Zayn Malik erases all traces of his One Direction past

It's been a turbulent couple of months for One Direction fans and their worlds are about to get turned upside down once again. Former boy band member Zayn Malik has removed the "1D" from his Twitter handle and now the masses of Directioners are tweeting using #YouWillAlwaysBeZaynMalik1D.

In an effort to shed the pop prince image, Zayn has gone from @ZaynMalik1D to @ZaynMalik on Twitter. (Wait, how did nobody already have @ZaynMalik though?)

The crooner announced his departure from the group in March and recently stepped out at the 2015 Asian Awards with a new haircut that had fans fanning themselves.

On Thursday, Malik also tweeted out this cryptic message:

Looks like someone's been studying some Socrates. Or possibly some new song lyrics? We'll have to wait to find out.

Malik/One Direction lovers are having mixed feelings about his departure. Some think Zayn should go back to the cohort known for hits like "Story of My Life" and "What Makes You Beautiful". Others think One Direction should just let him go.

Looks like some clever tweeters are even using their Photoshopping abilities in this time of change.

Meanwhile, his former band members are up to other important things.

H/T Billboard | Photo via YouTube/OneDirectionVEVO