Pretty Little Liars: The Beginning {Episodes 1-10} (REVISED)

44. Aria 📚

An entire hour had passed since Hanna had been taken to the principal's office to talk to Wilden, and Aria was starting to get worried about her. Emily and Spencer had joined her at Hanna's locker to try and get ahold of her. They knew that Wilden was creepy, showing up to their school completely unannounced and only questioning one of them. They had no idea what he was up to.

Aria had heard a few rumours about a cop showing up to Hanna's house a lot, but they didn't know why or if it was even true. If it was Wilden that was showing up to Hanna's house all the time, it made it look even more like Hanna was a target for some reason. Whatever it was, Hanna wasn't answering any of their calls or texts. They were just hoping that Hanna would come to her locker before their next class.

Aria pulled out her phone and opened up another app she could use to reach out to Hanna. "What are you doing?" Spencer asked. "Is that a new phone?"

"Yeah, I'm checking my Kin," Aria replied, swiping through her friends list to find Hanna's profile. She tapped her profile and started writing a message to her. "I'll just write on Hanna's wall from here."

"If she's not answering texts, what makes you think she's checking Facebook?" Emily asked.

Aria shrugged. "It's worth a try."

As Aria was about to press send on the message, the click of heels grabbed their attention. Hanna was coming toward them, her face stone-cold. "What's going on?" she asked.

Relief flooded through Aria. She knew nothing too bad would've happened to her, but it was still good to see her after everything that happened with Toby and after Hanna had been led away alone. "We've been trying to get ahold of you. What happened in there?" Aria asked.

"Nothing," Hanna said as she forced her locker open. "Just the same old stupid questions."

It wasn't hard to tell when Hanna was upset or angry. If anyone saw her walking down the street after an argument, they would say that she just looked angry. If looks could kill, Hanna would be a serial killer by that point. Aria had been on the other side of one of those looks before, and Hanna was wearing it right now.

"You were in there for an hour, Hanna," Spencer said, leaning against the locker next to her. "What else did he ask?"

Hanna stared absently into her locker for a while before facing her friends. "Nothing. He just took a couple calls, and I just sat there, waiting for him to shut up," she explained.

"Well, is he going to question all of us alone now?" Aria wondered aloud.

"Who knows?" Hanna said, not bothering to hide the irritation in her voice. "Look, let's do this at lunch, okay? I have to hit the ladies' before my next class."

And with that, she strutted off down the hallway. Hanna had always been a bit of a drama queen, but that was another level for her. "Is she being weird?" Spencer asked.

"She's being weird," Emily agreed. "I'll see you guys at lunch."

"Bye," Spencer said as Emily walked away, following her shortly after.

Aria was glad to know that she wasn't the only one who picked up on Hanna's strange behaviour. Something in her eyes had told her that Hanna just wasn't up to talking about whatever it was that had happened with Wilden. Aria watched Emily turn the corner as Ezra entered his classroom. Aria was happy to see a friendly face after that strange encounter.

Aria slipped through the crack in the door just before it closed. She made sure it was closed all the way before she turned her attention on him. "Hey," she said.

Ezra looked over and gave her that goofy smile that had won her heart the day they met. "Hey," he said. "Are you here to ask about the homework assignment?"

Aria smiled. "Do you have plans this weekend?"

The idea was so spontaneous that she didn't even know where it came from. She didn't even really know where she was going with it, the words just sprouted from her mouth beyond her control. It was like her brain was talking and not cluing her in on what was going on.

Ezra chuckled. "I'm thinking we should talk about the homework assignment," he said.

Aria eyed him suspiciously as he sat down in the leather chair behind the desk. "So you do have plans?"

"I don't," Ezra answered, shaking his head slightly.

Aria took a couple steps closer to him, trying to think of a plan. "Okay, well, there's this opening at the gallery where my mom works, and I promised I'd help out, so if you're free—"

"Do you think that's wise?" Ezra interrupted. "Hanging with you and your folks? A parent-teacher conference over free wine?"

"Okay, fine, it's a bad idea," Aria said, nodding. She could barely keep it together in class. Being with him while her parents were around was a surefire way to get them both caught. She swayed a little on the spot while Ezra took a sip of his coffee. "What if we hung out afterwards? I could tell them I'm going to Noel Kahn's party."

Ezra laughed. "Maybe you should," he suggested. "Go to the party."

Aria shook her head. "Why would I want to do that?" she asked.

"So your classmates don't suspect you've lost interest in your peers," Ezra said.

"Too late," she said.

Aria slid her hand forward on his desk and touched his pinkie finger with her own. She could feel the sparks jumping between them, their touch fuelling a fire that felt as though it had been burning for a thousand lifetimes. Their hands fit together perfectly. Aria looked back up at him, the desire to kiss him building up so much that she almost couldn't contain it.

The door to the classroom burst open loudly, and Aria pulled her hand away as fast as she could. "Ezra, I want—" the teacher who had intruded started. She stopped when she saw that Aria was with him. "Oh. Sorry, excuse me."

"No, it's fine. Come in, Mrs Welch," Ezra said, smiling. He seemed so calm despite them almost getting caught, while Aria's heart felt like it was going to explode. Ezra looked back at her. "So, are we clear about the homework assignment?"

Ezra pulled a paper off of one of the many stacks scattered across his desk and handed it to her. "Yes, totally," she said as she took the paper from him. "If I have any questions, I'll reach out to you."

"Great," Ezra said.

"Thank you, Mr Fitz."

Aria edged past Mrs Welch and back into the hallway. That had been such a close call. Aria's nerves eased up a bit as she walked to her next class and realised she'd never gotten an answer from him. Maybe it was a no for now, but she was sure there would be other opportunities. Besides, Noel's party might be fun after all, but she knew she'd be thinking of Ezra the whole time.