Lifeline

Chapter 4

Waiting patiently in the entryway of Harry's extravagant home, Lucy finds herself looking at the various pictures on the wall. There are several pictures of he and and his sister Gemma, mixed with a few pictures of he and his mother, Anne. As she allows herself to walk a short ways down the hallway, she notices that his house is much brighter than she had ever imagined it would be. Lucy runs her fingertips along the soft yellow walls of the hallway as she nears a large room. She guesses this to be his living room as she studies its contents. There is a large flat screen television mounted on the back wall, a navy couch against the wall parallel to it, two recliners to the right of the television and couch, and a sleek, long black table in the middle of the room. Lucy makes her way over to the couch and studies the pictures in frames sitting on top of the table. There are two of them here, both pictures of the band. Lucy smiles to herself. One of the things she loves most about One Direction is their strong friendships and brotherly love for each other. She picks up one of the pictures and notices that it is one that she has never seen before. It is an older picture, looking to have been taking around 2012. The boys all look so much older now, Lucy can't help but think.

Lucy is still studying the picture when the sound of Harry clearing his throat sounds from just behind the couch. Lucy jumps at the sound and turns to face him. "My sister, Gemma, does all the decorating." He looks around and scoffs. "If I had it my way the house would be slightly... I dunno, darker." He shrugs, smirking.

"I like the way it looks." Lucy replies, smiling up at him. As Harry comes to stand at her side, she takes the time to notice just how tall he really is. He towers over her small 5'4" frame and she has to crane her neck to look up at him.

He smiles a crooked grin at her. "Thank you." He dips his head in a half nod. "You ready to head to Niall's?" He asks.

Lucy breath momentarily catches in her throat at the mention of the party. She hadn't before realized how nervous she was until now. Her eyes widen and she opens her mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. She gulps loudly.

As she stands there, her mouth agape, Harry chuckles and pushes his phone that he had clutched in his right hand into his back pocket. "Are you nervous?" He wonders, his eyebrows knitting together.

Lucy clears her throat and will her voice to work. "Oh ya know, I am just about to go to Niall Horan's party with you, Harry Styles, where there is bound to be hundreds of A-listers and celebrities that I have always dreamt of meeting, but never thought I would." Her eyebrows push together and she waves a hand at him. "But it's totally no big deal." She says, trying to sound indifferent.

Harry raises an eyebrow at her and laughs freely. Lucy crosses her arms in front of her chest and stomps her foot lightly. "Are you laughing at me?!" She whines.

Harry slaps a hand over his mouth as he continues laughing for a few moments longer. After collecting himself once again, he apologizes. "I'm sorry, really I am." He wipes the moisture from the corner of his eye that formed during his bout of laughter, much to Lucy's embarrassment. "You don't have a thing to worry about. Some of them can get a bit... Overwhelming." He pauses a moment before continuing. "But just stick with me and I'll get you through it." He grins at her.

Lucy rolls her eyes at him, but then nods in agreement. They soon make their way out to Harry's expansive garage and pile into his black Range Rover. Harry was right in saying that Niall's house was not far from his own, just fifteen minutes later Lucy and Harry had arrived. He parks the large vehicle down the street a ways away from Niall's house, as there are probaly over fifty cars already there. He and Lucy step out of his car and make their way up to Niall's house, as Lucy's insides flip and turn with anxiety and her palms begin to sweat. Harry leads the way up the steps to Niall's front door and without bothering to knock, he opens the door and walks right in, beckoning Lucy to follow him.