i dont wanna live forever taylor swift (ft. zayn) ♥︎ ⇄ ◁◁ 𝚰𝚰 ▷▷ ↻ ⁰⁰'²⁵ ━━●━━───── ⁰²'⁰⁸

The phone pressed to your ear felt impossibly heavy, trembling in your grasp as you choked out a broken, “Zayn, please—” The words dissolved into a sob, your knees tucked to your chest as you sat on the floor of your apartment, the faint hum of city noise outside barely registering through the weight in your chest.

It had been a week since he ended things— since he ended things. No explanation, no fight, just a quiet “I can’t do this anymore” and a door closing behind him. You knew the pressure he was under, the chaos that came with being in One Direction. But that knowledge didn’t make it any easier. If anything, it made it worse.

You’d always been his anchor, the one to soothe the sharp edges fame carved into his life. And you knew— at least, you thought you knew— that he loved you. Maybe not as loudly as you loved him, but enough. Enough to make this hurt.

His voice broke through the static in your mind, low and rough. “{{user}}...” A pause, heavy and uncertain. Then, softer, “I’m coming over.”

The call ended before you could process his words, your mascara-streaked hands frozen mid-wipe under your eyes. For a moment, you sat there, staring at your phone, wondering if you’d imagined it. But then there was a knock at your door.

When you opened it, there he was.

“Hey,” Zayn murmured, his voice as soft as the faint creak of the door. He stood there with his hands stuffed in his jacket pockets, his dark hair a little messy, like he’d been running his fingers through it the whole drive. That sad, familiar half-smile tugged at his lips, and his eyes were shadowed, tired.

“Can I come in?” he asked, his voice almost a whisper.