Ezra's Office, Hollis College
"Hey, can I come in?" Sixteen-year old, Aria Montgomery poked her head into her boyfriend, Ezra Fitz's office. The now college professor (and also Aria's secret lover) promptly put down the papers he was grading and nodded.
"Sure, what's up?"
"Nothing." Aria shook her head. "I just wanted to let you know that my parents are having a dinner party tomorrow night and want you to be there, so be prepared for my dad to ask you…"
"A dinner party? Really?"
"Yeah. Since the last time we invited everyone over, Mike got busted by the cops and we never actually got a chance to eat, my parents are making up for it now…You are going to come, right…?" Aria asked.
"How could I say no to my lovely girlfriend's gracious parents?" Ezra stood up, chuckling softly. He made his way over to Aria, wrapping his arms around his waist. She smiled in return, but said nothing.
"What?"
"I'm just nervous, that's all." Sighing, Aria broke Ezra's hold on her to look into his deep crystal blue eyes. "What if by seeing us interacting together in the same environment they figure it out?"
"Aria…" Ezra started, then quickly stopped himself. "We've been through this practically a million times…"
"I know…" She agreed, pursing her lips as she struggled with what she should say next. "But I…"
"But you…?"
"But I…I mean…I'm not sure…"
"Are you worried that if they do figure it out, their opinion of you will change?"
Aria bit her lip. "Partly. I just don't want them thinking I'm some type of slut or that I tried to seduce you because that isn't how it happened."
"Aria…" Ezra moved a few loose strands of hair from his secret girlfriend's eyes. "Your parents love you. I know they do. And I also know they will not think you're a slut. You are the furthest thing from that."
By now, Aria had begun crying, a few salty tears staining her cheeks. "You can't guarantee it." She protested. "You weren't there when my mom was badmouthing Meredith…" The teenage girl opened her mouth to continue when Ezra pressed a finger to her lips.
"I promise you, nothing bad is going to happen. Your parents might not be completely thrilled by our situation, but they are not going to talk trash about you in front of me. I won't let them."
Aria nodded, sniffling as a final tear slipped its' way down past her chin and Ezra gently brushed it aside with his thumb. "I love you."
He leaned closer to her (if that was even possible) and smiled, connecting their lips in one swift yet captivating motion. A moment later, they broke apart. "I love you too."
"So I guess it's settled that we're telling them tomorrow, then…?" Aria glanced at Ezra one final time. He did his best to appear strong for her (especially since she'd been crying barely a minute ago), but inside he couldn't be more nervous.
"Yeah, I guess." He replied. He gave Aria another peck, this time on her forehead, before she exited the room, waving goodbye.
The Next Evening at the Montgomery House
The Parthas had just arrived and immediately Elliot was engaging Byron in deep conversation about one of the new psych professors at Hollis, while his wife, Nancy, chatted with Ella in the kitchen. Mike was nowhere to be found (as nothing shy per usual), Ezra still hadn't showed up yet, and Jason DiLaurentis had declined the invitation, saying he was out of town. Meanwhile, Aria paced the length of the upstairs hall, heart pulsating from both excitement and nervousness.
She'd spoken with Ezra about two hours before and they'd planned to break the news once everyone else left. Aria only hoped her parents would take it as well as Ezra convinced her.
Looking at the LED screen of her cell phone, Aria saw that it was 6:35. She felt more and more fidgety with each passing second and curious as to what could be keeping her lover, she texted him a short message.
Hey Babe, where are you?
Seconds later, her screen lit up again, though with a reply.
Walking up the steps to your house now. Love you and see you in a few.
K, Love you too. Aria responded, carefully turning her phone off and tucking it inside her pants' pocket. She took a deep, cleansing breath staring at her reflection in the hall mirror.
"You can do this…" She told herself over and over. But could she really?
During Dinner
"So, how's Mike doing?" Elliot asked politely while passing a bowl of mashed potatoes to his wife. "Byron's mentioned there's been some issues…"
Ella Montgomery quietly nodded, quickly swallowing a bite of her steak. "He's making a lot of progress, thank you for asking. His therapist is really working closely with him."
Elliot nodded, satisfied, as he took another scoop of mashed potatoes from his plate. Ezra discreetly looked toward Aria and mouthed, "therapist?"
Aria also nodded.
"Speaking of Mike, where is he?" Nancy stared at Byron, who'd just finished taking a big swig from his glass full of scotch.
"He's upstairs doing homework, I think…right, Aria?" Byron suddenly turned toward his teenage daughter who was picking at her piece of steak.
"Huh?"
"Mike. He's upstairs working on homework, right?" Raising his eyebrows, Byron awaited his answer. Finally after taking a sip of water, Aria replied.
"Yeah, he's got a huge Chem test tomorrow, I think."
"Uh-huh." Byron absentmindedly went back to his glass of scotch, staring at his wife sitting directly across from him. Ella simply shrugged, also clueless as to why their daughter seemed so zoned out.
"So, how's the lacrosse team looking at present, Elliot?" Ezra decided to be a good soul and pry the attention off his girlfriend. Elliot talked with him animatedly in between shoveling in bits of his meal and checking his BlackBerry for messages from the babysitter who was watching his son, Sam. When Aria was sure neither he nor Nancy were looking and her parents were busy concentrating on finishing their own meals, she smiled at Ezra, whispering a quick "thank you."
Ezra did the same, but what he didn't realize was that Ella and Byron had seen the whole thing.
After Dinner
The Parthas had left, with Elliot being in an anxious hurry to get home and return to Sam, so now Ezra was the only remaining guest. He sat in the living room on the couch beside Byron who was now sipping a cup of hot coffee.
"It's getting pretty late. Don't you have an eight AM class to teach in the morning?"
"Well…yeah…" Ezra said, tapping his fingers on the Montgomery's mahogany side table somewhat impatiently. "But I wanted to wait for Ella and Aria to finish washing the dishes before I left."
Byron didn't seem so convinced, eyeing Ezra suspiciously. Ezra was sure Byron saw him groan then swallow loudly.
"They're all done…" Aria announced, falling down in the armchair beside her father. Ella appeared a second later and that was when Ezra rose and offered her his seat. She, too eyed him suspiciously, a little confused why he hadn't already left yet.
"Ezra, is something wrong?" Ella asked expectantly, her tone not very friendly. The whole night she went through the trouble of avoiding him or when she did acknowledge him, she spoke to him quite unkindly. Like now for instance.
"It's not Spencer…" Ezra blurted out and from her place next to her parents, he saw Aria cringe. They were really doing this. They really were.
"It's not Spencer that I love…"
"It's not…?" Ella said surprised. She seemed almost apologetic for a minute, except it was short-lived.
"No." Ezra replied, momentarily locking eyes with Aria. "I love Aria. Your daughter…"
"You what…?" Byron prepared to stand when Ella grabbed him by his elbow and forced him back down. She remained seated as well, though that didn't stop her from narrowing her eyes at Ezra.
"You better not be saying what I think you're saying…"
"I love Aria. And she loves me. And we don't want to hide it anymore…"
"Aria is sixteen. She's sixteen, Ezra. She doesn't know what she wants and she is most certainly not in love. And what do you mean, anymore…?"
"Aria and I have been seeing each other…since…since Labor Day."
"You've been seeing a sixteen-year old. Your sixteen-year old student for the majority of your teaching career? Why when I call the school district, I will make sure you get disbarred!"
Ella was livid now and Byron was not very happy either, but he just continued to sit there silently in shock, his mind unable to form even a single coherent thought.
"Mom, stop!" Aria jumped up from her place beside her father right then, the tears already stinging her eyelids. "You can't blame this all on him!"
"I can't blame this all on him? He's an adult, he's supposed to know better! You on the other hand, are just a child!"
"But I'm not, I'm sixteen!"
"Yes you are, Aria. You're my child. And as my child, I forbid him. I forbid this!"
"No, you can't!" Aria cried harder. "I won't let you!"
"Well too bad, Aria. You live under my roof, you obey my rules. Mr. Fitz of all people should know about what happened with your father and Meredith, so he had no right to go and pursue this!"
"But he didn't! We didn't! It just happened! Please, you have to believe me!"
"Things just don't happen, Aria. Not unless people make them happen. Mr. Fitz chased after a student, now he has to accept the repercussions."
"But…"
"No more buts. Now I want you to be quiet and sit down."
"Mom…"
"Aria Elena Montgomery…"
"Okay, fine." Aria finally gave in, wiping her tears as she returned to her place on the armchair. Byron continued silently observing, the overload of information still proving very difficult to handle.
"You had better get as far away from Rosewood as possible." Ella narrowed her eyes, hissing at Ezra. "Because now that I know about this, I have no problem pressing charges."
"Ella…" Ezra tried defending himself.
"Enough. I think it's time for you to leave. You sick, twisted, pervert!" Ella raised her hand to slap Ezra when…
"Mom!" Ella turned to see Mike walking down the stairs, a confused yet also worried look on his face. "What's going on?"
"Nothing Mike…" Ella shook her head. "Seriously, it's nothing for you to worry about, go finish studying for your Chem test…"
"But…"
"Your sister's been seeing Mr. Fitz…" Byron finally spoke up, breaking the silence. "Since Labor Day…"
"What?" Mike looked from his sister to Ezra completely disgusted. Then he caught up to where his mom was standing and something inside him snapped. He pulled his arm back, releasing when he punched Ezra in the face.
"Mike!" Aria screamed, immediately rushing to Ezra's side. She opened her mouth to speak when Byron pushed his son away. He now stood facing Ezra at eye level.
"I trusted you. And now evidently, you've broken my trust. Get out of my house, you're no longer welcome here…"
Ezra grabbed his coat to leave, peering over his shoulder at Aria one last time. "I'm sorry." He said, voice choking on all his words.
"Me too." Aria nodded, not caring that by this point her mascara mixed with her tears had created one big black mess on her face. "I love you…"
"Yeah. I love you, too." And pushing hard on the brass doorknob, Ezra walked away from what was undoubtedly the biggest disaster of his life.
Aria watched him descend down the stairs of her front walkway, sighing longingly as she continued to sob. At this rate, she felt that if her parents had made a comment about her being a slut, that would've been more bearable than watching them mercilessly torture the one she truly loved.
Well no matter what had happened (or rather didn't happen) or what they thought, Aria was sure of one thing. Ezra was her soulmate and she just couldn't stay away from him.
She refused to.