Ezra had decided to go to the funeral, despite the fact that he didn't know the girl who died. Her body had just recently been found, but the story was that she disappeared towards the end of last summer. He felt like he owed it to the town and his students to be there.

He had heard she was a popular girl, so he expected a lot of students to be at the funeral, what he did not expect was the entire school to be there. When the principal had announced that school would not be in session on Friday, so that all who wanted to attend could do so, he figured some students would take the opportunity to enjoy a free day. But the place was crawling with teachers, parents and students.

Although he hadn't admitted it to himself just yet, he also hoped that he'd see Aria again out of class. It had been a long week. He'd tried to refrain from any eye contact with Aria; so much that he didn't even look in the direction of her during class. He just didn't trust himself. He'd stayed out of the hallways to lessen the chance of running into her there. More than once, he knew her hand was raised and he would purposely call on someone else. He wasn't trying to be mean or hateful, he just didn't know how else to keep his feelings for her at bay.

But nothing was working, as soon as class was over, he would stare at her empty chair and imagine her there. In his eyes, she was still the girl he'd met at the bar, not the girl in his class, not his student. And this made it difficult for him to remain true to his decision to end it, his decision to not act out his feelings for her.

He scanned the room where people were filing in and being seated, but didn't see her. He had no way of knowing if she would even be there. He was just going on the hope that he'd see her and have a chance to talk to her.

He turned and started down a quiet hallway, there was a set of stairs at the end that might give him a better view of outside, people still poured in through the front door and were lined up around the building.

He'd taken the first step up the stairs when he saw her. He knew it was her immediately. She was gazing out the window, lost in her thoughts, much like she was the day her meet her. Only today, he didn't find himself curious or intrigued about her, today he longed to reach out to her, to comfort her. He took the rest of the steps up to the landing where she stood, she didn't notice him or turn around.

He hadn't thought about what to say, he just knew that he wanted a chance to see and speak to her outside of class, outside of school. So the first thing that came out of his mouth was, "Was she a friend of yours?"

She turned to look at him, the pain clearly written on her face. "You care?" She asked with a hint of sarcasm and look of disbelief in her eyes.

How did she manage to get him right where he was already feeling it? So he answered as honest as he could. "I don't know what I feel worse about...Having to stay away from you or being a jerk about it."

He wasn't sure she believed him, but at least she did enough to answer his question, he thought as she replied. "Yeah, she was one of my best friends."

"I'm sorry." The words fell out his mouth.

And before he could comprehend what exactly he was apologizing for, she called him out in her response. "For Alison or for being a jerk?"

"Both." He'd waited for a chance to speak to her outside of school, yet when the opportunity arose, he couldn't get the words out, couldn't get out what he wanted to say, what he wanted to tell her. He was like a school boy with a crush that had longed to talk to the girl of his dreams and when given the opportunity, he remained frozen.

"Thank you." She replied with sincerity. They shared a brief moment of looking into each others eyes. He tried to think of what to say or how to say it. He came up empty, he thought of nothing that would justify his recent actions towards her.

Before he could think of something she spoke, "I'd never do anything to get you in trouble."

He clenched his jaw, in attempt to fight off his urge to physically console her. His mind searched for the words to explain to her, to let her know his true feelings. Suddenly, she reached up to him and her lips brushed his cheek for just a moment. She let her face linger next to his a bit longer before finishing with, "Goodbye Ezra."

She turned to walk down the flight of stairs. He stood there statuesque for a moment, their first encounter flashed through his mind and he realized this was it, this was his moment. He wouldn't have another chance to show her he cared. Since he failed at telling her, at least he felt that he had, he must let her know that he hasn't been proud of how he's acted, that he would rather be open about his feelings for her, that he was glad he met her before that first day of school. Otherwise, he might not ever have felt this way for someone.

Before he lost his nerve, before he lost his chance, he turned and quickly grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back to him. One arm went around her back and pulled her to him for a kiss, the other went to her face to hold her close. The kiss confirmed his feelings, the ones he could not deny. No matter how frowned upon their situation was, he felt so much with her. He was grateful he had decided to let her know, and that she responded to him in the kiss.

For a moment they were lost, he forgot where they were, and that someone could happen upon them at anytime. She pulled away, but not before taking her hand to brush his hair from his face.

He stared at her, not sure how to read her reaction to the kiss. Did she return the feelings he felt? Or was this just a goodbye for her?

He still wore a questioning look when she turned and retreated down the flight of stairs, leaving him confused and unsure of her feelings, but certain of his own.