Chapter Two- Meeting

The next day, Keith drove a motorboat far out to sea, donned a scuba suit and air tank, and lowered himself into the water before diving down. He took a moment to admire the seemingly boundless blue water around him before swimming off to find a likely place for shells. He didn't go too far down, mindful of the pressure. He came upon a bed of coral that was so pretty, he fished out his camera and snapped a picture before resuming his shell search in this grove of coral. He found only seashells, some usual, some not which he added to his pouch. He looked around for another suitable search area and headed out. Unknown to Keith, he had been spotted by a merboy who followed below. He was curious as to why this human was so far from land and hoped this was someone he could befriend.

Keith sensed his air was starting to run out. Have I really been looking for hours? he wondered. He checked his readings to find that, yes he had been looking for hours and he had lost track of time. Disappointed, he started to head for the surface. He was almost there and afforded himself one last look down and what he saw made his eyes widen. It was a teenage boy with brown hair and eyes as blue as the sea but instead of legs, he had a blue fishtail with white fins! He was a merboy! The brunette froze at being spotted and the two locked eyes until Keith became aware of his air feeling stale. He quickly headed up, removed his breathing tube once above water, and took deep breaths. Once he was breathing normally, he took a breath and ducked down to see the merboy still there. He gave a friendly smile and jerked a thumb up before heading that way himself. I always knew merpeople existed, but I never thought I'd see and he's…handsome.

Lance watched the human start to head for the surface when he paused and looked down. Lance froze when the human saw him. He saw the eyes widen as they locked with his eyes. Then the human quickly surfaced and Lance stayed where he was, unsure of what to do. Do I leave or stay? I think I'll stay unless he pulls a weapon. Then, in that case, I'll flee. He focused on the surface as the human ducked down, flashed a friendly smile, and pointed up before doing so himself.

Oh, he wants to talk! Lance thought, grinning. Wonderful! I have a few questions to ask and maybe I'll get them by getting to know him. Lance swam up and surfaced to see the human was a teenager like him with black hair in a mullet style and deep violet eyes. Lance felt like he had been beached; the boy was breathtakingly beautiful. Now I really want to know him.

"H-hi," the human said. "I'm Keith Kogane. How long were you following me?"

"I'm Lance McClain. Why would you think I was following you?"

"Well, I would think that merpeople would prefer to stay at the bottom of the ocean."

"We usually do, but some of us- Hey, wait a minute! Shouldn't you be trying to catch me or deny that I exist? I mean, isn't that what humans do?" Lance's excitement at having his questions answered had momentarily drive out of his mind the dangers of revealing himself to humans.

Keith sighed sadly and looked away. "Yes, most would. But I love the sea and want to protect those that live in it. I've always believed merpeople exist and had hoped to meet one."

Lance felt bad about the accusing tone in his voice. He moved closer and put a hand on Keith's shoulder. "Look, I'm sorry about being defensive. I've always wanted to know a human who knew we existed."

Keith looked at him. "You have?"

"Yeah. I'm curious about humans. My race can take human form but most do it to sunbathe. I take it to mingle with humans, observe what they do, and wonder why they do what they do."

"Wow. You can be human? That's amazing. so, you watch us?"

"Yeah, but I can't ask questions as people would think I'm stupid."

"They certainly would. I'd be happy to answer your questions."

"I'd like that, but first tell me about yourself."

Keith suddenly felt a bit shy. He just met Lance and the merboy wanted to get personal. But, if I tell him, he may return the favor. "Well, I'm eighteen, an only child, and live with my parents. I don't have many friends but I do have an older one named Shiro. He also loves the sea and believes you exist."

"Oh. I'm seventeen and have a large family. I'm pretty friendly and have two close friends Hunk and Katie who prefers the name Pidge. I like collecting human objects from sunken ships or that drop from people and ships as they pass overhead."

"Wow. I like collecting ocean treasures like pearls. Actually, that's why I'm out here. I'm looking for a conch shell for my dad."

Lance's eyes lit up. "A conch shell? Stay here." Lance ducked down and swam straight down past where humans could go and into a small cave in a rock face to where shells poked out of the walls in few and random spots. He gently tugged on them until one came free. Holding it securely, he headed up and once he broke the surface, he held up the shell. "Here you go. Conch shells are hard to find and too far down for humans, but I know a spot for conch shells."

Keith's eyes widened and a grin appeared. "It's beautiful. Thanks, Lance." He accepted the shell and put it in the pouch.

"No problem. Hey, Keith. Could you answer some of my questions now?"

"Sure. What do you want to know?"

"I've seen colored lights in the night sky on occasion. What are they?"

"They're called fireworks. They're pretty and used on special events like holidays."

"They're also loud."

Keith laughed. "Yeah, they are."

"I know humans wear clothes and so do I when I visit, but why?"

Keith blushed. "It has to do with modesty. We feel it's indecent to walk around naked. Also some clothing protects us from the elements, like coats when it gets cold."

Lance shivered slightly. "I wouldn't bother visiting if it's cold even though I have money to buy a coat."

"You found money?"

Lance nodded. "In a shipwreck. I also found jewelry recently and plan to clean it up."

"Does anyone know what you're doing? Collecting, I mean."

"Yeah, others know. It's not illegal to collect such things thought it is frowned upon to mix with humans in case we're followed back to the shoreline so we can change back."

"How do you change?"

"I crawl out of the water in order to be human. To change back, I have to be in the water. It takes several minutes for my tail to reappear, giving me time to get to deeper water so I can duck down without exposing my tail."

Keith smiled. "I envy you. You can travel between two worlds."

"I enjoy seeing your world, though I'd like to stay overnight or even a few days."

"You could now. Shiro and I believe merpeople exist and I'm sure Shiro would let you stay at his place. I would let you stay with me, if Mom and Dad would let me."

"Do they believe?"

Keith shook his head. "I don't think so. They accept my love of the sea and aversion to eating seafood, but that's it."

"I would love to have an extended trip to land. If Shiro says yes, both of you meet me in a boat right here at high noon the day after tomorrow."

"I'm sure he'll say yes. See you later." Lance ducked down and Keith struck out for his boat after mentally noting the location.