Aria Montgomery walked down the hallway looking for room 113. Tons of people rushed by her. Most of them were clearly hurrying along to their next class, but Aria took each step carefully, absorbing her surroundings. It was the first day of her third semester of college, but this semester was different.
After a year at Hollis following her graduation, she decided she couldn't live in Rosewood anymore. Too many memories, too much pain. Without Spencer, Hanna, and Emily, Aria couldn't handle it. Her past was holding her back. The entire town was a constant reminder of everything that had happened in the 4 years since Alison's murder. When she decided to transfer to NYU, Byron and Ella supported the decision because they could see that their daughter needed to get away. New York City is big and full of room for a fresh start, exactly what Aria needed.
She hesitantly entered the door to see an empty lecture room, which was expected because she was 20 minutes early. She strategically chose a seat not too close to the front to hide her eagerness, even though she was beyond excited about the class. She put her iPod on shuffle and closed her eyes.
The opening notes of Happiness by The Fray softly played through her headphones. She quickly switched to the next song, because she didn't want to go there, but it was too late. In her mind, she was 16 again and sitting next to Ezra Fitz for the first time. Thinking about him made her heart speed up, bringing back all the feelings she had for him. For a split second, she forgot about how upset she was at him. For a split second, she forgot what he had done. He left her. A week after they revealed their relationship to her parents, he bolted. He wouldn't return her countless texts or voicemails pleading for him to explain why he left. She hadn't seen him in two years. She didn't know where he was or what he was doing with his life.
Sometimes when she would read a book, it would be something he would have enjoyed and she wished she could share it with him, but she couldn't. Sometimes she would do things with her best friend Holden, like go to an art gallery or order Chinese takeout, and it would make her wonder where he was. Her mind would wonder as she imagined him at a signing of his own bestselling book or selling one of his scripts to be made into a film. Sometimes she imagined herself right there beside him, Mrs. Aria Fitz... But that could never happen, she thought as she shook herself back to reality and changed to the next song.
For Ezra Fitz, today was just not his day. After spilling his coffee down the front of his shirt before he left home, he got pulled over on the way to work for expired tags. Things like that seemed to slip his mind recently. He made a trip to the DMV on his lunch break to renew them so he wouldn't have to deal with that again. He waited, clutching a new cup of coffee, and wondered if he was every going to make it to the front of the line. The lady behind the counter seemed to be doing more talking on the phone than helping the people standing in front of her and Ezra's patience was being tested. However, there wasn't much he could say, regardless of how much of a hurry he was in. He checked his phone for a text message from his girlfriend, if you could call her that. Katherine was his neighbor & his first friend in NYC. He was there for her when her fiancé broke off the engagement, which had allowed them to get close. They had been hooking up for a few weeks. They weren't exclusive & Ezra didn't want to be. He wasn't ready for that much commitment.
And she wasn't either, apparently. He still hadn't talked to her & it had been 2 days since their last night together. She wasn't there when he woke up & she didn't answer when he knocked on her apartment door. & Now, no texts. Maybe Katherine was over him. Maybe she found a new guy.
"Next!" the woman said & Ezra lost his train of thought as he stepped up to the counter and finished the business he had came for. He glanced at his watch as he walked out of the DMV & began sprinting down the street so he could still make it on time, coffee still in hand.
He rushed through the door in the front of the classroom and sat his coffee on the desk. He took off his satchel & pulled it open to remove the roster. He said, "Sorry I'm late. I'm Ezra Fitz. I'll be your professor this semester for 19th century literature. I'll call roll & then we can get started." He glanced up at the room full of students for a split second & then back down at the sheet.
Aria lost the ability to breathe. The ability to speak. The ability to think clear thoughts. The ability to rationalize what was going on. The ability to hold back tears from forming in her eyes. She lost it. A single tear rolled down her face. She sat there silently in panic, staring at the only man she'd ever loved, while he was oblivious that she was in the room.
Aria attempted to pull herself together while he began calling roll. Every name he called brought them closer and closer to the reality of the situation. When he got to the L names, Aria's heart stopped. Then "Ari-". He looked up and his eyes met hers. His mouth dropped open the same way it had that day in honors junior English at Rosewood High School. Aria could tell his mind was racing. He shook his head as if to regain control and moved on to the next name without attempting to cover it up. The other students looked from him to her as if they were searching for an answer. But the truth was, she wanted that answer too.