The best thing that's ever been MINE

Summary: CONTAINS SPOILERS! Aria moves from New Jersey to Pennsylvania. Even though the states are aligned, nothing is the same. Aria meets Ezra at a cafe, and they soon start dating (1 day later!). She knows that's he's older, but she doesn't mind. Everything's perfect until an incident at school causes her to transfer. Unaware of Ezra's employment at her new school, Rosewood High, she continues to see him. Trouble ensues shortly after.

Chapter One:

And soon enough you're best friends

Rosewood's okay, I guess. But their café doesn't compare to New York's. "Maybe in this big blue sky/ I'll find out the reason why/ you left" I hummed quietly. My pen began scribbling new lyrics in my sketch journal. It was an automatic reaction at this point; I didn't even have to bother. Half of my page was already filled. With each idea, I continued to sing in a hush tone. Footsteps clunk beside me. "Hey!" I turned around.. "Um, hey?" I replied. "You do realize I can hear you from over there?" He pointed to his table. Embarrassed, I blushed. "Oh, sorry. I was… just leaving anyway." My purse clung to my side. I scattered to pick up my belongings.

A few steps later, I heard his voice again. "Wait!." My feet did a 180. "You forgot your pen." Story of my life. As I dashed to retrieve it, my foot caught onto a table. Gravity didn't agree with me. Adrenaline pumped through my heart, causing it to beat faster. "Damn it!" Heat flashed to my knee. Gravel and blood trapped their way under my fishnet stockings. Witnesses stared at me. Everything seemed foggy.

"Are you okay?" my acquaintance asked. After a delay from processing the incident, I answered "Yeah, I'm fine. I just feel a little light headed." He gripped my arm as I found my way to my feet. Shaken, my legs began to collapse. "Whoa!" He helped me balance my weight. "You're in no condition to walk. I'll give you a ride to your house." He stated. Being half-dragged and all, I panicked. "Uh, no! I really don't feel like getting kidnapped today so no thanks!" At this point, I was already to the side of his car. He laughed. "Relax. I'm just trying to help. Now where do you live?" I gave him my address, with a warning. "If you're just trying to stalk me, I just texted my friend that a guy is dropping me off to her house. She's expecting me to be there in, like, ten minutes." I buckled myself in. Just in case, I privately uncapped the mace in my purse. About halfway through the car ride, he fueled a conversation. "I'm Ezra, by the way." I considered giving him a fake name, like Juno, but I recognized the view outside the car window, so I had no reason to distrust him. "I'm Aria." Ezra's fingers drummed on his steering wheel while he waited for an SUV to pass.

Now that I thought about it, he wasn't exactly ugly, but rather alluring. Forget it, I'm not that desperate. "What kind of name is Aria?" Excuse me? "What kind of name is Ezra?" He chuckled. "What's so funny?" His smirk slowly disappeared. "I was referring to the origin, but, uh, you seem to be pretty defensive about your name." What ever.

Ezra parked his car in my driveway my "friend's" driveway. "Thank you." I hurried out of his car, slamming the door. Luckily, my knees were stable. I walked to the front door. The paint was still chipping away. My dad always procrastinated on anything related to home improvement, considering the Christmas lights accident. With a twist of a key, I was home.

"Five more minutes." I mumbled. "Aria, someone's at the door." Ella announced. I hopped out of bed. "What? But we just moved here a week ago?" She shrugged. My mom let me be and headed downstairs. I followed her footsteps (literally) until I reached the door. Even from the inside, slabs of green paint dangled like wind chimes. Like a vampire, the striking daylight made me wince. When my eyes started to adjust, I realized who was standing at my door. "Ezra?" I walked barefoot onto the porch. "What are you doing here?" He dodged my question. "You know you have a habit of forgetting things?" Confused, I raised an eyebrow. "Tell me, do you normally carry mace everywhere you go?" He held up the can. My face felt hot. In an attempt to make it vanish, I angrily pried it out of his hands. "Is that all?" I questioned, annoyed. "No, actually. I was thinking maybe this Saturday, we could go to BJ's." I gave him "the evil eye" that my former teacher used to give everyone whenever they mentioned her nose job. "Is that supposed to be funny?" I rested my hands on my hips, suddenly feeling short. "What? It's a restaurant a few miles down the road." "Oh. Well, I can't. I'm not really supposed to date older guys." "What makes you think I'm older?" Trying to be witty I answered, "You drive without having your mom in the backseat. And you look like a fraternity boy." Ezra laughed. "Nope, just graduated." He wrinkled his nose at the thought. "I was never really into the whole sorority thing." Somehow he seduced me into agreeing. In three days, I had a date.

The idea of it was strange. Considering he's 22, which you bet I asked, it felt illegal. I googled it to make sure, but in Pennsylvania, the legal age of consent is somewhere between 16 and 21. I'm 17, so I don't see an issue. Time to choose a dress!

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