Strawberry woke up to another bright, cheerful day in Big Apple City. As she sat up in her bed, stretching her arms and basking in the warm glow of the sun creeping through the crack in her curtains, she heard a pleasant melody from her Aunt Praline singing while baking breakfast in the kitchen.
"Good morning, Custard!" Strawberry sang as she hugged her still-sleeping cat. Custard awoke with a grumble, slipping out from Strawberry's hold and jumping off of the bed. Unlike Strawberry, Custard was not a fan of mornings, and she emphasised this with a drawn-out yawn before curling up on the floor, attempting to go back to sleep. An attempt that was denied as Strawberry pulled open the curtains, illuminating the room, and opened the window to invite the bustling sounds of the big city into her room.
"Y'know, I used to miss the quiet of the countryside, but since living her in Big Apple City, I've kinda gotten used to how busy everyberry is." Strawberry jumped as a car suddenly honked its horn outside, and cringed as she heard profanities shared between the driver and a pedestrian crossing the street. "Okay, for the most part."
"Strawberry, you up yet?" Praline asked as she poked her head into the room.
"Of course! The day's just started, there's no time to waste lazing in bed!"
Praline laughed. "Oh, you're your mother's kid alright! Breakfast is ready, come out whenever you're ready."
Strawberry picked out her clothes from her wardrobe and changed, throwing her pyjamas onto her bed. As she slipped on her dress, she heard her phone pinging. She checked it and smiled, seeing a message from her friends letting her know they were on their way. Not her friends from the Berryworks, but her friends from back home, in Berryville. They were coming down to Big Apple City to see her, for the first time since she arrived in the city.
"Can't wait to see you, it's gonna be flantastic! Aaaand send!" As soon as she sent her text, another arrived, this one from her Berryworks friends. Orange Blossom was arranging some sort of get-together for everyberry, since they had the day off. Strawberry was sad about turning them down, but she had already made plans for the day. "Sorry guys, I'm meeting with my friends from home and-"
Strawberry stopped. She looked to her dresser, where a group photograph showed all of her friends, but her focus was on one berry in particular: Raspberry Tart. She bit her lip, her hands sweating as she returned her eyes to her phone. She erased what she had wrote and began typing something else, but then erased that and groaned.
"I hate lying to my friends, but if I tell them the truth, they might ask me to bring my friends along to introduce everyberry!" Custard meowed, and Strawberry threw herself onto her bed. "Usually that would be a good thing, but if my friends from back home meet my new friends here, I'd have to tell them about me and Raspberry and…" Strawberry swallowed, her hands trembling.
She typed out a new text. Sorry guys, feeling sick today, can't make it. Hope you have fun though, send me pics!
She held her finger over the 'Send' button for a good while, before finally pressing it and then tossing her phone aside. That was probably the hardest thing she had ever had to do in her life, but it was now done. She had lied to her friends. "… It's probably fine, right?! We all tell a little white lie now-and-then! All I have to do is just get my story straight and keep up the lie for the rest of my life every time I see them, burying the guilty inside and smiling, even though I'll always know in my heart that I've betrayed their trust in me! … I can do that!"
Custard sighed, shaking her head. Strawberry jumped to her feet, taking deep, calming breaths. "You're right, I'm overreacting! I'm a big city girl now, this is just… part of big city life! I just gotta keep it cool."
"Strawberry?" Praline asked, poking her head back into the room.
"YES?!" Strawberry shouted, startled by her aunt's sudden appearance. She put on her biggest smile, hoping she was looking nonchalant.
"… Umm, your pancakes are getting cold."
"R-Right! I'll be right there!" Strawberry laughed as she followed her aunt into the kitchen, and Custard groaned, already sensing the impending disaster.
Even after a delicious breakfast, and spending the morning baking with her favourite aunt, Strawberry still felt like a bag of nerves as she left the apartment and ventured into the city. Even as she waited at the station, Strawberry's foot couldn't help but keep tapping against the ground, her eyes shifting here-and-there, as if she was worried that everyberry was looking at her, judging her.
Even as the train pulled into the station, Strawberry was so afraid that her friends would find out she had lied to them and would be angry at her, or worse, upset! She was especially worried about what Raspberry might think. Would she be mad? Would she break up with her? Would she start dating someberry else?!
"Strawberry!" Strawberry was snapped from her thoughts as a familiar voice called out to her. It was her friend, Angel Cake, a blonde-haired girl wearing a frilly, lilac shirt and blue overalls. Her hair was tied into pigtails as usual, decorated with cute ribbons.
Beside her was Ginger Snap, a black-haired girl wearing a simple white shirt and pink jacket, and a pair of a jeans with dark patches covering rips and tears, acquired from her work as a mechanic.
Finally, there was Peppermint Fizz, another blonde, but her hair was just a shade darker than Angel Cake's. When Strawberry had last seen her, her hair was short, but it was now longer, and tied into a ponytail. Had it really been that long? Her attire had changed, too, from a cozy red sweater and baggy trousers, to a more-athletic T-shirt and three-quarter trousers.
"Wow, it's been so long! You all look great!" Strawberry said, jumping to her feet. Suddenly, her nerves were no longer bothering her. She was simply happy to be seeing her old friends again after so long, and she showed this by pulling Angel Cake and Ginger Snap into a group hug. She knew that Peppermint wasn't much of a hugger, though to her surprise, she did join in. "Peppermint, love the new do!"
"After you left to pursue your dream, I figured I should get serious about what I wanna do. I'm gonna compete in the Berrylympics one day, and put Berryville on the map by taking the gold!"
"We all got inspired by you, Strawberry," Angel Cake said. "I've finally opened my own bakery, with help from my parents! I was worried it wouldn't do well, but I put in a lot of work, and now berries come to Berryville just to commission me!"
"That's amazing!" Angel Cake was a baker, like Strawberry, who specialised in cakes of all kinds, and she was also an artist. She put her two passions together and was known for making artistic cakes; cakes in various shapes for various occasions. When Strawberry left Berryville, Angel Cake was just helping out her parents at their café, and only baked cakes for her friends as a hobby.
"Anyway, there's a whole day for us to catch up on what's what and who's who and what we've been up to, but we wanna see the city so show us around why don't ya, Strawberry?" Ginger Snap said, talking as fast as usual, without so much as stopping to take a breath.
"Oh, don't worry, I've got so much to show you. This city is incredible, you'll see!" Strawberry took in a breath, preparing to sing, when Peppermint held a finger over her mouth.
"No singing, just the tour will do," she said, and Angel Cake and Ginger Snap both laughed.
Strawberry pouted. "Fiiiiine."
"Strawberry's sick?" Huck asked, sadly strumming his guitar. "That's a shame, I was really hoping I could get her thoughts on my new song."
"Well, at least she had the courtesy not to get sick on a work day," Bread Pudding said, earning a shove from Lime's elbow. "I mean, oh what travesty! Not Strawberry Shortcake of all berries!"
"Something doesn't smell right," Lemon said, scratching her chin.
"Did one of your inventions explode again?" Sour Grapes asked.
"No! I mean, not yet. I mean about Strawberry being sick. That berry's too, too… cheerful to get sick!"
"It is odd," Blueberry agreed. "The universe has always looked out for her. How could it betray her like this, on such a pleasant day?!" Blueberry looked up to the sky with a pleading look, but then quickly returned to her usual smile. "Oh well, I'm sure the universe has its reasons."
"Guys, it just happens," Raspberry said, rolling her eyes and checking her phone. "Probably just a cold, nothing serious. Not like she hasn't been sick before."
"Aren't you worried?" Orange Blossom asked. "I mean you are her girlfriend, after all."
"Oh, please. I'm not gonna be like one of those clingy girlfriends that worries over every little thing. She's got her Aunt Praline, she'll be fine."
"Is that why you're checking her Bitter for updates every minute?" Sour Grapes asked, and Raspberry blushed.
"I'm just looking at the news, making sure it isn't gonna rain!"
"Uh-huh…"
"Hey guys, Raspberry's right," Lime said. "Even Strawberry can catch a common cold now-and-then. We shouldn't let this get in the way of us having fun. You know she wouldn't want that." Everyberry agreed with Lime's reasoning and began to calm down. "So I propose, we each bake her something to help feel better! We can go visit her later, and that way, she'll know we had fun today, while still keeping her in our hearts!"
"That is an A-plus idea!" Bread said. "But I disagree with that last part, about us visiting her? What if we all catch whatever Strawberry has? If it becomes an epidemic, we would have to close the Berryworks!"
"Well then, maybe just one of us could go," Orange said, grinning at Raspberry. "Naturally, it should be the girlfriend."
"Ooooh, yeah! I bet Strawberry would get better real quick if you paid her a visit!" Lemon teased, and Blueberry and Lime giggled.
"Oh, sure, let me take the bullet so the rest of you can stay safe," Raspberry said, crossing her arms.
"That's the price you gotta pay, now you're her giiiiiirlfrieeeeend," Huck said, strumming his guitar.
"Going alone to visit Strawberry at her home? Scandalous," Sour Grapes deadpanned, and Raspberry's face turned a shade redder.
"Ugh! We've been dating for months, when are you guys gonna give it a rest?! C'mon, let's just bake these get-well treats already!"
Later that evening, the group decided to call it a day and head back to their homes. They had pooled together the treats they had baked for Strawberry and loaded them into Raspberry's truck, teasing her one final time.
"Good luck!" Orange Blossom said.
"Have fun!" Lime said, adding a wink.
"Use protection," Sour Grapes said, and when Raspberry gave her a menacing glare, she clarified, "I mean wear a mask. What did you think I meant?"
Raspberry sighed as she drove through the streets of Big Apple City. "Seriously, those berries! I'm just checking in on Strawberry and unloading these treats, I won't even be staying long! Maybe a few minutes just, y'know, not to be rude… And maybe just like, check her temperature and fluff her pillow, make sure she's comfortable, and make sure that she's taking her medicine… Maybe help her Aunt Praline out, I bet she's been busy all day. But that's all, it's no big deal!"
After parking her truck, Raspberry unloaded the treats onto a wagon and wheeled them into the building, making her way to Strawberry's apartment. As she knocked on the door, she waited. And then took out a small mirror and checked that her hair was okay, and that she didn't have anything on her face. And then she straightened out her skirt and checked that her breath didn't smell bad.
As the door opened, Raspberry put her hands behind her back and acted natural. "Oh, hey there Raspberry!" Aunt Praline greeted, as cheerful as ever. "What a surprise!"
"Hey Miss Praline. I just came by to drop off some gifts for Strawberry, they're from everyberry at the Berryworks."
"Aww, that's sweet of you all! Would you like to come in for a few minutes?"
Raspberry blushed. "Yeah, sure, I guess I can." Raspberry wheeled the treats into the house and looked around. Everything appeared clean, so it didn't look like Praline was having any trouble taking care of Strawberry. "So how is she?"
"Oh, you know Strawberry, always running on a full tank!" Praline laughed as she made her way into the kitchen. "You want some tea?"
"Yes, please," Raspberry said.
"So what's the occasion? You know it's not Strawberry's birthday, right? Or is this just everyberry's way of thanking her for all she's done?"
Raspberry cocked an eyebrow. "They're uh, get-well gifts. Y'know, since she's sick?"
Praline turned around, looking just as confused as Raspberry. "Strawberry? Sick? What're you talking about?"
Now Raspberry was even-more confused, and her stomach began to churn.
For Strawberry, the rest of the day with her Berryville friends was great. The four of them had visited many shops, with Strawberry showing them all of the best boutiques and sweet shops the city had to offer, and of course, introducing them to all of the friends she had made along the way. She had taken them to the theatre, where they all watched the latest Sonar Porcupine movie, and then she showed them an obscure little restaurant that served the berry best desserts.
There was so much to see in Big Apple City, far too much to fit all in one day, so Strawberry kept it simple, showing all of her favourite landmarks and recounting her many exciting adventures since she had come to the city. Of course, she was also eager to learn all about how things had been back in Berryville, too. The four had had so much fun exchanging stories that Strawberry had forgotten all about how terrible she had been feeling that morning.
As evening rolled around, it was unfortunately time to say their goodbyes. "I can't believe the day is over already," Strawberry said, frowning. "I missed you guys so much!"
"We missed you, too, but we're glad to see you're having so much fun here in Big Apple City," Angel Cake said.
"Peppermint was real worried about you, y'know?" Ginger Snap said, and Peppermint blushed. "She said 'that Strawberry Shortcake, she's too nice for her own good, she's gonna get herself into a whole heap of trouble and'-" Ginger was silenced as Peppermint grabbed her in a headlock, and covered her mouth with a hand.
"I wasn't worried!" Peppermint protested. "I just figured you'd come crying back after some shady big city creep scammed you out of all your money, but I never said I was worried!"
Strawberry and Angel Cake laughed, and Ginger Snap wrestled herself free.
"Sure you were! That was all you could talk about, day-in-day-out, was Strawberry Shortcake this and Strawberry Shortcake that! We even had to stop you from hoppin' on a train and visiting her yourself, yep, yes we did."
"Aww, that's so sweet of you, Peppermint," Strawberry said, "But you really didn't have to worry. I've got Aunt Praline here, remember?"
"I wasn't worried!" Peppermint repeated. "Ugh, this is what I get for coming all this way to visit!"
"We're just teasing you," Angel Cake said. "It's not a bad thing to care about your friends, y'know."
Peppermint folded her arms and looked away. "A-Anyway, we'd better hurry, if we don't wanna miss our train."
Angel Cake sighed, shaking her head. "Yeah, I guess so. It was great catching up with you, Strawberry. Let's do it again sometime."
"Sure, I can't wait!" Strawberry said, hugging her friends one-by-one, and then she waved them goodbye as they went their separate ways. As she skipped home, Strawberry hummed one of her favourite songs. She arrived at her apartment and reached to open the door, only for it to open on its own as her aunt stepped outside. "Oh, hey Aunt Praline!"
"Welcome back, kiddo. I gotta step out for a bit to uh, pick up some things," she said, stepping aside. She was giving Strawberry a weird look, sort of like she was… concerned? Worried?
"Oh, do you want me to come with you and-"
"Nah, I got this. You just go on ahead and rest up."
"Okay, see you in a bit."
As Praline turned to leave, she said, "Good luck."
Strawberry gave her a questioning look, but her aunt was already on her way out. Shrugging, Strawberry entered the apartment, finding Raspberry sitting on the couch, petting Custard, who was laying on her lap.
"Hello, Strawberry Shortcake. Feeling better, I presume?"
"Oh! R-Raspberry! What are you-"
"I came to see how you were doing. We all baked you some get-well treats." Raspberry motioned with her head to the pile of treats she had brought with her. "Funny thing is, your Aunt Praline said you weren't sick at all."
Suddenly, the guilty and fear that Strawberry had felt this morning all came rushing back. Breaking into tears, Strawberry rushed to Raspberry and knelt on the floor, bowing her head. "I'm so sorryyyyyy! I didn't mean to lie but I didn't know what else to say, please please please don't break up with meeeeeeee!"
Custard stretched and jumped off of Raspberry's lap, approaching Strawberry to nuzzle her cheek. Raspberry was now feeling flustered. She was mad at Strawberry and had every intention of scolding her, but she forgot just how sensitive Strawberry could be, and it seemed that Strawberry was already punishing herself. With a sigh, she said, "I'm not gonna break up with you, and I promise I'm not mad."
Strawberry sniffed, raising her head. "You're not?"
"No, I just wanna know why you did it. I mean, you're Strawberry Shortcake for berry's sake! If you lied, it's gotta be for something important." Raspberry offered her hand, pulling Strawberry up to her feet, and then shifted on the couch for Strawberry to sit next to her. "So go on, tell me what's up."
Strawberry wiped the tears from her eyes. "Okay first off, you're an awesome girlfriend."
Raspberry couldn't help but grin. "I know I am, but we're talking about you right now."
"Right. So uh, I was visiting some friends of mine from Berryville today."
"What, so you felt bad about turning us down for your other friends? That's silly."
"Well, I uh, kinda didn't want you all to know because then you might… want to meet them."
Raspberry tilted her head. "And that would be bad… why?" Strawberry stared at Raspberry for a few seconds, then looked away. "Wait, it's not because of… me, is it?"
"No! I mean, a little?"
"You don't want them to know that we're dating."
"It's not like that!" Strawberry took in a deep breath to calm herself down. "When I was younger, back in Berryville, there was this girl who lived there called Apricot. I had a bit of a crush on her, and when the other kids found out they… picked on me, and called me names." Strawberry brought her feet onto the couch and huddled herself into a ball, burying her face into her knees. "Not for liking someberry, but for liking another girl."
Raspberry wrapped her arm around Strawberry and pulled her closer. "That sounds… rough…"
"Yeah, it was. I spent the whole summer in my room."
Raspberry could hardly picture the cheerful, extroverted Strawberry Shortcake being a recluse, and the thought of it alone hurt far more than knowing Strawberry had lied to her earlier. Still… "You should've told me the truth, Strawberry. I'm your girlfriend, you can tell me anything."
"I panicked. I didn't know what to do. I'm sorry."
"Well, I forgive you," Raspberry said, kissing Strawberry's head. "Hey, don't tell me the girls you met today, are the same ones who picked on you before?"
"Not… all of them. Angel Cake and Ginger Snap didn't join in, but Peppermint Fizz did."
"Then why did you even want to hang out with her?"
"I mean, that was a long time ago. She was berry mean as a kid, but we became friends at some point and she's been a lot better since then. Kinda like how you and me became friends after that bake-off."
Raspberry couldn't argue there, and the idea of Strawberry becoming friends with her former bully definitely seemed on-brand. "But you still thought she might pick on you if you told her?"
"… Maybe? I dunno. Like I said, I panicked."
"Well, if you need time, I understand. Just don't lie to me anymore, okay?" Strawberry nodded. "And don't worry, whatever happens, your friends will always be there for you. You know that. We love you." Raspberry held Strawberry closer, her voice lowering as she added, "I love you."
"Yeah…" Suddenly, it was as if a lightbulb had gone off in Strawberry's mind. "Yeah, you know what? You're right!"
"Well, I'm glad you're feeling better now-" Strawberry jumped off of the couch, grabbing Raspberry's hand, and ran towards the door. "Hey, wait! Where're we going?!"
"To the station! I have to make this right!"
As Strawberry arrived at the platform, she was relieved to see that her friends were still there, waiting for their train. "You guys!"
The three of them turned, confused to see Strawberry running towards them. "What's up, Strawberry Shortcake?" Ginger Snap asked. "Didja forget something super important? You look like you just jogged a whole extra-super-duper-long marathon to get here."
"G-Guys, there's something I… I need to…" Strawberry let go of Raspberry's hand and gripped her knees, taking deep breaths. "H-Hold on, just lemme… Wow, that was a long run…"
"Take it easy," Angel Cake said, moving to pat her friend's back, but Raspberry beat her to the punch. "Oh, you're one of Strawberry's new friends, aren't you? I recognise you from the picture she sent us. Um…"
"Raspberry Tart," Raspberry said, extending her hand.
Angel shook it, smiling. "I'm Angel Cake, and this is Ginger Snap and Peppermint Fizz. It's berry nice to meet you."
"Okay!" Strawberry shouted, standing up straight. "I'm good now! Guys, there's something I have to tell you before you leave."
Peppermint checked her watch. "Well we've got time. What is it?" Strawberry didn't respond right away, instead fidgeting with her fingers and thumbs. "We don't have that much time, though, so-"
"I," Strawberry began, closing her eyes. She felt somebody holding her hand and turned to Raspberry, who smiled and gave her a reassuring nod. Strawberry nodded back, and turned to her friends. "I'm… dating Raspberry. We're uh, going out together… as girlfriends…"
Strawberry was so worried about what they might say, that it caught her completely off-guard when they all smiled, and Angel Cake said, "Oh, em, gumdrops! I'm so happy for you!"
"Way to go Strawberry! I always knew you were a catch, but a pretty, big city girl like that? You've got game!"
"Heh, t-thanks," Strawberry said, blushing. She turned to Peppermint, who hadn't said anything yet. She looked… nervous? Worried?
"Why didn't you say something sooner?" Angel Cake asked. "Dropping this on us right as we're about to leave!"
"Well, uh, y'see, I was kinda… maybe a little bit scared of telling you."
Raspberry rolled her eyes. "A 'little', huh?"
Strawberry laughed sheepishly. "Okay, berry scared."
"But why?" Ginger Snap asked.
"Well, I mean, don't you all remember when we were kids, and I said that I had a crush on Apricot? Some of the other berries uh, picked on me, and I just… didn't want that to happen again…"
"Come to think of it, I do kinda recall that just a little," Ginger Snap said. "But we never said anything, so-"
"We didn't do anything to stop it, though," Angel Cake said with a frown. "Sorry, we really weren't berry good friends, were we?"
Strawberry wanted to say more, but she was clearly struggling, so Raspberry decided to help out. "Peppermint, don't you have something to say?"
Peppermint flinched. "I…"
Angel Cake gasped. "Wait, you were one of the kids that picked on her!"
"I was just a dumb little kid back then!" Peppermint snapped, turning away. "I just wanted to fit in, that was all, I didn't mean to hurt you!"
"That's no excuse!" Angel Cake told her.
"I know that! When my parents found out, they got mad and told me what I was doing was wrong, so I stopped, and I told the other kids to cut it out, too."
"But did you ever apologise?" Raspberry asked.
"I mean, I was going to, but I didn't know how or what to say, and then Strawberry was like, back to her old, cheerful self, so I just thought that maybe I could stay quiet and everyberry would forget all about it. And then we became friends later, so I thought she was totally over it."
Raspberry sighed. "Look, I get where you're coming from. I was a bully myself, once, and it can be hard to own up to it. But even if someberry looks fine on the outside, they can still be hurting on the inside, and you should always apologise when you've done something wrong."
Peppermint hesitated. "E-Even if it's too late?"
"It's never too late."
Peppermint was silent a few seconds more, and then she suddenly ran to Strawberry, grabbing her hands. "I'm… sorry. I never should've picked on you, or called you all those things."
Strawberry smiled, and hugged Peppermint. "It's okay, I forgive you. You used to pick on berries for a lot of things, and I know you've been trying hard to be better, so I actually forgave you a long time ago… but it's still nice to hear you say it." Strawberry pulled away from the hug and turned to Raspberry. "Thanks. I don't really like confrontation, so I didn't know what to say. I just didn't want to make things awkward between me and my friends."
"You gotta say what's on your mind, or noberry will know," Raspberry said, flicking Strawberry's forehead. "But if you're having trouble, I can do the talking for you, okay? I don't mind being blunt about these things."
"Heh, sure."
"Um…" Strawberry, Raspberry and Peppermint turned to Angel Cake, who was whispering something with Ginger Snap. The two of them nodded, and held each other's hand. "Actually," Angel Cake began, "We have something we wanna say before we leave, too."
Strawberry gasped, stars in her eyes. "No. Way. You two are-" Angel Cake and Ginger Snap nodded, and Raspberry and Peppermint covered their ears. "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
"We were nervous about coming out about it," Ginger Snap said, "But seeing how brave you were, and knowing we got good friends who'll support us, we kinda figured now might be a good time."
"I can't believe it! You two have to tell me all about it! When did it happen? How long has it been going on? Was it magic or was it more spontaneous? How far have you-"
"Okay, okay, I think that's enough for one day," Raspberry said, pulling Strawberry back and holding her from behind like she was a cat. The train pulled into the station at that time. "Besides, they've gotta go."
Strawberry pouted. "We'll tell you all about it next time," Ginger Snap said, brightening her friend up. "And you tell us all about how you and Raspberry got together, we wanna hear it, all the details, okay?"
"You betcha!"
"Maybe not… all the details," Raspberry said with a blush.
"And hey, maybe you should come visit Berryville at some point," Peppermint said. "You and Raspberry. Your folks would love to meet her, I'm sure of it."
Strawberry and Raspberry exchanged glances, both smiling. "Yeah, we'll find some time," Strawberry promised, and as her friends boarded the train back to Berryville, she and Raspberry waved goodbye. "Heh, I can't believe I was so worried. I should've known everything would be okay, with berry besties like you and them."
"Even Strawberry Shortcake can make mistakes," Raspberry teased. "I'm still hurt that you lied to me, though."
"I said I was sorry!"
"Hmmm, nope! You'll have to make it up to me." Raspberry checked her watch. "There's still time. Take me somewhere nice, right now."
Strawberry's face turned red as she realised Raspberry was asking her out on a date. "Right now? But I'm not ready, and just look at what I'm wearing!"
Raspberry grinned. "Too bad, you'll just have to improvise."
Strawberry grinned back, taking Raspberry's hand. "… Okay, Raspberry, you're on! One berry awesome date, coming up!"
