Worth Fighting For

Chapter Twenty-Three

A/N - ok so I have two chapters today cause I forgot to post it last time sorry. 

Zayn tells the boys!!!THIS IS A COMPLETE WORK OF FICTION!!!!!!!!NOT NECESSARILY HOW I EVEN THINK IT WENT JUST HOW I NEEDED IT TO GO FOR THE FIC!!!!!

SO! Big time jump, I know. but i needed to move it along. so yeah. and i know this isn't the ~best~ way to handle it but whever gimme a break. Writing this broke my Zarry/Zouis/Ziall heart and my ot5 heart so yeah... sorry? By the way canon-compliance was out the window a LONG time ago so don't come for me. 

also i just spent like 4 hours rush-writing this to get it out today and i got like 5 hours of sleep and it's barely proofed so please don't mind the typos that in all likelihood definitely exist.

A year and four and a half months. That's how long it lasts. That's how long they last. After signing the new contract, they fell quickly into their roles. Wrote their music, said their lines, played their parts. Shut up and did what they were told. Clung to each other like lifelines.

Liam and Zayn quickly decided not to define their relationship. It's closer to friends with benefits than a true relationship. For the most part, nothing really changes. It's like it's always been. But now Simon, in general, leaves them be. Syco has grown a lot since One Direction began, and he's mercifully preoccupied for most of the time.

That's not to say anything is perfect. Far from it, in fact. Louis is still with Eleanor. He and Harry aren't allowed to interact anymore. Not in interviews, not in public, barely on stage. So, trying to make the most of it, they turned it into a game. How far can I go before you break? They mess with the other boys, play with people in the crowd. They often trade off. Sometimes Louis is feeling antsy, on edge. Those nights are the ones he wrestles Liam to the ground and straddles him. Just to see that reaction from Harry. The one that sends shivers racing down Louis' spine. The cutting, intense stare that seems to leave Louis feeling more exposed than he does when his shirts turn see through with the water Liam throws on him. Then sometimes Harry's a cheeky little shit, flirting with Zayn or members of the audience.

They all have things though- Liam isn't allowed to cut or dye his hair, not after the whole 'shaving-his-head' incident. But Liam, for the most part, takes it the best out of them. He's the best at being quiet and doing as he's told. Niall, too. Even when they turn off his mic, tell him he has to keep bleaching his hair until it's practically falling out, Niall says nothing. His bubbly persona remains intact. His ability to cheer the other boys and relieve some of the tension is one none of them take for granted. They rely on it, in fact.

Zayn. Zayn still has it the worst. Even Louis and Harry know that they have it easier than him. Zayn, who isn't allowed to write any songs. Zayn, who isn't allowed to change his appearance in any way he wants. Zayn, who's constantly ridiculed for everything. Not just from their management, but the public too. And yet, he somehow manages to be a rock for the others. He's still the one that holds Harry most of the time. He's still the first one Louis goes to when he needs to scream, to vent.

So when it's one night in early May and Harry and Louis both receive the text, they don't think too much of it. They're cuddled up on the couch watching Love, Actually because Harry loves it and Louis' a pushover when it comes to Harry. (And maybe he loves it just a little bit, but no one needs to know.) (Ok he loves it a lot and Harry absolutely knows.)

It's just a text. Six words. That's all. I need to talk to everyone . It's just six words, right? Wrong. Those six words are the beginning of the end.

Nialler and the potatoes

Niall: yeah course. Meet at larry's in ten?