Lost & Found-Ezria

Chapter 2

I sat at my gate, passport and plane ticket in hand. I was shaking my leg anxiously, dying to see Aria again. I had no idea what the plan was once I got there, my mind was so clouded with thoughts of Aria that I barely thought straight.

"Now boarding flight 901." the flight attendant called. 9/01, that was Aria and I's anniversary.

God, I missed her. I thought about every second of the day and I couldn't wait to see her.

ººº

I exited the taxi and found myself in front of the massive RISD. I sighed and looked around, confused at where to start. I decided to grab a coffee at a nearby Starbucks before I started my 'journey'.

I had always been a charming person. I had charmed my way through most of college, and the majority of university. It was at times like this when I realized just how useful being charming really was.

I was sitting at a table alone, looking around the room, trying to figure out what to do; And then, it hit me. I saw a girl nearby who also happened to be sitting alone. I approached her and slightly tapped her shoulder. I put on my most charming smile and began to softly talk.

"Hi there, I'm really sorry to bother you, but I just wanted to know if you were a student at RISD?" I asked, my voice confident and strong.

"Uh, well who wants to know?" The girl was tall and blonde, and her green eyes shone in the daylight.

I rested my hand on the chair next to her.

"Do you mind if I sit?" I asked, trying to seem as flirtatious as possible. She seemed hesitant at first, but then slowly nodded and pulled out the chair.

"Yeah, I am, why?" she said, taking a sip of her drink.

"So, here's the thing. My girlfriend goes here, and we got into this really huge fight before she left, and now she isn't picking up any of my calls or answering any of my texts or emails, and I really miss her." I said quietly, pretending to make it seem as though tears were welling up in y eyes. "And it's just really hard, knowing that she doesn't love me anymore, and I just miss her, so badly..." I said, bowing my head and looking at the floor.

"Oh, that's terrible. I'm so sorry... What can I do to help? I'm Poppy, by the way." she said, sincerely putting her hand on my arm.

"My name is Ezra... Well, I was hoping that maybe you knew her?" I asked, pretending to wipe away my tears.

"What's her name?" She asked.

"Aria. Aria Montgomery." I said slowly, so desperately wanting her to know where she lived.

"Hmm... Aria, Aria..." she repeated seeming very pensive, as though she had heard that name before.

"Ah! That's it. She's actually my, okay stay with me here, best friend's boyfriend's, his best friend, is Aria's girlfriend." she said, speaking very quickly.

"Really? So you know her?" I asked cheerily. She then nodded and pulled out her phone.

"I'll text Ainsley right now, and I'll get you her dorm room. You may have to sit tight for a little while, Ainsley's usually in lectures at this time so it might take a while to answer."

"Oh, that's fine, don't really have anywhere to be." I said, chuckling slightly. "You wouldn't mind if I sat with you until then, right?" I asked charmingly.

"Oh, no, not at all." she said laughing slightly.

We chatted about everything under the sun– politics, exes, literature, food, everything. She seemed genuinely nice and interesting, and I was glad she got to keep me company. Two hours into hour chat, her phone lit up.

"Oh, that's Ainsley. She says she's in..." she unlocked her phone to read the full message.

"She's in the B dorm and she's in room 26." she said, not looking up from her phone.

I laughed to myself. "Well, thank you so much, Poppy. You've been an incredible help." I say as I got up to leave.

"Wait!" she said, pulling my arm so that I was facing her again. She handed me a slip of paper.

"In case things don't work out with Amy." she said seductively.

"It's Aria, but thanks." I say awkwardly, now turning to leave.

I quickly made my way to room B26, asking every so often for directions. I kept thinking of her dorm and how it must've been fate, like some sign saying it was meant to be.

I finally reached her dorm room and took a deep breath before anxiously knocking on her door. I shifted my weight from one foot to another before eventually deciding that she wasn't home. I turned to leave when I heard a familiar voice from behind me.

"Ezra?!" Wes asked, obviously surprised.

"Wes?!" I asked, confused at what was happening.

"T-this is where Aria lives, right?" I asked, a tone of anger and disappointment in my voice. Before Wes had a chance to answer, an even more familiar face showed up behind him.

"Wes, babe, who's at the door?"