Disclaimer: I don't own PLL, the characters, or the first half of the dialogue. The added extras are all mine, however.
Labor day. That's when it all started. I was starting my first teaching job the next day and had headed out to try and calm down. Despite not living on campus anymore I'd automatically gone to the Hollis Bar and Grill, functioning on auto pilot from my recent college days. It was still pretty early, so I settled myself at the bar and ordered a drink. Since the start of the summer I'd been trying to finish Ulysses, but other things tended to distract me, and I was therefore barely half way through. After receiving the very welcome alcoholic beverage from the bartender I opened the book, determined to get through a good chunk of it to calm my nerves before tomorrow. Apart from me there was no one else in the bar that afternoon, so I felt pretty confident that I could get a good deal of reading done. Settling in I let my eyes drift over the words, taking a sip every now and again, reveling in the quietness that wasn't high school just yet.
An hour passed before someone else entered the bar, but I couldn't pull myself out of the book to see who it was. They sat down two chairs away from me, and a couple of minutes of silence passed before they spoke. "Can I get a cheeseburger please?" I turned to see who the voice came from, and found myself looking at the back of a head. Dark brown hair fell loosely, stopping just beneath her shoulders. I noticed her looking at the wall of posters, and glanced over to see if I could figure out what she was looking at. She seemed to be staring at the one about the missing girl, Alison DiLaurentis, who had been gone for a year now. I'd heard about it on the news, and people in this town got pretty caught up over it. I just went to college here, I didn't know her family or her history, I only knew her name from the papers.
"You alright down there?" I asked, taking a sip of my drink.
"I'm a bit jet lagged. I just got back from Europe."
"Where in Europe?"
"Iceland." I closed my book, resigning myself to the fact that I had gotten distracted yet again, and engaged in the conversation.
"I spent some time in Reykjavik before I went to Amsterdam. It's a great city." She smiled, and I could see her debating in her head whether to carry this on.
"So do you go to Hollis?"
"Just graduated. I'm gonna start my first teaching job." I still got nervous when I said that, like it wasn't real yet. Teaching was something I'd wanted to do from a young age, and the position at Rosewood high school was a great opportunity.
"I-I think I'd like to teach." I smiled, we had a few things in common. "I love this song." She murmured, and I nodded, agreeing with her.
"B-26." She looked at me, her mouth curling upwards a little. She had hazel eyes, so beautiful that I could get lost in them for days. My brain was telling me to speak, but the order never made it to my mouth. I wanted to know more about her. I'd never felt this spark before, this huge knot of nervousness that she'd leave before I could find out who she was. She didn't look old enough to have graduated college, and I wondered what classes she was taking. "What's your major?" I asked, hoping to learn more about this mysterious girl.
"Oh I-Well I'm leaning toward English."
"That's what I'm teaching." There was a nervous laugh, a smile shared; I definitely felt like something could happen.
"And I write too, but so far it's mostly personal, just for me."
"Now I'm impressed."
"Why?"
"Well, I tried writing." I explained as I moved to sit in the seat that was separating us. "I didn't get very far. You're lucky. If you're writing for yourself it's pure passion. Maybe you'd let me read some of yours?"
"Yeah? You'd really want to?" She seemed a little unsure. I smiled, and reassured her that I did.
"Yeah. You're smart, you've traveled. Great taste in music. I'd like to know more about you."
"Yeah I'd like to know more about you too." I felt my heart skip a beat in that moment. There was a sort of awkward silence then as we both smiled and looked around nervously.
"What's your name?" I asked, looking up into her eyes. She smiled at me, her dark hair framing her face perfectly.
"Aria."
"It's beautiful." She blushed and dropped her gaze to the ground. "It suits you."
"Thanks." she said, looking up again and smiling. "You next. Your name is?" I grinned, and took a sip of my drink.
"Ezra."
"It suits you." Our smiles widened, and I was thankful that she was flirting back; it could have been awkward if she'd shot me down. "Well, Ezra," she began, standing from her chair. "I have to use the bathroom." My face dropped, was she leaving already? 'Don't be silly.' I thought to myself. 'She ordered a cheeseburger. Why would she leave?' As she walked past me I put a hand on her arm, stopping her gently. The spark was incredible, and I looked up at her wide eyed expression, her lips slightly parted in shock.
"May I come with you?" I whispered, not wanting to attract the attention of the man at the bar. Neither of us moved for at least a minute, and then I saw a slight movement before she walked off again. I grinned, counted to ten, and made my way to the ladies room.
When I arrived she was in a stall, and I stood awkwardly by the door. I hoped I'd interpreted the head movement the right way. I was pretty sure it was a yes, but it could just as easily have been a no. I stared at the floor and shuffled my feet around, looking up as she came out of the stall and walked over the the sink. Having talked myself out of this in a million ways, I turned to leave when I felt a hand on my arm. Those hazel eyes were staring up at me questioningly, and I could feel my heart start to race. Without saying a thing I pushed her gently back towards the sink, not breaking the eye contact. A hot red blush crept up her face, and I smiled, it was utterly adorable.
She was the first to move, slowly rising on her toes to push her lips against mine. I closed my eyes at the gentle contact, her soft lips felt like silk, tickling slightly. I deepened the kiss and pushed her against the counter, our hands on each other's arms. Her tongue swept across my bottom lip and I obediently let it in, moving my hands down to her hips as I did so. She pulled away, and I opened my eyes, wondering what I'd done. She was looking at me with a cheeky grin on her face and a twinkle in her eyes, and I must have looked pretty confused which made her chuckle.
Her arms found her way around my neck, and I sighed as she pushed some hair out of my eyes. In an impulsive move I lifted her onto the space between the sinks so that our eyes met. I brushed her cheek with my right hand, catching some hair on the way and tucking it behind her ear. She blushed again and looked at her lap, suddenly shy. "Aria." I whispered, tilting her chin up so I could look in her eyes again. "You're beautiful." All of her shyness was suddenly gone, and our lips met once more, although this time it was less gentle. I dropped my hand from her face to her thighs, her dress just covering them, and leaned in to the kiss.
To say that the kissing was amazing would be an understatement. The chemistry between us was electric, so I was disappointed when she stopped and put a hand on my chest. "What's the time?" she asked, as if suddenly remembering a prior commitment. I shrugged my shoulders, hoping that she wouldn't leave. Aria lifted my right arm to see the watch on my wrist. "Crap." she muttered trying to get off the counter. I stepped back and she jumped down, straightening herself out. "I have to go."
"You do?" I asked, watching her frantically grab her purse and put it on her shoulder. "Are you sure?" I moved to put my arms around her from behind, brushing her hair away and planting gentle kisses on her neck.
"Ezra." she breathed, turning around and laying a quick kiss on my lips. "I have to pick up my brother from lacrosse practice. I'll be late if I don't leave now." I stuck out my bottom lip, moved back slightly, and crossed my arms over my chest making her laugh. She came towards me, stood on her toes so she was almost my height, and captured my lips with hers in a heated kiss before walking towards the door.
"Wait." I said urgently, going over to where she'd stopped with her hand on the door handle. "Can I have your number?" She smiled and reached into her purse for some paper and a pen.
"I'd rather have yours." she whispered seductively, passing me the pen and paper. I scribbled it down neatly, making sure I'd written it right, and handed it back over. She took it from me, our hands touching as she did so, and I felt a slight tingle in my fingers. "Bye Ezra." And then she was gone.
It took me a minute to remember that I was in the women's bathroom, and I left pretty hastily after that. Grabbing my book from the bar I walked outside, nodding to the bartender on the way out. I found my car and drove home. It still wasn't late, but I couldn't stay there without hoping she'd return. She was in my head, and no matter how hard I tried to think about something else all I could see were her hazel eyes, dark hair, and her infectious smile. Parking the car I made my way inside my apartment building, greeting a neighbour who was on their way out. It was when I reached my door I realised I'd been smiling since she left, and the smile stayed for a good while. I'd left everything in her hands now though. I prayed to any God who was listening that she'd call, and while I heard nothing that night I was hopeful that a new day would bring something. Remembering that tomorrow was my first day as a teacher I called it an early night; turning up looking like death would not give anyone a great impression of me.
That night I dreamed of long dark hair, sparkling hazel eyes, and a beautiful girl I'd met by chance.