Chapter 13 - Aria and Ezra Talk.
/In which Peter Hastings hates Toby Cavanaugh. \or/ Hanna has boy troubles.\
Last Chapter Recap:
Spencer and Toby tell the other Hastings' the news. Peter is not happy.
Spencer's Point of View
I've been through a lot of things before, and Toby had been there through a lot of them. In fact, he was usually the brave one, and actually got along with a lot of people around him, my dad used to be one of them. Now, as my mother and I walk back inside, I see my lovely boyfriend sitting where he had been before I left him, fidgeting in his seat. Of course, my dad was glaring at him like he'd simultaneously stabbed a puppy, laughed, and spit on his shoe. In other words, he was not being very civil in this situation.
My dad can be a very reasonable man. Other times.. Not so much. I think my dad was more mad than disappointed that his daughter had, well, sex, with her boyfriend. It was more; "You evil bastard, you touched her," kind of anger. I guess I would be upset too, but, it wasn't Toby's fault. It takes two to tango, and one to do the macarana. If you know what I mean. :1:
My mom and I sat back down on the couch, and I just sat there, in the awkward silence, glancing anywhere but the people in the room that weren't my boyfriend. You could cut the tension in the air with a knife; almost literally. At one point, Dad decided to clear her throat and start speaking. I reached across from me and gripped Toby's hand, for comfort. I didn't know if it was for me or for him, knowing my dad.
"So, what are we going to do about this.. Dilemma," he said, choosing his words carefully, as if he were to say something else, an attack or something would occur. "I mean, about.. This," he gestured to me. I narrowed my eyes. What was he implying? I try not to think that my own father would suggest that, but he's a very.. strict man. Three out of four of us have discussed this. My body, my baby, mine. This child is to be raised by me and my boyfriend. No abortion, no adoption. But there's always a chance of miscarriage.. No. Can't think about that either.
"..What do you mean?" Toby asked hesitantly. Dad rolled his eyes, and looked at him as if saying, "You know what I mean, Cavanaugh."
"They have already decided, Peter," my mother stands up for me. He raises an eyebrow.
"And?"
"And, it isn't your decision to make."
"I haven't made a decision."
"You're practically screaming it!" I exclaim. The gestures, the glares; it's obvious.
"I never meant to -"
"Never meant to? That's all you have to say? I would like a little support, Dad," and it's true. If I'm to go through with this, I need help, especially from my family. He sighs, and rubs his face.
"Spencer.."
Aria's Point of View
When I wake up, Ezra is no longer beside me. I call out his name, but no one answers. I stand up, and realize, I had been on the floor. What? I could have sworn.. I look around the apartment, and deciding that he must have gone out, I go to open the front door. I take a step before I look, and almost fall into what looks like a void. What the..
I quickly shut the door, turn around, and I am suddenly surrounded by hooded figures; eight of them. The A Team. My eyes widen, and I close my eyes, praying for a miracle, and turn back around and open the door again. Surprisingly, instead of there being a void, there is Mike's bedroom, where he and Mona are studying. By that, I mean they're making out with open textbooks nearby. I step out from where I am, and see I was in his closet. Ew.
And just like that, I'm back at Ali's house. What.. The.. Heck. Am I dreaming? This can't be real. It isn't possible to wake up on the floor when I knew I was on the couch, open a front door and see a void, be suddenly surrounded by cloaked figures, open the door again and poof, the void is gone, suddenly 'transport' to where I see my brother and Mona making out, and then to Ali's house. I snort, and pinch myself.
I open my eyes, and realize, that was a dream. What was the significance of that? I feel arms wrapped around my waist, and I can tell it's Ezra. I furrow my eyebrows. I've had pretty random dreams, but this just tops the chocolate cake. I shake my head and stand up to get myself something to eat; I've been asleep for a while, it's almost dinner time. Ezra must have been pretty tired if he's slept this long.
I decide to make chicken for dinner, in case Ezra ends up waking up in time. I head it up, and while I wait, I text Hanna.
Hanna's Point of View
Hanna was painting her nails black, when Aria suddenly texted her. She tried to multitask, tapping the screen of her phone as she blew on her right hand fingernails.
Hey Han.
Hi. What's up?
I'm bored.
What are you doing?
Hanna, I'm bored because I'm not doing anything.
..Where are you?
Ezra's.
Why..?
-.- Why do you think? To visit my boyfriend.
Ohh.. Why are you texting me?
BECAUSE IM BORED. Every text you've sent has been a question, you know that?
Yeah, I wrote them.
-.-
Okay, here's a conversation starter: Ask me how it's going with Travis.
That's more of a demand..
JUST ASK.
Okay, okay! How is it going with you and Travis, Hanna?
I DONT KNOW. HE HASNT TALKED TO ME.
... No comment.
Help me!
Haaaannnna!
Please?! I'll love you forever! You'll be my best friend!
I am your best friend!
Says who?
..Fine I'll help! What do you want me to do?
Talk to Travis :D
What am I supposed to say?
Get him to talk to me! Duh!
Just call him!
He should make the first move.
He doesn't need to.. Hanna, put on your big girl make-up and just ask him out!
He's just all, oh you like Caleb, Caleb Caleb, you still like Caleb, are you sure you're over Caleb?
It's true! Every time she tries to say something about her liking him, he goes on about her feelings, and. Fricking. Caleb. She's starting to think that he's the one who got dumped by Caleb.
So?!
He's finding ways to reject me!
No he's.. Call me!
With that, Hanna sighs and gently picks up he phone, careful not to ruin her damp nails, and dial Aria's number.
"Hello?" She picks up almost instantly.
"Hey Aria," she cuts right to the chase, "talk to Travis for me."
"Why should I? Seriously Hanna, I just got over my boyfriend problems with Ezra a few weeks ago. Give me a break, and deal with your own!"
"No," she whines. "I'm scared!" She doesn't hear anything but shuffling on the other line before she responds.
"Hold on," she says. I furrow my eyebrows in confusion. What is she doing? Suddenly, Hanna hears a dial tone, the sound of a home phone being taken off the hook, and numbers being pressed. Her eyes widen.
"Aria?" She questions. "Aria. Aria, no! Don't!" She exclaims. Hanna hears ringing, before he answers with a groggy, "Hello?"
"Hi, Travis?" She hears Aria question.
"Yeah.. Aria?"
"Mm hm, so I was talking to Hanna the other day," said girl fights the urge to groan as she silently face-palms in embarrassment, "and we were talking about you know, girl things when the topic of boys came up." Oh please, God. No.
"Uh huh."
"Yeah. And Hanna started talking about this guy she likes."
"Cool."
"Of course. And she talks about her having a few issues, you know, wondering when he's going to make a move and all."
"Right."
"So, should she make the first move, or wait for him? He's taking a while," Aria explains. If only Travis knew that Hanna was on the other line.
"Make the first move."
"Oh, really? Could you repeat that?"
"..She should make the first move."
"Okay, once more," Aria repeated, trying to get the point across to Hanna.
"..Are you okay Aria?" Travis questioned.
"Oh, yeah! Sorry, have to go now; homework!"
"It's Sunday-"
"Bye Travis!" Hanna hears Aria spastically hang up, before picking her cell phone back up and talking to Hanna again.
"Did you seriously just use Ezra's house phone to call Travis?" Hanna questions.
"Yes, I did. See, even the guy you like thinks you should make the first move! Come on, Hanna!" Aria encourages. She sighs, unsure.
"How do I ask him?"
"Be blunt. Just say you want to talk to him, and when you do, interrupt him if he's saying something, and just be like, "Go out with me!", you know?" Hanna bites her lip, contemplating.
"..Alright."
"Great. My job is done. And Ezra is waking up.. Bye Hanna," Aria says.
"Thanks. Wish me luck."
"Luck!" With that, they both hang up, and before Hanna loses her courage, she dials Travis' number to ask him out. I can do this.
Aria
As she hangs up, Ezra walks over to her from the couch, sitting on a barstool.
"Good afternoon," She tells him, setting her phone down on the countertop. He nods, still groggy from sleep. "Hungry?" Ezra nods, and she gets the chicken out of the microwave, where it was heating up. She sets it on the table before grabbing two plates and two water bottles from the cupboard. They eat for about half an hour in silence, before cleaning their dishes and wrapping the leftovers in aluminum foil, placing them in the refrigerator.
Suddenly, Ezra walks over to Aria and wraps his arms around her waist from behind, placing his chin on her shoulder. Aria smiles. It's little moments like these that make her enjoy life to the fullest.
(1) - Spencer means that it takes two people to make a baby, but only one person carries it, in this case, Spencer. Just wanted to clear that up, because I made up the second part of that sentence. :3
Okay, how was that? A couple of cliffhangers in this chap :DD I hope this was okay! It felt out of character for me, but maybe I'm just too much of a perfectionist..
I'm getting to work on the next chap straight away, and before I forget, I'm sorry it took so long to update! I hope this was okay; kind of just a filler for the next chapter, really. :)
-Haley