A/N: So from my crazy mind, I bring you this story. Really quickly I want to explain how the plot line is AU. In this version of events, Aria and Ezra never got back together after 215 because of Byron's threat of the police. Because of this, Ezra and Aria avoided one another, and their relationship dissolved because of it. Ella disagreed with Byron's actions and they still got divorced. That is all :)
Also, I've been informed that the plot I have for this is similar to Charlie St. Cloud, which I have never seen. I was going for something more similar to The Invisible.
Disclaimer: I own just about nothing. Not even the plot. Possibly a few original characters. That's all.
Whispers In The Dark
Chapter 1
"I tried to find you at the bottom of a bottle
Laying down on the bathroom floor..."
-Wasting All These Tears, Cassadee Pope
Aria's ponytail bounced high as she walked through the halls of the college she had one taken an extension class in. It had been well over two years since she'd last stepped foot inside the building, and even then, it had only been to drop in an visit Byron over lunch before heading to the airport. In the six years since she'd left Rosewood for college at UCLA, Hollis College had seen quite a bit of remodeling, as well as expansion.
She had first been offered a position in the extension school in New Orleans, but had turned down the option when Ella had called her with news that she and Zack were returning to Rosewood . They had been traveling all over since Mike had gone off to college, both for business and pleasure. The Brew was now located in four cities across Pennsylvania, including Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, and they were looking to open a fifth in Maryland.
Even so, Aria's choice to return to Rosewood had nothing to do with the coffee. Ella and Zack had gotten married about two years after Aria had gone off to college, and though he had put it off for a while, the subject of Zack wanting his own kids eventually came up. Aria knew that Ella wasn't so sure about it, which had put the option off for almost a year before they had finally started looking at adoption and surrogacy. Two months prior to Aria's move back home, Ella had phoned to tell her that they were going to be adopting a baby girl from a woman in New York, due to be born in December. It had been that news that had sparked Aria to take the Russian Literature position opening up at Hollis in January, when the current teacher would be leaving to move with her husband. In the meantime, she was going to be teaching a single semester writing course. It was only one class, two days a week, but it was enough to get by on with what she had saved before moving back from Los Angeles, and as much as she didn't want it, she knew her parents would be right there to help if she desperately needed money.
"Aria!"
Aria quickened her pace as she walked down the hall towards Byron. As she reached him, she wrapped her arms tightly around him and inhaled a deep breath. There was a comfort in that breath - a mixed scent of sandalwood and citrus - that smelled like home.
"It seems as though it's been ages since you graduated," Byron said as he hugged her back equally as tightly.
"It has been," Aria murmured back as she exhaled heavily. "It's so good to be back though."
The two finally released each other, and Aria dropped back to her regular height - or at least back onto the three inch boots she was wearing - and looked around Byron's office. It was new, only having been finished about six months earlier when the new wing of the Arts and Literature department had been finished. The new office was freshly furnished, which was a relief, given that Aria knew for a fact that the couch that had been in Byron's last office had been there for as long as she could remember.
"Have you seen your mother yet?" Byron asked as he walked back over to his desk.
"I'm supposed to head over to the school in a bit for a late lunch," Aria replied as she popped the top off of her orange juice and took a slow sip. For late September, it was still pretty warm, and she had changed out of the sweats she'd been in that morning on the plane, into a pair of black dress pants and a yellow blouse for the meeting she'd had with the dean that had ended just minutes ago. "Have you talked to her at all this week?"
Byron nodded. Though the divorce had been messy at times, there was no bad blood between he or Ella, and they remained good friends. He even played golf from time to time with Zack.
"She called to ask if I knew anything about economics courses that...Sadie? Could take by correspondence." He explained.
Aria nodded. Sadie was the girl that was giving up her baby to Ella and Zack. They were agreed on an open adoption, and of what Aria knew about Sadie, she didn't have any living family. She was in college on a scholarship, and was looking to transfer to Hollis so that she could be nearby - at least that was the plan for now.
Aria's phone buzzed in her hand, and she lifted it up, having to turn her wrist to see the screen.
"That's mom. I'm coming back after, though to bring some of the stuff to the office," Aria told Byron. He nodded.
"Do you have plans for dinner?" He questioned.
Aria nodded. "Spencer and I are going over to her parents. I can do tomorrow though," she offered.
"Sounds good," Byron replied.
Aria nodded once more and then the two of them said goodbye before Aria turned and walked out of the room, heading towards the parking lot. As she did, she scrolled through her missed messages. There were a few from Spencer, asking her to grab a few things for dinner. She and Spencer were sharing a flat that her parents had 'gifted' to her - they had actually paid the first years' rent after Spencer graduated from college and tried to find a law firm that would take her on. She had been insistent on making a name for herself without her parents help, which kept her searching until she'd finally been brought on by a firm just outside of Philadelphia. She was making more than enough to cover all the rent and utilities, but Aria was determined to pay her own way.
As she walked, her attention was focused on her phone, typing back text messages to Spencer and her mother. She was just passing by a lecture hall when she stumbled into someone, knocking her sideways. She caught her footing and glanced up, ready to apologize for her lack of attention when her eyes met a set of very familiar blue orbs.
Ezra Fitz.
Aria gulped. "S-sorry," she said quickly before turning and continuing to walk down the hall, if not a bit faster.
She hadn't seen Ezra in well over three years, even though he still worked at Hollis. There wasn't any particular reason avoid him, other than the fact that their relationship had long since dissolved in every aspect.
The memory of their breakup was still clear as day, as if it had just happened a few days previous, even though it had been over seven years earlier. She remembered how it had been the day he told her that she couldn't call him anymore, and then they had seen each other at the Apple Wood Grill. There had been a number of almost-occurrences that happened in the weeks after that, but Byron's threat had been clear, and that had kept them apart. Some weeks later, she found out that he was seeing someone else, and she forced herself to move on. She kept her head down all through that summer and her senior year, focusing more than ever on her studies. It helped that they eventually caught A, who turned out to be Mona.
And then college had come along, and Aria had moved as far away from Ezra as she could without leaving the country. Granted, UCLA had a great english program too, but she had simply been desperate just to get away to a city that didn't have memories of him on every street corner. So she had moved into a flat with Hanna in the hills, and had let Hanna drag her out to as many frat parties as she wanted. She dated here and there, but never settled for more than a few weeks. Once things got too familiar, she found herself comparing guys to Ezra, and that was a wound too deep to deal with.
It wasn't as though Aria hated him, even in the midst of all the feelings she had about him and the entire situation. She still had copious amounts of respect for him as a teacher and a person. She knew that at the core of it all, he hadn't set out to hurt her. And as much as she knew her father was truly the one to blame in it all, she also knew that he was only trying to do what was best for her - even if it took her over two years to let herself admit that. But it didn't change the fact that he had still broken up with her.
She reached the exit of the building and shoved the door open, crossing through the courtyard to the parking lot. Aria walked over to her dark blue prius and unlocked the drivers side door before opening the door and getting in. She started the car and pulled her seatbelt on before backing out of the parking stall she was in, and heading towards the exit.
As she pulled towards the road, she punched the radio dial. The CD player kicked in and Aria glanced down at the read-out as music pumped through the speakers.
"There's just one life to live,
And there's no time to waste, to waste
So let me give your heart a break..."
Aria ducked behind the island in Ezra's kitchen holding tightly to two water balloons. How she had managed to find herself in the position, she wasn't quite sure. Somewhere between telling him she still wanted to be with him, and them discussing how things would change with him working at Hollis, the mood had gotten lighter and then Ezra had started tickling her. The next thing she knew, she was arming herself with water balloons after her 'accidentally' spilled cold coffee on her.
"I swear Aria, it was an accident," Ezra said from the other side of the room.
Aria dared a quick glance around the counter. The TV was on Ezra's dresser, out of the way of harm, and the radio was on, but it was hanging up high on a shelf over his desk. Even so, Ezra wasn't in view. His voice was distant enough to not be coming from over head, so she moved to the other side of the island and looked around the other side. He was sitting with his back to his dresser peering back at her.
"Admit you did it on purpose," she ordered.
"I didn't!" He insisted.
Aria shook her head, glancing back up at his dresser. She hadn't seen his TV at all, so it had to be safe.
"Swear it?" She asked, changing tactics.
"Yes," Ezra replied. "And I'm unarmed now. Can I come over there?"
Aria exhaled audibly and then nodded. She stood up and watched Ezra, staying behind the counter. She waited until he was a few feet away and then lifted her arm suddenly and threw the first water balloon. It was full enough that it popped on contact and coated his shirt in water. A moment later, he swung an arm around and was squirting water at her from a water bottle. A stream of it ran down the length of her shirt. She grabbed another balloon from the bucket beside her and tossed it at him, only for him to move closer. He grabbed a large water gun from the other side of the island and suddenly began to spray her with large shots.
Aria's jaw dropped as he sprayed her heavily in the face, and she abandoned her balloons, dashing over to the sink. She turned on the tap and then grabbed the sprayer.
"Aria, no!" Ezra screamed suddenly.
"Too little, too late, buddy," she said before squeezing the trigger. She got his face and hair first and then began aiming lower as Ezra walked towards her and tried to take the sprayer from her hands. Their struggle for it earned Aria several squirts to the face, and by the time Ezra managed to distract her with a kiss, they were both generously wet from neck to torso.
Ezra gulped down a generous amount of his water bottle as he leaned back in his desk. He had his students taking a test on a book they were supposed to have finished, but his attention was otherwise distracted.
Aria was back.
There were so many questions that became stirred up at that statement. Was she back in Rosewood for good? If so, why? Was she with someone? Was something wrong with Byron or Ella? Were her friends okay?
Ezra exhaled a frustrated sigh. Aria Montgomery was nothing short of a complex for him. How she managed to have such a hold on him seven years after their split was beyond his own understanding of reality.
That wasn't necessarily all true, he supposed. He knew that one of the reasons Aria's return mattered to him was because he still had feelings for her on some level. Much as he tried to ignore those feelings, he was never able to bury them completely. They were always just below the surface, waiting to come out and surprise him. It was that reason alone that he was turning 31 in two months, and still single.
It wasn't for lack of trying, though. Ezra had certainly tried over the previous seven years to find someone he could invest his life into. He had dated a number of girls, but it seemed that no matter how hard he tried to put his heart into something new, it just wasn't destined to happen. More often than not, the girls backed out with the excuse that they felt he wasn't as invested as they were. And he wasn't.
Ezra glanced up at the clock and then sat up in his desk chair, exhaling a heavy breath.
"Two more minutes," he announced in his most commanding teacher tone. He'd perfected it over the years, which helped, considering most of his students had the tendency to think that him being young meant that he was a pushover.
The previously quiet room seemed to pick up a bit of noise, which told him that they were all likely finished with their tests. That was great. The last thing he wanted was to be arguing with someone to get out of the classroom. He already had to attend a faculty mixer before he headed home.
The last few minutes of the class passed quickly, and Ezra waited until all of the tests he'd passed out had been returned to his desk before he packed them up and stuffed them into the binder he kept for that class. He stuffed the binder into his satchel and then lifted it over his shoulder before grabbing his bottle of water and heading out of the lecture hall, hitting the light as he exited it.
Two doors up, Byron Montgomery stepped out of another lecture hall. He nodded towards Ezra. Ezra reciprocated the acknowledgment, continuing to head up the hall.
His relationship with Byron was certainly a complicated one. The two had barely uttered more than two words to each other for well over a year after Ezra broke up Aria, simply just because he was still in love with her, and while Aria resembled Ella in almost every way, there was a tone about Aria's voice and personality that mirrored Byron clearly. That alone made talking to Byron akin to cutting himself with glass.
Eventually though, the two men had been forced to put aside their differences. Byron was made the head of the English department five years previous, and though Ezra first feared that the older man would fire him the first chance he got, he was surprised with Byron came to him with the offer to mend fences. Ezra was pretty sure that it had something to do with Aria taking off to UCLA, but given that Byron was officially his superior, he gave in to the offer and slowly but surely, the two men managed to somewhat repair what had once been a good friendship. Granted, they weren't best friends by any account, but they got along and could carry on a decent conversation.
As long as that conversation didn't get anywhere near Aria. Which was going to make Ezra's question very awkward.
"I bumped into Aria earlier," he commented as Byron picked up pace and started walking next to him.
Byron nodded. "She was hired to take over Morgan's job when she leaves, and she'll be teaching the creative writing course in the meantime."
"So she's back in Rosewood for good?" Ezra asked tentatively.
"For the forseeable future," Byron replied. "I'm sure you two will see quite a bit of each other now."
If there was a way that Ezra was supposed to take that comment and have it mean something, he wasn't sure what it was, and before he could ask, he'd reached his office. Resolving to find out more later, Ezra simply waved to Byron before stepping inside and pushing the door shut behind him. He dropped his satchel on the new coffee table that had come along with all the other new furniture after the new wing had been finished. He rounded the table and dropped down onto the couch. It was plush instead of leather, which made it quieter and slightly more comfortable, but it also made it more stainable.
He leaned back on the couch with his head on one arm, crossing his legs at the ankles where they rested on the other arm of the couch, and then lifted his arms and rested his forearms over his eyes as his elbows laid on his palms. He could feel a headache trying to form.
He was dangling on the edge of consciousness when the sound of a door rattling as it banged against the frame woke him. He lifted his arms up off his face and looked over to see Wes standing there in the doorway. Ezra exhaled a frustrated sigh. Visits from Wes never went well.
"What're you doing here, Wes?" Ezra asked.
"Can't a guy just drop in to see his brother?" Wes asked, clearly trying too hard to be nonchalant.
"No," Ezra exclaimed. "Not when said guy only turns up when he wants something."
Ezra could tell already that whatever Wes wanted wasn't going to be anything Ezra would actually want to help him with. There were dark circles under his eyes and his hair was mussed and clumped together in chunks from lack of a proper washing. It seemed more and more lately that every time Ezra saw Wes, his appearance just got worse.
"What do you want, Wes?" Ezra asked as he sat up on the couch.
Wes sighed. "I need money, man. I gotta pay this guy and I'm-"
"No," Ezra said. He didn't need to hear anything else. He was pretty clear on the fact that Wes was involved with a shady crowd and that he was involved in illegal activities, but the allotted five thousand dollars he handed over to his brother every month from his trust-fund was more than enough to survive on. "You have money."
"That's the thing man," Wes said, bouncing from foot to foot. "It's gone. I need more."
"No, Wes," Ezra told him firmly. "I give you enough money to pay all your bills, feed you, and pay for your transportation, plus spending money. If you're out then you need to look elsewhere."
"But Ezra-"
"But nothing," Ezra growled lowly at Wes. "The bank is closed. Now if that's all you came for, you can leave."
Wes glared at Ezra, staring at him for several long minute as if the look on his face would convince Ezra to give him what he wanted. When it didn't, he turned and walked out of the room, slamming the door shut behind himself. Ezra huffed and shook his head, counting to ten slowly before he exhaled once more. He checked his watch. The faculty mixer was due to start in a bit.
Ezra grabbed his things, making sure to grab everything from the day and stuffing it into his bag before headed out of his office and down to the teachers lounge. When he entered the room, there were a number of professors and their significant others standing around, talking.
Ezra walked over to the refreshments table and filled a tumbler with scotch before settling his things behind the table where others had placed their own bags.
As he rounded the table once more, he was pulled into a conversation by one of the art teachers who was arguing the about a book she'd recently read after Ezra had turned her on to it. She talked animatedly to another professor from the art department who seemed to disagree with what she thought of the book. Eventually, the discussion of the book faded into another discussion, and before Ezra knew it, he'd been talking with the same people for three quarters of an hour. It was just as he was dismissing himself to refill his drink that he spotted Aria walking in. She talked with Byron and several other other professors for a few moments before walking over to the refreshments table. Ezra moved from his spot and headed over in the direction of the refreshments table, only to be stopped when another professor approached him to ask a question about a student. One question led to three more, and before he knew it, another twenty-five minute had passed. When he finally managed to dismiss himself again, he was practically bouncing on his heels with anticipation. Aria was once again at the refreshments table, this time with several glasses. He closed the distance between them and waited as she poured scotch into a glass.
"I"ll be done with it in just a second," she commented before looking up to see whom she was speaking to. When she finally did look up, she gulped. She all but shoved the bottle at Ezra without saying a word.
"Aria-"
"I don't have time right now, Ezra," she said before quickly filling the last empty glass with wine and picking up the four she had brought with her. She walked away from him, and Ezra huffed once more.
He quickly filled his glass and then gulped down several large mouthfuls before returning the the glass to the table. He had half a mind to refill the glass and get stupid drunk based solely on how frustrated he was - and knew would only get worse - but his better judgment told him to put his glass down. He walked over where he'd placed his satchel and picked it up, slinging it over his shoulder. He was headed towards the door when the dean waved him over. Ezra gulped. He was standing next to Ezra and Byron.
Ezra walked over to them and the dean smiled at him.
"Ezra, I want you to meet the newest member of our team in the english department," the man said. "Although, Byron tells me you and Aria have already met."
Ezra glanced warily at Aria, unsure of how to respond to the statement.
"As her teacher," the dean continued when he seemed to notice Ezra's confusion. "Don't tell me you've forgotten the girl," he laughed.
Ezra cleared his throat and quickly forced a smile on his face, shaking his head. "Not at all. My mind was just elsewhere for a moment." He extended a hand to Aria - if she wanted to be cold, he could be cold too. "Glad to have you, Ms. Montgomery."
Aria seemed to stare him down for a long moment before she lifted a hand and grasped his. Though the handshake itself wasn't meant to mean anything, the stiffness in her grasp made it clear that she wasn't pleased of the show he was making.
"Byron is headed to a conference in Vermont on Wednesday," the dean said. "I trust you'll show Aria around if she needs?"
"Absolutely," Ezra said without looking up at the older man. He and Aria finally released each other's hands, and as cold as the grasp had been, he still felt as though he was losing something as soon as she let go of his hand.
His phone began to buzz in his bag, giving him a reason to escape the situation. "I'm sorry, I have to take that."
The dean nodded, and then his conversation shifted back to Byron. Ezra turned away from them and pulled his phone from his bag as he walked over to the door. He rolled his eyes when he saw that it was Wes trying to call him. He quickly rejected the call as he pushed the door open and walked outside before opening his contacts and scrolling down through them until he found Dianne's name. He tapped on it and lifted his phone to his ear, leaning against the wall for a few moments.
As he expected, the call went to voicemail. It was even season, which meant that if Dianne wasn't hosting some sort of event, she was attending a friends. It frustrated Ezra to no end because he often found himself unable to get in touch with her.
Granted, his relationship with his mother was far from perfect. She was a socialite and believed in proper etiquette and above all, she expected her children to be respectful at all times. Granted, Wes's continuing string of troubles had softened her quite a bit in the past few years, but it wasn't so much that gave Ezra any hope of waking up one day and seeing that she had become a parent he could actually count on 24/7. If he needed any proof in that, it was directly in front of his face. Dianne had signed all of Wes' accounts over to Ezra three years earlier when she decided she was tired of trying to get him to help himself, and had cut off all contact with her younger son, lest he get himself some help.
"Hi mom," Ezra said into the phone as he sighed. "I don't know if you've spoken to Wes recently, but you should. I don't know what he's gotten himself into now, but he's screwed something up, and I'm not going to give him anymore money. Call me back."
As he was ending the call a few moments later, the door opened behind him. He looked up to see Aria.
"I thought you left," she said, clearly caught off-guard.
"I was just heading out," he replied as he stuffed his phone into his pocket.
Aria simply shook her head and walked past him, heading down the corridor. Ezra rolled his eyes, but followed after her.
"It's clear we're going to have to learn to deal with eachother," he said.
"No we don't," Aria said, keeping her back to him. "You can do whatever you need to, and I'll do what I need to. You can leave me alone. You've done it before."
Her words were like a knife to his chest. "Aria, I didn't-"
She turned quickly on her heel, pointing a finger at him like he was a child doing wrong. "Don't. We're colleagues. Hell, we're not even that. We just work in the same place. I don't need your help at all, Ezra Fitz. I stopped needing anything from you a long time ago."
As he was left standing there feeling as though she'd punched him in the gut, Aria turned and began walking once more. Ezra didn't bother to start walking again until she was down the hall and around the corner, out of view. When he finally did start walking again, he beat-foot it to the parking lot and headed over to his car. As he reached it, three guys who looked like they'd walked straight of a gang movie were leaning against up it.
"Look, whatever it is you want, I don't have it," he told them.
The guy standing the middle, resting between the front and back passenger door, simply smiled at him as though he knew something.
"Look buddy, you can say whatever you want, but I know for a fact you've got the money that Wesley owes us."
Ezra exhaled heavily. "I don't have his money. I don't know what he told you-"
Before he could get the whole sentence out of his mouth, the guy talking to him punched him hard in the solar plexus. Ezra groaned, doubling over. As he did, an elbow came down hard on his neck, sending him down onto the cement. The guy kicked him over and then knelt down over him, grabbing his collar.
"Look here, bud," the man grumbled. "You're gonna tell me exactly what I want to know to get my hands on that money, or you're gonna pay for it, alright?"
"I don't have the money," Ezra replied, straining to speak from the pain of the punch to his stomach. "I don't even know what you're talking about."
The guy laughed at him, though there was nothing cheerful about it. A moment later, he punched Ezra three more times in the stomach before grasping a handful of his his hair and pulling his head off the ground before smashing it back against the pavement.
Ezra's ears were ringing as he tried to focus his vision. The guy was still talking over him, but he couldn't make out the words, he knew they wanted money, but he didn't even know how much. The gangsters words seemed to stream together into gibberish, and the longer Ezra went without an answer, the more times he hit him. The next thing he knew, numerous feet and fists were connecting with every part of his body.
And then everything was black.
