Chapter One

He hasn't talked to me for months now but I still smile at him when I see him during school. One of my friends, Emily Fields, tells me I should break up with him but I can't. I still remember our passionate first kiss we shared in the bar. His lips pressed against mine, the warmth of his kiss flowing through my body. I remember him saving me from a long walk home in the rain and I couldn't forget the dinners we had at his place lasting long into the night. But whenever I saw him I felt a distance between us. A distance that wasn't there during our first kiss, me running to his car to save myself from the pouring rain or those dinners we shared together. There comes a point in life where a girl misses how her boyfriend makes her feel and I missed all of those moments.

Before homeroom started, I found myself standing in front of Ezra Fitz's classroom door. He was working on a stack of papers that he left to grade until the last moment. I placed my hand on the silver doorknob starting to turn it. Just as I saw Ezra start to glance up, I snatched my hand back and leaned against the row of lockers, breathing heavily. There was once a time where it was so effortless to turn that doorknob but now it seemed so much scarier. Just as I was about to attempt to put on a brave face and tell Ezra what I missed the most about him, I saw the old doorknob creak and start to turn. He had no problems turning it.

When I saw the door start to swing open, I saw he was heading in the opposite direction. I leaned against the lockers and took a deep breath. "Have you been watching too many horror movies?" My friend, Spencer Hastings asked. I shot her a look.

"No." I replied, watching Ezra turn the corner. The bell rang and students began filing into the halls, rushing to their next class. "Don't you have a class to get to?"
"Don't you?" Spencer joked. I shot her another look. "Alright, I get it. I'll leave you alone. But what gives, Aria? You've been acting strange all week." She asked.

I shrugged. "It's too complicated to explain. We'll talk at lunch, ok?" I asked her.

"Fine, see you later." Spencer mumbled, walking into the crowds of students. The second bell rang and I turned around the row of lockers I was hiding behind to see that no one had entered Ezra's classroom. I had forgotten this was his one free period.

I knew I had one chance to find out what has happened to our relationship. The one relationship that used to be so strong and was becoming weaker with each day that passed. After I looked both ways, I walked through the open door to Ezra's classroom. His room was so quiet and bare yet some of the most exciting moments of our relationship had happened in here. After looking through Ezra's classroom I realized that there was nothing of value that could save our relationship. As I was about to leave his classroom, I saw Ezra start to walk towards the door. He was talking to another student and I could sense a feeling of happiness in his voice. The feeling I got when he was with me. I hid underneath one of the desks in the back, panick rising in me.

"I graded your paper first, Hanna." Ezra said, reaching for one of his marked papers and handing it to her. "You are an excellent writer. Next year I'll have to recommend you for honors." Ezra complimented her. Hanna grinned.

"There's no one here. We can talk one on one, right?" She asked him.

He nodded. "Of course, would you like to talk over dinner at my place?" He asked. "I can cook you one of the three dishes I actually know how to cook."

Aria felt a tear escape from her eye. That was one of the lines he used on her. Hanna giggled in response. "That sounds great, Ezra."

Hanna shook Ezra's hand and walked out the door as the second bell started to ring. Ezra looked down at his papers and a small smile crept across his face. I felt a slight bump as I tried to slip out of his classroom and continue on with my day. But then I saw Ezra look at me. It wasn't the same longing looks of admiration that I was used to. It was a look I had never received from him in the entirety of our relationship. As I tried to slide back towards the desk behind me, I saw Ezra staring at me.

"Aria?" He asked, speechless.