I think it's safe to say that we were all disappointed with how Aria dealt with Ezra's douchy behavior in season 7. I'm all for team Ezria, but it really pissed me off to see how cool she was with the whole Nicole thing, not to mention how she handled the whole love story book thing. I mean, I get it, she's mature enough to have handled it like she did, but COME. ON. I'm not saying she should have thrown a hissy fit, but just staring blankly at him and smooth talking all the way through it was pretty Jesus-like, aka, not human.

Anyways, this story is a whole do-over of season 7 (where Ezria is regarded) and I'm going to ignore everything else that happened. Of course there will be the occasional appearance of the other main characters and perhaps a couple of other characters, but the focus is Aria and Douche Ezra (I love him, btw).

Hope you like it, this is my first Ezria fic (I've only written two other stories, for another fandom) and my sole purpose is to entertain and satisfy me and if someone else feels that way with it too, yay!

One more thing: English is not my first language, so please bear with any mistakes/badly written sentences.

CHAPTER 1

"I know you don't agree with my decision, but I did what I had to do. What was I supposed to have done? Tell him 'Hey, I hope she's alive and well. Now, let's go catch that plane and get married'? I wouldn't have been able to sleep at night if I had that nagging feeling in my head, telling me whether I forced him to do something he wasn't ready for. I wouldn't have been able to marry him without knowing, for sure, that I'm that one that he wants to be with, that I'm not some consolation prize. I already kinda felt that way before this whole thing started anyway!"

Aria put her head in her hands, resting her elbows on her knees. She didn't want to cry, she wanted to scream and kick something, anything to help her release the anguish she was feeling for the last few days. Spencer sighed and touched her friend's shoulder.

"Aria, I can't imagine what you are going through right now. I don't know what I would have done, but I'm sure I wouldn't be as strong as you were, handing him that ticket and telling him to go to Colombia. I'm sorry about this whole mess you're in, but, unfortunately, there's nothing you can do right now, just wait. So how about we make the waiting a little more bearable and go do some shopping?" Aria looked up at her friend and smiled. A little retail therapy didn't seem so bad right at that moment.

A few hours later

Aria stayed in the same spot for a couple of minutes, staring at the TV, mind blank. She couldn't process what she was thinking and feeling. Everything started to sink in a while after and, with a mask-like face, she took off her engagement ring, put it on the kitchen counter, climbed up the stairs to the bedroom and packed her suitcase. By the time she walked out of Ezra's apartment, she hadn't shed a single tear.

##########

Aria didn't want to stay in Rosewood. If she could, she would have disappeared from the face of the Earth. Mars sounded good enough. Unfortunately, she had to find a way to escape the humiliation, the scrutiny and the anger she felt by staying in her hometown and facing the people and the places she was familiar with, all staring at her and pitying her. "There goes the messed up girl, the former dead girl's friend. The girl that got arrested for murder. The girl who got kidnapped." The girl whose fiancé left for Colombia and got reunited with the love of his life. Without even giving her a warning or an explanation.

Her rational mind told her that people probably didn't exactly think that of her and that most wouldn't care that much about the recent events anyway. Of course everyone knew about the owner of The Brew who had lost his girlfriend in Colombia and then got engaged to Aria. But no one knew that he hadn't even had the decency to call her or let her know that he hadn't caught the flight home that he had told her he would. But Aria knew. And she couldn't live with it, not right at that moment. Not in Rosewood.

Her friends had called, asked questions, told her to have patience and wait for him. For his explanation. She decided to stay at Spencer's, who had offered her shelter as soon as she got a text from Aria saying she had been driving around for a few hours and needed a place to crash. Aria spent those days in a vegetative-like state, waiting for a sign from Ezra, anything. Nothing came. She became even angrier, more confused, trying to come up with some excuse. Spencer was worried, she hadn't seen Aria cried, she didn't talk much about Ezra and she didn't say what she wanted to do about it. Finally, Aria made up her mind and that's when she called Hanna, Emily and Alison, who went over to Spencer's.

"Of course there's an acceptable explanation! It's Ezra, he's crazy about you, he's probably just too caught up in all the hoopla", Hanna said. But for Aria, it just hurt too much. She was his fiancée. She deserved to have received a call, a text, anything. It had been two days since she saw him and Nicole on TV, embracing, happy to have found each other again, careless about the other people in Ezra's lives. Mainly, Aria.

She was tired of dealing with her friends' attempts to comfort her. In the end, whatever the reason or the excuse, the fact was that Ezra was supposed to have come home two days ago and he didn't. And he didn't call her. And he didn't think she was worthy of his time to do so. And nothing could have changed this fact. It had been two days. She had had enough.

##########

The next day, Aria decided to head to New York. She became good friends with her roommate from college, Helena, and had been offered to visit her in New York several times. But she had never taken her up on that offer, always too busy with her job in Boston and her relationship with Liam. Nonetheless, they had always kept in touch, with Aria always reaching out to Helena to compliment her on her job as a freelance reporter for The New York Times.

She called Helena and, within the hour, she drove to New York. Aria briefly told her friend about the incident with Ezra, saying that they had a fight and that she needed some time away from Rosewood. The brown-eyed blonde welcomed Aria with open arms, freshly cleaned sheets and a sofa for her to crash on.

"Hey, so how was the drive?" Helena asked while sitting on the sofa beside Aria, handing her a cup of tea.

"It was ok, not too much traffic", Aria said with a small smile, accepting the drink.

"That's good", Helena said awkwardly. Aria was visibly upset and didn't seem to want to have a deep conversation at the moment. "So, it's kinda late and I can see you're tired. So maybe we can go to sleep and then talk in the morning? It's Saturday, we can pretend we are genuine New Yorkers and get brunch and then walk through Central Park. How does that sound?"

Aria gave her friend a genuine smile. Helena always knew the right thing to say, making her feel better at rough times, being truthful but also not prodding too much.

"That sounds awesome", Aria said with a loud sigh. "I'll tell you everything tomorrow. Thanks again, I really appreciate you doing this for me, especially on such a short notice".

"No problem, hun. You know how much I care about you. Sleep well, see you tomorrow". Helena turned off the lights and went to her room, leaving Aria laying on the couch, wondering what she would do from now on.

"Morning! You ready to have that brunch?" Helena said, walking into the living room, fully dressed for the day.

"Good morning. Yeah, let me just take a shower, it won't be long".

"Sure, take your time".

Helena was drinking a glass of water while browsing through her phone. She was finishing drinking it when she heard Aria's phone ring. She walked over to the sofa and saw the caller's ID, as well as his picture. Ezra. She knew things were bad between Aria and him, she just didn't know how bad, so she decided to not answer it. Aria can just call him back when she's finished with the shower, if that's what she wants, she thought.

Aria got out of the bathroom and told Helena she was ready to go. While she was grabbing her purse Helena told her about the call.

"I didn't pick it up, I wasn't sure what to do…", the blonde said.

"That's okay, that's exactly what I would have done", Aria said. Aria was expecting that moment since she saw Ezra and Nicole on TV. She knew he would, eventually, grace her with an excuse, but she also knew she wasn't anywhere near ready to talk to him, so she was glad Helena hadn't pick up the call. She didn't want him to know where and how she was either. She just wanted him to feel like she felt, without knowing where and how she was, even though he hadn't seen her hugging a former boyfriend on TV.

"Oh, okay. Uh, should we go then?" Helena said.

"Yeah, let's go".

The walk to the diner was short, but the two friends didn't talk much. Helena pointed out some useful spots for Aria, in case she stayed with her for a bit longer than a few days, but that was it. They made their way to their table and, after reading the menu and ordering their food, Aria decided it was time to clear everything up with her friend.

"So, I'm sorry for not telling you about this earlier, but the last three days were a complete hell for me and I'm just starting to process everything."

"It's okay, I understand. Just take your time and start from the beginning", Helena said before thanking the waitress and sipping her coffee.

Aria let out a sigh and took an audible gulp of her own coffee.

"Well, you know Ezra and I got engaged a couple of weeks ago. And you also know we've been co-writing a book about his relationship with his girlfriend, who supposedly died in Colombia after being kidnapped".

Helena nodded. "Yeah, and I saw her on TV too, she was found… that's crazy. I saw her hugging a guy and I recognized Ezra…"

Aria nodded and explained. "Yes, that was him. The FBI came over to his place a few days ago and told him that they might have found her. He was surprised, as was I. I knew he had to go to Colombia and be there until they found out what was going on, so I cashed in our plane tickets, that we had bought to go to Italy, to elope, and bought him a ticket to Colombia".

Helena's mouth dropped open. "You're kidding me".

"I am not".

"Aria, you're a saint. And elope?! I thought you were planning the wedding!"

"We were, but Ezra came up with this idea of getting married in Tuscany, just the two of us, and I agreed" Aria said, shrugging.

"Wow. Okay, so he went there…"

"Yes, he got there and they told him Nicole wasn't one of the survivors they found. He was obviously disappointed and sad, but told me he was coming home in a few hours". Aria continued telling Helena the whole story about how she waited at his place, with a home cooked meal, and how, when he didn't get there on time, she desperately tried to find out what happened, since his phone was off, only to finally get an answer by seeing him and Nicole on TV. She then told Helena about how he was MIA for three days, no calls, no messages, nothing.

Helena was now visibly angry. "You're telling me your fiancé, the guy you dated in high school, your high school TEACHER, someone who's put you through so much misery and has been through so much with you, took the tickets you were going to use to GET MARRIED, went to another country to look for his ex girlfriend, made you cook, WAIT for him at home like a good fiancée and housewife, and then didn't get on the fucking plane, didn't TELL you he didn't get on said fucking plane, didn't contact you in anyway and then SHOWED UP IN THE FUCKING TV HUGGING HIS EX GIRLFRIEND?! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"

Aria looked around the diner and turned to her friend. "Yes. Now chill. People are staring", she said whispering.

"Aria, just tell me HOW you're handling this? I mean, I'm sure he has an explanation and all, but what the fuck?! And today was the first time he's tried to contact you since this whole shitty thing?"

"First, I'm not handling it very well. As you know, I RAN away. And second, yes, that was the first time he tried to reach me".

"Oh my God, you know, even with all the bad things you told me about him and the fact that you dated him while he was your teacher, I always liked him and always rooted for you two, even though I never met him. But now? I'm stunned. Truly stunned".

Aria stared at her cup. "I know. He did some shitty stuff to me in the past, but this tops it all. I still can't believe he did that to me. After all I did to help him with the book, to get him out of the funk he was in when I saw him after years… I thought I deserved a little more. And I know I have to face him eventually and sort it all out, but I'm just not ready and I don't know when I will be. What I know is that I'm a mess and I don't think I can get over this. I mean, we just got engaged. We were planning a WEDDING. And that's how he treats me". Aria started crying, silently but steadily, finally letting out all she had been bottling up inside, dropping her well-known guard and telling herself she was broken. "Damn it, I managed to not cry for the last three days and when I finally do it's in public. Wow, life is really a bitch".

Helena reached out for her hand and held it. "I know it is awful. I know it's not something that you sort out in a few days. But let yourself be angry, get it all out, grieve. But after you do that, take a deep breath and talk to him. I know you don't want to hear that right now, God, not even I want to hear what I'm about to say, but maybe there is a good explanation. Something worth forgiving him for. We never know, maybe he got kidnapped by the Colombian militia and is currently being held hostage", the blonde said seriously.

Aria let out a loud laugh and wiped her tears. "I know, I know this might not be 'the end' and that he might need a fiftieth chance, but, right now, I just need some time. And I don't wanna talk to him".

"Then let's make the most of this time", Helena said, smiling.

##########

He had been pacing back and forth for God knows how many minutes. It had probably been more than 30, since that was how long it had been since he finally managed to speak with one of her friends. He jumped when he heard a knock on the door and then quickly made his made towards it.

"Hi Spencer, thank you for coming".

Spencer walked past through him without saying a word and without acknowledging him. She knew she was being a bitch and she shouldn't be that much involved, but Aria was her friend and Ezra had screwed up. Big time.

"I don't have much time, so, whatever it is you have to tell me, do it quickly", she said, sitting on his couch, finally making eye contact.

Ezra let out a frustrated sigh and sat down across from Spencer, trying to find the right words to express what he so desperately needed to.

"I know I have no right to ask you or the others for anything and that I'm also not the kind of person you want to talk to, listen to, be in the same room as. I know all of that, but I NEED to speak to Aria. She doesn't answer my calls, doesn't see, much less answer my texts or emails, I don't even know where the hell she is and I know I don't deserve any sympathy or understanding, but you and I both know this can't end without at least an explanation. Please, Spencer, please tell me where she is". Ezra finished with pleading misty eyes, trying his best to conceal them from Spencer's predatory look, not wanting to make a bigger fool of himself that he already had done in the past week.

"I don't know", she simply answered.

"Please, you know I have to talk to her, regardless of…"

"No, I DON'T KNOW where she is. No one does", Spencer said.

"Wh-what do you mean no one knows where she is?"

"She left, she told us she needed to get away from here, you know, after you screwed her up, and said that she would be safe and didn't want us to know where she was exactly, because she knew one of us would eventually break and end up telling you. She doesn't want to speak to you and she doesn't know when she will want that, if she ever does".

Ezra's eyes bulged out of his eye sockets and he blabbered before finally saying something.

"You, you mean you aren't in touch with her? How do you know she's safe?! How can you let her go away without making sure she's safe and that she'll remain that way?! This new 'A' is still out there and God knows what he's up to, she can't do that!" He was now angry at Spencer and the other girls, but he was angrier at himself, more so than before he found out about Aria's escape. It was his fault. She was gone and no one knew if she was okay and it was all his fault. He did this to her.

"I didn't say we are not in touch with her. She texts us sometimes, she called once. She doesn't seem to be in trouble. Besides, there's not much we can do right now, is there? She's a grown woman, she's capable of making her own choices, just like you were when you decided to leave her without even a word".

Ezra groaned. "Spencer, you have every right to think that way and to be angry at me and so does Aria. But I do have an explanation, I just think it's best to tell it to Aria first, this is between me and her".

"I agree, so why did you ask me to come here?" Spencer said sarcastically. Ezra didn't say a word, just stared at the ground, mentally cursing himself. Spencer got up and walked out the door, leaving the runaway groom with his self-deprecating thoughts.