Warning: the following author's note will be pretty long, but I don't recommend you skipping it because I explain some pretty important aspects of this fic. If you really, REALLY want to skip it, so be it, but you're going to need to read this not about the title:
Fair Day is a day at my camp towards the end of the session, and is exactly what it sounds like- a simulation of a fair, with fair attractions and fair food. Everyone, especially the directors, claim that it never rains on fair day. (This is a common saying around camp). However, this notion is quite far from the truth. Raining on fair day is completely against the odds, but it occurs anyways, just like Ezria's love. Also rain is kind of an ezria thing (car scene and streetlight scene, anyone?)
Alright, so I'm really excited for this new fanfic! I haven't read anything like it so I think it should be quite different. I'm treating it differently than I would a normal fanfic as well, especially since I will be treating it more like a story, my goal is to incorporate more underlying themes (disillusionment, for example, is going to play a key role in this) into it rather than just Ezra and Aria falling in love, and much of it is heavily based off of personal experiences. Allow me to elaborate: This fanfic is set at my overnight camp (which I have given a different name for obvious reasons) and any characters that aren't on PLL are either based on people from camp or who are people from camp but with slightly different names. I'm super thrilled to be writing this, because it fuses my two loves together: Ezria, and the overnight camp I go to. Honestly, camp is my favorite place in the world. It's also a place that I can totally see Aria and Ezra attending.
Slight disclaimer: I am not exaggerating when I say that everything is a camp reference. Chapter titles, song lyrics, names, characters, thing characters say or do, everything. For example, in this chapter, Aria is reading "As You Like It" because at camp last year, we went to see that play.
The camp prides itself on being unique, so a few of the references might not make a tone of sense. I'm going to try to explain myself as best I can, but if you have any questions about anything, feel free to ask!
The chapter title and song lyrics are I include are from the song, "The Farthest Field," Which is like THE camp song, and apparently, the songwriter wrote the song with my overnight camp in mind.
Huge thanks to my friend Emily for motivating me and for brainstorming with me! 3( she's MustacheYouAQuestion on fanfiction- I highly suggest checking out her fanfic if you haven't already. She's such a talented writer!)
Holy crap, this AN is literally almost an entire page. Ok so sorry this chapter sucks, and here is the fic, without further ado
There is a land
High on a hill
Where I am going,
There is a voice that calls to me
Aria Montgomery sat in the small, grassy patch of land, used to the itch of the long blades that had by now made prints on the back of her legs. The scorching early August humidity beat down on her sweaty body and the sun was so bright that she had to squint her eyes, even while wearing sunglasses. The slight breeze was doing nothing to ameliorate the discomfort brought on by the sweet, sticky air. She was situated right beside a vast, obscure parking lot in the middle of Philadelphia. The parking lot was filled with kids and preteens whose faces Aria recognized even after a year, and whose emotional parents were unloading their luggage out of their cars and on to the pavement. Even though the parking lot was nearly full, it was lacking something crucial: The coach bus that would take her and the other kids to overnight camp, Camp Paquatahnee.
Aria checked her phone: 10:05 AM.
The bus wasn't supposed to arrive for another twenty-five minutes. Aria had waited a year for this day, counting down the days she would return to her second home as soon as she returned from camp last year. The entire year Aria had spent waiting to be back at this very bus stop had felt a hell of a lot shorter than the twenty minutes Aria had spent at the stop, waiting for her bus. And she still had twenty-five minutes to go.
Aria could feel butterflies dancing around in her stomach. She felt giddy and impatient, but she was also nervous. Even though this would be her seventh year at camp, this year, Aria would be a counselor in training, which came with a whole new set of rules and responsibilities. This anxiety still didn't take away from Aria's excitement, though. Aria had wanted to be a counselor in training the second she met the CIT of her cabin when she was ten.
Her dreams were finally coming true.
She would be the person her campers looked up to, the cool, experienced older kid who knew everything there was to know about camp and connected with them in a way their counselors could not.
"Aria, we need to label your luggage!" Ella Montgomery said urgently as she climbed out of her minivan and popped the trunk open, revealing two cumbersome duffel bags which were filled with what Aria had claimed to be "the bare essentials." Aria unzipped her backpack which was resting beside her and grabbed a roll of tape and a Sharpie, scooting over to her unwieldy duffels. She then wrote on the tape "Aria Montgomery- Avalon", which she looped around the handle of her duffel bag, and repeated the process for her second duffel. Aria had been assigned to be a CIT in Avalon, the youngest boys cabin, and while Aria was a bit disappointed upon receiving this news, she was excited nonetheless at the fact that her dedication and passion for camp had paid off and she had been chosen her as a CIT in the first place.
"Oh Aria, I'm gonna miss you so much," Ella cooed as she wrapped her daughter into a bear hug, "I remember your very first year at overnight camp, and now look at you, you're a counselor in training!" Ella kissed her daughter on the cheek, and, with her hands on Aria's shoulders, leaned back to admire how beautifully her daughter had grown up.
Aria rolled her eyes, breaking away from her doting mother's embrace. "Thanks, Mom," She said.
"I'm going to miss you so much!" Ella exclaimed, hugging her daughter once more.
"I'm gonna miss you too, mom." Aria replied sincerely.
Aria broke off the hug as soon as she noticed the bus pulling into the lot. She felt her heart pounding. She had waited a year for this moment and it was finally happening.
"The bus is here!" Aria exclaimed as if it wasn't obvious, "Let's load my stuff on to the bus, okay?"
Aria grabbed onto the first duffel and pulled it out of the trunk, releasing it as soon as she possibly could, barely able to complete the arduous task. The duffel landed on the pavement with a thud.
"Mom, could you please grab the other side?" asked Aria. The pair attempted to lift up the trunk, and after numerous tries, they just barely got it off the ground. "Alright, mom, start walking!" Aria began to lumber backwards as Ella walked forwards for about two steps until they dropped the trunk, due to its heaviness.
"At this rate," Aria wheezed, "My duffels won't get loaded onto the bus until my graduation."
"We should have brought Mike along to do this for us," Ella joked.
"Yeah, Mom, why isn't Mike here?" Aria demanded playfully, "He's supposed to be here to tell me how much he'll miss me and how frequently he'll write!"
"You ladies look like you need some help," Aria heard an unfamiliar voice say. She looked up, and her eyes were met with a tall, young man, walking towards the mother and daughter. The stranger was had a clipboard in his hand and was sporting a boyish grin, his sharp jawline dotted with scruff. His red baseball hat pressed down on his chocolate curls, causing pieces of hair to get in the way of his sapphire eyes, deep and sparkling like the ocean. The stranger extended his arm out to Aria. "Hi, I'm Ezra. I'm a counselor at Camp Paquatahnee, and I'll be monitoring the bus."
Aria, taken aback, shook the man's hand. "…Hi," she breathed, almost inaudibly.
Ella then extended her hand to Ezra, introducing herself.
"Do you want a hand with that?" Ezra offered, motioning to the duffel.
"Oh my gosh, please," A grateful Aria stressed.
In one fell swoop, Ezra lifted the duffel and walked over to the bus, carefully heaving it inside the luggage compartment at the bottom of the coach bus. He then lifted Aria's second duffel bag out of the car and brought it to the bus.
Aria couldn't help but picking up on just how fit Ezra was for the job, noticing his biceps peeking out from his pale yellow tee. She whistled softly at how swiftly and effortlessly Ezra had completed the straining task.
"Thanks so much!" She exclaimed, once he walked back to where she was standing to retrieve his clipboard.
"No problem," he said, flashing a friendly smile, "It's what I'm here for!"
Ezra bounded away to help other campers load their stuff onto the bus, and after some time, he began to gather everyone to begin the boarding process.
"Alright," He called to everyone at the bus stop, "We're going to start loading the bus momentarily. If I didn't already introduce myself to you, hello, I'm Ezra, and I'll be riding with you up to camp! If we could load the bus single file and not walk on until I check you off, that would be great."
Ezra stood in front of the bus's door, clipboard in hand, checking off names. The last person in line was Aria, with whom he met once again with a smile. "I'm so sorry I didn't catch your name." He said.
"I'm Aria,"
"Aria," Ezra repeated slowly, savoring each syllable, "That's a beautiful name."
Aria grinned sheepishly, caught off guard. "Oh, thanks," she said.
Ezra skimmed his list of campers who were supposed to be taking the Philadelphia bus. "Aria…Aria…Montgomery?"
"Yep!"
"Alright, you're good to go," Ezra said as he checked her name off the list.
Aria climbed onto the coach bus and settled herself into a seat towards the back, propping a pillow up against the window. She stared out of the dusty window, her gaze met with her mother who was fervently waving at her daughter. Aria smiled as she waved shyly back, chuckling to herself at how Ella still got emotional even though this would be Aria's seventh year at camp. The bus began to roll out of the lot and feelings of giddiness and excitement overcame Aria. After a stressful junior year in Rosewood, the day she was counting down to had finally arrived. Camp Paquatahnee, its foil, was such a friendly, relaxed environment. Aria lived in a town abundant with lies, secrets, scandals, and affairs, one of which involved her own father and one of his students. Camp offered a wholesome upbringing that her quaint, corrupt hometown and her shattered, dysfunctional family had failed to provide. Back at school, Aria was and outcast, teased for eccentricity, aloof artiness, and her choices to wear utensils as accessories. She didn't fit in with anyone in a hometown that collectively strived to achieve this ridiculous dream of perfection and that didn't seem to dig deeper than the surface of things. Camp, however, was filled with artistic minds not unlike hers, and it was a place where creativity was celebrated and appreciated. Camp was her happy place, her safe haven, the place where looks, GPA, and status don't determine one's worth. Camp Paquatahnee was where Aria had found her place, it was Aria's true home, and she was finally returning.
"Alright, so we're going to take a quick poll on what movie to watch!" Ezra's voice boomed from the front of the bus. "We have…Enchanted, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and Holes," Ezra listed as he grabbed each movie, one by one, from the small compartment near the DVD player. "Put your hand up if you want to watch Enchanted!"
Nobody moved.
"Harry Potter?"
A couple of hands shot up.
"Three… five… seven," Ezra counted to himself. "Okay, we're going to watch Harry Potter, since the majority of you want to watch that." Ezra announced as he began to put the DVD in the player, trying to figure out how the DVD player on the bus operated.
Aria unzipped her backpack, and grabbed her book, ignoring her surroundings. She then unzipped a smaller pouch on her backpack containing her phone, which she grabbed. She put her headphones in and instantly fell into her own world of William Shakespeare and Band of Horses.
For a drawn out forty five minutes, Aria read her book and listened to her music, ignoring the nine year old girls in front of her already making friendship bracelets, the older guys being obnoxiously loud in the back, and the movie playing on tiny screens throughout the bus. Ezra walked down the aisle of the bus, passing out chips and water, which Aria declined.
This went on for another hour, until Aria began to feel a pounding in her head. She put her book back in her backpack, but that did nothing to assuage the pain or the wave of nausea that had overcame her, and she felt like her stomach was contorting in every which way, about to burst.
Ezra, who had been periodically walking down the aisle asking the campers if they were alright, walked down again. This time, he gave a cursory check-in, assuming that there were no problems. When he got to Aria, however, asking her if she was alright, she replied by telling Ezra that she was not, in fact, alright.
Ezra knelt down on the seat across from Aria, who was holding her knees tightly up to her stomach and clenching her eyes shut.
Ezra frowned sympathetically.
"Are you okay? What's wrong?" He asked, concerned.
"Um, I'm getting car sick. I have a headache and I feel nauseous," peeped a muffled, meek voice.
"How about you sit up front with me and I'll give you some Dramamine?"
Aria nodded,
Ezra extended a hand, which Aria warily took as she slowly uncurled herself and stood up.
She was about to grab her backpack when Ezra cut in.
"Let me get that for you," he offered
"Thanks," Aria whispered. The two walked back to where Ezra was sitting and they sat down. Ezra took out the Dramamine from the red first aid bag and handed the pill to Aria, along with a bottle of water, which she took.
"Do you want a bag? Do you… think you're going to throw up?" Ezra questioned.
"No thanks," Aria muttered, closing her eyes.
"Okay, let me know if you need anything," Ezra offered softly.
Aria nodded.
"So, Aria…" Ezra began, making small talk in an attempt to distract Aria from the discomfort, "What cabin are you in?"
"Avalon," Aria croaked, "I'm a CIT this year."
Ezra gasped in surprise," Well, I'll be one of your counselors. I'm in Avalon too! It'll be me, Luke, and Milton. And you, of course."
"That'll be nice. Luke taught my guitar class a few years ago," Aria replied, with a hint of enthusiasm.
"So, how many years have you been going to Camp Paqatahnee?" inquired Ezra.
"This will be my seventh year."
Ezra whistled. "So, you're an old, pro, huh? This is my first year at camp."
This soothed Aria, to know that one of her mentors had only worked at camp once before, during first session that past July. She simply nodded, unsure of how to continue the conversation.
"So, what's that you're reading?" questioned Ezra, looking at the book in Aria's lap.
Aria lifted the book, holding the cover up for Ezra to see.
"'As You Like It,'" she replied, tersely.
Ezra's eyes widened slightly, "Ah, Shakespeare. Is that for school?"
Aria shook her head, "No, just for pleasure."
"Wow, so I take it you're an English nerd as well?"
Aria cocked her head in response.
"I'm getting an English degree, and then I'm planning to get a masters in teaching," Ezra offered.
"No way, I'm planning to major in English when I get to college. I hope to be a writer."
Ezra noticed the way Aria's round eyes suddenly began to twinkle as she spoke about her passion.
Ezra shot Aria a charismatic grin, "Well, Aria Montgomery, it seems as if we'll get along just fine,"
Aria gave Ezra a small, shy smile in return, and she soon proceeded to drift off to sleep. The bus drove on for another six hours as Aria slumbered on, right beside Ezra.
Aria's ears were met with an undecipherable call coming from a voice sounding as if it were underwater.
"Aria," beckoned a fuzzy voice in the distance,
"…Aria!" This time the voice was clearer and more insistent.
Aria slowly opened her eyes, reacquainting herself with her surroundings and adjusting to the blinding brightness. "Huh?" She groaned, prematurely rousing from her six hour slumber.
Her eyes fluttered open and she began to realize exactly where she was.
More specifically, she realized where her head was placed.
Aria's cheeks reddened as she felt her body heat up with embarrassment.
She quickly lifted her head up from Ezra's shoulder.
"Oh, my god, I..I.." She stammered, flustered, "I'm so s-s-sorry."
Ezra gave her an understanding smile with an amused look in his eyes. "Aria, it's okay, don't worry about it," He reassured.
"No, no, it's…" Aria trailed off as she buried her face in her hands and groaned, annoyed and embarrassed of her awkward self.
Aria sat like that for a painfully long time, cringing at the sheer humiliation.
She eventually picked her head up, venturing, "How long was my head like that?"
Ezra winced sympathetically. "Uh… I would say a good hour."
"And you weren't-"
"I tried moving you a few times, but you were in such a…fragile… state that I didn't want to wake you."
"Oh my god, I just can't believe-"Aria groaned, sinking down in her seat.
"Aria, it's fine, okay?" Ezra reassured, "No worries."
Aria sighed. "I'm just so embarrassed."
"Don't be," Ezra responded amicably, "Anyways, I woke you in the first place because we're going to be turning in to camp road any minute now!"
Aria's face lit up at the news.
The coach bus turned onto the long, gravelly road, set in the middle of nowhere, and nearly every camper cheered. The further along the coach bus bumped and rumbled on the unpaved road in the woods, the wider Aria could feel herself smiling.
The tall pine trees became less and less frequent, and the bus soon passed a parking lot, a few random houses, and finally a rustic, peeling, billboard-esque sign that read "Camp Paquatahnee." The bus pulled into the camp itself and was immediately met with small, red buildings and a diverse selection of smiling faces belonging to counselors as well as the campers who had already arrived.
As soon as the bus pulled into the unloading area, those who weren't already standing at the edge of the lawn in anticipation leapt up from their perch on their Crazy Creek portable chairs or at the picnic tables and began to cheer.
A few camp facilities, such as the office, the health lodge, and the red barn, a recreational area, were within viewing distance of those on the bus. The brick red, wooden buildings located throughout camp appeared to be ageless, yet unretouched since the day they were built. Each little shack seemed to have character, with the small stained glass projects in their windows and unstained wooden decks. In some sort of inexplicable way, they each seemed so…alive.
This was completely opposite of the institutions and mansions in Rosewood, which all seemed too pristine and shiny to be real. Their perfection, the Victorian trim, shades of white and pale gray, granite steps, and perfectly imprinted letters made these buildings seem unwelcoming, cold, and untouchable. Everything in Rosewood was so suspiciously, uncannily perfect, down to each individual brick, which was the exact same hue of the next. The spotlessness of every façade was too unnatural. The sparkle of everything was unsettling, especially to Aria.
The camp's facilities, the imperfections and the crude, rustic touches on the slanted cabins and barns with the leaky roofs, lined with raw, unadulterated logs, felt more comforting and homier to Aria.
Aria had collected her backpack and pillow, squeezing her way out of the coach bus, instantly met with the camp directors, Peter and Meg Sullivan, who said hello to each camper who disembarked from the vehicle. Aria stepped onto the lawn and looked around. She saw campers laughing and playing hand games, counselors introducing themselves and trying to collect their campers, and luggage being unloaded from the bus onto tarps laying on the lawn. Aria breathed in the crisp Maine air, imbibing her surroundings.
She was finally at camp.
And something told her that this year at camp would be quite unlike her last six.
Aight, review if you wanna. Or don't. I'm not thirsty for reviews because I write solely for myself, but they make me happy, still
Also, hit me up on tumblr: .com (for the holidays) but I'll change my url back to .com on jan 1st, probably. You know the old saying- new year, new url.
See you next chapter,
sam