Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! Special thanks to Steph for being my first reviewer. I know this sounds clique, but it's actually true, getting reviews makes you write faster. I have never written this much. It took me a week and a half to write the first chapter. So if you keep reviewing, I'll keep writing.
I texted an apology to Ezra when I pulled into the Hastings' driveway stating that 'I had to actually stay at Spencer's for a sleepover because I had skipped out on the last two get-togethers to be with you,' to which he totally understood and said he would talk to me later.
I grabbed my backpack and the overnight bag that I kept in the trunk of my car for emergencies, which usually involved a certain boyfriend, and headed to the barn.
When Melissa moved to Philadelphia full time, Spencer finally got the loft in the barn that she had always wanted. I didn't bother knocking on the door, instead opting to barge in unannounced. I regretted it almost immediately.
Toby Cavanaugh, Spencer's longtime boyfriend was lying on her bed at the far side of the room, Spencer herself on top of him. He was shirtless, and she was halfway there. Neither of them had noticed my entry.
"Nice abs, Toby," I remarked with a chuckle. Spencer quickly spun around to face me, pulling her shirt down as she turned.
"Oh, hi Aria," she looked flushed and confused, her voice breathier than normal. Little pink circle had formed on her cheeks, "What are you doing here?"
"I was going to spend the night," I said, raising my bag half-heartedly.
"I think that's my queue to leave," Toby said as he gently pushed Spencer onto the bed next to him. I picked his shirt up off the ground and tossed it to him. He shot me a smile then pulled it over his head. "Bye, Spence," he pecked her on the check, nodded a goodbye to me, then walked out of the barn. The door closed quietly behind him.
"Sorry I interrupted," I said. "I didn't see Toby's truck in the driveway; if I had I most definitely would have knocked."
"Yeah, he was helping the Andrews, the family that bought the DiLaurentis house," a few weeks after Mona was caught and exposed as A, Jason DiLaurentis put his house on the market and disappeared. He hadn't told anyone he was leaving. The family that bought the house had a son named Jacob, who was now a junior. I think he played lacrosse with Mike. "I think they're finally putting up that fence." Spencer finished. "I'm pretty sure they have a dog. Toby parked his truck in their driveway."
Changing focus, Spencer started rambling about all the studying she still had to do. I listened with one ear as I starting pulling books out of my bag, resigned to a long night with Spencer, the studying pit bull.
"What did you think of the reading today?" Spencer startled me out of my reverie of the weekend.
"What?"
She sighed loudly, obviously annoyed, "go call Mr. Fitz so I can finally get some work done." Her voice had a bite to it you rarely ever heard.
"What? I wasn't saying anything," I was kind of offended.
"You were doing this contented sighing thing like every ten seconds. It was extremely distracting. So go call him and get it out of your system before I start reviewing for my AP Bio final."
"Alright, calm down," I knew from experience not to take it personally. When finals rolled around all bets where off with Spencer. I picked up my phone and turned to leave, asking Spencer if she wanted any food while I was up. She gave a one-shouldered shrug, not even looking up from her textbook. Coffee it is.
"Love makes you crazy." Jen stated. "I mean you guys have experienced that first hand."
I shot her a wicked smile, "you just wish you knew what it felt like."
She laughed and answered, "I can't deny that."
We were currently sitting in a casual restaurant, enjoying each other's company. We had insisted on taking Jen, the redhead who had approached us on the steps and her older sister, Sara to dinner.
"So are you from around here?" Ezra asked as he took a sip of his drink.
"Not at all, we are actually visiting relatives and they urged us to go to Philadelphia and explore. You made our day a lot more interesting. I live near Columbus, Ohio and mousy here lives in Annapolis, Maryland." Jen nudged her sister in the ribs, "but enough about us. Tell us about you. How did you meet?" she demanded.
I squeezed Ezra's hand under the table and said, "he's my English teacher."
It was one the times that, if your life was a movie, would have had an epic spit-out-mouthful-of-whatever-character-had-been-drinking moment. As it was, Jen started choking on her gum.
Ezra tightened his grip on my hand, ever so slightly and after a moment of silence Sara spoke. "A part of me wants to be disgusted," I was already grabbing my coat. "But," she continues, "I've seen the way you act around each other, and there is no way you aren't in love. And it is a little too late to make much of a difference."
Jen laughed, having cleared her throat, "That is the understatement of the century."
Ezra picked up on the second ring, "Hey."
I smiled widely and started routing through the Hastings' refrigerator, "Hey yourself."
"What are you up too?" he asked.
"Just going through Spencer's fridge to try to find something to eat, you?"
"Grading the essay portion of the finals test; I just finished with Spencer's actually."
"Oh, how'd she do?" I asked.
"Passed with flying colors, of course, she is a Hastings after all and their reputation definitely precedes them." The statement was so true, I had to laugh.
As I closed the door to the fridge I was startled to find Mrs. Hastings standing behind it pouring herself a cup of coffee, and I was suddenly grateful I hadn't put Ezra on speaker. "Hi Mrs. Hastings," I said awkwardly.
"Hello Aria. Are you and Spencer hard at work?" She was staring at me. It was kind of freaking me out.
"Yeah, just taking a break to grab some food and coffee, then its right back to studying," I grabbed a bag of pretzels from a cabinet and started edging towards the door.
She turned to place her coffee in the microwave and asked, "Who were you just talking too?"
Nosy much, I thought. "Umm, just Hanna- I should really be getting back to Spencer." The microwave beeped then and I made my escape while her back was turned.
Once I was outside I put the phone back up to my ear, "Hey, you still there?"
"Of course," he responded. I could hear the scratching of pen on paper in the background. "What did Mrs. Hastings want?"
"She was just being nosy, trying to figure out who I was on the phone with. Though I can't imagine why that would interest her. Oh well, whatever," I was standing by the door to the barn waiting to finish our conversation before going back inside. No need to tick off Spencer if you can avoid it. A question occurred to me, but just as I was going to ask, Spencer came and opened the door.
"Tell Mr. Fitz goodbye. I need you to help me with flashcards." She grabbed me by the elbow and dragged me inside.
"Bye Ezra. I love you," I sighed into the phone.
"Goodbye my fair, beautiful, beloved-," but he was cut off by Spencer grabbing my phone and hanging up on him.
"You can finish that gag worth conversation later. Preferable when I'm not I'm not around." She shot me a smirk though, and I knew she was apologizing for snapping at me earlier.
I smiled back, and she sat down on her bed and opened the bag of pretzels I forgot I had grabbed. She put a couple in her mouth then glanced back at me, confused. "Where's my coffee?"
I am hoping to get an update out every 4-5 days. I don't outline anything I write though so the times will probably vary depending on how I feel at that moment. But I will say this, reviews make me write faster. They make me want to write. So I am going to say this again in fear that it will sound like begging, please review.