Chapter One:

The icy rain pounded against the glass windows and the hood of the car. The streets were flooded, and every time a car whooshed by, muggy water would splash from the road onto innocent pedestrians, who were trying their very best to stay dry. The wind howled against the swaying trees. Any minute now a tree could fall down on the roads possibly injuring someone. The clouds were a steel gray, making it feel like it was midnight, even though it was only two in the afternoon. The temperature had decreased as the rain poured down harder within each hour.

It had been only an hour for Aria and Ezra. Aria and Ezra were huddle in a silver Toyota in a discarded area. No one was speaking, no words needed to be spoken. They knew quite well what situation they were in with this type of news. Aria kept her eyes fixed on a rolled over green trashcan outside of a small, acquainted bakery yards away. Inside, it looked toasty warm. Aria wished she could jump out of the car, sprint to the bakery, walk inside, and inhale the sweet pastries that were freshly made. The storm was better than this awkward silence. Her chin wobbled, tears formed, and she'd wipe them away constantly only to have them re-forming and doing the whole cycle over and over again. It was agonizing to see this happening to them. Aria didn't want it to end. She knew it was right, even if laws showed that it was wrong.

Ezra kept his hands gripped on the plastic covered steering wheel—even if the car did stop. He held back a sob, trying not to cry. This was the hardest decision he had to face. He was the grownup in this situation; he couldn't let ignorant feelings keep him from realizing how bad this was developing. But, that still didn't stop Ezra from glancing over at Aria. They had been here for an hour already and still no conversation brewed. His heart plummeted as he saw the painful expression written all over her heart-shaped face. He sighed, feeling guilt overpower him. Was it wrong to end something even though it felt right? Ezra couldn't answer that question. He didn't really know what to feel these days. Sometimes he praised the days where he could kiss Aria and feel like everybody knew the situation and how it was to them, and let it be okay; others, his conscience made him feel shame for doing this. This question would surge through his mind, it was atrocious, but nevertheless, it bothered him: Was he this desperate?

Just few weeks ago, Aria and Ezra met. They didn't know at the time, but they were destined to be together, to be soul mates. They were just at an old Hollis pub, Snookers actually. Aria was just there to pass the time as she waited to pick Mike up at lacrosse tryouts. Ezra was there reading a book—that he hasn't finished to this day—with a beer in his other hand. He noticed her the second she walked in. How could you not? With her petite frame, outrageously fashionable outfit, and those cute hazel eyes made Ezra's head jerk up. Aria had looked shaken up by a MISSING ad hanging on a bulletin on the board. Ezra asked if she was alright, and soon, they were in the pub's filthy men's bathroom, making out on the stained countertop.

The day after, everything changed. Aria went to her third block AP literature class and found out her newfound romantic interest was her teacher. At first, Aria made no contact with him during class, didn't speak unless she was forced too. She even tried to get out of his class, but it was no use. She was stuck calling him Mr. Fitz instead of Ezra. Soon, she could barely put her feelings in check. It was hard to look at him, pretend that she knew nothing about him, forget the way sparks flew when their lips collided against each other. She had to forget it all like it was all a dream. A dream that was true. Finally, she had a chance to tell him how she really felt, now. Here in this car with no one around, but she couldn't muster up the courage to speak.

"I'm sorry," Ezra choked back a sob. He covered a hand over his mouth, not allowing the sob to escape. He closed his eyes knowing the tears were inevitable in this type of situation. He amassed himself. "I'm sorry about what happened." He finished his sentence. For once, Aria turned to face him. Her eyes were bloodshot from all the quiet crying she'd done. Her lip quavered. "Is . . . is that the end for us?" she asked, more of a desperate plea where he would say no. Where he would deny what he said, pull her in his arms, plant soft kisses on her lips, trailing down to her neck. But that was a fantasy Aria was stuck onto like glue. This was reality.

Ezra didn't meet her gaze. It was too hard not to break down at this very instant. At this drama filled conversation. Ezra placed his hand on the back of his neck, rubbing it robustly. He licked his lips, sucked in his breath, and continued. "We can't keep seeing each other like this. Out in the middle of nowhere or cooped up in my little apartment. What if we get caught?"

Aria nodded. "I understand." She whispered, wiping her eyes. Her mascara was already running. Ezra could easily detect when she lied. Her nostrils flared wildly. They might have met just a couple weeks ago, but it felt like they've known each other in another lifetime. Like they were destined to be together.

Ezra groaned, "Aria, I can tell when you're lying."

"How am I supposed to feel? Happy about this?" Aria snapped back bitterly. She chomped on her lip before she said something she'd regret. She took ten deep yoga breaths to calm down. She pulled her legs close to her trembling body. The storm was picking up. Far off, Aria swore she heard sirens. She checked out the window to see if any bad weather was happening without them knowing. Before she could say anything else, Ezra cranked the car. She held on the side of the leather seat. "Where are we going?' she asked.

"My place," he kept his eye concentrated on the road. "The weather is getting rough. I'm pretty sure I heard some sort of sirens in the distance. I'm obligated to keeping you safe."

An hour later—which it usually took thirty minutes to get there—they finally arrived at Ezra's apartment complex. It was hard to find a parking spot, but they were soon safe in the building. By then, the clouds darken, bolts of lightning illuminated off the clouds, and large claps of thunder echoed in the storm. Sirens were going off like crazy up in northern Pennsylvania. The power was completely out everywhere in Pennsylvania. Aria and Ezra jogged up the stairs, Ezra guiding her through the stairwell, holding her hand. Secretly, Aria liked it. Ezra's concern lit up Aria, but she was also terrified by this storm. She had never seen Ezra so concerned about keeping her in a safe place.

Ezra unlocked the door, and basically shoved Aria in. Aria staggered in, falling onto the leather sofa. Ezra closed the door. He fumbled around in the dark searching for candles and matches. Finally, he found some. He lighted all his scented candles, placing one in the tiny kitchen, one on the coffee table, and the other one on his bedside table. Aria curled up in a ball, shivering. Soon, the whole room started to smell like a clash of vanilla and cinnamon.

Aria pulled out her phone from her back pocket and texted Byron that she was okay and would be staying at Spencer's for the time being. If her dad ever found out she was in her teacher's apartment, he would personally kill Ezra. Seconds later, after she sent him the text message, she got one back. She smiled as her dad tried to be funny and send her a cheesy joke along with a 'stay safe baby girl'. It made her day become less horrible. She slid her phone back into her pocket.

"Was that your dad?" Ezra asked as he shuffled over to the couch. He sat on the edge of the opposite side. His hands ran up and down against his thighs. Aria nodded, trying to hide her disappointment. "Yeah, he just wanted to tell me to stay safe while I'm at Spencer's house."

"Sorry, again, for making you lie to your dad. I'm sure it must be horrible to lie to your dad like that. I bet you have a close bond with him." Ezra said.

Aria shrugged her shoulders. "Our bond could be better. We've had our ups and downs. I had to keep this agonizing secret away from my mother about my dad having a. . . . Anyways, ours is pretty strained. But he's making it up each day."

Ezra nodded. "Oh."

"Yeah," Aria agreed. They sat there engrossing in the terrifying thunder and blinding lightning. His eyes kept flickering from Aria to the candle back to Aria. "Well, if you ever want to talk about it, I'm up for it. I've dealt with that type of stuff too with my parents."

Aria lifted an eyebrow. "Really?" she asked, dumbfounded. She pushed a lock of dark hair behind her ear. Ezra nodded slowly. "Yeah," he exhaled. "My parents were divorced when I was young. They would fight constantly about things that I'm not even sure truly mattered." He squared his body to where he faced Aria. "Then one day, my dad was gone. He left that night after me and Wesley, my brother, was sleeping. My mom knew abbot it and helped packing his bags. She kicked him out basically. So after that, I had to pretend I was okay with this adjustment. I could only cry when I was at school in the bathroom. At home, my brother Wes would cry each night about my parents' divorce. I would sneak into his room and comfort him until he'd go to sleep, which wouldn't be till after midnight. It was a pain in the ass. Soon, I was drowned out so much; I broke down in the middle of school. It was just a horrible thing for a kid to have to go through."

"I'm so sorry." Aria whispered. She chewed on her fingernail.

"Well life goes on, after some therapy I recovered, moved on. My dad barely came back though. Years passed and by the time I was thirteen, all I get from him a year was a birthday card. That's it." Ezra said.

"My dad had an affair." Aria confessed. "I found out one day on accident when I walked into the back parking lot where no one had been for the past years. I remembered my dad saying something about it earlier. He had parked his car in the hedges, and I saw him lip-locking with this tramp named Meredith. He made me lie about it for two years. That's why I moved to Iceland for a whole year, to forget about that terrible year being a freshman. Then, we came back. My dad's student, who he cheated on with, blabbed to my mother in hope of reconciling with him. It just made life harder you know. My mother couldn't even to stand looking at me. We got over it though. It only took a week for me to explain everything to her. But she just got madder at my dad. Now my dad is a single father who tries his best to reconstruct my trust towards him. My brother Mike moved. He was sort of like you, pretended to be brave but broke down. He now lives with my mom occasionally, but essentially lives with his friends. We still have a close bond though. We see each other every other week when I'm with my mom's or when I see him on every Sunday for church." Aria said, telling him the deepest secret she had kept locked for so many years. Not even her best friends knew about this. She intended on nobody knowing except for family, but she felt that Ezra deserved to know. After all, he said he wouldn't mind.

Ezra stood back up. He rubbed his hands up and down his thighs. "Would you like something to drink?" He suggested, changing the subject.

"Um, what do you have?"

"Water."

Aria giggled, relieved that they didn't have to go into more detail about each other's lives. "Okay, I'll take water."

Ezra walked to the kitchen and got a glass from the cupboard. He set the cup in the sink. He lifted the nozzle, and water poured out of the faucet. Aria watched with interest as Ezra made her a glass of water. The littlest things Ezra did to the big things always fascinated her. It made her want to know more about him. He turned off the faucet and came back with one glass of water. He handed it to Aria shyly. Aria gladly accepted the cup. She took a huge gulp of it, letting it run down the back of her throat. It felt nice and refreshing.

Ezra rubbed his clammy hands through his hair. Why was he so nervous? It never occurred to him that he would soon start feeling a romantic attraction towards one of his students. Although, the day they met was pretty amazing. It was full of memories he could never forget. He sat back down on the couch. They needed to discuss things, even if it scorched across their hearts.

"I know we need to discuss this." Aria pronounced. Her hands gripped tighter around the glass; her fingertips staining the glass. She looked over at Ezra. "It is something we have to discuss right now while we have the opportunity."

"I know." Ezra agreed, bobbing his head. He thought of a way to choose his words in a careful matter. How was he supposed to word this without her getting hurt? Just get it over with, a voice inside of him instructed. State that you shouldn't be in this relationship.

Ezra wanted to believe that this relationship was bad. Look at the facts: He was twenty-five, she was seventeen, barely able to drive let alone be in this type of relationship with such an older man! She was his student! If people ever found out, they'd think he was treating her bad, using her. They wouldn't comprehend the fact if they really worked it out, the love they had for each other. Nobody but themselves would know the true meaning to the relationship.

Second, what about his job? Teaching was all Ezra ever dreamed about all his life. It was something that distracted him when he was young. It made him have a second option besides his home or apartment. He got his dream job just months after graduating college! All of it was becoming unreal at that time, and then Aria floated into his world. Ezra wanted to believe that it wasn't her fault. She was just an innocent girl who happened to catch his eyes. He couldn't possibly blame it all on her.

"I think we need to end it." Aria sated. She wiped away the tears that were quickly forming in her eyes. It took a while for Ezra to comprehend what she just said. His mouth was slightly parted, his eyes were wide, and his stomach churned. For the first time today, Ezra gripped Aria's hands and squeezed them tight like he was in a dream and needed to be woken up. He looked her dead in the eyes. He had a concentrated look tainted on his face. He sucked in a deep breath before asking, "Is it what you really want?"

Aria slapped her hands against her thighs. She bit her bottom lip. "It's obvious that this is what you want Ezra." She answered, her voice cracked.

Ezra never left her gaze. He searched in those wide hazel eyes for an answer. He shook his head. "No, I do want this—"

"But?" Aria raised an eyebrow. She crossed her arms over her chest.

Ezra let out a frustrated sigh. He leaned back against the couch's back. He slowly slid down until his feet were underneath the coffee table. He stared up at the dark ceiling. The thunder roared outside making Aria shudder. "I don't know what the consequence would be if anyone ever found out." He replied meekly. Aria unfolded her legs. She crawled over to Ezra and sat down inches next to him. She laced her finger with his. Ezra focused his attention back to her. She had a tiny smile sneaking up on her frown.

"This may not be the answer you're hoping for, but here goes nothing. Let's not worry about the consequence until the time comes to worry." Aria shrugged. "Who knows what'll happen in the future, but we can make the present ours. I mean, God Ezra, you just told me a chunk of your life, and I told you something I don't even tell my best friends. You mean something to me. If you didn't," She twirled her pinkie finger around a loose strand of Ezra's curly ends. "I wouldn't be wasting my time on my teacher."

Ezra sat up a little sturdier. He squeezed Aria's hand. "Then I know my answer." He whispered barely loud enough for Aria to hear. He leaned in close, close enough to where Aria could tell what he had for lunch. "Let's fight for what we believe in."

Ezra didn't know the dangers ahead of them as a couple, but he did know how genuine his feelings were for his student. He didn't care what people thought. This moment was real, not abusive. He hadn't felt like this in a long time, and he could say the same for Aria.

Aria moved her hand from his to wrap around his neck. She bashfully drew patterns on the back of his neck, her fingers brushing against the tiny hairs. Ezra leaned in; soon their lips were moving concurrently.