Chapter 12:

When Aria left, Ezra went back up to his apartment where Maggie was sitting, head in her hands and Malcolm was hugging her, trying to figure out what was wrong.

"Malcolm, I think it's time for your bath." Ezra said, ushering the protesting little boy into the bathroom. He waited to hear the sound of running water before going to stand in front of Maggie, who looked up at him for a second before looking at the floor.

"I'm sorry." she said, quietly.

"What were you thinking?" Ezra asked, trying to keep his anger in check.

Maggie shook her head helplessly. "I don't know. I just...I don't know."

Ezra sighed heavily. "Maggie...do you...have feelings for me?" he asked, dreading the answer.

Maggie was silent for a moment. Then, she shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know. Everything is so confusing and complicated, nothing makes sense anymore." she said, frustrated.

"Okay well, we need to get one thing straight. This..." Ezra said, gesturing between them. "It can't happen. I'm in love with Aria." he finished.

Maggie nodded. "I know and I'm sorry. I'm honestly just as shocked as you are that I did that." she said. "I think it's better if I just go home. Can Malcolm stay here the night?"

Ezra nodded. "Yeah, I guess."

Maggie walked out of the apartment, barely mumbling a goodbye.

Aria:

"Aria! Come on, we're going out." Hanna shouted, waking her friend.

"No. I just want to stay in bed for the rest of my life." Aria said, burying her face in her pillow.

"I'm NOT going to let you lie in sweats all day, inhaling ice cream by the bucket. We're going to go out, do some shopping, get manicures and have some fun." Hanna said, pulling Aria by her arm.

"Han, please? I really don't want to do anything today."

"Except mope around my house." Hanna said, rolling her eyes. "Why don't you just talk to Ezra, already? He's called you at least 20 times since last night."

Aria kept her face buried in the pillow, not bothering to respond.

"Come on, Ar! I think the man deserves a chance to at least try to explain himself." Hanna reasoned.

Aria lifted her head slightly. "What if he says something that I don't want to hear?"

Hanna rubbed her best friend's back. "Well, there's only one way to find out. Besides, he loves you, everyone can see it just by the way he looks at you." she said, gently.

Aria smiled. Hanna was a lot of things, but nobody could say she wasn't always there for her friends. The girl always knew what to say to make her feel better.

"Fine, I'll call him." Aria said, smiling when Hanna cheered and hugged her, before leaving the room.

Aria sighed as she dialed the numbers that she knew by heart and waited while the phone rang. On the third ring, Ezra picked up.

"Aria?"

"Hi."

"Oh God. Aria, I'm so sorry, I can totally explain though. It really wasn't what it looked like, I swear. I would never-" Ezra rambled until Aria cut him off.

"Can we meet up somewhere?" she asked. She wanted to have this conversation face-to-face.

"Yeah. I just dropped Malcolm off at karate, so I can be at my apartment in 20 minutes. Is that okay?" Ezra asked.

"Yeah, I'll be there. "Aria said before hanging up. She walked to the door and opened it, not at all surprised to see Hanna fall face-first against the floor.

"Oh, um, Hey." Hanna said, red-faced.

Aria smiled for the first time that morning. "Han, you really need to get better at eavesdropping." she said, helping her friend up before wrapping an arm around her waist.

Hanna blushed. "Yeah...so how'd it go?" she asked.

"I'm meet him at his apartment in 25 minutes so he can explain." Aria said.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine." Hanna assured. "Want some coffee before you leave?"

"You know I can't turn down a cup of coffee!" Aria said, and Hanna laughed. It was weird how just hearing Ezra's voice could make her smile, even when she wasn't sure what was going to happen.

*PLL*

Ezra pulled up to his apartment, seeing Aria's car already in the parking lot. He went up to his apartment and, sure enough, Aria was sitting on the couch waiting for him. She looked up when he arrived.

"Hi." she said, nervously.

"Hey." Ezra replied. "Do you want some coffee, or breakfast...?"

Aria shook her head. "I'm good, thanks."

"Okay." Ezra cleared his throat and sat down in front of her. The tension in the room was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. "About what happened yesterday..." he started.

Aria looked up at him.

"It wasn't what you think. Really."

"Then what was it?" she asked quietly.

"Maggie kissed me. I didn't even know what was going on, but she kissed me and then you walked in before I could react." Ezra said.

Aria stared at the floor, silent.

"Aria, I swear, I would never cheat on you with anyone. I love you, and nobody else could even compare to you." Ezra said, tilting her head up so he was looking into her beautiful hazel eyes.

This time, Aria looked straight up at him. "Ezra, she's the mother of your son, you have a special bond with her that you and I can't have for a while." she said, her eyes wet with unshed tears that were threatening to spill over.

Ezra took her hands. "Aria, what you and I have is something that nothing else could ever compare to. You're the one that I love, not Maggie or anyone else." he said and Aria could see the honesty in his eyes.

"You really don't have any feelings for her?" she asked.

Ezra shook his head, emphatically. "No. I'm yours, forever and always." he said, smiling at her.

Aria smiled back, looking deep into his ocean-blue eyes. She leaned forward and kissed him, pulling him closer to her and running her fingers through his hair as he put his arms around her body. After a moment, Ezra broke apart.

"I love you, and don't you dare ever forget that." he said, inches from her face.

Aria responded by closing the distance between them once again. At that moment, she stopped thinking about Maggie, Malcolm, and just about everything else as she escaped to a world of happiness with the man she loved most.

Yay, happy Ezria. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don't forget to review. I need ideas for future chapter, so if you have anything, anything at all, don't hesitate to let me know by reviewing or PMing. :)