By Chance

21 - Genevieve

20 minutes. 18 minutes. 16 and a half. It seemed to take an eternity to get to Harry's, and the only thing that submerged my urge to scream out in anxiety was to check the time every ten seconds and tap my foot. Basically, I was a nervous wreck.

Finally, we pulled down a long, cobblestone driveway that told us we had arrived at our destination: the Holland household. Every second closer to seeing the esteemed family we had seen on Instagram for six years caused Grace and I to shake with excitement. But who knows who's all home? Any of them could be gone on business or vacation, but we wouldn't know until we stepped inside. As we drove closer and came to a stop, our eyes widened.

"Wow. This is definitely not what I was expecting at all." Grace gaped, looking the house up and down as we stepped out of the cab one by one.

"Yeah, me either," I breathed in awe.

When you think of the Holland family, your mind immediately goes to Tom, who makes millions of dollars each year by just being him; anyone would assume that he gives a decent portion of that money to support his family. But from the looks of his family's house, it would appear that he was just an average 23-year-old.

It wasn't the iron-gated estate you'd think it'd be. The house was set in the London countryside with similar houses around it both near and far. It was an average, two-story house for a family of five to six, both modest and serene. Certain parts like the pristinely perfect lawn that proved too professional for average human error or the apparent addition in the back that you could see from the driveway showed they had gained wealth.

Flowers and shrubbery of all kinds lined the cobblestone driveway up to the greenery-ladened front porch, which was a light, dusty gray color, complementing the bright white house that was lined with crystal clear windows outlined with a sleek black frame on every side. We paid the driver and walked up the stone driveway to the porch, my friends letting me go first because I was the guest of honor. Once I got to the door, I had a mini panic attack, which all girls have when meeting their boyfriend's parents for the first time, ignoring the fact that I already knew tons about his parents. I kept to myself and let out all the nervousness that I didn't show by taking a deep breath, and once I was finished, I rang the doorbell shakily.

Some mild rustling and loud talking that wasn't entirely classified as yelling took place behind the black door, and a grinning Harry opened it three seconds later.

"Hey!" he greeted happily, looking at all our faces with a smile. "Come in, come in!"

He opened the door wider as we all came in, his eyes never leaving me for one second. I didn't know how to explain it; the three seconds after I stepped over the door frame and into the brightly lit house told me gave me a gut feeling that I'd be spending a lot of my time here. I started to blush, which triggered Grace's best friend senses, and she glanced at me, then at Harry, then back at me while she gave me a playful poke in the arm, grinning mischievously the whole time. Naturally, I rolled my eyes and continued blushing like an idiot. I glanced at Harry, who was now blushing as well, causing me to let out a laugh.

I heard almost audible eye-rolling from John and Elijah but chose to ignore them, diverting my eyes to who was coming down the hall. If I didn't have as much knowledge from the internet as I did, I wouldn't have known that the boy standing in front of us was Paddy Holland.

"Hi!" I greeted the freckled 14-year-old, giving him a small wave.

"Hey! I assume you're Genevieve. Harry's told us a LOT about you," he greeted while glancing at Harry, making him blush angrily. "Hey, do you wanna hear a joke?"

There was a glimmer in his eye that I couldn't bear to say no to.

"Sure! I'd love t-"

"Hey, look, there's Mum and Dad! Hey, Mum and Dad!" Harry spoke in a rushedly nervous tone, coming over to Paddy and partly dragging him back to the spot he was previously standing in. Dominic and Nikki Holland walked up, greeting us all with toothy smiles.

"Hi, guys! So happy you could come! Make yourselves at home!" his mom grinned, turning and looking at me with a kind yet somewhat mischievous smirk. I knew her request wouldn't be hard to achieve with the amount of hominess I felt the second I walked through the door.

"You must be Genevieve, such a pleasure to meet you finally." She smiled warmly before leaning in a little and whispering, "Harry's told us a lot about you."

Harry groaned, and Grace and I shared a knowing look and grin.

"Mum!" he whined, obviously embarrassed, making me snicker. Nikki turned towards the three beside me, giving them the same warm smile.

"And you must be Genevieve's friends. It's great to meet you, too. Why don't you guys step in, and we can get to know each other better."

The couple led us down a wood-floored hallway that opened up to a cozy living room area with windows on all sides, looking out into the lush English countryside filled with summer blooms of all colors. The upstairs loft area overlooked the living room, and another member of the Holland family came downstairs. I recognized him as Harry's twin, Sam. A part of me was instantly starstruck.

"Why, hello there," he dramatically greeted, making me laugh. "You must be Genevieve, Harry's girlfriend."

I laughed, slipping my arm around Harry's side.

"That would be correct," I said with a chuckle as Harry and I shared a smile.

"And you must be the three supporting travelers. Nice to meet you." He smiled, gesturing to the three people standing beside me.

"So, tell us, what are your names?" Dominic asked gleefully. Once the introductions were over, we all sat in the living room, sharing things about our lives and getting to know each other as the night grew longer and the smell of a chicken in the oven became stronger.