Chapter 1- the breaking point

Aria POV

My life was a mess. I have a psycho after me, My parent are fighting, I'm still that girl who was friends with Ali, I've been framed for murder, My brother is into god knows what kind of trouble, and the one good thing in my life has been ruined. My relationship with Ezra Fitz.

All I had left was my friends but is that really enough? I mean they have enough going on in their own life. It always got to me, how my life had gone from simple, normal, typical and maybe even average (although things with Ali could get crazy) and turned into this confusion, madness, and mayhem. It always turned into a game of what if. What if I had never met Allison? What if I hadn't seen my dad cheating? What if I hadn't moved to Iceland? What if I hadn't moved back? I could do this all day but it would never get me anywhere because this is how my life worked out. Now not to sound too "Bella Swan" but can I really begrudge the way things turned out? If things hadn't been like this I would never have met Ezra. Sure I would have met Mr. Fitz, but not Ezra. He simply would have been as Emily said what seems like ages ago "the new teacher who's really hot" or as spencer had said "one of the teachers you do want to see on a bike". He would have been the same amazing guy but I would have never known, which is hard to imagine since he was the only light I had in my cloudy days. The only one I could always count on.

I turned to the clock and noticed it read 9:45. Before I knew it I found myself in my car driving the all too familiar route to his apartment. I quickly make my way up the stairs and walk straight to the door marked 3B without thinking twice. I knock on the door and pray that he is home. I wait and each passing second feel like hours. Why should he even be here? It's a Friday night, and he's a young, single, good looking man. He's smart and kind and god is he ever gorgeous. Those piercing electric blue eyes make my heart jump and I can still remember the feel of his dark wavy hair wrapped around my fingers. The feeling of his lips on mine and how his hands running along my skin made me want him more than anything else in the world. But he's not mine anymore and that was entirely my fault so what could I do?

I tried to protect him; I had to because I love him more than anything. I was willing to suffer, to want him, to miss him and to pretend that I was over him every day. Just so he would be able to move on, on to something, someone better. I mean clearly he could do so much better than me. He could find someone smarter, prettier, but most important of all someone his age. Someone who wouldn't be putting him in danger everyday they were with him. Someone who he didn't have to feel guilty about wanting. Someone who he could sleep with, without breaking the law. Someone who wasn't just a sixteen year old high school girl. Someone who wasn't his student. I knew that he didn't see me like that, he never had. I had always just been his aria, age had never mattered, but I had to keep myself pushing away from him. I wouldn't destroy his life just because I was selfish. What was I about to do? I didn't know why I was here. All I knew was my life was falling apart and I found myself at his doorstep. I waited and realize I had been standing there for minutes, clearly he wasn't home. Suddenly I broke down, something I very rarely do but I had hit my breaking point. My safe haven was locked and there was nowhere left to go. My emotions began pouring out as the tears and sobs escaped. As I slunk down to the ground against Ezra's door I went into hysterics. I didn't know what to do so I sat there until I cried myself to sleep, in the middle of my former English teacher's apartment hallway.

Ezra POV

I had spent a painstakingly long night out with hardy. Ever since Aria had left me I had been heartbroken. So Hardy decided it was his responsibility to help me out but the last place I wanted to be was in some bar. None the less some bar where the majority of the girls were half naked and throwing themselves at anyone who glanced their way. God, how did he find these places? Why did these places even exist? Didn't anyone believe in love anymore, or did they only believe in drunken one night stands? What a sad world we live in. It was times like these when I wished I could live inside the pages of great works such as gone with the wind, where love was real. No, it was times like these, every day, every minute, every second that I wished I had aria. Sure maybe our love wasn't traditional, or perfect, or even accepted, but it was real. It was true and passionate and I knew that she was the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. But I suppose she didn't want to live with the hiding, I mean why would she. She has her whole life ahead of her and if she didn't want me, if I wasn't what made her happy I wanted her to go out and find what did.

"Go talk to her." hardy said.

"Ezra." he said "EZRA!" he finally shouted snapping me out of my thoughts.

"What?" I asked unsure of what exactly had been going on.

"God stop thinking! Go talk to her!" he said annoyed that I was ruining his night, not that I hadn't warned him. I told him specifically (about ten times) I didn't want to come but he wouldn't take no for an answer. Well now he was paying the price, he should have left me alone at home with the company of a good novel.

"Who?" I asked not really caring what he answered. None of these girls were aria and she was all I wanted. "Her" he jerked his head in the direction of a tall blonde.

"She has been looking at you all night" Hardy answered.

"Nah, man she's not my type." I respond hoping that would end his attempts to set me up with random women.

"What, tall, blonde, sexy, and totally into you isn't your type?" Hardy shot back sarcastically. I looked at the girl. Yes she had nice long legs and a great figure. Her dress hung tightly to her body showing all her curves and was revealing enough that there wasn't much left to the imagination. Sure maybe she was the kind of girl guys searched for to pounce on, she was probably the kind of girl he would have pounced on back when he was going to Hollis but now he wasn't looking for a play toy. He was looking for a relationship, something meaningful, some depth. This girl was more like a kiddy pool.

"No, not really." I said.

"Uh, just go." he pushed me in her direction and I tripped over some people walking right before me. As I stumbled my hand brushed along her ass and she turned to me.

"I'm so sorry! My friend shoved me and I tripped over some people and" I muttered a quick apology.

"No, its fine." she said. "You know you could feel some more." she said seductively as she pulled my hand and placed it on her ass. Really? Were people really like this? Without another word I walked away. I went over to Hardy's table to tell him I was leaving before I went to my car.

"This is stupid and ridiculous and I'm going home." I said as I got over to him.

"Dude, she put your hands on her ass! She wanted you and you just walked away! What is your problem?" he asked incredulously. Now I was frustrated.

"I don't want some half-dressed girl who doesn't even know me asking me to feel her up!" I say sounding a bit harsher than I intended but I was reaching my breaking point.

"Your little girl isn't coming back Ezra! Get over her!" He yelled. I was about to leave but my head snapped back around as the words came out of his mouth. I wasn't a violent person but it took all my will power not to hit him.

"ARIA is not a 'little girl'!" I snapped at him and left. I got into my car knowing I was fine to drive; I had only had one whiskey. I checked the clock, 10:00 pm it read. It was a half hour drive home from this place he had brought me to since of course rosewood would never have such a scene. I turned on the radio hoping it would keep create some sort of distraction. The last thing I wanted was to have any extended period of time with nothing to do. That's when my mind would wander, and it always ended up on her. I pulled into my parking spot and headed up the stairs planning on going straight to bed, not that I had anything better to do.

After walking to level three I was shocked as I made my way down my hall to see a girl laying there against a door. Was she hurt? No just sleeping, this is odd. As I got closer I saw it wasn't just a door, it was my door. And it wasn't just a girl. It was Aria.