"What's wrong, why couldn't you sleep? Are you worried about us?" Aria asked, slightly frightened for whatever his answer could be. After a second she added, "I- I know that I was in a strange place earlier-"
"A-and you were right," Ezra stuttered, his mind racing, "about this… not working, unless we tell the truth." His face fell and he wanted to tell her. He really did, but he just couldn't.
Aria noticed that his face had fallen and sighed inwardly. She wrapped her fingers around his neck and looked into his eyes. "Hey," she started, her eyes looking all over his face for some sort of explanation. "Are you okay?"
Ezra nodded slightly. "Yeah." He paused, confession sitting heavy on his tongue. "I'm just… really glad you stayed."
Aria ignored that his statement sounded a little like a question. She rubbed his back and smiled. "I know, me too." Before another word could be uttered, Aria leaned in and pressed her lips to his. She felt him smirk into the kiss and push her back into the mattress. Their hands interlocked as he hovered over her. She kissed his jawbone as Ezra's free hand ran over her sides.
She pushed against him so that now they were side by side, hands still clinging tightly together. She kissed his nose and wrapped her leg around his, causing her to be closer to him. His chest was heaving and his thoughts were running a mile a minute.
Less than ten minutes ago, he had watched her friends, and her, on his spy software. He had blatantly lied to her about dinner, just so he could sneak down to the basement and spy on her buddies. He couldn't do this much longer; he couldn't be with her and watch as she had not one clue about his double life.
He knew Spencer had the diary and knew that she had put two and two together at the pub. It was only a matter of time before Spencer told Aria and his beloved would be out of his life for good. That's why he had started acting so possessive towards her; their relationship was a ticking time bomb. In what could be hours or days, an explosion would surely occur.
All because he was, for lack of a better word, jerk.
On a daily basis, Ezra thought of how utterly stupid he had been. He never understood how he could have sat in that bar all those years ago and pursue her, just to gain knowledge over a temporary fling. He loved Aria, definitely, but the fact that everything they'd been through, everything they cherished about 'them', was based on a complete lie. It made him sick that he was the one who said the lie, too.
But he couldn't tell Aria. She would hate him forever and he wasn't ready for that. He wasn't ready to lose the one person who cared about him. He wasn't ready to lose who his world revolved around. He wasn't ready to lose her.
Aria squeezed his hands, bringing him back to reality. He hardly noticed that he had zoned out for so long, nor did he notice that Aria had been watching him. "What's wrong, babe?"
Ezra gulped and placed a protective hand over her ribcage. "Nothing," he replied, a little too quickly.
"I've known you for almost two years, Ezra," Aria mumbled. "I can tell when you're lying."
A part of him laughed inside, considering he had been lying to her for all the time they've been together, and she was yet to notice, but he just sighed on the outside.
"You know, you have to start thinking of me as the person you are closest to," Aria whispered with a small teasing tone, repeating his words from earlier.
He smoothed down some of her hair and smiled a tiny bit. "And you are, Aria. I love you."
Aria looked at him a little oddly before replying, "I love you too… so why don't you tell me what's going on?"
"It's just that I don't want to lose you ever again," Ezra mumbled, looking down due to being sort of embarrassed by the cliché words.
Aria tilted his chin up and shook her head. "You won't lose me, Ezra."
He chewed on his lip and knew that her words were false. He would definitely lose her – probably soon too. Comfortable silence filled the air before Ezra finally spoke up again. "I love being up here with you."
"I do, too," Aria replied, cuddling closer to his side. "It's so… private and quiet." He hated that private and quiet were two things that now made Aria happy thanks to the enemies in her life. The corners of Aria's mouth turned up and she whispered, "It's what I want our house to be like."
Ezra let out a little breathy laugh and nodded. "Good. I was scared I was going to have to talk you out of a typical suburban home."
"Me? And suburbs?" Aria questioned, chuckling. "Get real… but I do want a picket fence."
"Well, of course," Ezra responded, loosening up for the first time all weekend.
Aria pecked him on the lips before asking, "Ezra, I really want that with you."
"I want that with you, too," Ezra grinned, honestly meaning it. If a future life with Aria wasn't in his cards, he didn't want one at all. Sometimes he would picture a big house, with a picket fence, and see himself and Aria living there with their future children. Though he wasn't sure why he spent so much time picturing it and wanting it; if she ever found out about his book, which clearly she would, that fantasy would be just that – a fantasy.
"What are you thinking about?" Aria asked, attempting to grab his attention once again.
"What our house could look like… what our future could look like," Ezra told her.
Aria grinned, moonlight from the blinds casting a shadow on her face. "I think about that a lot too."
Ezra pulled her body against his so that there was no space between them and kissed her forehead. He wished like hell that they could still have that future both of them dreamed so much about. Ezra pulled the blanket over both of their bodies and nestled his chin on top of her head. He wished that they could stay like this forever; their bodies close, miles away from Rosewood, and just basically content.
But sadly, he knew it wasn't possible.