in the hills • zayn malik

six- panic

six- panic

song for this chapter: 'little lion man' by Mumford and Sons

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Louis closed the car door behind him, his hands shaking. Liam was sitting in the passenger seat, his eyes red from staying up with the rest of the boys talking to the police, asking people in Zayn’s apartment if they had any information on Zayn’s disappearance.

To say that Louis was worried was a complete understatement. He didn’t know that he could feel this lost and confused, especially when he found out that one of his best friends- basically a brother in his eyes- had run off, leaving his phone on the counter.

The police had ruled out kidnapping; it seemed like Zayn had known what he was doing, and even had locked the door behind him. But the weird thing was that he left his phone there, which was unlike Zayn. Sure, he forgot things like every human, but if he had been planning on leaving, then he wouldn’t have forgotten it.

“Louis?” Liam said quietly. “Are you alright?”

Louis shook his head, starting the car. “No, I’m not.”

After much deliberation and plenty of confusion, Niall had decided that they were all going to go home, get some sleep, and then meet back at Niall’s place at ten. They had finished talking to the police at eleven, and had all gone to Harry’s place, to regroup and make some decisions on what they should do. Louis doubted that any of them got any sleep, knowing that in his and Liam’s cases, they stayed awake all night, knowing that the other was awake but not knowing what to say.

Liam had been staying at Louis’ place since Sophia and Liam broke it off. The boys had been worried about Liam, since he seemed so different after they broke it off. They were almost scared that he might... he could barely imagine what it would be like if he did.

Louis sighed, his eyes feeling heavy as he drove, and Liam could see that the older boy was losing concentration. Liam turned the radio on, switching to the rock station. Louis jumped slightly and ran his hand through his hair, his bloodshot eyes opening a bit more.

“What are we going to do?” Louis asked, muttering profanities as a car cut in front of him, wanting to give the idiotic driver the middle finger.

Liam was tapping his fingers against his thigh, unsure of how to answer. Liam had no idea what to do, and he was hoping that Harry or Niall had an idea, otherwise they were screwed. The police were truthfully no help, as they said that he had probably run away, and was out in the English countryside, hiding away from everything for a while.

Louis couldn’t help but wondering why the hell Zayn would just leave them like this. Didn’t he realise how much he was making them worry, what he was doing to them? What possessed him to run off, to just leave them without warning?

Was Louis angry? Well perhaps a little bit. He was hurt that there was no warning, and now they were left to pick up the pieces. Louis’ worry was dually split between Zayn’s physical welfare and Liam’s mental health.

It was like Liam was on the verge of snapping, and it scared Louis. He was constantly watching what he was saying, but now with this whole Zayn incident he knew that at any moment, he could just lose it.

Luckily Niall’s apartment- which had been bought only a couple of weeks ago- was close to Louis’ apartment, and sometimes when Louis was bored and in need of some fresh air he would walk over, causing some moments where he nearly got mobbed, but it was good to have him close.

Louis parked the car, and got out, loving the feeling of the slightly warm breeze on his skin. He frowned when he noticed that Eleanor’s car was there, not recalling that she would be coming. He considered calling her, but left it.