Irreversible - A One Direction AU

I'll Remember

*One Year Later*

Harry, Niall, Louis, and Liam had made it back home after the incident in the little castle by the lake. Unfortunately, Zayn was not so lucky. The saddest part: nobody in the world besides the other four boys noticed his death. To them, Zayn had died months before. His gravestone was in the cemetery with the date of his fake death, after all. That must've made it official.

Harry made his way through the graveyard slowly, taking a pause to notice every name on every gravestone he passed. There was something oddly calming about the atmosphere. The thought of all those souls resting in peace made Harry feel more content. Thinking about that made him forget that he was walking on a land full of rotting corpses and skeletons in tuxedoes and fancy dresses.

There it was: Zayn's grave. It was engraved with the incorrect date of his death, and it was defiled almost beyond recognition: it had been graffitied, spat on, and even cracked. These were people who still believed that Zayn was a murderer. Harry knew it was disrespectful, but he also knew that there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Harry knelt down in front of the tainted gray headstone and set a bouquet of blue flowers down right in front of it. Zayn's favorite.

"Goodbye," he said, his voice weakening. As he turned to walk away, he heard a familiar voice.

"Harry, is that you?"

Harry turned around to see Niall walking towards him. He smiled gently.

"Hi, Niall."

"I almost didn't recognize you," Niall smiled. "What, with your new hair and all." Harry chuckled.

"I know," he said, running a hand through his now short brown tresses. "It's for that new movie I'm working on. Dunkirk. Have you heard?"

"Yeah," Niall said, a forced grin on his face. "Yeah, I have. I'm proud of you."

"Me too." It was Louis.

"Tell me you didn't audition for Bond." It was Liam.

"I did," Harry forced a soft laugh. "Someone else got it, though. I'll get it next time."

"Yeah, sure," Niall breathed, sarcastically. The four boys laughed softly, but soon, it was silent again. The four of them hadn't seen each other in months, and now that they were together again, it was awkward for all of them. They would have liked to be friendly with each other, but the timing and location wasn't right. Would it ever be right again?

"Made In The AM sold a whole ton of copies," interjected Louis, trying to make small talk. "Did you guys hear?"

"Yeah," Niall answered. "It's gone platinum, right?"

"Yeah," Harry forced a smile. "People really liked that one. Much more than the others."

"It's his words," said Louis, pointing to Zayn's grave. "They're so much better than what the writers were having us sing."

"It's definitely more genuine," Harry sighed.

"I brought one for him." Louis pulled a copy of Made In The AM from his jacket pocket and set it down on top of Zayn's grave. "I thought he'd like to have it."

All of the boys agreed. More silence. Liam gulped and began to talk.

"So, how are you guys?"

The others sighed, none of them wanting to speak first.

"Fine," Harry said. "How about you?"

"Good," Niall answered.

"You still with Stacey?" Harry asked.