Turning Tables

Louis and the boys sat around the table in the foyer of their shared flat. Louis and Liam sat on the couch, Harry in a large recliner, and Niall sat directly in front the table, cross-legged on the floor. All four boys were staring down at the torn off corner of a paper with writing sprawled on it- a note from Zayn, before he disappeared.

That first day when Harry had woken up and told the boys of the note Zayn had left to him, they had all been worried, sure, but to be honest, none of them expected him to actually be gone. The boys had all expected him to just be in one of his moods and to have spent the day out of the city or at Finley's house. They thought it best to leave it alone and wait for him to get back that night.

But he didn't come back to the flat that night.

It was the morning after that when the boys congregated around the coffee and examined the note in great depth. Liam seemed conflicted, Harry confused, and Niall withdrawn. It was Louis, however, who seemed a complete and utter mess. He felt on the verge of crying but held it within him. Were we that awful? Did he want away that bad? Louis sighed and read the words once more.

Boys,

When you find this, I'll be far away from this place. I'm sorry that I didn't say anything before about this, but I couldn't find the words. I've gathered my things and I've left by now, and I've taken Finley with me. Don't bother looking for me, you won't find me. And if by some chance you do, I will never come back.

It's not your fault, and it's not mine. But this band... Us... We're not being true to who we are. We're not being true to the music. And for that, I'm leaving. I am gone.

Goodbye,
Zayn

"Obviously he doesn't want to be found," said Liam, eyes even with the edge of the table. His voice was soft but strong. "Maybe we should respect his decision. He'd come back eventually, if he really wanted. The only thing we can do is be here with open arms."

"The fans, though," piped Niall, accent thick. "What of them?"

"It's not their decision. It's Zayn's. If he believes that we're not doing the music justice, it's his choice to leave. I just wish he had talked to us about it first. We could have tried to fix it..." Liam replied.

"I know, me too." Harry dropped his eyes and pulled his legs up to his chest and rested his chin upon his knees. Louis said nothing and looked over his mates, one of them missing. One of them gone. One of them never to return. It didn't sit well with him. Liam might be able to let him go but Louis couldn't fathom not having Zayn around. To him, the very definition of One Direction was not the music. It wasn't their clothes, their songs, their faces on magazine- it was the friendship between the five of them.

"We can't let him go," he said simply, shaking his head.

"Why not? It's what he wants." Liam looked Louis over with a careful scrutiny. Louis replied to his answer with a glare, however. Louis knew it was selfish to want Zayn in the group when he knew it wasn't what Zayn wanted any more. But the boys had grown too close over the years and there was too many memories and too much at stake to let Zayn go.

"This is not the end of One Direction. I won't let it be," Louis said. "Not without talking it out first, that is."

"Yeah, Louis is right guys. None of us want this band to lose a member. Besides, that magazine wants to interview all of us next week- and do we really want to explain to them why we're missing our fifth boy?" Harry asked, thinking hard. He tilted his head, curls falling down into his eyes. He sighed. "Even so, we don't want any undisclosed answers then. The press will hunt him down just for answers and it'll be the last thing he wants."

"You're right, Haz," Niall responded. "Zayn has to be present for that interview. If not, it'll devastate our fans. And if he's not there, we'll need more answers than what we have now- which is practically nothing."

"But how can we do that?" Liam asked skeptically.

Louis sighed and rubbed his eyes. This was beginning to get harder and harder to accept. Zayn had left them and taken the only link to him- Finley. He had his phone, Louis was sure, but he'd never answer it. And it was possible that he'd already disabled the calling so that no one who called him may find his location. Zayn might be trying to hide from them, but Louis knew that he and the lads could find him if they put their minds to it. They'd keep an eye on the twitter-sphere and his credit card trails and anything else they could think of.

"We find him," Louis whispered, "And we find him quickly."