Chapter Ten
Aria had spent the rest of her afternoon at home with a tub of Chunky Monkey. She was afraid but she was also extremely tired of being babied. No one would leave her alone. She knew that they meant well, but her mom wouldn't let her pee without checking on her every 2 seconds.
Her friends had texted repeatedly, offering to come and stay. Offering to bring her homework for the day. Hanna offered to rip off Noel's balls, she was just about ready to take her up on that.
But really, she just needed to be alone with her thoughts. She needed to plug in her headphones and try not to think about it. Everyone checking on her was only reminding her of the horror that was her life.
She wondered how Noel would seek revenge. He definitely wouldn't let her go unpunished, that much she knew. The thought gave her chills and she quickly tried to shake it off. She decided to read the book that Ezra had given her a week prior. A copy of Winesburg, Ohio with "When you need to leave Rosewood. - Ezra," inscribed on the front page. Reading would help. Reading always helps. She was three stories in when she heard a knock at her bedroom door.
She sighed at the interruption and yelled out, "I'm fine, mom."
The door slowly opened and she was about to protest again when she saw someone who was definitely not her mother. He gave a small lopsided smile and sat at the edge of her bed.
"Hey," she said quietly, not really in the mood to talk. Even to him.
"Hey there," he replied, gently moving some hair from her face.
"What are you doing here, Ezra?" She asked and she realized it sounded a lot harsher than she meant it. She immediately apologized, feeling guilty for her undeserved outburst.
"No, no," he soothed, "It's okay, you've had a long day. I understand."
He said that but she could tell that he was still hurt. She gave him her best smile and he ran his thumb across her cheek. He seemed nervous, like he was worried she would break any second.
"How are you?" He asked softly.
"I'm so sick of people asking me that," she replied exasperatedly. She couldn't handle this right now.
"We're just worried about you, Aria," his reply was defensive and frustrated. He just wanted to make sure that she was okay and she kept jumping down his throat.
Aria rolled her eyes, "Could you stop worrying about me? God. I'm not a crystal ball, Ezra."
"No, but you were hurt and today was hell. We want to help you," he said angrily, getting up from the bed and shuffling around the room.
"I'm so sick of this! I am screwed! I can't be fixed. You can't fix this! Don't you get it? I'm past help. I get enough worry from my parents and from my friends. I don't need it from you!" She yelled. She felt bad about taking her anger out on him, but she couldn't help it. She couldn't take this anymore.
"You know what? I wanted to spend the evening with you, but I think I'll just go home. Goodnight, Aria," he spat out and before she could respond he was slamming the door behind him.
The weight of what had just happened, their first fight, hit her and she crumbled into a heap in her bed.
Ezra stormed down the stairs and when Ella asked what was going on he only shook his head and left the room. He was trying not to be angry, he really was. Aria had a right to be upset, but he didn't deserve to be treated like her personal punching bag.
When he entered his apartment he slammed his door behind him and grabbed a beer from the fridge. All of his movements were harsh and loud as he walked through the small space. It was their first fight and he was angry. He realized that he wasn't necessarily angry with Aria. He was angry about the situation. He was angry that Noel Kahn raped such a precious person. He was angry that Aria was angry. He was just angry.
He wished that Aria wouldn't push people away. She was so stubborn, so extremely stubborn. He just wanted to protect her and let her know that he cared for her.
He knew that he wouldn't be able to sleep if he left this unresolved, so he called her. It went straight to her voicemail and he took a deep breath and let it out.
"Hey there. I get that you don't want to talk right now, I get that. I just wanted you to know that I'll never care how far you push me away. Because when I told you that I would stay, I meant it.
"You're a little damaged and angry right now. You have every damn right to be. But you are not hopeless. I know who you are and I– I love you, Aria. I love who you are and that's why I'll stay, until you learn to love yourself too. I'm rambling and this is going to cut me off any second.. Anyway, I couldn't leave things like we did. Goodnight."
Telling her that he loved her for the first time on a voicemail was not the most romantic thing ever, he knew that. But she needed to know and he needed to tell her.
When Aria turned her phone back on a couple of hours later she noticed the message from Ezra. She cried again, but this time it was happy tears. She loved him, too. He was the kindest and most sincere person she knew. He was her reason to live and she had never felt guiltier about yelling at somebody. She was completely to blame for their fight and he's the one who called to make things right.
She figured that he was asleep so she sent him a message.
Aria: You are everything to me. You didn't deserve any of that. I'm so sorry.
It was a Saturday morning and Ezra was shuffling around his apartment in his plaid pajama pants. Getting Aria's text from the night before settled the nerves in his stomach. He'd sent her a reply at 8:00 that morning and asked if he could go over later that afternoon. He wanted to see her. He wanted to tell her that he loved her in person.
Aria invited him over and promised herself that she would have a better attitude. Pushing people away is what she did, but she was going to work on it. For everyone, but mostly for Ezra. He deserved her best. He deserved for her to try, at least. She wanted to appear strong and she had only ended up appearing weak and bitchy.
Spencer and Hanna came crashing into her room minutes later with Emily following closely behind. Emily looked apologetic and Aria had a feeling that she knew where this was going.
"Em said that she knows who lover boy is. That's not fair and you need to fess up," Hanna demanded, her arms crossed over her chest and a pout across her lips.
Spencer nudged her, "Hanna, manners. Aria, it's so good to see you."
"You're looking better," Emily smiled, hoping her friend wasn't upset with her.
"Yeah, your eyebrows look flawless this morning," Hanna added, trying to join the compliment train. Aria looked at her in bewilderment and then turned her attention to Spencer as she began talking.
"First off, Emily didn't mean to tell us. It kind of slipped out, so don't be mad at her."
"I'm not mad at her," she assured, smiling at Emily. Emily looked relieved and they both turned their attention back to Spencer.
"So, would it be possible—"
"Are you going to tell us or not?" Hanna interrupted, impatiently tapping her foot.
Aria nodded and took a deep breath. Hanna and Spencer weren't quite as accepting as Emily. She cleared her throat and spoke as she nervously played with the ring on her finger, "It's Ezra Fitz."
She was waiting for the freak out but the girls only stared at her. Spencer in shock and Hanna in confusion. It only took a few seconds until it clicked in Hanna's brain.
"Fitz as in Mr. Fitzdreamy? Score!" She squealed, doing a little happy dance and clapping her hands together.
"You did not just call him that!" Aria giggled at the nickname. She'd heard girls call him that before, but having it come from her best friend was absolutely ridiculous.
Spencer shook her head, "Well that was... Unexpected."
"You aren't upset, are you?" Aria asked worriedly, dreading what her friend was about to say. She needed Spencer to be on her side. She was the closest to her of the three and if she wasn't supportive she didn't know what she would do.
Spencer shook her head and scrunched her eyebrows, "Of course not. Why would I be upset? It's a little unconventional, but it wasn't your decision. Things happen."
Aria threw her arms around Spencer and then Hanna, "Thank you guys for understanding. But you can't tell anyone, he could lose his job. We promised the principal that we wouldn't tell anyone."
"Our lips are sealed," Hanna said and Spencer nodded in agreement.
That took a weight off of her shoulders. No more lying to her friends.
"We got into a huge fight last night, then he told me that loves me," she admitted quietly, desperately needing to talk to someone about it.
"That's so sweet! Well not the fight part, but the love part," Hanna gushed.
"Wait, wait, wait. Is he the mystery internet guy?" Spencer questioned, completely forgetting about that important detail until now.
Aria nodded and smiled, "Yeah. Yeah, he is."
"Dang, this is romantic," Hanna sighed, throwing herself onto Aria's bed.
"You should have seen him yesterday. He was so worried about you, Aria. It was kind of adorable," Emily smiled.
Aria blushed and shook her head in amusement, "Sounds like Ezra. That's actually kind of what our fight was about..."
"Him being adorable?" Hanna asked, her face scrunched up and confused. Who the heck fights about that?
Aria rolled her eyes, "No. About him worrying. Everyone is so worried about me and I felt like I was drowning. I just wanted to be left alone, no offense to you guys. Anyway, I kind of snapped at him and it escalated."
"And how did that turn into him telling you that he loves you?" Spencer asked, trying to process her best friend's relationship with her English teacher. Wait, what? That was something that she would need to get used to.
"He left and then he called. My phone was off, he left a voicemail," Aria proceeded to play said voicemail causing all of her friends to coo and giggle. They agreed that Ezra was perfect and Hanna created their celebrity couple name: Ezria. Aria liked the sound of that.
"Aria, Ezra is here!" Ella called a few hours later after her friends had gone. Aria tried to straighten herself up and was running a brush through her hair when she heard the light knock on her door.
She opened the door and crashed her lips onto his before he had a chance to speak. He pulled her close, responding immediately. He'd missed her, as silly as that sounded. He felt like he hadn't seen her in a week and he didn't ever want to feel that way again. Although, make up make outs were pretty nice.
They separated and Aria stared into his eyes, playing with his unmanageable curls. A small smile fell on her lips, "I love you, too. I love you so much."
Ezra hugged her and nuzzled his head into her neck, "I love you, I mean it. Always."
They love each other! What did you think of this chapter? And how do you feel about the girls' reactions?
Also, your opinions on the summer premier? Two words: holy crap. Let me know what you thought!
Please check out my one shot Blue Jeans. Not to toot my own horn, but I feel like it's one of the best things I've ever written. I don't know.. But please leave me a review and let me know?
I love you bunches,
-RissyWrites