Niall went to Zayn's house. He told Harry as much. From what he understood, Zayn never received any message, any phone call, or any form of communication from any of the boys. Including Niall. Harry couldn't even remember a time when he had heard Niall so angry. He wasn't so sure he believed that Zayn hadn't received a single message before that day either, because they had been trying to reach him for months before Niall finally decided to show up at his house.
But Zayn was coming. Zayn was coming and that was what mattered to Harry. Because it mattered to Louis. So he straightened up the flat a bit. Washed the few dishes in the sink, straightened up the couch, and Louis even asked him to shave his face. Or at least help him. His hands shook too much for him to do it alone, and honestly, it made Harry nervous. So he helped Louis until his face was freshly shaven again. Until he was his Louis again. Only, when he was shaven, Harry could see how sunken in his cheeks were, and he almost wished he could put the hair back on.
Louis laid on the couch in anticipation of Zayn's arrival. For a moment, Harry feared he wasn't going to show at all, and he was instantly relieved when he heard three hesitant knocks on the door. Louis perked up immediately and sat up on the couch.
"Z?" He rasped. He trailed Harry to the door, and when he opened it and Zayn stood in the threshold, a wave of relief washed over him. Louis looked almost like a kid on Christmas. Because his best friend had shown up at last.
"Louis." Zayn said, any nerves disappeared and a smile broke on his lips as he opened his arms and welcomed him into an embrace. Louis happily walked into Zayn's arms, and for a moment they stood there, wrapped up in each other. The way Zayn held the back of Louis's head and how Louis burried his head in Zayn's neck, Harry thought he ought to feel a twinge of jealousy. But he didn't. His heart felt nothing but light as he watched their embrace.
"You're awfully thin, mate." Zayn said, holding Louis's face in his hands. Louis looked at him for a long time, and Harry knew that he was searching for the right words to put in the right order.
"You're awfully..... late...Asshole." Zayn laughed, and so did Harry. Everything felt...okay for the first time in weeks. Even though Zayn was a complete ass, he showed up. He showed up when nobody thought he would.
"Hey, Harry." Zayn said, turning to him at last. Harry nodded at him, but he could see Louis glaring at him so he suppressed an eye roll.
"How've you been?" Harry asked.
"I've been unplugged for a bit. It was good, until I found out everything that happened." Zayn replied, stuffing his hands in his pockets. Harry's tensity started to melt away as things started to add up. Zayn often did that in the band, unplugged for a bit. It was becoming harder to stay mad at him because of how Louis mood changed instantly.
"You were unplugged for months?" Harry asked doubtfully. He was still irritated, but he was trying so hard just to be okay while Zayn was there.
"Er, yeah honestly. It's a bit relaxing when you're not on your phone. Been locked in my art room for most of it." Zayn replied. Despite Harry's frustrations, his exhaustion and everything else in between, it was still nice to see him again. "I'm sorry. Honestly. If I would have known sooner about, Lou I would have came. I swear it."
Harry stared at him long and hard before he gave in and pulled Zayn into his embrace. Zayn was tense and thin, but he was better. He had filled out more since they were in the band and Harry was proud of him for finding himself in something else, he just wished it would have been with them.
"I'm glad you're here." Harry said, squeezing his shoulder.
"Me too." Zayn replied.
"Sit." Louis said from behind Zayn. They both turned to look at him and he took Harry's hand and then Zayn's and lead them to the couch. Harry and Zayn sat on both ends and Louis sat in the middle, he pulled a blanket over all of them. Exhaustion hit Harry like a truck as silence filled the room. It seemed to hit everyone at once that Louis was always the center of attention. Always started the conversations and knew how to keep them going. So they sat for a while in silence, and Harry would've fallen asleep if he couldn't taste the awkwardness that was spilling into the room. Because they were waiting for Louis to say something, to spill about his day and engage them both into the conversation. But that didn't happen, because he was fiddling with his fingers and stealing glances at the other boys. All of them waiting for someone to say something. It wasn't until Zayn pulled out his phone did it catch Harry's attention.
