Catch Me When I Land

Chapter Two

It had been about four days since Ezra's last encounter with Aria, which seemed unusual. Whether it was 7:30 AM, or 10:30 PM, Aria showed up at the Brew just to sit and be around Ezra. He kind of felt over-joyed at the fact she was looking up to him for comfort, because he was more than willing to give it to her.

He shuffled bills and business papers into an organized pile on the side of his desk, and looked up at the photo of him and Aria framed inside his cabinet. He hadn't bothered taking it down, he kept forgetting about it. He smiled slightly, then a fast-acting knock shocked him. The door flung open and an obviously paranoid Aria charged inside.

"Charles is outside my house. My trees were moving around outside my window. And I could feel him around me at school today. Why did I even go to school? Ali says he's dead but he's not dead. He's in my freaking back yard!" She panicked out loud.

"Aria, calm down. Charles is not going to hurt you here, you're safe." In an attempt to comfort Aria, Ezra stepped towards her cautiously.

Her breathing slowed and she took a long blink. "I'm sorry, it's late. It could have been anything, the wind or a, I don't know, bird. I should just go back home." She turned towards the door to leave.

"Hey," Ezra reached for her arm, "stay. You don't have to pretend with me, okay?"

She stared at him for a good few seconds, eventually caving in.

He lead her to the couch, where they sat side by side. Ezra tried to ignore and reduce the awkward tension between them, afraid if he got to close to her she would try to leave again. He turned on the TV to see a rerun of FRIENDS was playing. Ezra then went to his bed to pick up a small, soft blanket and placed it on Aria's lap, and then went to go and make her some of her favourite tea.

After a few minutes, Aria started to slightly move closer to Ezra. He didn't seem to notice, watching the show on the screen contently. She then leaned her head on Ezra's broad shoulder, snaking her little arm around his to hold his hand. She closed her eyes, being in the sensation of Ezra.

Ezra acted by taking the hand Aria was holding and wrapping it around her, bringing her closer to him. Her head now lay more on his upper chest. Her hand went and reached his other one to hold. Ezra caught on that she was big on hand holding, it helped her stay calm. He wrapped his warm hand around hers. She snuggled deeper into his chest. Ezra rested his head on hers, as they continued to watch TV.

Aria woke up to the smell of Chai tea. She was wrapped tightly in Ezra's arms, as they shared a blanket with reruns of FRIENDS still playing quietly from the television. Her left hand was clammy from holding his for so long. She looked at the stove as the time read 1:14 AM. In a panic, she jumped up searching for her purse in the darkly lit apartment.

Ezra woke up abruptly, due to the sudden coldest that covered his side. He seen Aria as she scrambled to grab her phone, probably to call her mom.

"Hey, mom. Yes, I'm okay. I know, I'm so sorry. I went to Ezra's and we fell asleep. Can I just stay here tonight? Okay, thanks. I love you too, bye." She hung up her phone and placed it back into her purse.

"I need to start remembering to call her when I run off to your place." Aria sighed, tiredly.

"Yeah." Ezra let out a slight chuckle, and so did she.

"I'll take the couch, you can go back to your bed if you want." She said, picking her nails.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm only five feet away, Ezra." She said, jokingly.

"Okay, just let me know if you need anything." Ezra started towards his bed, as Aria made a little sleeping space on the futon.

Ezra didn't sleep until he heard the tiny, soft snore escape Aria's mouth.