I do not own PLL.

Aria's Last Year of Childhood

He watched the dark-haired woman from across the room. She kept flitting from place to place like a sprite, dancing rather than walking, her hair bouncing as she moved. She maintained a polite smile on her face as she refilled plates of hors d'ouevres and brought fresh drinks to guests although he saw it fade when she thought no one was looking, rolling her eyes when someone made a particularly inane comment. He supposed it was her house that he was standing in and wondered what her connection was to his host.

Excusing himself from the discussion he was having with someone whose name he couldn't remember, he walked purposefully across the room. Entering the kitchen, he saw her grab some ice from the freezer before putting in a glass. The squeaking noise of his shoes on tile alerted her to his presence. She looked up at him.

"Do you need help with that?" he offered quietly.

She shook her head. "I'm fine. Do you need anything? A refill?" she asked pointing to his nearly-empty glass.

He shook his head awkwardly. "No, thank you. If I have too many more of these, I won't be able to drive home."

"All right," she replied quietly, running the water in the sink to wash her hands. It was then that he noticed the warm tones of the kitchen, how very homey it seemed. He looked back at her and saw that she was drying her hands on a yellow towel.

"I'm Ezra," he let out suddenly.

"Aria," she offered, putting several glasses on a tray.

He sighed. "Is it me or are we the only people under thirty in the room?"

She smiled and looked at him through dark lashes. He noticed her eyes were a hazel color. "I know, right? I'm keeping myself busy so I don't have to talk to anyone." She sighed exaggeratedly. "But I guess that's what happens when the entire Hollis College faculty congregates in once place," she finished teasingly.

"Avoiding anyone in particular?" he returned with a smile. He leaned against the doorframe casually and eyed the room behind him before looking back at her.

She leaned against the counter, and pushed her long hair behind her ear. "I was told that I would really like the new English professor. Fitz, I think is his name. Anyway, he's supposed to really like American literature and have an amazing academic record."

He raised an eyebrow. "Is there something wrong with any of that?"

A smirk hinted at the edge of her lips. "No. But what that really means is that he's old, boring, and knows a lot of useless facts. Sounds like a snooze fest."

"How do you know that?"

She eyed the people in the other room. "Have you seen the group behind you?" Her voice dripped with sarcasm. "And you? What are you doing talking to me in the kitchen instead of schmoozing with people that could make or break your academic career?"

He shrugged carelessly. "I wanted to talk to the prettiest girl in the room."

She was taken aback by his comment, her shoulders stiffening suddenly before she relaxed. "My name is Aria. And it's Ezra, right?" she asked him.

"Yeah."

Something behind him must have caught Aria's eye because she grabbed the forgotten tray on the counter and moved closer the living room. "I have to go," she let out suddenly. "These professors can't live without their booze. Find me later?" she asked.

"Of course," he answered, moving so she could squeeze past him into the living area. He watched her go, passing drinks around and discreetly taking dirty dishes into the kitchen. He tried waiting for her to circle back to him but was pulled into a conversation by a head of one of the college's departments.

About half an hour later, Ezra spotted Aria slipping away upstairs. He discreetly made his way across the room before following her. She slipped into another room off the hallway, closing the door behind her. He waited a few moments before knocking on the door. When he heard her utter a muffled "come in," he entered. With a glance, he realized he was standing in what must be her bedroom.

"You still live at home?" he greeted, looking around at her things, the bric-a-brac, laying on the shelves, nightstand, and desk, childhood clinging to them.

"Yes," she replied shortly from her spot on the bed. He noticed that she had kicked her heeled shoes off and her feet looked red and tired as they dangled over the edge of the mattress.

"Rough night?"

"Why are you in my room?" she countered.

"Seems like the only time I can catch you is when you slip away from everyone else."

"But not you, apparently," she answered. She gave him a tenuous smile before patting the spot on the bed next to her.

He walked over to where she had indicated and sat down. "So you're Professor Montgomery's daughter?" he asked.

"The one and only. My brother was able to weasel his way out of coming tonight; I wasn't so lucky."

"Oh, come on. There's nothing more exciting than talking to some of the most knowledgeable people in their fields," he told her earnestly.

She looked at him blankly before she realized he was teasing. She snorted. "So what's your story? Are you a TA or an adjunct or something?"

"Or something," he responded. "I really didn't want to come tonight either, but I was kind of forced too."

"I've never seen you before."

"I moved to Rosewood not that long ago. Seems like the town is full of people who have lived here all of their lives."

"I'm one of them," she offered.

"So can you tell me the best place for a cup of coffee?"

"The Brew," she replied without hesitation. "It's on the corner of Main and Mockingbird. They have really good pastries too."

"What about the best place to buy books?"

The exchange continued for a while before Aria glanced at the clock. "We should probably go back downstairs. People will start leaving soon. We wouldn't want to miss telling them good-bye."

His shoulders sagged slightly as he realized she was probably right. But he didn't want to leave quite yet. "Hemingway?" he asked, pointing across the room to her shelf.

"Yes," she responded, her tone not inviting anymore questions.

"Ulysses," he said next, getting up to examine her books.

"Have you read it?" she asked.

"Not really," he answered fingering the spine.

"Me neither," she responded with a smile. "I keep it up there to make me feel smart."

"I don't think anyone has ever finished that book," he added dryly, before turning to a stack of papers on the edge of her desk. "What are these?" he asked.
"And this is where the conversation ends," said Aria, her tone overly bright as she put her pumps back on. "I'm sure we're being missed."

Ezra reluctantly moved his fingers away from the white pages, and turned to her. He smiled when he saw her. "Have I told you that you're the most beautiful girl in the room?"

"I'm the only girl in the room," she retorted. "Now, go on. Go. I'll count to fifty and then follow you."

"Count to fifty?" he asked with a raised an eyebrow. "Why's that?"

"You know why," she countered. "We don't want anyone to think that we're doing…anything…up here." Her cheeks flushed as she said the words, making her look young and innocent.

"Don't we?"

She rolled her eyes. "Is that really what you want my dad thinking?"

He ducked his head. "Probably not."

"So go."

He did as he was bid and saw her half an hour later talking to her father. The house was nearly devoid of guests, and he walked over to where his hosts were standing, speaking to a white-haired man who Ezra thought taught history. As the older gentleman walked away, Ezra walked up to Byron and Ella Montgomery.

"Thank you for everything," he told them warmly, shaking Byron's hand appreciatively. "I really enjoyed myself."

"Anytime," replied Ella brightly. "It was nice having you. I look forward to seeing you at Hollis events from now on."

"It was good to see you meet other faculty members, Ezra," replied Byron. "I'll see you on Monday, but before you go I want to introduce you to my daughter, Aria." He gestured to the young woman standing next to her mother.

"We've met," said Ezra cheerfully, exchanging his polite smile for a genuine one when he turned to her.

"Oh, good," answered Byron cheerfully. "Aria is a senior at Rosewood High. She's thinking about majoring in English. I thought you two might get along well."

Ezra paled. "High school?" he questioned.

"Yes," replied Byron. "I thought maybe you could talk to her about college at some point. Any advice you could give her would be appreciated."

"Yes, it would," cut in Aria slowly. "But you should know that Dad is hoping you'll convince me to go to Hollis."

Ezra chuckled. "I'll see you later, Bryon," he told the older man, flashing Ella a smile before giving Aria a quick look of disbelief and walking out of the house.

"Is he a faculty member?" Aria asked her father as he walked away.
"Yes," said Byron, puzzled. "That's Professor Fitz. I thought you met each other."

"Professor Fitz," Aria nearly yelped. "But he's so, so…"

"Young?" supplied Ella.

"He's only twenty-seven," offered Byron. "It's amazing what he's done at his age." He shook his head. "I thought you two had met."

Aria shook her head miserably. "He introduced himself as Ezra. I thought he was a TA or something, and I guess he thought I was older than I am. Professor Fitz. That's interesting," she finished lamely.

"Very," replied Ella, carefully studying the astonished and disappointed look on her daughter's face.