A/N: I had so much fun with this scene! I was curious what it would be like for Ezra to teach Aria and her friends. This is my take on it - and it was so much fun to write! Enjoy!
"Aria, I didn't know you were considering Hollis," Spencer commented, nodding at the Hollis crest on the cardigan Aria had borrowed from Ezra that morning.
"I heard Hollis has a really great English program," Aria covered brightly.
"That's great," Spencer nodded. She stole a glance at Ezra's Hollis diploma hanging on the wall above his desk, as if she was about to put together the pieces.
Hanna didn't look as impressed. "Ew," she said, wrinkling her nose. "Didn't you wear that dress yesterday?"
Ezra couldn't help but overhear the girls' conversation. His stomach tensed; Aria knew better than to even hint at what had happened the night before, but he couldn't prevent the other girls from guessing. He trusted Spencer and Emily, to a degree, but if Hanna figured it out, she could very well blurt it out by accident.
"Oh, you know. Laundry day's coming up soon," Aria said, nervously tucking a piece of hair behind her hair.
"Huh," Hanna said, checking her nails. She snapped her head up and peered more closely at Aria. "Is that a hickey? Way to go, Aria," she crooned.
Aria lightly slapped Hanna's arm, but before she could say anything, the bell rang. She shooed her friends away. She didn't normally take the lead among the foursome - Ezra had noticed that Spencer and Hanna tended to fill that role most often - but English class was her domain, and the others let her lead.
"Your classroom is almost like your apartment," Aria had joked once. And accordingly, she leaned just a little too comfortably against the doorframe and desks, raised her hand for a few too many questions (even more than Spencer did), and was always the first to volunteer when Ezra needed help.
So, forgive her for feeling too comfortable. If they couldn't be public about their relationship quite yet, having her in class was the next best thing.
As the class settled into their seats, Ezra cleared his throat. "Hi guys, I hope you enjoyed the reading last night. Romeo and Juliet is one of Shakespeare's best works. Are you liking it so far?"
A smattering of students nodded; Aria was the most vigorous among them. "Love it," she said.
Ezra leaned back against his desk, searching for a pile of papers. "Well, I"m really sorry to have to do this to you guys, but… pop quiz!"
The class groaned collectively. "Seriously?" a jock called out from the back row, scowling. Spencer sat up straighter in her seat. Hanna slumped over her desk, head propped on her fist, and threw an irritated look at Aria, as if to say, "Won't you do something about this?"
Ezra walked through the rows of desks, handing a quiz to each one. "Don't worry, it won't be a tough quiz if you've done last night's assignment. You guys will be fine," he reassured them, dropping a quiz on Aria's desk without making eye contact.
"Thanks," she said quietly, as he passed by.
"Okay, guys, you have fifteen minutes. And… start!" Ezra said, checking his watch.
He sat back down at his desk and tried to grade essays, but his thoughts quickly drifted back to last night with Aria. Maybe it had been slightly fumbling, slightly uncoordinated; he felt guilty that she didn't come during sex, but then again, she hadn't been in absolute pain the entire time, the way he knew some virgins were. He loved feeling so close to her afterward, lying intertwined for several minutes, skin pressed to skin. He was grateful for the desk that hid his erection from view, but he needed to think of something - anything - to deflate it before it was time to stand up.
Ah, teaching. Right, he thought, focusing again on the hordes of teenagers in front of him. Hardly sexy - except for one. He checked his watch.
"Five more minutes," he warned.
Aria was scribbling furiously. He knew the quiz would be a piece of cake for her - she had read Romeo and Juliet on her own before he had even assigned it and was devouring it a second time through. On several occasions, curled up on the couch, he and Aria had debated the star-crossed lovers' relationship. He hadn't told her his lesson plan for the day, but he knew she would instantly recognize what he was onto; after all, she had inspired it.
Her pencil jabbed against her paper in a final period. She pushed her chair back and stood up, locking eyes with Ezra as she walked to his desk.
"All done," she said, placing the quiz on his desk.
She trailed her finger across the mark he had made on her neck - or was that just his imagination? Was she brushing away a stray strand of hair? She bit her lip and lingered at his desk for a fraction of a second longer than necessary, before turning on her heel and sitting back down at her desk. That definitely wasn't his imagination. Absent-mindedly, he scratched at his matching mark above his collarbone.
"Time's up!" he called. "Turn in your quizzes."
Students filed up to his desk to hand theirs in. As they returned to their seats, Ezra heard faint snippets of, "What was the answer to number five?" and "Party at my house tonight, wanna come?"
"That wasn't too bad, was it?" Ezra asked. "I'll have those back to you later this week. Anyway, last night, I had you read the prologue and first act of Romeo and Juliet. Who can tell me about the prologue?" Spencer raised her hand; Ezra nodded towards her. "Spencer, go ahead."
"Well, the prologue explains what happens throughout the rest of the play. Two star-crossed lovers from feuding households, the Montagues and the Capulets, can't be together, so they commit suicide," she explained.
"Right. Thanks, Spencer. Later this week, we'll practice memorizing and reciting the prologue - it's not as hard as you might think."
The drama club president in the third row grinned.
"So, Romeo stumbles upon Juliet, it's love at first sight, and yet they can't be together. Why? What's the problem?" Ezra prompted.
A few students raised their hands and Ezra called on one.
"Their families have been fighting for decades - they're defying their parents completely. I mean, they're killing each other's cousins, aren't they?" one student pointed out.
"Yeah, and aren't they just teenagers, anyway? How do they know it's real love?" another added.
"Seriously, Romeo probably just thought Juliet was hot. He fell 'in love' with her instantly," a third said, making air quotes. "That doesn't even happen in real life."
Aria's hand shot up and she looked pointedly at Ezra to call on her. "It doesn't matter that their families are feuding, or that they're young, or that it was love in first sight… None of that matters. It's a beautiful story," she insisted, looking around at her classmates as if it were obvious. She turned to Ezra, looking for approval. "They're in love. Right, Mr. Fitz?"
"I have to say I agree with Aria," he said. "Let's update the story a little. Imagine you're at a party, you see someone cute, and your parents disapprove - I don't know, maybe they think he's a bad influence or a distraction. What are you going to do?"
"Sneak around… duh," the jock in the back muttered.
"Exactly!" Ezra said. "You're in high school, you're not going to listen to half the stuff your parents say, anyway."
Spencer looked alarmed; Ezra back-tracked.
"Not that I'm encouraging you to sneak around behind your parents' backs," Ezra recovered.
Hanna gave a low whistle. "It would be pretty thrilling, though, would' it?" tossing her friends a smirk.
If only she knew exactly how unthrilling it truly was, Ezra thought, cooped up in his apartment every night.
Aria concentrated intensely down at her desk. The beginnings of a grin quaked at the corners of her mouth. "I don't know, I think the play is pretty romantic," she said.
"It's the greatest love story of all time, of course it's romantic," Emily piped up.
Ezra couldn't help but smile as the class began to come around to his point of view. If only convincing the rest of the world could be so easy. He looked at his watch; class was about to end.
"All right, that's it for today. We'll discuss Act 2 tomorrow - it'll be great. Have a great day!" he said, just as the bell rang.
The class grabbed their books and backpacks and headed out. As usual, Aria took extra care putting her books back in her bag, ensuring she'd be the last one out of the classroom.
"I'll catch up with you guys in a sec," she told her friends over her shoulder, as they filed into the hallway. She just barely grazed by Ezra's desk.
"Can I see you after school today? I have to have dinner with my parents and grandparents tonight, but I don't need to be home until six," she said.
"Sure, meet me at my apartment at 3:30?" he whispered.
"Absolutely."
After she left the room, Ezra headed towards the door and leaned against the doorframe. He watched as Aria joined her friends against Emily's locker.
"So, I've got a question for you…" he overheard Spencer asking Aria coyly, taking her arm.
A/N: Do you think Spencer figured it out? I'll probably wrap this up in the next chapter or two. Read and review!