Ezria Oneshots: First Real Date

"Close your eyes."

Aria did as she was told. She sat tense as Spencer tugged on her hair with a curling iron and Emily applied eye shadow in short strokes. She jerked back when Emily unexpectedly switched eyes, nearly knocking her head into the curling iron. "Woah! Careful, Aria!" said Spencer. "You're going to end up with a bald spot."

"What?"

"Relax, I was only joking." Spencer looked pointedly at the other girls.

"Don't worry, Aria," Hanna said from Aria's closet, "it's not like it's your first date or anything."

"It is, though," Aria replied, without turning her head from Emily. "This is the first time we're going out in Rosewood. We finally get to be a normal couple."

"So why aren't you more excited?" Emily put down the mascara and picked up lip gloss.

"I am excited! I'm ecstatic." Aria leaned back in her chair and sighed. "I guess I just want everything to be perfect."

"It will be," Spencer said, curling the last piece of hair.

"But—"

"But nothing!" Spencer put down the curling iron and set her hands on Aria's shoulders. "Look at you. You are gorgeous. And Ezra loves you more than anything. You guys are going to have an amazing time tonight. It will be perfect."

Aria gave her friend a tender smile and patted her hand. "Thanks, Spence."

"Okay, save the cutesy stuff for your boyfriend," Hanna interrupted. "Right now, you need to get dressed."

Meanwhile, Ezra Fitz was dealing with butterflies of his own. His hands were clammy as they turned the car onto Aria's street. He didn't understand why he was so nervous. He had been seeing Aria for months; he was perfectly comfortable being himself around her and telling her anything. But tonight was different. Tonight she wasn't coming to his apartment for movies and take-out. Tonight they were going to dinner, then taking a walk through the park at the center of town. They were going out. In public. With people watching. This alone scared him, what people might say or do when they saw them. Not to mention that their daughter dating her former English teacher was a fresh wound for Aria's family.

Ezra cut the engine in Aria's driveway and looked at the bouquet of roses in the passenger seat. He knew it was cheesy, but cheesy was kind of Ezra's thing. He was the guy who wrote poems, recited the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet from memory, and bought dozens of red roses. He was a hopeless romantic, and he knew Aria loved it. He grabbed the flowers, walked to door, straightened the collar of his blue-and-white striped shirt, brushed off his dark jeans, and, with a deep breath, rang the doorbell.

Ezra's trepidation only worsened when the door opened, because Ella Montgomery, the Mama Bear herself, was on the other side. "Ezra!" she said cordially, though clearly uncomfortable with the situation, "Come in."

Ezra followed Ella to the foyer between the kitchen and living room. "Mike," Ella called to her son, who was watching TV on the couch, "would you get your sister, please?"

"Aria!" Mike shouted from the couch, "Ezra's here."

Ella scoffed. "I could've done that, Mike."

Upstairs, Aria, who had heard her brother, was having a minor panic attack. Spencer, Hanna, and Emily managed to calm her down and usher her downstairs.

The woman walking down the stairs was, in Ezra's mind, nothing short of perfection. Her hair was curled, and tinsel sparkled in some of the ringlets. Black mascara accented her doe-like hazel eyes, but otherwise, her makeup was subtle. A black, boat-neck dress, covered in multicolored glitter, ended just above her knees, and black ankle boots clicked against the wooden stairs. The only pop of color was her pea coat, bright green with black buttons. As Aria's father, Byron, approached, he could just hear him whisper, "She's beautiful."

"Hey," Aria gently kissed Ezra's cheek.

"Hey. I, uh…I…" Ezra held out the bouquet. "These are for you."

Aria took the flowers and breathed in their scent. "They're beautiful," she smiled up at him, "thank you."

"Here, let me get these in water," Ella took the bouquet into the kitchen.

When she returned, Aria looked to Ezra. "Ready?" He nodded silently.

Aria said goodbye to her parents and headed for the door. Before Ezra could follow, Byron stopped him. "Take care of my daughter, Ezra," he said, shaking his hand.

"I will," Ezra replied, "always."

They spent the drive to the small restaurant in relative quiet. Once they were seated, Aria began perusing the menu. "What do you think you'll get?" she asked. When he didn't answer, she looked up to find him staring not at the menu, but at her. "Ezra?"

"Hm," he replied, seemingly snapping out of a daydream.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah! Why?"

"You've barely said anything yet. You just keep staring at me."

Ezra sighed and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. His hand continued down the side of her face, finally grasping her hand on the table. "I've seen some beautiful things, Aria, things that have completely stunned me. But seeing you tonight was the only time I have ever been speechless."

Aria looked up at the ceiling and held her breath, willing herself not to cry. When she looked back at him, she said the only thing she could think of in response. "I love you."

Ezra was much more talkative after that. In fact, they talked through most of dinner about the most random things, including Hollis's latest English department meeting, when the best time to freewrite is, and which of Taylor Swift's songs they liked the best. After dinner, they drove to the park, parked on top of a hill, and raced to the bottom. They walked around a large pond, hand in hand. As the sun began to set, they climbed the hill and sat down on a bench.

Aria lay her head on Ezra's shoulder. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Mm-hm," Ezra wrapped his arm around Aria's tiny frame and planted a kiss in her hair, "but still not as pretty as you."

"What else has left you speechless?"

"I told you, nothing."

"Not even Iceland?"

"Not even Iceland."

"What about a poem?"

"Nope."

"The Irish countryside?"

"Uh-uh."

"Got it!" Aria snapped her fingers and lifted her head. "Taylor Swift!"

Ezra laughed, once again pulling Aria close. "Taylor Swift only makes me think of you. Face it, love, you'll always be number one."

They sat in content silence for a few minutes until Aria whispered, "This is perfect, Ezra."

"Not quite. There's one more thing. Wait here." Ezra got up and went to his car.

"What? Ezra!" Aria stood up and watched him open all four doors.

"You'll see," he replied from inside the car.

Within a few notes, she did see. Her hands covered her mouth and tears welled in her eyes. It was her song. Their song. It was "Happiness." It was B-26.

Ezra came back and held out his hand. "Dance with me?" Aria simply nodded and allowed him to hold her as close as he could.

Near the end of the song, Aria heard voices at the bottom of the hill. She opened her eyes and lifted her head off Ezra's shoulder. In the rapidly fading light, she could just make out the white R's of Rosewood High School Letterman's jackets. And at the front of the group, staring up at her, was Noel Khan.

She felt Ezra's body tense; he had seen them, too. "Ignore them," she said, eyes still on Noel and his friends.

"Aria—"

"It's okay, Ezra. We knew this would happen," she looked up at him.

"I told you, I won't let him hurt you."

"Nothing anybody says or does is going to hurt me as long as I have you. Let them stare, let them talk, let them tell everybody. I don't care. Hey," she turned his head to look at her, "I love you, okay?"

"Okay."

"Good. Now, what do you say we really give them something to talk about?"

Ezra grinned. "I love you." They wrapped their arms around each other, and their lips met halfway. And for the first time, they didn't have to hide.