Through The Dark - Zarry Edition

Chapter 1

Zayn was seated at a private table in the corner of the room. He didn't really know why he was hanging out at this swanky bar in Greenwich Village, but here he was, so he was going to at least try to enjoy himself.

It had been a rough day; actually it'd been a rough three months. He left the band back in March. It had started to become too much for him, the fame, the time, the memories. All of it, but it was mostly the memories.

There were a lot of good memories, but they mixed in with the bad ones so tightly that they were beginning to blur together. It was just easier for Zayn to walk away. His "friends" were all out on the dance floor, not that they were really his friends. He didn't have friends; these people are just... tag-alongs. But, he was fine with that, he kind of liked the solitude. He just liked sitting here, drinking his Jack & Coke all alone. He much preferred that to being out on the dance floor.

Zayn saw him almost instantly across the room, not that he was hard to miss. Beside himself, he shook his head. Of all places he had to come to, he had come to this bar in the middle of New York friggin' city, 'you've got to be kidding me,' he thought to himself.

Liam Payne strode in with his magnetic energy and confidence. Zayn was always amazed at how easy being Liam Payne was for Liam Payne. He tried to sink deeper into the cushion behind him. He did not want Liam to see him.

He hadn't seen that guys since he had left the band. In fact, he had even spoken to any of them since he left. And, he could put all the blame on himself. Sure, they should've reached out, seen if he was okay, but he pretty much disappeared and made it obvious that he wanted to be left alone.

That was the one thing about leaving that ate away at him, the fact that those four guys that he thought of as his brothers, were now mere strangers. If he could do one thing different, he would take back the pain and the wall he put between them.

A thought washed over him that made him want to run from the room. What if Liam was being joined by one or the rest of the guys? What if they saw him? He just wasn't up for that. He didn't think he'd ever be up for that.

He shook off his thoughts as the waitress approached him at the table, "Can I get you anything else to drink?" she asked.

Zayn finished his drink in one quick swig, "Yeah, can I have another and two shots of tequila please?"

"Sure thing," she said.

Then, she was gone and he was back watching Liam at the bar. His back was to him and Zayn found himself figuring out a contingency plan just in case Liam turned and looked in his direction.

The waitress was back as quick as he had ever seen. Being a member of One Direction, or former in his case, did have its advantages, it seemed. She set the drink and one of the shots down in front of him, turned and put the other shot across from him, as if for a companion. He appreciated the gesture, but they're both for him.

He waited for her to walk away. Shot. Drink. Shot. Drink. It burned the back of his throat and he could feel it spreading down his esophagus into his stomach. The effects are almost immediate in his blood stream and he could feel the warmth spreading all over his body, numbing him to everything. He was such a fucking mess... and a loser apparently. He was a supposed Pop star and here he was drinking alone.

Then, it happened so suddenly, Zayn couldn't really remember how it began. It was just... there he was standing at the bar next to Liam. He also had his back to him, but Zayn would know him anywhere.

He felt like all the oxygen was being pulled out of the room. His whole body was on fire but his blood was running cold. Why, why did he have to be here? When he left, he told himself he would never have to be in the same room with that man again. He told himself he would rather die than be in the same room with him again. It was just another lie he told himself.