Title: Hatred is a New Friend of Mine

Rating: Teens and older

Warning: Violence (child abuse), swearing

Main characters: Castiel, Nathaniel

Summary: Empty promises, long distance, unsettling changes. Nathaniel and Castiel have many more reasons why they hate each other, despite what happened with them and Deborah. However, it's becoming difficult to hold their grudge for so long, especially when they have several hardships to cope with already.

Disclaimer: I do not own My Candy Love nor the characters. Credit goes to ChiNoMiko. I also don't own the cover image.

Nathaniel was a reckless boy. He arrived at the park like always, beaten and bruised by the older kids. His ripped shirt was dusted with dirt. Seeing his best friend sitting below the slide, Nathaniel wore a bright smile. This was where they always met up. It's become their secret hideout.

"Was it those kids again?" Castiel raised an eyebrow as he saw Nathaniel approach. He was sipping on a juice box. "You really need to stop getting involved in fights, Nathaniel."

Still wearing a weary smile, Nathaniel sat beside Castiel. "It's not that bad. I threw a few punches at those crybabies! They're probably crying to their mommies right now."

Castiel laughed lightly. "You're lying again, aren't you? You can't even throw a single punch at them." He set his empty juice box on the dirt. "Nat, you might as well just avoid trouble from those kids if you always end up in this condition."

"No, I swear, Castiel!" Nathaniel exclaimed, "I beat them down! With no mercy!" He clenched his fists in the air for emphasis.

Castiel tilted his head and wore a wry smile, "Yeah, okay. I can probably knock those kids out in less than two seconds."

The blond boy frowned, "If you're so good at fighting, then teach me!"

Castiel smirked, "So you do admit that you can't fight them back!"

"S-shut up!" Nathaniel lightly punched his friend on the arm.

Retaliating, Castiel hit Nathaniel back harder.

"Ow! What was that for?!"

"No, I should be asking you that question! What was that punch you gave me? That didn't even hurt!"

Nathaniel retorted. "I can hit harder!"

"You're lying again."

"Whatever," Nathaniel huffed. "So are you gonna teach me or not!"

"Of course. But in one condition." Castiel held out his pinky. "Whenever you fight those kids again, I have to be there to protect you."

Nathaniel scrunched his eyebrows, crossing his arms, "I can protect myself!"

"I wasn't finished yet!" Castiel still held his pinky out. "In return, I'll teach you how to fight."

Nathaniel hesitated. "Hmm…" He looked down at his chipped fingernails.

Castiel continued. "And this promise means more than teaching you how to fight. It means that whenever one of us needs the other, we'll always be there by each other's side. No matter what."

Nathaniel looked up and immediately hooked his pinky with Castiel's.

"So you pinky promise?" Castiel wore a small smile, pinky still hooked to Nathaniel's.

"Yes, of course! Always!" Nathaniel grinned from ear to ear. "No matter what."

A/N: This chapter was based on a few pages from a Spanish comic strip I found on DeviantArt. You can find the link on my profile.. Other than that, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter :)