Chapter Seventeen - The Obvious

On Monday morning Aria stood at her locker waiting for Noel, she opened up her locker to get her books out. When she pulled open the door an envelope fell out, she bent down and picked it up. The envelope was plain white with no writing on it, was it from one of her friends? Aria opened it to find a picture, a picture of her and Noel. It was a picture of them kissing the night before she had broken up with Ezra, they had been in Noel's room. Where would someone get this Aria thought, A is gone... This is something A would do and if it's not A then who is it? Aria flipped the picture over to find one word, there was one word written on the back CHEATER. Aria's eyes widened, it all made sense now the stolen art, seeing someone following her. This all happened when she started to break up with Ezra, it had to be Ezra following her. That's how he knew about the art and stole it from Noel that how he got this picture and if he had this picture then what did he have from the other night Aria wondered in fear. If Ezra was going to leave pictures in her locker then where else might he decide to leave them?

"What's that?" Noel asked Aria as he walked up, she snapped out of her thoughts and turned towards him. Aria didn't say anything at first she just stared at him. "What?"

"Look" was all she said and she handed Noel the photo.

"Where did this come from?" Noel asked flipping the picture over.

"I found it in my locker"

"Who did this?" Noel asked sounding kind of pissed.

"I have a thought" Aria said.

"What's that?"

"Everything started when I started to break up with Ezra" she said fast "I started seeing someone following me, then your art got stolen and on top of that I told you about how Ezra would text me things well I think it's Ezra Noel. Why else would anyone write cheater on the back of that picture? If someone is following me and it is Ezra, how do you think he is going to feel if he saw what happened the other night!"

"It was storming Aria, what kind of person would lurk outside someones house in a storm to look in a room that's on the second story"

"I don't know! A crazy stalker" she said like it was obvious.

"Okay, well lets just pretend like we don't know that it's him and maybe he will do something that will for sure tell us it's him" Noel said.

"I don't want him following me!"

"What else is there to do? Who is gonna do anything?" Noel asked her.

"I don't know... You!" Aria said realizing Noel just needed to tell him to back off that she was his girlfriend now.

"Me?"

"Yes, I'm your girlfriend Noel. Tell him to back off!"

"Do you think that is going to work?" he asked. Noel didn't have a problem with that but if Ezra was going to stalk someone would he really just stop because a protective boyfriend told him too?

"It might, I don't see why we can't just try" Aria shrugged.

It made sense to Noel that Ezra would be the one Aria had been seeing, the one to put that picture in her locker. Noel didn't see Aria as a cheater, Noel saw Ezra as one, when he decided to question whether it was worth being with her or not. When Noel had to sit and watch such a person teach other all he could think about was Aria, she had been thought so much and now someone who had supposedly loved her was doing the same thing to her. How did Ezra thin that would make her feel? Did he realize he could only bruise her more mentally than anything? stalking was no the way to win a persons heart.

After school Noel told Aria he would see her later that night, she was coming for dinner. Then instead of going straight to practice Noel headed to Mr. Fitz's class room. Noel stopped at the door, Ezra was sitting at his desk grading papers. Noel walked into the class room and shut the door, that's when Ezra looked up. At first he looked confused and maybe scared but he seemed to put that away and straightened his posture.

"Can I help you Mr. Kahn?" Ezra asked continuing with his papers.

"I'd like to talk to you about this" Noel said throwing the picture on the table.

"I don't know what your talking about" Ezra said glancing at the photo.

"Yeah I think you do. You lost Aria, that was your fault. You need to be a man and get over it, stop following her, stop texting her and just leave her alone" Noel said strongly, with that Noel walked out. Now if Ezra was dumb enough to continue, Noel would see to it that it ended.

Aria sat in her living room waiting for Noel to pick her up to go to his house for dinner, she was still thinking about their texts from earlier. Noel had text Aria before he went to practice to let her know that he went and talked to Ezra. Was it possible that Ezra didn't do it? Aria thought back to when Noel had taken her to lunch, the figure she saw outside the window. It was Ezra, Aria decided. What would Noel do if Ezra didn't stop Aria wondered.

I talked to Ezra - Noel

What did you say? - Aria

I told him we knew what he was doing and that he needed to stop - Noel

What did he say? - Aria

At first he acted like he didn't know, but in the end he was just silent. I think he just wants you back. - Noel

Well he can't have me back - Aria

It was true Ezra couldn't have her back because to be honest she liked being with Noel. Every time he touched her she got butterflies in her stomach, when he looked at her she smiled and when he smiled at her it was like time stopped. Ezra didn't make her feel that way, the butterflies had been there and the smiles but it all faded quickly but this was strong and Aria could feel it. These feeling were going no where, these feeling were forever feelings and she loved it. That's when Aria thought it, to tell the truth she loved him.

When Noel went to leave practice he noticed someone by his car. It was Ezra.

"What are you doing here?" Noel asked.

"I just wanted to talk"

"Well then talk, I have somewhere to be" Noel said bitter.

"I'm sorry" Ezra said, Noel looked at his shocked and confused.

"For?"

"I've been trying to get in the way, me texting Aria, taking that picture and stealing your art" Ezra said looking towards the school.

"That was obvious" Noel said.

"I know... Aria's a wonderful girl and maybe we weren't meant to be. I did love her and I messed up, so treat her better than I did" Ezra smiled to Noel and then walked away.

Noel watched him walk away, he was surprised but he also had respect for him. The man just admitted his defeat to the person that had basically defeated him. Noel put all of his stuff in his trunk and got in his car, it was now time to go see a girl. A girl Noel had been scared to like for a long time but now he was done being scared because she had proved to be more than he ever thought. Noel had never felt anything like what he felt with Aria with any other girl and to be honest he was in love.

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