"Are we going to practice again today?" Winter asked her, sitting on her desk.

"Sure," Moon said, giving Winter a thumbs-up. Then she went back to scribbling her notes before opening her mouth. "Beware, Man of Storm. For I have played the saxophone so much, you will never even dream of competing with my skills."

He laughed mockingly. "Oh, no! Your speech is so powerful, it almost makes me forget I began playing the sax when I was five. How long have you been playing? An year?" He rolled his eyes. "Pfft."

"True," she replied, laughing. "Your house or mine?"

Winter smiled. "Special treat for you, my parents actually allowed it. Now I can finally show you my horse and you can come over!"

"Awesome!" she shouted. The teacher turned to look at her, an eyebrow raised. She slowly sank down on her chair, her face red.

Winter laughed, pointing at her tomato-red cheeks, and she swatted his hand away, giggling.

That afternoon, Moon went along with him on the limousine. It turned out his sibling, Icicle, never rode with him. They all rode in separate cars.

Moon had always wanted a sibling of her own, but if it was always like this between siblings... it made her rethink her wish.

When they got out, a woman was waiting for them. Icicle went into the house without a word, her face emotionless, but Winter carefully said hello, like he was afraid of hurting her if he said it too loud.

Moon greeted her, too, although she never got an answer.

She looked too much like Winter to be a stranger, but with cold and cruel features. Who was this woman?

Winter bowed his head. "Mother," he murmured. His eyes were on his shoes.

"Son." Tundra replied, her voice colder than ice. "So this is...the girl you told me about. She's very..." She raised an eyebrow in displeasure. "Average. Nothing special. Not exactly pretty, either."

Winter didn't reply. Average? Moon felt anger rising inside her. Was Winter always treated like this?

How much did he keep inside, telling no one?

...Was he okay?

"We must go up and study, Mother," Winter whispered. He finally looked up, but flinched as his Mother's eyes met his.

"Very well," Tundra said, turning away from him. Winter's entire body seemed to relax when she disappeared down the stairs.

"Let's go," he said excitedly, nudging Moon with his shoulder like nothing had happened. "This is going to be...nice."

He grabbed her wrist and ran out to the yard, got a carrot, and ran to the barn, his eyes sparkling. Moon tried feeding Bandit a carrot after a couple moments of admiring the white, majestic horse front of her.

But she could never quite forget the flinch Winter did as his mother met his eyes...what was the woman doing to her son?

Then they started to ride him, Winter at the front, Moon at the back, watching as the horse ran through the green grass below.

After riding him for about half an hour, it started raining. Shouting in alarm, they went back to the barn as quick as possible, but they were already dripping wet.

"Ugh," he said as he jumped off. "Now I'm all wet." He rolled his eyes and offered her his hand with a grin.

Moon took his hand, jumping into his arms. "So am I!" She laughed.

He let her go. "Let's go into the house."

"Sure thing," Moon replied, nodding. She started to look for an umbrella around the barn. "Do you guys have an umbrella?"

"Yeah, one here." Winter took an umbrella from the corner and pressed it open.

Moon smiled, skipping to the dark-haired boy. "Hallelujah! It would be horrifying if we had to walk through that rain."

Winter grabbed her wrist and pulled her in. "Before we go, though...can I tell you something?"

She blinked. Da-thump. Da-thump. What was her heart doing? Why was it going to fast?

Was she having a heart attack after getting wet? Or...

Winter's eyes. Winter's hands against hers. Winter's hair, brushing his eyes. Winter. Winter. Winter.

"I..." He stared right into her eyes. "I'm in love with you, Moon."

Then he kissed her. In the rain. Under an umbrella. In his arms. In a universe where they couldn't be together, because his parents will never allow it.

But that was when she fell in love with Winter Absher.

~

Seven minutes before Qibli came.

She quickly placed her headphones on and took the cassette player. She briskly changed it to tape ten.

You can do this.

Can I, though? Hear Winter get broken over and over again?

She shakily pressed Play.

This particular tape is very, very special.

It is for my father, after all.

"Welcome to your tape, Narwhal Storm"

It's something to try your best and get praise for it. Trying to please someone who has high expectations for you is another.

After Hailstorm died... People had high expectations for me. But many people lost that hope of me being my brother when I showed that I couldn't be.

Hailstorm...in the household, he was spoken almost like a god. A perfect being. But when it was revealed that I led him to the place of the murder, everyone seemed to leave me out in everything. To point at me when my back was turned.

The whispers, the jeers, the words...I heard all sorts of things.

It's different, though, to lose someone you never had. What hurts the most is when you lose someone you desperately loved.

That was you, Father.

Before Hailstorm's death, I dare say, we were pretty close. Father and son. You were proud of me when everyone else shrugged me off. You cared about me when nobody else did.

You once said to me, "Winter, you may be called a runt, a weakling, or a disappointment by other people. But Son, you're enough for me. You're enough."

Did you think I would forget that?

That changed me. Those little words that you probably forgot the day after. But those words seemed like it was carved in stone in my heart, gave me strength and confidence.

I tried to be better. I tried to get stronger, and started to think there was hope after all.

Then it happened.

Hailstorm got murdered.

You changed completely. You started avoiding me. Did I have hope that you might understand me? Take my side? Viewed me as who I really was?

No.

You were as good as all the others in the family. Thinking I did the murder. Thinking I was a monster.

I wasn't enough to you anymore.

And that crushed me. My wall of confidence, broken into pieces. It was like glass. Sharp and painful if touched, impossible to put together once again.

My heart never mended.

Family. I don't think I ever pleased my parents nor got accepted as a member of it. I was never enough. Never smart enough, never good enough...Never convincing enough.

Runt.

Weakling.

Monster.

That was what I was. And now, look...

It is I am now.

She pressed Stop. She couldn't bear to listen to it anymore. And thankfully, that was the end.

~

"I don't get it."

Moon almost sighed out loud in exasperation. "Um...I don't know how to explain it. I explained it in every way I know."

Why is Qibli getting mixed up with a simple problem like this? He used to be one of the smartest kids in the class.

Moon took a deep breath. "Which part are you not getting? What's the problem?"

Qibli blinked at the paper. He didn't reply, which frustrated Moon a little bit.

"I can only help you if I know the problem. How can you even help someone when you don't know what their problem is?" She said desperately.

"Actually, Moon, I know this stuff already." Qibli sighed. "I just...want to ask you for advice."

"What is it?" Moon asked. Then she began to be worried. Was Qibli going through some hard things?

"There's this girl I like, no, love...That refuses to talk to me." Qibli stared at the floor. "I want to get close to her, talk to her, heal her broken heart, because, wow, she seems so sad nowadays...She isn't like she was. I want to help her. Any way I could." Qibli looked up, into her eyes. "But she won't let me."

Wow...Qibli was going through all this, and I didn't even notice...I thought he was coming after me! What a ridiculous thought now. "Why?" She asked gently.

Qibli looked away once again. "She...there's someone else she likes. Except he's gone now, and I know I have to give her time to space things out, but it just hurts so much to see her in pain."

Why does the story seem...awfully familiar?

Like my life story?

Oh, wait. The song "Treat You Better" by Shawn Mendes. Haha. Love that song.

...Focus, Moon.

"That must hurt a lot, Qibli," she whispered. After all, she understood that feeling. To watch someone die and being unable to help. "I...what about talking to her about your feelings? Maybe if she knows how you really feel..."

Qibli shook his head. "She won't accept me. I'll never be the guy she loves. I'll...I'll never be enough for her."

Enough.

Her heart felt like someone was squeezing it. Suddenly, it was hard to breathe. I'll never be enough for him. Winter's voice was fresh in her mind.

She needed to help. Quickly. Do whatever she could to heal this broken Qibli before anything for worse. God, what would she do if he left her too? It would be a blur of craziness. So many broken feelings. So much sadness. Impossible to bear.

She gulped. "Who is this girl?" She needed to help him. Now. Or it might become too late. She might lose him, just like Winter. All over again. The pain. The regret. The horror.

Qibli slowly reached out and grabbed her hands with his, startling her. Black eyes against green ones.

His bangs in his eyes...

Just like Winter...

No escape.

Just like Winter...

...Did she want to, though?

"You."