It's You [H.S.]

7.5 | Adore you

31st December 2016

Eloise had driven them from Holmes Chapel back to London a few days ago, going via her parent's home in Richmond Park to pick up her phone and all her things before circling back to Hampstead.

Understandably, given recent events and with busy work schedules looming again, they're really not in the mood for a big night out tonight. Asking around friends and family, it seems the feeling is mutual. 

She has a week of promo in London for the BBC, then has to head straight back to LA for the final block of filming for Daisy Jones & The Six.

Harry's auditioning musicians for his band in London before flying back to LA with her next weekend.

Mitch had flown in yesterday, with Jeff and Glenne too. It's his first trip to London and Harry has been busily planning a week of must-see things to keep him occupied. The bromance is firmly back in session.

After a long walk on Hampstead Heath and then a fireside pub lunch catching up with their houseguests, they'd had all hands to the pump this afternoon, cleaning, shopping and prepping for tonight.

They'd made the late decision to host a New Year's Eve party. The numbers are growing, but Harry's only stipulation is that everyone comes decidedly not dressed up, with booze and board games. How rock 'n' roll.

Gathered around the island in the kitchen, Eloise and Harry are competitively finalising their platters; huge wooden boards dressed in a variety of cheeses, breads, crackers, fruits, nuts, chutneys and cured meats.

Jeff is sorting the wines; decanting reds and prepping ice buckets to chill the whites and champagne.

Glenne is in the living room, adding finishing touches to the Christmas decorations. Harry had insisted they belatedly put them out to dress the decidedly un-festive and recently empty house.

Mitch is busy fine-tuning the playlist for tonight.

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As everyone arrives, the kitchen rapidly gets overcrowded.

Gemma and Michal are first. Harry gives her grief that her jersey jumpsuit isn't casual enough; he's unimpressed with his jeans too.

But they all soon start feeling decidedly under-dressed when a noisy rabble disembarks from a large taxi. Lou, Nick, Alexa, Pixie, George, and Daisy are all dressed to the nines, ready to head on to a swanky party in Soho later. They've already been pre-gaming pretty hard too.

Ben and Mer readdress the balance when they arrive; him in sweats and her in full on festive pyjamas.

They bring Ollie - clad head to toe in Adidas sweats, as befitting his lucrative endorsement deal - and his girlfriend, Milly. Having ignored the dress code, she's even more dressed up than Alexa and looks entirely out of place amongst the rest of them.

Ben and Matt, his cousins, arrive next; soon followed by Malin, one of Eloise's.

Seeing her arrive just before Niall, Eloise can't help but smirk at the timing; he'd taken a shine to her at Ben's wedding.

Struggling with the long-distance and the pressure of trying to keep things under wraps, he and Selena had mutually agreed before Christmas to go back to being just friends again.

And Malin certainly seems to take a shine to him now, with his newly brunette hair and increasingly buff physique. This could get interesting.

James and Julia, child-free for the night, arrive last, once they'd managed to hand off a clingy Max to his grandparents.