Really just a pretty student?

Chapter 9

Oh great! The weather in Pennsylvania really was unpredictable. Aria had taken what -- five minutes? -- to get a coffee and now it was literally pouring rain. There was no way she would get home even rudimentary dry. Yey. Okay. She would wait five more minutes and if it hadn't stopped until then, she would just have to go. She had no intention of being late to dinner. Especially because her dad, maybe out of guilty conscience, had called and announced he would be home after all. Or better, he had called Ella, who then had informed Aria. Apparently she wanted to have a family dinner. And even though Aria didn't say she would not go out, she couldn't deny it would be nice. Looking out the window, the rain only seemed to get worse. She didn't have much of a choice, so she walked out on the street. There was a car , slowing down when it passed her. The driver was none other than Mr. Fitz. For a moment Aria for hopeful he would give her a lift, but then he sped up again. Would have been unrealistic anyway, she thought, annoyed that a tiny part of her felt disappointed. So when he pulled to the side a few feet further down the street, she was pretty unsure at first of what she was supposed to do. When the door opened though and she looked around only to see that there was no one else around, she quickly made her way towards it and got in. The moment she closed the door, he start d driving again. There was an awkward silence filling the space. "Thanks", Aria said quietly.
"No problem", Mr. Fitz answered curtly.
"Would you mind turning on the radio?"
"Sure."
She didn't know why, but she didn't like being in a car without any background noise like the radio or something. They sat quietly for another few minutes before another thought crossed Aria's mind.
"Where are we going?", she asked.
She noticed he had stopped the car in a rather dark, extinct alley.
"I don't know." He sounded tired. "What is it?"
"Look Aria. You're amazing. When I first saw you, I thought... 'who is this girl?'"
Aria knew it was a bad idea, but she reached out and lied her hand down on top of his.
"It's not just me, is it?", she asked quietly.
"You -- you feel like this is right for is, too."
"I do."
Hearing Mr. Fitz say these words caused Aria's heart to skip a beat.
"But just because of that it doesn't mean it is right."
Not what she wanted to hear.
"So?", she asked.
"So I don't know."
They stopped talking again, the only sound coming from the radio. Aria had expected her English teacher to just drive her home, or even just leave her right where they were, but then she remembered he probably didn't know her address and he certainly wasn't as malicious as to pick her up and then leave her in the middle of nowhere. No matter how he felt about her at the moment. That was when she realized what was currently playing. Without thinking she spoke. "God, I love this song."
"B26", Mr. Fitz said. She looked at him, surprised.
"Yeah", she said lamely. "I heard it all the time in Iceland when I was feeling alone."
"You went to Iceland? When?"
Aria blinked once, not believing at first he had actually said something. "When Ali disappeared", she replied. "There was just so much crap going on and well... my parents made the decision. To go away, I mean. But I would be lying of I said I wasn't glad." "I spent some time in Reykjavik before I went to Amsterdam. It's beautiful."
"It is", Aria agreed. "And it inspired me a lot."
"Inspired?" He sounded curious. "Photography. And I write, too, but... so far, it's mostly personal. Just for me."
"I'm impressed", Mr. Fitz said. He sounded like he meant it. But still... "Why?"
"Well, I tried writing. I didn't get very far, even though I'm working on something again. You're lucky. Of you're writing just for yourself, it's pure passion."
He hesitated for a moment, then added: "Maybe you'd let me read something of yours?"
Aria was surprised, to say the least. "Yeah? You'd really want to?"
"Yeah. You're smart, you've traveled. Great taste in music."
She chuckled. Who would have thought this conversation would go in this direction? Not that she minded. "Thanks. So, what are you working on?"
"You have to promise three things, okay?"
"Okay..."
What was she supposed to make out of that?
"First, you are not allowed to laugh, second, please keep it to yourself. I don't want other people laughing at me either. And third, always keep in mind that this has nothing to do with you. I started this a year before I even knew you existed. Do you promise?" He sounded serious, especially concerning the third condition. She had absolutely no idea what was the right decision here. But she did want to know.
"I promise."
"Okay. So, actually it's quite simple. You already know I knew Alison. When she disappeared and it became this whole big mystery, I decided I wanted to turn it into a crime novel." "But now there is no mystery anymore, is it?"
"No. But I'm still working on it. Even though it gets more fictional with every word I add."
"Well... it does explain at least one thing."
"What?", he asked.
"You went to Hollis, right?"
Upon his confirmation she continued. "So you know what Rosewood is like. And I bet you had good enough grades to get away from here. Now I know the reason you stayed."
"You are not bothered by it?"
"Why should I be?" " I don't know. Maybe you think I just wanted to take advantage of you since you were one of Alison's closest friends."
"Well, are you? Taking advantage of me?"
She looked him deep into the eyes. "No."
The air suddenly seemed to heavy to breathe and their faces went closer together. Aria felt like she was in trance. She knew she ought to pull back, to stop this, but like in the cinema, her body didn't react to what her head was telling her. And the worst -- or was it best? -- thing was, Mr. Fitz didn't do anything against it either. Their heads came closer and Aria knew it was too late to do anything. So she closed her eyes and just let it happen. His lips were soft. So soft. And as they moved against hers she was about to hyperventilate. He tasted like coffee and mint. It wasn't her first kiss. But it definitely was her best. Almost automatically her fingers found their way into his hair and he pulled her even closer. Taking that as an invitation of sorts, she nibbled on his lower lip. He opened his mouth and their tongues met. If the world had any means to display this kind of electric shock that seemed to go through both of them, the car probably would have exploded. Aria just barely suppressed a groan as he invaded her mouth. After this, she was sure she could never kiss anyone else without thinking about this very moment. Their tongues continued to dance around one another, fighting for dominance, until the need for air became too strong and they had to pull away. Heavily breathing, Mr. Fitz turned his eyes back on the road.
"I better get you home now", he said, sounding more than just a little out of breath.
"Okay", Aria replied. "Do you know where I live?"
"No."
"I'll guide you."
"Thanks."
She could hear the smile in his voice. Unable to supress her own, she started giving directions. Even though she was tempted to let him drive a little detour, she decided against it. There was no doubt he would find out and she absolutely didn't want to have that conversation. A few minutes later, she reluctantly told him to pull over.
"It's only two blocks from here. I think it's better if they didn't see your car."
"You're probably right. Well then, Aria. Have a good rest of the weekend. I suppose I'll see you Monday."
"Yeah. And thank you..."
A little embarrassed, she realized she had no idea how to call him. Mr. Fitz was clearly too formal, but she didn't know his first name and even if she did, she would never use it just like that.
"It's Ezra", he said. "At least when we're not in class."
Ezra. She liked that name.
"Okay. Then until Monday. And thanks again Ezra."
Okay, it definitely felt weird to be calling him that. But it also felt right. She got out of the car and started walking towards her house. Home. She heard Mr. Fitz, no, Ezra, drive away and her mind wandered to the kiss. It had been as perfect as it could have gotten. But still, there was a little voice in her head, telling her, she had just made the biggest mistake of her entire life. And as happy as she was, there was also a tiny part of her that wondered if that voice was right.