DISCLAIMER: I do not own the characters in the story and I am not affiliated with Pretty Little Liars (if I was, I'd be rich and there would be no Jake). All characters featured in "For Now" belong to the creators of PLL. I do wish I could claim the perfection that is Ezria as my own though because I would have them act out my favorite scenes all day, every day. (Ok, that sounded kinky af, but i don't care)

"We fell in love for a reason, now you're leaving
And I just want you back
So many things we believed in
Now you're leaving and words won't bring you back."

Aria Montgomery looked at the clock, her frustration evident in the way her eyebrows were furrowed. 7:55 AM. Five minutes to get to work, she thought to herself as traffic crawled. Normally she would be the image of road rage, but today her frustration was only mild compared to what it could have been. Thank God for the wine.

English-obsessed and a free-spirit, Aria found herself working in Rosewood's bookstore. Even though it reminded her of days she'd spent with Ezra, looking for books and enjoying the company of one another, it was still a place she wanted to be. The bookstore had been a favorite place of hers ever since she had discovered her love of literature at a young age and even though Ezra infiltrated that piece of her too (as with just about every other part of her life), she still enjoyed her work and savored the four hours she spent before heading off to English classes at Rosewood's Hollis College.

Though she would never admit it to anyone, if she looked long enough past the bittersweet memories of long days spent searching for books and talking literature with Ezra, she saw herself happy between the aisles with Ezra's hand in hers, smiling wide and hopelessly in love. Although these moments were painful to remember after her rough heartbreak, she was sometimes able to find warmth swelling inside of her.

She pulled in parallel to the sidewalk and hopped out, slamming the door behind her and rushing into the bookstore. It was 8:03 AM and she'd made decent timing, considering that all of Rosewood's senior citizens seemed to be out today, moseying around with no place to be.

"Hey Waltz," she said as she walked in and made her way past the older gentlemen standing behind the cash register who was reading a book. She found her way to the back room to hang up her coat and purse.

"Three minutes late, Montgomery. You wouldn't make it to your own funeral on time. I'm sure of it." He smirked, not glancing up from his reading.

"Oh, Waltz," she said, making her way back up the front. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pecked his cheek, "Why do you have so much doubt in me? Besides, traffic was awful. Your generation should either speed up or get off the road," she said as she let go of him and walked off to start organizing a section of books.

He smiled at her and watched her carefully. Aria Montgomery's personality had always been a reminder of what the youth had going for them. He sighed and asked the question Aria felt might be coming at any moment, "How're you holding up? You haven't seemed yourself la-"

She cut him off, now wanting to hear the rest of it. She looked up at the ceiling and pushed her lips together, hoping that it could keep her from crying. "Good, fine," she said, resuming her work when she felt she had her emotions under control.

Waltz hesitated before he said, "He came in last night, bought a book and…" He paused. "…asked how you were."

Aria glanced over in his direction and worked up a wry smile. "T-That was nice of him," she said. "And, um, what did you say?" Waltz looked up. "How-how am I?" she stuttered.

"I told it like it is: you're a mess. And don't you dare try to deny it, Montgomery," he said as he saw her mouth open, in an attempt to defend herself. "But I also gave that boy a good talkin' to, breakin' your heart like that. I wanted to kick his ass outta here the minute I saw him," Waltz finished.

Aria couldn't help but grin at Waltz's blunt way of speaking and the attitude he possessed. "You're a good man, Waltz," she said, smiling shyly at him. "I appreciate that."

/

Ezra's phone went off as he sat down for a night in, with plans to watch an old movie. As he sat down, he looked to his left, where Aria would have been months before. She was always right there, cuddling his side and fighting sleep as they watched old films. He starred at where she would have been tonight, should have been tonight: right beside him.

His phone beeped suddenly, signaling a text and bringing his attention away from his thoughts of Aria. It read:

Hey man! I'm back in town visiting my parents for a couple days. Let's get out for a while and catch up. A beer and an old friend sound good?

Hardy. A beer and an old friend did sound good right about now. Anything to keep himself from missing Aria.

At approximately 9:30 PM, Ezra walked into the pub (luckily not the one he'd met Aria at-Hardy was smarter than that). He saw Hardy sitting at the bar, with a seat reserved beside him.

"Hardy!" Ezra yelled, walking up to him and pulling him into a hug as Hardy stood to greet him.

"Hey Ezra! You're looking pretty good, all things considered," Hardy said, patting him on the back. He sat down on the barstool and pointed to the empty seat beside him. "Sit down, I need a friend and I'm sure you do too."

An hour later, Ezra was sputtering out things about Aria. Alcohol seemed to be the gateway to his emotions and he spoke to Hardy about needing to be over Aria (which he was so clearly not) and needing to move on.

"Ezra, I don't really know what to say except for," Hardy paused, examining his friend and if he could take it. "Dude, wake up! You're sure as hell not getting over Aria any time soon and I highly doubt she'll be moving on from you in the near future."

Ezra looked at him. "It has to be this way." He then looked down, swallowing what he just said.

"Oh please! Don't be such a little bitch! You've fought for that girl for three years, what's making you stop now? Since when does Ezra Fitz give up on what he wants? I didn't realize you became a pussy while I was gone."

Ezra looked at him, his mouth open but unable to find words.

"It doesn't have to be this way. It's been three months and you haven't gained any ground in the 'getting over her' department, so obviously, this isn't how it's really meant to be. You two were meant to be. It's obvious by the way you're still mopping around three months later. Shit, Ezra." Hardy sighed. "I just want you to be happy and I want you to realize that maybe you can't achieve that without her."

Ezra wanted to fight back, say that what Hardy was saying wasn't true, but Hardy was always right: his claims of Ezra still loving Aria were true.

/

Aria poured herself another glass of wine. It was her fifth that day and she didn't really plan to stop. I need a good man. One that doesn't doubt our future or our chance at being together. A real man. That's what I need. She took a long sip of her wine, one that ended up with downing half of the newly poured glass. Damn Ezra.

She sat down in front of the television, just barely paying attention. Instead, her mind was beginning to drift somewhere else.

"Ezra!" she said, flustered and angry. "Wh-what are you saying? Where is this even coming from?"

"I don't want to waste my time, or yours. I've just realized that you and I are in two different points in our life. I'm a 26-year-old high school English teacher and you're still just a college student. I need to get out of the mindset that 'this,'" he motioned his arms between Aria and him, "...will work."

"So we're over?! Just like that?!" Aria raised her voice, fighting to be heard and holding back tears. "After three years, we're done?!" She sat down on his brown leather couch, elbows resting on her knees and her head against her palms. She tried her best to fight back tears, but they were coming…fast. She looked up at him, searching for a sign in his eyes to tell her something. What had happened to what they had so carefully built together?

"Look," he said, sighing and pausing for a moment. "I want you to be happy and-"

Aria cut him of and began softly shaking her head, assuring him, "The only way I'm happy is if I'm with you."

Ezra went into his kitchen, pressing his palms against the edge of his countertop. "I just think it's best if this ended. Please just," he paused for a moment, then softy said, "just go."

Aria looked up at him, fighting back tears as she replied, "Gladly." She grabbed her stuff and took the keys he had made to his apartment from her bag, throwing them on his counter. "I guess I won't be needing these." She looked down, just standing there for a moment before glancing back up at him and saying, "Goodbye Ezra." She walked towards the door that led to the exit of apartment 3B and, no matter how bad she wanted to, didn't look back.

Let me know your thoughts on this chapter, please :) It's significantly longer so I hope you enjoyed. Like I said, as long as I have readers, I'll be here, writing away!

I appreciate the follows and faves from some of you guys already! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!