Chapter 3

As soon as she saw that it was him, Aria slightly shifted, positioning herself behind the door, only her head visible for Ezra's view. Ezra had no choice but to look up at her, and she soon saw the emotions evident on his face. There were hints of confusion, fear, and a little anger, but there was a stronger one that sent daggers through Aria's heart. Hurt. He was hurt, and it was her fault. This is exactly what she wanted to avoid. She hadn't even thought about what she would do if Ezra had found out before she told him because, well, she just didn't expect it. The last time he had been to her house wasn't exactly the happiest of moments. Mike had hit him and Byron and Ella tried putting a stop to their relationship. Why would he want to come back? And if he did, why would he just show up at her house when her parents might be home?

Aria noticed that they had been standing there for five minutes, saying nothing, a million thoughts racing though their heads. Because Ezra looked as if he were about to vomit, she decided that she would be the first to speak. But what would she say? 'Sorry for cutting you off completely, but it was only because I'm pregnant and it's your baby?' No. What should she say? What could she say? It suddenly felt as though she was relying on an oxygen tank and someone had pulled the rip cord.

"Ezra," Aria muttered, embarrassed that her voice was shaking. "I wasn't expecting you…" Her voice trailed off, giving Ezra the cue to say something, anything.

"Maybe... maybe I should go…"

Aria's heart sank. Of course he didn't want to see her or talk to her. It would only ruin his life and put yet another strain on his career. Or…maybe he didn't love her anymore. But that couldn't be it; he came all the way here for some reason. That reason must've been her.

"Look, I'm sorry. I just need time to think...," He was about to turn around and walk back to his car when he added, "Come by later. I'm staying at Hardy's and he'll be out late." He scribbled an address on a small piece of paper he took out of his pocket and handed it to her.

Without any other words, he was gone, driving down her road. Aria stood there paralyzed. She let out the breath she didn't know she was holding in when she could no longer see him. Silently closing the door, her hands automatically took out her cell phone.

Hanna, Spencer, and Emily all looked expectantly at Aria. They had no idea what was going on, and since they got to her house, Aria hadn't said a word. She had hardly looked at her friends.

"Aria, what's going on?" Hanna asked, who was waiting impatiently on her bed playing with a strand of her straightened blond hair.

"Earlier today, right after my parents left with Mike, Ezra showed up." Her friends all gaped at her.

"Wait—I thought he was in New York." Emily spoke up, still not believing what Aria had just told her.

"Me, too. I never thought that he would come all the way here after being away for so lon—" She stopped herself, realization kicking in. He didn't just come here randomly. He came here very much on purpose. "It's been one year."

"Since Ali's disappearance? Why would he come all the way down here because of Alison?" Hanna asked, not getting it.

"No, not one year since Alison, one year since I met Ezra." How could she have forgotten so quickly? She had just been thinking about it, right before she was interrupted.

"I thought you said that you two met on Labor Day?" Spencer asked Aria.

"Around Labor Day. Anyways he must've come down here to celebrate or whatever and instead he found out that he's going to be a father."

"What did he do? I can't imagine him just leaving you here without letting you give an explanation." Emily gave Aria a sympathetic look and began to pace back in forth.

"He got kind of freaked out. He told me to come by where he's staying later." She looked around at her friends, wondering what their reactions would be.

"That's good. At least he wants to talk to you, maybe understand the situation a little better. Like, what you have planned." Spencer pointed out, trying to make Aria a little less antsy about meeting up with him.

"I don't have anything planned! I don't know if I should do adoption or keep my baby. I'm in high school and I'm talking to Ezra about it for the first time since I found out. I don't even know if it's a girl or a boy yet, guys. I have no answers for him. What if tonight goes completely wrong? What if he doesn't want to help or he doesn't want to understand? What if he's just doing this because he thinks he needs to? I don't want him to feel like I'm trapping him! This is exactly why I didn't tell him, I'm so stupi—"

"Aria! He loves you; there is no way he won't be there for you. And when he tells you that, and I bet you he will, you can go over what to do. What the best option is. You aren't in this alone, and you shouldn't have to be. You two have been through so much together. Noel, Jackie, your parents—"

"My parents are still a problem, Spence. When they find out that he's back and he knows…what will they do?" Aria almost whispered. "Even though I'm going to be a mom and everything, I won't legally be an adult until one month after I give birth. They can keep me away from him."

"Maybe you should just talk to your parents. Tell the truth." Emily got up, looking out the window. "Your mom is here, Han. Good luck, Aria." She went over and hugged her quickly.

"Yeah, I need to get going, too. Call me later." Spencer grabbed her car keys and jacket.

When all of her friends had left, Aria decided it was time to get ready to meet Ezra.

A/N Yay! I hope you all like this as much as I do. :) I made sure to make it longer this time (i made sure it was over 1,000 words!:)), although it always looks shorter when I post it on here than it does on Word, anyways I will update as soon as possible. Also, give me some gender and name ideas for the baby!