Nine Years ago:
The last thing he had expected to find when he returned to Rosewood was for Aria to be in another relationship. It was extremely selfish and arrogant of him but he would rather her be alone than to be in the arms of someone else.
He stood in the front of his class as the bell rang, the students fled the premises and soon the classroom was completely empty. A couple of minutes later he heard the sound of high-heels and the sound arguing.
Outside the classroom, the four girls were rushing down the hallway. Ever since school had started three months back and Aria had returned from Iceland, they had been the victims of cyber-bulling in essence.
"It can't be Ian," Spencer said, "For crying out loud, he's Melissa's husband and a teacher," She added, sighing.
"You never know what teachers are hiding." Emily replied, Aria's eyes were as wide as saucers as she heard the seemingly cryptic statement to her at least.
"What does that mean?" Aria said, defensively. Her friends eyed her suspiciously, as to why she acted so defensive to a vague statement.
"Nothing, I'm just saying everyone has skeletons in their closets" Hanna responded, laughing a little "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, um we just need to look at this with a fresh pair of eyes," Aria said, changing the subject, from the corner of her eye, she could see Ezra stand at the doorway. He had heard the majority of their conversation, clearly. Hanna looked at her dumbfounded.
"She means we need to sleep on it" Spencer replied, rolling her eyes.
"Okay from now on, no more metaphors or English, just simple sentences which mean what they say, okay?" Hanna looked her friends, wide-eyed.
"Okay"
They all agreed, simultaneously and continued to walk. Spencer and Hanna looked at their English teacher and shared a look whilst smirking.
"Miss Montgomery, can I have a word?" He asked in a teacherly voice. Aria gulped—they had not exactly spoken alone since he returned from Rosewood. His words that he had spoken in this exact hallway were still so clear in her head.
"Um we're actually going to—can this wait?" Aria said in response, her friends looked at her strangely. They did not have any plans except for movie night at Spencer's house whilst trying to forget their miserable existence
"Actually, It can't" He said, his blue eyes met hers in a desperate plea for her to hear him out understandably she was angry. She sighed not wanting to hear him out; she didn't want to know anything. She was finally free from all the pressures of dating her teacher, from all the complications.
She did not respond instead she walked passed him and into his classroom. He stood in front of the girls with his hands awkwardly in his pockets; he forced a smile and then turned around walking into the classroom.
"What is up with her?" Spencer asked, rhetorically, as the girls began to walk once again out of the school building.
"Maybe she's PMSing" Hanna replied, shrugging "Actually, she's been like this ever since Mr Fitz left for that family emergency—maybe she's pissed at him for not being there during her SATS—actually to think about it. It's more your thing" She said, turning to Spencer who nudged her, playfully.
"Or maybe they have a thing" Emily said, jokingly.
The girls giggled at the suggestion whilst silently they all thought about the possibility of it actually being true.
"It would definitely explain his first day" Spencer replied, they all nodded as they entered her car whilst inside the classroom. Hanna pulled out her buzzing phone and replied to a text she had received from Noel regarding Aria.
The two former lovers stood opposite one another, she avoided eye contact but his gaze pierced on her skin like flame causing her to break her stubbornness and look at him.
"I feel like I need to clarify why I went to New York," He said as he crossed his arms across his chest, she shook her head.
"You don't need to clarify anything, Ezra. I know why you went. You went because you do not want to be here and I do not blame you, honestly. I have moved on and I think it's time you do too" Her voice was a mix of bitter and anger.
He nodded and did not respond, she took it as a cue for her to leave. As her hand touched the door handle, he spoke.
"I'm in love with you." He declared, suddenly. She did not respond and closed her eyes tightly afraid of how the words would affect her. "I love you, Aria." He repeated, "The reason I—left was because I realized that you're the only woman in the world for me."
"And it frightened me; it frightened me to know that the love of my life was a student. This is not right, not the slightest bit but when I am with you. I do not care; it is not an issue when we are alone. I screwed up so bad, leaving was the worst thing I could have done. I was a coward." He mumbled, regretfully.
"It may be too late but—"
Aria shook her head, her face was warm and her cheeks were pink. Salty warmth of water escaped her eyes and trailed down her cheeks. She whimpered slightly as she heard his confession—his words—the honesty in them was terrifying. It frightened her just as much. How could she love a man who society deemed as inappropriate for her? But then again, she was never one to follow societal norms.
"I love you too"
Aria's words were a whisper; she did not even know whether he had heard her but he apparently had. Her chest heaved up and down because of her nerves.
Her melodic voice and words echo in his ears, her words repeated themselves and his heart raced, at first he did not react. He was afraid he had heard her wrong however then the realization hit him. She turned around, her doe like eyes wide with vulnerability.
"It's never too late, Ezra, I want to be with you forever. I want to be listening to B26 even when ten years down the line, I want to be watching It happened one night and making enhanced mac and cheese" She said, he laughed and nodded.
He looked into her eyes of ever changing colour and softly placed his hand on her chin lifting it up. His mouth meets hers, softly and pleasurable warmth fills her entire body. She cups his face in her hands and his hands move down to her waist pulling her in and lifting her up slightly, her body is pressed against his. She runs her tongue against his and he pulls her lower lip into her mouth.
For the time he isn't the one to worry about their surroundings but instead her, she pulls away but as he looks at her all she wants to do is wrap her arms around his neck and rest her head on his shoulder so she does. He holds her close to him and kisses the top of her forehead hoping that this moment would never end.
However, as the two lovers embraced one another, immersed in the moment they did not realize that a certain someone was outside witnessing every single moment. He opened the message and clicked the video attachment.
Tut tut tut, It seems as though a certain someone's girlfriend is sharing a moment with a teacher. How embarrassing? It certainly isn't the first time. Three words: Bar, B26 and Bathroom – A
Present day-
Noel Kahn could get any girl he wanted—whether they were taken or not but there had been something about the kooky Aria Montgomery that had piped his interest from the start. First of all, she hadn't shown any interest in him which strangely enough was a turn on and secondly, she was gorgeous granted she was a foot shorter than him but her beauty overcame any of her physical flaws.
He had nagged Hanna to set him up with Aria, which she had just sighed to and stated that no matter how hard she tried, Aria was just not interested. He pursued Aria for months and months, of course, he did sleep with other girls after all he was human. Eventually she relented and agreed to go out on a date with him, it was sudden and she was the one to make the move.
They were great together eventually he had found her to be interesting and charming; it was not like the other girls. He did not want to fuck her and leave; he wanted to have a relationship with her. Of course, he had never slept with Aria Montgomery; she had always refused him whenever he tried which made it even more fun as it seemed like a game.
Aria Montgomery was the only person who broke his heart—she broke up with him and he had found out the reason why was because she was screwing their English teacher. He still was not over the fact she had played him, she did not like him and never had. He was just someone she passed time with until Ezra Fitz was back in the picture.
He was finally going to have his revenge—it was going to pleasurable and humiliating for her of course, he was going to expose her dirty little secret with the help of Mona Vanderwaal, his current girlfriend.
The school has been decorated in a certain way so that it looked less like a school and more so, like the venue for a classy soiree, Mona had definitely worked her magic. He smiled as he saw some of his former classmates and went to greet them whilst counting down the hours until he would finally get his revenge.
Meanwhile, an unsuspecting Aria Montgomery applied her make up after she curled her hair into loose waves, whilst in the bathroom she could hear her best friend stressing out over their punctuality. She stepped out
Hanna was wearing a dark pink peplum dress, which accentuated all of her curves and had an open back. She had a pair of high heels, which were too far for even Aria. Her hair curled in loose waves. As always, Hanna Marin looked gorgeous.
"Come on, we're going to be late" Spencer said, rushing in in her prim and proper striped dress which had a bow in the middle separating the prints from the blouse which was a pain cream. Her hair was curled and half up, half down. She was the epitome of sophistication.
"Fashionably late" Hanna said, smiling as she sat in Aria's chair whilst reading through a magazine, Aria took out her dress from her closet laughing a little. "You know what they say, it's better to arrive late than to arrive early and ugly." The blonde-haired woman said, matter-of-factly.
Frustrated, Spencer clenched her fists "Okay, who says that? No one … and you're dressed; you have been for the last hour." She said, there was a knock on the door, which Spencer went to check on almost immediately.
"So Miss-I-refuse-to-go-out-with-anyone-cause-I'm-a-prude" Hanna began as Aria slipped into her dress "Do you intend on continuing the Virgin Mary act or are you going to actually fuck someone before you turn rusty and old?"
Wide-eyed, Aria stared at Hanna for the euphemism. She stifled a laugh as she zipped up the back of her dress.
"I'm going to pretend like I didn't hear that" She replied,
"Seriously, Jason's cute and sweet. Why did you say no to going out with him?" Hanna asked, curiously referring to Aria's phone call to Jason earlier today explaining that she didn't want to go out with him as she was 'busy' and right now she didn't have any time to date.
"—Because…" Aria drawled,
Okay, Hanna, you want to know why I refused Jason. Because I am frightened of a man touching me, I am frightened of being in a relationship with someone because they will find out what happened to me and will not want me anymore. I cannot stand the thought of any man touching me except Ezra, he makes me feel safe, Han. I love him. Oh, and he's Daisy's father.
Her internal monologue spoke through her head and she sighed, internally a she realized she would not ever be able to say anything like that to Hanna without being questioned on a daily basis so she remained silent—just as she always had done.
"Because I need to be alone, I'm not ready for a relationship not yet. I don't want to introduce various amounts of men to Daisy not knowing which one of them is the one." She replied, most of it was true but it was not the reason why she had cancelled her date with Jason.
"Speaking of my Goddaughter, where is she?" Hanna said, unexpectedly.
"With her father, I presume." Aria mumbled as she searched through her drawer for jewellery and put it on.
Hanna furrowed her eyebrow in confusion "So he, like, goes to Ella's to meet his daughter. Why can't he come over here?"
"He does" She replied, "However, today, she's staying at Mom's as I don't want to pick her up at midnight when she's half asleep and he sees her everyday so he went over"
"Is he a good dad?" Hanna asked,
"The best, I mean it's only been a couple of weeks since he found out and he sees her every day and reads to her and plays with her. He's watched Tangled seven times since Daisy forces him, he knows all the lyrics to Frozen" She smiled as she remembered walking in to him and Daisy singing.
"When are we meeting him?"
"You've met him," Aria replied, Hanna raised an eyebrow as she considered the possibility of—no it couldn't be.
All of a sudden, Spencer busted into the room holding an empty bottle of wine "Are you drunk?" She asked. Aria laughed without humour.
"Of course not."
"She had two full glasses of wine. I saw her." Hanna added to which Aria glared at her.
Aria frowned, her friends were not aware of her nightly drinking as of late. She was not an alcoholic; she just needed an escape from her harsh past, which happened to involve a beverage, which in the end would not be good for her. She was not careless—she drank as much as she could handle. She was a mother and it did not matter about her past when it came to Daisy so she tried her best to refrain from the addictive beverage.
"I am not drunk, I assure you" Aria said, convincingly "I can handle my liquor." She added, her friends rolled her eyes at her "All I need is a couple of glasses of water and some food then I'll be fine"
Emily walked into the room whilst on the phone with Paige whilst wearing a deep blue dress that complimented her skin tone, her hair was down naturally curly and she had heels on. She did not admit it but she sometimes enjoyed dressing up. Emily, unlike Aria, did not rely on makeup and had a sort of natural beauty, which was envied by most.
"Paige and the guys are waiting for us at the school" The black-haired beauty said, the girls grabbed their things and made their way out of the house.
Ezra Fitz hadn't achieved all he had wanted to by the age of thirty-two however he felt content as one thing he hadn't even thought that he wanted came about in his life. His daughter was truly a shining light in his life; her presence overshadowed any minuscule problems he was having. It shocked him how his love for her had come as easily as he had not even been aware of her a couple of weeks but here she was, one of the best things that had ever happened to him.
In a way she caused him to have hope once again, hope he had lost through the breaking down of his family and the, what he had at the time assumed, betrayal of Aria. Even before he had met her, he had decided on how her life would be different from his, and even Aria. He would never let her suffer as badly as her mother had or see her parents arguing.
He was naïve to think that he would be able to shelter her from all the pain in the world but he had to believe he could because, otherwise, he would not be able to sleep at night. As he watched her play in the garden of her grandparents, a sigh escaped his mouth.
Clearly, she would not a normal upbringing. People would talk after all she was the child of a student and her former teacher but he would make sure she knew that what her parents had once shared was true and pure.
Aria, he could not stop thinking about her. He could not stop thinking about the night before; he did not understand what happened when he was alongside Aria. His behavior changed—he could not stop the way he interacted with her by which he meant the flirting but he knew that he should not continue the constant compliments and looking at her.
He loved Maggie—had loved her—did love her but he did not feel about her the same way he did about Aria. He felt bad; he always had a gut wrenching feeling whenever he thought of Aria whenever his girlfriend kissed her. His feelings for her physically caused his entire body to ache.
WHERE ARE YOU? WE ARE GOING TO BE LATE. HURRY! – Maggie.
Daisy ran over to him holding a ladybird on her palm, her eyes widened in excitement as she looked at him. She showed her hand to him, he chuckled as he looked at her.
"Daddy, it's a bird," She said, excitedly.
Ezra smiled "A lady bird" He corrected her; she furrowed her eyebrow in confusion but then shrugged.
"Can we keep it?" She said and a pout, which had on many occasions been used against him by her mother, made way onto her face.
"I wish you could but a lady-bird isn't supposed to be a pet, it's meant to be free and out in the open," He said, hesitantly. Daisy smiled, sadly at the ladybird.
"Bye, bye birdy" She said as she placed it on the ground, she sat next to her dad as she looked at the night sky "We didn't have stars in New York"
"They're pretty." Daisy complimented, Ezra smiled as he watched her. A shooting star made its way across the sky and she smiled, dreamily. "Momma said if you make a wish, it comes true" Silently, she made a wish.
"What did you wish for, princess?" He asked, curiously.
She shook her head "I can't tell you. It won't come true if I do." She leaned on his arm and he lifted her up so she was sitting in his lap. "Did you wish?" He shook his head "Why not?"
"Because…I have everything I never knew I wanted," He replied, she furrowed her eyebrows in confusion but did not question him.
He felt his phone buzz and sighed, "I have to go, princess," He mumbled, sadly. She got off his lap and stood in front of him, frowning.
"Okay…"
She whispered, sadly. He stood up and held her hand as he walked into the house. Byron and he were still not on the best of terms however, Ella was incredibly friendly and supportive. She spoke to him about parenthood and the things it entailed. One thing they never discussed was Aria. Their relationship was still on grey grounds and Ella simply did not speak about it.
"Ella, I'm leaving," He said as he saw her mark papers in the living room, Byron was sitting watching television and did not react. She stood up and walked towards him. He crouched down to his daughter's level and smiled as he looked at her.
She was certainly a mix of both of her parents, she had inherited his curls and eyes however her other features were all Aria including her personality.
"I'll see you tomorrow, princess." He said and kissed her forehead, "I love you"
"Love you too, daddy," She mumbled, wrapping her small arms around his neck. He smiled and then let go of her "Be good for Grammy and Pappy" He said and she nodded.
Ella smiled and then held her granddaughter's hand as Ezra left the house "Bye Ezra, Have fun!" She said, enthusiastically.
Dear shooting star, can you please please please have Daddy kiss Momma so we can be a real family? Please - Daisy
Music was blaring and people were sharing—showing off how much they had achieved in the past couple of years. Everyone seemed so happy and it was nice despite the slight snobbery. Aria was in the back as Hanna greeted everyone she had been friends with, Emily went to the swim team and Spencer attempted to say hello to every in her AP classes.
Unlike her friends, Aria did not exactly have a crowd after all she was strange—she nearly laughed aloud at the notion. If people had seen how her friends were when they were alone, she would not be considered the strange one, they would perhaps it due to her clothing, yes, and it was definitely due to the way she dressed.
Ezra had too arrived with Maggie in tow; they were currently greeting former students. They looked good together, she tried to conceal the jealously. She sighed, softly.
"Aria"
A familiar voice spoke; she turned around to see the one and only, Holden Strauss. Over the years, she had lost contact with her old friend though she always kept him in her heart. Her mother had told her that his heart condition had gotten better and become more stable.
A smile grew on her face as she saw his curly brown hair and brown eyes; he was wearing a suit and had obviously grown into a handsome young man. She stretched her arms out and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"—well if it isn't Holden Strauss—" She mumbled against his shoulder and then let go of his ruffling his hair "You look good, kid."
He rolled his eyes "I'm older than you," He said, clearly. She shrugged, giggling. He stood next to her and saw where her glance was. He may have been the only person who knew about their clandestine affair other than A and Noel Kahn.
"Are you okay?" Holden asked, slightly worried. He never held a torch for his friend contrary to popular belief. She was always just a friend, and that was how she would remain.
She bit her lower lip as she titled her head sideways "Of course, I am" She replied, somewhat unconvincingly "So, tell me, Strauss. How was Princeton?"
"Good. It was amazing to be away from the clutches of my parents," He said, dramatically. "I met someone…" He drawled.
"Are you serious?" She asked, enthusiastically. "What's her name?"
As the two friends re-connected, Ezra stood alongside Maggie on the other side of hall trying to avoid looking at her. He would lie if he had said that watching Aria embrace Holden did not make him the slightest bit jealous, it did but he remembered their relationship. It had always been purely platonic and they had acted like siblings the majority of the time.
Maggie saw Aria "Hey, come on, let's go say hi to Aria" She suggested and despite him shaking his head, she dragged him over to her.
"Mr Fitz"
Holden said, carefully as he saw him approach them. Aria looked at him, biting her lower lip. Being back in this school with him there as well certainly brought back, a lot of memories and not all of them were good.
"Hey Holden" Ezra said, scratching the back of his neck "Maggie, this is Holden, he was in my class alongside Aria," He said, softly whilst staring at her. The blonde-haired woman greeted his former student as he looked at Aria.
She looked especially beautiful today, her hair was curled and she was wearing a dark blue dress, which stopped just over her knees. It had lace in the back. She smiled which he returned at him wanting to say a lot but did not due to the surroundings.
"I am so tired!" Hanna exclaimed, as she stood between the two with Caleb on her arm "Why is there no alcohol in this place?"
"Probably because alcohol is prohibited in a school building," Ezra replied, amused. She rolled her eyes.
"I'm surprised she didn't try to sneak it in," Spencer said, smiling at Maggie,
"Wouldn't be the first time," Aria said,
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that" Ezra added, the group laughed. Emily too joined the group of people.
Mona Vanderwaal saw them all surround one another and thought it was the perfect time to say something before the fireworks went off.
She walked over and greeted everyone, her eyes stopped at Aria "Well if it's isn't little miss I'm too good for anyone unless they've read Hemingway or Fitzgerald" She said, patronizingly "Noel told me you were back in town apparently you got knocked up, huh?"
Ezra stiffened which Maggie noticed but completely dismissed it, Holden furrowed his eyebrow in confusion.
"You have a kid?" He asked to which she nodded,
"Yes I do, I got pregnant not knocked up, Mona" She replied, biting her lower lip in an attempt to conceal her anger.
"No, Honey, you got knocked up. Nice girls get pregnant— and slu—." Ezra felt anger boil in him as he heard Mona.
"Hey, hey, Mona, there's no need for that." Ezra interrupted, Mona smirked.
The vicious brown-haired woman looked at Maggie and then spoke "He always was extremely hands on with certain students, took a real personal interest in some" She said, cryptically. Ezra narrowed his eyes and glanced at Aria who seemed as if she were trapped.
"Mona, leave, please. We don't need you here especially if you're going to be such a bitch," Spencer said, angrily.
"I don't even understand why you're acting this way; Aria's done nothing to you" Emily said, raising her eyebrow as to why she was acting this way.
"Hasn't she?" Mona asked, "Because unless I recall incorrectly when Alison was alive—" She said and Aria felt a lump in her throat.
"I apologized for that, I'm so sorry I let Alison—"
"It's too late for that," Replied Mona, bitterly.
"Mona" Hanna finally spoke, frustrated, "Aria's my best-friend, you're not allowed to speak to her or anyone for that matter, like that"
"Oh honey, if you knew what type of person she is really was, you'd never be her friend." Mona said, looking at Noel who was setting everything up.
Aria gulped, "And what type of person do you think I am?" She asked,
"A whore"
Mona replied, without any hesitance whatsoever. Everyone saw Aria shudder and a gasp escape her mouth.
"That's enough, Mona. You need to go" Ezra said, sternly. Everyone was shocked as to why he had responded but the brown-haired woman had clearly seen it coming so she smirked.
Almost as if it were on cue, Noel Kahn came onto the stage with a microphone in his hand. He smiled at the crowd and Aria felt as if something bad was going to happen.
"Hey guys, I am so proud to say that I was part of the class of '09. Man, did we have a good time? So instead of blabbing out some sentimental shit I thought I might as well just play a video." He said, the people around him clapped and when the video began to play everyone went silent.
"So, this is a video, well duh." Hanna said, everyone laughed as they saw the blonde, "Anyways I thought I'd make this video for all of us to see at the reunion, if anyone turns up because I know I won't so basically cherish all the time you have with me"
Everyone stared at the Hanna looking at the video; she rolled her eyes and laughed a little still in shock of what Mona had said. The rest of the video were simply things people said about who they wished to be in the next ten years.
"Aria, come on, tell me." The blonde-haired woman said chasing after Aria as Lucas walked with the camera "Where do you want to be in ten years?"
"Fine, you want to know where I'll be?" Aria teased, smiling. "Well, I'll be twenty-seven so preferably working as a teacher, or a journalist— I honestly don't care—but with the man I love, I want to be listening to B26 and watch B&W movies. I never want to forget who I am and who I love no matter I will be in the world."
"What's B26?" Hanna asked and Aria smiled sheepishly—"I have to go, I'm late for Mr Fitz' class" She responded. The blonde-haired person rolled her eyes unaware of whether the camera was filming or not "She's always in his class, I swear she must have a crush on him or something."
The scene suddenly changed—slightly blurry. Ezra gulped as he heard Aria's previous statement, she avoided eye contact. Sighing softly, he looked at the screen. His eyes widened as he realized what it was.
It seemed to be security camera footage, Aria and Ezra were conversing, it was quiet but audible—laughing—to a stranger they seemed like friends simply flirting however, to everyone around them it was much more. A clandestine affair, they all read between the lines. The scene suddenly changed—and there they were. Her legs were around his waist and his hands were firmly placed on her waist.
The girls looked at one another, completely shocked as to what had happened. Aria inhaled and exhaled deeply. Murmurs could be heard from the hall. People were already creating rumours.
Noel Kahn smirked as he got off stage—he walked towards Aria and Ezra laughing a little "So now you know—the only reason why she had such a high grade point average was because she was fucking her teacher." He said, bitterly. She stiffened.
"It wasn't like that, Noel." Ezra said, defensively. He would not let Aria's reputation be tarnished even if it meant he had to lie "We met before school started—as soon as we found that she was my student, we ended the relationship."
"Bullshit" Noel spat, his eyes widened in determination. "You too had a relationship whilst she was your student. I know it; we all know it, and all that B26 crap was because of that day in the bar."
"I can't believe you're doing this" Aria muttered, "I'm sorry if I hurt you but that doesn't mean you can bring all this up from the past"
"Oh stop being so self-centered, everything isn't about you" Noel replied.
"No it isn't, it's about you." She spat "What happened between Ezra and I is in the past. We settled everything when we found out" She lied through her teeth.
Noel clenched his fist "Stop lying, you bitch" He yelled, her eyes widened at the slurs. It reminded her of the brutal attack she faced, the constant slurs and the feelings of inferiority.
Ezra stepped in front of her as if he could shield her from the pain "That is enough," His voice hinted at anger. Behind him, Aria stood. She felt as if everything was closing in on her, she turned around and saw her friends looking at her. They all looked at her feeling betrayed. She bit her lower lip as she pushed passed them.
Everyone stared at her, she did not hear any of Noel's yelling or her friends calling her name instead she ran out sighing heavily wanting to escape the school, which even to this day caused her so much pain.
"Why would you do that, Noel?" Spencer asked, her eyes filled with anger. She was still processing what had happened but she was suddenly aware of the fact that her friend had been hurt because of him.
"Because she's a slut and I think everyone deserves to know," Noel said, Ezra scoffed at the absurdity of the statement.
"I honestly can't deal with this sexist shit anymore. You did what you did because you are a sexist egotistical self-entitled piece of crap who thinks they have the power to do what they wish because a girl turned him down. If this had been the other way around, if you had made out—fuck it even slept with a teacher then you would be showing off—but because it was a girl."
"Oh stop with your feminist bullshit" Noel intervened, Ezra could only think about Aria. He turned around to see that Emily and Hanna had gone off; he assumed they were looking for her. Their significant others were still here. Maggie also was not here.
"Fitz, I'm not done with you yet"
Ezra sighed in frustration, anger filled his entire body more so then it already had. He turned around and glared at Noel.
"Oh fuck off, Noel" Everyone surrounding them gasped or was shocked to see their seemingly squeaky clean English teacher swear including his best friend, Wren.
"In case you haven't realized you're no longer in High school, it's time to grow up. Seriously, I do not understand why some of you are still bullying people. It wasn't acceptable back and then, and it isn't now." He glanced over at Mona "And I don't understand how you gain superiority over making everyone else feel insecure"
He sighed looking over at Spencer. He decided it was time for him to leave; there was no point for him to stay here especially with everything that had happened this night. He walked out of the hall without so much as a look back. He took his phone out and dialled a number but she did respond with a text
I am going home. I will speak to you later – Aria
Ezra walked out of the school building and stepped out. He walked home clearing his head as the cold air hit his face. As much as he wanted to go and see whether Aria was okay or not, he decided against it as her friends would be with her and the last thing she needed was for him to come over.
He wondered how Maggie was going to react; there were no words to describe how badly he felt about hurting her. He stepped into his apartment complex and walked the stairs towards his apartment. Inhaling and exhaling, he slid his key in and turned unlocking the door. He stepped in and hurricane Maggie hit him.
"Are you cheating on me?" She asked, her voice breaking as she placed her hands on her hips. He shook his head.
"Of course not" He responded,
"I can't believe I didn't realize it earlier, I was so stupid. I should have known. I mean the poems and the way you look at her. Do you love me? Please don't lie"
He did not respond, he looked away "Maggie if—"
"Yes or no" She stated, simply. Tears poured out of her eyes "I can't believe this." She said, as he did not respond. She walked into the bedroom and five minutes she came out with a bag containing some of his clothes. "Go, just go"
He did not argue with her instead he left not knowing where exactly to go, he drove away to Aria's house.
"Tell us everything, from the start."
Spencer said as she arrived at Aria's house, she sat down on the couch and Aria looked at her friends, bleary-eyed. She bit her lower lip and began to tell them everything. She told them everything she remembered from the smell of cologne and beer when she kissed him to when they broke up.
"He's Daisy's father, isn't he?" Hanna asked, Aria looked at the ground nodded. The girls were not especially shocked; they had joined the dots before they came to her house. "So last night when you got into a car with Fitz at 2, was it for a quickie?"
"Shut up" Aria said, rolling her eyes "It's not like that," She added, the door knocked. She stood up and saw Ezra outside the door. Her eyes widened slightly. Aria walked over to the door and opened it; he nervously scratched the back of his neck.
"I'm sorry for intruding but I need a place to stay." He said, she looked down at his bag and smiled sympathetically.
"Come on in, you can sleep in the guest room." The two walked past the couch ignoring the girls and towards the bedroom. He awkwardly placed his bag on the floor and looked around the room, it was not decorated and only had a bed but he did not care. "I hope this will be okay"
"It's perfect" He grinned, "How are you doing?" He asked, curiously.
She bit her lower lip trying to stop the tears from escaping her eyes "I was called a bitch, slut and a whore today, Ezra. How do you think I'm doing?" She had not said it in a harsh way. He sighed and pulled her into a hug.
"I'm sorry about what happened. You didn't deserve it" He said, softly "Noel's a dick" She rested her head against his chest for a moment and then pulled away.
"Yeah…" She drawled, "I bet tomorrow everyone will know about us,"
"And then next week they'll focus on something else entirely different. Don't worry, Aria, everything will be fine"
She smiled at his comforting words although she did not believe them in the slightest, she sighed and then mumbled "I should go, if you need anything, let me know"
They both slept in different rooms, they did not say anything but were both comforted by the fact that the other was in the room next to them. It was the closest they had been at night for a while and it felt nice.
So believe or not i had more to write but i left it for the next chapter. I haven't read through this chapter because it is SO long. Tell me if you prefer longer or shorter chapters. I wanted to write more of the reunion but i just couldn't for some reason. Holden Strauss, my bby, is going to be in this story more often but purely platonic as i can not stand love trianges! Hope you all like it.