Disclaimer: I don't own Pretty Little Liars.


Aria knew as soon as she saw the red paper on the door of her crappy apartment that she was in deep shit. Her night job as a waitress in a sketchy bar barely paid anything, even with tips, and though her job as a waitress in a diner three miles away paid slightly better, most of that money went to Mike. Her landlord always seemed to want more. Plus she was still paying off her mom's hospital bills.

"Fuck," she whimpered as she read the eviction notice. She slid to the floor and began to sob. "Shit."

She didn't want to cry, but she began to anyways. If her best friend, Hanna, still lived in the building, she could go be with her, but she didn't. Hanna had met a rich guy who had gotten the pretty blonde girl the hell out of their shitty neighborhood. Aria couldn't deny feeling jealous and somewhat abandoned, but she hated herself for it. She just missed Hanna's company. She missed having her at the bar. She missed their late night talks about how shitty the world was and their outlandish dreams of being rescued by a prince. What Aria hadn't considered was that when Hanna's dream came true, she would be left behind.

While Hanna rubbed elbows with the city's elite, Aria was still working at the bar (harder, even, to make up for Hanna's absence. It wasn't worth it, even with the extra tips) with the same shithole apartment and no one to share it with. She instead went to her second resort. She got into her apartment, packed her clothes and some of her belongings in a suitcase that had belonged to Ella. She sobbed loudly at the initials on the inside, EJM, but continued to throw her belongings into the suitcase.

When she had packed her few clothes and three necklaces, along with her toiletries, Aria carefully placed the picture frame that had been on her nightstand. She couldn't help but stare at it. It was of all four of them, just a couple months before the accident. She ran her fingers lightly over the frame, then over the scar on her hand. She shook off her nostalgia and zipped the suitcase, tugging her sweater over her scar.

If she was honest with herself, Aria knew she wouldn't miss the musty apartment with the ratty gray carpets with the unidentifiable stains. The ugly floral couch wasn't comfortable and the bed was squeaky and made her back hurt. The sink dripped, which drove up her water bill, and the florescent light in her bathroom flickered. It never smelled good, and Aria was just done.

She dragged the suitcase out the door, leaving her key on the kitchen counter and her milk in the fridge. Let her asshole landlord deal with that.

She went up two flights of stairs and knocked hesitantly on door 412. He answered after a few seconds and immediately enveloped her in a hug after seeing the tears in her eyes.

"It's okay, Ari," he whispered in her ear. "You can stay here for as long as you need to."

"Thanks, Toby," Aria replied, tightening her arms around him. "I'll pay you rent, I swear. Toby, I just," the tears kept falling, "I just need a fucking break. I sold everything that belonged to my mom and dad, even some of Mike's stuff! Then I had to use a lot of that to pay my parent's debt and my mom's hospital bills, not to mention Mike's…sometimes I almost wish I had taken her off life support when the doctors recommended it."

"Aria-" Toby began.

"I'm the worst daughter ever!" Aria wailed, interrupting him. "How could I say that about my mother?! Not to mention that I have to thank my lucky stars that my dad wasn't able to wrack one up…which is horrible because that means that he fucking died at the scene! But I need all the money we had left to take care of Mike!"

"Aria," Toby continued, "I know that you've been getting your life together since the accident, but it seems like you could save money by moving Mike-"

"No," Aria interrupted fiercely. "Not an option. Mike is happy there and he's getting better. I won't put him through the confusion of a move…I won't."

"You don't have to, Aria." Toby led her into his apartment. "Come on, you should go to bed. Aren't you working at the diner tomorrow morning?"

Aria nodded, whimpering at the thought of waking up at 4:30 in the morning to get there at 6. "Yeah,"

"Come on, I have a futon for you. And I can give you a ride to work tomorrow."

"Thank you," Aria said to Toby sincerely, tightening her arms around him. "I owe you one."

Toby laughed lightly, leading her into the apartment. "You owe me more than one, Ari,"


"Ezra Fitzgerald, what did you do?" his mother screamed. "Why did you break up with Maggie? She was perfect for the family, and it would've been marvelous for the Fitzgeralds and the Cutlers to have a connection like this-"

"Mom!" Ezra interrupted irritably. She knew exactly why he broke up with Maggie, and she had shielded him from the gossip for six months. "I can do whatever I want, you can't control who I date…"

"The hell I can't," Diane hissed. "The annual gala that the Fields put on is coming up…you need a date, Ezra!" She paused for a minute, considering her options, "Maybe you could ask Emily Fields! A connection to the Fields would be excellent! They give the most to charity every year."

Ezra let out a sarcastic laugh. "I really don't think she'd be interested."

Diane's face screwed up. "Of course…she's gay."

"Lesbian," Wes corrected. "I met her new girlfriend. Paige is quite lovely, from a wealthy family in Oregon. I believe they will be attending the gala together."

"But which one wears the suit with the matching vest…well, whatever," Diane mumbled. "Maybe you could call Jackie-"

"No," Ezra said, wincing at the thought of calling Jackie. "Mom, I can find my own date."

"With what connections?" Diane scoffed.

"I have connections, mother," Ezra assured her. "Perhaps I could ask Spencer Hastings, or Mona Vanderwaal, or Kate Randall."

Diane nodded slowly. "Don't think I don't know you'll do exactly what Caleb Rivers did and bring some prostitute-"

"Hanna's not a prostitute," Wes interrupted. "They met at the diner on 19th street. She was a waitress."

"Well, make sure whatever street rat you save is pretty," Diane finished, glaring at her older son. "If you won't marry an acceptable girl to bring pride to the family, you'd better have a goddamned trophy wife. You're already twenty-five, Ezra. Tick tock."

Ezra rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, mother. Maybe if Maggie hadn't spread her legs for every guy willing to buy her something pretty-"

"Stop," Diane interrupted. "All I want is for you to marry a girl who will bring pride to the Fitzgerald name. We're quite notoriously known from the galleries we have."

"By 'pride to the family', did you mean money?" Ezra quipped.

"I thought maybe she meant power." Wes argued.

"That makes sense…maybe influence?" Ezra questioned.

"Fame?"

"Reputation?"

"Stop," Diane demanded. "And Wes, get yourself a date, too. Preferably a respectable girl and not a waitress or a hooker like your brother will get. If Ezra is unable to oversee the Fitzgerald Foundation and all our galleries, someone has to."

Ezra chuckled at the thought of his 18-year-old brother being anything but an irresponsible partygoer, though Diane did enjoy that Wes always seemed to be completely in the know. But he did know that he needed a date to the Field's gala, and he needed one soon.


What? Another story? But what about Loving Them? And this one is so different?

I know, and Loving Them will be updated very soon. This idea just wouldn't leave me alone. It's completely AU, in which Aria is an orphaned waitress and Ezra is a rich guy in New York's circle of elites.

So what do you all think? Would you like this to continue? Please let me know what you think in a review and follow/favorite!

Love you all!

-Cookie