I've never shared any of my stories before, but i had an idea for an Ezria story and thought, "why not?"... so here goes nothing!
*(unfortunatly) I do not own PLL
The train had finally reached its last stop, and my destination, in the tiny, rusty train station positioned just outside of Rosewood. I looked out the window and my stomach flip-flopped as I imagined seeing Aria for the first time in nearly 2 ½ months. We talked on the phone occasionally, texted and dedicated every Wednesday night to video-chat while her dad taught a late-night class at Hollis College. Byron was still just as insistent that I have absolutely no contact with his daughter, and there were no signs of him coming around any time soon. Ella on the other hand had managed to semi-accept our relationship and turned a blind-eye to most communication between her daughter and me, although, I'm not so sure that my surprise arrival back in Rosewood would be warmly welcomed by her.
Despite Aria's and my efforts to keep connected while I was back home in New York teaching, nothing could soothe the ache that came from not being able to see her, or kiss her, or comfort her from her chaotic life. I would have done anything to have been able to stay in Rosewood with her, holed up in my tiny apartment with Chinese take-out and an infinite amount of time to hold her in my arms and protect her from reality. But, in a town that denied me of every teaching position available (thanks to an increasingly tense situation between myself and Byron), Aria and I thought it best that I leave for a while. And if distance was what it took for Aria and I to possibly have a chance at some sort of normalcy, then distance it was. However cliché it sounded, I loved her more than I knew I could love someone, and was willing to endure whatever I had to. She was worth the risk and she is worth the wait.
I made my way to the back of the train where the luggage was stored and grabbed my suitcase from the top shelf. I positioned my briefcase over my shoulder and readied my umbrella for the pouring rain that awaited me outside. When the doors finally opened, I made my way to the east parking lot, where Spencer was waiting for me. She and the other girls helped plan my surprise visit, assuring me that Aria had no clue of our scheming and plotting. With the identity of "A" no longer a mystery, and the turmoil it caused within the tiny town, I doubted she even had time to notice her friends unusual behavior. Spencer was parked near the middle of the parking lot in her mom's silver SUV. The windows were tinted almost black, which eliminated my fear of being seen by anyone who might have resented my presence in Rosewood. I tugged on the handle to open the door expecting to be greeted by spencer. Instead, I was greeted by spencer, in the driver's seat, and Hanna and Emily, smiling like fools in the backseat.
"Ladies" I greeted them as I pulled my suitcase and briefcase into the car and settled myself into the seat.
"Mr. Fitz!" the three of them screamed in unison.
"Oh my gosh Mr. Fitz, this is so Romeo and Juliet!" Hanna squealed, "Forbidden love overcoming all obstacles..."
"Hanna, could you have thought of a more cliché analogy?" Emily said with a sarcastic tone. Hanna rolled her eyes.
"Oh, you guys know I mean. It's so romantic!" Hannah said wistfully. Spencer chimed in to update me on the latest plan for operation: surprise Aria.
"So once we get to Rosewood, I'm going to text Aria with an SOS." Spencer said, "I'll tell her that Hanna is in need of some girl talk because Caleb's been acting weird." spencer talked with such enthusiasm, like deceiving people was her purpose in life. "Once she gets to my house, you'll answer the door surprising the hell out of her!" The girls giggled with the excitement of pulling off such a scheme.
"I can't wait to see the look on her face!" Hanna squealed, "She's has no idea!"
"So, Mr. Fitz-"Emily started before I interrupted her
"Ezra, you guys can call me Ezra."
"Okay – Ezra –"Emily continued "have you thought about what you're going to do when you finally see Aria?"
"Em! You can't ask questions like that! He doesn't want to tell you those kinds of details!" spencer shrieked, "Although I'm sure it would be juicy." she said under her breath, almost inaudibly. I blushed a little, imagining for a split-second what I would do to my beautiful Aria once we finally had some alone time.
"That's not what I meant! I was talking about when you first see her. What you're going to say? Or how you think she'll react?" Emily asked
Suddenly, I became uncomfortable realizing that I hadn't thought about any of that. I must have been trying to avoid those thoughts in the off chance that Aria wasn't excited to see me. Spencer must have sensed my unrest because she stepped in,
"Come on, let's give the guy a chance to breathe" she said and turned the radio up.
We finally arrived at the Hastings' house and spencer had sent Aria the SOS text exactly 7 minutes ago (not that I was counting). We all waited, watching the clock, exchanging nervous/ excited glances with each other. I stood at the door adjusting my tie and straightening my jacket, hoping to look perfect for Aria. Hanna suddenly ran to the window and peeped through the dark blue and black curtains that hung, hiding what little light came from outside.
"You guy's, she's here! She just got out of her car!" Hanna announced. She sounded almost as excited as me. I felt comforted knowing that Aria was in the hands of such caring friends while I was away.
The room went silent while we listened for Aria's footsteps as she made her way up the driveway. There was a faint knock on the door.
"Spencer, let me in! It's pouring out here, I'm drenched!" Aria pleaded.
"Coming!" spencer said, motioning for me to hurry up and let her in. I drew in one last breath, a feeble attempt to calm my nerves, and then twisted the doorknob open.
Nothing could have prepared me for the overwhelming amount of emotion that came over me with that first look at Aria. My eyes instantly filled with tears as I took in the sight of her in dark blue skinny jeans, yellow rain boots and a black long-sleeved shirt adorned with fringe and studs. Her hair was slightly wet from the rain and her eye make-up was starting to drip down her cheeks. She was the most unbelievably beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes on, runny make-up and all.
"Ezra?" the word barely escaped her lips and she launched herself into my arms. I took her in matching the strength of her embrace, holding her so close there was almost no distinction between her body and mine. We just held each other in the doorway, unaware of anything that was going on in the world around us. When we finally pulled away from the embrace, I held her face in my hands staring into her hazelnut eyes.
"I love you Aria Montgomery" I whispered as I brought her face to mine. Her lips were hot on mine; Sweet and soft. I wiped the tears from her eyes with my thumbs as we continued passionately exploring the comfort of each other's embrace, tangling our tongues together, afraid to let go of one another.
"Ezra?" Aria said again, with a little more strength in her voice than the time before. She looked up at me and smiled slightly, clearly still confused by what was happening. "What are you doing here?"
"Surprise!" I whispered. "I know this seems – crazy – but, Aria, I missed you way too much. I had to see you, and I knew that if I told you I was coming to visit, you would worry about your dad finding out and tell me not to come."
"So you planned this behind my back?" she asked.
"Well, yes." I said.
"And you guys were all in on this?" she asked Spencer, Hanna and Emily. They nodded their heads yes, also afraid that Aria might not be as excited as we had all expected.
"Are you mad?" I asked.
"No, not at all!" she exclaimed," I just can't believe you guys pulled this off without my knowing!"
"Well it wasn't easy!" Spencer told her, "You have this weird need to know what everyone is up to at all times."
"Yeah, and it's really hard to lie to you!" Emily said. Aria ran up to the girls and pulled each one of them in for a group-hug, thanking them for such a surprise.
"Now go be with your man!" Hanna said pushing Aria back in my direction. She ran to my side, and grabbed my hand, making my heart skip a beat.
"Shall we go?" I asked, looking into her big hazel eyes. She kissed me quickly then turned towards the door.
"Lead the way" she said.
