Let Your Good Heart Lead You Home (Zarry AU)

Q&A

Instead of writing a sequel or an epilogue, I decided to just answer the questions I've received so far. An epilogue wouldn't be long enough to answer all the questions and a sequel, well... I'm just not up for that. I'll answer a few of the most frequently asked questions here, and if you want you can ask more in the comments below. I check my notifications quite often so you can definitely expect a reply!

Also, fair warning: none of this will make you feel better/happy. Just so you know.

So, here we go:

What happened to Zayn?

(including Gemma's/Liam's/Niall's/Louis' reaction)

This is a question that I get a LOT. To such a degree that for a while I considered writing a sequel. It only took me writing one paragraph to decide that's probably a bad idea. Still, for funsies, I'll include what I wrote (from Zayn's POV):

He's floating.

Somewhere in a dark abyss where he's trapped under his own weight, suffocating. Actually, he's lying in his bed, but it feels all the same. He doesn't remember the last time he got up anymore, doesn't know if he's hungry because reality isn't reality anymore. It can't be the real world.

Not without Harry.

After writing that little snippet I discovered that, wow, that would be one depressing ass story. So I decided not to. BUT it does help to show what Zayn's mindset is during the aftermath of Harry's death. Now that we know how Zayn's feeling in general - sad and depressed - I'll go on to a description of the events that take place after Harry's death.

First off, Zayn is forced to leave Harry's body where it is. Cruel, yes, but necessary. From then on, it's pretty much a waiting game. It takes a few days or so for the bodies to be discovered (Zayn and the other dude fired shots at the same time, so Harry's killer is also dead), which is when the real shit starts.

Obviously people have to be notified first. There's Gemma, who's pretty much Harry's only family left, and Liam, who is registered as Harry's emergency contact at the hospital etc. (Gemma lives in London so if there's ever an emergency it's not like she can be there asap).

Gemma was shocked when she got the news. After that wore off she was kind of heartbroken, because she only just got into contact with her brother after such a long period of silence (she's glad she reached out when she did, seeing how little time there was left, apparently). She's also suspicious, because she knows about Harry's past and that he killed their dad. Really she's just feeling conflicted and confused.

Liam... poor Liam. He just lost his best friend, and is incredibly confused about the how and why. For a while he's inconsolable, because he's a person who feels very deeply and he's known Harry for a very long time. It really helps that he's got Louis by his side, and speaking of-

Louis was with Liam when he got the call. He didn't know Harry as long, but was still incredibly sad (obviously), although he felt like he had to be strong for Liam. So, I'd say the grieving process for him is a bit slow. Both Liam and Louis decided to invite Niall over to tell him, and the three of them kind of bonded over what happened. They became even closer and really leaned on each other for support during such a difficult time.

After everyone was notified, the investigation started. People were brought in for questioning (starting with Liam). Obviously it didn't really help clear up the situation, but Liam did mention a 'Zayn Malik.' They went through Harry's phone to see if there was a Zayn in his contacts, and found him along with their chat history (Zarry were extremely careful not to reveal anything in their texts), but they found nothing odd, other than Zayn having sent multiple messages in the past few days asking Harry where he was and if he was okay (honestly he had to keep up an act, and knew the police would get a hold of Harry's phone).

So, Zayn got a call. They asked if he could come to the station for questioning. He had to go to the station and pretend he didn't know what they were going to tell him. Of course it wasn't hard for him to pretend to be sad/cry, and they decided to let him grief for a bit before poking questions at him. BUT, as Zayn was walking out of the station, he bumped into Liam and Louis (Louis was scheduled for questioning that day and Liam was there for emotional support). Liam recognized Zayn from the photo Harry showed him, so while Louis was inside for questioning they ended up talking. Through Liam he found out that they were suspecting Harry of the murder, and possibly even more than that (honestly, there's two serial killers in the city and then two people show up dead? Suspicious). Liam was absolutely convinced that it couldn't be Harry, and through this conversation Zayn discovered that he couldn't let Harry take the fall for this. Couldn't let his image be damaged like this, couldn't let their friends find out what they did, because even if Zarry believed in their cause, they knew others wouldn't understand.

What happened? Well, Zayn decided he'd confess. I haven't thought much about the logistics of everything and how it would work, but let's just say he does. Zayn confesses, claims he committed the crimes to clear Harry's name. According to him, Harry just got caught in the middle of something where he wasn't supposed to be, and Zayn ''should have known better.'' Zayn offered a shocking amount of detailed information about all the crimes, which pretty much proved that he had to be the murderer.

So, Harry's all clear, but now everyone hates Zayn. He doesn't mind, though. To him life had lost all purpose and meaning, anyway.

After some thought, they decided to put Zayn in a mental asylum (something along those lines) instead of prison. He was deemed as too unstable (random outbursts, violent sadness kind of thing), which would make him unfit for a regular prison. From there on he pretty much deteriorates, and eventually he snaps. They find his body in his bathroom (I won't be more descriptive of his suicide).

I like to imagine that, after Zayn passes away, he 'wakes up' in a wheat field, bathing in golden sunlight. He gets up and spots a farm house in the distance. It's the farm he and Harry dreamed of. Finally, they're reunited. Zayn gets to meet Harry's mother (he found her and she's living in the house, too). They all get to 'live' happily ever after in the afterlife.

And that's it. That's what happens.

That's it for now! If you want to know anything else, or want me to elaborate on something, just leave a comment!

All the love xxx <3