A/N: Hey everyone! So, I've been writing fanfics for a while now, but this is my first for PLL.

Anyway, I've had this idea floating in my head for a pretty long time, but about two weeks ago, I finally decided to actually write it out. I was hesitating to post it, but then I decided, I have absolutely nothing to lose.

Please forgive any grammatical, factual or spelling errors I may have missed. Constructive criticism would be completely amazing, so if you have a few seconds, please review, it only helps me get better.

For the record, this was meant to stay as a one-shot, but after reading all the wonderful feedback from this first chapter, I decided to keep going. Haha.

Oh, and the song is "Love's To Blame" by Joel and Luke. Listen to it, it's really beautiful, and you won't regret it. :)

- J

Disclaimer: I do not own PLL, any characters, this song, or any of the places mentioned. :)

Chapter One- "Love's To Blame"

Aria Montgomery sat at her desk in her room, drumming her fingers on the smooth wooden surface, staring out the floor to ceiling windows that lay in front of her. It was 1:17 AM in New York City, where she now lived, and had been living for six years, in a studio apartment with her three best friends, Spencer Hastings, Emily Fields and Hanna Marin. Aria's room was dark, illuminated only by the single light on her desk, shining on her laptop that displayed her currently unfinished second novel, and by the lights that shone underneath her window, the never-ending hustle and bustle of New York City.

Aria rubbed her tired eyes, letting them drift over to a picture of her, Spencer, Emily and Hanna, arms swung around each other, dressed in their blue graduation robes, grinning and laughing like the world was at their feet and the possibilities were endless. And it was.

After the four of them graduated from Rosewood, 'A' miraculously decided to leave them alone and let them live their lives in peace, which they eagerly did. Aria was able to attend and graduate from New York University with honors and a B.A. in English Composition, Hanna was taking classes at Parsons The New School for Design and was due to graduate in a few weeks, after taking a year off from school to travel around Europe, while Spencer and Emily attended Columbia University, Spencer graduating Summa Cum Laude with a B.S. in both Biology and Psychology, and Emily, a B.A. in Women's Studies.

Needless to say, at the tender age of 24, each of them became relatively successful in their fields, what with Aria currently a newly crownedNew York Times Best Selling Author, Hanna beginning a new, highly anticipated clothing line that was set to debut in her exclusive boutique she insisted open in Rosewood, Spencer attending medical school, and interning at the medical center, at Columbia, and Emily pursuing another degree in Education with her eyes set on a teaching job at a small college not far from the apartment they all shared.

The sound of shattering glass broke Aria out of her trance as her heard laughter escape from the kitchen.

"Sorry, Aria! We accidentally dropped the bottle of vodka!" Hanna yelled as they began laughing again.

Aria shook her head as a smile crept up on her face. She missed the days like this where, instead of 'stress' and 'tension' and 'busy' being the most commonly used adjectives to describe their shared living space, it was laughter and excitement that filled the open room that lay outside of Aria's bedroom. Days, or nights, seeing as how it was now 1:23 AM, like these were rare, but she always cherished them because they didn't happen too often.

Normally, she would've been out there with her friends, drinking, dancing, singing too loudly to music on the radio, and laughing like crazy, but she had to finish up this last chapter before her editor bit her head off again for not finishing before her set deadline. "Ahh, the joys of being an in-demand writer," Aria muttered to herself before turning her back to her work.

Hoping a bit of soft music would clear her head and help her begin to write, she turned on her favorite online radio station and pressed the play button. Logging on to Facebook for the first time in what seemed like forever, she saw that she had a few new friend requests. Clicking on the red notification, she scanned her eyes down the list of new requests. The barista she'd met at the coffee house/book store she frequented around the corner, a guy from her European Literature class at NYU she hadn't spoken to in years, Hanna's newest boyfriend, her old high school AP English Literature teacher...

She felt all the blood drain from her face as her eyes drew back up the list to the person she had overlooked. She rubbed her eyes, thinking that maybe they were just playing tricks on her, but there was no denying it. Right there in black and white, or more technically, blue and white, was the name "Ezra Fitz".

She clicked out of Facebook quickly, ignoring all the requests, and turned her attention back to the forgotten music playing in the background. She smiled in delight, albeit her pounding heart- this was her favorite song. She turned up the volume, filling the once quiet room with the sounds of a gorgeous piano tune, and listened as her heart began to slow. However, once she heard the words, she couldn't help but be transported back to what had happened years before. Back when she and Ezra were still, well, her and Ezra.

Time and time, I've thought through it all,

How we loved and laughed,

And how we fought each other, pushing one another,

To be somebody else.

When Aria still attended Rosewood, her and Ezra Fitz had a thing between them. More than a thing, really, they were in love. She loved him beyond words, which was saying a lot, considering her love for words, but that was besides the point. They would often watch old movies in his apartment, cuddling on the couch, or would order Chinese take-out and would sit on the floor, cross-legged, eating with chopsticks and talking about everything under the sun.

Ezra was perfect for Aria. They had similar interests: literature, black and white films, writing, and they could debate for days on end about the symbolism and morality behind the text of To Kill a Mockingbird, their favorite novel. Even their temperaments balanced each other out- he was serious, a deep thinker, while she was a spitfire, sarcastic and passionate. There was one little problem, he was 7 years older than her- and her English teacher.

For months, everything went fine. They successfully hid their relationship from the prying and gossiping eyes that was Rosewood, and no one suspected a single thing. However, Ezra was always frustrated that he couldn't take his own girlfriend out for something as simple as a cup of coffee, and Aria was starting to feel annoyed by the fact that she couldn't gush to anyone about the man she was in love with, so he did the only thing he could think of that could make things easier- quit his job at Rosewood and take another teaching job at Hollis, the local university, so they would be able to be free to do as they wished.

And time and time, I've wrestled my thoughts,

Uncertain if the end was right or wrong,

And whether we still should be together,

Or with somebody else.

Over the last seven or eight odd years since Aria last saw Ezra, she had had her fair share of relationships, but none ever felt as right as the one between her and her English teacher. Sure, some of them were close, she had even almost gotten engaged once, but turned down the guy because she knew that there was only room for one person in her heart, and that guy was gone. No one ever came close to Ezra.

She opened her top desk drawer, lifted up the stacks of miscellaneous papers and writing utensils, and gingerly pulled out a picture of her and Ezra. Aria remembered when this picture was taken, a rare weekend out to Philadelphia to an art museum. She had stopped a stranger on the street to ask if he could take a picture of them, and he agreed.

This was a candid photo. Ezra had his arm wrapped around her shoulders, she was leaning into his chest, her arm around his waist, and was smiling from ear to ear as he kissed her softly on the head, neither one looking at the camera. The guy was still trying to figure out what button to press when he accidentally took this picture in the process; the real picture he took turned out blurry. But it didn't matter, she loved this one so much more.

Aria sighed as she looked at the picture. They looked so happy, so carefree, so much like a real couple. In that moment, they were just a guy and a girl who happened to meet in a bar and instantly hit it off. For that little moment in time, he wasn't her teacher, and she wasn't his student. This was her favorite picture of them.

Our last memories, she had water in she eyes,

She cried, "Stay with me."

Asked, "How can this be love if you are leaving me?"

But, Darling, love's to blame.

Aria, at the beginning, felt guilty about making Ezra leave his job, but as she began to realize, with some encouragement from Ezra, that they would be able to finally act like a real couple and go out on dates, she accepted what he had done; she had even become quite excited. But all that changed when she realized that he would be working with his ex-fiancee again.

"Up until today, you were the one guy that never lied to me." Those few words had stung Ezra to the core, and just like that, their relationship was over. Ezra left for Hollis, Aria continued her studies at Rosewood, and they never saw or spoke to one another after that day.

And I can't see you right now,

'Cause my heart just can't take it,

Can't be near you right now,

'Cause I know you're no longer mine.

And I can't see you.

Aria put the picture back into her desk drawer, under the papers and pens, and closed it. Wiping a stray tear from her eye, she turned down the volume on her laptop and began to write again.

Ezra Fitz stood by the window of his apartment, the apartment he had been living in ever since he moved to this city, overlooking the streetlights below him. He turned and glanced at the clock, 1:25 AM. Normally, he would've been asleep by now, but he had so many papers left to grade by tomorrow that he had no choice but to stay up and finish them. Groaning, he made his way to his desk and turned on the lamp. He knew the only way he would be able to stay awake was if he had music, an idea that actually only popped into his head because he thought he heard the strains of his favorite song somewhere off in the distance. He chalked it up to his mind playing tricks on him.

Turning on his favorite online radio station, he was surprised to hear that his favorite song actually was playing at that moment. He turned the volume up and listened to the lyrics.

It makes me ache, that we had to break,

That even though I knew your heart so well,

We're strangers in different places,

Though we live a mile apart.

Ezra clicked on his Facebook tab, unable to determine whether he was sad that Aria had yet to accept his friend request, or whether he was relieved.

Earlier that day when she had popped up on his "People You May Know" list, his heart pounded as he clicked on her name, not knowing whether it really was her, or if it was another Aria Montgomery.

He looked at her profile picture. It looked much like the Aria he knew, except this Aria looked older and wiser, like she had weathered through some difficult times. He scanned her info, "Favorite books: To Kill a Mockingbird, Catcher in the Rye, Winesburg, Ohio…, Favorite movies: It Happened One Night, Singing in the Rain, Breakfast at Tiffany's…"he mumbled to himself as he read. Yes, this sounded exactly like her, these had always been her favorites. When they were dating, he had known her better than he knew himself. Heck, he knew her better than she had knownherself. But that was when they were still dating. Now, 8 years later, he couldn't be sure if this was really her.

Glancing at her education info, he saw she had graduated from Rosewood. Yes, this was the Aria Montgomery. Blood pulsing through his veins, he closed his eyes as he clicked, "Add as a friend". Even though he couldn't be sure if she had forgiven him or not, he had to try to make amends. And this was the first step.

My best friend's gone, our world has been torn.

We'll never share a name, never be one,

But I will always remember the years we spent in love.

Aria Montgomery was the love of his life, that was the one thing he was sure of. Even though, her especially, they were still young, he knew their relationship could survive absolutely anything; he was sure that one day, she would be his wife.

However, because of that stupid, rash decision to leave out the part about his ex-fiancee working with him, everything was torn apart. They broke up, never spoke to each other again, and he was crushed. He wanted to try to come back and work things out with her, but he knew that nothing would, or could, ever be the same, so he left for good. He hid in the shadows, afraid that if he ever came back out, what he saw would scare him.

I still think of you,

I pray that you are safe.

I'm still missing you.

But it has to be this way because I'm not right for you,

And that's why love's to blame.

He was always afraid that one day, he would see her. See her randomly walking somewhere on the street, hand in hand with another guy, blissfully happy, and that would crush him. Ezra was selfish enough to put his own feelings first. Which is why, after only a few months at Hollis, he left for New York. He began teaching Advanced Placement English at a private high school, rented out an apartment not far from the school, and never had to live in fear that he would ever see Aria again one day with another man.

Ezra was selfish, that much was true, but he wasn't selfish enough to wish unhappiness on her for the sake of his own happiness. He hoped that she was happy, wherever she was, with whomever she was with, however, he just never wanted to see it happen before his own eyes.

He thought about her often, so much so that he had the picture of the two of them that had been taken on their trip to an art museum in Philly framed and placed on his desk at home.

And I can't see you right now,

'Cause my heart just can't take it,

Can't be near you right now,

'Cause I know you're no longer mine.

And I can't see you right now,

'Cause my heart just can't fake it,

Can't be near you right now,

'Cause I know you're no longer mine.

And I can't see you,

I just can't see you right now.

He saw that the computer was still open to Aria's Facebook page, and a little tidbit of information that he happened to miss before caught his eye. Aria had attended NYU. She was living in New York City at this very moment. The same exact city he was in, that he had escaped to to get away from his pain. Ezra's heart began to pound and he felt lightheaded at the realization that all this time, even right at this very moment, the one thing tried to escape, tried to protect, was not far from him at all.

He closed the page, rubbed the back of his neck, and leaned his head into his hands on the desk.

Maybe time will heal our hearts,

And maybe in time you'll understand,

I said goodbye 'cause I love you.

Aria's head snapped up at those words and her mind started reeling as thoughts came flooding into her mind. She began to the their situation from a new angle, from Ezra's point of view.

Slowly it dawned on her, Ezra had disappeared out of her life because he loved her. He wanted to protect her. It wasn't because he didn't love her at all, it was because he wanted her to be able to live a normal life; to be able to live a life free of worry of being caught in the tangles of the implications stemming from their hidden relationship, and be able to have fun and act like a normal sixteen year old girl.

All those years, she had resented him, and she always blamed the fact that he left on the belief that he didn't love her as much as she had thought. Now that she was older, and just a tad bit wiser, she was able to understand that he did care, even more than she realized. And for that, she was thoroughly grateful.

And I can't see you right now,

'Cause my heart just can't take it,

Can't be near you right now,

'Cause I know you're no longer mine.

And I can't see you,

No I can't see you,

I just can't see you right now.

Ezra lifted his head off of the desk. Maybe he had seen her in a coffee shop, or at a bookstore, or at the park, and never realized it. And a thought came to his head: although they were living in the same state, the same city, they had still managed to avoid each other. By avoiding each other, they were able to grow and learn and mature and experience things without having to worry about each other, about whether their actions would hurt the other, about whether they would even meet again. And yet, they were still so close to each other.

Ezra rubbed his forehead, his brain beginning to hurt because of his racing mind, and, instead of grading papers, went back on Facebook, only to be greeted by a notification: "Aria Montgomery has accepted your friend request." And, for the first time in months, maybe even years, he laughed.

Within seconds of accepting his request, Aria received a message from him.

Ezra Fitz

Aria, it's good to hear from you again! I'm glad you accepted my request.

How's life going? Are you every bit as successful as I always knew you had the potential to be?

Aria laughed at his question and took a few minutes to respond. As much as she wanted to give him a thorough rundown of the events that had occurred over the last 8 years, she knew she had to take things slowly. All the little things could wait.

Aria Montgomery

Life's going pretty well right now, if I may say so myself. I'm currently living in New York City in an apartment with Spencer, Emily and Hanna, working on my second novel. My first one jumped to the top of the best-seller list, much to my surprise. Can you believe it? To this day, I'm still amazed I even sold one. So, my editor's on me to finish up my second one soon. Which is probably what I should be working on right now. Haha.

How's life going for you? I've missed you.

Aria pressed 'send' before she lost her nerve and could delete the last line of that message. While waiting for his response, she went on his profile, only to find that he, too, was living in the city. She grinned, feeling oddly comforted, knowing he was never far from her at all. Aria opened her desk drawer, pulled out the picture of her and Ezra, and grabbed an empty picture frame she had gotten as a present for her last birthday from a bag near her desk. As she slipped in the picture and placed it on her desk, next to her graduation picture, she knew everything would be all right between them.

Ezra Fitz

Congratulations! Guess I'm going to have to pick up your book the next time I'm at a bookstore. You were always talented, I had no doubts you could achieve whatever you set your mind to.

Life's going well for me, too. I'm actually living in New York City, also, and I'm teaching Advanced Placement English Literature at a posh private high school in the city. So what have you and the girls been up to since I saw you last? Still stirring up trouble?

And, for the record, I've missed you, too.

Aria smiled after reading his reply and gave him a quick summary of what Emily, Hanna and Spencer had been up to since leaving Rosewood, her heart slowing back down to a normal beat.

After talking for a few minutes, Aria yawned and stretched, full well knowing that she was not going to be able to finish the chapter tonight. She typed out a quick message to Ezra that she was getting tired and was going to sleep. As usual, he shot back a message nearly instantly.

Ezra Fitz

Listen, I think we should meet up so we can talk face to face and catch up. I'd love to hear about your newest novel, maybe even a sneak peak, possibly? If you're not busy, I'm free this afternoon. We could go to this little coffee shop I love that's just around the corner.

Aria didn't hesitate for one second.

Aria Montgomery

I would love to. I'll see you this afternoon, then. :)

Turning off her laptop, she peeked her head outside of her door.

"Hey guys, I think I'm going to bed now. Try not to have too much fun without me, okay?" Aria called out from her bedroom door. She laughed when she saw bottles of alcohol strewn across the kitchen counter, and Spencer, Emily and Hanna standing around with shot glasses in their hands, ready to gulp down the burning liquid.

"Are you sure you don't want to join us for just one little drink?" Spencer asked, taunting Aria with the small glass. Aria shook her head.

"No, I think I'm just going to go to sleep now. Besides, I'm meeting an old friend for coffee later," she said, not being able to keep the corners of her lips from slightly turning upwards.

"Really? Who? Do we know this old friend?" Hanna asked, excited that her friend was beginning to have a little fun again.

"I'll tell you in the morning, when you'll actually understand and remember what I'm saying," Aria said, smirking. "Good night!"

She closed her door and walked over to the lamp on her desk. Switching it off, she pulled down her sheets and snuggled into the warm pile of pillows and blankets, anticipating that afternoon's events.

Ezra didn't know whether them talking again meant that something was going to happen between them, whether they were going to be friends again, or if they were going to be something more, but he was willing to find out. After Aria said her goodnight, Ezra logged off Facebook and shut down his own computer, determined to finish grading those papers.

Taking one last look outside his window, he saw the light in the room of the apartment a floor below him turn off. He knew it was a girl, or more specifically, girls, that lived beneath him because he would, every so often, hear laughter and loud, blasting music coming from there. He was so sure that the song he heard earlier, his favorite song, was coming from there, meaning one of them obviously had great taste in music.

Maybe one day he would go down and meet them. Who knew? Maybe something could happen between him and the mystery girl with the great taste in music. After talking to Aria today, he felt like he finally had closure, he finally had the freedom to finally move on.

In New York City, absolutely anything was possible. And Ezra Fitz, and Aria Montgomery, who unbeknownst to him, was the mystery girl living in the apartment below him, were both excited to see what the future had to hold.

And love's to blame.