Hey there all you lovely people. Don't hate me for not updating Before Again. I'll get to it, I promise. In the meantime, I'm so evil and irresponsible that I wrote this thing for you. I hope you all like it. Just a few notes before I go on though:

- The title comes from a country song called Strawberry Wine, by Deana Carter. Listen to it if you want—it's a beautiful song.

- In the beginning of this story, Blossom is twenty four, Buttercup is twenty, and Bubbles is seventeen. (The boys are one year older than each of them.)

- The girls are sisters, but the boys aren't related to each other at all.

- Any OOC-ness was done on purpose, and if you don't like it, don't read it. Thanks. c:

- This story will be eight (possibly nine, depending) chapters long.

- And as always, I don't own the PPG or the RRB. But if I did...

Anyways, let me know what you all think!

xoxo -ml

Prologue

"No, Daddy, I absolutely refuse to go!"

John Utonium was almost one hundred percent positive that everyone in the state of Illinois could hear his daughter's screeches of protest. It was a lovely Thursday afternoon in the city; the sun was shining down on his little girl's beautiful golden curls, shimmering in the light and flowing slightly in the wind. A simple baby blue sundress covered her shoulders and gracefully accented her straight, slim features and long, creamy white legs. Silver rings and pendants on her wrists, fingers and around her long neck glistened and shone in the late light, creating a soft tinkling noise when they touched. She crossed her arms across her chest firmly and stamped her clean white Keds in absolute refusal of her father's plan. If there was one thing anyone knew about Bubbles Utonium (besides the fact that she was a state-wide volleyball champion and all-around spoiled brat) it was that she was as stubborn as a mule and as feisty as a wild horse. It was going to take a lot of effort to get her to agree to his pleas.

"Please, Bubbles," John begged his daughter, "your sisters both spent time with your grandfather when they were your age, and now it's your turn to visit him for a while."

She let out another groan. "But Daddy, Blossom and Buttercup went to see Papa at the same time, and they only stayed for the weekend!"

He sighed. "I know that, honey, but they're both out of town now and I don't have anyone to send with you, and I told you; I've got to head out on a business trip and I figured it would just be simpler if you stayed with Papa all week."

Bubbles said nothing. She stuck her bottom lip out in a serious pout and widened her eyes at her father, hoping he would reconsider sending her away by the look on her pretty little face.

"Bubbles, you're seventeen now, I can't believe you still expect the puppy dog eyes to work on me."

She groaned and collapsed into the patio chair opposite her father on the backyard deck, making sure to stay hidden from the direct rays of the sun. The pout remained dominant on her lips but she didn't look at him.

"It will be fun, I promise," John said at last, knowing he'd finally made his point. He took a sip of his glass of gin and grinned at her. "Even Blossom had fun, and you know how she is."

"She was engaged, Daddy," Bubbles muttered. "You could have taken her swamp diving and she would have had fun."

John shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He preferred to skim over the topic of his eldest daughter's early engagement. She had been only eighteen when she came home with her boyfriend's shiny new haircut and a shiny new ring. The haircut had pleased John at first, for he had been begging the boy to shave his shoulder-length auburn locks for as long as they'd been dating. But when he'd found out about the reasoning behind his new style, he'd been outraged. Nevertheless, he couldn't say no to his eldest, most flawless daughter, so within the next year she was happily married to the boy of her dreams—all too quickly for her father's taste. Five years later, and Buttercup was following in her footsteps before John could wave a hand.

Now Blossom was twenty-four with a baby on the way, and Buttercup was at the delicate age of twenty, engaged to be married in roughly a year. That's why he kept such a close reign on his youngest, most precious gem. He didn't want to lose her as quickly as he'd lost the other two.

"Papa looks forward to seeing you." John added with uneasiness in his voice.

"Papa doesn't even know who I am," she whined. "The last time he saw me I was still in diapers."

"It's only for a week, dear, you'll be fine. Besides, you've got Pepper to keep you company."

Pepper was Bubbles' favourite companion, a two-year-old cocker spaniel with a beautiful black-and-white coat of fur. They were the best of friends, and Bubbles surely would never have made it through the week had Pepper not been allowed to suffer through with her.

"I just hope they have a shopping mall," Bubbles mumbled under her breath. John rolled his eyes and swallowed the remains of his gin. He figured it'd be better not to reply, both with the knowledge that she'd continue the argument for at least another hour as well as the fact that indeed, there were no shopping malls near Papa's town in Western Kentucky.

There wasn't much arguing left to do about the matter. Bubbles was going to live with her grandfather for a week, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Pepper wasn't the best with long car rides. Most dogs would just stick their heads out the open window and enjoy the wind in their fur. But Pepper wasn't most dogs. Every hour or so they had to stop and let Pepper out for fear she'd soil John's nice leather seats. She was hyperactive and restless, and it was pretty safe to say she was quite excited for the trip.

"At least that makes one of us," Bubbles muttered under her breath as Pepper hopped over her knees again.

"What was that, sweetheart?" John asked distractedly, trying to figure out just how to work the GPS in his hands.

She sighed. "Nothing, Daddy."

Lifting her puppy off her lap and all but tossing her into the backseat, Bubbles turned her gaze towards the slightly open window. She had to tap the window button just a bit to make sure the wind wouldn't muss up her perfect golden curls.

The scenery outside her window was less than interesting to the teenager. It was all fields of grass and animals as far as the eye could see. The sun beat down on the little black corvette and she shifted her hot pink sunglasses on her nose. Her eyes followed the rolling hills as they tumbled gracefully along; up and down, up and down like a carousel ride. At a distance, the grazing cattle looked like tiny black and white ants on the fields, shuffling along their wide, free expanses. Tiny red-and-white houses bobbed above the sea of green like lonesome buoys in an ocean. Aside from the occasional gas station or market, there were no significant landmarks anywhere.

And she didn't see any shopping malls.

Just when she thought she would be traveling with her father and Pepper until they were stranded in the middle of nowhere, John nudged her shoulder and she pulled one of her earbuds from her ear.

"Look," he said excitedly, pointing to a sign that read 'Welcome to Kentucky!'

Bubbles jerked in her seat, eyes fixated not on the welcome sign, but the advertisement for the gigantic outlet mall directly behind it.

"About ten minutes until we get there, okay love?" her father said softly, breezing right past the exit for the mall without a second glance.

Bubbles sunk back into her seat with a huffy pout. John pretended not to notice. Pepper hopped excitedly over the middle console between the two front seats and started lapping fiercely at Bubbles' cheeks.

"Pepper, stop," Bubbles scolded softly. She gently shoved the puppy's face away from her own, swiping at her now damp cheeks.

"We'll be there very soon, Pepper, can it wait?" John asked the pup frantically.

"Daddy, you know how Pepper is. She doesn't know how to wait."

With a heavy sigh, John pulled over to the side of the dirt road they had been traveling down and parked the car.

"Make it quick, huh?" he muttered, half to Pepper, half to Bubbles. She nodded and clipped Pepper's leash onto her collar before opening the door.

Pepper leapt out of the car and dragged Bubbles behind her down the dirt road. The puppy hopped up and down, happily sniffing everything she could get her nose on. As Pepper stopped to do her business, Bubbles removed her sunglasses, ran a hand through her long blonde curls and glanced back to her father, who was studying the GPS again as if it were speaking to him in Japanese. She rolled her eyes and took a look around.

Just up either side of the road was yet another, familiar grassy field. Pepper seemed to be enjoying herself now that her bladder had been taken care of, bounding in and out of the tall grasses near the road.

"Pepper," Bubbles called, tugging on the leash. "Come on, you're getting all dirty."

"Bubs, come look," her father's voice called from the car window. Bubbles tugged on Pepper's leash again and the puppy reluctantly followed.

"What?" she asked uninterestedly.

"These are Papa's fields." He gestured to the tall grasses that Pepper had just done her business in.

Bubbles raised an eyebrow. "Fascinating," she droned, trying to sound enthusiastic. She failed.

"Come on honey, the house is just up the road."

"Can we walk, Daddy?" she asked. "My legs are stiff from sitting in the car."

His unsure look only wavered when both his daughter and her pet gave him the puppy dog eyes. He was outnumbered.

"Alright, but stay close to the car."

Pepper seemed to sense the agreement in John's voice, for as soon as he'd spoken she leapt into the air with an eccentric yelp.

Bubbles followed her puppy's lead down the road towards a driveway appearing in the distance, her father following slowly behind in his corvette. As they walked on in silence, Bubbles observed the tall silo rising above the hills in the distance, as well as the tiny farmhouse she prayed to God she wouldn't be living in.

Stepping out of the way to let her father pull up the long drive, she couldn't help the small gasp that escaped her lips at the sight before her.

The long, winding dirt drive seemed to carry on forever, rolling over the hills and stretching into the setting sun on the horizon. Just before it ended where the sky kissed the land, a gigantic house—if you could call it a house—loomed at the top of the hill.

Beautiful, country-style architecture accented the tan-and-white exterior of the building, with white windowpanes and doors that nearly flew off the walls contrasting the dark, old bricks.

It was nearly evening, and warm yellow light shone through a few of the millions of windows, inviting her inside. A homely white picket fence surrounded the expanse of the house, not definitely enclosing anything per se, but in fact keeping the roaming animals out.

It was then that Bubbles actually noticed the animals. There must have been hundreds of them, many grazing merely a few feet away from her as she continued up the drive, with only that small white picket between them. Pepper sniffed curiously at the fence, and Bubbles tugged her away.

"Keep away from there, Pepper," she told her pet. "It's dirty."

After what felt like a trillion miles of walking, Bubbles finally saw her father's car pull to a stop up in front of the gigantic garage. The sun disappeared behind the hills all at once, and in the blink of an eye the sky faded to dark blue and about two million flecks of light littered the expanse of the sky like freckles. Even Pepper stared up at them in awe, her hyperactive bounce stalled if only for a moment, watching as some invisible force poked holes in the endless blue curtain.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

The voice nearly startled Bubbles right out of her skin. She gave a shriek, causing Pepper to bark in alarm.

The voice chuckled, "Sorry miss, didn't mean to scare you."

Her wide blue eyes fell on a young man a few yards away. In the twilight, she could tell that the boy had soft, dirty blonde waves of hair on his head as well as deep, sparkling blue eyes. And he was built. Not just your average, he-probably-goes-to-the-gym-every-once-in-a-while built, but a very impressive farm-boy he-milks-cows-for-a-living built. That much she could easily tell, for he wore only a pair of torn up jeans and two very old-looking cowboy boots. A sand-coloured cowboy hat was placed casually atop his head, as if he'd only added it as a last minute thought. His bare chest was exposed, and as any girl in the world would have, Bubbles found her gaze trailing down the expanse of his body. His arms were toned, his chest tan and perfect as if sculpted by the angels themselves.

It was about thirty seconds before Bubbles realized she'd been staring. Her cheeks flushed pink and she stuck her chin in the air.

"You really oughtn't sneak up on people like that," she said with a step towards the house. She watched her father struggle with her suitcases and quickly decided that she'd rather stay and talk to the farm boy than help with her luggage.

The boy's nose crinkled at the word 'oughtn't'. "You're not from 'round here, are ya?" he noticed with a pointed look at her outfit—a short white sundress with a white sash around the middle, tying into a bow at the back.

"No," she answered him, standing straighter and tugging Pepper out of some bushes. "I'm here visiting my grandfather."

"Well miss, I hope ya stay a while. Who's your Papa?"

His chivalry made her breath momentarily catch in her throat.

"His name is Clement. Clement Utonium."

"Ah, so you're a Utonium." He adjusted the hat on his head and ran a hand through his hair. "Pretty much famous 'round these parts. I reckon the whole state of Kentucky knows yer kin."

"They do?" she was surprised. Her mature facade fell for a fraction of a second before she regained herself. "I mean, yes, of course, my father's very rich."

The boy seemed to consider this for a moment, as if making a decision whether he should continue talking to this foreigner or not. The falter was only for a second, though, and a friendly grin immediately replaced his puzzled expression.

"Well. I hope ya enjoy yourself here. My name's Boomer." He held out his hand as if expecting her to shake. She eyed the extended limb with suspicious eyes before taking it lightly. Her small, soft hand disappeared into his large, calloused one.

"Bubbles."

He tipped his hat to her as their hands disconnected. "S'a pleasure, miss Bubbles."

"The pleasure is mine," she said slowly; hesitantly. Her face still held the same confused, curious look. Pepper let out another eager yelp, yanking on her leash when John Utonium's call sounded from the front porch of the house.

"Bubbles, come on honey, it's getting dark out."

Bubbles turned to wave at the farm boy, but Boomer had disappeared. Just like that, he was gone. She scrunched up her nose and huffed away towards the house. These country folk sure were odd.

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