Aria walked into school with her friends Spencer, Emily, and Hanna by her side. She spotted Ezra out of the corner of her eye, but just carried on walking.

Ezra Fitz – the handsomest, most amazing, beautiful guy you would ever meet. Well, in Aria's eyes he was. She wanted to be with him forever.

There was just one slight problem:

He was her English teacher.

Whenever this topic was brought up, Aria would just sigh and change the subject. She knew it was forbidden love, but that didn't stop her from loving him. She couldn't stop loving him if she tried.

Now, Spencer whispered to Aria. "Is that Jenna talking to Mr. Fitz?"

The four of them stopped walking and turned round to face the area where Ezra was standing. Sure enough, he was talking to Jenna – the blind girl, who scared the four friends just a little bit.

"I wonder what they're talking about..." Hanna muttered.

"Probably just about some stupid music for the Bad Seed," Emily said.

"I know I shouldn't, but I hate it that they're working together," Aria confessed.

Spencer looked at Aria, and then stated, "Something fishy is going on here..."

Hanna finished off Spencer's sentence: "And I think –A is involved."

"Ah, Aria," Ezra walked up to the group, and glanced at her. He had obviously finished talking to Jenna, "There you are. I was thinking of talking to you about the homework assignment? You said earlier that you needed help." Ezra was completely oblivious to the fact that Emily, Spencer, and Hanna knew about Aria's little relationship. Aria hadn't told him yet.

"Uh, yes." Aria stepped forward. "I think we should take this into your classroom."

If Ezra knew that the three other girls knew, Aria had a hunch that he would freak out. They're relationship was highly dangerous – not to mention illegal – and they wanted to keep it a secret as much as possible. Aria couldn't lie to her best friends, though. She lied to a lot of people. But not them.

Aria and Ezra walked into the English classroom, closing the door behind them. Ezra sat down at his desk, while Aria stood up.

"So, tonight, my brother's gonna be out at the movies, and my parents are going out for dinner..." Aria dropped a hint.

Ezra nodded. "I'm guessing I should come round?"

"Yes."

"Well, I think that can be arranged." Ezra smiled, and held his hand in Aria's. Aria looked back with a love-struck look in her eyes.

"Mr. Fitz, I..." Caleb suddenly burst into the room. Aria and Ezra's hands sprung apart as if they had been struck by lightning.

Ezra cleared his throat. "Mr Rivers, you're supposed to knock before you enter my classroom."

"But, Mr Fitz, I don't knock when it's time for class..." Caleb chuckled.

"Caleb, please leave the room. I'm talking to Aria at the moment," Ezra ordered in his teacher-like voice that Aria knew and loved so much.

Caleb nodded solemnly. "Yes sir." He walked out of the classroom and leant against the door.

"I'll make a dinner for us, tonight," Aria said to Ezra, smiling.

Hearing that last sentence, Caleb spun around and pressed his ear against the door to hear more clearly.

"That will be nice," Ezra replied to Aria's offer, "But I can contribute."

"No, you don't have to do that, Ezra."

Just then, the bell rang, and Aria walked out of the classroom. Sadly, her first period was Math. Caleb jumped aside and Aria threw a confused look at him, but just then carried on walking.

That night, Hanna was making a lasagne for herself and Caleb, who was staying over for a few months, much to Hanna's mother's disapproval.

Caleb walked into the kitchen and slid an arm around Hanna, after stealing a small handful of grated cheese off of the countertop.

"Hey!" Hanna laughed, slapping his hand away. "We won't have any for the lasagne, if you're not careful."

"Sorry," Caleb said. As Hanna turned to the oven, he leaned casually against the fridge. "You're friends with Aria Montgomery, aren't you?"

"Oh yeah, we're best friends," Hanna replied. "Why do you ask?"

"Uh, no reason." Caleb turned around. "I'm gonna go take a shower..." He wandered upstairs, leaving Hanna frowning after him.

Aria flipped the stir-fry over in the pan, took out two sets of knives and forks before setting them down on the delicate table she had set up. Just as she was about to place a single rose in the middle of the table, someone knocked on the door. Smiling to herself, she skipped to the door and opened it.

"Hey, Aria..." Ezra said, trailing off as he admired his girlfriend.

"Hey," Aria smiled, knowing she had picked the right outfit: a deep purple dress that fell just above her knees and nipped in at the waist. A black belt and matching necklace added the finishing touch, and her dark curls bounced around her shoulders as she walked.

Ezra kissed her cheek before hanging his jacket up on the hook in the hallway. He looked gorgeous as well – in a blue checked shirt and khaki-coloured trousers.

Aria led him into the kitchen. "Drink?" she offered as he sat down.

"Yeah. Lemonade, please," Ezra said.

Aria raised an eyebrow. "Well, look who's being non-alcoholic tonight." She poured two glasses of lemonade – she always had what Ezra had – and brought them to the table.

Ezra took a sip of his. "So, how are you?"

Aria shrugged. "I'm good, thanks. I'm a little stressed, but good."

"Why are you stressed?" Ezra asked in a sympathetic tone.

"It's just... this whole..." Aria was right then, on the spot, about to tell Ezra about the '-A' thing. But that would mean she would have to tell him about the 'Jenna' Thing. And that could lead to a lot of other lies she had thrown Ezra's way. "Thing... with my parents," Aria said instead.

"Well, you know I'm always here for you," Ezra laid a hand on Aria's arm, sending electrical currents through her whole body.

She nodded. "I know." Aria stood up and made her way over to the oven, taking out the lasagne. She dished it out onto two plates then placed one in front of Ezra and one in front of her seat. She was about to sit down when something brushed her leg. Aria looked down, only to find a tabby cat stroking against her legs. "That's weird..." she murmured.

"What's weird?" Ezra craned his leg to see what Aria was looking at, and saw the cat too. "That's strange. I don't remember you having a cat."

Aria looked up. "I don't, I've never had a cat. He must have... just walked through the door when I let you in."

Ezra nodded, and reached for his drink. Taking a sip, he spilled a few droplets on his trousers. "Dammit! Aria, could I have some napkins please?"

"Sure, Ezra." Aria reached into the drawer and grabbed some napkins, handing them to Ezra. Her phone bleeped, indicating she had a text message. Opening it up, Aria scanned the words on the screen:

The cat's out of the bag

Someone other than me

Knows your secret

-A

Aria gulped, and hurriedly picked the cat up and put it outside, slamming the door behind it. She took a deep breath before returning to the table. Hands shaking, she picked up her knife and fork and began to eat.