Hi! This is just another one shot of how Aria might react to Ezra being A/being Board Shorts. It is heavily inspired by the Australian promo and, for all you FRIENDS fans out there, I got the ideas I got for this from watching Ross and Rachel's fight in "The One with the Morning After." Enjoy! Reviews are much appreciated!
That day started out like any others. That day was supposed to be a normal, everyday day. That day was not supposed to turn out like any of this. That day was one of the worst days, if not the number one, in Aria's life.
It was a Friday and once Aria woke up, she checked her phone and found a new text. "Do you want to come over after school? – Ezra." She smiled and sent back a quick yes. She knew it was wrong because he was a teacher again, but honestly, she didn't care about that factor anymore. Neither did he, really. Aria had broken up with Jake and was, like always, head over heels for Ezra once more.
Aria walked through the familiar door of 3B and grimaced. Ezra wasn't there. Almost instantly after her realization, her phone buzzed.
"Hey! Where are you?" Aria asked.
Ezra was on the other line and replied, "They sprung a faculty meeting on us last minute. Will you stay, though?"
Aria smiled to herself, "Yeah, of course."
"Okay, good. Go ahead and order some food, okay? Love you," Ezra said simply.
Aria swallowed hard at the last time she had to 'order food,' she found out he was still slightly hung up on his ex. She pushed aside the thoughts though, it wasn't like that was gonna happen this time. "Okay, I will. Love you, too," Aria grinned. "Bye."
Once she hung up, she went over to his desk to try to find the menus. She kept a mindset on not going near his laptop or mouse. Aria came up short and started going through drawers. Nothing. However, she did find a sealed envelope full of papers. Aria immediately smiled and remembered how Ezra had talked about how he wrote a story.
Ezra refused to let her read it and said, "If it gets published, you can read it." Aria was mad, but shrugged it off. She completely understood being shy about writing. But, he was out for at least another hour and she could read it in that time. She undid the brads on the tan packaging and didn't find what she was expecting. At all.
What she was expecting, was a stapled pack of papers and a cover sheet saying some title followed with 'by Ezra Fitz.' But, sadly, that wasn't what this envelope was filled with. She found a pack of papers, but they weren't all papers. And it wasn't professional looking.
The papers were a set of about twenty old notebook papers with two eerily familiar sets of handwriting. Aria skimmed over the words of the first paper and felt her stomach drop. She let go of the stapled notebook sheets and went to the next paper, feeling tears form in her eyes. For A.
Yet, Aria knew it wasn't for her because there was a date in the top left corner. July 17, 2009. Ezra didn't even know her. Apparently Ezra knew another A. Alison. Aria read the title of the paper and she immediately felt a slap in the face. B26.
All the girls' talks of how Ezra seemed suspicious due to Ali's journal entries flooded Aria's mind. With the theories in mind, she dug around in the envelope more and found mementos. And with each memory of Ezra's, Aria's heart broke into more pieces. A post card from Cape May. A ticket a movie that Alison once talked about. A wristband pass to an amusement park. Alison had been wearing the same wrist band during one of the girl's hang outs in the summer. And lastly, five Polaroid pictures. One was of Alison, laying in the sand, smiling brightly at the camera. Another picture of Alison in front of a light house. Aria recognized it – it was from A's Ravenswood Lair. Two more pictures were of Alison and had also been in the lair. But the last picture Aria came across, that was the real kicker.
It was a clear image of two people cuddled up in each other's arms, sitting on a beach towel. The girl was in mid laughter and gazing lovingly at the boy. The boy was wearing a pair of board shorts and smiling down at the girl. His blue eyes matched the ocean in the back ground and his smile was huge.
The boy and girl were Ezra and Alison.
Aria couldn't remember the last time Ezra had ever looked that happy with her, if he had ever been that happy at all. Aria felt twenty thousand emotions. Anger, envy, hatred, sadness, worried, betrayed, helpless. Tears were now flowing down her cheeks and she could feel her heart shatter. Shattering beyond repair. She was shaking, but she wasn't sure what feeling it was from. Anger won out, though, and she flung all the papers and mementos across the room. Her nostrils were flaring and she felt steam coming out of her ears. Aria went to her go-to defense mechanism – trashing the enemy's belongings. She trashed her dad's office, and those memories came back like a boomerang. He was so upset with whoever he thought did it that Aria wanted to see Ezra's reaction.
She grabbed the cushions off the couch and threw them around the room, knocking knick-knacks off tables and desks as she did so. Aria paced back in forth and bent down to sweep all the papers and magazines off the coffee table. She moved to the small in table and picked up the lamp that was on it. She smashed on the ground; the sound of glass breaking paralleled the sound of her aching heart.
She went to the kitchen and threw pots and pans all over the apartment. Aria threw open the cabinets and pulled out the few pieces of china Ezra owned. She took the glass plates, cups, and bowls and threw them each hard at the wall as if she was in a Greek restaurant. She spotted the still intact frames she had swept from the table on the floor and picked one up. It was a baby picture of Ezra in a kayak. She felt her wrath seethe over at his stupid, smiling face and placed it back on the floor. She placed her high-heeled foot down on it and crushed it to bits. She hurried to the bed and ripped the pillows, causing feathers to fly everywhere.
Aria dashed one of the book shelves and immediately pulled out the ones she knew Ezra treasured. Vintage ones. One of a kind ones. Valuable ones. Favorite ones. She ripped covers and pages out and scattered them around the destroyed apartment. Aria took a few steps toward the desk and channeled her inner-Ali. She reached for Ezra's coffee cup, still slightly full, and poured it all over his student's – including hers – papers and finished the rest off by pouring it on his expensive laptop.
She spotted the framed picture of herself and him and sobbed. He didn't look half as happy as he had with Alison. She squeezed her eyes shut and cried at how stupid she had been. Everyone was right all along. He was only using her for his twisted little games. He was a bad guy this whole time. She was about to send the picture flying into the kitchen, but the door opened, stopping her.
Ezra quickly took in the scene and turned his attention on Aria. His jaw was dropped and he was a total deer in the headlights. Aria screamed and threw the frame at his head. Ezra ducked just in time and turned to see it crash and fall.
Ezra collected himself and stepped toward Aria, whose breathing was heavy and shaky.
"Aria, please calm down," Ezra pleaded, nearing where she was staring.
Aria's fingers curled into a fist and she lunged at Ezra. She pushed him roughly and he stumbled backward. She took the advantage and continued to push him backward. "I hate you! You lied to me!"
Ezra gathered his balance and held Aria's arms, stopping her from pushing him once more. "Aria, stop it!"
She tried yanking her arms away, but Ezra's grip was too strong. "Let go of me! Ezra, let me go!"
Ezra just tightened his arms to stop her from squirming. He wondered if he was hurting her, but ignored the question. "If I let you go, will you stop pushing me?"
Aria nodded and Ezra loosened his grip. A few seconds of silence and tension passed and Aria growled and slapped Ezra in the face, hard. Ezra twisted his face back and his cheek was bright red. Aria started weeping and hunched over, out of breath. Ezra calmly said her name and Aria's energy filled her veins again.
She slapped him another time and punched him in the shoulder while he was still recovering from the slap. He stumbled and Aria punched him in the stomach. He doubled over and Aria bent down to his level. "You are a filthy liar," she spat through gritted teacher. She kicked his shin and backed away. She wiped her eyes and fell to the floor. She was shaking and she quickly started bawling. Ezra was now standing rubbing his surely bruised shoulder. Aria choked out a few 'I hate you's' when she could, but mostly she just cried. Ezra sighed, knowing the probable source of her anger. His assumptions were confirmed though when his eyes spotted a neon purple wrist band.
"Aria…" he started, moving toward her. Aria saw Ezra's foot in her peripheral vision and screamed, "Don't come near me!" He ignored her and bent down.
"Aria, please, please just calm down. You're having a panic attack," Ezra explained. After a couple of more minutes of weeping, she pulled herself up. She sat down on bare couch and held her head in her hands. Ezra gulped and sat beside her, inches away.
"How could you do this to me?" she cried. "How could you stand there for two full years pretending to love me? How has your conscience not eaten you alive?!"
He turned and faced her, "I have never pretended to love you. This is real. It's always been."
"Then why have you tortured me like this! How can you stand there and just watch me and my friends go through everything!?" Aria shouted.
Ezra whispered, "Please, stop yelling. Can't we just talk?"
Aria focused her attention on the pile of glass on the floor. She whimpered before saying, "I can't even look at you right now!" Ezra scooted closer to her. "Stay. Away. From. Me." Aria demanded, whipping her head around at him. "You knew Alison! You knew Alison the whole time!"
Ezra hung his head and Aria jumped up. "I can't be here. I need to leave."
"Please stay," Ezra begged. He knew he had really screwed this one up beyond repair, but he had just gotten her back. He didn't want to let her go and let her walk away so easily again. He wanted to fight for what little of a relationship they had left. "Please?"
Aria let tears fall as she felt his eyes on her back. She pursed her lips and turned back toward him. "Alright, let's talk," she taunted. "You were with Alison! How was that!?"
Ezra stayed silent so Aria baited him. "Come on, you wanted to talk! Say something!"
"Sh- she was…different," Ezra stuttered.
Aria moved toward him, "Good different? Better than me, different?"
Ezra shrugged, "Just different, okay!?"
Aria smacked his head and Ezra closed his eyes, "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I love you, Aria. Please, please just forgive me?" Ezra pleaded, praying that his charm won over and Aria forgave him like all the times she had before.
"No," she responded, "I don't think I can this time."
"Please, Aria, those feelings are gone. I love you, Aria. Not Alison, you. You were never even supposed to find out!" he argued.
Aria let out a sick laugh and held her hand to her heart. "Oh, that makes everything okay. We could have just go0tten married and had that happy life we talked about, while you," she said, getting louder and angrier, "just sat on this secret that could break my heart in a second!"
"I'm sorry. I want to be with you, not Alison. I don't care about Alison, I care about you."
"You sure have a way of showing it, Ezra. I mean, God! You've tortured me and my friends for years!"
Ezra was silent so Aria went on, "And if you don't care about Alison, why are you tracking her every move and counting on me to help!?"
"I just need to find her, Aria."
Aria stood up straight, "Do you love her?"
Ezra, as always, stayed utterly silent. Aria let out a sob and Ezra spoke up, "I did. Not anymore though. I'd explain but it's complicated and I can't tell you. You'll get hurt for knowing, and I'll get hurt for telling."
Aria glared at him and his selfishness. "God forbid you get hurt! You can never, ever get hurt in this relationship! It's always me! I wonder why that is!" she yelled out sarcastically.
"Our break ups and fights have never been from something A or me as A did!"
Aria visibly flinched at the words 'me as A,' but she protested, "Really? Really?! A made Spencer tell you about Malcolm – we broke up. A got me arrested – we broke up."
Ezra muttered, "Okay, two out of like, six…"
"So, that makes it okay?" Aria asked, raising her perfect eyebrows.
Ezra tried one more time, "I'm sorry."
Aria sat down next to him on the couch and stayed silent for the next ten minutes. Ezra looked at her, "So now you aren't even talking to me? Look, I'm sorry. I know I messed this up, I know, but we can still get it back. Please, Aria, I'll try to stop looking for her. I'll explain everything, just please give me some time."
"I should leave," Aria whispered, but not moving or getting up at all.
Ezra got up and stood in front of her, now slightly mad. "Aria, I am fighting for us, not because you're how I could find Alison, but because I love you. I'm fighting this, because I don't want to give you up again. So are you going to fight for us or leave?"
Ezra sat back down and put his hand on her knee. "I have made a lot of mistakes. I never thought of her, though, when we were together. You've helped me get over her and get over endless things. I need you. And even though you may hate it, you need me too because you are afraid of being by yourself."
Aria stared up at him and was about to start another argument, but Ezra held his hand up. "That's not a bad thing. I love being needed. I love being with you. I love you. You're better than Alison ever was to me. She doesn't even compare to you. I love you, okay, and I'm sorry. I just can't let you leave and throw away something you and I both know is just so good." Ezra leaned forward and kissed her jawline softly. Aria inhaled sharply and let him kiss her face for a few seconds. He made a move to kiss her lips and she pushed him away and jumped up.
"No, Ezra! You can't just kiss me and make things better like you have before. You can't kiss me and hope for everything to go away! It doesn't work that way and make it better!"
Ezra nodded and felt tears in brim in his eyes. "I know."
"I really think I need to go now," Aria stated, moving toward his door.
Ezra jumped up and grabbed her shoulders, "Wait, you said that you'd fight for who you love no matter how hard. Do you just not love me anymore? That fast, everything is gone? You said we could make things work."
"What did I know!?" Aria said, out of stamina to fight back. Ezra pulled her hands up and held them in his. This was never part of the master plan. He was only supposed to get close to Aria to find out things about Alison and where she might be, but along the way he had fallen in love with her so much. He meant it when he said he loved her and not Ali. Aria helped him so much in more ways than one. He hated being so codependent, but he just loved her. And after all the break ups, he couldn't give her up for a millionth time.
"There's got to be a way to make things work," Ezra told her. "I just can't imagine not being with you. And I know if you walk out that door, I'll probably never be with you again. I don't even want to think about that and deep down, I know you don't either. Just please, don't walk away from this. From me."
Aria hiccupped as tears streamed down her cheeks. She couldn't remember the last time she had cried this hard, but was willing to bet it had something to do with Ezra. He seemed to be all the trouble in her life that had nothing to do with A's torture. He wasn't good for her, A or not. And now that he was A, she couldn't let him in again.
"No," she whispered. "I can't. You're a completely different person to me now." She cried harder and looked up at him. He was still holding her hands and clutching them harder with each word she said as if they were a lifeline to their broken relationship. Aria clenched her jaw and pried her hands away. She held them to her side and glanced back up at his face that was still slightly red from her slaps. "I used to think of you as someone who would never ever hurt me or lie to me."
Ezra let a single tear drip slowly down his cheek. After those words, it hit just how much he had messed all of this up. He was the only person to blame. He never should have gone on with what he did for so long. He knew that she would be gone in seconds. Aria continued, "Now, all I can do is picture you with her and picture you in a black hoodie. That's all I can do, Ezra. It doesn't matter what you say or what you do, that image is just stuck in my mind and it's changed everything… forever."
"Please Aria, this can't be it," Ezra said.
Aria wiped her eyes and backed away from him, "But it is." She almost added sorry, but remembered that she had nothing to be sorry for. "Goodbye, Ezra."
And just like that, she was out the door. Gone. Ezra knew their relationship was finally unredeemable. Nothing he could do or say could wipe away that betrayal.
And it was all his fault.