Parents were frantically pulling children out of the ocean. Whining and screaming rang through Scarlet's ears, but it didn't matter. Silver's brown hair stood out too easily, still swimming around the sign. Couldn't he hear all the commotion? Sure, she didn't swim, but if there were a lot of loud noises like right now, she'd be out of there in a heartbeat. Her feet were frozen in place as he dove a little further behind the post. If something happened to him, she wouldn't be able to live with herself. Especially after losing her parents.

"I think I got it!" Silver yelled from the middle of the water.

Scarlet screamed as loud as she could. "Just get out of there!"

At this point, she could care less about the clue. Wanting to find her parents was an understatement, but she didn't even know if that was what the clues were meant for. For all she knew, they could be taking the two of them to their doom. She just needed Silver to be safe. After lifting her arm over her head to block the sun, she squinted her eyes as if that was going to make her see better. It managed to work, somehow. Silver was holding something white, but he wasn't swimming away. Scarlet shook her head. If he was okay after all of this, she'd strangle him for making her so nervous.

Eventually, the beach was cleared, leaving the two of them alone to fend for themselves. Hopefully nothing would happen. Going into the water to save him would be almost an impossible task. Out of nowhere, it seemed Silver was finally deciding to swim faster as if he just caught on to everything that was happening. But as he got closer, she realized there was a shadow behind him.

He held up the white object, which looked like it could be the next clue, but before she got a chance to really notice it, Silver was gone. Pulled underwater without a chance to even scream.

Scarlet gasped and ran further into the water without a second thought. She couldn't swim, but to save her best friend, she would try her best. Sizzling sounds ran through the air the second she got deeper. The contrast between fire and water wasn't her friend, yet she kept running.

Almost making it to the point where she couldn't stand anymore, Silver finally popped up out of the water. He wasn't holding anything anymore. Darting through the water, the waves crashing further up her body, he made it to where she was standing. His eyes closed, the weight pulling himself down toward the bottom.

Releasing a breath she didn't realize she was holding, Scarlet grabbed his hand before he could go any further and walked to the shore, his body dragging carefully behind her. Once they made it, she set him down, hovering over him yet never letting go of his hand. He would open his eyes, right? He had to. She couldn't lose him too. "Silver." She shook him. "You're okay now. It's okay. Come on, look at me."

Seconds passed though it seemed like an eternity before he coughed, blinking. "How dare you not tell me about the mermaid." He smirked then let out another cough. "I'm sure you knew since you have the sunglasses on."

The urge to strangle him only got worse. A laugh spilled out anyway. "I'm so glad you're okay. I was worried! You're not allowed to scare me like that." Her eyes caught his as he sat up. They seemed brighter, as if being in the water made him stronger. Then, she remembered her hand was still clasped onto his.

Her grip loosened but before she could pull away, he moved his other hand on top of hers and smiled. "Thanks for saving me."

"I'm your best friend, what else am I here for?" She smiled at him, then slapped his shoulder with her other hand. "That's for not listening to all the people screaming, since you're fine now."

His eyes went wide. "There were people yelling?" Before Scarlet could respond, he laughed. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. I know, I'm sorry, but I found the clue!"

"Really? What happened down there?"

"Well, I grabbed it. Then the mermaid took me under. Wrestling a mermaid is tons of fun. You gotta try it!"

"And maybe end up dying?"

Silver stood up, letting go of her hand. "I didn't die. But anyways, I basically had to fight to get some air. So....the clue is somewhere at the bottom of the ocean."

"That's okay. The important thing is that you're fine. How are we going to get it though?"

He faced the water, smiling. "I'm going back to get the clue, that's how."

"Not happening." Scarlet placed a hand on his shoulder, forcing him to stop before he even had a chance to move. "I'm not losing you to that mermaid."

Sighing, he held onto her hand, turning around. "Scar, you didn't lose me."

"I could've! You're not going back there."

"Then how do you expect to grab the clue?" he asked.

"Uh," Scarlet said, clearing her throat. "I...I don't. I can't. It's water."

He laughed. "Exactly. Let me go so we can find your parents. It's the only way." The smile he gave her just barely reached his eyes. "I don't have any weird, special powers like you do, but I'm strong. I'll be fine. I promise."

As he turned away from her, the grip between them loosened, but all she could do was stare at him as he made his way into the ocean once again. It wasn't until the splash of water awakened her that Scarlet realized she was still gazing, even though he wasn't looking back. She couldn't believe she let her best friend go back in there considering she almost lost him once. But he was right. He needed to do this. They would share the guilt if they never found her parents all because of a mermaid she wouldn't let Silver cross.

While she waited for Silver to appear to take a breath of air, she couldn't help but tremble. Even though the beach wasn't closed, no one else was around her. Scarlet hoped this wouldn't be a repeat of earlier. If it was, she wouldn't be able to handle it. More shaking spread through her bones, eyes focused on the movement of the water.

Only minutes passed that seemed like hours before Silver popped out of the water, pumping his fist in the air with the white object. Scarlet knew now that it was the clue that would take them on their next adventure. All muscles relaxed now that he was safe. He just had to swim back and they'd move on, away from this terrible beach.

"I got it! I got it!" Silver screamed, doing his best to make his way back.

Even if he couldn't hear her, she yelled as loud as her voice would let her, "Come on!"

Wet sand moved over her shoes as she unintentionally moved deeper into the water. Silver was getting closer to the shore, but a shadow appeared behind him. It must've been another mermaid. She wanted to scream, to tell him to get out as fast as he possibly could, but fear froze her in place with the thoughts of what happened just minutes earlier. But she didn't want another repeat. In order to change course of the events, she had to save him. Which meant going against everything her parents told her about being around opposite elements. Touching them might harm her, but she already had water on her shoes. Nothing happened when she went in before. It was either standing around waiting or possibly losing her best friend. Waiting wasn't an option anymore.

Going against everything she learned, Scarlet dove in.