Hate is a strong word

“Here you go, the nurse said it's for your wound.” Nifa said, carefully reaching out a pouch full of ice to Castel. He took it without a word and very gently put it onto one of his eyes, winching a little as the pouch touched his swollen eye. 

“They also said mommy should be here soon, I heard them talk over the phone with her.” Little Nifa added and sat down next to Castel though leaving some space in between them. Her cousin didn’t reply, instead he nodded and simply kept being quiet, Nifa did the same thing after the exchange.

After a moment of further silence she started to look around the familiar hall to pass the time. This was the teachers area, including the principals. Nothing much was here besides drawings drawn by students from a class. Certificates or photo’s of teachers with their previous classes being on a field trip could be seen too. They decorated the hallway nicely and made it seem less empty, bringing in some personality too. If she really thought about it, then the bench before the principal's room could be a little more comfortable to sit at.

It was much quieter than it was in the usual halls of the school, mostly because this was a closed off area but also because of lack of students. The school day has long since passed, the only ones that would be here should be teachers. 

Her eyes eventually looked over to Castel, catching a brief image of his bruised face before looking away again. Her mind quickly thought back to what happened in the hallway. She recalled the most intimidating tone she ever heard him talk in. She could tell even the Angel bully was taken aback from the slower response he gave back. Come to think of it, she would’ve never thought that Castel would’ve done something like that for her. The furthest her understanding would go would be that Castel himself would lash out at someone because of his own reasons. But this was… because she was being bad mouthed in the first place, not him. 

The further she thought about it the more it became confusing to her. There were a couple insults thrown at him too- but didn't he hate her? He certainly doesn't wanna be around her for very long so… why? 

Nifa nervously looked over to Castel again, her ears drooping a little. "U-uhm… Castel?" She asked very cautiously as she broke the silence.

"Yeah?" He answered.

"Ssso uhm… I was wondering.." She started again, thinking how to word her question. Castel waited, watching her unsure expression and ears move around ever so slightly with whatever was going on in her head. He noticed how the more she thought about the question, the more her brows started to furrow, battling with words to form a proper sentence. 

He rolled his eyes, obviously noticing how she was overthinking something. "Are you gonna ask the question or not?"

"Oh uhm- I was just wondering-" Nifa jumped a little, realizing her lack of response to him. "Well, I'm not sure how to put it but.. why did you punch him?"

 Castel stayed quiet, but it didn't take long for Nifa to add onto her question. 

"I mean… by your standards it should've been my problem so, why should you help me?" She gestured to herself with her hands.

"But you got in-between and even started a fight, all because he was bad mouthing me… and you as well." 

…

"... and I also thought you hated me, it’s illogical to me."

Castel continued his silence, now he was the one not knowing how to fully answer her question. Though really it was really just how he could word it in his way. There were many things to consider why exactly he started throwing punches at the asshole, though most of them were better to keep to himself still.

Though on the other hand, just like Nifa a moment ago, it was difficult for him to form a good enough sentence for her.

"… I dunno, does there have to be a reason?" He finally spoke up after a moment of silence. "Maybe I just wanted to punch him for being an unbearable snob. Maybe he deserved to be punched even more after calling us sinners."

Nifa cringed a little, recalling the bullies smug expression as he said that directly to Castel's face.

"Throwing that word around like it's nothing too." Castel sneered quietly.

…

"... well… I guess… but you did go in-between us?" Nifa tilted her head a little. "And answering with a 'maybe' isn't very helpful either."

Castel audibly sighed, "I just wanted to go home, and he was just wasting our time." 

"Also, what reason of calling me 'a freak' or 'an abomination' wasn't justified enough?" Castel raised his voice a little. “Or pushing me around to provoke me- or maybe the constant laughing at us?" 

"You-"

"Do you need more examples? Maybe it was the reason when he called your mom a whore- or maybe calling your friends names when they stepped in to defend you-" Castel's voice became even louder, his tone even angrier and his gestures were beginning to be even more sporadic. Nifa couldn't get a word in, choosing to listen to him instead.

"Maybe-" 

While answering with a 'maybe' the whole time still wasn't a consistent way of answering her question, the various examples were true, there were many reasons why the bully got punched by him. Essentially it was because he was throwing every possible insult at everyone who would even speak up around him, and Nifa slowly realized that maybe Castel was right, maybe he did deserve it for being an unbearable snob, getting punched because insulting him and not her.

But as Castel kept on rambling, his very last sentence he caught her attention again.

"-Or maybe I don't hate you- maybe just hate what you stand fo-” Castel suddenly stopped, realizing what he just sputtered out.
Nifa turned to him, her little ears perked up again.

"Just- stop asking so much already." Castel let out a long and frustrated sigh, leaning back in the seating.

…

…

There was a sense of happiness in Nifa, a sense of relief that… maybe their relationship wasn't as strained as she thought it was.
"You mean it?" She asked with a small smile on her face.

"... Maybe." Castel answered briefly, then looked away again. "And stop looking at me like that."

As requested, Nifa looked away, smiling to herself now.
"Does that mean you could join us for Dinner?"

"You're getting ahead of yourself." Castel rolled his eyes at her. 

"How about some day then?" 

…

…

"Maybe."