Lost & Found-Ezria

Chapter 12

a special thanks to my fantastic co-writer

"Ezra, I need to start over, I need to get away from Wes, and New York, and all the lies that lay there. And I want to start over with you too. If you'd be willing to, that is." she said confidently. A sudden image of the old Aria flashed through my mind, seeming so different yet so similar to the one that stood before me.

She spoke softly yet confidently, seeming so sure of herself. I was shocked by what she was saying, partially relieved that she finally knew the truth.

"Aria, I still love you, a part of me will always love you, but we're both very different people now. So much has changed, so much has come between us... We need to get to know each other again. I don't want you to feel pressured to jump into another relationship just yet, especially with me..." I said, trying to let her down easily.

A look of confusion was initially on her face, followed by one of disappointment, and soon faded into one of understanding. She began to nod slowly.

"Yeah, I actually think you're right. Maybe we can just start over, clean slate. As friends." she said surely, looking at me with the same doe eyes I fell in love with.

I smiled and shook my head.

"What?" she asked defensively, obviously assuming I was laughing at her.

"You're just... amazing. You're so understanding, and it's just... God, you're incredible." I spoke quietly, running my hands through my hair, a slight smile still on my face.

"Friends, Ezra. Just friends." she said with a slight laugh, reminding me of reality.

"For now. We need to just, get to know each other better." I said, trying to see if there was some part of her that still loved me too.

"Yeah, for now. But I don't want you to spend your entire life waiting for me, because I can't promise that you'll fall back in love with me, or vice versa." she said quietly, a slight insecure tone in her voice, before being replaced by one of confidence.

"So, as friends..." she paused, emphasizing the word 'friends', "would you like to go grab a bite to eat? I'm famished!" she said happily, looking at me straight in the eyes.

"Yeah, definitely, let me just grab my stuff." I answered, trying to hide my smile.

Aria and I were starting over, this was my chance to show her who I was. I needed her to love me, I needed this to go somewhere. But I needed to be patient, I wanted her to be ready for this.

We made our way to the restaurant and began talking as if we had known each other for ages. It was difficult, seeing how much I knew about her, compared to seeing that I was a completely new person to her. But we were laughing and chatting and everything was just okay again, and it was everything I could have wished for.

ººº

ARIA'S POV

3 MONTHS LATER

I woke up the sound of pots and pans clanging, along with a dog barking. I shot out of bed, confused at what was being so loud on a Sunday morning. I threw my silk robe on and quickly made my way down the stairs, expecting to find my boyfriend Isaac (FAKE CHARACTER! NOT ANYBODY IMPORTANT OR EVEN REAL ON THE SHOW, JUST A RANDOM NAME FOR HER BOYFRIEND!) cooking breakfast; but where was the barking coming from?

I arrived in the kitchen to see a frazzled Spencer standing in front of the stove, fidgeting with the buttons, while a worried Emily stood nearby and Hanna tapped on her phone's screen. Sure enough, in Hanna's arms, lay a white dog with brown spots.