This wasn't supposed to be a long story, I just felt like already posting a part of it...

Hanna knew something was wrong with Aria. Every time they asked her about it, she mumbled something about her parents' separation, but Hanna who had gone through the same situation only months earlier sensed there was something else. Something she clearly didn't want to talk about, but seeing her that unhappy made Hanna wonder if there was anything she could to help her friend.

"Don't you think it's a little bit early to be in a bar?" Aria asked her friend, who pulled her into some shabby bar in the middle of the day.

"No", was the simple and only answer Hanna gave her while pushing her on a barstool next to an old man who smelled of alcohol.

"So what's the occasion?" Aria asked because she knew there had to be a good reason why Hanna dragged her here.

Hanna sat down on the barstool next to Aria and took a deep breath.

"Aria, I hate to see you so unhappy! What is wrong with you?"

Aria looked surprised and what Hanna interpreted as ashamed for a second, than she gave her a little smile.

"You know I'm just really exhausted with all this stuff going on at home. We're not doing that well being a one-parent-family."

"Yeah, I know exactly what you mean, you know I do! But is that really everything that's bothering you? You know you can tell me everything!"

"Yeah, I know", Aria replied looking down. She was playing with some peanuts, which stood in front of them in a dirty bowl.

"Stop that!" Hanna said and pushed the bowl aside, "You don't know who already touched those!" She tried to look at Aria, but her friend still avoided eye contact.

"Look if it is about this boy from Iceland… maybe you should just end things with him."

"What?" Aria looked at her confused.

"I googled flights to Iceland and there is no way you can afford that. Especially not several times a year. I hate to break it to you, but I don't see any future in this relationship."

"Look, Hanna, it's more complicated than that…"

"Sounds like one more reason to dump this guy", Hanna cut her off, "Do you really wanna be hung up on some complicated Icelandic boy?"

Aria looked at the floor again.

"He's not from Iceland", she whispered.

Ezra was sitting at this old wooden table, which had seen better days, holding on to the glass in his hand. Whisky wasn't one of his favorite drinks, but today it just felt right. He took another sip. He tasted the strong flavor, the heat running down his throat. He knew he was drunk and it was still day outside. Back in his college days he would probably only feel a little tipsy, but he wasn't used to drinking any more.

He had figured it all out. The job interview in New York went well and he knew his chances were pretty good. And even if he didn't get the job and had to stay in Rosewood, he would pull himself together and break up with her. Being together was so wrong on every level. He had to be the grown up, the sensible one and just end it. Then he would meet another woman sometime later and they didn't have to hide and more important no one would throw him into jail if they found out. And Aria would get over it soon. She was a beautiful and young girl – very young as he tried to tell himself over and over – and boys would stand in line for her. She would forget him in the blink of an eye.

It was the right thing to do.

He was so proud of his decision, so confident. Then he walked into this classroom, seeing her with Noel, leaning forward to kiss him. When he looked into her eyes and saw the mixture of joy, anger and guilt in it, he knew he was lost.

Although Hanna had not actually expected this confession, she wasn't all that surprised. That Iceland-boy story hadn't made sense from the very beginning. She had never had a long distance relationship, but as far as she knew the heartache would get better over time, not worse as in Aria's case.

"So who is he?" she asked in a low but insistent tone.

"I can't tell you", Aria answered looking into her eyes for the first time.

"You know you can trust me!" Hanna assured, "I won't tell anyone. Not even the other girls."

"It's not that I don't trust you. There are just some reasons why we cannot be together and I am not even sure he wants us to… It sucks that I can't tell you, but I really think that's right."

Hanna knew she wasn't going to get any more information. Aria had always been a little stubborn, If she had made a decision she would stick to it whatsoever.

"What reasons could there possibly be?" she made an unpromising last try to get any information out of her friend.

"I really can't tell you, but I bet you can imagine tons of reasons!"

"Actually I can't", Hanna stated, telling the truth.

"Well it's like Romeo & Juliet… only it's nothing like that… but these two couldn't be together and had to keep their relationship a secret."

"And if they told someone, maybe they'd still be alive", Hanna responded angrily.

Aria looked at her bemused. She didn't know what surprised her more: That Hanna had actually read the book or that she was right.

The old men got up and nearly collided with Arias stool, then made his way slowly to the exit.

Aria was still searching for an answer, when she realized that Hanna's eyes were set on some point behind her.

"Well, that's new…" she murmured, "Someone seems to have a drinking problem"