Lost & Found-Ezria

Chapter 7

ARIA'S POV

I made my way to my dorm room, my Art History textbook in hand. I had a massive headache and was completely exhausted by the day's events. It was a few days after Christmas, and I was cramming for my upcoming midterms. I barely slept anymore, the stress of school along with the lingering thoughts of Ezra made it completely impossible.

I pulled my keys out from my purse and unlocked the door, eager to just sit down and relax. I was utterly exhausted and needed a break from my break.

I walked through the door way, expecting to find an empty apartment, but instead found four familiar faces sitting on the couch and bed.

"Surprise!" an eager Hanna yelled, jumping up to hug me.

"G-guys, hi! What are you doing here?" I ask, completely shocked by their random appearance. They all stood up to greet me, a huge smile on each of their faces.

"I know, I know, we're unannounced, but we really wanted to see you for the holidays! We've missed you!" Emily said cheerily, squeezing my hand. I smile awkwardly, still extremely confused.

"So, in honour of us being all together again, I was thinking that maybe we could go out for supper, our treat. Just to catch up, you know." Spencer said sweetly, picking up her things.

I had no idea what to answer. I was happy to see my friends again, but I really wasn't in the mood to do anything unless it involved pajamas and Netflix.

Just as I opened my mouth to answer, the door creaked open behind me.

"Babe, you won't believe this. I can't–" a frazzled Wes walked into the room and stopped mid sentence. The girls all smiled awkwardly as the looked to me to introduce them.

"Uh, hello. I'm Wes, Aria's boyfriend." Wes said, reaching out to shake each of their hands.

The girls shared a knowing glance, before a look of confusion crossed their faces.

"Wes, as in Wesley? As in Fitz?" a confused Hanna demanded, lookng back at me with huge eyes.

Wes turned to me before looking back at them.

"Yes. I actually have to go, I'm, uh, meeting a friend." he said quickly before kissing my cheek and turning to leave. before I had the chance to object, i heard the door slam behind me.

"You're dating Ezra's brother?!" Emily said, obviously surprised.

"Yeah... uh, how about we catch up totally, over dinner? I just need to freshen up, so I'll meet you at the restaurant right down this street in an hour, okay?" I say quickly, dying to get them out of my hair for a little bit. They all nodded before leaving/

I could hear mumbling from the other side, and curiosity got the best of me. I pressed my ear towards the door.

"She seemed happy to see us." Hanna said sarcastically, and the other girls giggled.

"I can't believe she's with Wes. this is so crazy. God, poor Ezra!" Emily mentioned, and their voices faded away farther down the hall and I removed my ear from the door.

I was confused, exhausted, and annoyed. I immediately threw my stuff down and eagerly sat on the bed. I needed to get dressed and do my hair and makeup, and I knew this would be a long night.

ººº

"So, Aria, you never finished. You're dating Wes?" an always curious Hanna questioned. She was wearing a beige and red lace dress that reached just above her knees, and her hair was pulled back in a casual cute up-do. 

"Uh, y--yeah." I say, awkwardly poking at my salad.

"I don't mean to pry... but whatever happened to you and Ezra?" Emily asked sincerely.

I looked up from the plate in front of my as darkness clouded my face.

"I really don't want to talk about him." I say sternly, not wanting to bring the subject up again.

"Come on, Aria, you can't shut us out." Spencer said, obviously dying to know.

I sighed, annoyed at their persistence. It was enough that Ezra was on my mind 24/7, and now I have them constantly reminding me of him.

"Okay, fine, you want to know the truth? He cheated on me. And we parted ways." I say quickly, eager to change the subject.

They share a glance and turn back towards me.

"No, no, he wouldn't do that." Emily said, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Believe it." I say, desperate to get back to chatting about, well, anything but him.

I saw Spencer lean over and whisper something to Hanna, and they both share knowing glances. I began to wonder what was happening as the three girls nodded slightly at each other.

"So, Aria, remember prom? That was a fun night, right?" Spencer began. I nod as I poke at my salad.

"What colour was your prom dress, again?" she continues, a tone of 'I already know the answer to this question' in her voice.

I couldn't remember for the life of me. They couldn't know about the accident, they couldn't figure out that I was suffering severe amnesia.

I thought back to all the photos I saw on my profile, but still couldn't figure out what it was.

After multiple moments with no reply, she spoke up again.

"It was pink, right?" she said calmly. Relieved that someone finally answered my question, I nod and continue picking at the plate in front of me.

"Uh, it was red, actually." Hanna said suspiciously. "See, I have our prom picture as my phone's wallpaper." she continues as she hands the phone to me.

A wash of panic comes over me as I look at the photo in front of me. The dress I was sporting was indeed red.

"Oh yeah, you're right... brain fog!" I say jokingly, desperately trying to cover my tracks.

They glance at each other once again before looking back at me, solemn looks on their faces.

"Aria, we know about the accident." Emily said sincerely.