1. When they first met, they didn't become friends just like that. Well at least on Alexandrite's side they didn't. He used to think that Strawberry Swirl was……….a bit weird. He would just shake his head every time he saw her jumping around for no reason. And he would also refer to her as "the crazy pink bush", courtesy of her wild, curly, and bushy mane, which was the very first thing he would see when she approaches him.
2. When they got a bit older, he did consider her as a friend. But he did find her to be kind of annoying. That didn't stop him from hanging out with her though, in his opinion, she's the funnest pony to hang out with, and she's also really good at making ponies laugh whenever they're in a bad mood.
3.In their early teens, Strawberry started to develop a crush on him, and as usual at that age, they both started to change. Especially Strawberry Swirl. She went from a chubby little filly, to a slender, tall, and beautiful mare. And that definitely didn't go unnoticed by Alexandrite. Now listener…read, he isn't the type to go after a mare just for their looks, but every time they passed each other in the street no matter how many times he tried to stop himself his eyes and mind started to wonder when he looked back at her. He really didn't want to, he was disgusted with himself for even thinking about her like that, and knowing that she had a crush on him which he found out by her obvious stuttering and blushing just made him feel worse. He was afraid of breaking her heart if she told him how she felt about him, and he didn't want to do that.
4. After debating what to do about his attraction to her, he decided to spend more time with her, to see if he did have hidden feelings for her. He would talk to her more whenever she came over to the boutique, hang out with her, invite her to lunch, etc. When a month and a half passed by, he realized he really liked their little outings together. And he loved her bubbly personality, which he thought just made her even more beautiful. Every chance he got, he would flirt with her endlessly just to see he her blushing, which he found extremely adorable. He even started to call her "my bubbly diamond". After a while, he told her about his crush on her, and vice versa. Are they in a relationship? No, not yet. Alexandrite has never been in one relationship that lasted longer than a month (if they were going to be in one, he really wanted it to last longer than that), and Strawberry Swirl has never even been in a relationship. They both agreed to wait when they were ready for a relationship. For now though, they just continued on with their outings…….and maybe one or two kisses on the cheek here and there.