Pretty Little Liars Imagines

Ezra→Pointless Jealousy

You hadn't thought you would settle down in Rosewood as fast and as easy as you actually had. Taking the job had been a risk, but at the same time a relief. The thing was, you had never believed that leaving everything behind would feel so good. When people talked in movies about starting fresh you hadn't believed that it was real, that it actually happened. You had thought that people, no matter what, always kept their pasts and would never be able to escape them. It was one of those few times when you didn't mind being wrong. The new life you had started in Rosewood wasn't just a clean slate, it was just what you had wanted in life.
"Am I interrupting?", a voice suddenly questioned from the doorway. Your head whipped up and you looked up from the essay you had been grading. There stood one of the reasons to why you found Rosewood to be so good. It was the one person that had started talking to you, the one person who had helped you feel like you fitted in. It was Ezra.
"No, not at all!", you reassured with a genuine smile on your face. Your words were like an invitation and Ezra stepped inside the classroom. You put the essay to the side and leaned back in your seat as he neared. Once he got to the desk he sat down on the corner of it.
"How's the writing going? Any million dollar ideas?", you asked which made Ezra chuckle. No matter how many times you told him, he never really understood you when you said you adored his writing. It was something captivating about how he made stories seem so real and raw. Not many authors had been able to suck you into their stories, but Ezra had. Every time you tried to compliment him on those writing skills he never took it seriously.
"Not really. Although there is something interesting happening in my life", Ezra mentioned which peaked your interest. Like a teenager in a movie from the 90's you rested your head in your hands and looked up with him. It was such a simple and silly action that Ezra once again smiled.
"Now do tell. I mean if you're going to tease me like that you have to give me the full story", you told him and he didn't seem that interested in denying your request. He crossed his arms and you tried to keep your focus on his face, not on his arms that flexed whenever he did that. Even though you hadn't known Ezra for long you had been able to get pretty good at ignoring all those things that made your heart skip a beat. It was all because you didn't want to show him you liked him unless he gave some sort of indication of it first. Any sign would do to be honest.
"Well, my ex is in town and I just met her at The Brew. It was way more awkward than I had imagined it would be and especially since I had no idea she was back. Seriously, we haven't talked at all in so long and the worst part is that she didn't seem bothered about it at all. Maybe I'm the weird one", Ezra ranted and you leaned back in your chair once again. A frown appeared on your forehead as you looked up at Ezra and you tilted your head slightly.
"Meeting your ex again after staying apart for so long is bound to be awkward, if you're telling yourself anything else you're lying. Very few ex-couples can be normal after they brake up, especially if the break up was bad. She was probably just as awkward as you, just better at hiding it", you said, speaking from both general knowledge and experience. Ezra seemed only a little relieved when he heard your words, still looking as if it bothered him. You didn't want it to be that way so therefor you got up from your chair and decided that it was time to quit for the day.
"I'm taking you out for dinner, as a way for you to stop thinking about it. Also don't say no, because I'm paying." You held one hand on Ezra's shoulder and looked him in the eyes. The two of you stayed the same for a couple of seconds until Ezra finally decided to smile. Seeing how your tactic had worked you did the same before leading Ezra outside. The two of you decided to take your car and together you sped away towards one of his favorite restaurants in town.
•••
"Are you feeling better now?", you asked before taking a small sip from your wine glass. Ezra and you had almost finished dinner and throughout the whole thing you had started to notice those signs you had been waiting for. Maybe it was just your imagination that was running wild. As you got the confirmation you had waited on you also started to doubt it. What if you misread things? He was the closest friend you had in Rosewood and you didn't want to screw anything up.
"A lot! Thank you so much for this. We should really have dinner together more often. Next time you might want to come over and I'll cook you something", he said as he was cutting into the meat on his plate. Your heart skipped a beat as you told yourself that maybe he just meant it as friends. Still, you felt that it couldn't all be just friends things. The way he talked to you couldn't be the way he talked to friends. At least you really hoped so.
"I'd love that, but... do you mean like a date?", Almost as soon as the words had left your mouth you regretted them. Those words could have just ruined a perfectly well friendship. By the look of Ezra though it didn't seem like it. He looked as calm as ever and it actually seemed as if he had a little smile tugging on his lips.
"If you'd like it to be", he said which made you smile and nod. It wasn't just happiness you were feeling, but such relief that you hadn't misread his words. He actually wanted you to go on a date with him.
"Hello", you then suddenly heard as a woman walked up to your table. She was looking at Ezra and then she turned towards you. She was unfamiliar and you knew that it meant she knew Ezra. By the looks of it he didn't seem so keen on seeing her.
"Hi, Aria. What are you doing here?", Ezra wondered, not in a rude tone but more in a simple way. The woman, Aria, smiled a tight smile before looking between the two of us.
"I was just going to have dinner. Whose your friend?", Aria wondered and you couldn't help but feel a little bit bothered by her words. Why was she speaking as if you weren't right there? If she wanted to know she could have just asked you directly and not act as if she wasn't speaking to you.
"This is Y/N. She's new to town and we've been getting to know each other", Ezra explained and you could see how a frown had appeared on Ezra's forehead. It was then that it hit you. Aria had never been one of the people she had seen Ezra with, and he seemed more bothered by her presence than anyone he had ever talked about. Well, anyone except his ex that just came to town.
"But we were just leaving, right?", you said towards Ezra, in a weak attempt to save him from the uncomfortableness. He sent you a couple of thank you's through his eyes as he started to get up. You did the same.
"Yeah, we had just finished and we were planning on going to my place so yeah", Ezra said quickly, clearly improvising an excuse. You however didn't give away in any way that he was lying. Instead you simply nodded.
"This late? I wouldn't think that friends would do that", Aria said as she was watching you. For the second time that night you spoke before thinking. The first time it had gone well, the second time didn't.
"Why are you so nosy about his personal life? It's not like the two of you are still dating." Aria's eyes widened slightly as she took a step closer to you. Something like anger seemed to seep forward and she really didn't seem happy about your words. Even though you realized you shouldn't have said it you didn't feel like apologizing.
"So, the two of you are?", Aria wondered and took another, slightly threatening step forward. Your cheeks reddened slightly as you realized things had gotten a little bit quieter in the restaurant. You were also feeling slightly scared about what Aria would do. That was why you looked over her shoulder towards Ezra with a pleading face. He reacted without a doubt.
"She's right Aria. We aren't dating and you shouldn't act as if you have any right to mess with my personal life. If you're going to act like this I really don't feel like the two of us have anything to do with each other anymore", Ezra simply stated before walking past her and the gently grabbing your elbow. He then led you out the restaurant and you couldn't help but think that you were happy you had already payed for the food.
"I'm really sorry about that", Ezra said as the two of you stood by your car in the parking lot. You gave him a simple and genuine smile as a reassurance.
"You have nothing to apologize for. I had a nice time with you tonight and I'm looking forward to the next time we have dinner. I can't wait until I can taste your cooking", you said and with those words Ezra seemed to relax. Once he realized that you in fact weren't that upset he seemed to go back to his old self. All you could think about for the rest of the night was how the guy you liked had asked you out on a date. Aria and the meeting at the restaurant barely crossed your mind. To you it didn't mean anything.
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