I pushed myself through the crowd as I searched for her. I needed to talk to her and fast. "Spencer!" I shouted as I saw her brunette hair. She spun around to face me with a smile.
"Ezra...I mean Mr. Fitz!" she quickly corrected.
"Ezra," I stated shortly. "Look, do you know where Aria is?" I asked her hurriedly.
"She's not here yet. I just got off the phone with her, though. She said she was going home to change and then she'd be here." I nodded as I scanned the crowd once more.
"Ella and Byron here?" I questioned. She smiled and raised her eyebrows knowingly. I nodded and breathed in deeply.
"I'm going to talk to them. If I'm not done when Aria gets here, do me a favor and don't let her see us. Don't tell her I'm here. I want to surprise her." Spencer lifted an eyebrow.
"So...are you staying?" she asked.
I stared at her for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, I'm staying." She smiled from ear to ear before I rushed off into the crowd of dancing teenagers. I looked around and spotted Ella and Byron standing with the Hastings's, the Marin's, and the Fields'. I took a deep breath before heading off in their direction. I placed my hand on Ella's shoulder. Laughing, she turned to face me. Instantly, the laugh halted and the smile disappeared.
"I thought you were leaving," she said harshly. I licked my lips.
"Ella..." I started off with a shake of my head. I closed my mouth and swallowed the lump in my throat. I had to get this out. "Ella, you know I love you. You're one of the nicest women I've ever met." Ella narrowed her eyes at me. "But with all due respect, you haven't given me the chance to explain to you how I feel about your daughter and the reason you haven't is because you keep comparing me and Aria to Byron and Meredith." Ella opened her mouth but I held my hand. She closed her mouth. "I love your daughter. And yeah, I was going to leave. Literally, I was at the bus station when Aria showed up. The minute she walked away I realized that there's no way in hell I can walk away from her. Not like this. Not after everything we've been through. I know she's your daughter and you want to protect her but we're staying together. I refuse to allow you or anyone else for that matter break us up." I released a breath as I finished my speech. I swallowed again as I waited for the fury I was sure was coming. Ella stared at me blankly. I waited but she remained silent. Byron didn't speak up either. Quickly, I turned and walked away hoping to delay their reaction even longer. This was not the place nor the time to get the shit beat out of me by my girlfriends mother.