A/N: From here on, the story is all mine. Thank you to the people who have said that they are liking this story even though they don't usually go in for werewolves. That's exactly how I felt when I read it. I will do my best to keep that going. There are so many other things that I want to say, but they're all kind of spoilers. So, I will shut my trap and let you read in peace.

Chapter 3

Ezra sat in the staff parking lot at Rosewood High. He stared down at his hand in disbelief. His father's ring, Ezra hadn't seen it since he was 5 years old and had no expectations of ever seeing it again. It was like a religious relic, full of history and portent, holding a mystical energy of either blessing or curse. Ezra would put his money on the latter. His memory of it had been faded and indistinct like a worn old photograph, kept only because it was the only one he had. The moment the shop owner showed the ring to him, however, the image had been restored, and he felt as if it had been a matter of days, not decades, since he last saw it. The ring was large and ostentatious, the black stone was carved and had a picture of wolves running through the woods under the full moon, the moon was a white moonstone. Though beautifully crafted, Ezra would never have picked it in a million years. It was a ring of celebration, celebration of self, of power, of money. It was the ring of a man certain that life would bring him all he wanted, certain that he was deserving of all he had. The pursuit of power and money was the reason Ezra existed at all, and he hated knowing that. And this ring celebrated the part of himself that had controlled and suppressed his life since he was a small child, long before anyone knew if it was his destiny.

Ezra should hate the ring, he should toss it into the trash and get something modest and subdued, far more in keeping with his tastes and demeanor. But this ring had been his father's and so now was his. The restored image in Ezra's mind was not just of the ring, but of the man wearing it. The man was the subject of Ezra's worst nightmares, a monster hiding in the darkness waiting for the perfect moment to destroy Ezra completely. But the man was also his father, a man shrouded in mystery for Ezra. Aside from the memories that Ezra had managed to hold onto through all these years, he knew virtually nothing about William Channing Fitzgerald. He'd left when Ezra was 5 and Wesley was only 1. Ezra's mother, Dianne, would not acknowledge that her husband had ever existed. There wasn't a single picture of William anywhere in his house, growing up. No one ever mentioned him, except for a very young and confused Ezra. But he soon learned that none of his questions would be answered. For years he wondered if everyone else had actually forgotten that he and Wesley had a father, once. Ezra's silent questions never stopped gnawing at him, though, especially after he presented at 16.

That memory forced Ezra to shut everything down, in his head. Thinking about that had the power to put him in a foul mood for the whole day and Ezra couldn't afford that. He had waited for this teaching position, he didn't want to come across as surly the very first time he met his students and the other teachers. Taking a few calming breaths, Ezra turned his music on for just a minute. "Happiness" by the Fray played over the speakers. It was Ezra's favorite song, because it soothed him and helped him to remember the small flame of hope that still burned in his heart. There were so many times that Ezra was certain it had been extinguished for good, but when Ezra quieted himself, he could feel it. Getting this job, moving to Rosewood, were born out of that little glowing light, and Ezra was going to try as hard as he could to succeed here. Ezra gathered his things and got out of the car. He stared up at the imposing building. Ezra felt nervous energy building inside himself and it made him laugh. Being nervous about starting a new job was so normal, Ezra Fitz, normal, boring, English teacher. It sounded good to him.

The office staff was very friendly and helpful. It helped that the staff was predominately female. Ezra knew that when he was put together and in a decent mood, he made a good impression. Principal Hackett stepped out of his office to say hello, and Ezra was feeling confident and welcome as he walked to his new classroom. When Ezra rounded the corner, his nose began to twitch. He could smell, something, it was pine, and cherry blossom. It was fresh-turned earth and coffee. But under all of that it was warm, sweet, feminine, and musky. It was almost animalistic and somehow familiar. The part of Ezra's brain that didn't think, so much as urge pulled him toward the scent. There was a spot in front of some lockers where the aroma was stronger, but Ezra knew that it was coming from his classroom. He had a better sense of smell than most people and he had no doubt why, but he'd never experienced a scent that drew him in and seemed so new and familiar at the same time. He stopped in the doorway and saw a room full of students, his students. Waves of the fragrance rolled over Ezra and became intoxicating.

Time froze as Ezra dragged his eyes across the room, almost afraid of what would happen when he finally saw her. His gaze collided with the windows and he shifted it down to find her. He saw glossy mahogany hair, glistening and sparkling in the sunlight. He saw pale, smooth skin and then their eyes connected. She was staring at him, no, not at, into him. Her eyes were large and innocent. They were an amazing pale green with amber at the center. An onslaught of images seemed to come from her eyes into Ezra's mind. He saw flashes of a large black wolf running alongside a smaller, sleek, silver wolf. He saw them following, chasing, and nuzzling each other. He saw them laying side by side and dissolving into a man and woman lying intertwined. They were like 2 halves of a whole, their energies perfectly overlapped. They were kissing and caressing with a passion that burned like the sun.

Ezra yanked his mind away from the visions and back to where he was. He gripped the doorframe to keep himself upright and to tie himself more firmly to this reality. He was winded like he'd just run a mile. He looked back at her to find she had her eyes closed, she was clutching her chair and desk and was as out of breath as he was. Ezra had no idea how long he'd stood in the doorway, but he knew he needed to move. Ripping his eyes away from the chocolate-haired beauty was physically painful, but he forced himself. His mind was reeling, and he was surprised he could walk over to his desk without stumbling or falling down. She was a werewolf, she was like him. But she was so much more than that. The faces in the visions were indistinct and blurred, but Ezra knew, he knew that he was the man and that this girl was the woman. It was impossible and insane, but that didn't change what Ezra knew. What the hell was that?

Ezra set his things down and walked to the board. He wrote Mr. Fitz in large letters and slowly felt his equilibrium returning. He turned back around and really faced his class for the first time. Nearly everyone had their attention on him and none of the students' faces looked scared or weirded out. Ezra dared to hope that what had transpired between him and their classmate had actually gone unnoticed. The expressions he saw were polite, curious, expectant. Several of the girls were smiling up at him. Two of them, a brunette in the front of the room and a blonde sitting close to her were looking at him in a hungry, predatory way. It was good to know right off the bat the girls he would need to avoid. She wasn't looking at him but out the window. It was just as well, he needed to actually start class, not get into another staring match.

"Hello, my name is Mr. Fitz and I am your new English teacher. I understand that Mrs. Mulligan was just starting on Hamlet with you and I am excited to get into that, but I am brand new here in Rosewood, so I would like to spend this first class getting to know you a bit. A lot, if not most, of you have gone to school together since elementary school. So, try to think of things about yourself that your classmates don't know, yet." Several students shifted uncomfortably in their seats. Ezra came around his desk and sat on it, facing everyone.

"Obviously, I will go first. As I said, I'm Mr. Fitz. Up until now I lived my entire life in New York City. I have a master's in English Lit from Columbia University, and my favorite movie was made all the way back in 1934. It's called It Happened One Night." A shocked gasp came from Ezra's left and he looked toward the windows. He again found himself staring into her beautiful, hazel eyes. She looked as shocked as her gasp had sounded. She knew the movie? It was unlikely, but she was reacting to something. Ezra was still breathing her in, though he was trying to let awareness of the scent fade away. He needed to know who she was. He smiled warmly at her and she blushed and smiled back. Well that had been a big mistake. Her smile was luminous, everything around her dimmed in comparison. Ezra turned back to the rest of the class, so his heart would resume beating and he could think, again.

"So, does anyone want to volunteer to go next?" As expected, his students looked at each other seeing who would step up, terrified if someone didn't, they might get called on. Unexpectedly, a hand went up. Ezra looked, and it was her. 'She's bold,' Ezra thought. Suddenly another thought hit him. 'She loves apricots.' "A willing victim? Excellent!" Several of the kids chuckled, including her. "Ok, please tell everyone your name, which part of English interests you the most, and a fact about yourself that could reasonably be called, unusual. Oh, and please end with your favorite fruit." That was weird, but Ezra needed to know if he was correct. She cocked her head to the side for a second, examining him. Her gaze felt like a heat ray. Then she shrugged her shoulders and began speaking.

"My name is Aria Montgomery, the part of English that interests me most is all of it. There isn't a single part of English that doesn't interest me. I think I could consider that an unusual fact about myself. But I'll go with, I fell in love with English after my babysitter, Simone, made me read the Exorcist, when I was 9." Kids all around the room laughed. Ezra was floored, her voice was as beautiful and musical as her name. She was funny and a natural storyteller. She'd pulled her audience in and gotten them to respond in only 4 sentences. She was incredible.

"And your favorite fruit? And then go ahead and pick who goes next," Ezra reminded her, hoping that his voice would remain steady.

"Oh, right, sorry. My favorite fruit is apricot. You're up Em." He wanted to pay attention, he really did, but he needed a second. He'd been right, how? Did Aria understand what was going on? She seemed as stunned as he was, but if this was a werewolf thing, she'd likely know better than he. A beautiful girl sitting directly in front of Aria, with dark hair and a tanned complexion, started talking.

"My name is Emily Fields, to me, the most interesting part of English is probably poetry. My first words were, 'go swim'. And I love peaches."

Emily smiled, but a boy said, snidely, "Oh, we all know you do, Emily." The mood in the room changed in an instant. The girls sitting around Emily turned death glares on a non-descript boy sitting near the back door of the classroom. A few guys snickered, but girls near them smacked them and they stopped. Ezra did not know what had just happened, but he could hear Aria making an almost growling sound. It was low enough that he was probably the only one who could hear it, but it let him know the situation needed to be reeled back in.

Emily, however, seemed unlikely to accept protection. She laughed and tossed her hair, "Aw, poor Davey. How many times did Maya turn you down, before she and I got together? Oh, and her last relationship before me was a guy, so theoretically you should have had a chance. Spencer? Do you wanna go, next?" Far more than a few kids laughed, this time. Davey turned bright red and sank down in his seat, looking like he wanted to disappear. Ezra wished he would. He understood the situation now and was impressed with how Emily handled herself. Her friend, Spencer, leaned toward her and gave her a high five. Aria wrapped her arms around Emily's shoulders and hugged her. Ezra was certain Aria was the only one in the class that was a werewolf, putting that label on her felt wrong, but she was clearly very close with her friends. Ezra wondered how Aria managed to make that work. Did her friends know?

"My name is Spencer Hastings. The most interesting part of English, for me, is to put novels into historical context with when they were written. I've had three horses over the course of my life and named them all Dauphin. My favorite fruit is, blueberries. Hanna?"

The blonde that was paying a little more attention to Ezra than he was comfortable with, took her turn. "I'm Hanna Marin, the best part of English is getting help from Aria and Spencer because they actually understand Shakespeare. I can say, 'I'll buy all of them' in 8 different languages. And my favorite fruit is an orange. Mona, hit it." The next girl to go was the brunette huntress. Ezra was concerned that they were friends, but Mona was on the other side of the room, so she wasn't a part of Aria's group. Nothing made it Aria's group except that Ezra chose to think of them that way. Mona finished by stating her favorite fruit was a banana. The way she said it left little doubt that she wasn't really talking about fruit, but Ezra ignored it.

The rest of class was good. Ezra learned a little about each of his students. He definitely wouldn't remember all of it, especially because he was still a little, or a lot, distracted by the doe-eyed beauty by the window. After the last student was done, the bell was going to ring in just a few minutes. Ezra was about to launch into what he wanted the kids to be ready to discuss tomorrow, when said beauty raised her hand, again. Ezra was surprised, but he was trying very hard to not seem too interested in her. Still, when he called on her, to his ears it sounded like he was caressing her name. "Yes, Aria." Aria smiled a small, secretive smile.

"You didn't tell us your favorite fruit, Mr. Fitz." He probably imagined it, but the statement sounded suggestive. It was subtle, a totally reasonable thing to say, but it also sounded seductive, the effect Mona had been aiming for, but missed completely. Ezra couldn't help but look directly at Aria as he answered.

"You're right, thank-you for reminding me. My favorite fruit is the plum." When Ezra responded, Aria mouthed the word, plum, as he said it. She'd known, somehow. Somehow, they were connected, and it felt amazing and devastating at the same time. He was her teacher, he was at least 7 years older than she was. He was, running out of time to finish class. "Ok, thanks everybody. It was great to meet all of you. Tonight, reread the opening scene of Hamlet and imagine how you would respond if the spirit of a loved one visited you and told you they needed you to do something dreadfully difficult, but important, for them. You don't have to write anything down but be ready to discuss." The bell rang over the word "important", but the students were respectful enough to not make noise until Ezra finished. Ezra watched as Aria and her friends were packing up, and his heart clenched knowing Aria was leaving.

"Miss Montgomery, could I speak with you for a moment?" Aria's friends all looked surprised at the request, but Aria had obviously seen it coming. She nodded her head, giving him a knowing look, and responded in a carefree voice.

"Of course, Mr. Fitz. I'll catch up later, guys." Aria smiled at her friends, but they looked at her and at Ezra in a considering, almost suspicious, way. Ezra needed to cover this for both their sakes. After all, Aria's friends might know nothing of her…condition.

Before the three girls reached the door, Ezra said in a clear and audible voice, "So, Miss Montgomery, Mrs. Mulligan was telling me that you had an interest in…" He spoke until the girls had made it a bit down the hall then he lowered his voice and finished, "full moons and moonstones, which I see you're wearing." Aria looked down at the necklace and smiled.

"I like your ring. I've never seen anything like it." Ezra cringed, afraid that she was only being polite.

"It was my father's. It's not really my taste, but, anyway… I knew we were "the same" as soon as I saw you," Ezra cut off waiting to find out if Aria had known as well. He really wanted to ask about the visions, but he felt like he should tread carefully. If she saw what he saw, especially the passion and nudity, they shouldn't discuss it at school, or maybe ever. That thought sounded even more impossible than the visions, though. Aria looked surprised and maybe a bit confused.

"Of course, you did. Don't you always?" Aria's response felt like a half-answer to Ezra.

"Don't I always…" He hoped that that would elicit some explanation because he was lost and didn't like feeling that way.

"Don't you always know when you meet another lykoi?" Aria didn't sound like she was poking fun, she was genuinely confused. Ezra tried to answer in a way that didn't make him seem like an even bigger idiot.

"I haven't had much interaction with other people, like us. I don't know the term you used." Aria's eyes went wide, and Ezra was embarrassed, but he also felt himself falling into those eyes. They were so large and inviting. They were another world that Ezra had never seen, but knew, somehow, that it could be his home.

"Didn't your parents ever teach you about your heritage? Our heritage?" Aria asked this in hushed tones, seemingly aware of the ghosts she might be disturbing. Ezra tried not to shut himself off from her in that moment. She couldn't know how he'd grown up.

"It was only my father, my mother didn't know anything to tell me, I suppose. And I haven't seen my father since I was 5." Ezra knew there was no emotion in his voice, but it was the best he could do. Aria's beautiful mouth formed a large "O" and tears sprang to her eyes. Ezra hated that he was so pitiable, hated that he had made this angelic girl cry, and hated most of all that he couldn't hold her and kiss her. He had never wanted to kiss anyone so badly in his life.

"Oh, Ezra, I am so sorry. I can't imagine, what?" Aria cut off what she'd been saying, and Ezra realized he was looking at her strangely.

"How do you know my name is Ezra?" The look in Aria's eyes changed to fear and embarrassment. She blushed a deep red. Ezra didn't know what to make of it. Had she read his mind? Was that something a powerful werewolf could do? Ezra felt his natural distrust and suspicion creeping over him. "Aria?" Aria wiped her eyes and took a deep breath before speaking.

"I was in Maddie's store this morning when you came in. I wasn't trying to eavesdrop, but I also didn't want to disturb your conversation. I heard you tell Maddie your name was Ezra, that's all." Aria was clearly uncomfortable, what else had she heard?

"Did Maddie say anything to you about me after I left?" He had no reason to trust this Maddie woman. So, what if she had been friends with his father? Ezra didn't trust anything about his father. Aria shook her head.

"No, after you left I asked her who you were, since she said she knew your dad. But all she said was that I shouldn't be nosy and to get my butt to school. I'm sorry, Mr. Fitz, I didn't mean any harm, I swear." Ezra looked into Aria's eyes and knew she was telling the truth. He wasn't a great judge of those things, which was one of the reasons he made it a rule to not trust most people, but not trusting Aria felt inconceivable. He nodded his head.

"I believe you, Aria. It just caught me off-guard. Speaking of knowing things, though, how did I know that you love apricots? And how did you know my favorite fruit is plums?" Aria licked her lips and looked like she was trying to figure out what to say, when the bell rang. Aria jumped and looked at the clock above the door.

"Damn-it, I'm late for class. I'm sorry, I need to go." Ezra hadn't thought about it, he had his planning period this hour, but obviously Aria would have class. He felt the clenching in his heart, again, knowing that this time she really would leave.

"Of course, Aria, I'm sorry. That is completely my fault. Here, let me write you a pass." Aria smiled a weak smile.

"Thank you. We should, continue our conversation, soon. I'd be happy to tell you anything you want to know about…our heritage. And I can introduce you to my dad. He's kind of in charge, in our community. Here, this is my number. If you want to call me and, you know, talk." Aria blushed and handed Ezra a piece of paper while he handed her the late pass. Their hands brushed against each other and Ezra felt a surge of energy pulse through him. Unthinkingly, he reached out to touch her again. He needed to feel that energy, he needed to feel her, he needed to smell her and touch her and taste her. His hand met only air and he came to his senses in time to see Aria running from his classroom, mocha hair streaming behind her. This time, Ezra did fall. Then he sat on the floor for several minutes, head in his hands, silently begging for Aria to come back. He was completely screwed.

So, they have met. They have sparked. They have more complications between them than usual. I find as I'm writing, the teacher/student issue is almost an afterthought. Oh, and I'm not sure how many there will be, but this will not be the only instance of seeing the same event from more than one character's perspective. Thank you so much for reading. Please review, more reviews = less Jason, fewer reviews = more Jason. NO, I'm kidding. I would never change the story based on number of reviews, or would I? Blessings to all.