Chapter 4

Ezra POV

Maria had talked Ezra into going to church with her on Sunday morning. Ezra sat through the service trying desperately to keep his eyes open. Growing up, Ezra never really went to church. His family was Christian but Sunday, for them, was more of a relaxing day at home filled with family time. Sunday was the day they would sleep in until about one o'clock, eat brunch, and then spend the rest of the day playing games and watching television. He'd been to church a few times but never really stuck with it. Now he remembered why. Yeah, church was about honoring God but why did they have to make it so boring?

After managing to stay awake during the service, Ezra was more than happy to be stepping out of the church and into the coolness of fall. He was standing outside waiting for Maria to finish her conversation with Reverend Ackard, when he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Ezra!" Ella called. Turning around with a smile on his face, it slightly faltered when he caught sight of Aria clad in a black dress. She was beautiful. Ezra was thankful for the dark sunglasses shading his eyes for he couldn't seem to keep his eyes off Aria. Aria couldn't seem to keep her eyes off him either. The seductive smile that graced her lips seemed to make his smile brighter. "I didn't know you went to church here!"

"Actually, I don't. Maria Sanchez, the secretary from Rosewood High, invited me to come with her." Ezra saw the smile suddenly fall from Aria's lips as she looked to her right. He could be mistaken but he could have sworn he saw her eyes roll.

"Ah, yes. The girl you were with at the faculty dinner." Clenching his jaw, Ezra nodded. Aria looked back at him and bit her lip. He saw the sadness in her eyes but also a hint of jealousy was hidden in there, as well.

"Ezra?" Maria came up to him from behind the Montgomery's. Aria visibly tensed as the sound of her voice. Suddenly, Ezra felt bad.

"We should go," he heard Aria whisper to her mother. Ella scrunched her eyebrows together in confusion as she looked at Aria. She looked at him with sad eyes before looking away. Ella must have caught on because she hastily said her goodbye's before walking off.

Maria and Ezra spent the day together at his apartment watching The Golden Girls reruns but Ezra couldn't seem to focus his mind on the show. His mind kept wandering to the look on Aria's face when she saw Maria on his arm. If Ezra didn't know about her feelings for him, he sure did now. That look said it all.

Aria POV

Ezra. His name was Ezra Fitz. Aria smiled as she walked to the car with her family. She felt someone grab her arm holding her back. She turned her head to the side to see her mom smiling softly at her.

"What was that about?" she questioned knowingly, motioning back to where Mr. Fitz and Ms. Sanchez stood. Aria looked over and then looked down.

"I don't know what you mean," she replied innocently. Her mother raised an eyebrow and gave her a pointed look. Aria sighed, defeated. "It was nothing," she whispered.

"Aria…" her mother spoke softly.

"Can-Can we go, please?" Aria interrupted. Before Ella could answer, Aria bounded for the car. Ella followed slowly.

"Ezra seems like a nice guy. Are he and Maria dating?" Her father asked, completely oblivious to Aria's feelings, as they headed home. Ella softly smacked him in the arm and silently shook her head when he looked at her. He gave her a confused look but kept his mouth shut which Aria was grateful for.

Aria thought back to all the times she had seen Mr. Fitz and Ms. Sanchez together. He was always smiling. Happy. Aria made a decision in that moment. She would forget about him. Stop dreaming about him kissing her. Holding her. He was her teacher. Nothing more.

Aria sat at her desk in her room working on a story she had been writing for a while now when she got a text. Opening the message, she read:

Hey! I need some retail therapy. BAD. Want to go shopping with me? Meet hot guys?(;

-Hanna

Aria tapped her thumbs on the keyboard in thought. Maybe she needed some retail therapy. Help get over Mr. Fitz. She smiled to herself as she typed back that she would love to.

"Ooooh, this would look soo good on you!" Hanna shrieked pointing out a purple halter top.

"Han, my credit card is going to have heart attack after I pay for all this!" Aria whined. She knew she shouldn't have gone shopping with Hanna. She was one of those girls that would buy everything in the store if she could.

"But this would look soo good on you! It'll help get your mind off Fitz…" she toyed. Aria snatched the top out of her hands and slung it over her arm along with the other clothes Hanna had talked her into buying.

Finally, they left the store with Aria having spent well over four hundred dollars. Her parents were going to kill her when they received the credit card bill. They made their way to the food court to grab a bite to eat. Standing in line at the pizza place, Hanna leaned toward Aria.

"Aria!" she whispered rather loudly. Aria faced her. "You see that guy over there?" she motioned with her head in the direction of a blonde hair boy standing in line for the Chinese place. Aria nodded.

"I saw him in a few of the stores we've been in."

"So have I. He's been checking you out." Aria looked over at Hanna in confusion.

"No he has not," she stated, unbelievingly. Aria looked back at him only to see him quickly turn away from her. Aria peered over at Hanna who was smirking as if to say 'Ha! Told you!' Aria rolled her eyes.

After getting their food, they found a place to sit. Aria had just taken her first bite of pizza when she felt a sudden pain hit her shin.

"Ow!" Aria screamed, spitting out her pizza. She reached down and rubbed her shin. "What was that for?" she asked incredulously. Hanna's eyes bulged but before Aria could say anything she felt a shadow swallow her from behind.

Turning, Aria was met with a pair of bright blue eyes and a white smile to match. "Uh, hi," he growled. His sensual deep voice sent chills down her spine.

"Hi," she whispered back smiling. She bit her bottom lip. His eyes drifted downward to her lips briefly before meeting her eyes again.

"I'm Clark." He reached out his hand. Taking it, Aria told him her name. Instead of shaking her hand though, He brought it up to meet his lips. Aria blushed as he kissed her knuckles softly. He grinned down at her. Hanna cleared her throat. Aria quickly brought her hand down and turned back to her friend. Clark's eyes wandered over to Hanna.

"I'm Hanna." She said, reaching out her hand. He simply shook her hand which caused Aria to smirk at her friend. Hanna looked back at her and raised an eyebrow. "I haven't seen you before. You new in town?"

"Yes I am. I just moved here from Virginia. Tomorrow will be my first day at Rosewood High." Hanna's eyes glowed in delight.

"That's where we go. We'd be happy to show you around if you'd like. Right Aria?" Aria turned back to him and nodded.

He peered down at her, grin still on his face. "That'd be great," he said quietly. With that, he turned and started walking away glancing back every few steps.

"He is soooo into you!" Hanna instantly remarked. Aria turned back to her and smirked before picking up her pizza.

Ezra POV

Ezra was walking through the halls of Rosewood High in search of Hanna Marin. She had failed to turn in an assignment and he felt the need to remind her to turn it in. He found her by her locker and began walking over to her but stopped suddenly when he saw Aria and a boy saunter over to her. Aria was glowing. The boy stood too close to Aria for Ezra's liking. He clenched his jaw in jealousy.

"She's not yours, Ezra," he said to himself. He decided to continue on his mission. He strutted up to them. "Hanna," he stated grimly. She turned to him and raised her eyebrows.

"Yes, Mr. Fitz?'

"Do you have that assignment for me today?" Ezra kept stealing glances over at Aria who was doing the same to him. The boy was still standing too close to Aria but Ezra kept the comment to himself.

"Yes sir. I'll give it to you in class, if that's okay.' Ezra nodded before trudging back to his classroom. The sudden jealousy that came over him surprised him greatly. Aria was his student. He was dating Maria.

As first period went by, Ezra made sure to keep his eyes away from Aria. The boy, come to find out, was also in that class. His name was Clark and he just moved here from Virginia. He made sure he got the seat right beside Aria. Ezra found it very difficult to concentrate when he could clearly see the two of them passing notes. Every time Aria read a note she would smile.

With thirty minutes left of class, Ezra gave them a writing assignment. He decided over the weekend that a free write was going to be due every Friday for the remainder of the semester. Some were to be read out loud while others were to turn in. He passed out the schedule for when ones were oral or written before telling them to get started on the first one which was due this Friday.

Ezra was grading some papers when he heard the familiar laughter coming from the back of the classroom causing him to look up. Clark had scooted over next to Aria. He had his hand resting on her thigh and he was leaning in close, whispering in her ear. She was biting her lip and smiling at him seductively. Ezra was thankful for the bell when it sounded.

"Aria, can I talk to you for a second?" he hollered before she could leave. She whispered something to Clark before walking up to his desk. He waited until everyone had left before he said anything. "I'd appreciated if you didn't grope or get groped in my class," he stated harshly. Probably too harshly.

Aria scrunched up her eyebrows and clenched her jaw. "Yes sir," she mocked before storming out of his classroom. Ezra sighed. Plopping down in his chair, he set his elbows on his desk and put his head in his hands.

Aria POV

To say Aria was angry was an understatement. He had no right to be angry with her. She stalked over to her locker, throwing her books into it.

"Hey," she heard Clark say behind her. She smiled and turned to face him. "So, I was wondering something. Would you like to go out to dinner with me tonight?"

"As in a date?" she questioned sexily.

He pretended to think, "I believe that's what they call it." He grinned down at her. She nodded before closing her locker, blowing him a kiss, and skipping to her next class. Just as she turned to skip off, she caught Mr. Fitz's eye in the doorway of his classroom and knew right away he had seen the interaction between her and Clark. Staring him down, she walked right past him without a word. He swallowed as his nostrils flared.

When Aria got home that evening, she immediately ran upstairs to sift through her closet. She found a tight blue strapless dress she had bought with Hanna the day before. She reapplied her make up and fixed up her hair. By the time she was done getting ready, the doorbell rang. Instantly, she smiled and bolted down the stairs before her parents could get off the couch.

She smiled as she saw Clark standing there with a single red rose. His white teeth seemed to shine brighter today than they did yesterday. He looked her up and down. Aria raised an eyebrow.

"That for me?" she asked pointing to the rose.

He jumped and held the rose out to her. "Uh, yes. This is for you." He blushed slightly. Grinning, she took it and set it on the table beside the door. She grabbed her purse and followed him to the car. He opened the door for her and they were on their way.

"Where we going?" she asked softly when she noticed they were headed away from the city.

"You'll see," he responded softly. Aria looked out her window at the trees going by and sighed. Before long they came to a stop. Aria looked around. They were in the middle of nowhere. "Come on," he said as he cut the engine and got out of the truck. He reached into the storage box in the bed of the truck and pulled out a picnic basket.

Aria chuckled. "A picnic?" she questioned. He smirked and led the way to a clearing.

When they got to the clearing, Aria's breath was taken away. The view was magnificent. You could see all of Rosewood covered by the blanket of darkness from the night with only a few lights shining through. The stars lit up the sky as did the crescent moon.

"Wow," she whispered to herself.

Clark came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her abdomen, surprising her. As he rested his chin on her shoulder, she turned her head slightly to look at him. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" he spoke softly while staring into her eyes. She nodded as she looked at his lips. Sticking his tongue out to lick his lips, he inched closer to her face. She did the same until the two met in a chaste kiss. Aria pulled back slightly before leaning in and kissing him again only more sensual. She turned in his arms, lips still connected, and wrapped her arms around his neck as she deepened the kiss. She pulled away and rested her head on his shoulder as she looked up at the sky once more. She smiled. It couldn't get better than this.