Title: Either Way It Goes
Author: carleymarie
Category: Pretty Little Liars
Disclaimer: I own nothing except my thoughts and the MacBook I type them on.
Rating: T
Pairing: Aria/Ezra
Reviews: Greatly appreciated. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, alerted or added "I Can't Get Enough" and/or "Replace Me" to their favourites list. It means so much to me.
Summary: A post-finale speculation story. Aria/Ezra.
A/N: The idea for this story came to me in the middle of the night as I was trying to fall asleep, so I wrote it all down and here it is. I tried to remain as true as possible to the characters and the current state of their relationship.
I think the start of the next season is going to go one of a couple of ways for Aria and Ezra. This is one of them.
The title of this story comes from Blue Merle's "Either Way It Goes" from their 2005 album, "Burning In The Sun." They are a ridiculously amazing band that has since broken up, but I recommend this album to anyone.
Enjoy!
Either Way It Goes
Aria lay on her bed and looked up at the ceiling. The room was pitch black, so she couldn't see anything, but she knew that would change any minute.
A few moments later, like clockwork, a small light illuminated the ceiling from her bedside table. Aria sighed and turned to look at the source of the light, already knowing where it was coming from. The light, of course, was coming from her cell phone and the caller, of course, was Ezra. Finally, Ezra must have hung up because she was left with the familiar "missed calls" screen. 17 missed calls. He had called her 17 times in the last few hours, but she had no intention of calling him back. Not tonight anyway.
Aria had been so excited when Ezra first told her about his new job at Hollis. She had been looking forward to the day when they could truly be together, but thought that it wouldn't happen for another year and a half when she finally graduated.
She just couldn't forgive the fact that one of Ezra's new colleagues would be her. His ex-fiancée.
Some of their lies were necessary for the protection of their relationship. This wasn't one of them. As she mused over the thought, the light lit up once again and she looked down. 18 missed calls. It was going to be a long night.
Aria usually arrived to English class a few minutes early to "go over her homework," but today she didn't.
Hanna, Spencer, and Emily were shocked to see that Aria didn't want to go to class early. Instead, she surprised all three girls by dragging out their conversation in the hallway until almost the very moment the bell would ring.
"Aria, are you sure that you're O.K.?" asked Emily.
"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" replied Aria, extending her smile a bit too much.
"Usually you –"
" – I know what I usually do," Aria interrupted, in a hushed tone, looking around as if someone walking down the hall would have any idea what Emily meant. "Today I'm being different," she said curtly, ending the line of questioning.
The other three girls eyed each other, knowing that it had something to do with Ezra and what Aria had dismissed as "nothing" earlier in the morning. They knew it was something much more than nothing, but it was not the time nor place for to be having this particular conversation.
The warning bell rang and Hanna gathered her books and closed her locker. "Saved by the bell," she mumbled and the girls made their way across the hall and into the classroom.
Aria took a deep breath as she entered the room. She knew that all bets would be off when she saw his face. It was easy to be angry with Ezra when she was alone in her bedroom, but it was something else completely to see him looking amazing in person. It's not like she just could just not think about him when he was standing right in front of her.
She made every attempt not to look directly at him or pay any attention to him as she made her way to her desk, but as she passed by him she couldn't help but close her eyes and breathe in the scent of his cologne.
She knew he had been looking at her for almost the entire class. She could literally feel his eyes on her, but Aria kept her head down, pretending to take the most detailed notes of her life. She knew she wouldn't get called on. Ezra would want to avoid another To Kill A Mockingbird incident, so she felt like this was the safest way to make it through the rest of the hour.
As class concluded, Ezra assigned their reading homework for the next day and dismissed everyone. Just as she was gathering her books, she heard the words she had been dreading to hear all class: "Miss Montgomery, may I have a moment?"
It seemed like a question, one she whole-heartedly wanted to answer "no" to, but she had no choice, so she merely looked up at him and gave him a slight nod.
The rest of the class left the room and Aria watched from her desk as Ezra closed the open door and then walked over to his desk. He leaned against his desk and she watched as his hands moved to grip the edges of the desk and then finally raised her eyes to meet his.
"I called you," Ezra started.
Understatement of the century.
"I know. 18 times," Aria responded.
Ezra lightly chuckled and shook his head. "It was more than that, but you must've turned off your phone."
"Yeah, well, I didn't have much to say."
"Aria," Ezra sighed. "I didn't do this on purpose. I took a job. I took a job that would let us be together outside in the real world." He tilted his head slightly before continuing. "I'm with you, not anyone else."
Aria could feel her resolve slipping, but she just couldn't take what he said and be fine with it. "So what, your former fiancée just so happens to work there too? I'm just supposed to believe that knowing she works there had not even the slightest impact on your decision? I think there's a little bit more there than what you've chocked up as a coincidence." Aria looked down at her pile of books and took a moment before she spoke again. "If that's what you want, for it to have been more than a coincidence, let me know now Ezra because I already don't know if I can –" Aria stopped.
"You don't know if you can what?"
Aria took a breath. "I don't know if I can trust you around her. You know what happened between my Dad and his T.A."
"I'm not your Dad, Aria."
"I'll just never know if you took this job for us or if you wanted to be around her," Aria said, shaking her head.
"Aria," he sighed, pushing himself away from his desk before walking over to her desk where she was standing. Just as he was about to speak, the warning bell rang, signaling that the next class would be starting in a few minutes.
"I have to go," Aria said, moving to pick up her books. "We'll talk later," she started, not as a question, but as a statement, and she walked towards the door.
Just as she reached the door, she heard Ezra's voice. "I turned down the job."
Aria stopped walking, but didn't turn around. She turned her head slightly at this knowledge. "When?"
He swallowed. "Last night, after you left the party."
Aria took a breath. "5 o'clock, your place?"
"5 o'clock," Ezra replied, and Aria made her way out the door and to her next class.
He may have taken the job for them, but he turned it down for the exact same reason. Catch-22.