Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Pretty Little Liars. I am not affiliated with the show or books in any way.
This was written quite a while ago. I really hated how they did this scene in the show, so i had to rewrite it to settle my own mind.
I have debated relentlessly over whether to post anything or just read the stories. I have never put any of my writing on display like this. I never even liked handing in writing assignments in school. I have always been very self conscience about my writing. I am giving this a shot though because this is a very small piece. If you all like this i may try posting some of my other stories, i'm not sure. If i start to feel too weird, i might take it down though. Let me know what you think. Constructive Criticism is more than welcome. Without further ado, the story.
Aria, perched on the arm the couch her parents were sitting on, watched as Ezra stood in front of them in the Montgomery's living room. The discomfort was nearly tangible. Aria and Ezra both knew they were doing the right thing. It was killing them both to stay away from each other; they couldn't do it any longer. Between the mess Aria, and her friends, were caught up in with the police, and Ezra's crazy ex-girlfriend threatening to expose their relationship, this was the best choice. This was their only choice. They needed each other, they needed to be together. They knew if they didn't tell Aria's parents now, they would find out from someone else eventually. The consequences of that would be so much worse than whatever would come of doing this, now.
Ezra took a deep breath, cleared his throat, adjusted his tie, smoothed his shirt, and then stole a quick glance at his amazing girlfriend. He was doing this for her, for them. He knew he could do this, because he knew he had to. From the love and devotion he saw in Aria's eyes, he finally found the courage to speak, and looked up at Ella and Byron.
"I need to clarify something" Ezra began, "I'm in love with your daughter. I love Aria."
Ella and Byron were both taken aback by Ezra's confession. How could this be? How did this happen? Their daughter and a teacher? This was not possible. Ella was sure it was Spencer Hastings who was involved with Ezra Fitz. Byron was sure the rumors of Mr. Fitz being in an inappropriate relationship with one of his students were just that, rumors.
From her perch on the arm of the couch, Aria observed her parents reactions. She saw the momentary confusion as they tried to process this new information. She saw the shock as the confusion passed, it was obvious when each of them finally realized just what this man, whom they considered their friend and colleague was telling them. Finally, she saw what she was most afraid of, the looks of anger, disgust, and hatred as the words truly struck them. They understood what he had said, what he had meant, and exactly what had been going on in their daughter's life. Aria quickly jumped off her perch and walked over to Ezra. She encased his hand in both of hers and smiled up at him. They didn't know the whole story. They didn't know how much she loved him back. She had to do something.
"I love him too." Aria quickly added, just as they were getting up from the couch, ready to start yelling. "Please, before you say anything, let us explain. It's not what you think. I swear!"
"Aria, go to your room" Byron commanded, obviously trying to keep his voice just below a yell.
"No! Dad, Mum, please just hear me out before you make any judgments or decisions. Please!" Aria pleaded with her parents. She had to make them understand.
Her parents hesitantly sat back down on the couch. They were uncomfortable and still visibly angry and disgusted, but apparently willing to hear their daughter out, at least. "It started last labor day," Aria began quickly "when I took Mike to the lacrosse tryout. I really didn't want to watch a bunch of sweaty boys chuck a ball around with nets on sticks for two hours. So, I went to that little bar and grill near Hollis. I saw one of those 'missing persons' posters for Ali. Ezra was sitting a few seats down, he saw me uncomfortably staring at it, I guess, and asked if I was alright. We started talking and had an instant connection. I didn't exactly tell him how old I was, I guess I might have made it sound like I was in college. One thing led to another, and we started kissing. It was wonderful, and beautiful, and he was so sweet. Then I went to pick up Mike from lacrosse."
Aria paused to observe her parents reactions for a moment. As she watched she saw the anger building even more in their eyes. Her mother rose off the couch slowly, as if she had just figured something out. "So this started before you were her teacher." Ella began slowly "You were her teacher when all of this happened?" She spat the word teacher like it was profanity.
Realizing exactly what was happening, Aria knew this approach would not work. If her parents couldn't handle the whole, unedited truth, she would have to soften it for them. She didn't want to lie anymore, but she couldn't have her parents think the worst of her or Ezra. She squeezed a bit tighter on Ezra's hand and gave him a quick nod. She was trying to silently tell him to just go along with what she was about to say. She could only hope he understood and agreed.
Aria took a breath and refocused on her parents. "The first day of school, when I learned he was my English lit teacher, I was shocked. Neither of us was expecting that. Later that day, I went back to his classroom and tried telling him that we could make it work. I really wanted to be with him, despite the consequences. He told me that he really liked me too, and that he wanted to be with me. Then he told me that it couldn't happen. He said he was my teacher and it wasn't right. He was so sweet and kind, but he made it clear that nothing could happen while I was his student."
She glanced from her parents to her boyfriend, trying to gauge everyone's reactions. She hadn't technically lied, so she was feeling pretty confident. When she looked to her parents, she could still see the undeniable anger, but the disgust and hatred seemed to lessen, even if just a bit. As she looked up to Ezra she saw a look of confusion spread across his face. She gently squeezed his hand again and gave him a reassuring smile to tell him she knew what she was doing.
"There was a lot of tension, in class, in the hallways, everywhere. I think that may be where all those rumors came from." Aria continued. She knew she was leaving out so many of details, but she felt this was the best way to do this. It was definitely better than just lying to their faces. "There was so much tension that it was hard to handle at times. Ezra even left early in the year for a while. He went up to New York to try to find a different job." All of this was technically true. Aria had simply omitted the part where they were together, and sneaking around to be with one another for the time between them finding out she was his student and him going to New York.
After a brief moment, Aria steeled herself for the most important part. If her parents didn't get to upset at this, things might just be alright. However, she knew this would be the hardest part for her to tell. This was the least accurate part of her story and she knew it. She clenched her hands tight around Ezra's, blinked her eyes hard, and continued."Not too long after he came back, dad, you told him about that open position at Hollis. If he got that he wouldn't be my teacher anymore. There would be no more power positions, we would be free to pursue a relationship if we wanted to, without the issues a student/teacher affair would cause. That job gave us a chance to really be together."
When Aria finished she looked around the room for a moment. Her parents seemed to be really considering what she had just said. Ezra still seemed slightly confused, and just a bit shocked, but he also seemed to understand what she was doing, and why she was doing it.
A few more moments passed and Ella sat back into the couch, relaxing just a bit. She was still angry, but her features had softened ever so slightly. In time she may actually accept this, Aria thought happily. Then her eyes fell on her father. Byron was getting more and more upset with each passing second. Finally, he shot up, as if the couch were on fire. He stormed over to where Ezra was standing. His intensely angry eyes never left Ezra.
"Aria, go to your room, now!" Byron commanded once again. When Aria refused to even let go of her boyfriend's hand, Byron lost control of himself. The anger was growing even more intense in him as he started shouting, this time addressing Ezra. "I helped you get that job at Hollis so you would have more time to write. I didn't do it so you could sleep with my teenage daughter. What is wrong with you?"
Just as Byron's rage was about to come to a head, Mike, who had somehow managed to slip down the stairs unnoticed sometime during this conversation, stepped between his father and Ezra. He saw the look in his father's eyes and punched Ezra square in the jaw. Everyone took a step back, shocked. Aria didn't want to see Ezra get hurt, and this just ripped her apart inside. She quickly spun Ezra around by the hand she was still clinging to.
Wrapping Ezra into a quick, yet tight embrace she softly whispered, "Maybe you'd better leave. I will keep talking to them. I will see you later. I love you." She released Ezra and dropped his hand. Ezra looked at her one last time, he wanted so much to kiss her and tell her it would all be alright. He wanted to stay and continue to fight for her, but he knew it would do no good. He knew he had to back off and let her parents calm down and figure things out. He tried to give Aria a quick reassuring smile, but he wasn't sure how reassuring it ended up being. Then he turned to the door and quickly walked out without another word.
After staring at the door for a minute, contemplating just leaving with Ezra, she decided better of it. Instead she turned her head back to her family. Her rage, growing inside of her with each passing beat of her heart, was expertly masked by a blank stare. "How dare any of you judge me? What gives you the right?" She said in a low voice, almost a growl. She turned slightly to look into the eyes of her younger brother. "You? You go out and steal from all these people strangers, friends, even cops. You pick random fights at school. For what? Fun? Then you lied about it and made me lie about it as well. You threated me, told me if I said anything and caused more problems between mum and dad that you would never forgive me. Yet you still judge me?" Just as Mike was about to speak, Aria turned her gaze to her father not ready to hear anything from anyone until she said everything she had to say. She locked her eyes on his, no longer able to conceal the rage that had been building. "And you?" she said with a mixture of rage, disgust, and hurt "Neither of us knew the roles we would have in each other's daily lives when we met, when we fell for each other. You had an affair with a student knowing fully well she was your student and you were her teacher. She was young enough to be my sister, to be your daughter. There's only a 7 year age difference with Ezra and me. And the biggest difference is neither of us is married or have kids. You were cheating on your wife, and hurting your children. Do you really think you are in a position to judge? Do you really think you have the moral high ground here?" As Aria slowly turned to face her mother, her face softened a bit. "You mum? You forgave both of them. If you can be understanding of all of that, why not this? Why can't you give me the same compassion you gave them? This is real, I do love him. Please just try to understand that."
Aria was about to take a step toward the stairs as she saw her father's face change. He took a sharp inhale of breath and she could tell he was about to yell. She decided to interrupt him before he even got started; she had enough of his anger for the day. "Don't even start dad. You don't want to understand this. You just want to judge and be angry. But I won't stay here and let you punish me when I've done nothing wrong. I really have done nothing wrong. First, I am in fact above the legal age of consent for the state of Pennsylvania, trust me, I looked it up. Second, Ezra loves and respects me, something I can't say for you right now. We've never even had sex, if you really must know because he loves and respects me too much to push me or do something I may later regret. Which leads me to my third point; I'm still a virgin, so stop thinking that about me. Forth, I love Ezra. I've never felt anything like this before, ever. And lastly, he is not even my teacher anymore so it shouldn't be that big of a deal."
Disregarding her shocked speechless father Aria slowly walking from the stairs to the living room, she gave her mum a soft hug. "I can't stay here tonight. Not like this. I'm going to Spencer's or maybe Hanna's." Aria then lowered her voice so only her mum could hear "Don't worry; I won't go to Ezra's right now, I have more respect for you than that. I will text you when I get there to tell you whose house I'm staying at. I'll come back tomorrow, please just think about this. It is real, and it truly is amazing." With that, she turned abruptly, grabbing her purse on her way out of the door. She left her angry father yelling at her from the door way.
"It's better this way" she said to herself as she got into her car. "It will give them a chance to cool down, and I will still be able to do what we need to do tonight." Aria stopped a short distance from her house to send texts to Spencer and Hanna to see if she could stay with either of them. Spencer quickly sent her a text back telling her that she could stay there, but to go to the meeting spot first.
True to her word, she then text her mum to let her know she would be staying with Spencer. Aria got a text back soon after, but it wasn't the one she was expecting. It was Mike, apologizing for punching Ezra. "At least I got through to someone!" She said to herself as she began driving to meet with her friends hoping to take A down for good this time.