huh [ declan mckenna ]

what do you think about the car?

you blinked once. twice. you pinched yourself to make sure you weren't dreaming. ouch. fuck. not a dream.

'so, what do you think about the car?' your father asked you with a grin.

is this some sick joke? where did he even get this?

'y/n, do you like it?' he asked again.

today's your sixteenth birthday – and your father's promised to gift you a car. in a sense, he did fulfill his promise. but instead of, you know, giving an actual functioning car, he gave you one of those toddler cars attached to a grocery cart. fun.

you gave him an awkward smile. it's not that you were ungrateful, but then again, who would've even thought of these kind of shit? you opened your mouth to speak, but it seemed like your father had read your mind.

'not what you expected?' like hell anyone would expect that. 'don't worry, dear. this isn't actually the car i'm giving you. but something came up and it couldn't come today.' he explained.

you let out a sigh of relief. 'what's this, then? how'd you even get your hands on one of these?' you asked him.

'oh, this? you know how your uncle is.' he said, as if that answered anything. 'enjoy.' he gave you a pat in the head, and went back inside the house, leaving you alone in front of the garage with the grocery cart.

you looked around to make sure no one's around, and did something very embarrassing. you got in the car. there's definitely no leg room here. suddenly, you felt a pair of eyes on you.

'sweet ride, l/n!' shit. you'd recognize that voice anywhere. you slowly turned around to see your neighbor, nightmare personified, sometimes your friend, declan mckenna peeking from his fence. even from afar, you could see mischief glinting in his eyes.

you let out a groan before slowly burying your face in the steering wheel. you could hear your neighbor leaping over his fence and walking towards you.

'what do you want, mckenna?' you asked as he approached you.

'what, am i not allowed to see my closest and dearest friend's sweet new ride? you're breaking my heart, y/n.' he said dramatically, while looking down on you. this boy is unbearable.

you stepped out of the car and made direct eye contact with him. he's taller than me now. what the hell. you immediately thought. your thought suddenly drifted to the time when you were in fifth year and he was in fo– no. you shook that memory away.

'shut up, declan. don't tell me your opinion on cars until you've released your album.' he seemed taken aback for a second. he furrowed his eyebrows.

sometimes when you're over to jam, his mother would show you a video of rosanna asking four year old declan's opinion on the family's new car, followed by him singing his 'newest album'. it really was just him singing some song he heard on the radio. 'my son's going to become a musician!' she would say proudly.

'mom, stop it.' is what declan would often say to her, usually while covering his face with a pillow.

you can't help but laugh at his expression. 'look, y/n. i'm going to write a bloody album okay? as soon as i win glasto, it's over for you.' he's kind of cute when he gets serious, actually. makes you forget how annoying he usually is.

'glasto? don't you have to be like, sixteen to enter?' you teased him. despite being born in the same year, he's a grade below you as he was born in december. it really pisses him off when you joke about being older than him.

'oi, you're not the only one turning sixteen this year! by the time registrations are open next year, i'll be of age already. besides, i've got a good feeling about brazil.'

brazil? 'is that not a country's name? what's that have to do with this?' sometimes he made absolutely no sense to you.

he rolled his eyes at you as if you were the last person to understand a simple joke in the room. 'yeah, dummy. the name of the corrupt country. did you even listen to me talk the other day?'

maybe you would if you weren't too busy staring at declan's other and cooler neighbor, isabel, which you may or may not have a crush on. 'oh, the soccer song?'

he nodded. 'you were too busy looking at isabel next door huh?'

your face turned red at the accusation. 'i-i was not!'

'you know, she helped me a little with brazil yesterday.' he said, eyes glinting with mischief.

'actually, i think i saw her in her backyard earlier. if i shouted at her i think she might hear and come over to see–' you covered his mouth with your hands before he could finish his sentence.

'don't you dare bring her here while this–' you pointed to the grocery cart. 'this– thing is still here.'

he grinned. 'what, scared apple of your eye's gonna look at you differently after seeing your new car?' he sneered.

'shut up. and for your information, i do have a legitimate car coming my way so fuck you.' you defended yourself, crossing your arms.

it was not a great rebuttal, unfortunately. as all it did was incite laughter in your friend. 'you know what? fuck you. i'm going to put this in the garage. i'll see you in five.' you said to him, while starting to move the cart.

he let a small laugh. 'happy birthday, by the way!' he called out to you as you move further away from him.

'shut up!' you called back at him. what he doesn't know is that as soon as your back turned on him, you cracked a little smile. as annoying and unbearable he is, you're glad to have him as a neighbor and friend.