Aria leans against the wall of the apartment building once she's outside, feeling effects of the alcohol quickly catching up to her.

"Fuck," she mumbles to herself as she starts walking towards her house, focusing on every step.

She begins laughing when she realizes it's barely past noon—praying Dylan is anywhere other than home. If she sees him like this she knows he'll make a big deal out of it. Then again, knowing what she just did, maybe he should.

It didn't mean anything, she tries telling herself, but she knows better. Even if it hadn't been Ezra, she's seen enough to realize that it always means something, even if she doesn't want it to.

Her thoughts are cut short when she finally arrives at her door. She braces herself before going in, and she can't help the irritated sigh that escapes when she hears Dylan call her name from upstairs the second she opens the door.

"Yeah, it's me," she calls back.

Aria slowly finds her way to the kitchen and gets herself a glass of water. She chugs it down, attempting to sober up before seeing Dylan.

"Aria?" Dylan calls out, this time from downstairs.

"In here," she replies as she refills her glass.

"Sorry about missing coffee this morning," he says as he walks up behind her.

He wraps his arms around her waist and kisses her shoulder tenderly, while Aria takes another sip of water and tries not to think of all of the wine and scotch sitting around in her stomach.

"Are you okay?"

Aria nods her head, a little bit too enthusiastically. "Fine."

He raises his eyebrow and spins her so that she's facing him. The action is almost enough to make her puke but she takes another gulp of water to distract herself.

"You're drunk," he says simply, though his playful nature is gone.

Aria laughs nervously, coughing lightly from water stuck in her throat. "No," she says weakly, causing her to laugh more.

"You reek of booze. Aria, it's not even one."

She rolls her eyes and sets her glass on the counter as she starts walking out of the kitchen.

"Don't just walk away from me."

Aria lets out an annoyed sigh and turns around.

"What? Are you gonna lecture me? If I wanted someone's permission I'd call my dad."

Dylan scoffs. "So I'm not allowed to be worried about you?"

"Worried about what? I'm a grown woman, I can take care of myself."

"That's not what I'm—"

"Really? Then what are you saying, Dylan?"

He slumps his shoulders and looks at her. Her hair is a mess and her breath stinks of liquor but it's still her. It's still the same Aria he fell in love with their sophomore year. If he's being honest with himself he just wants to know why she wasn't drinking and laughing with him—and then he remembers—oh right, I cancelled. He knows it probably isn't fair but regardless he can't help but feel like he's not enough for her—like she'll get bored.

"Look, Aria... I just—I want this to work."

"You think I don't?" she snaps back.

"No, Aria, I—" Dylan takes a deep breath. "I don't want to lose you, okay?"

Aria's expression softens, along with her voice. "Lose me? Dylan... Why would you even say that?"

"It happens all the time. I don't want to be just another college couple that fades away once we get to the real world."

"Dylan... I have other friends. I mean, of course I don't want to lose you, but you can't make me choose."

"I'm not asking you to! I—" He takes another deep breath. "I just want us to be... us. No secrets, no lies. Just... us."

Aria swallows the lump forming in her throat and bites her lip, accepting the fact that by now she's sinned enough for her own kids to be sent straight to hell. She knows Dylan deserves more than what she can give, but she's young and selfish—and drunk—and right now the thought of losing him is more than she can bear.

"Nothing's going to change, Dylan. I love you, and we're going to make it. Just us."

Dylan stares into her eyes, looking for some sign that this is all a lie. Aria holds her breath, waiting for him to say something. Finally, a soft smile begins to take over his face and Aria closes the gap between them before he can change his mind, wrapping her arms around his body. Dylan kisses her forehead gently and whispers 'I love you' into her hair, causing Aria to lean back and return the smile, almost taking him with her.

"Fuck... I'm drunk," she admits, placing a hand on her forehead.

Dylan laughs and hands her the glass of water, which she gratefully accepts.

"Who were you with, anyway?"

"Oh, just Ezra," she says once she takes a break from chugging. "I saw him on my way back from the Brew."

"Wait like, Ezra Fitz? Mr. Fitz? Professor Fitz?"

Aria giggles. "The one and only."

She can feel his body go tense for a moment. If she wasn't drunk maybe she would've read into it, but she was drunk, and whatever temporary discomfort he had leaves without a second thought. Aria sets the empty glass on the counter before making her way upstairs, Dylan following close behind.

"I didn't know you two still talked," he says, trying to seem casual.

She glances back at him. "Oh, yeah. Not that often. Other than today I haven't talked to him in months."

Dylan nods as he follows her to her bedroom, now thinking about how great it will feel when they move in together and he gets to call it their bedroom. He knows that kind of thinking can be dangerous but he can't help it. When he looks at her all he can see is the life they could have—the life they will have.

"Have you given anymore thought to the job offers in Philly?"

"Haven't really gotten the chance," Aria says, shrugging.

"You know, once we get that figured out we're pretty much set. If we wanted we could move into a place in Philly within a week."

"I know... I know," she says as she sits on her bed. Dylan quickly does the same. "I just need to be sure. This is the start of my career, I want it to be right."

He takes her hand in his and brushes his lips against the back of her palm. "I know, I don't mean to rush you. I'm happy wherever we are. I guess I'm just excited to start this new chapter of our lives together."

Aria chuckles and leans forward to give him a kiss. "You're cute when you're excited," she whispers into his mouth.

"You're always cute."

Aria isn't sure if it's the alcohol, or if she's just happy, but she can't help the grin covering her face. And just like that, as if some higher power got off on destroying her happiness, she remembers Ezra. She remembers what she was doing an hour ago and feels her smile slowly fade away.

Dylan immediately senses the change in her expression. "Aria? What's wrong?"

She shakes her head. "Nothing... Just a little nauseous, that's all."

Ignoring the suspicious look on Dylan's face, Aria gets up and rushes to the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

"Aria?"

She doesn't respond and splashes cold water over her face in an attempt to calm down.

"Aria?" Dylan says louder.

She leans against the counter, staring at her reflection in the mirror, wishing she could erase the last four hours—wishing she had left the Brew just fifteen minutes earlier and avoided this whole fucked up situation.

"Aria, what the fuck is going on?!"

She takes a deep breath before responding, collecting her thoughts. "I'm fine, sorry. I just thought I was gonna be sick for a second."

"See, this is why we don't drink at noon."

She knows he's trying to be funny, but she turns, almost able to see his smug expression through the door and it makes her want to break something.

"I'll be out in a minute, Dylan."

She hears him hesitate before eventually walking out of her room and feels her entire body relax. She glances back towards the mirror, shaking her head in disappointment.

What the fuck are you doing, Aria?

AN: I'm still kinda getting back into writing so forgive me if the story is a little bit rough for the first few chapters. I know it's been forever but I am still working on my other two stories as well, and hopefully I can update them sometime soon. As always, thanks for reading, and reviews are always welcome.