AN: This story will not be updated daily. If anything, it will be updated once a week (most likely on Thursday or Friday), twice if I can get enough free time. And if it gets enough good feedback, I'll continue it past the pre-thought out four chapters I gave it-because I KNOW it can go for more than four chapters. Anyway - enjoy.
Chapter one.
It's been six months since Aria took you into that hotel room and helped you out. Six months since you've last thought about that night. Six months since you've felt anything other than okay. And in those six months, you're sure that though you've found a way to be happy again, Aria has found anything but.
It started out small. She'd come to school with bags under her eyes, hardly any makeup on, and would barely talk. She'd smile and nod to questions, return looks when looked at, but would never say a word. You'd constantly ask her, "Are you okay?" but she'd just nod, rethink about it, then shrug as if she didn't really know what she was. And you just assumed that perhaps she didn't.
You wanted to trust that she was okay like she said, but a part of you knew that she was nowhere near it. It was like there was something inside you, a feeling, that was just telling you that something was off about Aria. And despite your week long questioning about her condition, she never told you anything. And after a while, she completely started ignoring you and the others.
You constantly tell Hanna and Emily that you three need to find out what's wrong, but they brush you off with noncommittal words. It's either a Aria's just in a funk, let her ride it out from Hanna or a Maybe something's going on with her family again from Emily. And each time they tell you that, you watch their concern for the matter shrink. You know they care, they care just as much as you, but you realize that they still lead other lives. Emily's still mourning Maya and Hanna's still upset about being betrayed by Mona - so you can't really be mad at them for not being 100% on board with the Aria case.
But in a way, shouldn't you be concerned with your own life, too? With Toby? He should be your main priority right now, after the tragic things that have happened, but he isn't. Honestly, this is the first time you've thought about him since you noticed Aria's condition and a part of you feels guilty about that.
But the majority of you is still focused on Aria regardless.
It's not until two more weeks later that you finally get some kind of inkling as to what is going on with Aria. And to you, that's two weeks too long.
It's Saturday and you've been following her around since this morning. You'd gotten a call from her mom, a quick question about what you and Aria were going to do today and in your confusion, you stupidly asked her what she meant. Aria said she was meeting you for coffee, right? Or am I completely wrong here? she had said and you were so thrown off that you hung up on her without a proper goodbye and had practically all but ran to the coffee shop you two used to frequent almost daily.
You watched her as she sat at a booth in the back, two cups of coffee on the table - one in front of her, one in front of the empty space on the other side. You rack your brain, trying to remember if you did, in fact, make plans with her only to forget. You conclude that no, you must not have when see a body sliding into the seat across from her. Aria visibly perks up when they're seated, the smile that you haven't seen for three weeks stretching across her face and you frown, wondering how this person is so special to garner that reaction from her by just sitting down when you've been doing anything to try and make it happen with no luck.
You scoff when you realize it's Ezra-you disdainfully call him Mr. Fitz in your head-because of course he would be the one to make Aria smile so easily. And somewhere in side you, it makes you slightly angry that you couldn't do what he did.
As the minutes of their conversation tick by, you find yourself continually focusing on Aria. Where she was smiling before, she's slightly frowning now. You watch as her shoulders sag and her head drops - the obvious signs of disappointment. Your eyes flick to Ezra and you realize that he looks indifferent about the entire conversation.
Your head shakes and your fingers tighten around the newspaper you had originally been using as a cover up. You know what this conversation is. You know what Ezra is there to do. And by the way Aria lets out a sigh that moves her whole body, you know that he just did it.
He gets up, coffee cooled and still untouched, and gives Aria a look of feigned apology.
He leaves.
It takes ten more minutes before Aria finally slides out of the booth. Two more before she finally moves. And one more before she finally notices you sitting there, still staring at the empty booth. She follows your line of sight back to the booth-that untouched coffee cup is still sitting there-and she sighs, successfully pulling you from your stupor.
"You saw that, huh?"
You don't answer, but keep staring up at her. That's the first time she's talk to you in three weeks and you wonder if she actually did speak. You blink, nod slowly after you finally go over the question, then look away from her. The unmistakeable sound of wood scraping against wood notifies you that she pulled the chair across from you out and when you look at her again, she's sitting down.
"I feel like a part of me knew it was coming, you know? Him just breaking up with me. He's been ignoring me so much lately - barely returning my calls, breaking off dates, not really there when we're together. I just-just knew it was coming."
You don't answer her, you can't. You stand up, quickly and with purpose, and grab her hand to pull her up too. The look she gives you doesn't stop you from pulling her out of the shop and straight to your car. Out of pure adrenaline rush, you open her door and pretty much throw her into the passenger seat. She laughs and you smile and for a moment, you feel like nothing bad has happened at all. But you know it has, and now you have to fix it.
You run around the car and climb in, letting it roar to life once you crank it up. She sends you that look again, the questioning one, and you shake your head, silently asking for her to just trust you.
It takes a moment, a quick and brief one, and then she smiles. And that's all you need before you're zooming down the street.
When you pull up in front of that same motel she took you to all those months ago, she doesn't look that surprised. It's like she was expecting this. And a part of you is glad that she wanted this to happen. And though she was expecting this, she still has the time to question why you brought her there of all places.
You don't hesitate as you climb out of the car, go to her side and pull her out, too. You take her hand-you force yourself to ignore the part of your body that feels electric at the touch, because that's weird-and lead her toward the room you just never gave the key back to. In a way, this is your-yours and Aria's-room, this is where everything happened.
"Why'd you bring me here?"
You laugh because you remember that it's the same question you asked when she did this. You laugh because you never expected this situation to happen again, only for the roles to be reversed. You laugh because you have all these answers to that one simple question that you want to give. Answers that you didn't even know you had until you saw her in the coffee shop, until you saw what Ezra did, until you got into this room.
"To fix you." It's a simple answer, one that could be taken a bunch of different ways. And if you're being honest, you're not completely sure in which way you mean it. Could it be to fix what Ezra broke? Could it be to fix what's broken between the two of you? Or what's broken between the group you two have? You don't know and honestly, you don't care. Right now, you're letting it mean anything it wants to mean. Right now, you're letting go of all thoughts. You're just going where the wind takes you. And hopefully, it takes Aria with you.
"Fix me-like I fixed you?" she asks simply and you nod, a ghost of a smile on both your lips. And somehow, you two end up face to face where you sit in the center of the bed.
You don't remember how you got there or why you haven't moved you, and you open your mouth to question why she hasn't moved either when she flings herself into your arms. It's a quick movement, one you wouldn't have been able to stop even if you wanted to, and you laugh because it's a nice and unexpected feeling. It's not until you feel the faint brush of lips over the juncture between your shoulder and neck that you finally stop laughing and think about the situation.
Aria's hurt. You know that. Ezra just broke up with her in the middle of a coffee shop where you, her best friend, saw the whole thing. A part of you feels as though she's using you as a coping mechanism just to get through this hard time and you think that she'll use you in any way she can get-physical or emotional-without even fully thinking of the consequences. And that same part of you that knows this doesn't care.
When her lips press firmer against your skin in that same place, you close your eyes and take a deep breath.
She needs to cope and you're going to let her. You're her best friend, you have to be there in any way in a moment like this and you plan to be.
She whispers a quiet Fix me, Spencer against your neck and you nod slowly. That must be the answer she's looking for, because the nest thing you know, she's pulling back and staring at you as if she's studying you to make sure you really will do anything to help.
And then, with a barely there smile, she presses her lips to yours.