One Direction Going in Two Directions

The music world was shaken by the news that Zayn Malik was leaving One Direction. The word spread faster than the plague. Everybody knew minutes after they made the announcement that the world's biggest boy band was losing one of it's cherished members. I know that I'm a few weeks behind on posting this, but in all honesty, it was too difficult for me to write last week. It's still hard for me to write about it. I'm a huge Directioner. (Judge me if you want) Zayn leaving the band hit me harder than anything I'd ever experienced before. (Again judge me) I cried for over three days. The second I thought that I was over it, something would remind me of him and I would just lose all control again. This happened to a lot of people, so it's reassuring knowing that I didn't go through this alone. I had thousands of Directioners, family, by my side throughout this entire thing. On top of that, there was the amazing support of Harry, Niall, Louis, and Liam, as well as other celebrities and fandoms that showed their love and support.
Zayn told the whole world, including his four best friends that he has shared the stage with, his life with, that he was leaving because he couldn't handle the fame and the publicity. He was being called names. Rumors were always coming up about him cheating on his fiancee, which put a strain on their relationship. He also said that it was starting to affect his family and that is something that he never wanted to happen. He felt like the attention should never be on his family because they didn't do anything to deserve fans and paparazzi on their front lawn when he wasn't even there. People were also sending in hate to him and his family through the internet and the mail. There was no escape from his hectic life. He didn't like that. He wanted to be a normal 22 year old boy. He told the band this. They all did their best to get him to stay, but nothing proved to be enough. Zayn's decision stood. He was leaving the band. During their last concert as a whole group, Harry and Louis openly wept. Nobody understood why until the next day when they released the news of Zayn leaving. It all made sense. They said "One last group hug" and "We want to tell you all one last time that we all love you". Not to mention there were more tears on the stage that night that ever seen before. It seemed like they could barely keep themselves together.
This post isn't just about Zayn though. It's about One Direction and how they're holding together since his departure. Everything has changed for them. They had to figure out who gets Zayn's parts. There is no longer somebody that can hit those amazing high notes without even trying. They don't have any "mystery" in the band anymore. The chemistry on stage and in their music won't be the same. Their sound is going to be different. Yes, only one member left, but Zayn was an important piece to the band. Every single one of them plays an important role in the group. During the X-Factor, Louis almost didn't make it to the judge's house and they were so thrown off that they thought they had no chance of getting through. That's what it's going to be like all the time now for them. It's not only that though, but the memories they share won't be the same. Their laughter, jokes, and time spent together won't be the same as it was. It's going to take a while to get used to. After all, they'd spent almost every minute with Zayn over the past five years. They literally lost a family member, a brother. One Direction isn't One Direction anymore.
They're working extremely hard on new things for us, for their fans. They know it's going to be way different. They're trying ten times harder. This isn't easy for them. They had to cut Zayn's vocals out of their album on tracks they had already completed. They cut out any parts of the video diary they are working on that had Zayn in them. Can you imagine having to do that, cut your friend out of everything? It's like they're washing away his memory. We'll never get to see what memories they shared with him on there OTRA tour. They will be the only ones to ever know what happened before he left. They are the only ones that know what really made Zayn leave. We all know it wasn't because he wanted to be normal. If it was, then Zayn wouldn't have gotten with NaughtyBoy and started working on a single. This started a riff between NaughtyBoy and Louis. Nobody knows where Zayn stands between the two. This could mean the end of one of the best friendships ever. Zouis could be dead for all we know. This thought kills me.
Zayn is on his own. The band is working harder than they ever have before. The fandom is slowly healing from what some say is a betrayal from their idol. We've been doing good so far though. We've been strong. The band has been strong. As long as they keep working hard, I know that everything is going to be okay. It will be different, but it will be alright. Plus, Zayn is supposedly happy. So, I'm going to be happy too. Best of luck to the rest of One Direction and Zayn. I can't wait to hear new music from both artists.