I hope you like this chapter :)

SORRY GUYS I DELETED THIS CHAPTER BY ACCIDENT so i've just updated it once again.

Serendipity

Ever since she received a call from Gerard's publishing Aria had been over the moon, she handed in her resignation to her boss with every bit of confidence despite being slightly sad that she wouldn't see Wesley as much as she used. But it was a new start. She was starting another chapter in her life. A lot of things had changed since, well, Ezra entered her life once again. It was almost as if he was good for her. She gotten another job, was now in a relationship, and no longer had Hanna on her case. Life was good, even if sometimes things felt a bit messy.

One thing she decided last week was that the dream meant absolutely nothing, it just didn't. The only reason she had dreamt about Ezra, like that, was because everything had been so abrupt. She no longer had feelings for him in that way. Their relationship was purely platonic. And her relationship with Jake was blossoming into something wonderful. He was everything her previous boyfriends weren't—he was good to her, and he made her feel happy. That's all she really ever wanted.

"Aria," Lesley called, as she walked past her desk, which essentially meant that Aria had to follow her into the office. The red-haired woman seemingly in her mid-thirties took a seat on the desk, and waited for her new secretary to close the door, "So did you read all the copies?"

She nodded, "I've divided them into four categories with stickers." Aria motioned towards the papers on her desk, "The one's with the red stickers are badly written, clichés and should be burnt. The ones with the yellow stickers are saleable i.e. they may amass a large teenage following and perhaps a movie. The one with the yellow stickers are good, well written, interesting however they are ideas we've seen time and time again. The ones with the green stickers are brilliant, thought provoking, and really great reads."

Lesley smiled, "Great job, Aria. You are much better than Gertrude, my previous assistant, but I'll go through these once again to see if you're just faking it or really are what we need at Gerard's. I'm hoping Ezra's right, and, right now, it seems that he is. You may leave – wait, go over to Joe's Deli and get my lunch please, say my name and they will give it to you." She said, Aria nodded, and left the office. She let out a huge sigh in relief, and walked out of the building to get Lesley's lunch. Aria was now an editorial assistant, however that didn't mean she was free from having to do chores for her boss. It was an independent company which meant it was smaller than most but yet it was successful and great experience for Aria, especially to put on her resume.

Joe's Deli was a five minute walk away from Gerard's Publishing; she found it hard to resist the urge to order something to eat for her. It was currently five o'clock so technically it was early dinner not lunch, but Lesley worked on a different time schedule than the rest of the world. She walked up to the counter, "Hello, I'm here to collect food for Lesley Gerard." She said, politely.

"Right," The young man said, and walked to the back. Aria waited patiently, and then caught the eye of someone who was no longer a stranger.

"Aria, hello," Hayley greeted with a smile, "How are you?"

"Good, great," Aria replied, "What about you?"

"Same, so I have decided to host dinner on Friday night and I want to invite all of Ezra's friends slash some of his family members, I just thought it'd be nice – for his birthday, you know," Hayley began, "And I wanted to invite you but I didn't know your number, didn't want to ask him because it's supposed to be a surprise, how great is it that I met you here,"

She nodded, "That's very nice, but Hayley the thing is I'm not really a friend, friend, if you know what I mean. Ezra and I aren't that close," Aria said, hesitantly, "I don't think he would especially like it if I came over to a dinner with some of the closest people in his life."

Hayley shook her head, "Nonsense. The two of you are friends, that's it, plus Wesley is coming so you won't have to just stand in a corner to yourself," She said, kindly, "And he is bringing his boyfriend, Noel, who is your roommate I believe," Aria nodded, gulping, "You can also invite a friend, I mean a boyfriend or whatever." The man at the counter returned, "Please do come, I would love it if you did and I'm sure Ezra would too."

"I'll try," Aria said, "Well I have to go. It was nice seeing you, Hayley," She took the paper bag, and walked out of the deli. A little groan escaped her mouth; she didn't want to go to Ezra's party. Surely, it would be awkward considering – no, she thought. There was no reason for it to be awkward, they were friends, not the closest friends but it still counted. Plus she could just see it as a night out with friends, with Noel and Wesley. It would be fun plus if Wren went then Spencer probably would too. Yes, it would be nice. There was no reason to overthink things, and make it awkward. Perhaps she could invite Jake then her friends could see that she was somewhat serious about him.

It would be fine. But that dream kept lingering in her head, making her feel strange, and feel like she was seventeen again. She wasn't seventeen though; she had just turned twenty four, and was a young adult who was fully capable of spending a night alongside her current boyfriend and the man whom she spent most of junior and senior year thinking about. It was absolutely fine, or so she hoped.

…

Spencer walked in through the door of her apartment; it had been nearly a year since she had moved in with Wren. And, honestly speaking, this year she had been happier than she had in the entirety of her life. He was good to her; he was kind, most importantly he loved her. Her parents accepted their relationship, originally they had simply thought she was rebelling however after dinners spent with the two of them throughout the years they realised that there was more to it. Their youngest daughter had fallen in love, and she had found someone who loved her back. With Wren being in Rosewood, and Spencer attending Yale in Connecticut it had been hard for their relationship however after she graduated the two of them made the decision to move to the big apple.

The living room lights were on, which meant Wren was home, she slid out of her work attire and into sweats. He was sitting on the balcony, presumably relaxing from his shift. Wren worked as a doctor at the psychiatric hospital so his days were often very intense so when he came home he liked to wind down with a beer. She walked towards him and softly placed her hands on his shoulder, gently massaging him, whilst leaning down to kiss him.

"Well, hello there," Wren greeted, with a smile.

She kissed him once again, "Hello," She said, he pulled her over and into his lap. "Hayley called me,"

Wren furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, then the memory of Ezra drunkenly admitting that he had feelings for Aria resurfaced, and he began to worry wondering whether somehow Hayley had found out and then called Spencer to clarify on the nature of Aria and Ezra's former relationship. She probably knew, Wren thought. Those four girls were as close as can be, and they shared every secret. If she knew then surely he wouldn't be betraying Ezra to simply speak about it, "What'd she say?"

Spencer looked at him in confusion, as she observed his eyes which were filled with nerves, "She wanted to invite us over to dinner tomorrow night for an early celebration of Ezra's birthday, and apparently she has invited everyone. Most of his old work colleagues, Hardy, you, Wesley plus Noel and Aria who may bring her boyfriend," She stated.

"Aria," Wren questioned, gulping.

"Yeah, I think Fitz and her are friends now," Spencer shrugged, "It's not the most shocking friendship, believe me. You've lived in Rosewood, you should know," She said, with a small laugh, as she got up and sat down on the edge of balcony.

He nodded, "Well, yeah, b-but it's nonetheless very strange,"

She shrugged once again, "Why are you being so weird about this?" She asked, leaning over and grabbing his beer.

"Nothing, so were they always friends even back in Rosewood or what?" He inquired, attempting nonchalance.

"No, obviously, he was her teacher." Spencer said, narrowing her eyes, "What do you know that I don't know?" She said, staring at him. It was obvious that he was trying to hide something, he felt trapped as he didn't want to lie to her but he didn't want to betray the trust of his friend so he settled, he would tell one thing and not the other, it was clear to him that Spencer didn't know about Aria and Ezra's history. After seven years of being with her he had learnt to find out when she was lying, and when she wasn't.

Wren pursed his lips together, "Ezra had a dream – about, well Aria." He said, "According to him it didn't mean anything, it was just a dream,"

"A sex dream," Spencer asked, wide eyed.

He shook his head, "Nope."

"That's even worse." She said, "Does he—does Ezra like her?" She didn't know whether to be amused, shocked, or supportive so she decided to be all three. Although she felt more shocked than anything at all, never had she thought this was even a possibility. As she thought more about it she realised that Aria never spoke about Ezra in the same teasing way that all the other girls did, in fact she always seemed like she was uncomfortable whenever they did. Did she also like him as more than a crush? Did she still like him?

"No." He said, too quickly.

Her mouth fell open and she stood up, pacing the balcony back and forth, "God, what the hell are we supposed to do?"

Wren stood up, "Nothing," He stated, "He can't know I told you, neither can Aria, Spence." He said, she looked at him and bit her lower lip. "Please don't tell her, please."

"He has a girlfriend," Spencer said, loudly, "A girlfriend; he can't go around having feelings for a girl whom he, at one point, taught. God, you need to talk some sense into him. Make sure he doesn't act on his feelings, or he does. I don't know what to do," She ran her hand through her hair, frustrated.

"We do nothing," Wren said, placing his hands on her shoulder, "He probably doesn't even like her. It's just a stupid dream. Its fine, we should just let everything be." He said, as though he was trying to convince. Her nodding reaffirmed, in his mind, that he had made the right decision.

Spencer took a deep breath and sat down, once again, "Although, if they were to get together, it would be kind of cute." She said, imagining the two of them together.

He narrowed his eyes in confusion, "What?" He said, staring at her.

"I mean, obviously it shouldn't happen, but it's just – I mean they're so alike, but so different, I feel like they would balance each other out so perfectly." Spencer said, with a small smile, "Plus their height difference is incredibly cute, and a reason to tease Aria some more about." She said, and then looked at the way Wren was staring at her shocked, "But it wouldn't make sense."

"Or would it?" Spencer added, leading to another debate between the two of them.

…

Another day had passed; Aria discovered even her dream job could have some things she didn't particularly like. But that was life, she guessed, she wouldn't know how good a thing was unless she experienced some bad along with it. As she walked up the stairs, she received a text from Wesley with him informing her that he would meet her at the party along with Noel. She blew a raspberry, feeling as though she had been abandoned. A little extreme, yes, but she was used to never coming home to an empty apartment. Once she was on her floor, she saw Jake standing outside the door. A smile formed across her face, he grinned back towards her, and opened his arms which she walked into. He leaned down and softly kissed her on the lips.

"I thought I'd come over early," Jake said, "So, you could tell me about this guy who's party we're going to without me looking a total shmuck once we were there," He said,

"Oh," Aria said, and then pulled away taking out her keys to open the door, "Well, I hope you do realise that I'm going to be getting ready, and you're going to have to watch,"

Jake grinned, "Sounds perfect," He said, watching as she walked over to her room and he followed. He laid down on her bed as she stripped herself of her work clothes until she was just in a slip. "So how do you know him?" He asked.

"Ezra," She inquired, "Well, he's, uh, a family friend I guess I could say. He used to teach me English when I was in high school, and my mom was friends with him. Then flash forward seven years later I find out he is the brother of one of my best friends and the friend of my other best friend's boyfriend, isn't that crazy?" She said, with a small laugh, as she dug through her closest picking out a black dress and placing it on the chair as she touched up her make up to make it seem more party friendly i.e. a little more intense.

"Crazy," Jake commented, "Then how did the two of you become friends?" It seemed like an interrogation, but Aria let it slide as he was obviously just curious.

Aria shrugged, "When I went out to dinner with him, with Wes, we began talking he offered to get me an interview for this job – I don't know, I guess we share common interests and have kind of a history with high school and all so we just naturally gravitated into this friendship," She said, with a small smile.

Jake pursued his lips together, "Dinner, huh?" He asked,

"Yeah, Wes kind of made me so I said yes,"

"He doesn't sound like a good friend if he'd force you to do something like that," Jake commented.

Her eyes widened, she turned around, "Are you kidding? Wes is a great friend. He didn't exactly force me, he just – he didn't do it to make me feel uncomfortable. He knew I was hungry so he just suggested it and I think he knew that I would get along with Ezra," She turned to face the mirror once more, in which she could see his reflection.

"Did you sleep with him?"

"Huh." Aria said, confused, she placed his brush down and stood up, leaning against her table. "What?"

Jake cleared his throat, "Did you sleep with him?" He said, this time more clear and his words were more separate.

"He's gay, Jake, and one of my best friends." Aria replied, crossing her arms across her chest.

"I'm not talking about Wesley; I'm talking about his brother – Ezra." Jake clarified,

Her heart raced, not knowing where he got this from, why he was acting the way he was. He hadn't even seen Ezra so she wondered why he sounded so suspicious. She bit her lower lip, knowing that if she delayed the response it would feed into his paranoia leading him to believe he was correct, "No. Why would you even say that? He is just a friend, plus he has a girlfriend, and I have you."

Jake nodded, he chuckled as he got off the bed and walked towards her, "I'm sorry, I just need to know that no other guy has laid hands on my girl, especially if I'm going to their dinner party. I don't want to look like an idiot, you know." He said, as he hugged her.

"You won't," Her voice felt a little weak, a little forced, but he didn't notice it. He held her tighter whispering words of adoration in her ear, and kissing her cheek reverting to the Jake she had always known and not the one who had just been revealed to her in the last ten minutes. One of his hands was firm on her waist whilst the other was just behind her neck leaving her trapped in his embrace.

Aria looked straight ahead at the wall, feeling suffocated in his suspicion, and the way he called her his. She was no one's; she belonged to herself even if she was in a relationship. And guys had laid lands on her, a lot of them. She wasn't exactly the poster girl for abstinence. She gulped and pulled away from in an attempt to get ready. She wondered whether she was overthinking things, whether, like always, she was just trying to find a way out when things were before they got bad. Yes, she decided, she was overthinking things. She was moving on, which she had done already, but this time it different—this time she was going to make this relationship work no matter what happened because, if not, then it proved that she was her father's daughter; that she couldn't function happily in a committed relationship without screwing things up.

…

The apartment, Aria observed, was truly something that belonged in a magazine. It was spacious, modern, and didn't have a pizza stain on the couch like her did despite Hayley's couch being an irresponsible white. Jake's hand was wrapped around her waist as they walked through the apartment towards Spencer and Wren. She smiled, moving out of his arms and going towards her friend. Jake acknowledged Spencer and began speaking to Wren.

"You look nice," Spencer commented, "Is that the dress we found at that thrift store?"

Aria nodded, "But, if anyone asks, it is from Macy's." She said, jokingly, "So this apartment is really something, huh."

Spencer looked around, sipping her wine, "It reminds me of Melissa so naturally I feel a tad bit depressed," She said, Aria rolled her eyes, "I never got to ask. When did Hayley invite you here?" She could feel Wren's watchful gaze on her to make sure she didn't say anything she wasn't supposed to.

"It was really weird, actually. I went to get my boss lunch, and she was also in the line—she told me to come even though Ezra and I aren't even close," Aria replied, nonchalantly, she looked around and saw Hayley mingling with her guests. She looked beautiful, with her long brunette hair in soft curls, and dress that clung to her in all the right places. She could see why Ezra was attracted to her, not only was she incredibly beautiful but she was also very sweet and intelligent. It seemed as if he got the best of both worlds after all.

Wren looked at Jake, "So how's your Martial arts studio doing?" He asked,

"Good," Jake replied, "Seems that a lot of people are very frightened, especially women, who live in New York of being attacked,"

"Isn't that the reason why Aria first came to you for self-defence lessons? Which, someone remind me, lasted only three weeks before she quit." Spencer said, teasingly, glancing over at her friend who was somewhat staring at the hostess of the party.

Jake nodded, chuckling, "Yes. That was only because I kissed her," He said, "She didn't want there to be a conflict of interest considering I was her teacher,"

Wren cleared his throat, refraining from making any comments about how ironic that statement truly was, he nodded, "Wow, that's great. I am going to get another glass of this champagne," He said, walking off to the refreshment table. Spencer excused herself, and followed him.

"Okay," She stood in front of him, somewhat startling him, "What was that?"

"What was what?" He asked, naively, picking up a glass, tasting it and scrunching his nose as he didn't like the taste.

"You told me to not make it obvious that I know, but clearly you're not putting yourself through the same standards," Spencer said, with narrowed eyes, "You were so weird, and awkward around her." She crossed her arms across her chest.

He sighed, "Well, I'm sorry but it is just weird – how am I supposed to react in a situation like this? And look at her; she is just staring at Hayley. Clearly, she is jealous or whatever." He said, looking over at Aria who was speaking to her boyfriend but looking over at Hayley whenever she got the chance.

"Are you suggesting that she still has feelings for him?" Spencer asked, suppressing her urge to smile.

"I don't know. You have to ask her,"

"Pray, do tell, how should I go about doing that?"

He shrugged, "I don't know. Tell her about the dream. See her reaction," He said, giving up.

Spencer looked over at Aria, "You told me not to say anything,"

"You can. I give you permission." Wren said,

She scoffed, "You give me permission,"

Wren squirmed, "Not in a chauvinistic way." He clarified, "I'm a feminist; you know that,"

"I know. I'm just messing with you." Spencer said, grabbing a glass of the champagne, "God, how much do you think this must cost?"

"More than our entire month's rent, that's for sure," Wren mumbled,

The door opened, and Ezra walked up, seemingly unaware of what was occurring within the apartment. Immediately an array of 'surprise' echoed throughout the apartment. He smiled, shaking his head in disbelief. Hayley walked over to him, kissing him on the lips. "Happy 32nd Birthday, babe," She said, hugging him.

"Wow, you really shouldn't have." He mumbled, as he looked around the apartment – his eyes widened in shock when he saw Aria, she shrugged smiling acknowledging the bizarreness of her being in an apartment filled with his closest friends and family nonetheless he returned her smile noticing as the man, whom he didn't recognize, slipped his arms around her pulling her closer. Soon enough he was swept into conversations with friends, asking about how he was, how New Orleans was. It was great; he didn't ever really have the opportunity to catch up with some of these people. He noticed as Noel and Wesley entered the apartment, late, both with flushed cheeks and walked towards Aria who seemed as though she was teasing them. Hayley was the perfect hostess, making sure everything was perfect, and that nothing went awry. He wrapped his arms around her and leaned into her ear, telling her of how happy he was she did this.

Hardy was pulled into the kitchen by Spencer and Wren; he fell into the chair and opened his beer on the side of the table. Despite being a lawyer Spencer and Wren standing in front of him seemed intimidating as though he was a suspect and they were the judge and jury, respectively. "What's this all about?" He asked, confused.

"Ezra is in love with my best friend," Spencer said, wide eyed.

Wren squirmed, "Not love. Let's not say love." He said, wrinkling his forehead.

"Fine, he likes her. He is in lust with her," She looked at him, rolling her eyes.

"Firstly, who is your friend? Secondly, how do you know this? Thirdly, he isn't because he has a girlfriend." Hardy mashed all his queries into one simple sentence; he looked at his best friend and his girlfriend who seemed as if they were being driven insane by this supposed revelation.

"Her name is Aria, and he had a dream about her, Hardy." Wren said, sighing.

Hardy rolled his eyes, "Dreams don't mean anything. I've had a dream about your girlfriend, doesn't mean I'm in love with her,"

Spencer couldn't help but be flattered, whilst Wren glared at him, "It wasn't that kind of dream. He told her he loved her in it,"

"What?" Hardy and Spencer said, simultaneously.

"You never told me this," She looked at him in confusion, "Oh god, this is even worse than I thought," She commented, a million things rushing through her head, and not noticing the look that Wren and Hardy shared. And then her phone buzzed; it was Aria asking where she was, "I have to go but we'll discuss this later." They both nodded as she left the kitchen, acting nonchalant.

Hardy got up, his beer in one hand, "Is it her?"

"I don't know, maybe," Wren replied, sighing, "We never did know what her name was, or who she was, just that there was someone."

"I always taught that she had broken his heart, that's why he was so desolate for so long." Hardy mumbled,

"Yeah, I did too. Now, perhaps, I think it was the other way around,"

He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, "But it still doesn't make sense. How? Why?"

Wren gulped, "Because it was illicit. She was his student," He stated, Hardy's eyes widened.

Hardy knew that something had happened in Rosewood, that something had changed his friend. Firstly, he just thought it was due to his family issues, but then he realised that it wasn't that – it had been a girl, his friend had fallen in love and had his heart trampled on, so it seemed, but it was much more. He wanted to yell at his friend, scream at him, tell him what he did was wrong but Ezra knew that, that's why he left Rosewood and came home to New York. But, in spite of living in the big apple, his heart was still set for the girl from the small town in Pennsylvania.

…

It was some sort of sophisticated music that she only heard when she was watching shows about the upper class; she didn't know what it was or didn't care to know. She smiled, in relief that Jake and Noel were getting along. For some reason it took a burden off her shoulders since she didn't have to entertain him the entire night, Aria walked over to the refreshment table picking up a glass of champagne and a snack. She looked down at her alcoholic beverage and picked the olive which was on a toothpick, before eating it. Scrunching her nose in disgust as she realised she still hated olives, so she drank the drink in an attempt to get the taste of the olives out of her mouth.

From the corner of her eye she noticed Ezra walking over, he stood next to her although he was faced towards the table whilst she was leaning on it, "So how does it feel being, almost, thirty two?" She asked, he chuckled and then turned around. They were only inches apart.

"I don't know to describe it; actually I don't think I feel much. All this, these celebrations, feel weird because I feel out of place," Ezra said, "I guess I do feel like I should be doing something—something big, considering I am so close to my mid-thirties." He mumbled, drinking the champagne, and frowning, "This tastes strange,"

Aria nodded, "Yeah, but you still want to continue drinking it," She added, "I'm sorry if it's weird, me being here, that is. Hayley invited me, even though I told her we're not really close."

He shrugged, "I guess not, but we've only been friends for a brief time," He said, "I'm glad you're here."

She smiled, "I am too." She said as he looked at her – the way he always used – and it made her feel good, it made her feel appreciated and loved. She remembered how he had the power to make her feel better even if she was going through the worst thing possible. She doubted he even knew what he was doing, but this look was one of the reasons why she fell for him—because he made her feel like the most important person in his life. And she felt that every person should, at one point, find someone who makes them feel this way. She looked down, her hair fell to her face and she pushed it behind her ears. And so they continued to talk whilst being blissfully unaware of the number of people who were silently observing them.

"Is that her?" Hardy asked,

Wren nodded, "Yes." He replied, "That is Aria. My girlfriend's best friend, his brother best friend, and the girl he's, perhaps subconsciously, in love with," He commented, if this had not been so close to home, then he would have laughed.

Hardy walked over to the two of them, with Wren closely following, "Hey," He greeted, looking at Aria who smiled at him politely, "How's it going?" He asked,

"Good, can't believe you're here though. How did Hayley force you into this? You hate people," Ezra said, with a chuckle, "This is your idea of a nightmare,"

"And yet he's a lawyer," Wren said, shaking his head in amusement.

"The reason I hate people is because I'm a lawyer," Hardy corrected, a dramatic sigh released from his mouth.

Ezra laughed, "Thank you for coming. I know how hard it must be on you,"

"You're welcome, buddy. That's what friends do," He said, with a smirk, and then he turned to face Aria who was still standing next to Ezra, "Hey, I'm Hardy," He introduced himself, she seemed shocked that she was being acknowledged.

"Aria," She said, "Nice to meet you,"

"Likewise," Hardy replied, "So, are the two of you friends?"

Wren furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as to what his friend was doing, "Yeah," Aria said, whilst glancing over at Ezra.

Hardy nodded, "So how'd the two of you meet?" He asked,

She parted her lips to talk, but no words came out. Ezra looked over at her, "Initially, during class, I taught Aria her junior year. Then, we met again some weeks back," He said, with a small smile. Hardy nodded, listening, as he observed the two of them.

Meanwhile across the apartment Jake was on his sixth glass of champagne, he had been watching his girlfriend communicate with Ezra for so long now. He watched as Ezra looked at her, and the way they were so close. He felt jealously build up inside him. He didn't know who the guy thought he was, or what he thought he was going. And, now he was going to teach him a lesson. Aria was his, he had been waiting so long for her, and she knew that but she was still naïve. With time she would learn how to act as his girlfriend. He stormed over there, "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

Ezra's eyes widened, "Excuse me?"

"—Jake," Aria said, softly, "You're drunk,"

"Shut up, bitch," He spat, her mouth fell open, "I am not talking to you."

"Hey, hey, you can't talk to her like that," Ezra said, feeling angry, whilst shaking his head in disbelief. Everyone around them stopped talking, and stared at their direction. Aria gulped, she didn't know what to do or how to feel. This was a completely different side of him.

He laughed, "And, what? You're going to tell me how to talk to her? She's mine, not yours,"

"Jake. Come on, we're leaving," Aria said, walking towards him, with her hand on his arm, "Come on, please. Jake, we can go to my apartment and talk," She said, softly. He placed his hand on her wrist, tightly, digging his nails into it.

"You don't tell me what to do. I tell you what to do," Jake spat, his voice laced with anger. "You are not allowed to speak to him, ever again."

"Let go of her, Jake." Ezra tried to keep calm, "And, leave this apartment – now."

"Or what," He said, laughing, as Aria released her hand from his grip, "I can do whatever I want to her, and I do. How does that make you feel? I fuck her. I lay next to her. She sleeps with me, not you. I touch her, I –" Out of nowhere Ezra's fist met with Jake's face. A gasp escaped from Aria's mouth, tears welled up in her eyes. She watched as the two men began to fight each other, with Hardy and Wren trying to stop the two of them. Spencer had hurried over; she was standing next to her making sure her friend was okay.

"Stop," Aria screamed, "Stop." She yelled, "Please stop," Her voice broke, and tears smudged her eye makeup leaving streaks of black falling down her cheeks. Ezra heard her cry, for a moment he looked over and he saw her, broken and frightened. He stopped, and felt Jake punch him pushing him to the ground. And from there everything was just a blur, the last thing he saw was her falling to the ground making sure she was okay and Hayley's voice as she made Jake leave. All he knew now was that if she was the last thing he saw he was fine with it.

…

She sat down on the couch, Noel and Wesley had been ordered, by Spencer, to take her home and make sure she was okay. She sat upright, the echoes Jake yelling and the sound of him hitting Ezra flooding her ear. And the tears fell once more. She wasn't one to cry in public but she didn't know how else to deal. She looked down at her wrists; they were still red and bruised. She wondered how long it would take until these bruises faded; the last thing she wanted was a reminder of him. Her two friends were trying to make sure she was okay; they got her hot chocolate and told her she should take a shower but she didn't want to get up. She kept thinking that Jake would come, banging on the door, and he would hurt her.

Hanna, Spencer and Emily were all sitting on the couch. They didn't say anything; they just sat and watched her, wondering what they should do. Spencer had called them and got them up to speed, every now and then Wren texted her to update her. Jake had been arrested by the police however Ezra hadn't because of the evident bruises that were on Aria, which proved that he was trying to defend his friend.

"I want to see him," Aria said, quietly, "I want to see Ezra, and make sure he is okay," She said,

"Okay, he is just getting checked up by the doctors, we can go there." Spencer said, with a small, supportive smile.

Aria shook her head, "No, I can go on my own, and I don't want to go to the hospital. I'll wait outside the apartment," She said, "I want to apologise. To Hayley and Ezra,"

Hanna felt as though she had been hit in the chest, "You don't have to apologise for anything, you're a victim,"

She sniffled, tears freely flew down her cheeks, "No. I'm not, I'm not a victim. It's my fault; it's all my fault, Jake was acting strange before. I should've known. I have to apologise." She said, standing up, "Please don't follow me. I'm a grown woman. I can do what I want, I don't need babysitters." She said, as she left the apartment.

Emily looked down, "Why did Jake attack Ezra? I don't understand," She spoke, "I don't understand how he just changed."

"I don't know. Maybe because Aria was talking to Ezra, and not giving him any attention," Spencer replied, groaning, "All these years, he kept asking her out again and again. We completely dismissed it, he was always so possessive. Why didn't we notice? The way he was obsessed with her should have been a red flag. Why wasn't it?"

"You're right. We should have," Hanna muttered, the realisation hit her that she had tried so hard to protect Aria from Ezra but she should have focused her attention on the other man who was truly evil, "I am going to kill him. When he gets out of jail I am going to kill him."

"Han," Emily said, softly, "He's dangerous. We shouldn't go anywhere near him,"

"I can't believe this happened." Noel muttered, whilst sitting on the table behind the girls. "How's Ezra?"

Wesley shrugged, "He's going to live. It's fine, just some cuts and bruises." He replied, "Noel, uh, this may sound strange but did you notice the way Jake was taunting, or trying to taunt him, when he was grabbing Aria's wrist," He asked.

Spencer nodded, standing up, "I did." She replied, "It was like he was trying to make him jealous – maybe he believed there is something between the two of them that's why he got angry,"

"But there isn't," Hanna stated, firmly, crossing her arms across her chest, "Can we stop talking about Jake? He makes me sick,"

…

Hayley looked at Ezra as he sat in the cab, he had bruises on his face and his upper lip was cut. She sighed softly, placing her hand on top of his and pulling it up to kiss it. She couldn't believe what had taken place at the party. He was obviously in deep thought, after he gained consciousness he asked whether Aria was okay. She replied she was even though she doubted that, there was no way in hell that poor girl was okay after all that had happened. She noticed how he had seemed so relieved after she had lied. She had so many questions, she wanted to know how this fight started but she had no strength to ask them. The thought of returning home to an messy apartment gave her even more anxiety.

The two of them got out of cab, and he followed her up into their apartment. Once the door was opened, they noticed Aria sitting on the couch in a now clean apartment. There was garbage bags on the side, Hayley wondered whether she cleaned it and it was soon obvious that she did.

"Are you okay?" Aria asked, concerned. He nodded, she pursed her lips then she looked at Hayley, "I'm sorry about ruining your party. I know you wanted it to be special but I completely ruined it. It's my entire fault, I am so sorry," Her voice broke.

Her heart broke, Hayley walked over and hugged her, "No, Aria, it was not." She said, softly, "Thank you for cleaning up, you really didn't have to." She let go of her, "All that we, Ezra and I, care about is that you are okay. So please don't blame yourself. It is not your fault. It's no one's but Jake's." She said, and Aria flinched at the sound of his name. "Okay, I'm going to have a shower, you two talk." She said, walking into the bedroom.

Ezra looked at her, "So, I guess I can write about this in a memoir in thirty or so years," He attempted humour to get her to smile and she did, she laughed until she cried. She wrapped her arms around her body and he walked closer to her until he hugged her. She rested her head on his chest, her tears soaking his shirt.

"You're going to write a memoir?" Aria questioned, teasingly. He chuckled. "I'm sorry,"

"It's not your fault," He replied, letting go of her.

"It is," She said, gulping, "It's entirely my fault so I'm going to fix it,"

He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, "What do you mean?" He asked,

"Seven years ago you left," Aria sniffled, moving away from her, "That was the best thing you could do. And now I will. The two of us together, even if it's platonic, it ends up with someone getting hurt. Last time it was me and this time, quite literally, it was you. I c-can't stand the thought of you being hurt because of me."

"Aria, don't – please don't." Ezra said, his voice softening, "We're friends, and I care about you, I don't you to leave. I want you in my life."

Her lips quivered, "Please don't make it harder. We'll see each other around, it's inevitable but we won't spend time together." She said, then she moving closer to him. "Ezra, I care about you so much. And you may be one of the greatest people I know but I don't want to hurt you again." She said,

He shook his head, "You didn't." He said, scratching the back of his neck.

"No, I did. Don't you see?" Aria asked, "I went with Jake, I invited him here, and then you got hurt. It's my fault. The only reason I even went out with Jake was because I was hurt that you moved on, and so I said yes to the one who always asked. Because I wanted to prove that I could be in a relationship too, that I'm not broken to function healthily. If I hadn't been so petty then you wouldn't have gotten hurt. We both wouldn't have gotten hurt." She said, quickly. Her eyes widened and her hand flew to her mouth as she realised what she said.

Ezra stood in shock, "Aria,"

She shook her head and raised her hand to his cheek, leaning up to kiss him on the cheek. "Goodbye Ezra," She walked out of the apartment leaving him confused and tired. He sat down on the couch, hearing the sound of the shower but Hayley wasn't in the shower she had her ears pressed against the door. Her mouth open in shock and her heart hurting as she realised why Ezra had defended Aria so abruptly and with so much force. Not because she was his friend, because he was in love with her. She had been the girl who Hayley had been fighting for his heart all this time. Tears filled her eyes.

Now Hayley knew, why he hadn't proposed, why they didn't talk about children, why he was always so distant. Because he was in love, and not with her.

There you go! :) Hope you liked it

-TC