Shine

Chapter 11-that one feeling

{photo by rachelhuey88}

The tour through the America's was long. And stressful.

All through the states, Lance was constantly in a flurry. He didn't know what to do for the first few shows in the first couple states, and the more states that kept coming, the more frazzled he became!

There was a two week break before they began their trip in Canada. Their train took them all through Yukon, to Nunavut, and from their through to Manitoba and Quebec.

Then came the Central America's, which Lance was excited for. They went to Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Panama, traveling through into South America where they were now.

After their big show in Venezuela, they were on their two week break in Peru, vacationing and enjoying the sunshine. After their little vacation was the show in Brazil. Then they would travel on through to Argentina before catching their flight to the United Kingdom.

Lance was very very excited for Europe. He had never been before! He was so excited to see all the famous cities, like London and Paris and so many more!

He was living the dream. Even though there was a new show every day or two, and they were on constant train travel, Lance loved living lavishly in his little train compartment and seeing the world.

Right now, they were laying on a beach and enjoying the sunshine, Lance and Hunk tanning on their towels while Pidge hid from the sun. They had dug a hole in the ground and planted their chair and umbrella inside. When they got sick of someone's shit, they could just yank down the umbrella and close the hole off. It was genius.

Pidge was a genius.

Keith was sitting underneath an umbrella, holding his phone up and attempting to get service, trying to stay out of the sun as much as he could. Unlike Lance, who was blessed with beautiful tan skin, Keith was pasty, and sunburned very easily. He had Shiro lather him in so much suncream that he looked like the skinniest snowman to ever walk the beaches of Peru.

Lance stood up, taking off his sunglasses. "Cmon, frosty the snowbitch. Come have some fun and get off that mind control device." He said, taking off his sheer beach cover and putting it in his bag.

"Cmon. Let's go get wet!" He smiled, walking down to the ocean. Allura was sitting in the sand, making sandcastles while Shiro waded in the shallow water, holding a little crab.

"Lance!" He called, holding up his spectacular little crab friend.
"I found a crabby!" He yelled like an excited six year old, cupping his hands with the crab inside. It looked up at him, and he smiled.

"Bye bye crabby." He smiled, letting crabby go into the water and bury himself in the sand. Shiro looked sad to see him go.

Shiro was a big, tall man of pure beef, but he was a soft guy. He got soft over the goldfish he saw in a pet shop in Quebec, and almost adopted a kitten in Yukon when they were visiting Canada. It was no surprise that Shiro got attached to a tiny crab no bigger than his pinky finger.

Lance waded in the water with Shiro, enjoying the cool waves washing over his tan skin, the ruffles of his bathing suit top rippling in the ocean water. It was such a beautiful day.

He sat up when he heard the splooshing of Keith's great big angry gorilla feet stomping onto the wet sand. He looked grumpy to even be alive.

Who wouldn't with such untamed rat nest hair like that?

Lance smiled up at him nontheless, standing up and pulling his trunks up.
"Well, mullet? Gonna have fun or what?" And that was the last straw.

Keith chucked a handful of wet, sopping salty sand at Lance's chest, and the war had begun. The two boys flung sand and splashed one another in the waves, wrestling one another and laughing as seawater filled their mouths and noses, coughing and spluttering to get the salty grossness out.

Keith pushed him down, and Lance laughed, wading in the crystal waves. For a moment, Keith's heart leapt up into his throat.

Lance was sparkling in the sun, the beads of water in his hair shining and making him radiate with happiness and life. Keith's chest got fluttery and he swallowed thickly. Ever since the night of their first performance, Keith had been feeling intensely weird around him.

In Canada, when Lance was bundled up to keep himself warm, the snow falling in his hair, and his nose pink with cold, Keith got that feeling.

In Guatemala, when Lance shed his clothes for the night on the train, his silhouette like a beckoning spirit behind the foggy glass of their bathroom door, Keith got that feeling.

Over and over again, when he watched Lance leave and return, watched him eat, and on particularly lonely nights, listened to him have fun on the other side of the door, he got the feeling in his chest. He had absolutely no clue what it was, but he didn't like it and he wanted it to go away soon.

And right now, with water dripping down Lance's body, with his beautiful ocean eyes shimmering with life, he got that same, painful tugging feeling in his gut, and his heart leapt into his throat. He didn't know why or how this was happening, but it better stop soon.

It better.

Keith smiled, sitting in the sand and wading in the crystal waters, watching the clouds pass by, and watching the little fish swim past his legs.

Keith got the ugliest sunburn that afternoon.

~

After their little vacation had passed, it was back on the road again, and now they were headed for Brazil. The train ride was long and painful, and Keith and Lance got sooooooOooO bored.

Well, Keith did. Lance was always occupying himself with another makeup practicing routine with Allura, or with another movie night with Pidge and Hunk, or teaching Shay to cook coquitos, flan, churros, and senoritas. Sitting with Coran to discuss the newest episode of Ghost Hunters: Scarlet Night, or doing evening yoga with Shiro.

Lance was best of friends with everyone on the train, except for Keith, and it pained him.

Lance always saw how Keith acted. He was shy and insecure. He always hid away on his cellphone, blocking out the world with his headphones and never making any effort.

One night, at around 4 in the morning, Lance woke up to get a drink of water and saw him.

The tissue box by his bed was empty. His bedside trash can was full of wadded up paper, and Keith's eyes were reddened and sore from sobbing himself to sleep. It was pitiful, and Lance almost teared up at the sight. He always wondered how normal it was for Keith to go to sleep like that.

He hoped soon that one day...just one day.

Keith's walls would crumble to the ground

~1177 words~

Keith is a sad insecure boy :(

~Atha