A/N: I know I haven't written any stories for a while, and I really wanted to get at least something up for all of you who have been asking. I hope this tickles your fancy. *wink*
-I was previously wick3d-games-
Disclaimer: Idea from Pretty Little Liars, all credit to Marlene King - minus my expansion.
Set right after Ali's funeral.
"Happiness, feels a lot like sorrow.
Let it be; you can't make it come or go."
Gushes of cold breezes and darkness from the late time of day surrounded Aria as she walked down the street.
There was a aura of mourning covering Rosewood due to the funeral that was held just hours earlier.
Alison's funeral.
After a year of searching and hoping for the return of the beautiful, fifteen year old Alison DiLaurentis who had disappeared at a sleepover the Labor Day weekend before her freshman year, her body had finally been discovered.
Aria was shocked to say the least. Of course, as the year went by while she was in Iceland with no phone calls or news of Ali's return home, she had began to realize the chance of her reappearance was unlikely. But even hearing Emily talk about the idea of Alison being dead on the first day of school was hard to wrap her head around.
Then, when the messages from -A started, she was sure it was Alison. She was so sure she was back and messing with them - playing another one of her little games.
Her body being discovered was like a tidal wave of reality that Aria hadn't been prepared to take on.
Not only did it mean that her best friend from childhood, who she grew up with and revolved her life around, was dead, it meant that the messages she was getting weren't from the only person she could reason that would have the information to send them.
It wasn't just one of Ali's twisted jokes anymore - it was a terrorizing, nauseating game.
Aria sighed, shaking her head. She didn't have the energy to even begin to try and understand all of that harsh reality right now.
It was late, and she was tired from the days events. She was currently walking home from the Grille where her and the girls had stopped for coffee after Alison's funeral to discuss the messages they had received. They hadn't gotten very far on any theories.
She looked up from her shoes to the sidewalk journey in front of her, and she felt her heart start to beat a bit faster and her breathing caught slightly.
Up ahead, she watched as Ezra Fitz walked towards his parked car along the sidewalk. Ezra, her crazy, passion driven hook up from the Hollis Bar the day before school started. Ezra, the man she locked eyes with as he stood in front of her the next day inside her AP English class, announcing himself to his students. Ezra, her teacher, slash who now seems to be her secret boyfriend.
She took in a deep breath as she tried to settle herself, before dragging her eyes along his body, taking in his appearance.
He was still in the dark suit he had worn to the funeral, and she took into appreciation the way it was fitted to his body perfectly, more so than she had been able to at the church.
As if feeling her gaze, he lifted his head in her direction, and they locked eyes for a long moment. Seeing her brought a smile to his face, one so boyish and dazzling that she couldn't help the smile that touched her face in return.
Aria slowed down as she reaches a closer distance, stopping a few feet in front of him.
"I thought about you all day." He murmured as his eyes search hers, trying to gauge her emotions. "Are you okay?"
She smiled gently in appreciation, before replying, "I will be."
Ezra nodded in understanding, leaning back against the car door. "It's hard to lose someone you're close to. It changes you."
Shrugging slightly, Aria looked down as she shuffled her feet as the feeling of realization continues to burn inside of her. "We lost Alison a year ago. Today was more about admitting it to ourselves."
Ezra smiled slightly as he continued to watch the beautiful girl in front of him. She was so strong even with all of the complex situations she was in - so advanced beyond her years. It continued to amaze him that this amazing girl he was becoming infatuated with was a good seven years younger than him.
After a moment, he looked behind him at his car. "I'd offer you a ride-"
"-but I'd have to say no." Aria finished with a nod, returning her eyes to his face. "I meant what I said, Ezra. I'd never do anything that would get you in trouble."
He nodded, hesitating a moment before slowly bringing his eyes back up to hers. "And being alone with you in my car would probably lead to trouble."
Aria's heart hammered heavily in her chest, and her stomach began to churn rapidly. Not uncomfortably, however.
She considered the kind of trouble they would get into being alone in his car. Her mind immediately flashed back to current that seemed to be pulling them together at the bar, the electricity that flowed through her body when his skin touched hers, and the pure passion and intensity that aroused when they kissed.
A smirk danced across her face, and she bit down on her lower lip as her body began to hum just thinking about it. "Yeah."
He smiled back at her, one side raising higher than the other in that lopsided boyish grin that made her want to pull him to her right then and there and kiss it off his face.
"But if it's only a few miles…" He teased her playfully as a blush spread across her cheeks.
They were both thinking about the kind of trouble that they would get into now, and it shocked them both how much they would love to get into it.
Ezra's eyes dropped from hers, taking in her appearance. Much like him, she hadn't changed out of her outfit from the funeral. Even for such a sad occasion she still managed to look like perfection. He tried to push that fact that the dress gave him an appreciative view of her cleavage and the tops of her breast that were revealed from the hemline, and how easy it would be if they were in the car to pull her over the center counsel onto his lap and slip his hands under the fabric of her dress…
Aria's own eyes took a detour from his, once again taking in his appearance. She noticed that even though he was still in the suit, he had removed his tie and unbuttoned the top of his dress shirt, allowing some of the skin of his chest to peek out.
She wanted more than anything to be able to get in the car with him right now. To have interesting and captivating conversation that flowed easily between the two of them, to have him take her away from her harsh reality just for a little while.
She pictured him pulling off to the side of the road so that they could just talk for hours, and they would gradually lean closer to each other before he finally kissed her again, letting her climb over onto his lap so she could get closer to him. She remembered the feel of his hands running along her body, and the ache she had to feel it again as she wrapped her body around his was overwhelming.
Aria was began to feel the tension forming between them as both of their thoughts took off in directions neither of them were comfortable revealing out loud quite yet. She narrowed her eyes at him, playfully prudent. "Ezra…"
He smiled warmly, enjoying the color that still tinted her cheeks.
Looking down, Aria noticed the small shopping bag he was holding.
"So what did you buy?" She asked, changing the subject.
Remembering the item in his hand, Ezra opened the small bag and pulled out a CD. He held it up so she could see the cover - it was The Fray.
"B26." He answered softly.
They shared a look that gave more than words could as they both recognized the significance of that CD and why he bought it.
Aria's heart swelled, and she felt a rush of adoration consume her body.
He wanted to savor their moment.
Just as she was about to reply, she shut her mouth as a student from Rosewood High approaches them for a moment.
"Hi, Aria. Hey Mr. Fitz." She greeted kindly. They both recognized her and quickly shifted their attitudes back to that of a student-teacher dynamic.
"Hey." Aria returned at the same time Ezra offered a, "Hi, Beth."
Beth blushed slightly, obviously not one of the girls attending Rosewood High who had not fallen under the appeal that was Ezra Fitz.
"Cute car." She said shyly before continuing down the sidewalk, releasing a giggle.
Aria returned her gaze to Ezra's as she felt her mood begin to turn sour again. She was jealous of a single, stupid comment and it bothered her how much it affected her. There was also the fact that she couldn't step forward to wrap her arm around Ezra's waist and stake her claim, because that would be considered "wrong".
She sighed, giving him a small smile and a wave. "Goodbye, Mr. Fitz."
She began to continue her walk home, and Ezra desperately wanted to grab her and kiss her and bring that beautiful smile back onto her face - but he couldn't.
"I'll see you in school." He replies instead, watching her for another moment before sliding into his car and driving away.
"Happiness, is like the old man told me.
Look for it, but you'll never find it at all."
Rain. That's all that was visible as Aria stepped outside of her favorite coffee shop.
She sighed. There had been reports of a rainstorm hitting Rosewood that day, and when she had entered the shop the only sign of that had been a darkening sky. Now it seemed as if it had split open and let out a downpour of heavy-hitting rain in the mere three minutes she had been inside.
Out of luck with no umbrella or car with her, she was forced to walk home through it. She took a deep breath, pulling up the collar of her raincoat as she stepped out from under the building.
She shivered slightly as the chill of the water immediately soaked her through her clothes, and she tried to hurry her steps to get home faster.
There wasn't anyone else out in the downpour that she could see, but she could faintly hear the sound of a car driving through it behind her.
She looked down at her coffee, sighing as she realized it was now going to be ruined by the water seeping through the small drinking hole.
Her boots made a sopping sound as she stepped along the sidewalk, and she tried to pull her jacket more tightly around her.
Breaking through the inner pity that encased her was the sound of a car - the same car she probably heard a few moments ago, much louder now to her ears. She turned her head to the side, watching a tiny silver car slow down slightly besides her.
Her coffee cup almost slipped from her hand as she recognized the car. It was the same one she had a conversation about the night before. Her thoughts were confirmed when her gaze locked with Ezra's through the rain-trailed covered window.
Aria's lips parted slightly, and she slowed down to a stop as she stared at him. His car has slowed a considerable amount, and she wondered if he was going to stop. Her heart began to hammer at the idea, and she couldn't ignore that hope the welded up inside of her.
Ezra seemed to be having an inner debate with himself, and she found her answer when he shot her an almost apologetic look as the car once again picked up its speed, driving past her.
Feelings of dejection filled Aria as she watches him drive on. Her heart constricted slightly in her chest with disappointment. She knew he was trying to do the right thing, but that only makes her wish things were simple enough that 'the right thing' would be the opposite.
Just as she was about to put her head down and continue through the downpour, the glow of red taillights caught her eyes as they reflected through the rain. She watched the car pull to a stop as he hit the breaks, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion for a moment.
Suddenly the passenger side door flew open, and her mouth dropped slightly as she lost her breath. She tried to suck it back in quickly as she realized what was happening, fighting the smile off her face.
Ducking her head again, she ran over to the car and slid into the passenger seat. Her coffee cup quickly found a home in the cup holder between them before she reached back out into the rain and pulled to door shut.
She could feel her body begin to hum again as it always seemed to do when she was in his presence; a warm, pleasant burn flowing throughout her insides. They refused to meet each others gaze as he pushed the clutch back into drive and slowly started off down the street once more.
The radio was off, and it was completely silent besides the sound of the rain hitting the top of the car and the windshield wipers moving back and forth quickly to try and help him see.
Aria slowly breathed in, almost as if she was afraid that if she made any sudden noise, she'd wake up from a dream.
The car began to slow again, and she looked out the windshield, barely making out through the downpour that they had stopped at a dead end in the road.
Ezra pulled the clutch into neutral, looking down at his lap. He could feel it - the tension between the two of them. It was worse than earlier today when her mother had innocently asked him to sit with the two of them at the movies, unknowing to the situation they were in.
If he hadn't already seen the movie, he wouldn't have been able to tell you what it was about. All he had been able to concentrate on what that fact that she was right next to him, and that it would be so easy to just lean over and press his lips to hers.
He probably would have, too, had her mother not been there. Instead, he had settled for subtle touches that could have easily been passed for accidents - brushing his knee up against hers, bumping her forearm with his on the arm rest between them, his fingers sliding over below anyone's vision to gently to brush against hers for the briefest of moments.
But all of it had made it worse in the long run, because the longer they had sat there, the more that tension had thickened.
And now, sitting in his car with her, the car he had pictured not so innocent things with her in yesterday, he felt like it was all about to explode.
He knew the moment he looked at her, he'd snap. All the resisting of her temptation would be gone, washed away with the rain falling down from the sky.
He could feel that she had finally given in and looked at him from the way the side of his face burned from her stare. Out of the corner of his eye he could see her fingers grip the leather seat beneath her.
She exhaled a shaky breath, before her voice finally touched his ears. "Ezra."
He closed his eyes for a moment, before looking up and meeting hers. He had been right about the explosion, because the next thing he knew her lips were on his and he was reaching up to pull her closer to him as he kissed her back as if his life depended on it.
Aria sighed into his mouth, running one hand up the side of his neck before locking it in his curls at the back of his head, holding him to her. Her other hand reached forward and gripped his tee shirt, trying to get as close to him as quickly as she could.
He pulled back for a brief moment to catch his breath as he ran his thumb along her cheek, before leaning forward and capturing her lips again.
She parted her lips when his tongue touched her bottom lip, and she moaned breathlessly as he slipped it into her mouth and tangled it with hers.
There was a steady burn that was flowing freely throughout her body now, and she wanted nothing more than to be closer to him. Not willing to fight that urge, she slowly turned her body in the passenger seat until she was kneeling on it.
She hesitantly pushed the top half of her body farther onto his side of the car, further into his own body, gauging his reaction.
When his only reaction was to tilt her head to the side to grant him better access to her mouth as his hands traveled down her back, she took the opportunity to obtain the closeness she craved.
Her knee raised until it was resting on the center consul between them, and using his shoulders as leverage, she pushed her body up and over the middle until she was crawling into his lap.
Ezra pushed back against his seat so she'd have more room to move. In the back of his head, there was a voice screaming at him to stop her - to push her back into the passenger seat, tear his mouth away from hers, and drive her home like he planned. Things were moving too fast.
But at the moment, he was too far lost in her touch to care.
Once she was over the center consul, Aria twisted her body, hitching her right knee over his waist until she was straddling his legs and rested herself onto his lap.
He hummed softly into her mouth, rubbing his hands slowly along her sides, all the way from her hips to the sides of her breasts. The water that had accumulated in her hair began to drip onto his neck and chest, and he felt his shirt stick to his chest from where the wetness of her clothes touched his.
In need of air, Aria was the first to break away. She was breathing heavily as she dragged her lips along his jaw while he tilted his head to move his mouth down her neck.
She moaned softly as he began to lick at the moisture that coated her skin and threw her head back to grant him more access.
Ezra was quick to take advantage of the time to explore her skin. He took the time to chart out where she seemed to be more affected by his ministrations based off of the intensity of her moans that would escape her mouth.
He was pleased to find a place just underneath the curve of her jaw that seemed to be more sensitive than others, and he slowly captured it with his lips. His tongue teased her skin for a moment, before he softly began to suck.
Aria mewled, and her hips unconsciously pushed down onto his. Hard.
The moan that was then emitted from Ezra was enough to snap him back into reality. He became painfully aware of the strong affect she was having on him in certain, er, areas, and once again remembered their difficult situation.
Because not only did he have a beautiful girl writhing on his lap and rubbing against his growing hard on, she was also a sixteen year old high school student. His high school student.
He reluctantly pulled his lips away from her skin and tightened his hands on her hips, halting any further moments. He rested his forehead on her shoulder as he regained his breath.
Aria was quick to catch onto why he had stopped, and when she too noticed the problem she had created for him, her stomach tightened in the realization that she had been able to do that to him. Despite her age, the physical attraction had been there from the first time they laid eyes on each other, and it felt good to know she could still please him in that way despite her inexperience.
Her body relaxed against his, and she laid her head on his shoulder and looked to his face from where he was resting on hers. Normally, she would have protested against his actions for wanting to protect her, as she was sure she would do many times in the future. She could protect herself, and she didn't need others deciding what she was and wasn't ready for.
But she knew that things were moving too quickly. They had only meet a mere five days ago, and despite how well they connected to each other, mentally and physically, five days was far too soon to start considering taking things to the next level.
Even when they had moved to the bathroom at Snookers, she had been sure to transfer the message through her kisses and touches that things wouldn't be moving much farther than a heavy make out. Ezra, being the gentleman that she knew he was, quickly understood that message and respected it completely, keeping his hands in safe areas and putting all of his attraction into his kisses.
Now that he was aware of her age, he suspected her caution was because she was a virgin. He wasn't entirely sure of the correctness of that assumption, but that's what he planned on believing until proven otherwise. The thought of her going there with another guy was already enough to spike his jealously to an unreasonable level.
Still panting lightly, Aria nuzzled her face further into his shoulder. "Sorry." She murmured so quietly, her voice barely made a sound.
Ezra turned to look at her and smiled softly, letting her know he understood. "You shouldn't be." He paused for a moment, relishing in the feel of just having her in his arms before he spoke again. "I think I should take you home now."
She nodded, lifting her head from his shoulder. As she pulled back, she giggled at the sight of his clothes now clinging to his body from the dampness that she had transferred to him. A light blush colored her cheeks that made him smile as she carefully climbed back into the passengers seat.
While her back was towards him, Ezra discretely adjusted himself in his pants before sitting up straighter.
Once Aria was comfortable in her seat again, she turned to look at him as he hesitated.
"I-" He started, trying to phrase his wording in a way that wouldn't make things awkward, but would still make it clear what he was trying to say. "I don't want you to feel like that just because I'm older, I expect our relationship to have all the physical aspects of it. I would never want you to feel pressured into doing something you're not ready for."
"I know." She murmured. "But I'm capable of understanding when I'll be ready, and I'll make it clear when that time comes."
Ezra smirked, moving his hand to the shift between them. "Now that I believe."
Smiling, Aria rolled her eyes before looking ahead of them as he began to drive in the direction of her house. "I guess you were right, though."
"I usually am, you know." He replied sarcastically, chuckling when the back of her hand slapped his shoulder. "What about, this time?"
She turned her body towards his and leaned her elbows on the center consul, bringing her lips closer to his ear. "You were right about us getting into trouble when left alone in your car."
Ezra's breath hitched, and he cleared his throat as he attempted to stay focused on the road.
Aria grinned at him, moving to sit back in her seat again. "Maybe next time we'll break some more rules."
"Let it go, live your life and leave it.
Then one day, wake up and she'll be home."
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