A/N Hello! So I've decided to start this new story. Aria and Ezra have never met for any one that needs clarification. The title is based off the song Taking Chances so yeah. Enjoy!
I don't own Pretty Little Liars or ezria.
Ezra's hands fumbled around the coffee table, desperately searching for his car keys. If he could just find them already then maybe, by some amazing fate, he wouldn't miss his flight. So maybe waking up merely 10 minutes before he was supposed to leave wasn't the best idea, but he wasn't entirely the one to blame. Okay, he definitely was the one to blame. He couldn't help the fact that a brilliant idea hit him late at night and he'd been up till 2 am writing it. It was who he was, writing was his passion and finally he would have a job that expressed that passion. When the call had come with the opportunity of a job for a new editing and publishing company, Ezra had been ecstatic. Sure, he wouldn't be getting his writing published anytime soon but the job was a great way to bask in his love for writing. It was exactly the thing he needed to get out of his rut. And out of Pennsylvania.
California. Ezra saw it as the land of opportunity. It had always held his heart in a special way and now he could live his dream there. He could start over, have a new life amongst a sea of new people. Lately, he'd been sad and something felt wrong about where he was in his life. Ezra just couldn't find his place in Pennsylvania anymore. Sure, his family was there, and his mother had been heartbroken when he'd told her he was leaving. But something was missing. It might have sounded stupid but Ezra just needed something more in his life. Something fresh and new, and he knew for sure that California was the place to get all that.
Finally, Ezra was able to breathe a sigh of relief when he heard the jingle of keys in his hands. His other hand grabbed the large suitcase from the front hall way and he began to make his way to the car. The drive to the airport was a stressful one. Ezra could've sworn the world was against him being on time. Or maybe his sleeping schedule was. Either way he had to keep praying that he wouldn't miss the flight to California. That would mean waiting in an airport for at least another 3 hours and his agenda could definitely not find a way to squeeze that in. He was supposed to start working tomorrow morning, and if Ezra knew anything about work, he was pretty sure it wasn't a good thing to show up to your first day late.
"Here are your tickets, Miss Montgomery. I'm very sorry but the flights to New York are all delayed today due to the snow. You can take a seat and we'll make an announcement a little later," The flight attendant's voice rang too loud and chipper in Aria's tired ears. On top of the snow and sleepiness she was enduring, now she could add a delayed flight to the list of things gone wrong today. She heaved a sigh of defeat as she plopped herself down in a cold airport chair and pulled out her journal. If she wasn't going anywhere she figured she might as well get some writing done. That was the reason she was on her way to New York right? In hopes of starting her writing career? She'd been working on this novel for months and she was almost done, the only thing she needed now was someone to publish her.
Sadly, that was easier said than done. Aria had been to a few publishing companies in Pennsylvania so far and the only thing it had brought her was defeat. The more the companies turned her down, the more she began to lose faith in herself. From the time she was a small girl, everyone around Aria had told her what an amazing writer she was. But what if she wasn't good enough to make it in the world of writing? Everything she had once hoped for, was beginning to become less and less possible. Aria just prayed that New York would give her more opportunities for success rather than failure.
Just as she began to write, Aria saw a handsome looking young man rush through the airport door. He had a suitcase in both hands and his dark curls were falling in his face, making him look even more beautiful. She watched as he went up to the counter to show the attendant his ticket, arguing back and forth for a while before she forced him to retreat. He trudged to a seat a few chairs away from Aria, and sat down throwing his head back in defeat. Aria looked away, realizing it probably wasn't good to focus so much on a stranger but there was something about him that she couldn't take her eyes off of.
"Are you sure there isn't any possible way I can get on that plane? I really need to," Ezra pleaded with the lady at the counter. Of course, like he'd predicted, Ezra missed his flight and would now have to wait for the next one to leave Pennsylvania. The next flight that possible wouldn't come till the following morning. Fantastic.
"I'm very sorry," the woman began. Ezra rolled his eyes, knowing there was nothing else he could do to change her mind or make a flight come faster. "There's nothing I can do. You can have a seat and I'll let you know what's going on a little later."
Great. Just fucking great. Ezra had successfully messed everything up. He could only predict what his new boss would say when he explained the predicament. He was down right ecstatic to be spending the rest of his day in a airport. Alone. With nothing better to do than sit her in his own misery. In his state of madness, he'd barely noticed the cute brunette that had been staring at him through the whole thing. Barely noticed. Which was why it came as a bit of a shock when she put down her journal she was scribbling in and turned to talk to him. Ezra definitely hadn't expected anyone to talk to him right now when he looked this angry and insane. He almost wanted to promise her that he wasn't always like this.
"Are you alright down there?" She asked, her voice sounding both nervous and worried. In a normal situation Ezra would have been nice and patient with the girl and might have even tried to hit on her. But he didn't necessarily consider an airport a normal situation or the proper place to pick up a girl. And all her wanted at the moment was to be left alone. It contradicted his earlier thoughts but it was true. Social activity didn't sound very fun at the moment. Either way, he hadn't meant for his reply to come back quite so harsh.
"Well not really seeing that I missed my flight and now have to wait in this airport for who knows how long," The annoyance in his voice was overwhelming and he could see the girl's eyes get big as she retreated back to her journal and scribbling what looked like nonsense, "I'm sorry. That was terribly rude of me. I'm Ezra." He tried to ease her mind with a smile but it felt too forced. Instead he just relaxed his posture. For some reason he felt like this girl could be different. She could be different. Play it cool, Fitz, play it cool.
"I'm Aria," She told him. Now that he had snapped out of his funk, Ezra was able to notice the beauty of the girl he was talking to. Her dark brown hair fell around her face in a subtle yet strikingly beautiful way. When she looked at him, he was able to notice her dark hazel eyes under an abundance of long lashes. "Sorry about your flight, by the way. Mine was delayed because of the snow, so yours probably would've been delayed anyways. Where are you flying to?" Ezra continued to stare at the girl for a second and then realized he must of been making her a little uncomfortable. He cleared his throat, trying to form a coherent thought but once again getting lost in her dazzling yet nervous smile.
"Oh, umm...California," Ezra mentally slapped himself for acting like a teenage boy. He was a grown man, he shouldn't be sitting here acting like a hormonal idiot. But it was easy to feel distracted when he was staring at such a stunning young woman, "What about you? Where are you off to?"
"New York," Aria smiled back at him but he felt his heart sink a little bit. He had hoped that for some reason she'd be going in the same direction as he was. Ezra knew it was a long shot but his emotions were going a little crazy at the moment. "I'm hoping I'll actually have a chance at becoming in author out there." Ezra was taken a back. Not only was this girl extraordinarily beautiful but she was a writer too. It was like she was made for him.
"Wow," all the intellectual and fantastic things Ezra could've said seemed to fail him at that moment. Ezra had no idea what was going on with himself today. Usually he was smooth and not the least bit nervous. But today, with this girl, he felt different. He'd been lonely for so long in Pennsylvania that he'd almost forgot what real, good company was. Immediately, the good feeling of loneliness washed away and was replaced by a feeling of warmth. Oh god, who was he kidding. Ezra had known Aria for about three minutes now. How in the world would he be able to feel such a strong connection to someone he barely knew. As much as he wanted to though, he couldn't deny how good it felt to talk to this girl. She seemed interesting, and worldly.
"Wow what?" Aria said biting on her lip in the most innocent but yet seductive way possible in Ezra's mind, "I know it sounds crazy, with New York being such a huge city but there's something about it that I've always craved. I don't know if it's the atmosphere or what but I feel like I just need to be there. I probably sound like a raging lunatic I know. Go ahead, laugh." Aria joked, chuckling a little at herself.
"No! No, I just," Ezra fumbled for the right words to reassure her that he wasn't making fun of her, "I write too. I'm actually off to California for a new job at an editing and publishing company. I know it's not my dream job but it's working with literature none the less. I'm impressed. It takes a lot of courage to share your writing, especially if it's something very personal. Maybe you could let me read it some time?"
"Yeah? You'd like that?" Aria smiled sweetly at him. He couldn't be positive, but he was pretty sure she was flirting back with him now. This was exactly when he needed to keep his cool.
"Yeah I'd like to know more about you," He told her with a sappy grin plastered to his face.
"I'd like to know more about you too."
Familiar ending? Yes definitely. Hahah okay well review and I'll have the next chapter up soon.
