A/N: So, I was working on an IM scene for the end of the chapter, and it phased me what a few of my friends said when I originally posted chapter 3 of 40 Days. At the time, I hadn't heard of 50 Shades Of Gray. Aria's screen name came from the fact that her parents saw her relationship very much so in black and white, and she viewed the world in many shades of grey. As it is, the book series will have no affect on this story at all.
Chapter 10
Every Time I Look Inside Your Eyes
Aria wrote in the last few sentences of her English homework and looked up at the clock. Christmas was coming in less than two months, but the boutique had been rather empty for the past few days. She'd resorted to writing her homework behind the desk after the third day, when the racks of clothing couldn't be organized anymore. Her afternoons got even more boring when her homework was finished, and there was no one coming in to shop.
She stuffed her books into her bag behind the counter and then grabbed her bag by its straps and lifted it up. "Cara, I'm going."
She walked over to the office in the back and punched her timecard before waving to the manager and heading out of store with Cara following closely behind her. She was a freshman at Hollis and spent most of her time running around like a chicken with her head cut off, but with the lack of shoppers recently, things had changed somewhat.
Aria walked through the mall and headed towards the parking garage as she zipped her jacket. Rosewood was supposed to be getting a major snowstorm and the last thing she wanted was to be trapped in the mall.
Once she was in the garage, she pulled her phone from her bag and brought up her messages. There were the typical ones from her friends, asking if she wanted to meet up to study, and a few more that followed those, dismissing the option because of the storm.
She walked over to her car and tossed her things in the passenger seat before starting the car and pulling out of her parking space and making her way out of the garage, onto the road. The snow was already coming down and had created a blanket over the city. Her phone buzzed on the dashboard, though she ignored it until she reached a red light.
She picked it up and checked the missed call before calling back, leaving the phone on speaker as she waited behind the row of cars in front of her.
Ezra answered momentarily. "You out of work yet?"
"Yeah," she said louder than usual. "You?"
"I'm by Hardy and Dre. There was a crash a block away from the apartment, and they're not letting anyone through."
Aria sighed. "Alright. I'll be there in a minute. Cars are moving."
"Drive safe!" The line went dead a moment later, and Aria moved the phone onto the seat next to her before resuming driving. She switched lanes on the next road and then took several turns that, three blocks later, put her in front of Hardy and Adriana's apartment building.
She grabbed her bag out of the passenger seat and then walked around her car and grabbed her emergency bag from the trunk before pulling the trunk shut. She pulled her hat down harder on her head and ran as fast as she could through the parking lot of the complex, slipping and sliding here and there from black ice on the ground.
She finally managed to make her way into the building, shaking and wet from the snow and took the elevator up to the third floor loft. She pounded her fist on the door until Hardy pulled the door open.
"She's here," he called over his shoulder as he pulled the door open further. Aria stepped past him and dropped her bags on the floor before removing her jacket, hat, and gloves.
"It's freezing out there!" Aria squealed as she kicked off her boots.
Adriana came down the stairs carrying a stack of clothing. "I've got sweats," she offered. "And Ezra ran down the street to get coffee and cocoa."
"What's going on with classes tomorrow?" Aria asked.
"Rosewood is shutting down if this continues after midnight," Hardy said, settling his phone on the counter. "We're pretty much stuck here until this stops. We're under a blizzard warning as it is."
"Until when?" Aria asked.
"Thursday," he replied.
Aria sighed, and turned around. She took the sweats from Adriana and then walked across the room to the bathroom and shut the door behind her after turning the light on. She shimmied out of her wet jeans and then pulled on the Hollis sweatpants that Adriana had given her. She zipped up her sweatshirt and then shook the snow off her pants into the bathtub before folding them up. She walked out of the bathroom and Adriana took the pants from her and headed upstairs to the laundry room.
Aria walked over to the counter and sat down on one of the stools as Hardy settled a cup of cappuccino down for her. Aria smiled up at him and took a drink from it.
"How's life as a domesticated couple again?" She asked, settling her mug back on the counter.
Hardy shrugged. "It's alright."
Aria glared at him, gulping down a large sip of her cappuccino. "Just alright? You spent weeks telling me how depressed you were that she didn't want to be with you!"
Hardy chuckled, shaking his head. "Okay, so it's more than alright. She just…I don't know."
"You do know," she said. "What?"
"She wants a ring," he said.
Aria furrowed her brow, shaking her head. "What's wrong with that? I mean didn't you two split up because you wanted to give her a ring?"
Hardy nodded, rolling his eyes. "Semantics. I just…I want to be sure she's not going to leave again, and, if we make it that far, I want to propose how I originally intended."
"There's no way you're not going to make it to Christmas together. Because I swear to God if you two split up again, I'm going to lose my mind." Aria said. "I can't do the melodramatic drama again."
Hardy laughed. "Alright then. We'll get engaged, married, and move out of Rosewood just for you."
Aria feigned a shocked, hurt expression. "You'd take my future not-yet-existing nieces and nephews out of my life before I even meet them?"
She and Hardy both laughed as Adriana came walking back down the steps. The door opened a moment later, and Ezra walked in carrying a plastic bag. He dropped it on the counter and then went through the process of removing his coat, hat, and mittens as quickly as possible.
"You can't see two feet in front of you out there," he growled as he pulled his gloves off and kicked his own boots off. He leaned over and kissed Aria and then sat down on the stool next to her. Hardy took the bag and pulled out the contents before placing them in the correct cupboards and in the fridge.
"How was work?" He asked, taking a cup of coffee when Adriana placed one in front of him.
"Boring," Aria replied. "It was dead, like it has been the last few days." She smiled sarcastically at him. "How's my father?"
Ezra shook his head, sighing. "He's…your father."
Aria grabbed her cup of cappuccino and stood. She crossed the room until she was standing in front of the balcony doors and watched as the snow pounded down onto the ground. While she wasn't crying over it anymore, her parents divorce still hadn't settled well with her, even though her anger had become more focused on her father. She'd been cautiously taking steps forward in repairing her relationship with her mother, though things weren't perfect by any means. Still, she hated her father for not being willing to accept what was.
"Hey."
She looked up at Ezra as he placed his hand on the base of her back. She forced a half-smile onto her face. "Hey."
"You know things aren't going to always be like this," he said.
Aria shrugged, taking a drink of her cappuccino. "I don't know that. He might not ever change his opinion of you, or of us. I can't try and fix things with him and just be okay with it all, when he would've been happiest with this ending. My father would've loved for our rift this summer to have turned into something bigger. For us to have broken up, and for me to have said that it was a childish mistake a few years from now."
Ezra turned to face her. "Aria, I-"
She looked up at him. "It sucks. My parents liked you when they knew who you were, aside from who you spent your evenings with. Why did that suddenly have to change because we love each other?"
He shook his head. "I don't know. I don't know why your father would rather hate me than accept the reality in front of him and deal with it. But why do you have to be the one that suffers because of it? He's chosen his reality. Let him suffer over it."
"My entire family fell apart because he couldn't accept our relationship," Aria said.
"No," Ezra disagreed. "You heard your mother. They had unresolved issues that they pushed aside instead of dealing with. And I think we both know from personal experience the kind of effects ignoring a problem can have."
"Yeah, but-"
Ezra settled his cup on a table a few feet away. "But, nothing. Your parents made their choice. I'd rather it didn't affect our own."
Aria huffed and pathetically attempted a smile. Ezra chuckled and shook his head before kissing her. She kissed him back, wrapping her free arm around his neck.
-
Out of all of the places in this little town
Yeah, you had to come walking in here and sit down
-
Aria twirled a strand of her hair between the thumb, middle, and index fingers of both her hands as she stared out the window. The snow was still coming down in an unrelenting argument with the weather, and she and Ezra were sleeping in front of the fireplace. Hardy and Adriana had long since gone to bed, but she was awake. The last snow storm Rosewood had been faced with, she'd been late leaving Ezra's house after falling asleep watching a movie, and had been forced to lie to her parents about where she was. They had been under the assumption that she was asleep at Spencer's, but she had instead spent the night with Ezra. It had only been a few days later that she had told Jackie that she knew about her plagiarism.
"Do you think Adriana and Hardy will really get married?" She asked.
Ezra chuckled, resting his chin on the top of her head. "I think my sister will murder him if he ends their relationship after the past few months. He finally got what he wanted."
"I know," Aria replied. "But it's a long way from talking about marriage to actually making it down the aisle and saying 'I do'. You don't think either of them is capable of calling it off at the last minute?"
Ezra was quiet for a moment and then exhaled a long breath before moving his arm out from under her and turning over so that he was facing her. He rested his arms on either side of her. "I think that when people really want to make something work, they find a way, even when the odds are stacked against them. If two people love each other enough, they will overcome every obstacle in their way in order to be together. But I also think the opposite is true, and that if someone really doesn't want to be with another person, they will inevitably find a way to not have to be in that relationship. It's a selfish choice, but people find a way to do it every day."
Aria let go of her hair and placed her hands on either side of Ezra's face, running her thumb under his bottom lip. "So would you ever find a way to leave?"
Ezra rolled his eyes and shook his head, leaning up to kiss her between the eyes. "That question is so absurd, I'm not sure I'll ever hear one from you that will match it. But to answer your question, no. I would never find a way to leave you. Although, I'm thought my reaction to everything on our anniversary would've given that away."
Aria pushed her lips out in a pout. "I just want so badly to believe that there's a reason why only some people split up, and not everyone. That it's not random, and there actually is a point to it all."
"There is," Ezra replied, leaning down to kiss her. "But when you pout, you look like your mother."
Aria scowled at him and laughed. "I do not!"
"Do so," Ezra whispered huskily into her ear as his hands moved down her sides. Before she knew what he was doing, she began to squeal with laughter while his fingers attacked her hips. He stopped a few moments later, pressing his lips to hers. Aria looped her an arm around his neck while the other moved under his t-shirt. Ezra groaned into her mouth, grinding his hips against hers as his hand moved up her t-shirt.
Aria stopped a few moments later, and Ezra trailed kisses down the side of her neck. "Got a bit of a problem," she said with a slight chuckle.
Ezra sighed, resting his head against the floor. "You're a serious drug problem for me."
"I don't mind," Aria giggled. "There's no reason we can't remind those two what we're made of."
Ezra pounded his head lightly against the floor. "Why is sex always about payback with them when the four of us are under the same roof?"
Aria turned her head to look at him, raising an eyebrow. "Are you saying no?"
Ezra shook his head, slipping his tongue between her slightly parted lips and pushing up onto his palms as Aria pulled his shirt further up his body. She moved her hands over his chest and rested them on his shoulders as he moved one of right hand down to her left leg as she looped it around his hip. He pulled up from her long enough to remove his t-shirt and then pulled Aria's over her head before he leaned back down and lifted her up as he leaned back on his knees. Aria wrapped her other leg around his waist, grinding her hips harder against his. Ezra moaned, settling her back on the pillows below them and moving his hands down to her sweatpants. He curled his fingers inside the hem of the pants and eased them down off her hips, pulling her panties down as well. Aria pulled her legs up and Ezra pulled them off of her and tossed them aside. Aria pushed his own sweatpants off his hips along with his boxers. He kicked them off as Aria pushed him over and straddled his hips.
She began to ease down onto him and then her eyes suddenly widened as a floorboard creaked above them. Ezra chucked at her expression and rolled them over again so that she was once again under him before tugging the blanket up over them. He kissed her, but when she didn't kiss him back, he trailed kisses down the side of her neck.
"We're gonna get caught," Aria murmured, and then moaned as he thrust slowly into her.
"Not. If you're. Quiet," he replied between wet kisses on her collarbone.
The floor creaked again above them, and Aria dug her nails into his back as he adjusted his angle just slightly, and hit her g-spot. Ezra pulled on her hair as he bit her bottom lip. Aria lifted her hips and met his thrusts, scraping her nails down his back. His thrusts became more frantic and Aria bit down on his shoulder to keep from making any noise as the creaking of floorboards continued. She dug her nails in deeply enough to break skin as she reached her orgasm. A few seconds later, Ezra pulled out of her completely, and ejaculated onto the base of her stomach.
Aria raised an eyebrow at him as he reached for a box of tissues on the coffee table a foot away.
"No condoms," he explained. "Which goes entirely against the conversation we had a few weeks ago, but I didn't anticipate this when I left home this morning. Or when I was stocking up on emergency supplies earlier."
"Could've gone other places," Aria said with an entirely serious look on her face.
Ezra's eyes widened at her suggestion and she laughed. He grabbed his t-shirt off the floor and tossed it at her, but she continued to laugh at him as she pulled it over her head and then pulled her panties and sweatpants back on while Ezra pulled his own clothes back on.
He slipped back under the blankets next to her and yanked her against him, narrowing his eyes at her. "I'm going to get you back for that."
"I'm shaking in my thing one, thing two socks," she giggled.
"Pretty sure your brother and best friend just had sex on our floor," Hardy's voice traveled down the steps. His tone of voice gave away the fact that he wanted to be heard.
Aria buried her head in Ezra's chest as her face flushed.
"Twice," Ezra yelled back.
Aria looked up at him and glared. "Liar!" She scolded in the loudest whisper softly.
Ezra pushed his forehead against hers. "Not when I'm finished with you. I told you I'm going to get you back for that comment."
-
There's a place I know about where the dirt road runs out
We can try out the four wheel drive
-
Aria scowled at the glaring light that shone through the windows the next morning. It was only seven AM, and with no school or work to be running off to, she was less than pleased about being awake. She rolled over under the weight of Ezra's arm wrapped around her and huffed when she saw him still fast asleep.
"Figures," she murmured.
"I'm awake," he replied, opening his eyes. "Damn light doesn't go away, regardless of which way you turn."
"Can we go home today?" She asked.
Ezra shook his head. "I checked the news a while ago. They're not cleaning the streets until the snow stops, and everyone's under advisory to stay inside. If you get stuck, its on you to figure out how to get home or get help."
Aria sighed, pouting at him. She pushed up from the floor, stretching her limbs before she walked to the bathroom. She flipped the light switch on and used the facilities before turning on the faucet. She waited a few moments for the water to heat up, but it stayed cold. Frustrated, she quickly swiped her hands under them and then shook them off and turned the faucet off. She reached out to shut the light off, but it went off before she could. She flipped the switch several times, but the room stayed dark.
"Ezra!"
The door opened a few seconds later, and he raised an eyebrow at her. "What?"
"Power's out," she replied. "I couldn't see anything."
Ezra looked over his shoulder at the fireplace. He'd put more wood in during the night, but it was going to be gone before midday.
Adriana popped her head around the swirled staircase, and it was clear that she'd just woken up. "Why the screaming? It's barely seven."
Ezra looked up at her. "Power's out. The heat-"
"That went out at 3 AM," she replied with a frustrated sigh.
Hardy came down the stairs behind her a moment later, and they both walked down onto the main floor. "Does everyone's phone have a full charge?"
Aria and Ezra both nodded. "Service is probably going to suck, though. Between the storm, and no power-"
Hardy pulled his phone free from the charger a few seconds later and slid the arrow across the screen before scrolling through his contacts. "I'm gonna go see if our downstairs neighbor knows anything. Her husband works for the fire department."
He walked out of the apartment, leaving Aria, Ezra, and Adriana standing in the loft alone. Adriana kept her eyes on the floor for a moment before she finally looked up at them. "Might as well clean up." She looked up at Aria. "I'll give you some clothes to wear."
"I'll…make some coffee," Aria murmured, walking into the kitchen. Ezra walked over to Adriana and leaned down to pick up the blankets off the floor.
"Is this sanitary?" She asked as she picked up another blanket.
Ezra glared at her and laughed, shaking his head. "Yes. Aria and I-"
Adriana waved her hand, chuckling softly. "I don't need to know anything. What you two do when you're alone together is your own business. I just…" She stopped, midway through rolling a blanket up. "You guys have talkedabout kids, right?"
Ezra nodded, tossing a folded blanket up onto the couch. "We're not even in the market to think about kids right now. She's got really high test scores, so she's determined to get a scholarship along with financial aid."
"I thought her parents…?" Adriana's voice trailed off.
"Have money?" Ezra asked. "They do. Quite a bit, actually. But she doesn't want to rely on her parents for money. She wants to do it on her own."
Adriana looked up at Aria across the room, scooping coffee into a filter. "Far cry from our situation."
"Um, all expenses paid because our parents had the mind to invest their money when they got married, and old New York money? Yeah, I'd say it's a far cry too." Ezra replied, folding another blanket and tossing it up onto the couch. He and Adriana both stood and she grabbed the stack of blankets and walked away.
Ezra walked over to the counter and leaned against it. "Wasn't your test supposed to be this week?"
Aria shook her head, peeling a banana as she walked around the counter and sat down on one of the bar stools. "Nope. Next week, thank God. I'm- well, I'm worried, but I'm not, you know?"
Ezra nodded, peeling a piece off the top of her banana and popping it into his mouth. "Not afraid of failing, but afraid of how the scores could come out anyway. Thinking you really don't know as much as you do. Been there done that. But as Hardy and Adriana would tell you, I've got no place to complain. I scored a 2350."
Aria sighed and rolled her eyes at him. "Are you sure you're not with the wrong girl in the group? Spencer's-"
Ezra shook his head, cupping her face in his hands. "Spencer may be smart and pretty, but she's too uptight for my taste. I've always gotten the sense that she doesn't know how to let loose. Whereas you don't care about what people think or say."
Aria raised an eyebrow at him. "Really? Cause I've got scars on my back that say different."
Ezra laughed, rolling his eyes at her. "Alright, I'm surrendering to this before it turns into an argument."
Hardy stepped back into the loft and walked around the counter to the coffee percolator. He pulled the pot off the heating base and poured himself a cup before putting it back. "According to our neighbors, they're clearing people out and taking them to the high school, but it's almost full-up. They're trying to find room over at Sheridan Prep, but once Rosewood is full up, unless people can go somewhere else, they don't have another option but to wait."
Aria picked up her phone off the counter. "Let me make a few calls. If I know the Hastings, they'll have a full stock on firewood, and I'm sure they'll have room."
She moved off the stool she was sitting on and walked across the room until she was standing in front of the balcony doors. She clicked on Spencer's number and then lifted her phone to her ear. It rang several times, and then Spencer picked up.
"Hey, did you guys lose power yet?"
Aria chuckled softly. Of course Spencer would already know. "Yeah. Do you guys have room?"
"Yeah. Hanna's here too. Has your mom lost power? My parents said-"
"I"ll call her," Aria replied. "We're at Hardy and Adriana's apartment-"
"So bring them with!" Spencer was far too cheerful for seven AM. Aria had a feeling she was loaded up on caffeine. "Be careful out there. There's black ice everywhere."
-
You can't turn back the hands of time
Just let it go and you'll be fine
-
Aria tugged a blanket around her and stared at her computer screen. She couldn't help but laugh. Every person under the age of twenty-five in the house was on their laptop, and they were all competing for maximum internet access. Boredom had come fast among all of them, and with homework already finished, nobody had anything to do other than sit around and wait.
Her cheeks seemed to become redder as messages continued to pop up in the group chat she was having with Hanna, Spencer, and Emily.
HannaBee1: so what happened last night?
HastyHastings: they wouldn't hook up on hardy and adriana's floor…
SwimmingFields: Why not? If they were alone and they were asleep
HannaBee1: Ezra's be all "oh Aria"
HastyHastings: "Oh, Ezra! You're so hot!"
Aria looked up at Spencer and glared at her, which only proceeded to cause her to fall into a fit of giggles. Hanna and Emily soon joined her, and Ezra looked over at her, confused.
"Whats…" His voice was soft, looking back and forth between the girls and Aria. He attempted a peak at her laptop screen, but she quickly docked the IM and smiled at him. The problem only worsened when Adriana began to laugh next to her after Hanna showed her the IM. Aria brought her screeen back up when her laptop chimed twice.
LadyFitz92 has joined the chat
LadyFitz92: Not only can I confirm what happened, I can tell you everything she said.
Aria glared at her and then placed her hands back on the keys and began to hurriedly type.
ShadesOfGreyxx: Say anything, and I'll start spilling ALL your secrets.
LadyFitz92: Booooo! Take all the fun out of things.
ShadesOfGreyxx: Tempt me, please. I'll share.
LadyFitz92: I'll tell you later.
Aria stuck her tongue out at Adriana and pushed the lid down on her laptop and then turned her attention back to her screen.
"Are your friends teasing you?" Ezra asked in his own teasing manner.
Aria looked up at him. "Maybe."
Ezra looked around the room at the girls, who were each peaking over the top of their laptops every few moments at them. He lifted his hand and cupped her cheek before slipping his tongue into her mouth and kissing her. Aria raised a hand up and kissed him back, but they broke apart a few moments later. Aria chuckled at the look on her friends faces and turned back to her computer screen.
ShadesOfGreyxx: Gossip about that.
She clicked on her browser and opened her up SocialPage. There were very few new posts, and the ones that were new were all talking about the snowstorm. Some of her friends from school had posted photos that she could only assume were taken at the high school.
The green envelope on the top of her status bar lit up. She clicked on it. When her message page popped up, she smiled. Ezra, though sitting next to her, had sent her a message.
You are the light to my soul
You are my purpose; you're everything
And how can I stand here with you
And not be moved by you?
Aria blushed, daring a glance up at him. She began to type a moment later.
Sweet, but not my favourite.
Til you, I was nothing but lonely nights
There was nothing but sad goodbyes
For me to fall through
Come true, my dreams are awakening
Somebody is making me
The only one in the room
What nobody could do - nobody till you
A new IM popped up and she couldn't help but laugh the minute she saw the words on the screen.
StealingCinderella: You're seriously arguing over who can come up with the cheesiest song lyrics about who loves who more? SO WHIPPED.
StealingCinderella: Please envision those last two words with many underlines.
Aria pulled herself together a few moments later and then began to type back to him.
ShadesOfGreyxx: You say that like Love Like Crazy isn't Addy's ringtone on your phone.
StealingCinderella: So?
ShadesOfGreyxx: You will NEVER win this argument lol! I know too much about you now!
StealingCinderella: Who would've thought a year ago when we were standing in a bar talking about some girl in my dorm room that we'd end up here?
ShadesOfGreyxx: Do you want me to find someone to do the math? Lol
StealingCinderella: NO
ShadesOfGreyxx: Face it. We're tied into the Fitz family now. We're going to need each other to survive the next….forever.
StealingCinderella: Obviously! Do you know how hard it was get Ezra's head out of a textbook before he met you?
StealingCinderella: Granted, that still hasn't earned me any extra guy time… Hmm… You better make sure he doesn't plan my bachelor party as something at home with movies. There better be…well, it better not be boring.
ShadesOfGreyxx: Are you saying I'm a better friend? Lmao
StealingCinderella: Shhh. Don't tell Ezra. He'll get jealous.
Aria chuckled, looking up at Hardy for a brief moment. They shared a knowing smile and then Aria looked back at her computer. She clicked on her SocialPage. A new notification popped up.
Hardy Danielson has changed his default photo.
She clicked on the small photo icon and smiled at the new photo. It was yet another photo from the Halloween gala, of him, Adriana, Ezra, and herself. She and Hardy were standing in the middle, and Ezra and Adriana were on either side of them. It only took a moment before someone commented on the timeline.
Mateo Carson: Now I know why I can't find any pretty ladies. You and Ezra keep snappin' 'em up!
Valerie Bokan: Adriana needs to stop being so gorgeous! Aria too!
Aria clicked on the comment box and stared at it for a moment before she began to type.
Aria Montgomery: It's just makeup. You should see me in the morning with bed-head and sleep eyes. The allure goes away quickly.
Before she could click off the page another comment quickly popped up. She rolled her eyes, but couldn't help smiling.
Ezra Fitz: Liar. She lies. She always lies. You can't believe a word she says. She's absolutely beautiful at all hours.