Maybe Spencer was right. Stringing Ezra along wasn't fair to him at all. He was there for her through the worst of times and the best of times. He was the one that saved her from the dollhouse. He was always rescuing her even when they weren't together. Even when she was being a complete bitch to him, he still stayed and did all he could for her and the girls.
She broke up with him and told him that she wanted to be single when she went off to college, but now, she just wanted him. She didn't want to be with any other guy. She wasn't sure how they were going to manage, but they were Ezra and Aria. They had survived a lot worse than college. He was her everything. Her safe haven. The one person that knew her better than anyone else in the world. He was really the only person she could really count on.
That's why she was at The Brew. She wanted to tell him how she felt and make sure he knew that she loved him and she appreciated all of the times he had been there for her when she had been less of a friend to him. She wanted to apologize for putting him on the back burner while she was always his focus. She just needed Ezra to know that he was the one. The only one. He always had been and always would be.
But she couldn't tell him any of that. When she got there, he was laughing with Nicole. They looked like a real couple. Something she and Ezra had never been able to be. They had never been able to sit on a couch in a café in Rosewood and laugh and read a book together without getting dirty looks from the residents that knew their story.
She just looked at the two of them, her eyes filling with tears. They were the only two in the closed café. Ezra looked so carefree and happy. She hadn't seen that look in what seemed like forever. At least… not with her. He had that look with everyone but her. She just had to accept that she would never be the cause of that look any longer. All she caused was drama.
That was when the tears spilled over. She slid down against the brick wall on the other side of the door and just cried. She didn't care that she was in public. She just cried. Maybe if she hadn't been so focused on not going to college with her high school English teacher at her side, she wouldn't be feeling this pain. It was worse than saying goodbye to him. This was confirmation that he was going to move on and she had to be okay with that. He couldn't be her knight in shining armor forever.
"Aria?" she looked up with hopeful eyes. She thought maybe it was him. He always ran after her before. If it had been Ezra, she would've known that they might've had a fighting chance. But it wasn't him. It was Spencer, the other part of team Sparia. Her second best friend. Probably the only one she had left. "Aria, what happened?" Her voice was scared, as if A had done something to her. Something worse than having a rat climb her body.
"I'm so sorry," she muttered through her black tears.
Spencer set her bags down and sat down next to Aria, pulling her into her body so her head was resting on her shoulder. "What did you say to him?" she asked gently.
"I didn't."
"What do you mean?"
Aria sighed, swallowing the lump in her throat. She had no right to feel this way. She was the one that ended things with him. She couldn't expect him to wait around for the rest of his life just because she couldn't take seeing him with another woman. "He's moving on, Spence."
"What?" Her tone was matching the one someone would have if they had just learned that their kidnapper had been released from jail.
"Just take me home," Aria pleaded.
There was a moment of silence and Spencer nodded. "Yeah. Do you want to walk?" She stood up and grabbed Aria's hand to pull her petite body off the ground.
"My car's right there." She reached up and wiped the tears off her face. She had to stop being so ridiculous about this. She couldn't even let Spence see her like this. Yes, her heart was breaking, but Spencer didn't need to know anymore than she already did. She had enough problems of her own.
"I know, but you need some fresh air. We'll get it in the morning."
Aria nodded slowly, not really caring about the car. It was hard to think about the material things when the most important thing in her life was disappearing. It had taken actually watching him fade away to know that he really was the love of her life and no college guy could take that away or change it. There weren't enough frat parties in the world to keep him from crossing her thoughts every moment of every day.
They started walking away and as they did so, the bell above the door rang followed by laughing and two people talking joyously.
Aria closed her eyes, Spencer holding her tight as they slowly walked away trying not to be seen. The laughter was just too painful for her. She felt like someone had ripped her heart out, thrown it on the ground, and stomped on it, all the while laughing in her face. It was even worse when she realized that it was herself that was doing the stomping.
A simple 'bye' was exchanged between the two behind them and Aria finally thought they were in the clear. A car door slammed. An engine started. It roared, and then got quieter. Now, Ezra was going to go back inside, finish cleaning up, and then head back to his apartment for a long night's rest. He would sleep soundly, snoring occasionally. Aria wondered if he still reached for her in the middle of the night. Or if there was ever anyone else that he reached for. That thought in itself was enough to make her want to hurl. She couldn't take it. Not one second of thinking of Ezra kissing someone else and touching someone else and spending his life with someone that would never be able to love him the way Aria did.
"Thanks for the car, Ms. Montgomery," Ezra's voice called after them. "Mine was getting pretty old."
Aria cringed at the realization that she had been caught. She pulled herself out of Spencer's embrace and walked alone, trying not to be a dead giveaway that something was wrong. It was Ezra, after all. He knew her better than anyone. He would know if something was wrong just by her stepping wrong. He had memorized every detail of her, just as she had done him. "You're welcome. See you later."
"Aria." His tone was warning her to talk about what in the world was going on, but she couldn't. She couldn't even face him for she knew that the second she did, she would break down, and he would hold her and whisper that everything was going to be okay. He would tell her that she was safe and he wouldn't let anyone or anything hurt her. The problem with that was that he could protect her from everything but one thing- herself. She was her own biggest enemy at the moment. Not A or Charles or Lesli or Mona or anyone else, but Aria Montgomery.
"Ezra."
Spencer looked at her, her eyes scanning her body. "Now's the time to save yourself," Spencer whispered.
Aria shook her head. "No. You were right before. This is over."
She moved so she was standing in front of Aria, preventing the hurting woman from running away again. "Either you're with him or you're not, but you still have to talk to him." She looked past Aria, a sarcastic smile dancing on her lips. "He's not going to give you much of a choice anyway. He has your keys."
Aria frantically checked all of her pockets. She had been holding the keys when she collapsed again the wall and they fell from her hand. "Dammit!" she cursed aloud, her voice cracking harshly.
Spencer grabber her shoulders and turned her around. Ezra was standing there jingling her keys with a concerned look on his face. The only expression she had known him to wear around her. It was like he was scared that one word would set her off, and, in actuality, he was probably right. There were things that triggered memories and made her crazy, but it was also Ezra, and whenever something happened, he was there to catch her.
"Aria," he said again, this time his tone kinder and gentler than before. "Why are you running from me?"
She shook her head, trying her hardest to keep her tears at bay. It was dark outside, but not dark enough to hide her feelings from Ezra. To him, she was a sheet of glass. Transparent no matter the weather. "I'm not running from you, Ezra."
Spencer walked up and grabbed Aria's keys. "You two have a nice walk!" she called with a wave of her hand. She acted like she couldn't get away from them fast enough.
Ezra walked up to her and laid a gentle hand on her arm. "Hey, talk to me. What's wrong?"
Aria looked away for a second, shutting her eyes to keep her feelings under control. She wanted to throw herself at him, but she couldn't do so. That would make everything worse, she knew. "Everything," she whispered. "And nothing."
"What do you mean?"
She looked back at him and shook her head. "I mean I'm sorry. For everything." She turned to walk away, but he grabbed her arm and stopped her.
"What are you talking about?"
Aria didn't dare look back at him. "I need you to be happy, so please, let me go, and stop being the only person that makes me feel safe and loved and needed. And stop treating me like I'm the only girl in the world. Stop rescuing me. Stop being there. Stop being okay with everything I put you through. Stop acting like this is okay!" She exclaimed. She didn't care that her voice depicted the tears falling freely from her red eyes. It was Ezra. It wasn't the first time he'd seen her cry and it probably wouldn't be the last.
He turned her around so they were facing each other. "Aria, where is this coming from?"
"I just realized that I can't keep expecting you to wait for me when I'm clearly pushing you away. You deserve all the happiness in the world, Ezra. As long as you find that, I'll be okay."
"Aria, breathe, Honey. I am happy. I love being the hero and making sure that you're okay. I love playing detective with you. I love pretending to be an actual detective to hack into mental facilities."
"No, you don't understand. I need you to stop it all, okay? Just stop. I love you, Ezra. I do. I always will. I will always owe you everything for putting your life on the line for me and even my brother and not to mention everything else you've done for me, but I need you to be the owner of The Brew, okay? Please. Just be that guy."
The silence between them was deafening. There was a couple on the other side of the street laughing like they had no care in the world and here Aria was crying her eyes out while trying to be strong for him. "I can't do that." His eyes were glossy from unshed tears. She had to look away just to keep herself from falling into his strong protective arms.
"Yes you can," she whispered. "Let me go."
He lay his forehead against hers. "I love you so much, Aria Montgomery."
She smiled sadly, knowing it could quite possibly be the last time she heard those words. "I love you too, Ezra Fitz. More than you'll ever know."
So this is just a one shot I thought of after watching the heartbreaking scene in 6x06. Let me know if you want me to make this into a story and tell me what you think please.