Crossed Paths // Ross Lynch

two

Dedicated to @feelingthesparks for the amazing new cover, thank you so much!

The bells in the church chimed seven, the bell ringing loud and clear so that everyone could hear it. It was at that moment that the place transformed into what it should be like. The sun was setting against the deep blue sea, the waves rippling softly so that the ocean shone. Cafes and restaurants opened their doors as crowds of people made their way down the promenade in shorts and vests, enjoying the warm sun that beat down on their backs and cast shadows over the pavements. Dogs ran across the beach, catching sticks and worn out tennis balls that their owners threw into the glowing blue waves that crashed upon the sand. It really did look like the perfect tourist destination, a stereotypical beach filled with holidaymakers, when really it was just a seaside town in Devon filled with little cottages surrounded by tall cliffs and a never ending amount of tourists with oversized lenses on tiny cameras and the worst tan-lines imaginable. 

 "Now, you need to stay calm this time, okay? No looking up and getting scared!" Rydel instructed as she walked along the pavement, her younger brother behind her. He stumbled idly, daydreaming slowly so that he looked like he was half asleep despite the smile on his lips. She stopped and slapped him gently on the arm, making him flinch as she made contact with him. "Are you even listening to me?"

"Yeah, yeah, of course I am," Ross lied, trying to be as convincing as possible. He shot her a smile and acted like he really had been listening as he pulled the strap of his guitar case tighter over his shoulder, wincing a little as it created a small friction burn against his skin. "Just don't get nervous, right?"

"Honestly, Ross, I don't know what I'll do with you. Don't you realize how important this is?"

"Yeah I get it! I get it cause without this we'll starve but it's just...it's just I've got a lot on my mind, that's all," he said, shaking his head slightly as he tried to stop himself from thinking of the one thing that had been distracting him over the last half hour. He tried to forget her long dark hair that fell by her shoulders in soft-looking strands, her bright eyes, her small smile yet timid and nervous looking expression as he looked up at her. He tried to forget her, push her out of his mind so that he really could concentrate on what he had to do. But even when he really focused on his music, her face was still floating around in his mind. 

"It's that girl, isn't it? The one in the window?" Rydel asked, raising a perfectly plucked eyebrow as she looked down at her younger brother. He blushed bright red, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"N-no," he lied again.

"It is!" Rydel cried aloud, quite pleased with herself that she had gotten the chance to tease her brother yet again. She loved to wind him up and get him all embarrassed, intent on making his life as humiliating yet hilarious as possible. "You're in love..." she sang loudly so that several people in crowds turned to face her, raising their eyebrows and muttering about how they really didn't care about Ross's love life.

"Is not! Now c'mon!" he said, walking faster as he tried to change the subject so that he didn't have to hear any more of Rydel's annoying words. Rydel muttered something under her breath but Ross couldn't make out what it was and, to be honest, he really didn't care too much about it either. He knew his sister was only teasing but it really was true - the girl he had seen was beautiful.

She had been standing by her window, looking out at the sea and watching the Lynch children as they walked down the beach. After he had stopped and stared at her, taking in all her features and not resisting to smile at her, Rydel and Ross decided to let their siblings Rocky and Riker run off and have some fun while they made money. The two were buskers and if they didn't make enough money they wouldn't have enough to pay for their evening meal.