Aria hadn't spoken to Ezra in several days. Mostly, they saw each other in class. Even after their last encounter, tangled together on his couch and his rejection of sex, Aria still found herself angry about the Jackie situation. Most of Aria's nights now consisted of laying on her bed and talking to Emily about Ezra while Emily worked on both of their homework. Eventually, somewhere between Aria deciding she wanted to break up and then insisting she never meant it, Emily would give up and push the homework to the side and daydream about Maya.
The whole city of Rosewood seemed to have turned upside down in the past few days. True to their word, the Rosewood City Police issued a public statement alerting the community that Ian could be dangerous. Though they didn't come out and say that the girls story turned out to be true, the Chief of Police did say that the individuals involved in the night if Ian Thomas' disappearance provided substantial evidence to the police that led them to this decision. It was good enough, the girls thought. Everyone knew who he was talking about.
Spencer Hastings, the sister-in-law and alleged victim.
Emily Fields, the swimmer turned lesbian.
Aria Montgomery, inconspicuous former goth girl turned flirt.
Hanna Marin, daughter of divorcees, shoplifter and crazy car wrecker.
Separate, they were labels. Together, they were gossip.
The gossip had died down considerably. Most of the towns focus was redirected on Ian and, naturally, Melissa. Though Spencer was convinced that Melissa was in contact with Ian after seeing her muddy boots and raincoat, Melissa had most definitely not left their house since the day of the police statement. She mostly stayed hauled up in the living room with a bowl of popcorn that sat generally untouched. The television was always on, but she never seemed to be watching it. And the phone, the phone which Spencer wanted so desperately to snatch from her sisters boney little fingers, was clutched idly in her hand and never left her side.
Ian's new reputation wasn't the only thing new to Rosewood. Jason, Ali's older, anger driven brother, had returned. Maya and Emily hadn't spoken at all since the cafeteria, but rumor around town was Jason, whose family had been renting out their house to the St. Germaine's, bought them out of their lease in order to move back into the old DiLaurentis' home. Maya and her family were now living not too far from Aria's, just two streets over. Spencer, quite aware of how odd Jason moving back was, took it upon herself to start talking to him. None of the girls knew what to make of Jason. He seemed to have regressed to his teen years; when Jason DiLaurentis came back for Alison's memorial, he was clean shaven and his hair was trimmed. He wore a suit. His voice was light and he never spoke much louder than just above a whisper. Now, Spencer said, Jason was back to wearing his dark form fitting t-shirts and his hair had fallen a bit below his ears. Most of the time, she said, she heard him yelling at animals from the porch.
Emily had suggested on night that Jason was simply angry that Ian got away. Spencer, a befuddled look on her face, told them how he seemed more concerned that Ian confessed. Had it been her sisters killer, Spencer would have wanted to know how he got away, not what he said word for word. None of them quite understood Jason's sudden appearance nor his badgering of Spencer. If anything, they were more upset about someone, more likely than not Ian, breaking into the Hastings house and hurting Aria. Aria seemed completely at ease though, the days following her attack, and after much reprimanded from Ella and Byron for going into a house that was clearly broken into, it was done. Even the police seemed to have forgotten what happened that night. No one called Aria to check in or update them. And no one, especially Spencer's parents, ever let Ian's name slip from their lips as a suspect. That didn't stop word from slithering around town. Despite the fact that the girls were no longer prime suspects in the towns eyes, it didn't end the little whispers here and there. They were rare, but they were there. Aria was defiantly avoiding Ezra. He would try keeping her after class but by the time he got around to saying her name she was already out the door. Surely, he had heard, and surely, he wanted to talk to her about it. But Aria, still too confused about where their relationship was and was heading, didn't much feel like talking.
It was Wednesday and Aria was lounging in Ezra's apartment. It was a poor decision. She knew it when she accepted his offer. Aria hadn't been able to sneak from the classroom quick enough and he held her back that day. Begging, he promised that the meeting would only take a little while and if she waited, they could have dinner and talk.
"I know you're still upset about Jackie," he said.
"Yeah, you're right. I am. I'm also upset that you wont," Aria and Ezra were standing very close. It was too close for school, and she backed up until she was leaning against a student desk. With a quick look around the room and a glance at the closed door, she let her voice speak in only a whisper. "-have sex with me. I bet you had sex with her."
"If I did," he hissed, looking at the door as well. "It was because she was over eighteen, legal, and I didn't work with her mother."
"You're not going to be working with my mother forever."
"And you won't be sixteen forever."
"We're not having this conversation right now," Aria turned to walk away but Ezra grabbed her arm.
"You're right. We're not." She squirmed away from him. "Please, just wait at my apartment after school. The meeting shouldn't take long. My last day is Friday, you know."
"I know."
"Your mom is having that party Saturday."
"I know that too. By the way, she's turning it into a bon voyage party for you."
"I guess I have no choice then but to come."
"I guess you don't."
"My apartment," he sighed. "After school. Please."
"Fine." Turning on her heels, Aria left the room to find one of the girls. She needed a cover for tonight.
Aria flicked through his magazines. She had already gotten two texts from him asking her to wait. This meeting, Aria thought sourly, was taking a lot more time than he promised. She walked around the room, sat in every chair, dug through the fridge which, as usual, was very bare. Her phone jingled from across the room and she climbed over the couch to grab it. Not very surprised, it was another text from Ezra asking her to wait just a bit longer. Aria looked at her watch. It was already six o'clock.
Aria slid into Ezra's rolling computer chair and shook his laptop awake. It wasn't a good idea, she kept telling herself. She opened up his internet browser and to no surprise he was still logged into his Facebook. She pulled up the photo of Jackie and Ezra and stared at it. Maybe it was the emptiness of the room around her that drove her to insanity, but the longer she stared at the picture the harder it was to look away. Another half hour had passed before she tore her eyes away and rolled over to Ezra's old fashioned typewriter.
If Aria couldn't even look at a picture of Jackie without wanting to rip her heart out, how could she bare knowing that every day Ezra was working with her? Hollis was the school where her dad flirted with infidelity and he didn't even have a previous lover working there. It was a fluke. Ezra and Jackie had history. With dry eyes but a heavy heart, Aria dropped a piece of parchment paper into the slot and readied the typewriter. Though she was a very natural fast typer, she used only one finger to type her message.
Sorry we couldn't make this work. -Aria
She left it there knowing that he would eventually see it. Her hand knocked the laptop and closed down all the windows she opened. She shut it down and then, without even a glance back at the letter that would end her relationship with Ezra Fitz, Aria left 3B.
Emily didn't know what she was doing, but it wasn't good. Something inside of her had snapped. Her feet hit the pavement hard. She wasn't running but she wasn't walking either. It was more of a steady fast-walk that was leaving her out of breath more and more with each step. Aria had left for Ezra's right after school and Emily, not feeling like sitting at the house alone, began walking around the neighborhood.
Some would say that isn't the smartest decision for someone who has a stalker and has already had two friends injured and one friend murdered. Emily didn't seem to care anymore. What more could A do to her? A already had a sex tape that could destroy Emily in a single second. The only solace Emily got at night was knowing that her mom still hadn't seen it. She called every night like clockwork and Emily knew that, had she seen the tape or even gotten wind of it, Emily would be on a plane to Texas.
The neighborhood seemed quieter than usual. Emily passed her old house. Whoever moved in had already repainted the porch. Emily's heart gave a little tug but she kept moving on. Rosewood wasn't that big and all the girls lived pretty close together. Aria's house was just a street over. Maya's was a street after that.
Emily wasn't even sure which house was Maya's which is what made her idea to go there even more stupid. She was hoping there would be a car in the driveway that Emily recognized or a sign that whoever lived in the house was artistic musicians with a rowdy daughter. Emily didn't even know what she would say to Maya when she got there. Mostly, Emily thought, she just wanted someone to talk to that didn't know about Ian, A or Ezra. As Emily rounded the corner, she realized she didn't need a car in the driveway or a sign about the house holding a family of musicians. Maya was sitting on the porch, a smile drawn across her face, with a girl whose hair was light and wavy. It was Rebecca, Emily noticed as she got closer, the girl who Emily had run into at school. The two were sitting across from each other with their legs folded. Rebecca was smiling as well. They both seemed to have just gotten over laughing. Emily stopped walking but she couldn't turn around, either. She stared. Maya noticed her.
It took Maya a moment to get over the shock of being watched. She finally stood up and Emily had the intense urge to run away and never look back. Maya walked down the four steps on her porch and down to where Emily stood on the sidewalk. She was three houses away from Maya and when Maya had finally got to her Emily knew that Rebecca couldn't hear them.
"What are you doing here?" Maya asked.
"I don't know," said Emily honestly.
"You don't know."
"I don't."
"You know Becca," Maya threw a finger over her shoulder and pointed to the porch. Emily nodded and swallowed. "So did you come here just to stare at me and my girlfriend or do you have something to say?" It was like someone punched Emily in the stomach – multiple times over. Here stood Emily's first real love. Emily could admit it now. Ali wasn't her first real love. Love comes two ways. Emily loved Ali, but Ali never loved Emily the way Emily wanted to be loved. Maya did. And here she stood, her arms folded across her chest, looking at Emily in a way that Emily never thought Maya would look at her. Her eyes weren't look at Emily's eyes but they were full of anger. Emily's mind flashed to her last night with Maya.
The way Maya's skin glided across hers...how their hands fit together like a puzzle...Maya's lips kissing down Emily's collarbone...her eyes, so full of love and caring, dropping down to memorize every curve of Emily's body.
"So?" said Maya impatiently, tapping her foot. Emily didn't say anything. There was nothing left to say. Now, Emily was running. She was running faster than she ever ran in her life. Emily didn't know if she was running away from Maya, Becca or both. Maybe Emily was just running away from her life, but Emily ran and she didn't stop until she reached the center of town where the newly built memorial for Alison DiLaurentis rested. Emily wanted to rip every stone from the ground. She wanted to do what Lucas had the guts to do and smash the concrete basin and the benches apart. This was Alison's fault. Alison was the one who flirted with Ian. She made Melissa mad. It was Alison that blinded Jenna and brought all of them down with her. Alison made Emily fall in love with her. She toyed with Emily. She broke Emily.
Alison brought the girls down in life and death. Emily, her knees shaking, didn't care if A spilled all their secrets. Ultimately, it was Ali who did it. Alison created A. Alison created them all. And Alison, even in death, was destroying them one by one.
Emily kicked the bench seat and walked away, bottling her anger inside.
"Is this weird?" Spencer pulled her dress down uncomfortably and looked around Aria's house. Ella had invited all the girls to her going away party for Mr. Fitz. Aria, who had feigned sick for the two remaining school days that Ezra worked at Rosewood, was still upstairs when Emily came down to greet them. Hanna and Spencer were the first to arrive. None of Ella's guests seemed to have shown up yet. The house had been cleaned and beautifully decorated with Hollis's colors. There were vegetable and snack trays strewn across the bottom floor of the house. It even smelled faintly of cinnamon which Emily knew came from the candle in the kitchen. "Should we be here?"
"I don't see why not," Emily shrugged, picking up a carrot and dipping it in the ranch. "Besides, I think Aria needs all the support she can get today."
"Is her mom actually making her come downstairs? She's been 'sick', hasn't she?" Hanna grabbed a carrot as well and followed Emily upstairs with Spencer right behind them.
"I think she knows Aria has been faking."
"How?" They were near Aria's door so Spencer dropped her voice to a whisper.
"Because she told Aria that whatever she was upset about she needed to get over and get dressed." Emily stepped into the room she and Aria shared. Aria was sitting on the bed. She was wearing an off-white dress with a chunky brown fashion belt wrapped around her middle. Her hair was down, as usual, but it was pin straight. None of them had seen her style her hair like this since before she had moved away.
"Hey," Hanna broke the silence.
"Oh, hey." Aria finally noticed them. "Are people here yet?" Her voice shook a little. They all shook their heads and took seats around the room. Hanna talked while everyone else listened. Emily didn't know if Hanna was just trying to keep the room filled with voices to drown out the sound of the doorbell ringing every now and then, but she was doing a good job. Aria nodded here and there but didn't seem to be listening to her best friend chatter on about the new pair of sunglasses she was thinking of buying. In fact, Aria didn't seem to be in the room with them at all. Her eyes were glazed over and she was staring off out her window.
The doorknob jiggled and Mike poked his head in.
"Mom wants us all downstairs," he said glumly. "Your teacher is about to get here."
"He isn't my teacher!" Aria snapped. Realizing the defensiveness in her voice, she added, "-anymore."
"Just get downstairs." Mike closed the door. They all walked downstairs after him. Emily led the way followed by Hanna who, though she wouldn't admit it, was excited to see what would happen tonight mostly because Hanna was one of those people who thought at the end of the day teachers desks turned into beds and they simply slept at the school until the students began arriving. Seeing teachers outside of school was exciting. Other than Ezra, it never happened. Spencer was right behind Hanna but she looked as nervous as Aria. She kept looking over her shoulder at her dark-haired best friend. Aria wouldn't have to pretend she was sick, Spencer thought. She looked as though she were going to vomit.
The room was filled with Rosewood teachers. Ella was chatting with a teacher Emily recognized from the math department. He was a frumpy old man with very little hair. What hair was there was a deep, pepper gray and his mustache stretched across his entire face. The doorbell rang and Ella, a huge grin on her face, went to answer it. Emily reached across to Aria and squeezed her hand.
Fitz looked as attractive as always. He was wearing a dark grey vest over a white shirt. His jeans, dark wash, hugged his legs. Ezra didn't look like a teacher. He looked, Emily thought hastily, like the perfect boyfriend for Aria Montgomery. Next to her, Aria let go of her hand. She was standing by herself and was looking straight at Ezra. Emily knew what Aria was doing. She was going to make damn sure that if Ezra looked around and saw her, he would think that she wasn't torn apart inside. Ezra did look over and see Aria. It was a quick look, but Emily was sure that if Ella hadn't ripped him away from the doorway it could have lasted a lifetime. He was being dragged to the food table and shown where the drinks were. He was thanking Ella for all she did. But Emily knew, and so did Hanna and Spencer, that Ezra was really looking back at Aria the entire time.
Aria bolted up the stairs and the girls heard her door close. Spencer took off after her.
"Love story gone wrong," Hanna muttered to Emily and Emily nodded both for Aria and Ezra and for herself and Maya. "Uh, Em?"
"What?"
"Isn't that Maya's new girlfriend?" Hanna knew all about Rebecca. Emily had gone to Hanna's after she left Alison's memorial. She had even gone so far as to point out Rebecca the next day at school. Emily whipped her head to where Hanna was pointing. Sure enough in the far corner laughing with the principal of Rosewood stood Rebecca, a cute red dress hugging her hips. Emily's heart sunk to the pit of her stomach. Was Maya here too?
"Why is she here?"
"And why is she talking to our principal?"
Ella walked over to them.
"Where did Aria go?" Hanna and Emily muttered something about not feeling well. Ella rolled her eyes and went to go upstairs, but the two girls stopped her.
"She'll be down in a minute," they promised.
"Have you guys met Rebecca?" she pointed to where Rebecca stood in the corner. The principal and Rebecca were still laughing and were now joined by two other teachers at the school. Her teeth were so white that Emily swore they were glittering. "Principal William's niece," Ella explained. "Her and her family just moved back to Rosewood. I told him to bring her along since you girls would be here. It would be nice for her to make some friends."
"I don't think she has a problem making friends," Hanna sniped. Emily jabbed Hanna in the side with her elbow.
"You girls should talk to her," said Ella, her eyebrows curving down. "It wouldn't hurt any of you to branch out a bit from your little group." She had walked away before they could say anything. Ezra was walking over to them now, his lips turned up into a little smile. Emily imagined him holding up a white flag and waving it in their faces. He barely opened his mouth to speak when he got to them. It wasn't a whisper, but he wasn't speaking at full volume either.
"Where is she?"
"Why should we tell you?" Hanna crossed her arms.
"I just want to talk to her," he said. "I didn't get a chance to. She wasn't in school."
"There was a reason for that." said Emily.
"I know," Ezra wiped a hand over his face. "Please. Could you just tell her I want to talk?" Just as Emily was about to say no, Hanna interrupted.
"We will."
He didn't say anything else. Ezra turned around and walked away, a fake smile on his face, and began conversing with a friend from the English department. Emily looked at Hanna with shock on her face.
"She deserves to know he wants to talk," Hanna said. "I was so angry at Mona for tearing up that letter. I'm not going to do the same thing to Aria that Mona did to me. Ezra talking to us was his letter." Hanna left Emily alone and went up the stairs to Aria's room. Emily knew that if she followed, Ella was bound to come barreling up the stairs in search of them. Carefully and as inconspicuously as possible, Emily grabbed a handful of chex mix and sat down on the couch. Eating and flipping through her phone, Emily was so distracted she didn't notice the weight of the cushion next to her dip down until Rebecca's voice penetrated her ear.
"Emily, right?"
Emily nearly dropped her phone.
"Yes." It came out a bit harsher than Emily wanted. She really had no reason to be mad at this girl. Emily broke up with Maya. But Rebecca, smiling, didn't seem to be phased at all that she just sat down next to her girlfriends serious ex-girlfriend.
"Bit of a drag," Rebecca nodded to the party and grabbed a stick of celery from the tray on the coffee table. "My uncle asked me to come."
"The principal,"
"Yes." she said simply. "My parents are out of town so I'm staying with him and my aunt." Rebecca pronounced aunt funny, Emily thought. Instead of ant, she said unt. It was annoying and Emily wondered if she had ever said that in front of Maya before. That is something that would drive Maya crazy. "I read about you in the paper."
"Pardon?"
"About your dead friend and her murderer," Rebecca said it so bluntly that Emily wasn't sure that she had heard it right. "And all your other friends."
"Oh." It was all Emily could say.
"My uncle was talking about it at dinner," she began peeling threads of celery from the tiny stalk. "I didn't realize it was you he was talking about until I saw the picture. You know, the one of you three in front of the church."
"Yeah, I remember."
"I saw you with your friends earlier." There was a pile of celery skin gathering in her lap. "Spencer was the one who was supposably attacked, right? She's the tall, skinny one with no boobs." Emily's mouth dropped. "And then Aria lives here, right? She's really pretty. Why doesn't she have a boyfriend? Is she the gay one? Wait no, that's you, right?"
"I-"
"-and then Hanna is the blonde. I've heard a lot about her,"
"Oh have you?" Emily's temper was rising.
"Shoplifts, right?"
"Once." she said defensively. "And-"
"-I heard it was more than once," Emily couldn't even get a word in. "Someone at school told me she had surgery so she wasn't fat anymore."
"-that isn't true-"
"-that's really sad. I would hate to be fat." Emily's head was spinning. This was the girl that Maya was dating? Emily couldn't even imagine the two being friends. Rebecca pulled a mirror from her purse and checked herself. Emily took the time to talk.
"You don't know anything." she said quickly, afraid of being interrupted. "Hanna doesn't shoplift and she didn't get any surgery. Spencer was attacked. If you or your stupid uncle bothered to keep up with current events Ian is now a suspect in Alison DiLaurentis' murder." Emily's voice was getting louder now but she didn't realize it. "I don't know what all Maya has been telling you about us but if you have a question or you want something confirmed don't go to my ex-girlfriend."
"Ex-girlfriend?" Rebecca stuffed the mirror back into her purse. "Wait, Maya is gay?"
"Wha-" Emily stuttered. "What do you mean mean is Maya gay? You're dating her."
"Look," Rebecca held up a hand. "I'm all for you lesbians and stuff. Do whatever you want. But I like guys,"
"Maya said you two were dating."
"We're not even friends." Rebecca stood and dropped the pile of celery skin onto a napkin. "I went over to her house because we had a scene for drama class. We were rehearsing lines."
"Something the matter, girls?" Emily looked up. People were staring now. Principal Williams had his hand on Rebecca's arm and was looking cautiously at Emily. Emily knew what he thought of them. They were all liars and troublemakers and all he did was gossip to his family about her, Hanna, Spencer and Aria.
"Nothing, sir." Emily said tersely. Rebecca flashed a smile. Fed up and confused, Emily turned around and went outside to sit on the porch where guests stares couldn't reach her.
Aria finally came out of her room and went downstairs. She came down just in time to see the front door fly shut and the brief glimpse of Emily's raven colored hair. Hanna, nodding apologetically to Aria, went to find Emily leaving Spencer and Aria alone. The room was flooded with teachers and administration from their high school and it unnerved Aria to see them all congregated in one place especially considering for months she and Ezra carried on a full-fledged, hot and heavy, serious romance. Not too many teachers caught her eye, though. Most were too busy bunching on what Ella had laid out for appetizers. Taking the unseen opportunity, Spencer and Aria slipped into chairs in the quietest area of the house.
"What's up with Em?" Aria asked, shoving a cherry tomato into her mouth. She was starving.
"You live with her," Spencer pointed out. "Shouldn't you know?" Guilt trickled down Aria's back. Aria hadn't asked Emily how she was at all since she and Ezra broke up. In fact, Aria can't remember hearing Emily talk much at all the past few days. Aria had been skipping meals and Emily spent most of her time reading or doing homework. "Look," Spencer nudged Aria's arm until she looked where she was pointing. Ezra was moving his way through the crowd. People seemed to stop noticing him now and were more involved with their own conversations. Ella, Aria noticed, was busy cooking in the kitchen. Too busy, she figured, to see her guest of honor slither his way across the room to her teenage daughter. Ezra smiled at Spencer and then looked at Aria. She refused to look him in the eye.
"Can we talk?"
"Here?" she said, aghast. "Now?"
"Yes," he insisted, looking at Ella in the kitchen. "Dinner will be ready soon. Your mom won't notice us."
"It's too risky." Aria said simply, standing up and pushing her chair back. "No." It pained her to stand and walk away, but Ezra and Spencer watched Aria leave for the kitchen to help her mom. He ruffled his hair.
"Give her time," Those were the only words of encouragement Spencer could muster up.
Twenty minutes later, the whole dinner party was gathered at a long table Byron had set up in the backyard for the occasion. Food was laid out across the table and voices were being lost in the spring breeze. Teachers had glasses of wine in front of them and the students, Emily, Aria, Spencer, Hanna and Rebecca, were sipping their juice and water rather meekly. Hanna especially looked disappointed that they did not also have wine in front of them. Ella tapped her glass with a knife and stood. She was seated at the far end of the table.
"I'd just like to thank everyone for coming," she said, smiling. "And I would like to thank Ezra for the time he put forward at Rosewood. I know the kids really loved you and you will be missed," Hanna had taken that moment to take a sip of her juice. She snorted into her drink but only Emily and Aria noticed. They both sent her dirty looks. "Ezra, if you would?" Awkwardly, Ezra stood holding his glass.
"Thank you, Ella." he said. Ella sat down and Ezra looked across the table at all the people. "I, uh, feel very fortunate that my first teaching job was at a school with such a wonderful group of colleagues. I think though that I'm even more thankful that my first teaching job was at a school with such wonderful students," Ezra looked over to where Aria was sitting. Though everyone else thought he was simply toasting the four students in his class, those four girls all knew he was really speaking to Aria. He looked away from her and went back to surveying the table. "I will miss the questions," he said. "The comments during reading," he paused and thought for a moment. "I'll miss the laughter and simplicity that comes with Rosewood." Ezra cleared his throat again. "I just hope that my students know that no matter where my career takes me, my door is always open." He dared a look at Aria. "And to my colleagues as well," he tipped his glass towards Ella. "I'll never forget my first students. They taught me more about life than college ever did."
He sat after that. The table clapped politely and smiled, not realizing his speech was more of a declaration of love to one of his students than anything else. Forks clanked and the talking began again. Aria excused herself from the table but no one took much notice except for the girls and Ezra. Ezra, who was being talked to by Ella, excused himself as well to use the bathroom.
Aria wasn't in the kitchen or the living room like he hoped. She didn't seem to be downstairs at all. With a tentative look behind him at the door wall leading to the backyard, Ezra noiselessly walked upstairs. He remembered where Aria's bedroom was from the last time he had been invited into the Montgomery household.
Her room was open. She was curled in her window seat completely oblivious to him staring at her. Ezra's eyes traced over her smooth, tanned legs and up to her face where her lips were turned into a frown. Bawling his hand into a fist, Ezra knocked on the door. Her eyes dropped when she saw it was him at the door but then, without any warning at all, Aria shot up and began striking him repeatedly in the chest.
"Are," Punch. "you," Punch. "an," Punch. "idiot?" Smack.
"Hey!" he backed away from her.
"Anyone could have picked up on that speech,"
"They didn't." he said. "And they wouldn't have."
"It was dead obvious."
"To you and your friends, maybe."
"You're a complete idiot."
"You didn't wait."
"I waited for four hours, Ezra. How much longer did you expect me to sit in your apartment?" She closed her door shut so their voices couldn't travel downstairs. It was a precaution in case someone came inside to use the bathroom.
"So you leave a note and don't show up to school for two days?"
"Yes,"
"Aria-"
"Go to Hollis," she said. "Go and teach. Marry Jackie. Have little Jackie and Ezra's."
"I went to Hollis for you," Ezra hissed. "So we could have a chance. I don't want to marry Jackie and I certainly don't want any little Jackie and Ezra's. You helped me get over Jackie. I'm not going to deny that. But I have fallen so inexplicably in love with you that the idea of loving anyone else isn't even fathomable. She is my past. I went to Hollis so you could be my future. I did this for us and now you're acting as though it is the reason for tearing us apart. I'm not your dad, Aria. I'm not going to cheat. I want you and only you. I'm not the problem here. You and your insecurities are what is tearing us apart,"
"Oh really?" Aria snapped. "Because I'm pretty sure I'm not the one with the ex-fiancee."
"Jesus, Aria!" he began pacing. "You're not going to be everyone's first love. I loved Jackie but I don't even know how to explain my love for you. Y-you're thrilling and intoxicating. You have a way with words that I only can dream about. When you're angry, you bottle it all inside until this point – this very point here – and it comes out and even though you probably just bruised my ribs I thought it was kind of cute. I love you, Aria and I don't want-" Aria crashed into Ezra. Her legs were wrapped around his middle and Ezra stumbled backwards against the wall. He was supporting her entire body but the way she was kissing him gave him more strength than he had ever had in his life. Her tiny hands were brushing through his hair. They had barely broken for air before their lips reattached. Around them, the sounds of the dinner party outside fell away. It was only Aria and Ezra.
Five minutes had passed. Ten minutes had passed. When Aria's feet finally slid back down onto the ground, she leaned her forehead against Ezra's. Their bodies were so close together than Aria was sure only one heart was beating.
"We should go back," she whispered, pulling away from him. He tugged her back and kissed her softly on the lips.
"We?" he kissed down her neck. "Are we a we?"
"I'll never stop hating her," Aria admitted, melting at his touch.
"I'm okay with that."
It took them another ten minutes to get downstairs.
PLEASE READ THIS AUTHORS NOTE:
I'm trying to keep this story as close to the show as possible even though I have my own A planned and my own situations. After watching Tuesday's show, I wanted to make sure to include what happened to Aria in Spencer's house and her relationship with Ezra. I also wanted to introduce Jason into the story and explain where Maya's family went since the show randomly just moved them out without telling us that they moved. That really bothered me. So, I'm still making this story my own but I want to keep it as true to the show as I possibly can. That is why this chapter is mostly a filler and a re-do of this weeks episode. I changed it to fit the story, and I hope you aren't upset that the Aria scene with Ezra was redone. Honestly, I thought that was the worst scene they've shot for this entire series. This chapter also gave me a reason to bring the Maya and Emily situation back.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you don't like that I'm keeping it with the show, let me know in the comments and I'll read your suggestions. I want this story to be realistic and true to the show and I want the characters to be themselves.
I am really glad that you guys are enjoying the story so far. As I am working on a book of my own creation, I'm flip flopping between the two so I'll try and get these chapters up when I can. I'm hoping one a day.
POLL: (please leave in the reviews)
Where do you want this story to end?
A – When Maya and Emily reunite, leaving the story as a romance only.
B – When A is revealed and the mystery is solved.
C – After a set number of chapters (list how many you would like)
Also:
Are you guys interested in seeing more of Ezra and Aria? Which one of the girls would you like to see more of? What do YOU think should happen between Maya and Emily, seeing as Emily has a lot to risk IF she confronts Maya about lying?
Thanks guys! Another chapter either tonight or tomorrow!
OH WAIT. What do you guys read the story as? You know, full page, 1/2 or 3/4? I personally think that it looks best at 3/4 and I was just wondering what you guys thought. I'm actually really curious as to what settings people use to read on here. Let me know. :D