What A Feeling // 1D AU ✓

Chapter 14

~With no way out and a long way down~

Perrie was sitting in the garden that morning. She looked peaceful and serene. There were tools spread out along the dirt, surrounding her body. She was wearing sweatpants and a crop top. She was building a bomb.

Light classical music filtered in through her earbuds, and she didn't seem worried about the fact that if she made one wrong move, she'd be blown up. Most likely Louis and Fin over there would too.

Fin couldn't play much yet, but Louis was sitting on a blanket with her, enjoying the morning and playing with her. He was sitting cross-legged, blowing raspberries on her tummy and watching her giggle.

Zayn was curled up around Louis' body, asleep. Louis thought he needed the sun and the sleep. And it was actually very comfortable there, where he was. It was also good that the grass wasn't wet and that the sun was hot.

It was calm.

Then Louis' phone buzzed with a text. He shook Zayn awake. "Leave me alone." He grumbled.

"No, Zayn, we have to go."

"Where?" Zayn complained, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

"Hospital." Louis said gently, picking up his daughter and rushing back inside.

"For who? Where's Liam? Where's Harry? Is it Ed?" Zayn was having a panic attack. Perrie watched them hurry back inside with semi-interest, but just went back to building her bomb instead of investigating.

"Just put some shoes on and get the diaper bag from upstairs, would you?"

"Louis, who is it?!?" Zayn said, shaking him.

"Harry." He said, softly. Zayn felt relieved and terrible at the same time.

"Are you okay to drive?"

"Can you call an Uber, please?"

---

"Harry Styles."

"Relation?"

"Boyfriend. Friend. Daughter."

The two of them followed the nurse back to Harry's room. He was hooked up to some fluids and pain meds. "Just a flare? Normal?"

"Yeah, it happens a lot. But, he passed out and that's what worries me." Louis sat next to him, grabbing Harry's hand. He was asleep, showing his red face and the characteristic rash on his face.

Zayn slowly backed out of the room, holding Fin on his chest. "Can you tell me where my other friend's room is? I'll just let them be alone for now?"

"Sure, just give me the name." The nurse said, smiling at Zayn and Fin.

"Ed Sheeran. S-H-E-E-R-A-N." The nurse paused for a long time. "He had leukemia. Red hair. Lots of freckles. Really kind man." Her face fell as Zayn described his friend to her, and Zayn swallowed the spit in his mouth.

"Come with me." She said, pretending everything was fine. But it looked like she was panicking. As an introvert, Zayn recognized this in her, and tried to take some deep breaths.

She took Zayn into the empty elevator, and then used her keycard to get down to the basement. As soon as he saw the sign, he stopped in his tracks. "The morgue?"

"Wait here." She said sweetly. Zayn was panicking - the deep breathing had not prepared him. When she came back a moment later, she had a clear bag with her. "This is his stuff."

"What do you mean?" Zayn panickedly said. "Ed's not dead."

"He died last night." The nurse said.

Zayn felt dizzy. "Oh no. There was someone with him. They would have told us."

"He went in his sleep." She helped Zayn back into the elevator, still holding the bag. He felt like he was going to puke. "He had a DNR, you see."

Zayn understood her, but he had stopped feeling. Fin was crying. When him and the nurse parted ways, he took the bag and went back to Harry's room, where Harry was rousing.

"Zayn, what's wrong?" Louis said, immediately grabbing his child. The bag slipping through Zayn's fingers as he started to cry.

'Ed's dead." He sobbed. Louis passed Fin to Harry, and crushed Zayn in a hug. "Louis, he died alone. Alone."

Louis broke away from the hug, the event still not hitting him yet. "We knew this would happen." He said, face emotionless. "He was pretty sick." He patted Zayn on the back then, and his eyes flashed with panic. "Call Simon, would you?"

Then Louis ran out of the room.

Zayn went to Harry for comfort, still sobbing. "You're not upset?" He asked Harry, who was calm.

"I can be sad when everyone else is doing better. Also being sad takes too much strength." Zayn laid down next to Harry, who rubbed little circles up and down his back, while also trying to lull his baby back to sleep.

"Hush, little baby, don't you cry..." Harry sang.

Zayn tried to calm down, but knew that he was entitled to his emotions. "Where's Liam?" He sobbed harder.

"Daddy's gonna sing you a lu-la-by."