A/N: Sooo sorry for not updating quickly! I had to work, babysit, and go to cheer & basketball practice. Then my boyfriend and I broke up...and I eventually got sick. It hasn't been an eventful week, except for the fact that PLL came back on last night! (I had a party; it was sooo much fun!)
When Ezra opened that door...with no shirt on...all my friends looked at me to see my reaction. I smiled widely and yelled, "I will keep my composure!" XD Needless to say, I didn't :P
Here we go: Chapter 4!
Disclaimer: I don't own PLL...
All happiness that Ezra had built up from Mrs. Hastings' arguments immediately fell. He silently scorned himself for thinking, even for the slightest second, that he would leave this courthouse as a free man. Things didn't come that easy, especially given the situation at hand, and Ezra Fitz knew there was no way in hell that punishment was going to be excused.
"Mr. Ezra Fitz, you are officially stripped of your teaching license. Not even a suspension; it will never be of any use from this day forward," Judge Oxford announced with a hint of mischief in his eye. "That being said, the Rosewood ISD will be given notice about your status, and I assume that since you will have no license, you will indeed be fired."
With his jaw tightened in frustration, Ezra slouched in the wooden chair slowly. Realization sunk in that he would have no job for an amount of time, and he had absolutely idea on how long it would take for him to find another one.
Noticing the expression Ezra held, Judge Oxford's face softened the tiniest bit. "I'm sorry, but this must be the result. If I were you, I'd be happy, Mr. Fitz... Life without a teaching license seems more durable than life within a prison cell, don't you agree?"
Ezra looked up to make eye contact with the older man in front of him. "I suppose you're right, Your Honor."
From the back bench, Hanna scoffed before whispering, "Yeah, right for the first time during the entire case." Aria glared at her intensely, which caused Hanna to ask, "What?"
Spencer elbowed Hanna right into the side of her stomach and, with widened eyes, very clearly mouthed 'stop'. After an over-exaggerated eye roll, Hanna obliged and turned her attention back to the case.
"Well, now I believe we have established everything that needs to be. Court dismissed!" Judge Oxford exclaimed with another pound of his gavel, and then stood up to exit the room quickly.
"Bring in the dancing lobsters!" Hanna added in for humor, which surprisingly caused Aria to burst out laughing. However, her giggles vanished immediately when her gaze caught Ezra's at the front of the courtroom.
"I-I'll see you guys in a minute," she said slowly, never breaking eye contact with her teacher. Before the other girls had a chance to respond, Aria was weaving her way through the small aisle full of people. She slightly felt bad for pushing and shoving complete strangers, but the closer Aria came to Ezra, the more she forgot about her surroundings.
Ezra walked a few feet to meet her at the end of the aisle, and they both stared at each other wordlessly, only communicating with their eyes. Both were full of confusion; however, desire was clearly dominant. Without even thinking twice, Aria threw herself at Ezra, lifting her arms up to secure them around his neck. Ezra's hands absentmindedly found the small of her back, forcing their bodies to crush against one another. With no room between them, Aria's lips found Ezra's in a searing kiss, causing gasps to escape the mouths of those around them.
The couple didn't hear them, however, as they continued to pour out their passion for one another freely. It was what they had wanted all along, and since they finally had it, there was no excuse to not take advantage of it.
Aria's hand gripped the baby hairs at the nape of Ezra's neck, which freed a moan of pleasure from his mouth. She smiled within the kiss, finally feeling some sort of satisfaction and hope that they could somewhat be a normal couple. Kissing in the middle of a public establishment was just the beginning in Aria's book.
Ezra reluctantly pulled away and opened his eyes to see a blushed, swollen-lipped Aria before him. Both were breathing heavily as they looked around to see the entire audience of the case lingering around the room; all had stayed to watch the once forbidden couple's reaction unfold. Expressions were obvious.
Many were of anger, as if they still were not comfortable with an adult's relationship with a teenage girl. Some were shocked, while others were even expressionless. The smallest percentage was of happiness; from those who seemed to approve of the information Mrs. Hastings had given, and then had their hearts tugged at.
Aria and Ezra gazed back at one another, and then he suggested, "We should talk about where things will go from here."
She sighed in response and titled her head to the side, indicating for him to sit down. They took a seat at the table which Ezra had sat at during the case. "I figure you have to be taken back to the Philly Prison soon, so you can't go anywhere..."
Ezra's lips formed a thin line as he nodded in confirmation. "Here is just fine."
Aria's lips twitched into a small smile before she turned her head to see who remained in the room. After the kiss ended, many people left the courtroom, finding nothing else to watch that would be interesting. Aria's parents, as well as the girls, lingered behind, waiting to see whether she was planning on leaving any time soon. "We need to talk; I'll be out in ten minutes," Aria informed.
Hanna, Spencer, and Emily all took her words as a promise as they left the room without speaking. Ella began exiting as well, but noticed that Byron continued to stare at the couple. Ella pulled at his arm slightly. "Byron, honey, come on. She'll come when they're finished." Aria's father didn't budge the slightest bit. "Byron!" she hissed through her teeth.
Byron sighed as he turned to look at his wife. Tears were brimming at the edge of his eyes as he whispered, "That's my baby girl in there, and she's in love with a man."
"I know," Ella comforted in a hushed tone, rubbing her hand slowly down her husband's arm. "But she's still your baby girl..."
"If only I could believe that... Let's just go," he said roughly, before brushing past Ella's shoulder and storming down the quiet hallway. Ella Montgomery's eyes softened with sadness before silently following Byron out to the car.
Ezra gently took Aria's hand in his, interlocking their fingers and pressing a soft kiss the back of her hand. Aria smiled tenderly as she watched the man in front of her treat her so lovingly. "We did it," she said.
"We did it," he repeated with just as much happiness. "We can be open; no more hiding, no more secrets, and it only cost me a stupid teaching license."
Aria's smile fell, and she released her hand from Ezra's hold. "You say it like it's no big deal, though."
Ezra shrugged innocently. "It really isn't, if you think about it. Aria, I could've gone to jail for what would've been twenty years. Don't you think things worked out the best way probable?"
"It's just-" she huffed in annoyance with herself. "-teaching is your passion! You spent four years of your life working to get a degree in education, not to mention all the money of college, and now after a few months of actually being a teacher...you can never do it again!" Hot tears in her eyes found their way down her cheeks, leaving small streak stains as they fell.
"Okay, let me correct that entire sentence," Ezra began as he wiped her face free from smeared makeup. "Teaching isn't my passion; you are my passion. Those four years were a time that I really did not care about… I only paid attention in my English classes… I messed around with Hardy way too often, and broke up then got back together with Jackie so many times that I would forget that I even had classes to go to... Now that you mention it, I don't even know how I graduated... And Aria, it was Hollis; the cost was cheaper than a tank of gas."
Aria giggled shyly at his comment. "You probably only graduated because you are so pretty."
"Har. Har," Ezra replied sarcastically. "Sure, I do love teaching, but it's not the only job out there. I can find something else easily, maybe even a columnist for the 'Rosewood Journal'. All I know is that we are going to be able to go eat at actual restaurants together without worrying about being caught."
"We can go to the movies, too," Aria added, leaning forward a bit.
Ezra moved to meet eye level with her. "And hold hands while walking down the sidewalk."
"Stop in the middle of the sidewalk to kiss freely." After saying that, Ezra brought a finger under Aria's chin and pulled her lips to his. The kiss was gentle, yet passionate as the couple took the moment in. However, Aria pulled back and hesitantly asked, "Aren't you afraid of the rumors people will spread? What about the looks we'll get or the whispering we'll hear?"
Ezra chuckles. "Aria, Rosewood is a small town where the residents have nothing else better to do than talk about other people. I believe it's because they're bored with their own lives, so they have to be so into others in order to breathe. I honestly don't care what people say, think, or do about us. We won, if you think about it. All we've ever wanted is to go have a cup of coffee outside of my apartment, and we are able to do that now, plus so much more. I know this may sound crazy, but I am honestly grateful to 'A'."
Aria's eyes widened in shock. "What? Why?"
"If I hadn't gotten arrested, we never would've had this case, and this case is where we found out that you are actually of the legal age. If 'A' hadn't turned us in, we could still be sneaking around and being hauled up while hiding every little chance we had. I find it better that all this happened," Ezra admitted as he once again took Aria's hands in his.
He gave a gentle, reassuring squeeze at the expression on Aria's face. She seemed determined, yet somewhat confused. "I just think it's going to be hard for a while, that's all."
"I agree, but sooner or later, something else more interesting will happen, and everyone will be hyped up about that. We'll be the highlight for a while, but things will die down soon enough," Ezra promised. "But you don't need to focus so much on the negative side of things, Aria, but rather the positive, okay?"
Aria finally locked eyes with him and truely smiled. "Okay, you're right."
He stood up, causing her to follow since their hands were grasped together tightly. "I'll have a job in no time, people will move on with their sad lives, and we'll just let the chips fall where they may." Ezra leaned over slightly to press a light kiss to her forehead. "There is absolutely nothing to worry about."
The couple began to walk near the door to meet her parents and friends, but they were interrupted by a ring coming from Aria's phone. She gasped in horror at the realization of who had actually sent the message.
New Text Message
From: Unknown
Damn, I really thought I was finished with you two. Looks like I didn't do my research like a good student should. But don't worry, Aria; you and Fitz haven't seen the last of me. So enjoy your love life...for now anyway. -A
A/N: Bam, finished with the story! :D Yeah, so it was all happy and positive until 'A' came along. I hope I did the ending justice, because I've started this chapter about four times and just couldn't get it where I wanted it to go. I like this one a lot, so hopefully you do too!
Thank you all so much for the AWESOME support and feedback for this story! I really like how you all responded to the fact that this was certainly reality and not some story where they live happily ever after with a baby on the way... Not that I don't like that story line because I do! I read every single one that is written! :P
Okay, I'm rambling! Please, please, please review!
Thanks again sooo much!
XxLadyStrengthxX
P.S. Shout out to randomness 101-Fanfic freak. She's my new PM buddy(: