Moonwatcher's POV

Moon had to admit she was a little nervous. Okay, maybe a lot nervous. But that was fine, right? She'd never really been alone with a boy before. She was usually just by herself most of the time. 

The ravenette stood in front of the school, the breeze whipping her ponytail into her face. It was an unusually windy day, especially for summer. She looked at Qibli. Moon couldn't tell a lie; he was pretty good looking. It wasn't that Winter wasn't handsome (She didn't really understand why he was on her mind right now), but Qibli just had a warmer feeling to him. 

His brown hair was in a cropped cut and his eyes gleamed. His skin was tan from being outside so often, whether it was sports or just so he wasn't stuck indoors. Qibli always tended to be in his Jade Dragons Jersey, but his ensemble sometimes consisted of a simple T-shirt and jeans. 

Moon took a deep breath. She had to remember this was not a date. It was just two friends going to get ice cream. It wasn't awkward unless you made it that way. 

"Are you ready to go?" He asked her.

" Um... Yes. Just let me text my mom really quick," she responded. Moon fumbled her phone out of her pocket. Her hands were a little sweaty. Stop being nervous, She kept telling herself. Her phone case was a tie-dye swirl of different shades of purple. 

The conversation went a little something like this: 

Moon rolled her eyes and slipped her phone back into her jean pocket. She loved her mother, but sometimes when it came to things like this, she was hopeless. 

She turned to Qibli. "I'm ready," she said. 

He smiled. "Great! Let's go!" He gestured for her to follow him down the sidewalk. They were so many cracks that you would need wings to fly avoid stepping on them. While they walked, they talked about the simple things, like what they thought of all the teachers and just high school in general. The conversation came easier then she thought it would, and in no time at all, she completely forgot to be nervous. 

"What are your parents like?" Moon asked him as they walked. His expression turned a little sad. "Sorry. You don't have to answer if you don't want to. I was just wondering." She turned her gaze down to her converse. 

Qibli slipped his smile back on. "Don't worry about. My parents weren't the best. I never knew my father and my mom... You don't wanna know. When I was about six, she sold me to Thorn, and I've been living with her ever since. My life is better off this way. It makes me sad though, too think that my own parents didn't want me." 

Moon smiled reassuringly. "I don't see why they wouldn't want you. Your funny, sweet, and-" She noticed Qibli looking at her. She blushed, "So... yeah. Anyway, my dad was the same. I never knew him. I think his name was Morrowseer or something like that. Mom never talks about him. I only figured out his name when I was looking through some old legal documents." She was tempted to talk about how awesome her mom was, but she didn't want to be rude.

"We're here. Welcome to mi casa. Come on in!" He started to run towards a run-down building with one of those neon signs with Razzleberry spelled out in bright pink letters, the letters now it for the sun had started to set and night had begun to fall. The plants out front were a bit overgrown and kind of had a desert feel to them, which Moon found a little odd. In fact, the whole place sort of had the same vibe. The chipped stucco was a mix of pale tan and gold, the same color as desert sand. 

"Are you coming or what?" Qibli said cheerfully from up top of the porch. He seemed like he felt great pride in this place. Maybe it was special on the inside? 

Moon paced up to the steps. Qibli pushed open the door and let her walk inside. I guess chivalry isn't dead, she thought as she walked inside. The door opened with a "ding ding," the sound of one of those old metallic bells ringing. 

The young teen girl's eyes widened. It smelled like ice cream. Okay, I know what your thinking: Icecream? Really? But this must have been really good ice cream. It smelled amazing, and it was really strong, like it was a large candle being burned slowly and steadily. The inside of the building held a counter running all along the back wall and a few cheap wooden tables and chairs are strewn about the place. Once again, it had the same desert vibe; There was something very homey about all of it. 

"You live here?" Moon asked.

Qibli grinned proudly. "Yep! Well, not here exactly. We live in the upstairs apartment. We as in me, Thorn, and her brother Six-Claws." He moved to go behind the counter through one of those short swinging doors. "So what'll it be, sweetheart?" He asked, throwing on one of those stupid paper hats. 

Moon giggled. Glancing at the options under the glass below her, she made her decision. "I'm feeling adventurous today. How 'bout vanilla in a waffle cone?" 

Qibli furrowed his eyebrows, dumbfounded. "If that's adventurous, I'd hate to know what playing it safe is," he joked. 

She pretended to look hurt. "Hey, usually I order vanilla in a cup." 

"With marshmallows?" Qibli asked, intrigued in that fun, curious way. That was what she liked about him. 

Moon shook her head. 

"Ok, how about chocolate chips?" 

Moon shook her head once more, giggling. 

"Not even rainbow sprinkles?" 

"Not even rainbow sprinkles," Moon replied, laughing. Qibli sighed, grabbing a cone from off the counter. 

"The customer is always right," he said. He finished with mumbling an "I guess," as he scooped up a few scoops of vanilla ice cream, put them one by one into the cone, and handed it back to her. "And since I'm feeling adventurous as well," he mocked, "I think that tonight I will be having cookies n' cream," he said, grabbing some in a cone for himself.  

"That's not much better than vanilla, honestly," Moon pointed out. 

"At least it's something other than vanilla. Anyway, where do you want to sit?" He asked. 

"Oh, I don't care." 

Qibli pondered this, biting his lip ever so slightly. "Follow me." He grabbed her arm and lightly pulled her toward's the set of stairs in the corner. 

Moon had to speed up to keep up with him. "Where are we going?" She had to work hard to keep her ice cream from following out of her hands and on to the concrete floor. 

She saw Qibli grinned as he continued to take her up the stairs. "My favorite place in the whole world." He led her up the tight stairs until they emerged onto a balcony. Moon gasped. Stretched out below them was a view of the whole city, the lights all twinkling. The sun was setting in a swirl of purples, oranges, and pinks. The wind had died down just a bit from when she had last been outside. 

Moon leaned against one the simple wrought iron railings and took a lick from her delicious treat. Standing there, she kind of had the urge to kiss him, but she dismissed those thoughts almost as soon as she had them. Moon had only known him for about a week. And she also did not need any of that in her life right now, or possibly ever. 

"Thanks for inviting me," she said instead. 

Qibli smiled. "No problem. Maybe we could do it again sometime?" He asked. 

Her eyes gleamed. "Maybe. Probably a yes. Ok, definitely a yes." 

Author's Note

Finally a longish chapter! I'm sad to say Moonbli is winning (No I'm not!). Do we need a Winterwatcher moment? I think not! Moonbli for life! Well, I guess unless you fanwings think otherwise. Anywhoville, please vote, comment, and follow if you enjoyed! Adios amigos!

P.S. 

Do you like that texting thing I did? I'll probably be using that some more in the future. It's surprisingly easy!