Considering how upset an entire world of strangers got when Zayn Malik announced he was leaving One Direction , I guess I assumed that his bandmates would be feeling his loss even more severely. After all, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, and Niall Horan have been together pretty much every day since they were made into a group in 2010 after auditioning for The X Factor as individuals. After spending that much time as a unit, you'd think losing 1/5th of the group would be pretty jarring, but you know who seems to be coping with it surprisingly well? Young Liam Payne, who spoke about Malik's departure during a Capital FM radio interview on Wednesday:
I mean you know, he had to do what he had to do really, for himself. It’s like any other job really; sometimes you have to move on because you’re not enjoying what you’re doing as much.
Um, nope. No no no no no, gotta stop you right there. Nice try, but being a member of 1D is not like any other job. Most of us don't get to tour the country with four of our closest friends, doing sold-out shows for thousands of screaming fans. Some of us type away on our couch in our pajamas and order Seamless and call it a day. (Hashtag blessed.) But, regardless, Payne sounds so nonplussed talking about his friend leaving the group. I'm not saying he has to be devastated, but he could at least sound a little put out.
He wanted to go and spend some time with his family and missus. We’re just going to carry on doing what we’re doing… We wish him all the best with whatever he goes into and stuff. We’ll just have to see what happens.
I guess that's... the right answer. Then again, perhaps enough time has passed for the pain to have faded at least a little bit for the boys. While it still seems like just yesterday to us fans, who have had to deal with quite a lot in the weeks since Malik's departure, the boys have had to deal with everything we're dealing with and keep up a brave face for the fans at the same time. They've had appearances to make and music to work on, they've had interviews to give where they get asked this same question, and, after a while, that's enough to make anyone sound like they're A-OK with what's going on. They've had to say just that often enough.
