Crossed Paths // Ross Lynch

eleven

"Ross, can't we just wait? We don't need to tell them right now," Chloe pleaded nervously, fumbling with her hands and pulling the small silver promise ring up and down her finger.

It wasn't that she wanted to take it off because she really, really didn't, but it was a coping mechanism, something that was supposed to distract her from the nerves that were constantly gnawing at her and making her more worried as every second passed.

She glanced over at Ross, who looked like he was trying to look as confident and casual as possible, and he was, although she could tell he too was a little worried. His eyes had dropped down to the muddy ground and tall grass as he picked at one of the nails he had broken, pulling at the hangnail until it came off in his hand. 

"No, we just need to tell them. I mean, I'd rather tell them now than let them find out and tease me even more for not telling them!" Ross said, trying his best to hide how nervous he really was.

Truth be told, he didn't really want to tell his brothers, sister or Ratliff about his new found love for Chloe. He knew that when he did, they would tease him lots about it because that's what they all did.

When Riker got together with his first girlfriend, Freya, he hadn't heard the end of the teasing for at least a week, so he knew that they would all ridicule him for days. It would be even worse because Chloe lived there, so she would get taunted and teased about it too until that would be all they would hear about. 

"Besides, they like you," Ross added with a small smile, trying his best to encourage her to just walk in with him and get it all over with. 

"No, but what if they don't now? Because I'm your girlfriend? What if they think I'm just using you so that I can stay here because I've been kicked out?" Chloe muttered anxiously, her thoughts piling up in her brain like a tower of bricks that were ready to fall and crush her as it grew.

Her hands were already shaking, goosebumps racing up and down her bare arms despite the fact that it wasn't that cold outside, the sun high up in the sky above them. She wanted the world to chew her up and swallow her whole so that she would never have to face what was going to happen. 

It wasn't that she was embarrassed to be Ross's girlfriend. In fact, it was the complete opposite - she really did like him and she knew that, although they were starting out as just friends getting to know each other, they could make it work.

She knew that he would treat her right because he was charming and caring to everyone he met, not caring what their background was, where they came from or how many scars had been carved into their hearts.

He didn't mind what they had gone through, although he always knew to care for those who had gone through bad times, and he didn't judge them. That was what Chloe loved about Ross. 

It was just she was nervous about his family's reaction to the news. She knew right off the top of her head that Rydel was very protective over her brothers, always trying to do her best for them despite their situation and finances.

She didn't know how his sister would react to the fact her brother now had a girlfriend, especially when the two girls weren't on the best of terms. She wanted to be friends with Rydel, but she was making it very difficult because she made their conversations very awkward between the two of them. 

"No, they won't be like that!" Ross reassured her, placing his hand on her shoulder.

She flinched at his touch because she was so worried, but after a couple of seconds of feeling his hand against the soft material of her t-shirt, she let him keep it there, shivers running down her spine at his touch.