Chapter 3

The whispers started immediately. As the new kid made his way down the aisle, his head ducked, the once silent classroom became filled with giggles and murmurs.

"Class, this is your new classmate." The teacher said, turning back towards the class, which instantly grew silent. "Ezra Fitz. He comes to us from Philadelphia. I trust you'll all make him feel welcome."

Ezra. Wow. It was such an old fashioned, incredibly uncommon name, yet it fit him so well. As he walked down the aisle, Aria kept her head down, her face flaming. There were only two empty seats in the whole classroom: one of at the very front, directly across from the teacher's desk, and the other next to her.

Please don't sit here. She prayed. As he got closer and closer, she could feel her heart pounding. She didn't know why this new kid, this nobody was having such an adverse effect on her.

"Can I sit here?" He asked. Crap! He was polite as well.

Aria opened her mouth to answer, but all that came out was a squeak. Great. She sounded like a mouse. Thankfully, the classroom was fairly noisy so he didn't seem to have heard. Not trusting her voice, she nodded curtly.

She didn't dare look over at him, for she was sure that her face was bright red. Pull yourself together. She scolded herself. He's just someone you're sitting next to. You have a boyfriend! For a second, Aria forgot all about Noel as she allowed herself to peek at him sideways. His broad frame filled up most of the chair. One of his large hands held a silver pen, and with said hand he twirled it around. His face had a pensive expression, and every so often he'd nod or frown along with what the teacher said. Aria noted that like her, he took copious notes, while most of the class yawned or snoozed. She could see Ali roll her eyes as she pulled out her iPhone and held it in her lap.

Suddenly, he must've noticed her stare, as his blue eyes slid over to meet her brown ones. She couldn't bring herself to look away. His gaze was magnetizing, holding her in place.

Slowly, he half smiled. And then turned away. Aria was left sitting there, her heart pounding so fast she'd surely have go into cardiac arrest.

~Never Speak~

Aria couldn't stop thinking about him as she slowly made her way to the cafeteria at noon. She felt like she was in a trance. Make that an underwater trance. Several times, people bumped into her, but being Ali's friend gave her some serious clout, so they hastily apologized and left her alone.

She wasn't the only one, though. As she went about her day, all she heard were whispered rumors and things about him. Ezra. It was obvious that Rosewood was abuzz with his arrival.

"Yo, earth to Aria." Hanna snapped her fingers in front of her face, and Aria reluctantly broke out of her daydream. Judging by Hanna's expression, she discerned that this wasn't the first time her friend tried to get her attention.

"Sorry. What?"

"Just wanted to know if you did the math homework." Hanna said.

"God, what's with you today?" Spencer commented. "You seem a little out of it."

"Oooh, it's a guy isn't it?!" Hanna squealed excitedly. "I know that face. It's the I'm so in love face."

"Shut up." Aria blushed. Was she really that transparent? It wasn't that she didn't want to tell her best friends about a hot guy, but she had a feeling that it wouldn't be such a good idea.

"I bet it's Noel." Emily gushed. "What did he do now?"

Oh yeah. Noel. Aria had practically forgotten all about him. Noel. Her boyfriend. Also the perfect excuse for her dreamy behavior. She was about to start fake gushing about him, but just then he walked by. Walked towards the lunch line and picked up a tray.

"What's with you?" Spencer asked. Aria was about to retort that they'd just asked that question moments ago, but noticed that the question wasn't directed at her. Rather, it was directed at Ali, who had the same awestruck expression Aria had.

"He's just so perfect." Ali said dreamily, voicing Aria's exact thoughts. "I mean, just look at him."

Her friends turned at once to stare at him.

"Who? That nerd?" Hanna said. "But oh wow. Damn."

"Just wow." Even Emily echoed.

"He's in my French class, and he's even smarter than the teacher." Spencer noted.

Ali just stared at him and grinned, licking her lips devilishly. "Hands off, ladies." She said as she turned around and picked up her fork. "He's all mine."

"Um, says who?" Spencer snorted. She was really the only one brave enough to oppose Ali's statements.

"Says me." Ali answered breezily.

"But he's a nerd." Aria protested. Without meaning to, panic crept into her voice.

"So? He's a hot nerd." Ali grinned. "Besides, a few days with me and he'll be popular in no time."

"True." Hanna said automatically. "If anyone can make him over, it's you."

"I bet I can make him fall madly in love with me." She smirked as she took a bite of her salad.

For some reason, this declaration made Aria's heart pulse with anger and jealousy for reasons she didn't dare explore. Why did Ali always assume she'd get everything she wanted? The way Ali said it, Ezra was just a prize. Like a horse you'd win at a fair. But that was the way things were. It was the unspoken way that at Rosewood, whatever Ali said was gospel. And that was the way things would forever be.

A/N: Please review and tell us what you think! Srry if it's short but we're both so busy with skool, and our other stories.