We Don't Talk Enough

4. Instagram.

"You okay?" Is the first thing Louis asks as soon he picks up the call the next morning. Zayn nods but then he remembers, he's on the other side of the phone and Louis is still waiting for an answer.

"Yeah." He says. Short and so Zayn like.

A silence falls between them.

"You didn't have to say that you know." Louis says after a long pause. Voice hesitant and words measured. "No one is gonna believe that Zayn."

The way Louis says it, reminds Zayn of his mother back in Bradford. How she would hesitate to ask him about Harry after he left the band. When he wouldn't go out of his room for days.

"I know." Zayn says. "I - I didn't know what to say Louis. He-"

"It's okay, Zayn." Louis cuts him off in the middle. "I know." He assures him and that somehow calms him down.

He is glad to get back in touch with Louis. Because he never needs to explain anything to him. Because Louis knows him better than anyone else.

"Thank you." Zayn says and he could already feel the blue-eyed lad smiling.

"It's nothing, love." Louis assures him. "Wanna hang out? I'm in New York too."

"Yeah, sure." Zayn sighs. He really needs to see Louis. "Gigi is not here so my place at 5 today?"

"Perfect."

***

It's the first week of December and Zayn hasn't shown his face to anyone in a long time.

He can see in the social media how fans are going crazy because of this. They have even started calling him "Ghost" and really, Zayn wants to laugh. He loves his fans though. They are the reason why even after zero promotion, he is on top of the charts. He knows they care for him, knows that their love is selfless and that the only thing they want from him is an assurance he is okay. He doesn't know what he would do without his fans.

He is checking Instagram and comes across certain posts. There are as usual some pics of him, the boys and some -more than required- Larry posts. But what catches his eyes are some Zarry posts.

Posts about him and Harry. It isn't new though. He is habituated to seeing one or two pictures of him and Harry every other day. But recently, he has noticed some thing. Ever since he said he and Harry never spoke, it seems like, the amount of the Zarry posts have increased. For the past two months, he also noticed some Zarry accounts he had never seen before and truly, it makes him question himself if his plan backfired.

To be frank, he only said that, so media would stop asking him about Harry because God knows how much it hurt when they would do so. There wasn't a day when he would get some sleep after being asked about Harry.

He remembers himself spending long nights scribbling down his feelings in shape of lyrics and poems. Lyrics that he has used for his second album and poems that he is planning to share with his fan on the new year. But seeing these "Zarry" posts now, he is questioning the decision he made that day in the interview.

He is scrolling through his explorer page when a certain picture catches his attention. Not just any picture but a picture of him and Harry sharing a bed. He is sleeping like a dead man while Harry is sleeping beside him. He knows it was taken from the YouTube video where the boys were trying to wake them up. The picture is captioned with #zarryisreal and honestly, Zayn wants to laugh and cry at the same time. Because the memories still hurt. It leaves him with a dull ache in his heart that Zayn loves and hates at the same time.

Not wanting to torture himself anymore, Zayn logs out of Instagram and instead opens the editing app to edit some pictures that he is planning on surprising his fans with in the new year

********

A big thanks to all my friends who are still reading this on wattpad even after reading it on AO3. You don't knkw how much thiz means to me guys. Supporting me through everything. I don't deserve you. You guys are just too good for.

I am sorry if I have ever disappointed you (and you means all the readers). Just know that I love you guys and I will forever be grateful to you all.

Love/loce ya. xx