Once in a Lifetime

Three.

Louis' exam was tedious, and although he thought it went well, he couldn't shake the uneasy feeling in his stomach as he waited in the car park for Niall and Liam. He had text Zayn to tell him how it went, but there was no reply. Not that that was a new thing, Zayn rarely replied to anyone anymore. He kept trying though, sending brief texts every few minutes, mainly just to annoy him. It was so grey outside, and Louis could see small spots of rain on his windscreen as he waited for the other two to meet him. It was just gone 4pm when Louis saw Liam's figure striding towards the car, his folder above his head sheltering him from the drizzle. "How was your exam?" Liam asked the moment he closed the passenger door, turning to Louis with a genuine look of concern and care on his face.

"Fine I think, I answered all the questions and didn't run out of time so that's got to be a good thing," he shrugged, turning up the radio as a half decent song started to play. Minutes later, Niall came running through the car park, hurtling towards the car.

"Oi, I'm starving, what's for dinner?" he questioned within seconds of opening the car door. Liam rolled his eyes as Louis started the engine, asking Niall about his rehearsals and talking to Liam about his practical. As they pulled up to the house, Louis noticed that all the lights were off, and he thought that maybe Zayn had decided to go out for the afternoon. It would explain why he wasn't texting him back, actually. Liam and Niall raced to the front door, and Louis laughed as Liam fumbled with his key, trying to unlock the door as Niall tried to get in his way. Eventually, the door swung open, and the three boys entered the silent, dark house. Liam went straight into the kitchen, saying he was going to video call his parents and tell them about his practical. Niall threw himself onto the sofa, turning on the TV to aimlessly flick through channels until he found something to watch. Louis decided he wanted to have a shower and wash away the feeling of the exam hall and the nerves that had wracked his body for the last few hours. He walked past Zayn's room, taking into account the closed door and lack of noise coming from inside. He must have gone out, Louis thought, going into his own room to grab his comfy clothes and a towel. Once he was happy with the temperature of the water, he stepped underneath it, letting the heat radiate through his body. He loved the feeling of lathering shampoo into his hair, leaning his head back to let the soap drip down his back until it was all gone. The shower had always brought him peace, and if Louis knew it was the last time that he'd ever feel so clean, he would have stayed there forever. But, at that moment, Louis had no idea what the rest of the night would entail. He stepped out, ruffling the light blue towel through his hair until the brown strands pointed in every direction possible. He couldn't help but laugh at his appearance when he looked in the mirror. He placed his white tee over his head and pulled up his grey sweatpants before he snapped a quick picture of his crazy hair, sending it to Zayn with a laughing face emoji. He wasn't surprised when he got downstairs and hadn't received a reply.

"Did Zayn say anything to you about going out today?" he asked Niall and Liam once they were all sitting around the dinner table once again. They'd been home for a couple hours and Zayn still hadn't replied to Louis.

"No, I don't think so, why?" Liam answered, placing another spoonful of soup into his mouth.

"It's not like him to disappear without telling anyone where he's going, I guess. I'm a little worried, actually, do you think he's alright?" Louis tried to sound light and breezy, knowing that he was probably just over-worrying, but he just couldn't ignore the twisting in his stomach. He tried to shake the thoughts from his head, instead concentrating on Niall's slurping noises as he drank his soup from the bowl. "God, you're such an animal!" Louis laughed as Niall slammed his bowl down onto the table once he had finished.

"Shut it, Tommo, stop pretending you've never done it!" Niall was right, Louis had slurped soup from a bowl for most of his childhood. When he and Zayn were younger, they used to have races to see who could finish their soup the quickest, and the winner would get to choose what they ate for pudding. It was a pointless little game that one of their mum's probably came up with to get them to finish their healthy food faster, but either way both boys always took it very seriously, even asking for vegetable soup on multiple occasions throughout the years just so they could compete. Of course, Liam's soup was much better than that of their parents, even when Liam had taken it out of the freezer from a batch that he made a few weeks ago. Once they had finished eating, Louis stood up to get a carton of orange juice out of the fridge as it was Niall's turn to do the washing up. He put his hand on the door to open it, and that was when he saw the three post-it notes stuck to the fridge. He recognised Zayn's handwriting before he even bothered to read what they said. They were in a line, a light pink one, a light blue one, and a yellow one. Louis smiled as he started to read what was written on the first one, the pink one. His name was written neatly at the top, and his eyes skimmed the first sentence.

'Lou-Lou, I'm so sorry to have to do this to you.' His heart leapt in his chest as he read it, forcing himself to continue to the next sentence. 'I've been struggling for months, and I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to get through it. Thank you for being the best friend, brother, and partner in crime this world has ever seen. Good luck in everything you do, I know you're going to be fabulous. All my love, Zaynie x'. Louis' breath shook as he reread the note. 'I'm so sorry to have to do this to you.' Do what? Without a word to the boys, he grabbed his phone from his pocket and frantically tapped on Zayn's name, the dial tone ringing in his ear. He felt Liam put a hand on his shoulder, and Louis shakily pointed to the notes on the fridge door. Liam skimmed the one with his name on as Niall joined them, reading his too. They looked back at Louis; their eyes full of confusion.

"What's he talking about?" Niall asked, watchingLouis try to call Zayn once again. Louis couldn't bring himself to answer, fearcrawling through his veins as he tried to figure out what was happening. Heburst out of the kitchen, stumbling up the stairs faster than he thoughtpossible. Liam and Niall followed closely behind, calling his name as theytried to catch up, but to Louis they felt miles away. He flung open Zayn'sdoor, and the sight took his breath away. He instantly fell towards the bed,screaming as his arms shook Zayn's body. He was already cold beneath Louis'fingertips. He could see the blood pooling around his best friend, and hedidn't even notice that it was beginning to soak into his own white shirt. Hesobbed uncontrollably as he clung to his brother's lifeless body, painfulscreams filling the otherwise silent room. He was too late, Zayn was gone.