After seeing Episode 4x09 of Pretty Little Liars, I've decided to continue Ezra and Aria's storyline on my own, just because the TV show is dragging it out and I'm a hardcore Ezria shipper. In case you haven't followed the show in a while, Aria has just heightened her relationship with Jake, while Ezra has just received word from Maggie that she might be taking his son away from him forever. So without further ado, here's a fic which I have titled "Back to the Start," after a youtube video about Ezria featuring Coldplay's "The Scientist."

Disclaimer: These characters are not mine, and all events up till this point were created by the writers on the TV series.

Chapter 1

Aria laid herself down on the couch nearest the window, absorbing the warm rays of sunlight on her skin. A feeling of pure content engulfed her entire body as she let herself be lost from all cares and worries of the previous day. She couldn't think of Jenna or even of A; no, her thoughts at that moment were reserved only for Jake.

Why had she resisted him for so long? His warm touch brought her closer to pure happiness than anything—well, almost anything. Deep down she knew she preferred Ezra's touch to anything else in the world, but she refused to acknowledge this painful truth. She had to forget him. She had to…

Nights before he had told her he'd do anything for her. It was obvious he still loved her. For just a moment, she considered proving to him she loved him back just as much as she ever had. But she remembered all that she had vowed to herself when they broke up, and left him alone in the doorway to his apartment, broken and confused.

God, why was she still thinking about him? She was supposed to be moving on with Jake. Her thoughts betrayed her true feelings time and again, but she was determined. She had enjoyed the last night with Jake. His close embrace made her feel safe. But affectionate?

She wasn't sure if there was room in her heart to love Jake. She liked being with him, she knew that. But was enjoying his company enough to enjoy a relationship with him? Aria convinced herself that it was.

Just then, her phone buzzed. She jumped a little, a habit that A had forced upon her and her friends. Regaining her composure, she picked it up. She saw Jake's smiling face alongside a text: "Hey. Thanks for last night. You're great."

She smiled to herself, this was right. It felt good.

Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzz.

She looked back down at her phone, her smile fading. Ezra's face glowed on her screen. She pressed "Ignore Call" and put the phone down again.

Bzzz. Another text…

This one was from Ezra: "Aria, please. I need your help. Just call me. Please."

She sighed and tossed her phone to the other couch. It was going to be a long day.

Ezra fell backwards onto his bed, exhausted and angry. Maggie was going to take Malcolm away, and Aria wouldn't even answer his calls. He had been there to support her, but she offered him no comfort in return. He was tired and lonely. Why couldn't she understand that?

He tried to show her that he still loved her, outside his apartment the other night. She left him again. How was he going to get through to her?

Goddammit, she's in high school. What the hell was he doing, still allowing Aria to seep into his idle thoughts? If she could move on, he had to, too. But it was so hard. He tried not to think of her hair, her eyes, the feel of her lips against his…

Bzzz.

He glanced at his phone. Aria's picture appeared on the dimly lit screen. His heart lifted ever so slightly and he breathed a sigh of relief. He read the accompanying text: "We can talk. Tomorrow before homeroom sound good?"

Ezra didn't know how comfortable he felt discussing such a painful aspect of his private life in a room that his students could enter freely, but he had held far more intimate chats with Aria despite this before, and quickly replied, "Sure thing. Thank you."

He didn't know what this chat would mean in the context of their relationship, but decided that Malcolm would be his first worry, and lay back on the bed once more.