I re-wrote this story because I didn't like how Ezra was coming off. I'm also not going to involve A in this story.
Elijah – "Don't cry dear. I'll visit you whenever you need me. You have my cell phone."
Aria – "I just don't want to go back home, this was such a nice escape from it all." Aria said between tears.
Elijah wanted to say more, but he could hear Aria's parents coming up to see if she was ready to go. "Your parents are coming up. Call me whenever." He kissed her cheek and wiped her tears away. Before locking eyes with her "You will not cry or be upset. You'll smile. If you miss it here, or me, or just need a friend call. Only then can you cry." Then he was gone.
Aria had known what he was since the third day. It was shocking to know that the things she read about in books actually existed, but she trusted him. He trusted her too. They had a stronger bond than she did with any of her friends. She couldn't see Elijah, but could feel him watching as she left. It took them 12 hours to get back home. They were all tired, but spent the next few hours un-loading all the boxes. Eventually it got to the point where they would just sit boxes wherever there was room.
Aria finally got to head up to her room. She was tired, but could feel the overwhelming urge to call Elijah. She took her phone out and began to search for his name in her contacts. She opened the door and dropped her phone. Elijah was sitting on her bed waiting. She didn't have words. Tears just began to pour out of her eyes as he swooped her into his arms. "I told you I'd always be there when you needed me."
Aria smiled, but Elijah couldn't see it because she was holding on to him. He knew she was exhausted and picked her up and placed her on her bed before closing her door. He took her shoes off and watched as she crawled under the blankets. She smiled at him and it was adorable even though she looked as tired as she probably felt. He started to go to her window, but heard a faint "Don't go." She was out like a light after those words.
He smiled and sat down in a chair. He was used to watching her as she slept. Not because he was creepy, but because she had told him about the nightmares she would have. As they got closer she asked him to watch over her as she slept. He only ever got in her bed when she awoke with a bad dream. He did his best to keep things between the two of them friendly, but he couldn't deny he was falling for her.
He was letting his mind wonder to what was going on in his other world when he heard Aria's heart pick up. He was beside her right as she sat up with a yelp of terror. He pulled her into his arms automatically and comforted her before she had a chance to really wake up. Aria relaxed into the familiar and safe arms of her best friend. She fell back to sleep soon after.
Elijah didn't dare move from his position of holding her until it was time for her to wake up. They spent the day in her room unpacking all of her stuff. She was the kind of person who took joy in going through all her boxes and unpacking, but she seemed out of that mood today. Instead Elijah helped her with his vamp speed and they were done in minutes instead of hours or days. "Thank you, Elijah." Aria said giving him a small smile and a quick hug.
He nodded and returned the smile "Of course." They ended up on her bed after a while and talked about what Aria felt like being back in Rosewood. "You should call up an old friend. You'll need a friend to cling to when you return to school." Aria thought about it after Elijah left, but decided to do it later. Instead Aria went out and ended up in her favorite little bar. She wasn't old enough, but it was almost always quiet in there. She sat down and started to read a book when a guy started chatting her up.
He was cute and to be honest she could use a distraction from everything, especially with a picture of Alison hanging up on the wall. They talked and she decided she liked him a bit and they ended up in the bathroom. How they ended up like this she didn't know, but he was kissing her. She could tell he shaved this morning because she could feel the prickles of newly growing hair.
Thoughts of Elijah started to fill her mind and she realized just how wrong kissing this guy felt. She pushed him away slightly and gave him a guilty smile "I'm sorry I just don't think I can do this." He dropped his hands "Oh… I'm sorry." He sounded like he actually meant it. "It's not you… I just…" how did she explain she had fallen for her friend to a stranger?
He gives her a big smile "It's okay, uh here" he says giving her hand so she could get off of the sink. Once her feet were back on the ground she offered him another apology followed by a guilty smile before dashing out of the bathroom.
She certainly hadn't done anything like that since she met Elijah. Somewhere along the way she had just stopped seeing other guys in a romantic way. It wasn't until now that she admitted she loved Elijah as more than a friend.
Too bad it had taken a kiss with another guy for her to realize this.
The next day she called Emily up and spent the day catching up on all she had missed. She had missed quite a bit while she was gone. It took almost an hour for Emily to catch her up on the bigger changes of the town and the people in it. They ended up at Emily's favorite coffee place which was new, but Aria found she enjoyed the homey feel.
After the two finished their coffee Emily walked Aria home with plans to hang out again. That was when Aria could feel the presence of Elijah. She knew she could only know he was there if he let her. She entered her house and raced up the stairs to her room. She locked the door. "What's up?" She asked giving him a small smile again. "I have to leave town in like… now." He said pretending to be looking at a clock "I wanted to give you a heads up that I would be leaving. If you truly do need me I'll do my best to be there for you." Aria felt a little more than sad, but she didn't let on that she was upset.
"Is everything okay?" She asked. "Something … to do with my family" Elijah said. It was true. There was always something pulling him away from her because of his family. He hated it, but his family rarely called him for help. He knew it was serious when Klaus called. "Okay, well I'll be okay. Don't worry. You handle your family." Aria said as she stepped forward for a hug. He hugged her back for longer than necessary before he vanished.
Aria was fully planning on mopping in her bed when Emily called. "Hey" Aria answered "Can I come over?" Aria sat up at the odd sound in Emily's voice. "Now? Is everything okay?" She heard Emily sigh "I'll explain when I get there." Aria felt worry bubble up in stomach "Okay yeah sure. I'll see you soon." Emily hung up and Aria waited for her to arrive.
Aria waited on Emily to explain and did her best not to look distracted. It was okay until Emily started talking about Maya, the new girl she had just met that she thought she was falling for. Aria had nothing against being homosexual, but she didn't really need to get into relationships right now. The reason being because once she realized that Elijah wouldn't be there… she would miss him. Admitting you were in love only made it that much harder.
He was the only one who was there for her when she needed him. He saw her dark times and would share his. Regret of being with… crap what was the name of the guy she had almost boned in the bathroom? Wow. She was great at this. Not. Emily was waiting for a response from Aria. Emily knew that of all her friends, Aria would be the only who would understand and be happy for her. Aria smiled "I would love to meet her. Anyone who can make you smile that big… well she has my support." Emily smiled at her friends support.
It had been awhile since she had felt the strong sensation of someone supporting any of her choices. "So do you have someone you like?" Emily asked. Without thinking Aria smiled "Yes. He is sweet." That was all she said, and Emily seemed to notice that she didn't want to talk about it anymore. Aria spent the rest the night with Emily thinking about Elijah. They had settled on a movie, so her silence wasn't too out of place.
She had tried so hard not to make things with Elijah complicated. She needed to get her feeling sunder control before she messed it all up. After Emily went home it took several hours more than it would have for Aria to slip off to bed than if Elijah had been there. She missed waking up from a nightmare and having him there to comfort her.
It had been a while since he hadn't been there. When she woke up covered in sweat she wasn't able to go back to sleep. She had gotten used to Elijah comforting her when she woke up from a nightmare. It was usually the same one over and over again.
The next day at school her day was worse. Not only was she tired from lack of sleep, but her new teacher that everyone said was a cutie… was the guy from the bar. Hey, at least she knew his name now; Ezra Fitz. His class sucked especially since the entire class time he kept stealing glances at her. She was pretty sure she had made it clear to him it would be a onetime thing.
She had no intention to continue being with him either. After class Emily approached her. "Okay… spill. I know you and … something is defiantly up." "Nothing. I'm okay" Aria said giving Emily her fake smile. She was used to giving it to her family and had perfected the smile and knew it worked. "Okay… so what class do you have next?" Emily asked smiling, but was distracted when a beautiful girl walked by; her curls bouncing. Aria caught on automatically "Was that her?! Was that Maya!?" Emily grinned bigger giving her away "Yeah" she was going to continue what she was saying, but Ben came up behind her and hugged her.
Aria hadn't realized they were still together. "I have math next" Aria said answering Emily's question from earlier. Emily smiled "See you there." This was her cue to leave. Aria nodded and headed to her next class. She walked right by Ezra's classroom. She kept her head down, but had a feeling he had seen her. She was right when he pulled her into his classroom. "Aria we should talk…" He said as he closed her door.
She shrugged "About what?" She was trying to act like nothing had happened, but after he talked to her she realized he was concerned about losing his job. After some talking she agreed to see if she could transfer out of his class. They both agreed it would be best to not see each other everyday.