"You're telling me what?!" Simon Cowell screamed over the phone, causing Louis to hold the device further away from his ear with a grimace.
"He's gone, he left us last night," Louis sighed, pacing the floor in front of the other three boys.
Harry clung onto Liam's side while Niall watched Louis nervously.
"Where is Zayn now?" Simon asked coolly. Louis rolled his eyes and snapped back.
"Not here Simon, get a hint," Liam smirked at Louis' sass and started towards the fridge.
"This is serious Tomlinson. I'm contacting the rest of our team right now. We will handle this and while we do..just stay put," Simon growled and hung up the phone.
Louis glared at his cellphone and looked back to the boys with a halfhearted shrug.
"He's pissed."
"Naturally, he's losing money."
"So what's the verdict?"
"He said they'll take care of it," Louis laughed humorlessly,"whatever that means."
"Prepare for a rough few days lads. It's going to be hectic within management," Liam walked back in and tossed his friends a few drinks.
"We have to tell the fans," Harry gasped quietly, catching the tea in his lap.
"Simon said they'll deal with the public also," Louis said quickly before Harry started worrying too much.
"So now what?" Niall took a sip of the bottled tea and questioned.
"Concert after the weekend, we have to figure out who's singing Zayn's parts," Louis mentioned closing his eyes.
"He has a lot of high notes," Niall frowned and looked to Harry and Liam.
"Liam no, I can't go that high, I'll mess it up," Harry stammered. Louis pinched the skin of his forehead, he couldn't deal with anymore tears today.
Liam cut in with an assuring smile and a hand on Harry's arm. "Hey, hey, it's okay, we can work on it."
"The fans are going to be so upset if I can't hit his notes," Harry worried.
"Just like we're going to have to adjust, they will too, it'll be okay," Niall pointed out and threw an arm around the youngest.
Scrunching up his nose, Louis got to work collecting lyrics from their music room.
"This is going to take forever," he grumbled at the sheets in his hands. Another setback and this band is going to lose it, louis thought.
The weekend was filled with back and forth fights with management and the struggle to learn Zayn's parts. It was the night before the concert and the group of four sat criss-crossed on their kitchen floor.
Niall and Louis popped marshmallows into their mouths while looking down at the music in their laps.
"Diana, let me be the one to light a fire inside those eyes, you've been lonely, you don't even know me but..I.." Liam sang but paused to glance at the clock that read 1:30am.
Louis followed his eyes to the clock, letting his head fall into his hands. Yeah, they were going to lose it.
"I can feel you crying, Diana," Niall finished for Liam as he threw a marshmallow his way. Liam caught it in his mouth, chuckled, and began again.
"Let me be the one to lift your heart up and save your life, I don't think you even realize, baby you'd be saving mine," Liam and Louis sang. Niall yawned and laid his head against Louis', looking at Harry for the rest of the lyrics.
"Diana, Diana..." Harry struggled to hit Zayn's note. Looking back to the boys with disappointed eyes, he whispered the last line.
"Baby you'd be saving mine."
"You almost got it that time Harry, come on, don't stress out," Liam patted his shoulder and pointed at the ticking clock.
"Unless you lot want to run through it once more, I say we get some rest," Liam continued.
"I don't know if I'll be able to sleep," Niall sighed, holding his phone up to show the thousands of messages and tweets about Zayn's departure that constantly lit up his screen.
"As soon as we do the show tomorrow the fans should calm down knowing that we're not going anywhere," Louis mentioned.
"And what if they don't believe us?" Harry accepted Niall's hand and stood up with the rest.
"They will, have a little faith Hazza," Liam smiled with heavy eyes. The four boys slipped into their rooms and waited for sleep to take them as new lyrics, higher notes, and disappointed fans plagued their minds.
~
The sun shined on the Manchester flat early the next morning. Louis and Liam were the first ones awake. Sitting tiredly at the kitchen table, Louis broke the silence.
"You ready for tonight, Payno?"
"As ready as I'll ever be."
"Nervous?" Louis picked at his blueberry muffin, glancing up at Liam who was sipping his coffee.
"Yes but more so for Niall and Harry, they're scared as hell."
"They'll be fine, strong boys," Louis quickly noted.
"Of course they are but I don't think you can really speak for Harry anymore," Liam commented carefully.
"What's that supposed to mean?" He stopped eating and looked up at his younger mate.
"After your fall out a lot changed with him, you know? He has a lot more weight on his shoulders."
"He does?" Louis felt like he was sinking. Had he been so blind to the youngest member of the band that he didn't even notice a change?
"Mhmm, you're right though, he's strong. He's just a bit more guarded, doesn't want to make a mistake."
"That's silly, we all make mistakes," Louis remembered the numerous times he received angry calls from Simon.
"Yes but his, regardless of what they are, are inevitably bigger because the public focuses on him."
"So this really affects him then?" Louis asked, uncomfortably shifting in his seat.
"With all of his anxiety, it's at least twice as bad for him," Liam sighed.
"Anxiety?" Louis furrowed his eyebrows but was quickly cut off by footsteps in the hallway.
A sleepy looking 21 year old stumbled into the kitchen with a lilac blanket wrapped around him.
"Speak of the devil," Liam smiled at the boy.
"You were talking about me Liam?" Harry laughed with a sleepy voice that made Louis' breath hitch. He walked past the boys and picked up an orange, hopping onto the kitchen counter easily.
"I was just telling Louis how we were going to have to wake you and the blonde one up if you didn't get up soon," Liam shot Louis a knowing look.
" 'm up, you want me to get Ni?" Harry asked.
"I've got it H," Liam put his cup in the sink and walked towards the bedroom.
Harry looked up, accidentally making eye contact with Louis. Seeming embarrassed, he jumped off the counter and left the room without another glance.
Louis frowned at his muffin. He really has missed a lot, hasn't he?
~
In the blink of an eye, they were on stage at rehearsal. Most of the setlist was going fine, but they were approaching the songs that were harder to perform and everyone was getting stressed.
Ready to run was coming to a close and Harry had a continuous part that was difficult to do without a pause. All the boys held their breath and watched him.
"This time I'm ready to run," he sang beautifully.
"I'd give everything that I got for your love," he held the note but ran out of breath for the next lyric.
Liam and Louis jumped in immediately .
"This time I'm ready to run," they both sang .
"Escape from the city and follow the sun," Harry jumped back in. They finished the song and Liam ran up to Harry.
"Sorry, I'll get it once we're live," Harry smiled apologetically.
"It's fine, are you sure you don't want me to just pick up there tonight?"
"Liam! I could do it too," Louis cut in.
"It's okay, really," Harry assured.
"What's wrong," Niall walked over with his guitar hanging from his neck.
"I don't want you to be overwhelmed with all your new parts, I can do it Haz," Liam insisted.
"I've done it before, I can do it again, just cover me in case."
"Liam, let me, you have to be ready for the chorus," Louis rubbed his head frustratedly.
"Want to run it again?" Niall suggested.
The band started Ready To Run for a second time and the tension was getting worse .
"There's a lightening in your eyes I..." Harry began with a deep breath but no sound came out.
"Guys, the mic's not working," Harry sighed, tossing it to a tech guy who jogged out on stage.
Liam, Niall, and Louis sat down on the stage steps seemingly giving up. What else could possibly go wrong this week, Niall thought.
"It's okay guys, please don't give up just yet," Harry murmured sitting down with them.
Harry was just as stressed as his mates, but when things were tense he always tried to be the glimmer of hope, even when he just wanted to cry.
"I can lend you broken parts," Harry sang softly, looking at his boys, hoping they would join in.
"That might fit," Niall smiled at Harry and sang.
"Like this," Liam continued with thankful eyes at the youngest.
"And I will give you all my heart," Louis sang quietly.
"So we can..." Harry prompted.
"Start it all over again," all four boys finished and stood up for a group hug.
"I know this is hard for all of us. We've never been a four piece, but we just have to put our hearts into it and begin fresh," Harry said into the hug.
"Let's start it all over again," Liam grinned and for the first time it didn't feel like the end, it felt like the beginning.