A Hit In The Making | H.S | 1D |

Chapter 7

**Trigger Warning**

Harry's POV:

A few moments later Rachel responds with the go-ahead from her family along with her address. If only she could see the excitement on the lads' faces when they learned the good news; Louis practically fell up the steps running to gather his things. Niall finally stepped away from the fridge to unplug the Wii console from the living room along with a few games. Zayn fed the grounds keeper's dog, Zeus, whilst Liam busied himself with making pizza arrangements. I, however, loaded a few guitars, shakers, and a kajon into the car. In ten minutes time the five of us are buckled up and on the way to Rachel's place.

"I'm excited" Liam states cheerfully from his place at the wheel. "Me too. I brought some cards and a couple of disposable cameras" Louis responds and we nod in approval. "I'm bringing the Wii with Mario Kart and the Just Dance games, y'know in case she's up for a little dance off" Niall adds. Zayn then notices the kajon in the seat beside him "who loaded the box?" "I did." I reply, feeling clever about the idea. "I figured a little jam session could be fun. I packed the guitars too"

I smile to myself and turn my attention to the dusky California sky. It really is beautiful here. I have a feeling tonight is gonna be heaps of fun. Perhaps we can all get to know Rachel better by visiting the place she calls home. I'm interested to see what kind of art is on the walls in her bedroom, since she mentioned something about painting being her hobby.

"The pizza should arrive at Rachel's in about twenty-five to thirty minutes, which leaves us about a ten minute window between our arrival and dinner time. I threw in a few lava cakes and some cookies as well" Liam stopped at the red light and turned around to the boys and I "and I'm paying for it since I ordered by phone. If Rachel offers to pay, assure her that we've got it covered" he turns back around and checks the rear views. "Yeah because knowing Steep, she'd pay the check for us in a heartbeat" Louis chuckles and shakes his head. "Yes. That she would" I smile to myself. Rachel kinda reminds me of my mum in that way.

"Ah no, did any of you remember to bring drinks or anything?" Liam asks as we make a hard left, the impact shoving me into my passenger door. "WEEEEE!" Niall called out gleefully. "Jesus, mate! Ya drivin like one of those NASCAR wannabes. And no, we didn't bring drinks. But we'll be fine" Louis states while brushing off his sweats. "Maybe Harry should be been the driver. He wouldn't send us all into a rollie pollie like that" Zayn laughs and repositions the kajon beside him before giving a few rythymic taps. "I am a fantastic driver, thank you very much" Liam responds, glaring the boys in the rear view mirror. To which they respond with a few laughs and silly imitations of Liam's driving habits.

It isn't long before we arrive at Rachel's two story condo and park the car in the two vehicle garage, as per her request. Just in case we run into any issues with the media. I smile as we near the back door and hear the wiring sound if a vacuum shutting off along with a muffled "Just a minute!" coming from inside. Louis and Zayn unload the instruments as Rachel greets us at the door. Smiling that warm, welcoming, beautiful smile of course.

"Hey guys! Glad you could make it. Come on in!" She ushers the five of us in and helps Niall carry his box of goods. "What in the Sam hill is all of this?" She asks, astonished at the amount of stuff we've brought. "Oh, just a few things" I reply with a wink, earning an exaggerated eye roll from her and I chuckle to myself. This is going to be a fun night indeed.

We cross the kitchen into the living area and set our things down. "Is that... everything?" Rachel asks curiously as Louis sets down his backpack. "Uhm, I believe so, yeah" he says, taking in the room. "Alright then... anyways, welcome to my home!"

Zayn is the first to approach Rachel, pulling her into a side hug. "Thanks for havin' us Rach. Liam says the food should be here in about ten minutes or so. In the meantime tho, we brought a few things over for tonight!" "Yeah we're going to have loads of fun! We brought some games and cards and cameras and instruments and-" Niall trails off when he spots a painting on the dining room wall. "Did you paint that?" He asks abruptly and points at Rachel, causing her to blush slightly. She utters a shy "I did" and the rest of us turn our attention to the piece. It's a landscape of sorts, that's for sure. Splashed with bright colors of various hues, it's unlike anything I've seen before. I'm already a boy of very few words, but this painting has truly rendered me speechless.