"Please come inside," I begged, not wanting to see her leave. "Please."
I watched as her eyes avoided mine for a few silent moments. That was until she looked into my glassy eyes with hers and breathed, "I can't."
The look on her face haunted me for the past three weeks. The sight of her walking away from me, still made my heart shatter in thousands of pieces. I shook my head softly, feeling my eyes become wet at the thought of her beautiful face filled with pain.
"Aria, please," I asked once more, reaching for her hand, but she backed away from it. "I love you."
A tear fell down her face as she closed her eyes tightly, "Please, just stop. I don't believe you. How do I know that everything you told me wasn't a lie? All of the 'I love you' and kisses and hugs could've all just big lies!" I listened to her damaged voice. I never wanted to hurt her like this.
"Aria, I swear to you that our relationship was not a lie," I promised, needing her to know every kiss and embrace I meant wholeheartedly. "I would never hurt you like that."
"You already have," she whispered. All I wanted to do was wrap her in my arms, but I wasn't sure if it would make things worse or better. "I put all of my trust in you, but I guess that wasn't enough. I guess I am not just as important as you are-," she paused briefly and let another tear fall, "were, to me."
"Baby," I took a step toward her, but she took two steps back.
"I'm done," she squeaked out, "I just can't stand all of the lying. Goodbye, Ezra." I watched with sadness as she turned on her heel and walked away, knowing she had already made up her mind, and there was nothing I could do about it.
"You can do this," I mumbled to my reflection as I buttoned up my new shirt. I was going out to this bar down the street, only because I knew Aria would be there. We hadn't seen each other since our fight, which had been three weeks ago. I just have to see her face again, and if I have to use her favorite band coming to town, I would do that.
"Ezra, my man," Hardy's hands clasped my shoulders, shaking me a little, "Tonight is going to be great!"
"I know," I replied, running a hand through my hair. "When are Kennedy and Heather getting here?"
Hardy slapped my arm, "Dude, it's Hadley. Hadley is your date. And they will be here in a few minutes. Get your act together, man. I know you only talked to her over the phone once, but you are going to this thing together, and I think you ought to know her name."
"I'm sorry," I apologized, shoving him off, "I just barely know the girl."
"Well, maybe tonight you will get lucky and get to know her in more ways than one," he said, raising his eyebrows playfully. Before I could respond, the doorbell rang, signaling the girls were here. Hardy greeted them while I just stayed in the background, not really wanting to talk to anyone.
A petite blonde with big green eyes walked up to me and smiled genuinely, "You must be Ezra, the mysterious best friend of Hardy's. I've heard a lot about you. I'm Hadley." She wrapped her small arms around my waist in a gentle hug, causing me to flinch on the inside.
"Maybe we should all get going," I offered, wanting to get out of this embrace as fast as I could. It wasn't the girl in particular. It was just the fact that it wasn't Aria's arms around me, but someone else's. That made everything seem more real.
"Yeah, let's go," Hardy smiled and kissed his Kennedy one last time and placed a hand on her back, "Ladies first." He walked up next to me and slapped me on the shoulder, "Could you at least pretend like you don't want to throw up every time she touches you? Come on, man. She is a really nice girl."
"I know that, Hardy," I sighed as I shook my head.
"Then stop feeling sorry for yourself and have a great time tonight," he said, pushing me out of the door.
We arrived at the bar a little early, seeing the band begin to set up on the small stage in the corner. My nerves were all over the place. I was actually going to see the love of my life again. Except, one, she doesn't know it, and two, she hates me. Maybe it was kind of selfish of me to come here after what I did to her, but I just need to see if she still cares. Aria always did put up a great front, but I could always see her true feelings. Maybe not fully see them, but I could catch a glimpse of them. My hands were shaking, palms were sweating, and my mind was going crazy. "I'm going to go and get a few drinks. I'll see you guys later."
"One scotch, please," I told the bar tender. He nodded and went to work behind the counter. I seriously needed a couple drinks to knock off the edge. At this rate my mind is going, I was going to be a complete idiot. However, too much will have me make a fool of myself, and I would just make her even more mad at me. I paid for the glass and took it from him, immediately taking a sip and feeling the strong alcohol slowly calm my nerves, one sip at a time.
After another glass of scotch the band began to play, causing me to finally get up and go to my table. I sat down at the only seat available which was in between Hardy and Hadley. Great. I smiled at the two and looked around the restaurant, not really paying attention to anything. My focus was set on finding Aria, but after I scanned the crowd of people a few times and never caught sight of her, I gave up hope.
A couple minutes passed, and then I heard a laugh. It was barely heard to anyone else over the booming of the music, but I heard it distinctly. I whipped my head to the back of the bar, and in one of the back booths, in the dim lighting, I saw who I have been thinking of for the past three weeks. Her backless red dress seemed to glow in the lighting. She looked taller than I had remembered, but only because she had on a pair of heels. Her brown hair had grown, falling down her back in loose curls that I loved to run my hands through every time we were together. I couldn't help but smile at the sight of her.
Her face became more serious as she was talking to one of her friends. She hesitantly looked behind her, her eyes connecting with mine for a split second. I was at the edge of my seat, wondering what her thoughts were at this moment, but I was quickly brought back as I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see Hadley smiling at me, "Would you like to go dance? I absolutely love this song."
I cleared my throat, ready to say no, but then I looked back over to Aria and noticed that her table was right next to the dance floor, "Yeah, let's go." I took her hand and led her out on the floor. She smiled up at me, and I smiled back at her. I felt a heated stare on the back of my neck. I grabbed Hadley by the waist and pulled her in close, knowing Aria was watching. I know it is wrong to use Hadley like this, but this was the only way I could know for sure if Aria still cared. I needed to know.
As we swayed to the music, I snuck a glance at Aria, who was trying to distract herself from me, but was failing. I continued to dance with Hadley until the song was over. Another opportunity presented itself when I realized that the table she was sitting at was right next to the restrooms. I excused myself from my "date" and walked in their direction. I pretended not to notice them until I "accidentally" bumped into one of their chairs. "Oh, I'm sorry." I apologized, my eyes locking with a pair of big hazel eyes. "Aria?"
"Ezra," her beautiful voice echoed through my head, missing the way she said my name. "I didn't know you would be here tonight."
I shook my head and gave her a small smile, "Me neither." I lied, looking at her like I used to, "So, um, how have you been?"
She shrugged her shoulders, "Okay, I guess. And what about you?"
"Me," I said, shoving my hands into my pockets, "I'm doing really well." No I'm not. "Yeah, Hardy and I decided to come out here tonight for a couple of drinks. And a couple girls he brought along." Not that I'm into her. I'm still into you. "Who are you with?"
She pointed her finger over to the bar, where a blonde was looking at them and shaking her head, "Hanna. We decided to have a girl's night. Well, Caleb is here, too, so I guess it is a girl's plus one guy night." She let out a small giggle, sending a chill down my body. I never knew how much I could miss her laugh. She stood from her seat and cleared her throat after an awkward silence, "Well, I have to get back to them, so I will see you around."
"See you," I said, watching her walk off to her best friend. I didn't want her to leave. I wanted to sit and talk to her all night. I wanted to wrap her up in my arms and kiss her until my lips were numb. I wanted to call her mine again. But I still didn't have my answer.
"So that's who she is," I jumped as I heard Hadley's voice from behind. "The girl that you really came here for."
I rubbed the back of my neck, "Yeah, that's her. How did you know?"
"Oh please," she smiled up at me, "It doesn't take an expert to figure out why you were pulling me close to you, but glancing her way every other second. The way you look at her tells it all."
"I am so sorry for using you like this," I told her, shaking my head at myself, "I just love her so much and messed up big time. I needed to know if she still cared about me. That is all that matters to me."
"It's okay, Ezra, I understand." She looked up at me curiously, "So did you get your answer?" I shook my head and looked down at her. "Well, she is looking this way right now, and lucky for you, I know exactly how to get it." She crashed her lips to mine, giving me a soft and long kiss. She pulled away and gave me a soft smile. I looked Aria's way, seeing her face scrunch up in hurt. She tapped Hanna's shoulder, told her something, and then bolted for the exit. "You are welcome. If you really love her, go after her."
"You are a great girl, Hadley," I said as he gave her a friendly kiss on the cheek. I ran to the door, finding it to be raining. I looked around, seeing her tiny figure walking down the street. "Aria!"
She kept walking, but that didn't stop me. I ran to her and grabbed her arm, "Aria."
"Why don't you just go back to your date," she spat out at me, tears and raindrops flowing down her face, "Is that Maggie? Have you moved on with her? Clearly you have, the way you were dancing with her and kissing her like you used to with me. And who bought you that new shirt, huh? I know for a fact it wasn't me."
"Look-," I tried to interrupt, but she kept going.
"I mean it has only been three weeks," she yelled, wiping the mascara from underneath her eyes, "Now, you are caressing the girl you got pregnant in high school? I've spent all of this time missing you, thinking about you, wishing you were around."
"You don't think I haven't," I asked her, finally getting to talk, "Every hour, every minute, every second I thought about you. I've missed you. That girl in there, I don't even know who she is. I knew you would be here tonight, so I bought my new shirt, fixed myself up, and came out to see you."
"And what about Maggie," she asked, shivering from the cold rain pelting the pavement in front of her.
"That isn't Maggie," I told her, running my fingers through my damp hair, "That girl means nothing to me. She is Hardy's friend. This is the first time I've met her. Do you really think I would trade you for Maggie? Aria, you are my now. I don't care about any other girl but you. I only did those things to make you jealous. I had to get your attention somehow."
She looked down, "Okay, but why did you lie about her?"
"I keep telling myself it was to protect you from my mom, but I was scared that you would run," I told her, guilt and shame washing over my face, "I guess I did it for me, and I am not proud of that. I wish I could've just told you and not have been a coward. I'm sorry," my eyes stung with tears as I finished. "I'm truly sorry. I just need you to know that I still love you, and I am just wishing that I could go back and not make the stupidest mistake that I ever made by not being honest with you."
She looked at me for a moment, deciding on what she should do. A few moments later, she walked up to me and stared into my eyes, "I know you are sorry, but what if you have a kid out there-," I grabbed her hand, not being able to stand not touching her. The sparks I felt before this all happened were still there, giving me hope.
"I won't go running back to Maggie," I assured her, "Me having a child won't change the way I feel about you. I love you more than anything, Aria. You are it for me."
She smiled sadly and looked down at our entwined hands, "You don't know that for sure."
"Yes I do," I told her, "And you know why I am sure? Because she isn't you. All I want is you. No matter what, it will always be you." I watched as she smiled at me some more, but this time it wasn't all so sad, but relieved and assured. I grabbed her waist and pulled her into my arms, hugging her securely against my body. He leant his head down to her ear, "And for the record, the only one I want this close to me is you." I felt her cheekbones rise against my chest in a smile.
"You promise," she asked meekly.
I couldn't believe she would ever ask that question. We separated from our embrace to look at each other. I tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and brought my face close to hers, "Cross my heart." I hurriedly ducked my head down and captured her lips passionately. Our tongues danced across each others as she jumped and wrapped her legs around me. I backed her up onto a building as we continued to kiss. We didn't care about the rain, falling to the ground harder and harder by the second. We didn't care about the honking of cars on the street behind us. All we cared about was being here with each other. Only each other. Forever and always.