A/N: So sorry that this took forever to post, I got a case of writer's block and it just kept getting pushed onto the back burner. BUT, good thing is, I'm back with a new chapter! Bad news? There's only one chapter left after this, and then the epilogue. So, I guess it's technically two chapters. Haha.
If you liked this, please review! And thank you all again for the amazing reviews so far, they truly always make my day that much better. (:
Enjoy!
- J

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the words.

"Aria, you ready to go yet? We're going to miss breakfast!" Emily called out from the living room of their shared suite style dorm, where the four girls were sitting on the couch, waiting impatiently for Aria to finish getting ready.

"Hold on!" she yelled from her room, rushing to throw on sweats and tying her hair up into a messy bun on the top of her head, checking the clock and realizing they only have five minutes to make it to the dining hall before they closed to prepare for lunch. "Crap," she muttered, grabbing her lanyard with her keys and ID to swipe into the dining hall, looping it around her neck and running out her door.

She was out of breath by the time she made it into the living room, greeted by curious eyes. "Rough night?" Alison asked, a corner of her perfectly glossed lips turning up into a smirk.

"Oh yeah," Aria said, slumping onto the couch next to Spencer and Emily, "I finally had my last date with Chaucer. It was pretty hot, even though he didn't speak English very well, and I spent most of the night trying to decipher what it was exactly he was trying to tell me. That's the last time I'm going out with anyone from the 14th century."

Spencer uncharacteristically snorted in sympathy, remembering her late nights last semester decoding Chaucer's old English. "We're obviously not going to make it to breakfast, so why don't we just grab coffee and a couple sandwiches from our coffee shop? You're going to need the caffeine, anyway."

"Oh, thank God. Coffee sounds amazing right now," Aria said, leaning her head back onto the couch and shutting her eyes for a moment. "And I can tell you guys all about the guy I met at the quad on Thursday." It wasn't long before she felt four pairs of hands pulling her up from the couch and pushing her out the door.

Aria smiled as she felt the bright mid-morning sun hit her face. "Spill," Hanna said, linking her arms with Aria's and Emily's, the five girls walking out towards their favorite coffee shop together, arm in arm.

"Well," Aria began, "His name is Noel, and he's in one of my classes..."

Aria, Emily, Spencer, Hanna and Alison all walked into the coffee shop fifteen minutes later, their chorus of laughter melodically filling the room. Ezra looked up to see them milling up around the counter, trying to determine what they wanted to order.

He momentarily thought about bolting, not sure if he was ready to face Aria quite yet. Sure it had been a week and a half, but they had both been so caught up in their own lives that they hadn't even been in the same vicinity lately, save for on Thursday when he spotted her across the quad talking to that Noel Kahn guy. He knew he had made a mistake with his stupid idea, but at the time, he had convolutedly thought it would bring them closer together, but it had actually worked against him, driving her away.

He watched as Alison spotted him, nudging Aria and tilting her head in his direction. "Well, there goes the bolting idea," he thought to himself as he raised his hand, giving them a small wave. Aria placed her hand on Spencer's arm, probably telling her her order, then pointed at his table. Spencer nodded, and Aria made her way to his table, weaving through the small crowd of people in between them, waiting for their orders.

"Hey, Ezra," she said, standing next to the table, clearly unsure of what to do. He stood up, not knowing the protocol himself, hesitating before opening his arms out for a hug. She stifled a laugh before wrapping her arms around him tightly, "You're so awkward."

He squeezed her back, before releasing her. "You're one to talk," he shot back, gesturing at her to sit. She gladly took the seat opposite from him, placing her lanyard on the table. "So, how are you?"

"I'm good," she replied, not exactly knowing what to say, "But I was up late last night catching up on my reading, so I slept in and we missed breakfast. That's why we're here, grabbing some coffee and sandwiches."

Ezra gestured to his black coffee sitting in front of him, "I was finishing a couple assignments and filling out graduation forms, so I was up late, too. I came here for a little caffeine boost." Aria forced a laugh, anything to break the palpable awkwardness between them. It fell quiet again, neither knowing quite what to say.

"So," Ezra started, carefully formulating his question so that it would sound like he was indifferent towards any answer that could follow, "I saw you talking to Noel Kahn a couple days ago." He took a long sip of his coffee, placing it back down and looking into the cup, purposefully avoiding her eyes.

"Yeah? We're in the same Intro to Brit Lit class," she replied cooly, cocking an eyebrow. Of all subjects they he could've chosen, he had decided to ask about another guy? That wasn't exactly the topic she would've chosen, but, okay.

"Oh, really? That's nice." He drummed his fingers on the table, "Jackie knows him, actually."

"Jackie?" He could hear the apprehension in her voice. "I didn't know you still talked to her."

"I don't," he said firmly. Out of the corner of his eye, he swore he could've seen the tiniest of smiles on her lips. "But I saw her on Thursday. She invited me to Phi Phi Phi's party tonight. I used to go to them all the time when I started out at Hollis, but I strayed away from that scene after we broke up. Jackie and I, that is," he felt the need to clarify.

"I forgot she's in 'Tri Phi'," Aria said, biting her lip. "Noel's in Omega Mu Omicron. I guess the party tonight is hosted by both of them?"

"Yeah, they're brother-sister organizations. They tend to throw joint parties a lot."

"And, you're going?"

"Well, yeah. I was planning on going and meeting up with some old friends I haven't seen in a while over there."

Aria nodded understandingly, "That makes sense. I guess I'll see you there, then." She wanted so badly to ask if he was going on his own, or if he was going as Jackie's date, but she stopped herself. They weren't exactly 'dating', and he had said they were free to see whomever they wanted, so it wasn't really in her place to ask.

"You'll see each other where?" Spencer asked curiously, the four girls finally arriving at the table with their coffees and bags of food. They each pulled up a chair, joining Aria and Ezra.

"There's a party tonight, Tri Phi and Omega Mu. That guy from my class that I was telling you about invited me, so I was thinking about going," Aria explained.

"Another Tri Phi party? Count me in!" Hanna exclaimed. "I still remember that Tri Phi party you brought us to last summer," she stopped, and her eyebrows scrunched together. "Well, I remember parts of it. I think I had a good time."

"Hanna," Ezra warned, pointing a finger at her, "We had a deal, remember? What happened at that party stayed at that party."

A look of realization crossed Hanna's face as she remembered what had happened that night. Her lips formed an 'O' as Ezra silently tried to keep her from saying anything.

"Wait, wasn't that around the time you and Jackie broke up? I don't really remember anything from that night, either, but I think you said something happened between you two at that party," Aria said, and Ezra very nearly wanted to dig himself a hole to hide in. Anything that would have to keep him from explaining. "What exactly happened that night, anyway?"

"Three rules. Number one: try not to drink too much of the punch. There's a lot of alcohol in it and you'll regret it in the morning," Ezra said, walking backwards and talking to the group of soon to be first year Hollis students following him. Although they were still a few hundred feet away from the house, the music pounding through the speakers was already audible, the catchy, pulsating music piercing through the quiet air.

"Number two: I want you girls sticking together. I can't keep an eye on all of you if you're all in different parts of the house, and I'm not about to get in trouble with your parents. For all they know, I'm giving you a tour of the school this weekend, not taking you partying."

He had known it was a bad idea when Aria called him up that morning, letting him know that she and the girls were heading out to Hollis to check out the school for the weekend, an idea planned by their parents. He mentally reminded himself to call his mother and scold her for not giving him more warning, even though he knew that he would probably get into even more trouble. Not that he wasn't already going to get in trouble if something happened to the girls and everyone found out he had brought them to a college party.

He hadn't planned on bringing them to the Tri Phi party, but it was their last one before finals week and summer vacation, and he had already promised Jackie he would be there. He was still trying to get back into her good graces after unceremoniously leaving her stranded at the train station a couple weeks back, and ditching out on her party would probably not be the best idea. So, he had no choice but to bring them- and it wasn't as if they had protested anyway.

"Number three-"

"Okay, Dad," Alison interrupted in frustration, "enough with the rules."

"Rule three," Ezra emphasized, walking up the steps to the Tri Phi house, placing his hand on the doorknob, "What happens at this party stays at this party. I don't want you guys gossiping like little school girls about anything you see here. Not only would that ruin my reputation, but it makes you all seem immature. And you don't want to be seen as immature freshmen, right?" he asked.

"Right," they said in unison, looks of excitement dancing in their eyes.

Ezra laughed, "Okay, think you can all agree to those rules?"

"Yes!"

"Okay," he nodded, turning the doorknob and swinging open the door, "Go, have fun!" He chuckled to himself once again as the girls practically ran in, immediately making their way to the drinks, "And remember what I said about that punch!"

Ezra shut the door behind him, making his way into the foyer, saying hi to the people he knew. He walked through the living room and through the kitchen, finally making it to the garage where tables were set up with a beer pong tournament. His eyes roamed around the small room before he spotted just the person he was looking for, walking over to her with a smile. "Hey," he whispered in her ear, circling his arms around her waist and kissing her on the cheek.

Jackie giggled, swatting his arm away, "Hold on, it's my turn! I want revenge, Caleb's been making all of his last shots, and I've had to keep drinking. It's his turn." She bounced the ball on the table and directly landing it into a cup, throwing her arms up in victory. "Drink, Caleb!" she exclaimed before turning and throwing her arms around Ezra. "I'm glad you finally made it."

"I'm glad I finally made it, too."

An hour later, Jackie and Ezra had found themselves inside a room on the second floor, all alone. But not for the reasons the other rooms in the house were currently occupied for. Jackie stood in front of the door, arms crossed across her chest, blocking Ezra's only path to exit. He leaned against the dresser on the other side of the room, readying himself for her verbal abuse.

"I can't believe you brought Aria here!" she spat, vitriol surrounding each syllable. "What were you thinking?!"

"I had no choice! She called me this morning saying her and her friends were coming out for the weekend! What was I supposed to do, say no?"

"That's exactly what you were supposed to do!" She shook her head fiercely, "I can't believe you had to nerve to bring her to my own sorority's party!"

"Hey, you're the one who always told me to bring friends, remember? The more people, the better?" he asked, attempting to defend himself. "Aria, Hanna, Spencer, Alison and Emily are all my friends. What makes them any different that I can't bring them around?"

"Well, first off, they're in high school."

"They just graduated! They're starting here at Hollis in a couple month's time."

Jackie dismissed his rebuttal with a wave, "And second, you already know how I feel about Aria!"

"Yeah, you've made that perfectly clear."

"Look, Ezra," she said, walking towards him, trying to keep her voice calm. "I know that you're friends, and even though I don't like it, I've been trying to at least try to respect it." She reached up and twisted a stray curl near his forehead in between her fingers. "But don't you think maybe it's time you let her go? You said it yourself, she's going to be in college soon. Maybe you just need to try to stay away and let her live her life."

"Jackie, you know Aria and I have been friends for a long time. More than ten years. You don't just get rid of a friendship like that in five minutes. Nor do I want to," he argued. "I admit, maybe I can be a little overprotective of her at times, but it's because she's like a little sister to me."

She scoffed. "Little sister my ass," she muttered. "I can see the way you two look at each other, and that is not how brothers and sisters look at each other." She pulled her hand away from his hair. "I don't know if I can be with you if you're still friends with her."

Shock crossed Ezra's face. "Are you issuing me an ultimatum?"

"It's me, or her. You can't have us both, that's just not fair to me, or to her, for that matter."

"Jackie, don't make me choose," he whispered.

"You're in love with her, aren't you?"

He shifted his gaze down, not wanting to meet her eyes, not wanting to give her an answer. "I thought so," she said, crossing the room hastily. "It seems like you've made your choice. You and me, we're done." She pulled open the door, quickly stepping back as a girl almost tumbled to the floor in front of her. The girl grabbed onto the door frame to steady herself. She had clearly been listening to their entire conversation through the door.

"Sorry," Hanna mumbled, pointing into the room, "I thought this was the bathroom. I guess not."

"No, it's not," Jackie spat, walking out the door. She stopped a few feet away, turning to face Ezra once more, "Get Aria and her friends out of here. I don't want to see any of you in this house again." She stalked off downstairs, and Ezra took a deep breath, pushing himself off the dresser.

"I'm sorry, I really thought this was the bathroom," Hanna slurred as Ezra slung her arm around his neck, gripping his arm around her waist, supporting most of her weight.

"I know," he said, leading her back down the stairs. "It's time we get all of you back home."

"Nothing, nothing," Ezra responded, downing the rest of his coffee. He stood up abruptly, much to the confusion of the five girls at the table. He rubbed the back of his neck, a habit Aria knew he had whenever he was stressed about something. "I have to get going, I have some things I need to do. But maybe I'll see you all at the party tonight." Without so much as a goodbye, he swiftly walked out of the coffee shop.

"Well," Spencer drew out, "That was strange."

"Tell me about it," Aria said, watching as his figure slowly disappeared around the corner of the street, no doubt heading back to his apartment. She brushed his strange behavior from her mind, turning her attention back to her four friends sitting around her. "So, what do you say? Are you guys in for a party tonight?"

"Definitely," Hanna said. "And this time, I promise to try to stay away from that punch."

"Is it weird that I can still hear Ezra's voice repeating his three rules in my head?" Spencer asked as they approached the Tri Phi party, music blaring down the street, following the stream of college students that was heading in the same direction.

Aria laughed, "Rule one: Don't drink too much of the punch. Rule two: Stick together. Rule three: What happens at this party, stays at the party," she repeated, almost perfectly imitating Ezra's voice.

Hanna snorted, already slightly tipsy from pregaming at their dorm while getting ready. "Aria, you sounded exactly like him!"

Emily rolled her eyes, "Hanna, maybe you should sober up first before going for round two?"

"Round three," she corrected, attempting to hold up three fingers. Spencer, Aria and Alison chuckled at the sight of a tipsy Hanna, continuing their walk up the steps of the Tri Phi house.

"You guys ready?" Aria asked, hand on the doorknob. They all nodded excitedly as Aria turned open the doorknob and pushed open the door, immediately immersed into the party by the people behind them pushing them in.

The five of them stood in the foyer, looking around. "This is eerily discomforting for some reason," Aria said, feeling like there were multiple pairs of eyes glaring at her. She turned and surveyed the rooms, noticing that, in fact, many of the girls inside were glaring at her. "Guys, did I do something to upset the social hierarchy?"

"You're just being paranoid," Emily said. "No one's staring at you," she tried to assure Aria.

"I didn't tell you that they were staring at me," Aria whispered. "So obviously, you noticed that they are."

"Maybe they're staring at all of us. They can tell we're first years," Alison said. She pulled on Aria's hand, leading her into the kitchen, "Come on, let's get a drink."

Making their way into the kitchen, Aria spotted a tall figure leaning on the wall in the corner holding a red Solo cup, talking animatedly to a couple of the frat brothers. She noticed as he saw her, his face lighting up as he excused himself from the guys he was talking to to greet her.

"Hey, you made it!" he said, pulling her into a hug.

"You seemed so desperate to get my number, I didn't want to disappoint you by not showing up," she giggled, hugging him back. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw two girls looking directly at her and whispering something in hushed tones, but she brushed it away. Maybe she was just paranoid.

She felt his chest rumble with laughter. "And who are these?" he asked, finally letting her go.

"Noel, this is Spencer, Emily, Hanna and Alison. We've all been friends basically since birth," Aria said, introducing them one by one. "Guys, this is Noel. We have class together. He's the one who invited me."

"Nice to meet you, Noel," Hanna said enthusiastically, her words starting to slur ever so slightly. "He's cute, Aria! You didn't tell us he was cute!"

Aria's face reddened as Noel laughed loudly, putting his arm around her. "You didn't tell them I was cute? I'm offended," he mocked, placing a hand on his heart, face filled with false hurt.

"Don't give yourself that much credit," Aria countered, attempting to diffuse her embarrassment.

"So, where are the drinks?" Alison asked.

Noel led the way to the the giant metal bucket sitting in a sink full of ice where two of the sorority sisters were passing out cups of punch. "Stephanie, Melinda," he said, "This is Aria, Spencer, Emily, Hanna and Alison," he introduced. "They're friends of mine."

"Aria?" the girl on the right, Stephanie, Aria assumed, asked. Aria nodded. "Sorry, the rest of you can have a drink. Aria isn't allowed."

"Wait, what do you mean by 'not allowed'?" Noel asked, confused.

Melinda nodded at a figure in the living room talking to a guy, and Aria followed her gaze. Her face hardened as she realized who it was. Melinda shrugged, "Just following directions. Jackie specifically told us that if a girl named Aria showed up, she wasn't allowed anywhere near the alcohol."

"What? That doesn't even make sense!" Noel exclaimed. He started walking away towards Jackie, who had noticed their presence and was smirking, "Hold on, let me go talk to her."

Aria pulled his arm to stop him. "No, Noel, forget about her. It's not a big deal. I wasn't planning on drinking, anyway. I have to get up early in the morning, and I don't want to be nursing a hangover."

He studied her face, "You sure?"

"I'm sure," she assured him. She grabbed a cup from the counter, "Just show me where the water is. No one has to know I'm not drinking."

"Later," Noel said, taking the cup from her hands and nestling his own inside of it, before placing them on the counter. He grabbed her hand, "First, let's go dance." He acknowledged the girls, "There's beer pong in the garage, and I think they're playing 'Never Have I Ever' in the game room upstairs, if you're interested."

Aria smiled and nodded, waving at the girls. "I'll catch up with you guys later? Remember the rules!" she winked.

"Rules?" Noel asked once they were on the makeshift dance floor in the living room. The room was dark, illuminated only by the strobe lights emanating from the DJ booth, casting the bodies around them in blue, red, green and yellow. "You guys have rules about partying? Can I know them?"

"Don't worry about them. We're probably going to break them all anyway."

Ezra walked into the Tri Phi house for the first time since last summer. "This is weird," he muttered to himself, shutting the door behind him.

"Hey, Ezra!" he heard a familiar voice call out. He looked up the stairs towards the source of the voice and gave a wave as they descended down to the first floor. "It's good to see you, man! It's been a while."

"Good to see you, too, Caleb," Ezra said, giving him the mandatory male handshake/hug/back clap. "How've you been?"

"I've been good," Caleb said, "just trying to make it through these last few weeks before graduation."

Ezra laughed, "Tell me about it. It's a struggle."

"Hey, you still sharing an apartment with Toby? Is he coming tonight?"

"Yeah, he's coming. He's just finishing up one of his assignments for his engineering class; he'll be here later tonight."

Ezra watched as Caleb spotted two girls making their way to the living room, the blonde girl stumbling every step of the way. Caleb turned back to Ezra, a smile on his face. "Excuse me for a second? I'll meet up with you later."

"Be careful, they're first years," Ezra warned.

"How do you know? You know them?" Caleb asked, looking back at them sitting on the couch, laughing loudly.

"That's Hanna and Emily."

"No way!" Caleb exclaimed. "They've grown up!" Ezra rolled his eyes as Caleb clapped him on his shoulder, walking towards Hanna and Emily. "I'll see you later!" he called out to Ezra, not even bothering to look back.

Ezra eventually found himself in the kitchen, weaving through the packed room until he reached the sink. "Ezra!"

"Hey Stephanie, Melinda," he greeted the girls with a hug. "They put you guys on punch duty again?"

Stephanie laughed, "Someone's gotta do it. If not, we'd run out of alcohol much too soon."

"Here's your drink," Melinda said, handing Ezra a cup filled almost to the brim. "Don't finish it too fast," she said with a wink.

Ezra took a big gulp, the sweet liquor burning his throat lightly. He tipped the cup towards them in thanks and started heading towards the garage, knowing he would find more of his friends out there, competing in the beer pong tournament. But, before he could, he suddenly heard two distinctive female voices yelling at each other in the foyer.

"Oh crap," he said, chugging half of his drink down before placing the cup on the table, running towards where the scene was playing out.

For the last two hours, Noel had taken Aria all around the house, introducing her to all of his friends, and surprisingly, she was having a great time. "Ready to head back out to the dance floor?" Aria asked Noel as they were sitting on the couch in the game room, watching everyone play 'Never Have I Ever'. It was always a fun game to watch, as you learned so much more about everyone than you thought you ever would.

"Definitely," he said, taking her hand and helping her up. He kept his hand in hers as he led her down the stairs, the two of them laughing and talking the entire way.

"Hey, Noel," Aria heard a sweet voice say. She groaned, looking at the foot of the stairs. "Oh, hi there, Aria."

"Jackie," Aria greeted curtly. "Nice to see you again."

"You two know each other?" Noel asked, gesturing between them.

"Unfortunately," Aria and Jackie answered in unison, both of them glaring at each other.

"So, Aria, are you enjoying the party? Must be much more fun this time than it was before. Although, I bet you think showing up at my own sorority's party, making a scene and embarrassing me is pretty fun as it is," Jackie said snidely.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but you're right, that does sound like fun!" Aria replied cheerfully.

"Yeah," Jackie scoffed, "I'm sure you have no idea what I'm talking about. That's about as believable as you saying you never stole Ezra from me."

"I didn't steal Ezra from you," Aria retorted. "Because that would imply that Ezra was yours to begin with."

"He was my boyfriend."

"But he was my friend, first! Besides, I didn't do anything to sabotage your relationship. Unlike you who tried to do everything in your power to ruin my friendship with him."

"Oh, you didn't do anything?" Jackie hissed. "So that one time I came down to Rosewood to visit him, you didn't call him begging him to pick you up from your pathetic prom, causing him to leave me stranded at the station?"

"That wasn't my fault and you know it. It's not as if I called him and said, 'Hey, Ezra, why don't you ditch that bitchy girlfriend of yours and come hang out with me instead?'"

"I wouldn't be surprised if you did."

"You know what," Aria said, taking a step forward, "I have better things to do than argue with some petty ex-girlfriend who can't let the past go. So, excuse us." Jackie took a step to the left, further blocking Aria and Noel.

"Jackie, move," Noel said forcefully.

"Make me," she countered.

Aria laughed, "Why don't you go sober up? You act really childish when you're drunk."

"Why don't you go sober up, Aria?"

"I am sober. You set up an alcohol ban on me, remember?" She tried her best to stand her ground, but it was difficult to do when Jackie was getting so close to her, a fury in her eyes so intense, Aria was afraid one more word from her would make Jackie snap and punch her. She gripped Noel's hand tighter for support.

"Back off, Jackie." Aria turned to face Ezra, standing in the doorway connecting the kitchen with the foyer. "I mean it."

Jackie's head snapped towards Ezra, and immediately her scowl was replaced by a sweet smile. "Oh, hey Ezra! I'm glad you could make it. Aria and I were just having a little chat."

"I should've known you weren't being honest when you said you would play nice tonight," he said, walking towards them. Aria watched as his eyes drifted to her hand linked tightly with Noel's. She saw his jaw tighten and his face harden.

"Aria, I think it's time to go," he said sternly.

"Excuse me? Why do I have to go?" she blurted out, a look of satisfaction making it's way onto Jackie's face.

"Hey, man, let her stay. We've got this under control," Noel reasoned, appraising Ezra. So this was the guy this whole argument was about.

"Ezra?" Toby said, opening the door to the house. He hadn't been expecting to be greeted to the party by the scene in front of him.

"Hanna and Emily are with Caleb, I have no idea where Spencer and Alison are. When they're ready to go, just bring them back to the apartment. Aria and I need to have a talk," Ezra said, talking to Toby behind him, his eyes locked with Aria's all the while, proving to her just how serious he was.

"I'm not leaving, Ezra."

"This isn't a joke, Aria," Ezra growled. "We're leaving. Now."

The entire room was silent, the crowd watching as the two of them glared at each other, neither refusing to give in.

"Maybe you should go," Noel said quietly, dropping Aria's hand. She broke her's and Ezra's staring contest to look up at Noel. He nodded supportively, "I'll see you in class on Tuesday. And don't worry about the girls, I'll make sure Caleb and Toby get them home safely." He leaned down and kissed Aria lightly and quickly on the cheek.

"Let's go," Ezra said once more, opening the front door.

Aria crossed her arms and walked the last two steps down the stairs, shooting Jackie one last glare and bumping her shoulder forcefully with hers, almost knocking her down to the ground. Aria smiled triumphantly as she walked out the front door and into the cold, night air.

She heard Ezra shut the door behind them, then felt his hand on the small of her back. She recoiled from his touch and stopped in the middle of the street, looking him directly in the eye.

"I hate you."