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It had only been a minute since Lizzie and Gem had rushed into the ocean, and Pearl could already tell they were scheming to get her in the water with them. Her girlfriends did this every time they went to the beach. Her and Gem would mainly set up the blanket, umbrella and such since Lizzie almost always dropped her shoes and ran. The water called to her in a way the others didn’t understand, and she’d live in the water if given the option. Gem tends to follow. Pearl has never had the same inclination towards the water as them. She much preferred to bathe in the sun with a nice book on the blanket.
But it never lasted long. Gem and Lizzie would always come up with some kind of plan that eventually got her in the water. Pearl didn’t mind; it was always funny whatever they did and she’d always have a good time. And they’d always make it up with a nice big bonfire with s’mores and cuddles while she rambled about legends from all over the world about the stars. She had to get to that part though by being “tricked” into the water. It’s going to be hard to top what they did last time, when they managed to move the supplies to the water line while she was in the bathroom. The most common method was usually a bucket with a bunch of water dumped on her head. They all knew it was coming. It was more a matter of when. And if she was going to have to make a snack run before nightfall because water ruined the chocolate bars again.
“Pearl!!!” Gem called out to her about 20 minutes later, her red hair a stark contrast to the seas and sky. “Get in here!!”
“I’m good, thanks.” She smiled. Stage one: the open invitation. They always start out trying to get her into the water of her own accord. It never worked, partly because it was more fun that way. Besides, they always knew Pearl would say no. The sun was her calling as much as the ocean was Lizzie’s. That’s why the next stage was always immediately enacted: The Distraction. Make sure her attention was occupied so she didn’t see what was going on around her. Which would be hard when a certain pink haired basically-a-mermaid girl was missing from the water.
“C’mon, you always have fun in the water!” Gem continued. “Why do you keep turning us down?”
“Because I like not having to deal with wet hair or the cold feeling afterwards. Besides, we both know what you’re doing!”
“I know. That’s why I made sure Lizzie had a head start!”
Pearl didn’t have much time to react before a concentrated stream of frigid ocean water hit her square in the small of her back. She practically jumped out of her skin as she rushed to face Lizzie. Lizzie was smiling at her, holding a water gun confidently in her hands. And this wasn’t some tiny cheap plastic kids toy; this was a proper super soaker in her hands. She was smiling mischievously as she aimed at Pearl again.
“Target has been hit but is refusing to go down, over.” She said despite no walkie talkie on her. “Firing again.”
Pearl managed to dodge out of the way of the water by lunging for her bag and pulling out two of her own ready loaded water pistols. “I’m not going down without a fight!!!” Lizzie let out a small shriek before taking off towards the ocean, the water from Pearl barely missing her shoulder.
“Target is armed and dangerous!!! Requesting backup! I repeat, requesting backup!!”
“Providing covering fire!” Gem yelled as she pulled out water balloons from the bag she had run into the water with. Soon they were exploding across the beach, and the water fight was on.
Pearl knew this would happen; they all did. She saw it in the Amazon cart long before Lizzie had tried to sneak it in the car, and Gem had accidentally opened the box with Pearl’s pistols because Pearl had forgotten to change the name on the package. But the element of surprise was never a concern. It was all about the fun of it all as Pearl did her best to resist the water as long as possible. Lizzie had managed to push her somewhat into the water, both of them nearly up to their knees. Pearl could feel her pistols running low on ammo, meaning she’d soon have to get down by the water to reload. But she wasn’t going to down easily; that was part of the fun.
“Surrender Pearl.” Lizzie say, aiming was also probably a nearly empty blaster at her. “You’ve got nowhere to run.”
“You can’t stop me, mate.”
“Maybe not. But Gem always can.” In a brief second, Pearl felt a hand grab her wrist and a leg sweep her feet out underneath her. She fell towards the pull of the hand into the water as Lizzie’s laugher echoed above her. She quickly emerged from the water as Gem smiled at her with a guilty face.
“That was clever, I’ll give you that.” Pearl admitted.
“Love you, Pearl.” Gem chuckled.
“Love you too, Gem.” Pearl smiled, before both of them were sprayed in the face with a water gun. She looked at Lizzie, who held the same mischievous grin she always did when something like this happened.
“All’s fair in love and war.” The chaos queen stated as Pearl shared a look with Gem. The latter had that same look of mischief in her eye as she turned back to Lizzie.
“You’re right.” Gem said as she pulled out her own, fully loaded super soaker. “And I love you.”
“Oh God!!” Lizzie exclaimed as she quickly down under the water to avoid Gem’s blast. Pearl laughed as Gem began to follow Lizzie deeper into the water. Pearl sat a moment, her head the only thing above water as she slowly let her pistols refill themselves. She always joked about how the water was never her thing, or that her favorite part of the beach was leaving. But this was always her favorite part. When Gem and Lizzie had finally gotten her into the water and now it was the three of them having fun and enjoying the same thing together. Whether there was a beach ball bouncing between them, racing down the shoreline with a specific stroke or simply wading or floating and letting your worries wash away in the water. It was moments surrounded by the two people she cared about most, and that made every ruined snack or washed away sandal worth it.
“Pearl!!” Gem called out, bringing Pearl’s attention back to the present. “What’s taking so long?”
“I challenge the both of you to a water duel!” Lizzie added, brandishing her weapon. “At the same time!”
“I’m coming, I’m coming.” Pearl sighed playfully. A moment a peace before being brought back in to the fun and excitement. “But just to warn you, I’m the fastest shot in these entire waters.”
“We’ll see about that.” Lizzie challenged as the three stood with their backs to each other. “The Queen of the Ocean refuses to lose!”
“Alright, enough talk.” Gem said, “5 paces and then we shoot. I’ll count down. Ready?”
“Ready.” Pearl and Lizzie said at the same time. Gem nodded before beginning the count.
1 … 2 … 3 … 4 … 5.
“Game On!”