The final bell of the day signalled untold relief for Spencer and Aria, and untold dread for Emily. The trio stepped out together, smiling and half-heartedly paying attention to the going conversation. Each was privately lost in their own problems – things they weren't willing to say out loud.

Emily's eyes scanned the car park until they found the thing that plagued her. Ben had parked close enough that there was no way she could just pretend to have not seen him. He caught her eye and smiled broadly. Part of her wanted the girls to invite her with them. She'd be willing to go literally anywhere other than in Ben's car.

But they didn't know there was an issue. They just smiled and giggled when they saw Ben. Raised their eyebrows and gave her flirty winks. They were happy for their friend, they had no reason not to be.

Not that they knew.

Emily choked on her goodbye and folded her arms over her chest. The passenger door to his car opened as she got nearer, and he remained leaning over her seat.

"Hey there beautiful."

She nodded, but he still didn't move. The only way for her to get into his car was to slide underneath him. Ben looked at her expectantly. The breath in her lungs felt heavy. Her skin broke out in a cold sweat.

She got in the car.

In the next moment Ben had his tongue against the skin of her neck and a hand around the wrist furthest away from himself. With his body and his grip there was no way she would be able to move. It didn't take long for his tongue to be replaced with him teeth and for him to move his way up to her lips.

Emily sat as still as possible. Except to reciprocate his kiss there wasn't a single twitch in the rest of her body. She knew if she didn't kiss him back that he would be annoyed, he'd get angry. To anyone outside of the car it would just appear like two lovers sharing a kiss.

That's not how it felt.

His free hand slid its way up her thigh. She couldn't help but tense under his touch. She hoped he wouldn't notice.

"I've missed you," he muttered against her lips. "My parents are away, let's go to mine."

It took Emily a second to find her voice. "I… can't. Ben, I should go home. My mom is expecting me."

The grip on her thigh tightened. "It'll only be for a little bit."

"Ben…"

Suddenly his presence was gone. He sat glaring at her from across the car. Her wrist ached from where his fingers had been. There would be a bruise. Another bruise. There was a darkness in his eyes, and it was like a shadow had dropped across his face.

"Don't you love me? You're my everything, you know that," he said.

"That's not it…"

"Then what? What is it? Fuck Em, stop being so uptight."

"I just want to go home."

Part of her expected him to just kick her from the car. She wasn't sure if she was relieved or terrified that he didn't. That he did drive her home. Albeit in stony and all too scary silence.

….

Spencer and Aria watched Emily approach Ben's car, but didn't stay to watch the reunion. Their thoughts were consumed with the desire to get themselves alone. Of course, this meant lying to the other, making up any excuse to get away. Made easier by their shared goal, even if they didn't know it.

Aria's excuse came before they'd even made it half way home.

"Oh, I just remembered, I told my mom I'd meet her at the Grill after school. You know, to debrief."

Spencer nodded quickly.

As soon as the other girl was out of sight, Aria leant heavily against a wall. Returning home had been so much harder than she had expected. Seeing the familiar faces of her friends, the familiar halls of her school. It brought back every memory from before Iceland like a crushing boulder on her chest.

She felt her breath quicken. Suddenly the world was spinning and everything she'd been repressing hit her in the chest like a steam train until she couldn't even stand. She sank to the floor and buried her face in her hands. The tears were there before she even had the chance to feel them.

Aria didn't want to go home. She didn't want to face the happy bubble her parents had created. They were almost pretending that Iceland wasn't a relocation to a mental facility. They were almost pretending that it had just been a pleasant family holiday.

Radley wasn't far from here. That was where she was supposed to be going. She had an appointment in half an hour. The first one back in Rosewood. There was no chance in hell that she was going. Everything was just going to go back to normal. She needed it too.

What the hell is normal?

That voice. Maybe she was still crazy after all.

Instead of Radley, Aria found herself leaning over the wood bar of a nearby dive bar. The man standing behind it didn't even glance at home when she asked for a vodka and coke. It was presented to her not a minute later.

"Cool," she muttered.

She took a sip and allowed her eyes to wander around the dingy room. They were drawn to the notice board opposite her. About half way up and partly hidden behind old band posters was a missing persons flyer. You could see the eyes of the person in question peering from between them, unmistakable.

Aria downed the rest of her drink in two mouthfuls.

"Whoa, you okay down there?"

The voice belonged to an attractive guy sitting at the other end of the bar. Aria hadn't even noticed him, too wrapped up in her own world. "Jet-lag is a bitch. Europe is, like, a whole other time zone." She drawled, and rolled her eyes just a little bit.

"Where did you go in Europe?"

Her eyes flick back to his face. He had very blue eyes, and looked like a person she should know. For a moment, she considered walking away right then and there. "Iceland," she said, instead.

Apparently, he had been there, because of course he had. Travelled all over Europe. He didn't look like someone who had the kind of money that would let him do that. She'd always wanted to go to Amsterdam.

"So, I know why I'm in a dive bar in the middle of the day – why are you in a dive bar in the middle of the day?"

He smiles, it's sweet and boyish, and makes him look younger. "First day at work today, it went well, but I'd rather not run into any of my students." He looked at her curiously for a moment. "What's your major?"

Aria pulled her lower lip in between her teeth. "I'm leaning towards English."

Before she knew it, they were sat side by side. They spoke about writing, and travelling, and the future. For half an hour Aria allowed all her attention to be consumed by this stranger. Of course, she was lying about her age – and there was so much she would never be able to tell him. But for right now, she craved his attention.

Suddenly she placed her hand on his forearm. The action caused his voice to falter.

"Want to get out of here?"

Unsurprisingly, the bathroom of a dive bar was not a beautiful or even particularly clean place. The pair didn't care though. The second they fell through the door their mouths connected. Aria didn't even know the man's name but she really didn't care. The only thing she wanted right then was his hands to be closer, to be under her clothes, to touch her skin.

She needed to be under him too. Aria fumbled with the buttons of his jeans.

He pressed his lips against her neck and ran his hands down her back. She leant into his touch. So, content to forget everything other than the feel of him.

"My name is Ezra," he whispered.

Her eyes flew open. Having a name would undo everything she was trying to do here. Having a name would make him a person and not just a distraction. She thrust her hands against his chest so that he fell backwards against the sink. His tailbone sounded like it connected quite heavily. Before he could say a word however, she was on him.

Aria bit down on the side of his neck. Tore his clothes until they ripped. She felt him attempt to free himself, but then she reached into the open fly of his jeans and then, he stopped fighting.