A/N: So I know I've been updating on like 5 day intervals lately... as long as I have access to the internet and I keep up the pace I've been writing at, it'll probably stay that way. Just remember your reviews fuel my fire to keep writing! And, as always this is my story. I'm just sharing it with you.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Obviously. If I did, we'd already know who A is, Ezria would...well there's too many things to list there, and Lucian would exist... But that's a different topic entirely!
Chapter 6
I Wish Nothing But The Best For You
The weekend passed with little to do beyond Aria's unpacking and getting homework finished. By the time Monday rolled around, she'd managed to get everything finished for her History project with Hanna, and had looked up a few lawyers contact information so that she could speak to someone about emancipation.
Her day at school was less than pleasant. Before lunch, the entire school knew about she and Ezra. From what she managed to gather from all the gossip in the hallways, Mike had told his friends about Ezra's big reveal the week before, as well as Aria being kicked out. Noel mentioned that he already knew, and a fight broke out between the two.
Aria tried to break the fight up herself, but only earned a shove into the wall. Both of the boys were sent to the principal's office, where they were both thoroughly chewed out. Aria was ordered to go as well, but it didn't help much. The two boys continued to bicker and argue with each other even after they were surrounded by faculty telling them to shut up.
Aria exhaled an annoyed breath and looked around the mostly empty room as Mike was brought out of the office. He looked over at her angrily.
"Would you pull your head out of the damn sky, Aria? That guy's not in love with you. He's got you brainwashed."
She shook her head, refusing to say anything to her brother. He didn't understand.
"Who are you kidding," Noel argued back. "I tried to tell her that months ago. She's not brainwashed. Your sister is a whore, and Fitz is capitalizing on it. She deserves everything she gets."
Aria kept her head turned away from the boys, refusing to let them see that what they were saying hurt her, even though tears were in her eyes.
Mike launched at Noel, and managed one good punch to the older boy's jaw before he was pulled back by one of the teachers that walked into the office with Ella.
"Both of you boys, two weeks detention," the principal said angrily from the doorway. He looked to Aria and pointed towards his office. "Ms. Montgomery?"
Aria pushed up out of her seat and grabbed her book bag. She walked into the room.
"Ella, would you like to join us," the principal asked.
Aria looked back, catching her mother's eyes for a brief moment as Ella considered the option. She didn't consider it long though, because she quickly shook her head and muttered something about talking to Mike about fighting with Noel.
The principal shut the door, and waved to one of the chairs across from his desk. Aria chose the one to the right of it and dropped down into it. She settled her bag on the floor against the chair and crossed her left leg over the right. She crossed her arms as well, reaching up to wipe away the stray tears on her face.
"It appears that the argument taken place here today started over you," the principal said as he walked around his desk. He sat down in the large chair behind it and looked straight at Aria as he clasped his hands together and scooted forward. "However, neither of the boys seem to be willing to shed any light as to why. Would you like to?"
Aria took another deep breath and stared at the principal. Did he really not know? Or was he just playing dumb?
"I don't know," she lied. "I dated Noel a few months ago but it didn't work out. Maybe he was fighting with Mike over that."
The principal stared at her skeptically, and Aria knew he was sizing her up. He probably knew more than he was letting on, hoping she would give away the truth. Too bad she wasn't willing to budge.
"I really don't know, Mr. Davis. Mike is my brother and Noel and I run in the same circle of friends, but that doesn't mean I know everything about either of them and their lives."
"Isn't that a self-contradictory remark?" He asked.
Aria rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Either way, I don't know. Class is going to start in ten minutes and I haven't eaten yet. Can I go?"
Principal Davis stared her down for several long moments. "There's a lot of talk going around about a student here carrying on an inappropriate relationship with Ezra Fitz; your former English teacher. Do you know anything about that?"
Aria shook her head, making sure to keep her expression blank. "I don't know what you're talking about. Lunch?"
The principal stared at her for several moments longer, before giving up defeat. "Alright. Stay out of trouble Ms. Montgomery. I don't want to see you in here again."
Aria pushed out of the seat and grabbed her bag off the floor. She slung it over her shoulder and then walked out of the room and headed towards the cafeteria.
Halfway there, Noel stepped out of a doorway and walked beside her.
"You should've ended it with him months ago, when I saw you two together. Hell, I should've told the principal."
Aria looked up at him and scowled. "Regardless of what you say or do, Noel, you're not going to ruffle my feathers. Just because you didn't get things to go your way doesn't mean you can start arguments with Mike just to get him going."
Noel cackled. "Right. Because you're the centre of my universe. Get over yourself, Aria. You're really not as special as you think you are."
With that, he turned and left her standing there. Her jaw was slightly ajar at his comment, but she quickly forced herself to shrug the comment off. She took several more steps, intending to head towards the cafeteria again, when she was stopped by someone calling her name.
She turned around, only to be met with Jason DeLaurentis standing right in front of her.
"Jason. What's up?"
He shrugged, shifting something in his hands. "School called. I guess they were taking down a display up on the third floor, and they found something Alison made her freshman year. How're you?"
Aria shrugged. "I'm fine. I have to get to the cafeteria-"
Jason nodded. "You seem… I don't know. Flustered. Are you okay?"
Aria nodded quickly. "Just a rough day. I really have to go. I'm sorry."
She moved to step past him only for him to grab her arm. He squeezed just a little too tightly.
"Can't we talk," he asked.
Aria pushed his hand off of her bicep and wrapped her hand protectively around it. She struggled to not make her physical pain aware. "Later. I really have to go."
Aria turned away again, crossing her left arm across her body. She held her right arm lightly, just below where Jason had gripped it so tightly. She rubbed her hand up and down a few times, ruffling her black mesh shirtsleeve as she did so.
She headed down the hallway towards the cafeteria. Kids breezed past her, murmuring comments and whispers as she passed by them. She knew that they couldn't all possibly be talking about her, but in an odd way, it certainly felt like they were.
She walked into the cafeteria, and spotted the girls a few seconds later. They had seen her too, and waved her over. Aria walked over to them and dropped her hands, cupping her hands against the skirt of the midnight blue dress she was wearing, so that she sat on it when she sat own.
She crossed her stocking-covered legs, and took the tray that Emily pushed towards her.
"Is everything okay," Spencer asked.
Aria shrugged. "They had a stupid fight. Principal Davis asked about Ezra. I said I didn't know anything about it."
"Can they really do anything to her anyway," Hanna asked.
Spencer shrugged. "Not her, but I think they could to Mr. Fitz. No matter what anyone says or does, it was still illegal."
"Can we just talk about something else," Aria asked, infuriated. "I'm sick of being the talk of the school."
The girls nodded, quickly changing the subject. Aria let them discuss other things quietly while she munched on celery sticks and a six inch sub one of the girls had bought for her. She was rushing to get her food down in time to meet the bell.
When lunch was over, Spencer and Aria headed off towards P.E. while the other girls went in a different direction. Aria was grateful that they were spending the class in the pool, which meant little to no interaction with other classmates.
As the rest of the day passed, she said little to any of her friends. Her last class of the day was an ICT class, information and communications technology. The assignment for the day was to work on a blog. Aria typed up something quickly about arguing with her parents and then proceeded to quickly throw together a resume. There wasn't much to it, considering she hadn't ever had a real job. Even so, she knew that going in for a job interview, it was good to have a resume, even if there was no actual work experience.
When the final bell rang, she printed off several copies of the resume and then dashed out of the computer room behind other students. Hanna was already standing by the door.
"I thought your study hall was in the cafeteria," Aria asked as they walked.
Hanna nodded. "It is. I had to get my homework for English printed off for your mom."
Aria huffed. "According to her, it's officially Mrs. Montgomery. Whatever."
They walked in silence towards Aria's locker.
"Did you want to come over and study with me and Spencer," Hanna asked as Aria pulled things out of her locker.
Aria shook her head, stuffing things into her bag. "I've got to make a stop at the mall and pick up applications for jobs and then head over to Hollis. Maybe tomorrow?"
Hanna nodded before hugging her. "Things will get better."
"I hope so," Aria agreed. She closed her locker door and then headed towards the exit.
Once she was out of the building, Aria made a mad dash for her car. She was one of the few people who hadn't lollygagged inside the building, and the parking lot wasn't yet filled with a line of cars at the exit.
Aria got into her car and started it up as she pulled her seatbelt on. She pulled out of her parking stall and made her way out of the parking lot. Headed in the direction of the mall, she fiddled with the radio dials. Nothing enticed her listening tastes, and she eventually turned it off.
She pulled into the mall parking lot a few minutes later. She pulled her resume print offs from her bag and then walked into the building with the sheets of paper and her purse in hand.
She started at the store closest to her and then proceeded to visit ten different stores from one end of the building to the other. She picked up an application at each place before she headed to the food court and filled out each one. She had a small stapler in her bag, and used it to staple her resume to each one. Afterwards, she headed back to each store and returned the applications promptly.
Several of them just thanked her, while three promised they'd call in a day or two with an answer.
Aria headed back out of the building and made her way towards Hollis. Along the way, she stopped in front of her favourite coffee shop. She sat in the car for nearly five minutes after she'd pulled into a parking space outside the building, contemplating. She had a limited amount of funds to work with, and they had to stretch until she got a job and got her first pay check. And while she wasn't exactly broke, she couldn't really run home to mom and dad and ask for fifty bucks to put in her gas tank.
After sitting there and berating herself for several long minutes, she opened her door and got out. A sign caught her eyes for a brief moment as she walked to the door, but she didn't bother to read it.
As soon as she stepped inside, the barista greeted her.
"Aria! Glad to see you today!"
Aria smiled at the woman. Her name was Loretta. She was an African-American woman with deep chocolate eyes, and a matching skin tone. She was much taller than Aria, and very slim with a body that most girls Aria knew would kill for. Hanna had made jealous comments before she had lost weight in ninth grade. She had worked there for as long as Aria could remember.
"Hey, Loretta. How's it going today?"
The older woman smiled warmly at her. "Pretty busy, sweetheart. What can I get you?"
"The usual," Aria replied just as warm. She looked around the place as Loretta went and began to prepare Aria's coffee.
The scenery was no different than it always was, so her eyes drifted quickly back to the sign she had seen in the window. The sign that she hadn't read.
WON GNIRIH
Aria whipped her head back towards Loretta as she turned to say something.
"You guys are hiring? What for?"
Loretta nodded. "Sammy and his girl Maria just moved back to LA. Something about her parents in an accident; had to get back there fast. Guess it was real bad. We need someone to cover their hours."
"Can I get an application?" Aria asked.
Loretta stopped in her tracks and looked up at Aria. "You sure, sweetie? I'd hire you on the spot, but only if you can fit it into your schedule."
"I can fit it into my schedule if you can make it work around school hours," Aria compromised. "I need the job, bad."
Loretta smiled at her as she pushed the coffee cup across the counter. "Normally I'd put you through the regular ringer, but you can fill out an application while you get started. I'll put it through later. I know you know the menu by heart anyhow."
Aria looked back at the sign in the window. In a sense, it was her own sign. Maybe she was doing things right after all.
-
I found a love I never had before
You changed me
-
Aria walked into the apartment and dropped her bag onto the floor as she kicked her shoes off.
"Where were you?" Ezra asked. He turned in his desk chair towards her.
Aria walked over to him and sat down in his lap. She pulled out a handful of crumpled bills from her pocket and dropped them on a paper Ezra was in the process of grading.
"I was at work," she said proudly.
Ezra raised his eyebrows at her, a smile on his face. "Seriously?"
Aria nodded. "My coffee place was hiring. I went to the mall, and they said they'd call, but Retta's was too good a place to pass up. It's a hundred bucks a week, plus whatever I make in tips. I'm still gonna hold out for something extra from the mall, but…" Aria trailed off, shrugging with a smile on her face. She felt pleased with herself.
"What about your school work," Ezra asked.
Aria shrugged. "I did some of it during down time before the dinner rush. I'll get the rest of it done now."
Ezra nodded, rubbing his hand up and down her back. "How was your day otherwise? You seemed a little down when you called earlier."
Aria shook her head. "It was stupid. Mike started a fight. Half the school thinks you're a creep. The other half thinks that I'm a, excuse the language, slut."
Ezra's face softened to a look of guilt. "You're still really sure you want to continue with things the way they're going," he asked.
Aria nodded. "I am. Are you okay with it?"
"If you're here, Aria, then I'm happy you're here."
Aria smiled thankfully at him and picked up her bills off his work. She counted them. A hundred dollars in tips for five hours of work. Being one of three people that doubled as a cashier and a waitress slash busboy had its advantages.
She moved off his lap and then walked back across the room and picked up her school bag. To her own luck, there wasn't any homework besides a few math problems and little bit of reading that her mother had assigned. She had a third period study hall that she normally read in, but she knew that having it now was definitely an advantage. She would need the time to get homework done that she couldn't do while she was working.
The apartment was silent for a while as they both worked on their respective homework. Ezra only interrupted Aria's working once to ask her if she had eaten. When she replied that she hadn't, he heated up leftover Chinese food for her, and then went back to putting together a lesson plan for the next day while she ate and worked.
Midnight was quickly approaching when Aria pushed her notebooks back into her school bag. She stripped out of her outfit and grabbed a pair of short shorts from the floor and pulled them on. She grabbed one of Ezra's t-shirts as well and then walked over to the bed and crawled into it.
Ezra walked out of the bathroom a moment later in pajama pants and walked over to the bed. He got into it on the opposite side as Aria and pulled the blankets up over them.
"I'm going to get a different phone plan tomorrow and get in touch with one of the lawyers."
Ezra nodded as he looked over at her. He extended his arm towards her and Aria excepted the opening. She snuggled up against him and closed her eyes.
"I must say, there is a perk to having you here through the night," he said with a cheerfulness in his voice. Aria slapped his chest lightly.
"That is more than I need to know," she replied with a laugh.
"No," Ezra insisted, dragging out the word. "I've never slept so well as I do when you're here. It's comforting, I think."
Aria opened her eyes and looked up at him. "Really?"
Ezra nodded. "Really. You're amazing, Aria."
She smirked. "You really have got to stop saying that."
"Why," Ezra asked. He brushed her hair behind her earlobe. "It's true. You're amazing, and funny, and smart, and beautiful. I'm so fortunate to have ever even met you. To know you."
Aria blushed. Ezra smiled at her reaction and kissed her. Aria moved her arm under her body up and around his neck, bringing her right arm up to cup his face.
Ezra brushed his fingers down her arm and grabbed the back of her upper arm, intending to pull her closer. Aria tensed up as he squeezed the bruised area where Jason had grabbed her hours earlier.
"What," Ezra asked. He furrowed his brow in confusion. "Did I do something wrong."
"No," Aria said, though there was pain in her voice as she pulled his hand off her arm. She had only looked at it briefly when she had changed, but there were several light blue-purple spots on her arm.
Ezra looked down to where she had pulled his hand away and examined the skin there. He was surprised to see the bruises there. "Did your brother do this?"
Aria shook her head. "It's not important. Someone just grabbed me too hard. I'm okay, Ezra."
She could see in his eyes that he wanted to push the subject, but she didn't really want to discuss it further. He nodded after a moment and then reached across her side of the bed to turn off the beside table lamp. He then settled back into place, and wrapped his arms around Aria.
They resumed kissing, though he moved his hand up to her face instead of grabbing her arm again. Aria wrapped hers under his, pressing her hand flat against his back in attempt to pull him closer. The make out session lasted until they both dozed off into an exhausted sleep.
Morning came quickly though, and the blaring of the alarm was not fair in its greeting. Aria groaned and rolled over into her pillow while Ezra moved off the bed and stumbled towards the bathroom. The change in weight and temperature of the bed only further irritated Aria.
She huffed and pushed up out of the blankets a few moments later and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She pushed off of it and walked over to the kitchen. Aria opened the fridge and pulled out the tin of coffee. She settled it on the counter while she settled a new filter in the percolator and then filled the coffee pot with water. She added the coffee grounds last, and then turned on the machine. A few seconds later, it began to make noise as the water started to filter through the machine. It wasn't enough for the day, but the homemade stuff would see both she and Ezra through until they could get their hands on more-sugar-not-so-much-coffee coffee.
Aria dug through her mess of folded clothes on the floor as she kneeled down in front of them. She knew that the apartment was too small to fit all of both their things, but she hadn't had a chance to meet with a judge or lawyer yet, so getting a different apartment was out of the question for the moment. For the time being, most of her clothes were settled in piles on the floor, except for the drawer that Ezra had managed to clear for her, which held her intimates and her large assortment of hats.
She picked through the piles before settling on a pair of black skinny jeans and thin long-sleeved black shirt. She tossed both up onto the bed and then stood and pulled her drawer open, digging through for a matching set. She pulled out a bra and panties set that was made up mostly of lace flowers, and tossed them onto her clothes.
She knew she would have to wait for Ezra to finish up in the shower, so she walked back over to the kitchen and pulled out two clean coffee mugs. She stared at the percolator with hungry eyes until it finally stopped making noise, alerting her that it was finished.
Aria pulled the coffee pot off of the warming pad and poured two cups before replacing it. She walked over to the fridge and pulled out the liquid creamer and then walked back over to the filled coffee mugs. She poured the vanilla flavored creamer into the cups and then grabbed a spoon and stirred both mugs before picking up one of them and bringing it to her lips.
Even piping hot, she took a large gulp from it. She closed her eyes as the steaming liquid ran out of her mouth, down her throat and into her stomach.
By the time she finished her cup, Ezra was coming out of the bathroom, wrapped in his robe. She smiled and crossed the room to his bed. As she leaned forward to pick up her clothes from the end of the bed, Ezra wrapped his arm around her and kissed her cheek.
"You're all wet," she chuckled.
Nothing else was said as she walked over to the bathroom. She settled her clothes on the closed toilet seat and then proceeded to remove her clothes and step into the still running shower. She stood under the pulsing steam of water and just took in its warmth for a few minutes before she actually started washing up.
Once she had, she returned to standing under the stream and enjoying the warmth. She rued stepping out of the shower when she finally did as a full body shiver shot down her spine from the quick drop in temperature.
Even so, she didn't waste much time. Aria quickly dried her body off with a fluffy towel and then changed into her clothes. Once she was fully dressed, she opened the door and walked out of the bathroom, back into the bedroom. She pulled a pair of socks out of the dresser and then slipped them on before grabbing her makeup bag and returning to the bathroom.
As soon as she was in front of the mirror, she unzipped the moderately sized bag and began pulling out different utensils that she would use to put the makeup on. Once she had everything set out, she started off with foundation. While she applied the makeup, she sang to herself, mostly to bring noise into the otherwise silent apartment, as Ezra was back at his desk, grading papers.
"I'm meeting you on humble ground
Where I hope we'll stay
Meeting you on humble ground
Here I am today
But it's not for me to know
When things will go my way
I wish I didn't make a sound
Wish I didn't curse
Wish you weren't the one around
When I'm at my worstBut it's not for me to know
How with you my colours show…"
"You should sing more often," Ezra said as he pushed up from his desk and shoved papers into his bag. He looked over at her. "Your voice is beautiful."
Aria looked out at him, blushing. "I sing all the time."
Ezra shook his head, pressing his lips together for a moment. "Not around me, you don't. I've only heard you sing once before now."
Aria raised an eyebrow at him. "Seriously? When?"
Ezra walked over to her and wiped his thumb against a spot under her left eye where mascara had smudged.
"The day I came back from New York. You were singing in that room to Noel."
Ezra's face was blank with just about no emotion to express what he thought of what he'd walked in on, but Aria knew that it still bugged him. She had been mere seconds away from kissing Noel in that room when Ezra had walked in.
The argument that had ensued should've been something that phased her so much sooner, though. Ezra had said right to her that things needed to change. She had wanted so badly to tell her parents; to be out in the open. Yet, somehow, that had only made things worse.
"What's going through that head of yours," Ezra asked, bringing Aria out of her memory. She looked up at him and shook her head.
"I just was remembering that day. I mean, we were so close to going off into a completely different direction."
Ezra nodded. He took the mascara out of her left hand and placed it on the side of the sink, and then grabbed both of Aria's hands and interlaced their fingers.
"I know I've asked you this before, but its different now and I can see how all of this is affecting you."
"What?" Aria asked.
"Do you wish you could go back and change it? Not have shown up at the bar?"
Aria shook her head without even considering the question. "Never. I would never wish for something like that, Ezra."
He nodded and looked down at the floor. "I'll let you get back to your makeup."
Ezra dropped their hands and turned to walk out of the room. Aria turned back to the vanity and picked up her mascara again. She went back to work applying her makeup. As she stood there, though, there was an unrelenting question in her head.
When she was finished applying her makeup, she walked out of the bathroom and grabbed her schoolbag from the floor. She walked over to the door and picked up her converse sneakers and then walked over to the couch and sat down.
"Can I ask you something?" Aria asked as she pulled the laces of her shoes.
Ezra spun around in his chair and looked up at her. "Hmm?"
"I know how all of this is affecting me, but you haven't said anything about it. Are you okay with everything that's happened with my parents?"
Ezra stared at her quizzically for a few moments as he pondered the question. "Don't take this the wrong way, but no. I'm not."
"Okay," Aria replied. "Why not?"
Ezra stood from his seat and walked over to her. He sat down on the cushion next to her. "I'm not okay with the fact that your parents have basically shunned you. I'm not okay with the fact that because we were honest with your parents about us, you can't go home. It's not that I don't want you here. But I see how it hurts you, and that's not alright with me. It's not me blaming you, though, or even being upset with you. I just want it all to be okay."
Aria leaned into Ezra and he wrapped his arm around her. "I'm sorry you got brought in to all of this."
Ezra turned his head towards hers and pressed his lips against her temple. "You didn't bring me in into anything. I knew when we stayed together at the beginning of the year that this was dangerous. I knew that eventually we'd have to tell your parents. I expected fights, and a few stray punches. But not this. Never this."
"Sometimes I wish we hadn't told them." Aria murmured.
"Or what," Ezra asked. "Let someone else get to them? Let Jackie tear us apart?"
"Its not like she hasn't kept trying." Aria sighed.
Ezra sat up, turning more towards her. "What do you mean? Has she come at you since you and your friends ended up at the station?"
Aria shook her head. "No, but I've seen the things she's said to you. Ezra, I don't want you to have to put up with her doing this because of me."
"Jackie is most definitely a part of my past, Aria. The fact that she can't accept her is her own problem. Letting her dig her nails into this situation is only going to give her satisfaction."
"So you're really okay with her doing what she's doing?" Aria asked.
Ezra raised his eyebrows at her. "Okay with it? No. But I deal with it. Jackie has always been a cut throat person who fights for what she wants. But you can't very well fight for something that doesn't want you. Eventually she'll get that."
"Are you sure," Aria chuckled.
Ezra kissed her forehead. "Everything will be okay, Aria. It just takes time."
More time for 'A' to rip my life apart,Aria thought to herself. "We should stop sitting around. I have to finish up some work for school."
Ezra nodded, exhaling a deep breath. "And I have papers to finish grading. Will I see you at Hollis tonight?"
"After I stop to get a new cell contract and call one of those lawyers. With any luck, there will be minimal fighting. Or at least, I can hope so."
Ezra ran his hand down the back of her head. "Don't buy in to the arguments they start and then they hold no power."
Aria chuckled. "Not when my brother's involved. He and Noel Kahn tried to rip each other apart yesterday because apparently Noel thinks I'm a slut. I wonder if he's friends with Jackie," she said snidely.
"Maybe," Ezra replied, with a teasing smile on his own face.