Pinky Promise? (ezria)

Chapter 2: Why Not?

ARIAS POV

I decided on a baby pink dress with a black belt and black converse for the party. I was never the type of girl to show up in heels, even flats were only worn on rare occasions. Part of the reason for this was I had a different sense of style then most girls my age. The other reason, though, was that I can't afford clothes like that, or most clothes for that matter. My only other options are making my own clothes and...shop lifting. My dad had passed away from cancer two years ago, so we basically lost all our money. I don't really see my mom often since she works three jobs. I guess shop lifting was just my way of coping with everything going on. Not a good habit, I know, but I couldn't help myself. I have this secret compartment in my closet that I built myself filled with all of my stolen goods. Nobody knows this execpt for me, and I will keep it that way forever. I did my makeup with the mac branded makeup that I stole last month, and left my hair natural (which is straight) like always. I got on my skateboard and made my way down to Mason Kahn's cabin. Mason is the party guy of Holbrook. He has an older brother, Noel, who goes to Rosewood High. Noel is always throwing parties as well, so I guess Mason decided to pass on the tradition. I had only been to these parties three times, and all three times I showed up alone. But, this time I was finally going with a friend.

EZRAS POV

I stood in the corner of this party, the music blasting through my eardrums. Just as I was getting impatient, I saw Aria walk in through the doors of the cabin. I smiled when I saw her slightly stained dress, exposing her cut up and bruised legs. Not to mention she was wearing converse with her dress. I knew she was different. Our eyes locked and she approached me.

"Hi, Ezra." She smiled.

"Hey...you look great!" I complimented her. As a friend, of course.

"You don't look too bad yourself."

I looked down at my blue polo, khakis, and gray sperrys. "Well thanks, I didn't really dress up much."

"No, no it's perfect." She insisted. I smiled at her, and she smiled back with her perfectly straight and white teeth.

"So, have you ever been to one of these things? Because I sure haven't."  I asked.

She giggled. "A few times."

"What do you do?"

"I observe people." She replied. I gave her a weird look, but she continued. "You see," she said, pointing to two of the popular boys, Matt and Chad. "They're talking about something important."

I couldn't help but laugh a little. "How can you tell?"

"You can tell a lot by peoples facial expressions." Just then, "Stay With Me" echoed through the walls. Instantly, more than half the party grabbed someone to sway with. Aria and I just gave eachother an awkward look, while my mind was battling whether to dance with her or not. I don't have feelings like that toward Aria, but it felt like the polite thing to do. Plus, it would prevent the awkwardness of standing around watching couples as they slow dance.

"Would you like to, uh...dance?" I was nervous. I didn't want her to get the wrong idea.

Thankfully, she just smiled. "Why not?" She wrapped her arms around my neck, and I placed my hands on her tiny waist. Normally, if friends were to dance like this it would be incredibly awkward. For us, however, it was just normal. Nothing felt weird or different about the two of us dancing together.

ARIAS POV

I was having such a great time with Ezra. We danced, laughed, talked, and even did a little horrible singing together. Around midnight, Ezra suggested we head out, and I agreed. Walking out of the cabin, I picked up my skateboard.