Zouis One Shots

The Door Is Always Open Part 1

Link: http://archiveofourown.org/works/977418/chapters/1923075?view_adult=true

Summary: Zayn’s always had Louis, and thought he always would. But, when high school starts and that all changes, he’s left with nothing but old memories and a damaged heart. (a growing up AU where Louis’ the boy next door, and Zayn’s hopelessly devoted)

~*~

Zayn was seven years old when he first met Louis. His parents had just bought a house on Popler Street, only a block away from his new elementary school. He didn’t like the house very much. The walls were a cheerful blue that made his eyes hurt, and the front yard was too small; the back too big. There was only one tree on the entire premise, and it was a short, sad little thing with weak branches. The only good thing that came with the move was the promise of his own bedroom. No longer would he have to share with his snot-nosed little sister, and his mom even told him that he could hang whatever he wanted on the walls.

He was stacking his books on his shelves when he heard a gentle tap on his door. 

“Come in,” he called, already knowing who it was.

“Hey, champ,” said his dad, leaning against the door frame. “Looks good in here.”

“No, it doesn’t.”

“Sure, it does!” He smiled then, a smile that reached his eyes and made his face brighten up. Zayn could never be mad at his dad. “You know what will make it even better?” He picked up one of the many notebooks Zayn used to draw in. “If you hung a couple of these up on the walls. It would really pull the room together, don’t you think?”

“No.”

He sighed, heavily and long, sitting on the edge of Zayn’s bare mattress. The sheets and blankets were still packed away in the back of the moving van, waiting to be washed. Setting the notebook on the bed, Zayn’s dad took his hand and pulled him close. “You’re right,” he said, fixing Zayn’s shirt collar. “Not a good idea, huh? But you know what is? All of these—” he touched the notebook. “They’re old drawings from old places. Of old people, am I right?”

Zayn nodded. His dad was always right.

“What if you found something here that you like? Something new. Would that be something you’d want to do?”

Shrugging, Zayn kept his eyes on the floorboards.

His dad continued, “Tomorrow, you should go out and find something you like. Then draw it and put it up,” he mirrored Zayn’s shrug, making him laugh. “It’ll make the room look great.”

“Maybe.”

“That’s my guy. Don’t let this place scare you, okay? It’s good to make changes every once in a while. Think of all the new places you’ll see, and the new adventures you can go on. Doesn’t that sound like fun?”

“Yeah,” Zayn said, his heart skipping a beat. The way his dad talked about the new neighborhood really did make it sound exciting. Maybe Zayn really could like it here.

“You’ll do good,” his father said, squeezing his shoulder. “I know you’ll be happy.”

The next morning, while his parents were moving the last of the boxes into the house, Zayn was out back, sitting under the small tree, watching ants crawl along the bark. When that proved to be too boring, he started kicking around the dirt, wondering to himself why there were patches of missing grass. Rock and dirt were what mostly lined his backyard, and it made it look bad. Stupid, even. 

“Who are you?” came a voice with a slight lisp.

Zayn looked towards the intrusion to find a boy, no older than himself, hanging over the side of his wooden fence. The boy was missing a tooth, right in the front of his mouth, and when he spoke, Zayn could see his tongue move.