Thank you so much for the reviews, I'm really glad you guys are enjoying the story. And yes, this is an Ezria story for those who have asked. -A obviously exists in this story, and trust me—it's going to get really good real soon. So enjoy!
Oh and for the sake of this story, Aria's parents are still together. It totally slipped my mind that they separated. If I make any other mistakes, please let me know so I can fix them.
Wes hadn't expected for Aria to kiss him. In fact, it had shocked him when she had asked if he wanted to dance with him. He cared for Aria, so much; in fact, he had gotten angry at Ezra for not showing up at Aria's birthday party.
Wes kissed her back longingly, his hands resting on her lower back, pushing her small yet fit body against the wall. Aria giggled in response, her legs wrapping around his torso. It wasn't long until his tongue slipped into her mouth, their kiss becoming heated. Her hands ran up his chest, finding no need to hold onto something because the wall had become her back's support. They broke apart for air, and her mind decided to play games on her. For a second, it was Ezra staring back at her and not Wes.
She quickly climbed off of him and looked away.
"Aria, are you okay?" he asked. Aria couldn't figure out what just happened. She liked the kiss with Wes, so why did she imagine Ezra? A million thoughts raced through her head and she couldn't get a grip on reality. She missed Ezra but it was clear to her that he didn't miss her back. She needed to move on. But with his brother? That would have screamed the ultimate betrayal to Ezra. She liked Wes and she found him attractive, but nothing could compare to Ezra. But Aria didn't ask him to leave. She didn't say what was on her mind, and that she couldn't do this with him. She couldn't bring herself to do it. Aria wasn't brave.
"Y-yeah. I'm good. I just.. I lost my balance." she said. It sounded a lot more uncertain than she had hoped for, causing Wes to open his mouth – most likely to question her some more – but he only nodded and smiled at her.
"I liked that… I should probably go though. I have to go do a few things. Can I see you again, anytime soon?" He had a glimmer of hope in his eyes, and Aria couldn't bring herself to say, "No, you can't." He had been over for no more than 30 minutes and she wondered why he had to leave but didn't ask. She only lied again.
"Yes of course, I'll let you know. Thanks for coming over again." She smiled and he leaned in, hoping for another kiss but she pretended to sneeze and avoided his gaze and led him to the door. He muttered a quick goodbye and she waved, shutting the door as soon as he was off the steps of her house. Aria rested her back against the wall, and closed her eyes, letting out a frustrated sigh. Her phone dinged, signaling a text and she looked at it, immediately freezing at what it said.
First she hooks up with her teacher, now she hooks up with the teacher's brother. Don't worry though, you'll only have to worry about one of them—there won't be another left for you to choose. – A
She dropped the phone and heard its impact as soon as it hit the ground. It had been a while since she had gotten a text from A, and she couldn't wrap her mind around it. What did this text mean, was one of them going to hate her, or worse…? What if one of them was to be in danger? She gulped, reaching down to pick up her phone and run upstairs to her bedroom. She had school tomorrow and with tonight's events, she knew she wasn't going to be able to get a good night's sleep. Aria didn't bother changing into pajamas; she just laid down on her bed. Hours passed by and she blinked and looked at the wall, and eventually drifted off and went to sleep.
She woke up the next morning and dreaded having to go to school. The worst thing that could happen was if her English teacher was out, because then Ezra would have to be the substitute teacher. She couldn't face being in the same room as him. She couldn't sit there and pretend that everything was okay, because it wasn't.
She started getting ready for school, changing into a simple outfit—she was too tired to try and make herself look decent. She had no one to impress anyways. School was starting soon, and she hurried downstairs and greeted her parents as she left and drove to school. When she got there, she saw Hanna, Spencer and Emily waiting for her outside the building.
Hanna was the first to speak. "Aria, I've been calling you all morning. Where have you been? You were my ride; I had to ask that one freakishly tall girl in our class for a ride! And you wanna know what else? Her car smells like blue cheese! It was so bad!" Spencer and Emily snickered under their breath, causing Hanna to glare at them, and the two other brunettes only smiled at each other and avoided Hanna's gaze.
"Shoot, Hanna, I totally forgot. I... I slept most of yesterday. It slipped my mind, I'm sorry." She obviously didn't spend yesterday sleeping, but she couldn't tell her friends what had happened. At least not now.
"Whatever." The blonde replied. "You owe me, though. By owing, I mean you're going to get me a shirt that matches these pants. I went through so much trouble to make this outfit look decent!" Hanna pouted, making Aria smile—Hanna had this vibe where she could make anyone happy, even in the worst of times.
"Sure, Han. I should probably get to class now. I'll see you guys at lunch." She waved to her friends and walked up the steps to get to class, and when she turned into the hallway she almost bumped into Ezra… and her principal. She froze in her path, biting down on her lip and avoiding eye contact.
"Good morning, Ms. Montgomery." Her principal said. Ezra glanced at her, nervously playing with his hands. Aria couldn't really tell what was going on, and she tried to make it seem like she was perfectly okay.
"Good morning." She smiled wide, and then tried to make a quick escape. "I have to get to class. I really need to ask my English teacher about the book we're reading. I, uh, don't really understand it." They looked at her with doubt sketched onto their faces, and she inwardly cursed herself for not being the best liar.
Ezra then decided to speak. "Oh, I'm the substitute today. Here, I'll help you.." he trailed off and grabbed onto her arm, excusing herself from the principal and dragging Aria as casually as he could into a classroom. Aria tried to break away, taking a step back from him.
"I don't want to speak to you right now. What happened, happened. You made your choice." Her voice cracked slightly, showing how vulnerable she really was. Ezra sighed, looking down at the ground.
"I got caught up taking care of Malcolm. I'm sorry I didn't make it. I truly am, and I want you back. I know we haven't broken up officially, and I want to fix things." Ezra finished speaking and waited for Aria's response.
Part of her wanted to believe him, but she needed to get away. She couldn't just crawl back like she always did. It was going to be different this time. It broke her heart, but she knew what she needed to do.
"Don't, Ezra. If it isn't clear to you already, we ARE in fact over. I am not going to be the shadow in your life. I can't do that anymore." Tears threatened to spill over her eyes but she couldn't let him see that she was crying. Aria had to stop being weak. Luckily, the school bell rang, signaling the start of first period.
"I have to go now." She also said. He opened his mouth to say something but before he could, Aria turned on her heels and walked away from him. English was her first period, but she couldn't just sit in that class with him in it. Teaching. Looking at her. She pushed into the girl's bathroom and stared at her reflection. Tears were now cascading down her cheeks, her face was pale and she looked like she hadn't slept in a week. She didn't know what to do. She was lost and confused.
Aria had hit rock bottom.
So thoughts? This might have been a really depressing chapter and it sucked, because I'm half asleep right now. Next chapter will be a lot better. Let's just say.. Aria's going to have an inner battle with herself. Please review, I love it when people review.
I'll update again sometime this week.