He wasn't a prince and he never claimed to be. He'd been friends with Alison since before he could remember. It was expected of him, the popular guy and the popular girl were expected to be at the very least friends… but it was never Alison he wanted.
He hadn't really noticed Aria in elementary school. She was just a girl among many in a class of 200 students. He noticed her for the first time in middle school, standing next to Alison with her hair streaked pink wearing a black dress with a white vest and a leopard belt. She'd looked up for just a moment, meeting his eyes for a second before returning them to Alison and Spencer.
He did what he could to be around her after that. He spent more time with Ali, hoping that she'd have Aria tag along. She never did.
When he saw them all walking home from school one week he'd been overjoyed to have an excuse to see her. He'd invited her and Spencer and Emily and Hanna to his Halloween party. He'd been so excited, but unfortunately she left before he could make a proper move.
After a few more months he'd finally gathered the courage to ask her out when Alison went missing and her family packed up to move to Iceland for a year.
When she came back she was a different person. She had this strong air around her that strictly said "no boys" so he asked Sean to ask Hanna to set them up. He was by no means shy about asking for help. He'd waited to long for Aria already.
He was overjoyed when she said yes and while the date was awkward, they warmed up to each other fast and had a good time. Unfortunately he could also tell that someone else was weighing heavy on her mind. He left the date without making plans for another one.
The night of the SAT blackout he went to her and asked her to follow him to one of the empty classrooms. He was a little surprised when she said yes but didn't stop to question why. Instead he led her to the music room and started playing a song while she sang along. It was going great and he could get lost in her voice and he's just about to kiss her when Mr. Fitz showed up. His teacher looks like his world has come crashing down so he leaves, sensing that that's what Aria wanted him to do. He makes sure to check up on her later, to make sure she's okay. She smiles warmly and assures him she's fine. He's excited when they make a date for Saturday.
He likes kissing her, it's fun and it's sweet and it's everything a kiss is supposed to be. He doesn't care that he sounds like a silly girl in love, because it's not a far off statement, he's a silly boy in love.
He knows something's wrong when the book of poems falls out of her locker. She runs away without an explanation and it takes him a little while to find her. She's in Mr. Fitz's room and she looks sad while Mr. Fitz just looks angry. He asks his teacher what's going on and his girlfriend (he loves that title on her) says it's nothing before running away. He knows something's wrong now.
He becomes furious when he sees Aria and Mr. Fitz in the car together. He's afraid of what his teacher is doing to her. He must be threatening her, it's the only explanation. So he decided to scare him as he scared Aria. He writes I SEE YOU on the back of his car before running away.
He's genuinely concerned when he sees that Mona's been hit by a car and brings her a Teddy bear in the hospital. Despite the concern he's showing for her friend, Aria seems nervous around him and it cuts him deeply.
The next day he confronts her about Mr. Fitz. He tells her he'll go to the principle with her, that she isn't alone and she doesn't have to be afraid of him. He expects her to hug him and smile and thank him but she doesn't do any of that. She becomes scared of him and begs him not to say anything. He feels like he's been slapped in the face. He realizes she hasn't been manipulated at all. He walks away with a hole in his heart and the title of his girlfriend forgotten.
He realizes that he has to break Mr. Fitz somehow, make him realize how stupid a relationship with a student is for him. He lies to Aria about it, he has too. He didn't expect Mr. Fitz to give him the A.
He started hanging out with her brother, hoping that maybe she'd see he wasn't such a bad guy. He knows he has to out Mr. Fitz, that what he's doing with Aria is wrong and he needs someone that'll talk reason into her on his side.
When he's about to tell he's suspended for something he didn't do and he can swear he saw Mr. Fitz smirking at him from down the hall. He sees Aria's hopeful and happy face and he feels more betrayed then he's ever felt in his life.
He dates many girls after he returns, but none of them compare to her. They'll never compare to her, but he could never be with her again, she's a little liar. He'll always protect her though, as he's always done, even if she'll never know it.
A/n Wrote this all in one go at 2:00 am so it's not the best, but I was watching PLL and the look on Noel's face when he offers to go with her to the principle was so heartbreaking and perfect that I can't think of him as a bad guy. And now that Ezra is A I would love for Aria to be with either Noel or Jason because they're both so perfect for her. Noel is just wounded.