Love Thy Neighbour *editing*

"Saint Declan falls flat on his arse."

Niall was right; I did get soaked through. By the time we had got home, I was shivering, despite the fact that I was still wearing his jacket and he had the heating on full blast. How could he not be freezing? His shirt just seemed to be mildly damp, while I looked liked I had taken a nose dive into the canal.

He parked the car in his driveway and got out. I prepared myself for the cold blast of air that would be coming my way. I pushed my door open and my teeth chattered noisily. I hugged myself to try and keep some of my warmth but it was to no avail. Niall had my bag in his hand and he was already walking towards my front door. These days, he seemed to spend most of his time at my house. It was a wonder Pam wasn't renting his room out to strangers, or at least given it to one of his numerous siblings.

I walked into the house; I could smell cooking. Someone was home! Well, that was a frigging first. I went into the kitchen and was met by Auntie Francis dancing to the radio, being closely watched by...Declan?

Niall was suddenly behind me.

"What the hell..." he murmured, just watching. I bit my lip. Auntie Francis did a pirouette and nearly dropped the pan she was holding. She blushed an unforgiving crimson and stopped her dancing. Declan looked around and got to his feet. I looked up at Niall, who had his eyes narrowed at his brother.

"What's going on?" I asked, drawing out a seat and sitting on it. I heard Niall drop my bag in the hallway and he leaned against the doorframe. His jaw was locked and he looked as though he would like nothing more than to have an argument with an embarrassed looking Declan.

"I was just cooking for Declan," Auntie Francis trilled, regaining some of her gusto. My eyes were drawn to what she was wearing, or lack of, as the case seemed to be. She was wearing this stupid silk robe that stopped about halfway up her thigh. No wonder Declan couldn't keep his eyes off of her.

Declan was wearing this sheepish grin and all of a sudden it all made sense. I clapped my palm to my head and let out a sigh. This was just getting ridiculous. Declan? Seriously? Niall had cottoned on before me, and he had a smug smirk on his face. He was looking right at his brother, his eyebrows raised.

"You know what, Francis," Declan stammered, walking to the door. "I think I'll catch you another time." Auntie Francis looked crushed but she managed to splash a smile across her heavily made up face.

"Okay, Dec," she said. She shimmied over to Declan and planted a huge kiss on his cheek, leaving a big red print on his pale skin. He blushed and attempted to wipe it off with his cuff. He exited, swiftly followed by a gleeful Niall. I wasn't going to miss this. I got up and walked out into the hall, just in time to see them both speaking.

"When mum finds out, she's going to fucking kill you." Niall grinned. "At last; Saint Declan falls flat on his arse." Declan glowered at Niall. Considering that Niall had a good three inches on him, it made it look even more comical.

"You're not going to tell her," Declan hissed. "Because you know, I could tell her about so many of the things that you've done over the past year." The smile slid from Niall's face and I could tell that he was taking what Declan was saying very seriously. Suddenly, Niall had Declan pinned up against the wall, holding him up by the front of his t-shirt.

"Try it," Niall snarled. "And I'll make sure that Francis knows why you can't get a job around here." Both of them were wearing looks of utter contempt at each other. I cleared my throat and they looked my direction; I wasn't going to be held responsible for them trashing up the house with their brawling. Niall's scowl faded, replaced by uncertainty. He set Declan back on his feet and Declan pulled the door open violently. Niall slammed it after him, shaking slightly. I walked over to him and put my hand on his forearm. He didn't look at me; he just looked at the door through which Declan had just left.