Stumbling through the dark

"Zee, don't"

Zayn sat himself down on the arm of the couch and smiled sadly at the boys. He knew they didn't want this, had tried to stop him, but he hadn't listened , to them or to Simon.

"So you are saying there was a suicide attempt?" Carly was practically purring.

"Like I said, the media got the suicide part correct. But it wasn't Niall who attempted suicide" Zayn's Bradford accent sounded thicker than ever.

"Well then, if it wasn't Niall, then who was it?" Carly immediately wanted to know.

"Zee, don't" Niall's whisper was barely audible. Zayn gave him a shy,  sweet smile and patted his knee before turning his attention back to Carly.

"It was me" he said simply , pushing up his sleeves to reveal the scars on his wrists that looked so starkly white against his dark skin. Carly gasped in shock. Whatever she had been expecting, it hadn't been that." 

There was a sudden bang and then Liam's panicked voice was heard "Niall, Ni. Somebody get us some help". Louis knelt on the floor, cradling Niall's head in his lap as Liam rubbed his hands, calling him to try and wake him up. The studio immediately went to a commercial break  as Harry phoned the emergency services. Everyone crowded around the unconscious Irish man and nobody noticed when a slim, dark haired young man slipped quietly away, pausing only to look down at the small blond lying unconscious on the floor.

"Let us through" the paramedics pushed their way through the group and immediately started to assess Niall. "Can you tell us what happened?" one asked Harry.

"We were just in the middle of an interview when he collapsed.He's had a bit of a shock,  He's got MS. Is he going to be all right?"

"We'll take him to the hospital to get checked over. His oxygen levels are low and so is his blood sugar. Is he diabetic?"

"No, no he's not" Liam said "but he hasn't eaten since yesterday morning"

"That would do it" the paramedic confirmed "Will one of you come with him?"

"Hazza, you go" Louis suddenly spoke. "Liam, I need your help" He whispered in Liam's ear and Liam started to glance around him. Louis was right, Zayn had vanished.

Harry waited by Niall's side as he was carefully lifted onto a gurney and pushed out to the waiting ambulance. Great, he thought as he saw the hoards of fans waiting outside, looks of horror on their faces as they saw Harry along side a blanketed figure on the gurney. Some of the girls were crying. Harry tried to give them an encouraging smile but he was too worried to pull it off successfully. He climbed in the back of the ambulance, the doors closed, and they pulled away.

"Where the h*ll did he go?" Carly shrieked. "The best scoop of the year and you let him go!" She was incandescent with rage. One minute she had a major story on her hands the next she had one person in hospital and one person vanished into thin air". Carly shoved her assistant roughly out of her way as she ran from the studio searching the up and down the corridors for Zayn.

Louis felt his phone vibrate in his pocket so quickly pulled it out to answer the incoming call.

"Bro, is he all right?" Zayn said anxiously

"They've taken him to the hospital to be checked over but they think it was because he hadn't eaten much the last two days."

"Thank god"

"Zee, why did you do it. Niall didn't want you to do it. He didn't want you to destroy yourself that way. We all tried to stop you but you wouldn't answer us. You didn't even discuss it with us. Surely we deserved for you to listen to us. "

"Lou, he's my little brother and I couldn't let the media tear him apart. They would have done that, you know it.  I know he didn't want it but I had to do it. I had to protect  him . I'm the Bradford Bad Boi after all., people expect me to do stuff but not Niall.  Ni needs protection. Please help him understand, bro. I did it because I wanted him safe."

"Zee, tell him yourself. Where are you?" Louis wanted to know

"Sorry, I can't tell you. Look, I know I screwed up things between us but you'll always be my brothers .Just remember that, ok" Zayn struggled to speak as his emotions started to get the better of him." I gotta go. Look after Nialler for me" And he was gone.

"I can't find Zayn anywhere" Liam came puffing up. Louis just held up his phone.

"He's not here. Won't tell me where he is. He asked us to look after Niall for him then hung up." Louis looked suddenly exhausted "Let's go check on our little leprechaun"