that it's gotten so awkward between them. He was about to motion Zayn to sit in front of Louis when Zayn came flying towards him, hugging him tightly. Louis stood there frozen for a couple seconds before hesitantly hugging him back. It had been years since they had hugged like that; so tight that it seemed they'll squeeze the life out of each other.

Louis didn't know how long they stood there like that, tears running down both their eyes, in each other's arms and swaying slightly. They had a lot to talk about and were a long way from where they were 10 years ago but at that moment, he knew. Louis knew that they'll make it. They'll be alright. 

They'll be alright.