‘An old friend of mine is here’: One Direction fandom collectively falls to its knees as Zayn and Louis finally bury the hatchet

The One Direction fandom has been through a lot these past few months, but after the devastating news of Liam Payne’s ing, other have given them reason to rejoice.

Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson, who had been at odds for the better part of a decade, seem to have rekindled their friendship. It might not sound like much, but any bona fide Directioner will know how big of a deal this is.

The “Walls” singer decided to attend his ex-bandmate’s show at Los Angeles’ Shrine Expo Hall on Wednesday, Jan. 29, and was treated to multiple shoutouts from the man on stage.

“Tonight’s kinda special,” the “Pillow Talk” musician started. “An old friend of mine is here to me tonight,” he continued. By then, the audience’s screams were deafening. That’s when Zayn revealed, “I don’t want to give his location away, but Louis is here tonight.” It sounds like they really wanted people to know that they had buried the hatchet.

Zayn then continued to mention Louis throughout the evening, even wrapping the concert up by asking the audience to make the last two songs “real special” for his guest.

The reactions were very much in line with what you would expect from a fandom as ionate as Directioners once were. Lots of crying reaction videos and gifs. Lots of shouting via capitalized letters and keyboard smashes.

The two also left the venue together. Naturally, all kinds of pot jokes ensued, referencing the time a video of them sharing a marijuana t emerged online, leading to major controversy.

Zayn and Louis were inseparable during those times. However, the former’s decision to leave the band and his anti-1D comments afterward put a strain on their relationship, eventually leading to a public fall out in 2015. Who could forget when Louis mocked the filter Zayn used on his profile picture and he replied with “ when you had a life and stopped making bitchy comments about mine?” That’s pop culture history.

Over the past few years, the two had expressed interest in reconnecting, though Louis confessed he didn’t have Zayn’s number and wasn’t too comfortable reaching out on social media. He told Zach Sang in 2022 that he was ready to move past their disagreements, and that he was happy Zayn seemed to be reflecting more positively on his time in the band.

Even if through tragedy, it seems like it was Payne’s untimely death that finally brought them together again. All four of the band reunited for the first time since 2015 when they attended their friend’s funeral in November. The ordeal has resulted in a lot of conflicting, heightened emotions for both the singers and their fan base, but this Wednesday’s chapter was undeniably a happy, and somewhat historic one.