Note: A has not been revealed, Ezra is still working at Hollis, and summer has started for the girls.


Chapter 4

When Aria had first met Ezra Fitz, she had just moved back to Rosewood after a year abroad in Iceland. Though she had grown up in Rosewood, she still felt like an outsider, even after twelve months away; she'd always been kooky, artistic Aria. Never cool, sexy Aria. Just that…plain, strange, and hostile girl, the one who had some anti-people shield around her.

But then there had been Alison. And what came with Alison was Aria's opportunity to step away from her awkward, lonely—and awfully confused—circle and be reborn as someone new and fresh. So she became the cool, sexy Aria she wanted to be—with the pink streaks of hair, of course.

After Ali disappeared, she took Aria's big family secret to the grave, too, and Aria moved away from Pennsylvania, redefined her image in Europe (including getting rid of her hot pink stripes), and returned with a completely different, more confident and content persona.

Not that she ever stopped thinking of Alison. In fact, that's exactly what she had been doing when she had stopped at a college bar to recuperate and assimilate back into Rosewood's idealistic culture. Her awkward, perplexing past had kept sneaking up on her, threatening to transform her back into the isolated girl she was.

Then he had spoken, and she had replied, and their comments had turned into flirtatious ones. They had talked about Europe and literature, had a couple of drinks, and ended up passionately kissing in the women's bathroom—Aria had never felt so alive. That's when she knew that Icelandic Aria was there to stay.

Typical story, one would say, and completely unoriginal and horribly repetitive. But not when that sweet, sensitive guy you were making out with was also your new English teacher.

Now, as the blood circulated in her ears, her whole life flashed before her eyes in jeering, menacing blurbs. She saw her five-year-old self in her head and thought: How could sweet, innocent, loveable Aria Montgomery get pregnant at seventeen? How could she do that to herself?

Truth was, it definitely wasn't in her plans either.

Overwhelmed, Aria felt the bout of nausea and dizziness overcome her, and Ezra's once-smiling face blurred and warped in front of her. She was able to make out his lean frame jump out of his chair, his voice calling her name even though it translated as a warbled echo in her eardrums. His warm, protective hands took ahold of her elbows and led her to the sofa—oh, so many memories in here—where she promptly burst into guilt-ridden tears.

At first, she was crying about the blameless, helpless baby growing inside her, and how he/she/it didn't have any choice but to be mothered by a seventeen-year-old girl—who was still maturing, she couldn't help but point out. But then the memories of her dad's affair, all the fun times she had with Alison and her group of friends, and her loneliness before encompassed her and shook her up, making her nerves jangle roughly. Looking back on it, Aria could remember the struggle she had accepting who she was, and how no one wanted to see past her uniqueness and take the time to know that she was a fabulous, detailed painter and a wonderful, delicate potter. No one wanted to know that she wrote all her personal diary stuff as though it was a dramatic novel, nor did they bother to ask her what her favorite movie or book was—which Ezra knew to be It Happened One Night and To Kill a Mockingbird.

Next to Alison, he was the only one who ever cared. And as her strange yet happy childhood loomed in the far back of her mind, she returned to the shattering present after her trip down memory lane, and was met by her former teacher's pleasant blue eyes.

"Aria," he whispered into her ear as he pulled her onto his lap, wrapping his strong arms around her frail, weeping shoulders. "Aria, it's okay. Whatever it is, you're safe." Then he mumbled the two syllables that always made her melt in his embrace. "I'm here."

Whimpering, Aria was able to suck up the broken pieces of her life and at least dump them in a pile to be put back together later. But for right now, there were more important matters to discuss other than her past full of rather low self-esteem and peculiarity.

Wiping her wet eyes with her sleeve, she sniffled quickly and stared into his concerned baby blues. "I'm sorry," she stammered as another bout of tears flooded her, while also standing up. "Maybe I should come back—"

"No!" Ezra said a little too quickly, jumping out of his seat. His reaction to her questionable, red expression was to loosen his tense muscles and run his fingers through her soft, dark tresses. "I'm not letting you go when you're this upset."

Sniffing, Aria's large, hazel eyes bore into Ezra's worried, sympathetic ones. She knew she couldn't keep the baby a secret from him; it would just break his heart, and her own, too. Yet, with her parting lips came the familiar sense of dread, and her stomach clenched into a tight ball, and she knew that maybe…she shouldn't tell him.

But those eyes, the ones she adored because they held so much love and care for her, quirky Aria and all, made her swoon, even in moments of complete despair and utter hopelessness. Unlike the many times she'd internally fainted, though, this time she actually did fall over as a wave of dizziness swept over her, blurring her vision.

"Oh God!" Ezra gasped in surprise as she came tumbling down again, but he caught her just in time—his arms encircling her flat stomach—and dropped onto the couch with her. "Aria, are you okay?"

No, she wanted to whine. No, because I'm going to be a mother, and I know absolutely nothing about being a role model, or how to act around a child, or even how to care for one.

"No," she sputtered out, but that's all she said, and she gave no further explanation.

Ezra's warm, comforting hands pulled her closer to him, and he attempted to tilt her chin up with his index finger, but she still couldn't look him directly in the eye. "You can tell me anything, Aria," he whispered in her ear, and she closed her eyes, savoring the gooey sound of his voice. "You can trust me."

With those sticky words rushed back memories of their jokes and fights, their passionate kisses and their hurt tears. In retrospect, Aria could still feel Ezra's lips molding into hers the first day they met, both of their breaths smelling distinctly of alcohol. Even though they were slightly tipsy, though, their first few minutes together weren't wasted: There was something about him that made Aria cling on to him, something that said she could accept his uniqueness and he would accept hers.

Wiping away her pathetic tears, Aria took a deep breath and steadied herself for the inevitable. The whole time she couldn't stop thinking of the little life growing inside her, the one they created together, and that made her feel strangely thrilled and terrified, like she was living in a false reality. It was impossible for her to wrap her head around the entire fact of what they had gotten themselves into by creating new life.

"Ezra," Aria choked out as the words danced at the tip of her tongue. "We've done something really horrible."

Curiosity piqued, Ezra's breath caught in his throat as he braced himself for whatever news she had to bear. He couldn't think of one thing they had done that was so terrible, and all the ideas that flooded his head made him question if they were true: Had Ella had a heart attack? Had Byron kicked Aria out of the house?

At least he could help her with the latter, and possibly accept the major guilt for the former.

But what came out of Aria's mouth made his entire body numb. He could feel Aria's face cringe under his shirt, the sign that she was about to cry, and as they tumbled out her dark-painted nails dug into his chest, rumpling his new tie.

"I-I'm pregnant, Ezra," she sobbed. Okay, so the tie didn't matter as much anymore. "Please don't hate me…"

It was the first time Aria had ever shown Ezra that she had insecurities. Was Aria really that worried that he would throw her out on the streets and abandon her? Was she afraid of being a total outsider again, but this time because she was odd and knocked up?

As his cotton shirt became soaked with Aria's tears, he was still utterly dumbfounded. How does one respond to news like that? Aria was a teenager, and he had been her teacher. If their relationship wasn't inappropriate before (which it was), then it was now.

Yes, Aria didn't act like an immature teenager (all the time), but she still was one. While the words sunk in, he couldn't help but start blaming himself for not being the adult figure he was.

A couple months ago when Aria had stopped over his apartment, she tearfully and urgently told him that her parents were considering sending her off to boarding school, and after having had comforted her and murmuring about how much they loved each other, things became steamy a little too fast and neither put a stop to it. At that time, they honestly believed they wouldn't see each other again for a long while.

Yet, here they were—and with the sun setting in the distance, it was also growing dark.

"It's late," Ezra mumbled as her whimpers turned from full-blown sobs to distant whimpers. He rubbed the small of her back unconsciously. "Do you think you could stay over tonight so we could…talk about this?"

Sniffling, Aria nodded, and was able to pull herself together enough to scoot up into a crumbled sitting position. "Let me just call me Spencer," she said while wiping her cheeks and taking out her phone with shaking hands. "I'll need an alibi."

While Aria was on the phone with Spencer—God, what did her friends think of him?—Ezra slowly packed up his desk for the day, contemplating the surreal world around him. Was he still in reality, or was this some twisted dream? When he cut his finger on the edge of someone's essay and started to bleed, however, he knew that everything was solid.

"Thanks. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Bye." Hanging up the phone, Ezra watched as Aria's arms crossed at her chest and her shoulders scrunched together, almost as though she was embarrassed. He strolled over to her side, suitcase in one hand, and draped his arm around her, hoping she'd lean into him so that they could leave. But she didn't move an inch, and just stood there, her pretty eyes staring down at the ground as she heaved through her mouth.

As a wave of something Ezra couldn't define washed over him, he set his bag down and instinctually placed his hands on her pale, clammy cheeks. "Aria," he whispered, and he still believed it was the most beautiful name in the world. Reluctantly, she gazed back at him and he stroked her soft skin. "You're not going through this alone. I won't allow that to happen to you." Lovingly, he pushed her hair behind her ear, smiling his boyish grin. "Nothing will make me turn away from you at this moment."

Heart racing and surging with adoration, Ezra sighed internally in relief as Aria's lips turned up at the corners in a small smile. With the tension dissipated, there was nothing left to say, and the two parted from Hollis—for Aria, summer had already commenced—and drove to apartment 3B.