I just want to say thank you to the reception I've getting for this story! It's easily becoming one of my favorites and it's easy to write! I couldn't wait to get this chapter out and continue on with the story. The only reason why I have Ezra with Spencer is because...well, it's a really long story. I'm not a huge fan of all this Spezra/Sparia (romantically) business.
I'm not going to rant about PLL in the last few days because I have faith Ezria will be alright. That, and the fact that they'd be in deep trouble if the show's driving couple ever broke up for good. Not to say I'm not upset, but I'm feeling too happy about this chapter to let it get me down.
You know the drill; ten or more reviews and the chapter stays long. I OWN NOTHING.
Rainy nights were Aria's favorite. While a torrential downpour shook the apartment building, she cuddled up under a blanket in the arms of her loved one. Head rested on Ezra's chest, she found peace and solace in those few moments. He often teased her about being the oddball when it came to loud claps of thunder, but Aria simply shrugged it off. The usual two hours of their classic film of choice was filled with quiet and shallow breathing. Tonight, however, the crackling of lightening every so often burst and ignited a glow through the dark apartment. Ezra had lit candles in preparation for a potential power outage; the news channel had given warning earlier that day.
"You're such a Boy Scout," she remarked, watching her taller boyfriend loiter around the apartment, lighting every candle he'd set out. "Are you going to teach me how to tie knots when you're finished?"
"There's nothing wrong with being prepared, Ar." Ezra rolled her dark blue eyes and scoffed lightly, though only teasing. Aria knew that.
"You're treating this like the ultimate apocalypse is coming."
"Well, we are supposed to die on December 21st of the coming year." Aria shot Ezra a sharp look and scrounged up the nearest throw pillow she could find. Incidentally, she picked up the one she'd bought for him at a flea market; a woven dark blue and olive green pattern on a pale canvas. On the bottom, she'd had their initials inscribed in the same dark blue thread. Aria wound up her arm and tossed the pillow at Ezra, hitting him square in the chest. He coughed and looked at her with shock written on his defined face.
"Are you trying to kill us before then? You could've started a fire with that shot."
"You know I hate that subject. So quit bringing it up to make me squirm." The brunette wasn't a big believer in the Dooms Day theory. Not only did she believe it was absolutely absurd, but Aria wasn't exactly big on thinking about how her life could end and the world would be no more. Especially a life with Ezra; that, she wanted to go on for eternity. A boyish smirk covered Ezra's face as he bent down to pick up the strewn pillow. It was one of his favorite possessions. Ezra was well aware that Aria hated the subject, but brought it up frequently to tease her; it would come to bite him in the butt someday.
A pout covered Aria's face, making Ezra tilt his head. Her pout was his weakness, hell, everything about Aria was his weakness. Her laugh, her smile, her tears, her everything. She sent him running for the hills when she was angry and sent him running to catch her when things got rough. While people thought true love didn't exist, Ezra would proudly have offered up himself and Aria as an example. She complimented him, not just by flattery. She threw him witty comments he could play and toss around. Love like what he had was difficult to find, but both were glad to have found it.
For Aria, Ezra was a place of comfort, a place of familiarity, a place of love, of protection, of support. He was her home. Even after the worst of fights, she found her way back to his doorstep which immediately followed a passionate make-up. Even after all this time, it had yet to die down. Every time she saw Ezra, whether it was getting out of the shower or coming home from work, to climbing in bed with her at the end of the night, her heart raced. Aria was his, and Ezra was hers. It was simple as that.
"Come here," Ezra spoke softly, the lights still not having gone off yet. The storm was dying down anyways, but clearly, Aria was going to hold a grudge for his statement.
"No," she protested. "You come here. I'm not getting up."
He smirked at her challenge. "Fine." In one solid swoop, Ezra managed to scoop Aria up off the couch and into his lap. She fit perfectly in there, cradled almost like a small child. A stubborn, small child, seeing as that she refused to look up at him. "Oh, Aria." Ezra's voice was soft as he used his pointer finger to tilt her face up to look at him. Her expression read clear of frustration. "I was just kidding."
"I know you were," she sighed, finally giving in. Aria rested her head against Ezra's chest much like she usually did and closed her eyes. "I just hate that you use that to tease me over and over against repeatedly. You know how much I hate it."
"Ar, I didn't think you'd get so bothered by i—"
"Well, I do." Aria snapped at him, but immediately took back her words. "I—I'm sorry, Love. I didn't mean to. It's been all this course work, plus Hanna's driving me up a wall with her boy troubles." Hanna Marin, Aria's best friend since elementary went to F.I.T. Ever since she began to date this new boy of hers, she'd been calling Aria constantly to figure out what to wear on a date or how to react when they saw his ex-girlfriend at dinner the past night.
Ezra chuckled and brushed a piece of hair away from her face. With Aria's hair pushed back, she look liked a different person. Both were still beautiful in his blue eyes. "Tell Hanna that you have your own boyfriend to attend to."
Aria shot him a sarcastic glance, but still leaned up to kiss his chin. Her kisses extended from Ezra's jaw line, up the side of his face and around the corners of his lips, teasing him. "I do have my own boyfriend," she murmured in between kisses. "One that I'm sitting with right now in his apartment while a storm was died down and we even have romantic lighting in the room to set the mood." A gleam settled into Aria's hazel eyes as she looked at Ezra lustfully, biting her lip.
"Miss Montgomery, you're insatiable." Ezra stood up off the couch and carried a giggling Aria towards his bedroom. Their bedroom, if he was permitted to call it that.
Rigid stances continued at the outside of the movie theatre, will an oblivious Spencer looking on. Aria had to blink her eyes a few time even after their introduction of sorts and stuck her hand out. She'd play the innocent girl; the one that had never been involved with the man standing before her ever. Spencer would never have to know that Ezra was her ex-boyfriend, until the time was right. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ezra."
Ezra, on the other hand, reached tentatively for Aria's hand as Spencer turned around to pay for the tickets. It didn't give Aria much time to protest, seeing as she had never liked people paying for her if it was unnecessary. Ezra was well aware of that and watched as Aria's lips twitched before it was too late. He raised an eyebrow as he shook her hand and said through a strained voice, "It's lovely to meet you too, Aria."
Spencer turned back to them with a gleeful smile and clapped her hands, making the few bangles settled on her wrist jingle and clang in the process. "Everything's all set! Let's go in, shall we?" Both Aria and Ezra nodded, though nobody spoke a word. Spencer pursed her lips as they went inside. Snacks were easily paid for by Aria at her insistence. Her demanding tone at the counter and her pushing away Spencer's credit card made him chuckle; her independent nature had always been a blessing and a curse.
As the three piled into the movie, Aria was shoved in between Spencer and Ezra, much to her dismay. She'd hoped that she'd be put on the end so that she could make a clean getaway to another seat and pass it off as alone time. The truth was that it hurt to see Ezra again. The stitches so she carefully had sewn came undone, leaving the broken heart she bared six months ago. Shifting in her seat slightly, Aria popped a bit of popcorn into her mouth and munched on it. She wouldn't let him affect her again. Sure, she and Ezra had a fantastic love story, but he had his issues he needed to work out.
Ezra's heart clanged in his chest. Spencer was supposed to be his turning point, but was this fate's way of saying that Aria wasn't his past, but his now and his future? Palms sweaty, he picked up the cardboard cup of soda and sucked at the straw to drink. This would be his distraction from the entrancing girl sitting next to him. She paled all other things in Ezra's world. He knew it was wrong, given that he had a girlfriend, but it had always been Aria. It would always be Aria. Ezra just never thought he'd get another opportunity.
The movie went on in uncomfortable silence, with a baffled Spencer on the end. Was it possible that her best friend hated her boyfriend already in those few hours? This couldn't be. She'd have to warm Ezra and Aria up to one another, and with her mind, it didn't take Spencer long to figure it out. A satisfactory smirk settled over her face as the movie began to draw to a close. As the lights went up, Aria and Ezra were still seated stiffly, both trying their best not to give into the urge to touch one another.
"Alright," Spencer breathed, standing up. Her movements snapped Aria out of her trance and immediately, she went to stand by the slightly taller girl. Hopefully, the feeling of standing next to Spencer would snap her thoughts back into order, rather than the chemistry that surged between herself and her ex-boyfriend and friend's current lover. "I'm starving." She patted her stomach and laughed quietly.
Aria's giggle chortled after hers and Ezra tried not to think of it as the most precious sound he'd heard that night. Instead, he stood and stretched, casting a glance to Spencer. An almost genuine smile lit up Ezra's face, revealing his perfect set of white teeth. Aria tried not to let her heart falter at his reaction to the other girl; it was natural. Spencer was his girlfriend. Ezra wasn't hers to keep anymore.
"After all that popcorn? How do you manage to eat all that and stay so small?" Ezra laughed once more and rubbed the back of his neck; a nervous habit. The conversation was tense and awkward, though he tried his best to conceal that. As Spencer took her leading abilities and headed out of the aisle, he caught up and slipped his hand into hers. Aria took out her phone to serve as a distraction.
"Do you know where we're going for dinner," she chimed, wanting the night to be over as soon as possible. Spencer gave her a nod and grinned before resting her cheek against Ezra's shoulder. Aria couldn't deny how happy the man made her friend, but she couldn't tell how happy her friend made Ezra. A part of her hoped it wasn't as happy as she had made him six months prior.
"It's this cute little Italian place. Ezra took me there once, didn't you?" Spencer looked at her boyfriend, hoping to draw him into the conversation. He'd been all too quiet since the start of the movie.
"I think I have." He grinned slightly, though the smile didn't reach his eyes like it always did when Ezra was over the moon. "Rosa's."
Aria's stopped dropped. He'd taken her to Rosa's once too. But that was moons ago and they'd only gone once. Still, the memory resounded through her. Then again, Ezra had never been one for experimentation when it came to his food. When he liked a restaurant, that's where he went or ordered from. Aria had fond memories of Rose of Sharon and them knowing their orders by heart. "I think I've been there once," she spoke quietly. "Great food."
Ezra remained quiet, knowing his blunder.
Rosa's had a lush atmosphere with wide booths and smaller tables in the back for couples. Aria tried not to let her gaze slip to the very table she had sat at with the man holding her friend's hand. Each seat was upholstered in rich, red leather and mahogany wood made up the tables and legs of the chairs. It was family friendly with several children seated at round tables with various families member to enjoy a meal. The hostess greeted them with a smile; luckily it wasn't the same who'd greeted herself and Ezra that one time.
The table wasn't very secluded, but near a bathroom. Aria silently cheered, seeing that she'd have an easy escape if needed. Small talk was inevitable as they ordered their food and waited for drinks. Ezra inquired about Aria's academic, though behind it, he was really curious to know how she was doing in school for her final year after the mess of everything they'd gone through. Spencer added her own anecdotes and the two girls told stories, though Aria was the more lackluster of the two. Aria asked about Ezra's job, wanting to know if he really did get that promotion he wanted; he did.
Finally, Spencer made her move. "I'll be right back…just have to use the ladies." The dark haired woman scampered off, leaving the two others to make conversation. There was no way they'd both sit there in an awkward silence; if she knew both Aria and Ezra well, it was that they both couldn't keep their mouths shut.
Aria's gaping lips tried to protest for the second time that night, but it was too late. Spencer had already gone into the bathroom. She looked down to her plate and picked up her fork, trying to evade conversation, but it seemed highly unlikely with the gaze Ezra seemed to set right on her face.
In a snap, she looked up, her hazel orbs meeting his blue eyes and Aria shirked away. She'd let Ezra be the first to initiate conversation. He was the one pressuring her towards it with a silent glance anyways.
"How do you know Spencer?"
"Isn't it obvious," Aria said, taking a sip of her drink. "We met in a class and have been close since. She's been my…support for the longest time." She shifted her eyes away from him as she uttered the word 'support'. "I thought I'd come alone to appease her."
Ezra was speechless. Aria had been the friend all along; the friend Spencer talked about needing a crutch after a break up. He'd seen her countless Facebook statuses and tweets, figuring that his once love, perhaps his still current love, was okay, but she wasn't. Aria was still hurting, much like him. Because of him.
"How did you meet Spencer?"
"Starbucks," Ezra answered, shrugging. "She spilled her coffee on me and I bought her a new one. It's terribly cliché." An highly plain, considering the way I met you, he added in his head.
"Right," said a flustered Aria. "She told me that." A topic was rising up in her throat like bile. Aria tended to have a habit that when she wanted to say something important, it had its way of spilling out of her mouth without filtering. "Ezra, you wouldn't believe what these past few months have been like for me."
Ezra heard her quiet voice and his heart leaped up into his throat. His eyes once again met Aria's. Tears burned behind her bold hazel eyes. They usually burned fire and passion, but drooped to a certain sadness. Ezra bit his lip and looked down. "You walked out on me. How do you think I feel?"
The tension between them both was tangible. If Spencer was to walk out at any given moment, severe questioning would've most likely ensued. Aria's voice was caught in her throat as she tried to find the right words to give him. Ezra had a point; she did walk out on him. But, he didn't even fight for her. "You didn't even fight for me. You just let me walk out and didn't call. How do you think that made me feel? It made me feel like I never mattered to you." Tears spilled over her cheeks much to Aria's dismay.
"Aria…" Ezra spoke quietly, hating how his heart ripped in two at the sight of her streaky downs traveling down Aria's pronounced cheekbones.
"Forget it, Ezra. What's done is done. Tell Spencer I had a lovely time tonight. I should get going." In a swift second, the petite brunette scooped up her bag and was out of Rosa's before Ezra even had time to blink. She'd left him again.