Chapter 1

On one particularly bright night, as the stars gleam overhead a couple strides up to the secluded cliff that overlooks the small fishing village and the sea that blankets the coast surrounding the village. The dim lights of the quaint town are unable to reach up there so all that is left is the soft glow of the moon above, "Why do we always have to run and why did you drag me out of bed?" the tired voice of Cherry, a petite girl of sixteen with strawberry red hair and emerald eyes, cries out breaking the silence of the night. "The stars are beautiful tonight. I wanted you to see before you are married off and move away" The other girl: Cherry's secret girlfriend Alison speaks up. Alison is seventeen and has a head of sleek and shiny platinum blonde cascading down her back. Cherry inquires looking into her partner's baby blue eyes "Ally what is this about?"Alison gently takes out something from her pocket. "Cherry please don't laugh." She gets down on one knee and in the light of the moon, looks up at her girlfriend and asks "Cherry will you marry me instead of that bimbo your parents picked? It can be like we always talked about. Let's escape this town together." Cherry stands there shocked for a moment but without any further hesitation says yes and pulls her now fiance into a tight embrace. Cherry's joy quickly turns sour as she remembers the reason Alison is secret in the first place. "My dad would kill us, you know that besides I'm engaged to Anthony so I probably shouldn't. Is it even possible?" Alison just laughs and kisses Cherry "Babe do you remember that book we read together? We can be Romona and Juliet. I love you" remembering all the things they planned together she stands and smiles. "Let's do this, we can leave first thing tomorrow after school." Cherry enthusiastically exclaims with newfound excitement for life that she hasn't felt since she was a child, falling asleep peacefully on the cliff unsure of what life will bring but taking comfort that Alison will never leave.

...Eleven Years Before...

Cherry was five when she got moved up from the easier kindergarten class and was placed in Mrs.Fugles more advanced first grade class. As soon as Cherry entered the classroom the teacher pulled her to the front of the class and asked "Would you like to introduce yourself?" Cherry stood frozen in place absolutely terrified but by gathering all of her courage she managed to stutter out an introduction "I- I'm C-Cherry and i-its g-great to m-meet you a-all" the teacher motioned to the empty seats and says "Feel free to find any open seat" Cherry goes around some of the empty seats getting blocked from sitting each time. One of the students pipes up, "You can sit here." A girl with a messy blonde ponytail motioned to the empty seat beside her as Cherry sat down the girl smiled, "I'm Alison, and welcome to our first grade class" Cherry shyly smiled "You already know my name, it's good to meet someone who's as nice as you" The friendly girl nods in agreement "The other kids are stupid" Mrs. Fugles cut off their conversation "Let's begin class. Our first subject is math. Who can tell Cherry what we've been learning?" The lunch bell rang after a while freeing them to the small gym that doubles as the cafeteria. Cherry went over to the lunch line and groaned looking at the slop the school called edible. Alison dragged Cherry out of the cafeteria line and to a table. "I'm not sure that's even made to be eaten. Here you can have half of my PB and J. It's better than anything they serve here," She smiles and hands her one of the neatly cut sandwich halves. "Thank you" Cherry manages to say between bites. "You're welcome, what else are friends for, '' They both laughed and joked the entire lunch period, ignoring everything else around them. That was the day they became each other's first friend.

...In the present…

Throughout the night, visions of a family dance in Cherry's head, visions of a future she hopes to see one day. Her and Ally adopt two beautiful children and live in a huge penthouse across from central park. Childhood best friends turned lovers, a tale as old as time itself.

In Alison's dream visions of middle school haunt her nightmares. "Hey loser! I heard you kissed a girl," A voice calls out. Another voice chimes in "Maybe Alisons actually an alien in disguise. Yeah, she's some alien freak" Alison's face goes red and she runs out crying. "Ally, wait please!" Cherry's red curls flowing behind her as she follows her friend "Don't listen to them it doesn't matter who you like or who you kiss,'' Triggering a smile out of Allison ``You're a good friend Cherrybomb. You always know just what to say to make me feel better." Alison takes comfort in having her best friend through it all no matter how hard things get. The duo have been there for each other since the beginning and will be there till the end

The pair wake up the next morning with Cherry laying on Alison's lap and Alison leaning against the lone cliff tree. Cherry blinks, still half asleep, realizing the horrific mistake they made. "Allison we're late for school our parents are gonna flip!'' The pair shoot up and race down the mountain and towards the school. "I have some clothes in my gym locker you can wear.'' The locker room is unlocked so Alison hastily opens her gym locker, tearing off her pajamas and putting on her clothes after tossing the spare outfit to Cherry and encouraging her to do the same. Her face quickly turns as red as her name and she puts on the borrowed clothes. Rushing to class, they run into Anthony who, while handsome, his less than average intelligence and abrasive personality makes him a less than ideal person to be engaged to. "Hey babe why are you hanging out with that lame lezbo." Alison quickly puts a stop to his nonsense. "She's my girlfriend. Not that you would know anything about having one". Anthony just laughs. "I have a fiance. And besides Cherrbear wants nothing to do with you freak," Harshly pulling a squirming Cherry into a hug. A weak protest escapes Cherry's lips "Let me go Anthony". "We can pretend none of this happened if you just kiss me," his grip tightens as he tries to force a kiss. SMACK. The sound rings out through the empty hall as Alison peels Cherry from Anthony's revolting clutch. "You bitch. You hit me. You're gonna pay for that, you freak!" Rubbing his cheek he glares . "It's called a bitch slap for a reason I guess". The pair finally get to class just to have the lunch bell ring the moment they sit down.

In the cafeteria the duo share the few edible things on their lunch trays. Alison breaks the silence "I don't know why school food is so disgusting. In a town like this I bet it's all the ground up fish the fishermen didn't want" Cherry laughs "Nah probably just the heads" they share a good laugh and sneak out of the gym. "Ally, how are we gonna make this work?" Alison shakes her head in uncertainty "I'm not sure but as long as we're together, I don't care," The redhead nods, the movement causing her messy curls to fall into her face. Alison flicks the lock of hair away from Cherry's face. "What are we going to do when we have to grab our stuff?" A smirk on her face Alison comfortingly caresses her lover's face " I'm one step ahead of you. This scenario has played in my head for years so naturally I have a plan.You go home saying you accept marrying that bastard and you're gonna go break up with me. When you leave to do that I'll sneak in your open window and grab your bags." Cherry sighs "You're crazy… but it just might work." The bell chimes loudly over the chatter of the cafeteria signaling the start of afternoon classes.