A/N: I'm posting this several months after actually I actually wrote this chapter, mostly because I know you guys have waited three months for it. That said, I make no promises to have regular updates posted because I'm still struggling with my writers block, and I'm not going to rush myself to write when it would likely get you the lack-luster kind of writing I gave you with the last few chapters of Say Anything. I want to share writing with you that is comparitive to Titanium, and that kind of writing takes time. So in the mean time, enjoy :)
Forget You
Chapter 1
Something To Talk About
Aria exhaled a deep breath as she tilted her head back, letting water soak into her hair. It was cool against her skin, which was a comfort considering it was almost ninety degrees. While she wasn't entirely excited to be heading starting school in a few days, she was grateful for the fact that their Manhattan apartment had central air conditioning.
She stood up straighter a moment later and waded over to the edge of the pool and picked up the plastic blue cup she'd filled with iced coffee before coming outside. She removed the plastic food cover she'd placed over it to keep bugs out and lifted it to her lips, taking a long sip.
She sighed as she returned it to the side of the pool, placing the cover back on it. She turned around and leaned against the edge of the pool, resting her elbows against the sides as she moved her feet lightly back and forth to keep the water moving enough to keep her cool.
"You realize we're leaving in like an hour, right?"
Aria looked up above her head and squinted slightly as she stared at Ezra. "Shh. I'm pretending that's not the case."
Ezra chuckled and sat down on the edge of pool on her side a moment later. He let his legs dangle over the side, moving slowly back and forth in the water. "Who ever would have pegged Aria Montgomery as a Hamptons Bunny?"
Aria narrowed her eyes at him, scowling. "That's so not funny."
Ezra smirked at her. "It's not like we can't come back here on the weekend. Give the city more than five seconds."
"The city has eight million people. Here…here almost reminds me enough of Rosewood to stick around permanently." She said. "Well, without all the drama."
Ezra chuckled again. "The Hamptons have their secrets and dramatic moments, too. You obviously haven't seen enough Lifetime movies."
Aria rolled her eyes at him. She pushed herself up from the side of the pool and sat down next to Ezra, reaching around him for her cup.
"I wanted to get out of Rosewood so bad when we finally left," she said after taking a drink of her coffee. "Now it's starting to phase me that Spencer isn't coming back to Manhattan this time and Emily and Hanna are gone…" She paused, sighing as she glanced up at Ezra. "I hate feeling like everyone is leaving."
"Leaving," Ezra reminded her. "But not for good. It's just college."
Aria dropped her head to the side, glancing up at him. "That's four to six long years. And what if my friends don't love New York like I do? Or worse, they make friends that are better than me?"
Ezra shook his head, brushing a chunk of wet hair off her shoulder. "Just because you're all starting college doesn't mean that your friendships will fade into oblivion. And if I remember correctly, Spencer was just saying last night that she's going to be here every free moment she gets."
Aria laughed, looking over her shoulder. "That has more to do with him than me."
Ezra followed her line of sight to the open back door. Spencer was standing just inside it, pulling apart a muffin, and Evan was standing just across from her, talking. There wasn't anything special about the sight of them, except for the fact that Evan had a finger curled inside Spencer's belt loop – a dangerously personal thing to do.
"Who would've thought that they'd still be like this at the end of the summer," Aria murmured.
"I was sure they were going to be sick of each other and all the sexual tension after two days," Ezra added.
Aria giggled. "They haven't hooked up."
Ezra turned his attention back to her. "What?!"
Aria's brow furrowed. "You didn't know?"
Ezra shook his head. "I figured they had. Evan isn't the kind of guy to sit around and wait on a girl. He's a lot like Hardy in that way."
"Well, I don't see that happening any time soon," Aria murmured. "Especially when they're in different cities half the time."
Ezra glanced back at Spencer and Evan, staring at them for a few moments. "Damn."
"Hmm?" Aria murmured as she looked back at him again.
"I've just never felt this old before," he replied. "Everyone I know is in a serious relationship or getting married."
Aria smirked at him. "Glad to know I'm not the only one freaking out about all the changes going on."
"At least school starts in a week," Ezra commented. Aria laughed.
"Maybe it'll give us some stability," he finished, bumping his shoulder up against hers.
Aria shook her head, smirking up at him. "You're crazy. Two weeks from now you'll be wishing it was now again."
Ezra shook his head at her. "I have faith that the school year will restore normalcy. And that I'll like my new job."
"Then you have more faith than me," Aria giggled. She pushed off the side of the pool, back into the water. She moved her arms through the water, pushing herself backwards until she was in the middle of the pool. She settled her feet on the bottom of the pool and bounced on her toes for a few moments before doing a makeshift underwater cannon ball. She stayed under for few moments before planting her feet once more and pushing herself back to the surface of the water.
"You do realize the apartment building has a pool," Ezra commented as Aria pushed hair back.
"I know," she replied. "But it wont be the same."
"Aria."
She looked up at Spencer and Evan walked across the yard, over to the pool.
"Hmm?" Aria walked over to the edge of the pool and leaned against it.
"I have to go," Spencer said.
"And I'm going to follow her," Evan added.
Aria pushed herself up onto the edge of the pool once more and then grabbed her towel from the ground. She wrapped it around herself and stood up before walking stepping up to Spencer. The two girls wrapped their arms tightly around each other, and Aria inhaled a deep breath, holding it for a few seconds. Her whole chest was filled with a familiar ache, but she knew better than to cry. They had all cried when Hanna had first left at the beginning of the summer, and it had caused her to miss her flight.
"Call me," Aria said shakily. "And skype. Every night."
"I will," Spencer replied.
Reluctantly, they released each other, and Aria watched as Spencer and Evan made their way around the house to the front. Aria stood in the same position, staring at the cement walk around the house until after she'd heard the car start and pull away, too far for her to hear it anymore.
"You okay?" Ezra asked as he stood.
Aria nodded, inhaling a deep breath and forcing a smile. "I will be. It's just really hard to say goodbye."
"You'll see her all the time when she's visiting. She'll be around so much you'll get sick of her," Ezra said as he wrapped an arm around her and kissed the top of her head.
Aria chuckled, wrapping her arms around him. She buried her face in his chest and inhaled a deep breath. There was a deep comfort in knowing that she would still have him with her after having to say goodbye to so many people she loved.
"Shall we go?" Ezra asked after a few minutes.
Aria sighed and then nodded as they parted a few moments later. Ezra grabbed Aria's things by the pool while she headed inside to change.
As she stepped inside, Aria paused, glancing from the kitchen to the sitting room. The already-spacious living area seemed almost too open. It made her all too aware of how much the passings through of their friends in the past three months had given life to an otherwise quiet place.
After a few more seconds, Aria walked through the house to the bedroom she and Ezra had claimed as their own. She grabbed the small duffel that Ezra had left out for her and then walked into the adjoining bathroom. She placed the bag on the bathroom counter and pulled out the clothes she'd tossed into it earlier before settling her towel on an empty rack near the shower. She quickly removed her bikini and then turned the shower on, letting it warm to a reasonable temperature before she stepped into the spray. She quickly washed up and then got out and dressed in the blue and black striped tank-top she'd stuffed in it earlier that morning and a pair of dark blue short shorts before tossing her wet suit into the empty bag. She grabbed her toiletries from the shower and dried them off with her towel before tossing both into her bag as well and zipping it. She quickly applied some makeup and then grabbed the small cosmetics bag off the counter and glanced around the room to make sure she had everything she needed before she walked out of the room and dropped both bags on the bed. Aria walked over to the nightstand and picked up her hairbrush. She ran it through her hair a dozen or so times before walking back over to her duffel bag and tossing it inside.
"Ezra," she called out loudly, hoping he was still in the house. "Have you seen my phone?"
Footsteps sounded in the hallway, and a few moments later he stepped into the doorway, holding a phone. "Right here. Do you have everything?"
Aria glanced around the room, trying to recall everything she'd packed in the past few days. They had made a number of drives into Manhattan in the past few days with everything they'd brought to the Hamptons at the beginning of the summer.
"I'm pretty sure," she said. "If not, I'll just ask Adriana if she wants to drive back up this weekend."
Ezra chuckled, shaking his head at her. "You're a glutton for punishment."
Aria grinned, lifting her bag up to her shoulder and pulling it off the bed. She grabbed the cosmetics bag as well and walked over to Ezra. They walked out of the room and made their way through the house to the front door.
"You got the last of the food out of the fridge?" Aria asked.
"Yep," Ezra replied. He waited for Aria to get her cosmetics bag into her purse before handing her her iPhone. She stepped into her sandals a few seconds later, and then they both glanced around the room in a last ditch effort to be sure that they'd gotten absolutely everything.
Aria opened a note on her phone and began to read things off. "Espresso machine turned up?"
"And unplugged," Ezra affirmed.
"All the furniture is covered," she stated, though it was more of an observation given that they'd done it the night before. "All the dishes are done?"
"Spencer and I dried the last of them. And I checked the laundry room while you were in the shower. Everything is good to go. Just have to get the alarm on our way out." Ezra told her.
Aria huffed and chewed her bottom lip for a moment. She was so reluctant to leave, even though she was excited for college to start and for them to really start living in their apartment. She had simply fallen in love with this home.
Ezra wrapped an arm around her as he opened the door. Aria smirked, only to scowl at him as he pushed her through the doorway.
"The house will still be here when we come to visit at Christmas," he told her as he keyed in the password on the alarm. "And you promised my mother we'd be back for a late lunch."
Aria crossed her arms at Ezra as she stared at him while he finished locking up the house. She could hear the distaste in his voice, though he certainly tried hard enough to hide it. It had now been well over a month that he and his mother had been at odds and the issue had progressed her frustration with him to well beyond irritated. She sincerely hoped that something was going to change soon.
-
summer has come and passed; the innocent can never last
wake me up when September ends
-
Some two hours later, Ezra pulled his jeep into Serena's driveway. He turned the car off and then glanced over at Aria. "Ready?"
Aria nodded, sliding her sunglasses up onto her head. She removed her seatbelt and then tossed it over her shoulder before opening her door and getting out of the car. She walked around it and Ezra grabbed her hand when they met up before the walked up to the house.
They walked through the open doorway, letting the screen door creak loudly as it slammed shut behind them. They walked over to the dining room. Aria grinned and waved as Valerie glanced up from her laptop. She waved back.
"Hey kiddo," Serena said happily as she walked out of the kitchen, placing the telephone on the table. "We're just finishing up lunch on the grill if you two want to come out."
Aria let Ezra pull her through the doorway, into the kitchen, and then out into the backyard. Hardy was standing over the grill, watching as the last few burgers finished cooking.
"Is your sister coming out to eat with us?" Aria asked as she walked over to the small picnic table in the backyard.
Hardy shrugged. "She's working on some report she's supposed to get done for school."
Aria raised an eyebrow at him as she leaned down and picked up a soda out of the blue cooler resting next to the picnic table. She popped the seal and took a sip. "She has to do homework before school has even started?"
"It's a report on the summer reading list," Adriana explained. "She has to explain how the themes compare and contrast from one another. And use examples."
Aria still stared at them skeptically.
"I had to do it," Ezra added. "I guess it's the product of going to private school."
Aria chuckled and lifted her drink to her mouth, taking in a large gulp. There certainly hadn't been any kind of shift in the fact that in some ways, Ezra and his family had a way of making her feel like she had grown up on an entirely different planet. Rich people, she thought to herself.
After a few minutes, Hardy had finished up the last of the food, and he carried a large plate heaping with burgers, hot dogs, and brats over to the table. He placed them on the table and then sat down next to Adriana and grabbed a plate. He filled it with food and then settled it on the table and pulled his phone out of his pocket to text Valerie that the food was done.
"When do you two start classes?" Hardy asked.
"I have orientation in three days," Aria replied. "And then Tuesday morning, I have my first class."
"I start Wednesday," Adriana said. "I already talked to Kacee about putting together a study group since she's pre-med too."
Aria stopped moving mid-bite and her eyes widened. She quickly chewed and swallowed her food, coughing from the large bite of food. "You already have a study group?"
"Well starting one," Adriana amended. "But you should probably find some people in your classes at orientation so you're not the girl who's studying on her own for an entire semester."
Aria waved her arms out beside her, confused and slightly frustrated. "No one mentioned this before why?"
"You're not screwed yet," Ezra said comfortingly. "I guarantee you're not going to be the only one showing up to orientation and panicking about study groups. You'll find a group."
Aria exhaled heavily as she took a large bite out of her hamburger, taking her frustration out on the meat.
It as quiet once more for several minutes, with little conversation moving even when Valerie joined finally joined them. Finally, conversation seemed to start moving again when the sound of a car pulling up in the driveway distracted them.
"Who is that?" Aria asked, glancing over her shoulder.
Adriana glanced past Aria and cleared her throat before dabbing at the corners of her mouth with a napkin. "Mom."
Serena turned on the bench and then moved off of it, walking across the yard and around the house.
Ezra exhaled audibly while the other four exchanged glances. They were all otherwise quiet until Serena returned a few moments later with a chocolate labrador tugging her across the yard.
"Max!" Adriana said cheerfully as the dog bounded up to her. She peeled a piece of meat off a hot dog and tossed it in the air. Max jumped up and snatched it, chewing it up.
"Now you're taking care of his dog?" Ezra chided as Serena sat back down next to him.
Serena shook her head, looking back over at Ezra. "He needs a checkup and some shots. I told Alex I'd see that it happens."
"Figures," Ezra muttered.
"Ezra-"
Ezra shook his head, looking over at his mother. "Don't lecture me again about what I don't know. I don't need to hear it."
"So then I'll just assume you have no intention of attending dinner Friday night," Serena replied.
Ezra moved off the bench, standing up. "If he's going to be here? No. And I'm not going to sit through another fight, so I'm leaving."
"Ezra, don't go," Adriana told him.
"No," he argued. "I'm leaving." He glanced down at Aria. "Are you coming?"
Aria gulped, glancing up at him. She chewed her lip nervously for a few moments before speaking. "Um, no. I'm gonna stay and get a ride back with them."
Ezra huffed and dropped his arms against his sides. "Fine. Bye." He snatched his keys off the table and walked across the yard.
Nobody said a word until they'd heard tires squealing down the street a few minutes later.
"Idiot," Aria murmured as she lifted her drink to take a sip out of it.
"What specifically are you calling him an idiot for?" Adriana asked. "The poor driving or the poor communication skills?"
Aria shook her head, chewing on her bottom lip. "All of it. The driving for knowing better, and the fact that he's treating the people who love him most like mud on his shoes. I don't know what's going on with him, but I'm really over it."
"This isn't on you, kiddo," Serena told her. "All of this has everything to do with who Sebastian both was and wasn't to him, and who I decided to be as a parent."
"But it is," Aria told her. "There's going to be an argument about this later because he thinks I should agree with him."
"Have you two ever actually disagreed on anything?" Adriana asked.
Aria nodded. "Yeah. He's just never been this unwilling to budge."
Serena exhaled soft sigh and shook her head. "Well, if things don't turn around soon, I'm just going to have to end things."
Aria gaped at her. "That's not very fair to you."
Serena shrugged. "Maybe so, but I won't lose my son."
-
what if I really thought some miracle would see us through
what if the miracle was even getting one moment with you
-
Sometime later that night, Aria entered the apartment she and Ezra had started renting after graduation. Though they hadn't really stayed in it much over the summer, the boxes were all unpacked, and the furniture was arranged in the general setting that they wanted.
She slipped the strap of her purse off her shoulder and dropped it onto an end table next to the copper coloured couch that had made the move with them before taking a sip of the coffee she'd gotten on the walk back from the garage with Hardy, Adriana, and Valerie. She reached a hand up into her hair and pulled the elastic out, letting her hair drop lazily onto her shoulders.
Aria turned and walked through the apartment, passing through the kitchen to the short hallway that led to their shared workspace - Ezra called it their office while she preferred to think of it as a study - and bedroom. The door to the office was open and he was poured over several open books.
"What're you working on?" Aria asked as she leaned against the doorway.
"Just finishing up lesson plans," Ezra replied without looking up as he scribbled something into a lesson journal. He glanced up at her as he finished. "How was the rest of your afternoon."
"Good," Aria said as she walked into the room. She glanced over at the desk that she'd adopted from Hardy so long ago. All of her materials were so perfectly arranged, not yet touched. There was a stack of post-its resting in front of a small tray filled with pens and highlighters bunched into rubber bands on one side of the desk while there were boxes of staples under several mini staplers ranging in several different colours. The drawers were also filled with materials, and her books were on the middle shelf of one of the new bookcases they'd purchased upon moving in. It had been all Aria could do to convince Ezra that they needed to have a place that didn't have books lying along every wall.
She glanced back at Ezra and walked over to the desk, leaning against it. "Are you upset about this afternoon?"
He looked up at her and smiled. "No," he stated simply. "It doesn't matter anymore."
"It doesn't?" She asked. She was quiet for a few moments, and then asked nervously, "why?"
"Because," he replied. "Regardless of what I want or think, my mother is going to do what she wants. It's not fair of me to ask you or my sister to choose sides, so I'm just not going to anymore."
Ezra turned his attention back to his work, and Aria chewed thoughtfully on her bottom lip for a few moments before she turned and walked out of the room. She walked the few feet down to their bedroom and settled her coffee on the nightstand before pulling her phone out of her pocket and settling it there as well. Finally, she grabbed her laptop off the floor and opened it up. She loaded up her account and then opened up her instant messenger. She read down her recent friends list, checking to see if anyone was online.
techngenius is offline
HastyHastings is mobile - still driving, or maybe just unpacking
SwimmingFields is offline
Hannabee1 is online - you think i'm just as serious, i think you're full of shit, so blow me (one last kiss) ;)
DanielsNotJack is mobile - goodbye Hamptons. Hello, Manhattan!
LadyFitz92 is online - some line in a paragraph of a book I read once somewhere said this is what happiness should be.
Aria clicked on both Hanna's and Adriana's screen names and typed greetings to them before setting her laptop aside and moving off the bed. She grabbed one of her many duffels off the floor and opened it up, rummaging around for a bit before she found her charger for her phone. She walked back to the bed and leaned down to plug the charger in to the socket beside the bed before grabbing the other end of the cord and plugging it into the end of the phone. She settled back down on the bed and grabbed her computer. Her IM with Hanna was already blinking madly.
ShadesOfGreyxx: Hey blondie!
Hannabee1: Hi hi! Tell me the last few days in the Hamptons were amazing!
Hannabee1: Tell me everything you've done actually.
Hannabee1: Can you tell I miss home already?
Hannabee1: I'm still excited for classes to start though.
Hannabee1: Aria?
Aria chuckled and shook her head as she stared at the messages. She could see the blinking ellipses in the corner telling her that Hanna was typing - probably wondering why she wasn't - so she began to type.
ShadesOfGreyxx: The last few days were great. Lots of sun and fun.
Spence headed to Connecticut today. I wish you were here to go shopping
tomorrow. Have you heard from Em?
She docked the message as the conversation she'd started with Adriana lit up. She brought it up onto her screen and read the reply from Adriana before typing once more.
ShadesOfGreyxx: Hey.
LadyFitz92: Yo Froyo. What's the DL?
ShadesOfGreyxx: Well apparently he isn't asking people to choose
sides anymore. He's just being obnoxious with your mother still.
LadyFitz92: ...I don't know if I should hug him because that's a smidgen
of progress, or punch him for sounding so misogynistic.
ShadesOfGreyxx: I don't know what I'm going to do if things don't straighten
out soon. I don't think I'd be okay with your mom breaking up with Alex
over this.
LadyFitz92: Me either. I have to sleep though :/ Coffee tomorrow?
ShadesOfGreyxx: Yeah. Text me when you're awake.
Aria closed the conversation and opened the one she'd been having with Hanna before, reading her response.
Hannabee1: I'll come back to go shopping! Totally! :D
Hannabee1: Em called me this morning after orientation.
I guess her training schedule's supposed to get pretty crazy
in the next few weeks. IDK if we'll hear from her much.
ShadesOfGreyxx: That sucks :( but I'm glad she's settled in.
Are you and Caleb good?
Aria continued to talk with Hanna for a while, until the blonde girl alerted her that she had to go out and get some dinner. Several minutes after, Spencer must've seen her on line because she opened a skype call, and the two girls talked for nearly two hours. By the time they finally resigned to calling it a night, the sky was void of any sunlight and midnight blue.
Ezra walked into the bedroom just as Aria was placing her laptop on the floor between the nightstand and the bed.
"Did you get your lesson plans done?" Aria asked as she hopped off the bed and pulled her shirt over her head. She tossed aside and walked over to their dresser, pulling out a t-shirt to wear.
Ezra yawned. "For the most part. I might add some more notes from the summer reading list, but it's fine otherwise. How are Spencer and Evan?"
Aria chuckled, tugging the baggy t-shirt over her head. "Apparently they're very well settled. She didn't say much, but I think things are good. At least until he has to leave on Sunday." She unbuttoned her shorts and shimmied them down her hips before letting them fall to the floor. She kicked them aside to where she'd tossed her shirt before walking over to the bed and pulling down the comforter and sliding beneath the blankets. Ezra followed a few moments later, dressed only in a pair of boxers. Aria curled up next to him and he wrapped an arm around her, leaning over to kiss her forehead.
"Can I ask you something?" Aria said softly as she stared up at the ceiling. Even though it was dark outside, there was still enough light coming through the window that she could see around the bedroom relatively clearly.
"Sure," Ezra murmured, clearing his throat.
Aria tilted her head up to glance at him. "Is the idea of your mom being with someone so bad if he makes her happy?" She inhaled a deep breath, ready for the onslaught of a lecture that was sure to come. She'd heard it many times in the past two months, but Ezra always seemed to make it clear that it 'obviously' wasn't enough to make her see his position.
But it didn't come. Instead, he stayed quiet. He was quiet for so long that she wondered if he hadn't dozed off, but just as she was about to get up so that she could see his face, he finally spoke.
"It's not the idea of her being happy that scares me. I'd be over the moon for her if she met someone good that made her happy," Ezra explained. "But I've never met a decent guy that she's dated. I know she really hasn't since the divorce, but Adriana and I don't live at home anymore."
"You think she needs your protection?" Aria surmised.
"I feel like I'd be failing in my place as her son if I didn't do so," Ezra commented. "What if he's the worst thing for her, and I don't even see it because I just assume he's great like the rest of you have."
Aria moved up on the bed so that she was resting against the pillow next to Ezra instead of on his shoulder. She reached a hand up and brushed her fingers through his fringe.
"I haven't made any kind of assumtions of pre-conceived notions," she told him. "I don't think Hardy or Adriana have either. I think right now, we just see that your mom is happy, and its a kind of happy none of us have really seen on her. That should be something to celebrate, not deplete. "
Ezra opened his mouth to reply, but Aria moved her hand down over his mouth to stop him.
"I'm not asking you to forget about everything you feel about it, or to forget everything that made you feel the need to be this protective in the first place. I just want you to give someone else a chance. They could surprise you." She paused for a moment, tilting her head slightly. "I certainly did."
Ezra exhaled audibly, and then gave a silght nod. "That you did. And I'll never forget all you do to keep surprising me."
"So do we have a deal then?" Aria asked tentatively.
Ezra stared at her skeptically, and with each passing second, she wondered if he was going to decline her offer. Finally as they were nearing a minute of silence, he nodded once more.
"I'll try to be more cordial," he told her. "But if Friday goes like that lunch with my father did-"
"Say no more," Aria told him. "If that happens, this will never be spoken of again. As long as you put in the effort. Agreed?"
Once again, Ezra stared at her with a chiseled expression, but finally he sighed with resignation.
"Agreed," he said before curling a fist around the t-shirt she was wearing. He tugged her down against him and kissed her before slipping an arm around her waist and pulling her against him. Aria slid her arms around his neck and pulled him against her, rolling over onto her back.
"Now take all of that pent-up agression out on me," she mutteed against his lips.
"Gladly," he growled before kissing her once more.