Hello! This is a co-written fic, written by both myself and sburke94! She will be writing from Ezra's POV and I will be writing from Aria's!

Summary: A series of inner monologues from Ezra and Aria. "Fragments of a Romance~The Future" are monologues coming from the new season and will be going episode by episode. We also have another series "Fragments of a Romance~The Beginning" for a few monologues from the first season.

So to kick us off, here's Ezra from ...

"Episode 2x01: It's Alive"

~Forever~

If I didn't believe in forever, we wouldn't be here right now. I wouldn't be fighting for you like this. I wouldn't be opening myself up to you. Because I don't do that, remember? I don't put things that didn't work out on my resume-the resume that you are picking apart with tweezers right now.

Ask me anything, and I will tell you the truth.

So you ask and I answer. It's simple really-you're the one making this complicated. And I'm not sure what else to say. This fixation on Jackie-it was cute at first, you being jealous, and now it's just incredibly maddening. She's not Jackie my ex-fiancee, or Jackie my new coworker, or Jackie Molina, when I'm with you. She's Jackie Who?

But you don't see that, or won't-I'm not really sure which it is at the moment. You're bringing this upon yourself, these insecurities and doubts, yet I bear the guilt for them. I hate myself for giving you something else to deal with-your entanglement with cops, murder, and mayhem should be enough, right?

Apparently, it isn't though, because you ask me if I loved her when I met you. It's a risky question-you and I both know there's no answer that will be easy. But there's never any easy answers in life, is there? At least not when we're concerned. Then you whisper I wish I'd known that, and for a brief second I think I've got you back.

You wish you'd known, but it's not an unforgivable offense. You can move past it. We can move past that's all I want. I want to move past this fixation and just be us again.

Us. Me and You. You and Me. Aria and Ezra. Ezra and Aria.

Then you're pulling away and I feel us slipping. I won't let that happen. I can't let that happen. So I open myself up anymore. I'm vulnerable now, but I've always been vulnerable where you're concerned.

You know what I love about Saturdays? It's that feeling I get when I look up at you and I realize that we have the whole day together.

And I see there in your eyes-it's fleeting and all too brief-but it's there. You feel it too. That little feeling translates into hope. There's hope that you'll stay. Hope that we can move past this-whatever this is, because I'm honestly lost now.Hope that we can be us.

One more final request. It's all I have, it's the only plea I can bring myself to make.

So will you stay?

You don't. You don't stay, and five minutes later I'm walking you to the door. I'm not sure which sucks more-the fact that I'm spending a Saturday without you, or the fact that I'm spending a Saturday without you because of my own damn foolishness.

Then you shake your head before you go. No, I can't call you tomorrow. You'll see me on sucks too. Monday will be safe. Monday I can't be your boyfriend-am I even that anymore?

At that moment I realize that the second of the two options sucks more. My damn foolishness is costing me more than one Saturday with you. It's costing me forever.