A Mermaid AU// Except Keith is half Texan// KLANCE

Chapter One

7-8-17

A hot summers day in July, a Latino family set out to a nearby lake.
The children run around, chasing one another and hitting each other with their pool noodles, while the adults and teens shove all the towels, coolers and floaties in the trunk of an old mini van.
The mother is hastily finishing the last of the peanut butter sandwiches, but is careful to remember that her youngest son is allergic to peanuts, and uses hummus instead.
An older brother is tying the kayaks the the roof of the van with the help of his sister. Meanwhile the father is getting a headcount of everyone, and riling up the already crazy kids. The kids climb to the back of the van, still laughing and joking with another, even when one hits his head on the ceiling. Everyone's now ready to go.
"¡Vamonos!" calls the father, climbing into the drivers seat. The mother tosses the sandwiches into the trunk, and jumps into the drivers seat. An older brother and sister are squished together in a window seat in an attempt to make more room.
"¡Apúrate, Abuela!" shouts a tall girl, as she slides in next to her squished siblings. Down the drive way the family sees a grandmother, scuttling down the driveway, a cane in hand, and a crossword puzzle in the other. The tiny woman scoots in next to the girl, and hits her in the head with her puzzle book. The kids snickered as the girl held the top of her head.
She gave her grandmother a mean look before returning to her business. The father put the car in reverse, and began pulling out. Everyone buckled up and got ready for a fun ride, filled with loud Spanish music, wind in their faces, and Lance's weird jokes. Wait.
"¿Dondé está Lance?" the girl asked. Her father immediately stopped the car. Her mother looked around frantically, like he just disappeared or was hiding somewhere. The girl thought back to where she last saw him.

Thinking...thinking...

The bathroom!
The girl reached over her grandmother, and opened the car door, and crawled over her. She ran inside the house, and up the stairs two at a time.
The bathroom light was still on.
She knocked lightly on the chipped white door.
"What?" said a frustrated voice.
"It's Veronica. Can I come in?" a second or two went by, and the door unlocked, and Veronica opened the door and stepped inside. Lance was fumbling with his hair, pulling at it, spraying it...his hair was a mess.
"Uhm, that's a good look." Veronica said, pointing to Lance's mess of a hair.
"It- it won't not be curly." the boy grumbled, grabbing at more product. Veronica looked at him questioningly.
"What? I like your curly hair." she smiled. That only mad Lance more frustrated.
"No, V, it-it's so ugly. I hate it." he started pulling at it, using a brush to comb it all different directions. Veronica leaned up against the counter, watching him for a second, trying to figure out something to say. The car horn honked, but Veronica ignored it, she knew they wouldn't leave till Lance was convinced.
"Lance it's like your brand." she said.
Lanced looked up at her, his hair was filled with so much product that his hair looked greasy. If any sane Lance saw that they'd lose it.
"But how am I supposed to get the babes?" he whined. Veronica looked at him for a moment, then burst out laughing.
"That's what you're concerned about?!" she laughed.
"I don't wa-" he began, but was quickly cut off.
"We're literally going to a secluded part of the lake, Lance," she laughed. "This is really what you're concerned about?"
Lance looked down in defeat. It would be pretty pointless to have your hair done nice.
"Common, we're swimming, so it's not like it would have lasted." she grabbed a bathing towel, and tossed wrapped it around Lance's head, then turned off the lights, grabbed Lance's hand, and headed out the door.

The ride to the beach wasn't bad. Lance's littlest siblings talked and talked, told him jokes and funny stories. Lance's mother complained about how she was worried, and asked what he was doing in the house for so long that made his entire family forget about him. He lied and said he lost his swim trunks, which made V snicker.
They eventually arrived at the lake, and everyone helped unpack the van. V and Lance helped untie and carry the kayaks to the shore. The two squished siblings, Julia and Danny, helped carry the coolers, even making their little brothers, Luis and Marco carry one ("It's sooo heavy!"). 
After Lance helped unpack the family's belongings, he took off his shirt, the towel off his head, and tossed them both to the ground. He stepped into the water, which immediately sent a shiver up his leg. The water was cold. Lance hesitated, and put both feet in, and descended into the freezing water.
"How's the water?" asked his twin sister, Julia, while taking off her tank top.
"Water's f-f-fine." Lance said boldly, he had goosebumps all on his arms. He was cold, but he wasn't going to admit it.
Julia rolled her eyes, and walked into the water. Regret filled her face immediately. She stood there, arms shivering at her side, and teeth chattering.
"Damn that is cold." Julia breathed. Cursing under her breath, she took a deeper step into the water, Lance watching her  as she did so.
Now Julia was concentrated on adjusting to the water, she stared at the water with each slow step. Lance crept closer to her, keeping his steps low and little. She was in her own little world, adjusting to the lake, so she was unaware of Lance's occasion burst or giggles. Julia was about knee deep, when Lance pulled her into the water, causing Julia to scream out of fear.
When Julia surfaced, her perfect, curly hair, was now a mess covering her face. Her mascara was dragged down from her eyes like a dead bride's. Lance's hair was slicked back, dripping with water and small curls forming. His face was bright red from laughter.
"Lance yo-" -she went into a series of coughs- "asshole." Julia hit Lance multiple times, but he didn't seem to notice, he was laughing his ass off.
"I hope you choke on a dick." she murmured.