Once in a Lifetime

Thirty-Six.

The rest of the week flew by, and before they knew it, they were introducing their families to each other on Saturday morning.

"This is my mum, Johanna, and my little sisters, Daisy and Phoebe," Louis introduced, pointing to each member of his family.

"And this is my mum, Anne, my stepdad, Robin and my big sister, Gemma," Harry continued, standing beside Louis in the now bare kitchen.

"It's so lovely to meet you all," Johanna said, hugging each person. "Girls, say hello to Harry's family." Daisy and Phoebe both gave a quiet 'hello' before skipping off into the back garden. The niceties continued for a few minutes before Anne turned her attention back to the two boys.

"I can't believe my baby boy is becoming a southerner," Anne laughed, Harry rolling his eyes in response.

"Mum, please, I promise I'll never forget my Northern roots. I'll always love chips and gravy and I'll never lose the accent," Harry reassured her, Louis snickering beside him.

"I don't know what you're chuckling for, I expect regular phone calls from you and visits better be more than once a year," Jay warned, and this time it was Louis' turn to blush.

"I promise I'll see and talk to you as much as I can."

Finally, after what felt like hours of bickering between Harry and Gemma, strict instructions from Robin, emotional moments curtesy of Anne and Jay and hundreds of 'I'm bored' remarks from Daisy and Phoebe, both the car and the van was loaded and ready for the journey.

"I'm just going to do a quick sweep, make sure I haven't forgotten anything," Louis lied as his guests stood outside the front door. He quickly went back inside, climbing straight up the stairs and entering what was once Zayn's room. He laid down in the middle of the room, staring up at the white ceiling as the thoughts swirled around in his head. "Hey, Z, I just wanted to say a proper goodbye to the room before I left. So much has happened in here, can you remember the day we came to view the house with Ni and Li, and you chose this room because you liked the burgundy carpet? And then six months later you spilled that paint tub and ruined it anyway. The landlord charged us for that, by the way, so I think you owe me some money. I remember the day you were sick, so we spent the whole day in bed as I fed you Liam's soup and we watched Harry Potter until we fell asleep. I remember you showing me your art and letting me critique it, even though I had no idea what I was talking about, but it always made you laugh so it was worth it. I remember when we had that fight downstairs, and then I crept in here that night and apologised for whatever it was that had upset you. I can't even remember what it was about now, probably something that felt so relevant at the time but now feels completely unimportant. All those happy memories, though, are clouded by one of the worst days of my life. Reading that note on the fridge and rushing up to find you laying in a pool of your own blood, whilst I screamed and cried as I tried to wake you up will haunt me for the rest of my life. That will always be one of those memories that I wish I could forget. Your lifeless body remains etched in my mind, and God, I wish I would have found the note sooner or had come in to check on you as soon as I got home. Things could have been so different if I were more observant. But, I guess, as you explained to me that day at your grave, you planned it that way for a reason. You didn't want to be saved, and I think that hurts more than anything else. Once I felt strong enough to come in here again, this became my safe place. I wanted to spend my time in here when I was sad or when I missed you, and I'd revise in here because I was able to imagine you sitting on the bed reading me the flash cards and throwing me a Jellybean every time I answered correctly. You got me through this year, Zayn, so thank you for supporting me from wherever you are now." As Louis finished his sentence, there was a gentle knock at the door, his mum stepping in a few seconds after.