Human

Chapter One

Secrets were what tore you apart. Having to harness those secrets from spilling out killed you. It would sink in the pit of your stomach, weighing down on your heart. And when you think it's all over and you feel safe, the worst starts to sprinkle over you. Following you everywhere like a tiny raincloud. It never stopped. That feeling that you were lying through your teeth. And the worst? Not even knowing what was the truth. Not even being able to trust yourself. Not even capable proficiently enough to understand what was the truth.

As the ceaseless tears welled up in her eyes, denial inflamed the troubled eighteen year old. With her fingers shaky and numb, the lavender diary slipped out of her fingers. It silently thumped on the ground, the page creasing. Purple sticky notes were madly stuck on the specific paper. Curly, classy unmistakable handwriting was scribbled on the little rectangle sheets. Chaos was the feeling the troubled teen felt as her brain scrambled around sloppily, trying to understand it all.

Aria Montgomery tried to speak, but no words flowed properly out. She sputtered. Her body felt jilted as she realized very little of her life was true. She needed comfort. Aria barely manage to press her hand on her chest where her heart was. Her hand felt cold against her hot skin. Her heart deemed to be saggy and decayed, barely thumping. But you could barely make out a soft, aching thump. She began to yearn for him. The malevolent traitor she loved.

"Aria?" Alison DiLaurentis whispered hoarsely, staring at her incisively. Alison crouched down and gathered up her book of secrets. The whole time her eyes were trained on Aria. She tapped her perfectly polished and filed fingers on her book of secrets. "I'm sorry." Alison finally said, shattering the awkward, despicable silence that annoyed Alison. "You had too…"

"Why would you show me that?" Aria growled through clenched teeth, interrupting Alison. She stared at the floor, at the spot where the treacherous diary had been. Her hazel eyes were wide. Her breathing was shallow. The tears flowed freely down her cheeks as she glowered at Ali with a broken expression.

Ali shifted her weight uncomfortably.

"Why, Ali?" Aria demanded, her tone going acidic.

Ali winced.

Feeling the anger and frustration burning and gnawing at her good judgment, Aria raised her hands and shoved Alison. Alison staggered back, barely flinching. "I thought you were my friend?" Aria's voice intensified.

"I am!" Alison snapped, snatching Aria's tiny hands in hers. Her enchanting blue eyes grew dark. Her eyes narrowed. Her red stained lips scowled. "I risked my life for you!" Alison barked, rather vaguely. "I went back and got that damn diary for you!"

Calming down, Alison loosened her grip on Aria's hands. Aria wrenched them free. Ali chewed on her bottom lip. "I'm sorry Aria," she replied quietly.

Aria shook her head, not buying the act Ali mastered ever since their freshmen year. She was done being fed Ali's lies. She was done helping her in this sick, twisted game. She was done with Ali. Period.

"You think I would've learned from you by now." Aria muttered, wiping her eyes. Ali's head shot up, but Aria was talking more to herself then Alison.

Ali's eyes looked urgent. "He's dangerous, Aria!" She explained quickly, "He tried to kill me! He buried me alive!"

"Ezra wouldn't do that!" Aria sniped harshly, defending the love of her life.

Alison folded her arms across her chest. She raised a blonde, thin eyebrow. "How much into his past do you know about him?" she scoffed. Aria opened her mouth to reply but closed it. "How much of your past does Ezra know about you, hypothetically if he wasn't A." Ali countered. A smug smile twisted on her face. "He came into your life as Ezra, he came into my life as Ezra. But we both know and loved two different people." Ali elucidated briskly. "When I met him, he called himself Ethan." Alison shook her head, trying to get rid of the bad memory. "I…I should've been more careful…" her voice cracked. "I shouldn't have let him do the things he did to me."

Denial still coursed in Aria's veins, poisoning them with each second. Aria shook her head. "Ezra is not A. He's definitely not this Ethan guy!" she clarified. "He wouldn't hurt me like that." She narrowed her eyes. "And I'll prove it."

Turning on her heels, Aria's heart felt like it had been stabbed repeatedly. She couldn't show Ali that she somehow believed her. She had to admit, Ezra's past was much unknown to her. But that never stopped her from loving him. Did knowing her horrendous past stop Ezra?

Beautiful, innocent pictures of Ezra surfaced her mind on a repeated slideshow. Aria clutched on the railing because if she didn't, she might have tumbled down the stairs. She had to get this sorted out and prove Ali wrong.

"He's dangerous, Aria!" Ali warned. Aria wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater. "He'll hurt you just like he did to me!" her voice was urgent. "He'll kill you and won't stop until it's done!"

It's all an allusion, she told herself, toning out Alison's warning

*PLL*

Aria searched for the spare key she had in her purse. Finally finding it, her hand brushed over and felt the smooth texture of the key. The little 3B carved in it. The bumpy end of the key. She held it close to her heart for a split second, silently praying that this was all a scheme. A scheme Ali demised for a good laugh. A game. A game that Ali loved so well.

It was all a game.

Sucking in her breath, Aria jammed the key in the keyhole and twist it until she heard the familiar, heart wrenching click. Putting her trembling hand around the doorknob, Aria lurched forward with her eyes squeezed shut.

Stumbling into the one bedroom apartment, Aria's heart sunk. She was loss of words. The room was vacant. But the looks were deceiving. She took a couple of steps forward, eyeing anything that could be suspicious. Aria's eyes landed on the ancient typewriter. A freshly typed note on it that Aria had passed so many times was stuck underneath it. Aria nudged it out, careful not to rip what could be her only real evidence.

Craftily worded, Aria read and reread the note. Aria's legs began to lock. She ultimately fell down, grasping the letter in utter shock.

He knew she was going to be here.

A was always one step ahead.

All Ali said was true. Her Ezra was the mastermind in all this torturing and suffering. Her Ezra was the cunning recruiter of the A-Team. Her Ezra wasn't hers at all. He had simply used her in all of it. He only wanted one girl. And it wasn't Aria Montgomery.

Balling up on the floor, Aria burst into tears. All the constant battles to love Ezra felt useless, floating into the thin air. All the secret, romantic outings, the passionate kisses shared in the back of his car, defying against her parents' wishes just to see him, allof it lifted off her heart, permanently staining the taunted air.

Aria sobbed harder.

She hated him. She hated him so much.

Forcing herself to get up, Aria wasn't going to get played around with. She folded the letter up and slipped into her back pocket. Getting her own sweet revenge, Aria animatedly stepped over to his side table. A beautiful, carved lamp sat peacefully. Aria's eyes were filled with a waspy lust. Aria grasped the thick stand and lift it up. With a shrill scream, she smashed it to the ground. The pieces circled in alignment all around her feet.

Crunching on the pieces as she descended through the apartment, smashing and writing and destructing the walls, Aria blocked all the exultant memories that bulged in her mind as she passed a sacred area. She kept on moving, demolishing anything that was in her path.

And then she stopped.

Taking in steady breath, Aria held a picture of her and Ezra wearing the paper bags, taking their first photo together as a couple. Glowering at it, it took all her courage to smash it against the wall. Blood spurted from her fingers as the glass pierced her skin.

Aria silently yelped and let the broken picture and frame descend to the ground. She applied pressure on her pointer and index finger to stop the blood flowing. When it became light, Aria opened the bathroom door and rummaged the bottom cabinet for a Band-Aid. She couldn't find anything. She straightened up and looked around the bathroom. Noticing a tinier door at the end of the bathroom hiding behind a towel, Aria lugged it open.

She didn't find a bandage. She lost her breath as her fingers found a pillow with the all too familiar black hoodie, gloves, and jeans. Aria's hand went limp as her fingers traveled over the hoodie's texture.

Aria couldn't take it anymore. She busted out of the bathroom. She broke glass into smaller shards as she raced out of the apartment. On her way out, she dropped the key on the ground next to the picture of her and Ezra with the paper bags over their heads.

Slamming the door behind her, Aria rested her back against the wooden door. Her chest rose and fell rapidly. Aria ran her fingers through her hair. Her eyes desperately searched the mundane hallway. The tears started cascading down her cheeks.

"Aria?" his worried, confused tone pounded in her ears. Her heart raced. Her eyes landed on his blue, green eyes. He held his briefcase under one arm. His other hand had his keys and a tattered copy of an unfamiliar novel.

"Ezra?" she muffled back a sob.

He cautiously strode over to her. His bushy eyebrows were furrowed. Worried lines creased his forehead. His eyes darted from his door to Aria. "Are you okay?"

Aria shook her head. She pushed off the door. Her hands were balled into fist. "No." she stated flatly. She unclenched her fist. "I need you to tell me the truth about something." Her hand absently went to her back pocket. She patted it softly.

"Anything." Ezra pressed her to go on with a formative nod.

Aria watched intently, studying Ezra's actions. He licked his pink lips. His tongue slowly grazing over his bottom lip. Or the way he squeezed the tattered book in his hands. She watched Ezra step back and clearing his throat. Aria tried fitting the invisible puzzle pieces and wondered how this man could be A.

Aria closed her eyes. They fluttered back open when she gathered the vigor to say these words. Two fingers were slipped around the note, ready to swipe out. "Who are you, exactly?" she asked incredulously. She forced a tart laugh.

"Excuse me?" Ezra stammered, blinking.

"Who are you, Ezra Fitzgerald?" Aria repeated demandingly. Ezra raised his eyebrows. She raised an eyebrow. "Or should I say Ethan Fitzgerald?"

Ezra's face turned grim. His eyes grew dark and cold. His mouth scaled into a grimace. His face grew pale. His nostrils flared.

"I know who you are." Aria surged further, lifting the note into his face.

Ezra dropped his briefcase, and Aria thought he was going to flee. Become a coward. Only, he didn't. He smiled deviously. Aria nervously took a step back as he took a step forward. Her fingers started to tremble.

Maybe this was a bad idea, Aria thought, looking for a way to escape the sticky situation she put herself in.

Breaking off into a sprint, Aria didn't get far. Ezra wrapped his robust arms around her petite body, tackling her. The brunette tried to scream as she was lifted off the ground. She kicked her feet wildly.

"Don't scream." Ezra hissed in her ear. His hot, scaly breath trailed down her throat. Aria's eyes grew wide with fear. Ezra clamped his hand over her mouth when she got ready to scream again. "If you want to live," his voice was dark and bitter. "then you'll do as I say."

Aria screamed, but it was muffled. Ezra dragged her back to his briefcase. "I told you not to scream." He shook his head. With Aria pinned with one arm, he dug around in his briefcase. He pulled out a needle. He smiled cheekily. Aria started to cry. He edged the needle close to Aria's collar. Aria shook her head.

"Be still." He hissed. Aria refused. Ezra slammed her against the wall. Aria groaned, her eyes glassy. "I said be still." He growled. He stuck the needle into her neck. He pulled it out and dropped it in his briefcase. "You should've believed her." Ezra said as Aria started blacking out.

Her mind tried chaotically to understand what was going on. But the blackouts were becoming frequent. Her body felt light against Ezra's. "It would've saved your life." He murmured in her ear right before Aria blacked out.

To Be Continued...

A/N: I never really planned on writing this, since this account is for the Hunger Games, but I had the idea in my head for a while now. I decided to write it out and see what happens. This is the only account I have.

This short story consist on two things:

1. The way I would love the writers to go with this story. But I must warn you, this story will reach a dark path. Hopefully.

2. I won't continue, and I'll delete this if no one cares for it. 'Cause I have two other stories I am working on, and I don't want to waste my time on this if no one plans to read it.

In conclusion, tell me what you guys thought! Did you love it? Hate it? Can't decide? Do you still like, trust Ezra? Where will Ezra take her? Let me hear from you guys! That'd be awesome!

*Disclaimer: I own nothing except for my thoughts!