Wow guys, your response to this story has blown me away! I'm so glad you like Nick... he really is fun to write.

In addition to the changes I've already made to the episode, I'm doing another. Instead of a dance-a-thon, the school is having something more like a ball/gala with an auction. More on that in later chapters.

Again, I don't own PLL or anything connected to it. Nick, however, is mine.


"I can't believe you came all this way without even telling me!" Aria happily shrieked at Nick, hitting him on the arm as soon as he put her down.

"For god's sake woman, don't hit me... I'm going to have to start calling you mon petit bagarreur" Nick rubbed his arm, finding her punch to be a bit more forceful then before. Years of French class and her time spent in Vistolles gave Aria a good grasp of the language, so her response to the nickname she clearly understood to be my little fighter was to simply hit him once again, muttering about idiot royalty under her breath.

The two of them would have most likely continued to joke around right there on the sidewalk had it not been for the clearing of a throat behind them. Aria and Nick turned towards the intrusion and she wanted to swallow herself whole when she saw the bright and smiley face of Simone and the... well she really wasn't sure of the best word to describe the look Ezra had. She was sure that it was supposed to be a smile, but it seemed to have gotten messed up on the way from his brain to his mouth. His lips quirked upwards in a way that looked almost painful and his brow was furrowed.

"Simone! Mr. Fitz! What a surprise!" The moment she said Fitz, Aria saw out of the corner of her eye Nick straighten up. She could only imagine the appraising look being sent Ezra's way. She was hoping against hope that Ezra was too focused on her to notice the look he was getting, but, like any male would, he was looking more at the competition than anything else at the moment. She could see signs of confusion in Ezra, he was probably wondering why exactly Nick was looking at him like that. She caught the exact moment he realized that Nick knew everything. His eyes grew wide and he looked towards her. He was a second too late though, since Aria had seen it coming and quickly averted her eyes back to Simone.

"I could say the same thing! I don't think I've ever seen you so animated before, except maybe when you heard Justin Timberlake was coming to town." Aria laughed, only sounding a bit forced and uncomfortable. Simone was still all smiles as she darted her eyes between Aria and Nick, obviously trying to force an introduction and get the scoop on what exactly their relationship was. Aria noted that for the moment Simone seemed to have lost any interest in the guy beside her, which was probably a good thing because one look at the way Ezra was glaring at Nick would blow the lid off everything. She almost wanted it to happen, almost wanted Simone to realize that Ezra was very much not single and very much dating her, but her better angels reminded her of all the pain that could cause, how it could ruin Ezra's life, and she let it go. Instead, she decided that placating Simone's interest, while simultaneously letting Ezra know in no uncertain terms that Nick was simply a friend, was the best thing to do.

"Well lets be fair, Justin Timberlake is pretty exciting... definitely someone to jump around about."

"So I'm as exciting as Justin Timberlake, hmm?" Aria rolled her head to her side to glare at Nicholas, who was in turn looking at her with that satisfied smirk of his that both annoyed and thrilled her. Aria would never deny the fact that she found Nicholas extremely attractive or that he had the ability to turn her on, but she wasn't the type of person who put much faith in physical reactions like that. You could have a physical connection with any number of people, but emotional and mental chemistry was something entirely different, and for the two of them it was strictly platonic. Nothing at all like it was with her and Ezra.

"Don't push your luck Nicky" His eyes narrowed with annoyance like they always did when she called him that. Aria smiled serenely before turning back to Simone, briefly catching a glimpse of Ezra, who now seemed to be intent on studying her and Nick, obviously trying to figure out just what was going on between the two of them. Simone seemed to be smiling even more now, her obvious happiness for what she perceived to be her former charge's relationship was clear. Aria felt bad for slightly hating her at that moment, she knew Simone didn't mean to be making moves on Aria's man, but that logic still wasn't able to stop the small bit of rage bubbling in her chest. "Don't mind Nicholas, his self-absorbency is borderline ridiculous." The exaggerated gasp from Nicholas' direction immediately caused Aria to laugh, and it was made worse by the dramatic way he grabbed his chest.

"Ma Bichette, you wound me with your words." Aria shook her head at Nick's antics while he slid his attention over to Simone and Ezra. "Don't listen to a word she says, she's all lies that one." He thumbed in Aria's general direction, knowing, but not actually seeing, that a middle finger salute was being sent his way. "And since she doesn't seem to be planning on introducing us, I'll just go ahead and do it myself" He extended his right hand towards Simone and dialed up the charm smile, the classic Nick maneuver. "Nick Beaumont, it's a pleasure to meet you" Aria rolled her eyes at the way Simone's face broke into a giddy grin, the reaction most girls had when they thought they were getting special treatment by not having him put up the princely front.

She ignored their exchange of pleasantries in favor of a glance at Ezra, who was looking at her in confusion, like a man desperate to figure out what exactly was going on around him. Aria begged him with her eyes to act civil, trying to convey that she would explain everything when she got the chance. She wasn't sure if he got her exact message, but regardless he put on a forced face of interest and cordiality and delivered a perfect handshake and greeting to Nicholas, who was back to smirking again. It always worried Aria when he would start smirking like that. It usually meant he was up to something, and now was definitely not the time for him to be acting up.

"So, Nick, if you don't mind my asking, what brings you to Rosewood?" Ezra's voice was filled with the proper amount of curiosity and Aria silently applauded him for his good behavior. Her happiness was short lived though as she felt Nick slip his arm casually around her shoulders, a possessive move that was sure to make Ezra jealous. By the way his eyes hardened, Aria could tell that it did.

"Why this pretty lass right here" He tightened his hold on Aria as if to demonstrate his affection for her, the eye-roll at his answer and movement was caught by all involved. "My Uni is on a week-long break and considering I haven't seen Aria for months, and telephone calls are so limiting, I figured it was as good a time as any to come and see her" Simone was fawning over his words, probably thinking of this as some sort of romantic gesture.

"What a sweet thing to do. So how long have you two been seeing each other?" Aria immediately starting shaking her head, a litany of No quickly following. She even detangled herself from Nick too, as if distance would prove her point.

"No, no, no, no, no... just no. We have never and will never be seeing each other." She glanced over at Nick, looking him up and down before turning back towards Simone, who now sported a remarkably dejected look. You would think it was her that Aria had just summarily rejected. Ezra, on the other hand, suddenly appeared to be radiating joy, obviously he liked what he heard.

"That's too bad" Simone lamented, but a certain spark seemed to light up in her eye, and Aria guessed she was probably going to try her hand at matchmaking. "Not to make you uncomfortable, but he seems perfect for you... you always did like the older boys"

"You have no idea" The dry response got out before Aria could contain herself, and with it an avalanche of motion occurred. Nick suddenly jumped back and bent over in hysterics so intense that he almost fell onto the sidewalk. Ezra, who had been sipping from a coffee Aria hadn't notice he had, was coughing furiously, trying to dispel the liquid that had gone down the wrong way, his eyes wide once again in shock. He hadn't expected smartass Aria to make an appearance. Simone, herself amazed at Aria's words, was patting Ezra on the back, asking him if he was ok or needed anything. He waved away her attention, saying he was fine and smiling reassuringly at her before turning his attention back to Aria, who was simply grinning at everyone and enjoying the chaos she was causing a bit too much.

"Aria, can I-" Nick started but was overtaken by another bout of laughter before he calmed down enough to speak. "Can I just say that you are my absolute favorite person in the world and if you ever change I'll die of sadness and despair."

"And therein lies the problem with us" Aria directed her comment towards Simone and Ezra, as if she was teaching a class on her and Nick's relationship dynamic. "He hopes I'll never change and I pray to God every day that he will become the mature and responsible person I know is in there."

"You are making me sound so terribly horrid to these people, I'm afraid I'm going to have to go into my lovely SUV and cry in shame" Nick gestured over to the black Suburban parked a little way down the street, parts of his security team standing next to it. It was only then that Aria noticed Michael, Nicholas' long-time lead protection officer, stationed a few steps away from the small group, watching his charge carefully. He was everything a good bodyguard should be and then some. It was obvious he cared a great deal about Nicholas and Aria could only imagine the things he saw in his many years protecting the Crown Prince. Behind his rough exterior, though, was an incredibly bright man who knew as much about classical literature as he did about security tactics. Nick once told her that after the whole Wuthering Heights fiasco Michael made sure literature was the one class he was not allowed to miss. The urge to run over and hug the big guy was great, but she already had that reaction to seeing one person today and she definitely didn't want to become predictable. She settled on a bright smile and a wave in Michael's direction, a stoic nod her only obvious reply, although she definitely saw his eyes brighten and crinkle just a bit.

"Oh don't worry, we're all writers here, we understand exaggeration." Ezra nodded as Simone spoke, although knowing full-well Aria wouldn't be saying anything if it wasn't at least partially true. The expected question by Simone of how the twosome met was answered with a scenario that was staggeringly similar to how he'd met Aria, although he was much smoother if he did say so himself. Small talk between them continued for a few minutes before Nick glanced at his watch and was taken aback by the time.

"As much fun is this is to rehash old memories, I'm afraid I'm going to have to steal Aria away now" Nick glanced over at her was a mischievous glint in his eyes. "We have places to go and people to see" Aria looked at him quizzically, wondering just what he had planned. She knew by now Nick was capable of getting anything he wanted done, but she was surprised if he'd managed anything this quickly. Hadn't he just set foot in the state a matter of hours ago? Aria aired her thoughts out loud and Nick simply looked at the little group and grinned slyly. "I have minions, lots and lots of minions" Aria rolled her eyes while Simone laughed. Ezra, now concerned by the look Nick had, was not quite able to fake the response, and only managed a sound resembling a chuckle. Aria was getting more and more worried about what exactly she was going to be met with the next time she saw boyfriend, and what exactly her paper was going to look like when graded. She was seeing a lot of red in her future, although she couldn't help but think that green would be more appropriate.

"We better get back inside too. I had a drink I ordered but never picked up... they've probably spit in it by now" Simone joked, everyone giving the appropriate chuckle, although Aria and Ezra's were slightly lacking.

"Well you two enjoy your date and we'll enjoy ours" Aria felt a stab in her heart at Nick's words, a stab that was only dampened by the slight cringing Ezra got out. Apparently her subtle hint at the true nature of their coffee meeting was one thing for him to hear, but someone else branding it as a date was a whole other matter. She had to repress the urge to jump up and down and yell told ya' so as she pointed at Ezra, knowing the trouble it would cause was not worth the one moment of gloating.

"Why thank you Nick" The lack of correction by Simone was not unexpected, but still rubbed Aria the wrong way. Ezra again cringed, his previous just coffee statement now dust in the wind.

"No, no thank you Nick" Aria was shaking her head again as she looked over at Nicholas. "Do not put the concepts of me, you, and dating anywhere near each other" As Aria and Nick bantered again, Ezra was left grappling for something to save the situation. As goodbyes were exchanged and the two friends started to walk off, he blurted out the only thing he could think of to their retreating backs.

"See you tonight at the dance!" The way the pair abruptly stopped in their tracks was not what Ezra thought would happen, and he grew even more concerned when Aria turned back and looked at him in horror before spinning around to stare at Nicholas, who looked like Ezra had just told him he'd won a million dollars.

"There's a dance tonight?" Nick's voice went up an octave as he spoke, the excitement he felt hard to contain. In fact, it was almost disturbing how happy he seemed to be. Aria looked pained as she confirmed the school's fundraising gala to Nick, who grabbed her hand and started dragging her to waiting SUV with renewed vigor, saying something about how lucky it was he came when he did and how she wouldn't believe what he'd brought with him, and all sorts of other things that Ezra and Simone were unable to hear. Before Aria was pulled into the car she glanced over towards the two of them with a look that was a mixture of help me and, at least in Ezra's mind, I'm so going to kill you.

The knowledge that she knew where he lived and had a key left Ezra seriously concerned for his wellbeing.


I hope you guys liked this chapter! Sorry it took so long to get out, I just wasn't happy with the way it was going and went through a number of re-writes.

A few small questions for you all that will help me not only with this story but another PLL one I'm working on. Who, or whom, do you think A is? Who do you think killed Ali?