A/N: I know it's been a while since I gave you an Ezra chapter. The truth is, this chapter, as well as the next 2, will belong to Aria. I promise you that I know why I'm doing that, and that the return to his perspective will be worth waiting for. Also, Ezra's backstory is not little, or a throw away. The mysteries surrounding Ezra will be revealed, but slowly. And other characters that don't have a mysterious air also have pasts and secrets. This is Rosewood, after all.

Chapter 6

Aria threw her Physics book at the wall in frustration. The sciences had never been easy for her but right now they were impossible. Based on the disordered pile of books beneath the Physics book Economics, French, and Trigonometry were also impossible. Aria grabbed a pillow and screamed as loudly as she could, into it. She took a deep breath to scream again but heard a light rapping on her bedroom door. Aria sat up, set the pillow in her lap, and punched it a few times before answering. "Come in."

Byron opened the door partway and stuck his head into his daughter's room. "It sounded like a deer kicked your wall, so I just thought I'd offer it a snack." He took in the scattered books and the look on Aria's face. "Is everything ok, Aria?" He opened the door all the way and leaned against the frame. Aria couldn't decide if she preferred to answer him sincerely or caustically. None of this was her dad's fault, but her mood pushed for bitchiness towards all. Aria dropped her head onto the pillow in her lap. She hoped he would take that as a 'Hell no!' "Weren't you going to stay with the girls tonight? Your mom said something about a huge gossip session?" Aria lifted her head and looked straight at Byron. This she could be caustic about.

"Well, I hate them, so I decided to bail." Byron started, quite surprised by that response. He indicated to Aria that he wanted to come in and sit next to her. She sighed and rolled her eyes, but gestured to the empty spot. Byron came in, sat down, shifted till he was comfortable, shifted more as if the bed was quite unsatisfactory, leaned against a pillow, switched it for another pillow, used both pillows, Aria started to laugh in spite of herself. Ever since she was little her dad would play the clown to help her when she felt her worst. Byron sat normally and addressed his daughter.

"You hate them. Hanna, Emily, and Spencer, them you hate." Of course, it sounded ridiculous when he said it like that, but she nodded her head. "Did they drop another book in the pool?" The last time she had left Spencer's and proclaimed she hated her friends was when they were 11 and Aria's copy of Wuthering Heights ended up at the bottom of Spencer's pool.

"I was angry about the book, but that isn't why I was that angry." Aria was always embarrassed about what had happened, and she was scared that her parents would get the other girls in trouble with their parents. She supposed the statute of limitations had run out, by now. "Alison started it, of course. I was reading on a lounge chair and the girls decided I needed to stop and play with them. So, Ali grabbed the book and tossed it to Spencer. I tried to get it back, but she tossed it to Emily. This was the summer after all the other girls had had growth spurts, even Hanna. Soon it was a full-on game of keep away, and I was too short to do anything about it. They all knew I was sensitive about being little, they knew I was afraid I would never have a growth spurt, and they laughed and laughed until Ali "accidentally" threw the book into the pool." Byron sat quietly, not trying to play the clown anymore.

"You've never told me that story, before. Does your mother know that's what happened?" Aria shook her head.

"No, we kept it between us. I didn't want them to be in trouble, they were all really sorry, even Ali. Emily started to cry after she thought about it for a little while, Spencer told me. They got me a new copy with their allowances, and never did anything like that again, till today." Byron looked confused and upset for Aria.

"They played keep away?" Byron asked, incredulously. Again, Aria shook her head.

"No, they decided to have target practice, only I was the target. I mean, you know how much we like to tease each other, all of us can take a joke. But today, they just kept piling on. The more I tried to make it stop, the harder they laughed. That's why it was like keep away. How upset I was about what they were doing, made it more fun for them." Aria felt her eyes well up with tears. Telling Byron let her get it off her chest, but at the same time, it made it more real. Byron reached out and pulled Aria into a hug. She appreciated her dad, he was always there for her.

"Can you tell me what they were teasing you about? I promise I won't pick on you." Aria shook her head. Byron smoothed her hair, "Ok, kiddo. I won't ask again. Are you going to stay for dinner? Or do you want to go see Jason?" Byron let Aria go and stood up. He walked toward the door. There was no way she could see Jason. He would want to know exactly what the teasing was about. How had everything gotten so screwed up, so fast?

"I'll be here, tonight. Dad?" Byron turned around in the doorway. "What do you do, when you're facing a difficult or bizarre situation, and you don't know how to handle it?" Aria had to be vague, obviously, but she needed help.

"Well? Do I know anyone who has faced a situation similar to what I'm facing?" Byron leaned against the frame, again.

"No, definitely not."

"Do I know of anyone facing a similar situation?"

"Nope" Byron took a deep breath before trying again.

"Well, there are very few situations that have never happened before. I would try to figure out what resources I had available to find out the last time something like that happened to anyone, anywhere. Does that help?" Aria thought about it. Who would know if lykoi could share visions and feel the kind of connection she felt with Ezra? Who had in depth histories about the lykoi? Maddie, duh, Maddie.

"It does help, thank you, for everything." Aria got up and gave her dad another hug, then started picking up her discarded books. Byron seemed to be reluctant to leave.

"Aria? Can you just tell me if this difficult situation involves medical tests, drug tests, or pregnancy tests?" Aria appreciated that he hadn't directly accused Jason of anything.

"I promise, Dad. It does not involve any tests, of any kind, for anyone. I'm gonna leave in a minute and run an errand, but I'll be back by 6, ok?" Aria would tell him where, only if she had to.

"That's fine. I hope you can find whatever it is that you're looking for." Byron walked down the hall and down the stairs. Aria checked herself in the mirror to see if she looked ok. She noticed the gray moonstone still in her ear. She took it off, cleaned it with rubbing alcohol, and put it on the desk to grab on her way out. She looked uncertainly at her necklace. She loved it, it was a piece that had been in the Dilaurentis family for a couple generations. But Jason got his mother's permission to give it to Aria. Whenever she looked at it she remembered that she was special to him and had been for a long time. But that wasn't something she wanted on her mind at the moment. She pulled another necklace from her jewelry chest. It was wire, twisted into the shape of the Tree of Life. The wire also served as a cage around a very large moonstone moon. The necklace should hold more energy than the other necklace and earring combined. She put it on before removing her regular one. It wasn't like she would explode without a moonstone, but with a day like today? Aria wasn't taking any chances. She carefully laid Jason's necklace into the chest and closed it. She grabbed her sandals, a jacket, her bag and Mike's earring. Her phone rang in her purse. Hoping it was Ezra, Aria pulled it out to check it and immediately hit deny. It was Spencer, again. Aria couldn't deal with them tonight. Maybe it would be easier, tomorrow.

"Maddie?" Aria called out as she walked into the shop. She looked around but didn't immediately see the storekeeper.

"Over here, ti zwazo." Aria smiled. Maddie used terms of endearment more than names with people she knew. Sometimes they were in English, sometimes in Haitian Creole. For the most part they were generic, baby, little one, precious, etc. But, as far as Aria knew, she was the only one Maddie called "ti zwazo" or "little bird". It made her feel special and important to have a Creole nickname. It meant that Maddie saved that little piece of herself just for Aria. When everyone in the community was up in arms over Ali's wild behavior, and Aria felt like she was only seen as Ali's friend, Maddie would call her "ti zwazo", and she felt seen.

Aria lost Jason for a while, during that time. If being Ali's friend was rough, being her family was hell. At least Aria could go home and be safe and protected. Jason couldn't escape the insanity, and he felt invisible to his parents. He turned to drugs and alcohol to dull the pain. Being lykoi, he had to consume a lot to really get high. Then it would hit him all at once. Several times, he showed up at Aria's house, trashed out of his mind. He would want to see her, her father wouldn't allow it, and Aria would hide in her room listening to Jason screaming her name and shouting vile things at Byron.

Then, one night, Jason bypassed the front door and climbed into Aria's bedroom through the window, in the middle of the night. At first, Jason wanted sex. He said that Aria was the only good thing he had, and he needed to feel loved. Aria refused, and Jason started to get angry. She knew she was in danger, so she convinced him she was saying no because it would be too loud and would alert her parents. He stopped being angry with her, but his rage was now at all the people that tried to "keep them apart". Jason decided he had to take her away. He dragged her downstairs and out through the kitchen. Aria tried to reason with him, begged him to let her go, and promised she would run away with him another time. Nothing worked, until she heard a deep growling behind her. Byron had heard the racket and shifted while inside the house. He stood, a proud, grayish-brown Alpha wolf. Jason stumbled and fell, dragging Aria down with him. Jason was too wasted to shift voluntarily but he remained defiant. Byron pinned him to the ground and growled in his face, only inches away. Aria cradled her clearly broken wrist and cried, begging her father not to hurt Jason. Byron let him go, shepherding Aria back into the house.

The next day, Byron began teaching Aria how to shift at will. She was fairly young for it, but he was terrified that next time he might not be there to protect her. There was no next time, though. That same day Aria got a letter from Jason. In it, he apologized profusely. He said that he hated himself for what he had done and that he was leaving so he would never hurt her, again. He also said that he loved her more than anything and promised that he would try to get better and come back. He was gone for four months, but Aria never let him go, and he eventually returned home. He'd cleaned up his act, he worked diligently to reestablish his place in the pack and to regain Byron's trust. He tried to "win back" Aria's love, but she told him it was his, he'd never lost it.

Aria thought about that moment as she searched the store for her friend. She'd held so tightly to Jason when there were a hundred reasons to let go. Now she only had one reason, a pair of blue eyes, but they had her genuinely questioning if Jason was the right one for her. Aria found Maddie tucked in the back where she kept the prepared spells and potions. She was restocking the love potions, her biggest seller. She had tried putting them in a more prominent location, but quickly figured out that people that wanted to buy love potions, didn't want to be seen buying love potions. Aria asked Maddie if the potions actually worked and was told they did, in their way. She described them as incredibly powerful aphrodisiacs, but they would only work where there was already attraction or feelings. Aria called them "In the Mood Juice". Maddie got a kick out of that. "Hey, Maddie. Need some help?" Maddie was facing the shelf, arranging bottles.

"No, sweets, I'm just finishin," Maddie turned her head to give Aria a smile but seemed to do a double-take instead. "What in de name of Legba have you been up to, girl?" Now Aria did a double-take. Maddie hardly ever invoked the names of Vodun spirits. Aria wasn't sure how to answer.

"I went to school, hung out with the girls, did homework, then came here." Aria was always honest with Maddie. She could read auras and energies, so lying was usually a waste of time. But having no idea what Maddie was reacting to, Aria gave the broadest strokes, possible. Maddie hustled Aria over to a table by the window and both women sat. Maddie was looking Aria over like she was some kind of exotic creature.

"Uh-huh. Well, dose may be events from your day, but you leavin out events for your life. Wait, no dat can't be, what is? Where would you get dat? Mon Dieu, you have a story to tell, little bird. Will you tell it to me?" Maddie must have been reading Aria's energies, but she'd never seen Maddie lose her cool like that. She had to know why.

"Maddie, what were you reading off me? What can't be?" Could Maddie read that Aria met Ezra?

"For one, your energy is all over de place. It's like a cyclone of colors and pictures. But what can't be is your aura. It's different den it was dis mornin." What? Energies were just that, types of energy. They indicated mood, mindset, emotions. They were constantly changing and Aria wasn't the least bit surprised that hers were chaotic and hard to decipher. But, auras, they were the energy fields created by each person. They told others who you were, your outlook on life, your personality. They changed slowly, over years, unless you were faced with a life-altering event. Meeting Ezra changed her, actually changed her. It was difficult to conceive of that.

"Maddie, have you ever heard of two lykoi having an instant connection when their eyes meet for the first time?" Maddie raised her eyebrows at Aria.

"You mean like, love at first sight?" Aria bit her lip, wondering how much to share, but this was Maddie, she was one of the most trustworthy people Aria had ever known.

"More than that. It's a connection where you see thousands of images of yourself and that other lykoi, maybe from the past, or the future, or something, but real, incredibly real. And knowing things about each other, details that can't show on your face, or easily be guessed. And electricity when you touch, like together you create a new energy. Has that ever happened, before?" Maddie sat with her mouth slightly open, seemingly dumbstruck by the litany of things Aria described. And Aria hadn't even mentioned the attraction, the promise of all-consuming passion.

Maddie sat back in her chair and studied Aria. Aria waited as patiently as she could. Rushing the older woman never achieved anything except to make her annoyed. Maddie spoke with meaning and intention. She never ran off at the mouth the way that Aria did. Aria's mind drifted back to Ezra, again, surprise, surprise. She wished she could go back to that morning and give in. She could see him reaching for her, his eyes filled with heat and need. If Aria had just stood still, if she had let him touch her again, she knew how his hands would feel moving over her body. She knew, but at the same time, she didn't. His scent, his voice, his eyes, Aria knew all of these things like they were a part of herself, but none of it had existed before she looked into Ezra's eyes.

"I see." Maddie murmured, and Aria jumped. She'd forgotten that she was under Maddie's gaze. There was probably a very noticeable shift in Aria's energy. She was embarrassed, but if it informed Maddie on the matter, it was worth it. Maddie stood and glided away from the window, she began speaking at a quiet volume, clearly expecting Aria to go with her. "Dere are stories in Lykoi tradition of de life after dis. Are you knowin any of 'em?" Aria took a slow breath and then responded.

"I know that most Wolves believe that when they die, their soul is stripped of all knowledge of its life and exists in a pure form in the great hunting grounds, until it is called back to serve the Goddess here on earth." In Lykoi tradition, gaining deep knowledge of their histories was just one way to serve the Goddess and the natural world. There was no judgement placed on how educated a Wolf was. Their only "religion" was serving the Goddess in whatever way they felt called. "Authenticity of self" brought balance and the favor of the Divine. Aria wondered what the afterlife held for Maddie. She was so dedicated to the Lykoi community, but would never actually be a part of it.

"And in most cases, dat is dat. But sometime, a soul is marked. May be dat de Wolf was so bad, de Goddess keeps de soul from roamin free. Dose are said to be sent back to help dem heal and learn to love de world. Some souls are so shinin' dat Selene sends dem back as is to bring deir brethren along toward bein better. In both times, de Wolves may recall moments or feelins from who dey used to be." Maddie lead Aria over to the books section of the store. She sounded enthusiastic, even excited, to be explaining these things to Aria. Aria, however, didn't understand how it related to her and Ezra. Maddie dragged a stepstool to a point in the middle of the "Werewolf" books. She climbed up and pulled a deep red, leather-bound book down from the top shelf. Aria loved it, immediately. The paper was thick, the book was obviously heavy based on how Maddie held it, and it seemed old. Her fingers itched to get her hands on it. Maddie smiled, she knew how much Aria loved old books. But she wasn't quite done, apparently.

"De most rare cases in de old stories talk about when it isn't one soul dat returns intact time and again. Souls dat are bound as a pair come back to our world to find deir match. Some are great enemies, can't leave hatred behind and come back to make peace. Some are soulmates, meant to know and grow togedder over more den just one life. De pairs remember each oder, better dan demselves. You ask me if what you say ever happened before. Well, if de stories are true, it's been hap'nin over and over for just about forever. See if dis reads right for ya." Maddie handed the book to Aria, opened to chapter 26. Aria used her finger to keep the book slightly open and turned to the cover. Stories of the Children of the Moon from Around the Globe. It was a book of mythology, each chapter its own story. Aria opened the book back to chapter 26. "Lycidas and Eumelia: True Love, True Sacrifice."

As you probably already guessed, the next chapter will be the myth. I am writing it as it appears in the book, the following chapter will have Aria's thoughts and reactions as she reads it. Also, spoiler alert: Byron is a good guy in this story. He isn't perfect, he's still very protective, but he isn't an ass about it. I love to stick it to Byron, as some of my other pieces will attest, but I was full-up on bad guys for this story. Byron is just so notoriously villainous, I didn't want you guys waiting for the twist that reveals how awful he is. So you can relax and enjoy a good portrait of fatherhood, a true rarity in the PLL world. It gives you free time to review. Review, or you could review. Blessings to all.