"Look, I'm sorry bro. Mom cornered me into it, you know how she is," Ezra spoke to his brother Wesley on the phone. "Come on, please just come. I don't want to just be sitting there awkwardly with her, Aria, and Malcolm. I need you and Hanna to break the tension. I'll do anything, come on," Ezra pleaded with his brother. "I can't take on mom alone. Yes? You'll come? Thank you so much! Okay, gotta go. Yeah, bye," Ezra finished, clicking the 'end call' button on his cell phone.

Ezra ran into the living room to tell Aria the good news. She was sitting on the couch with Malcolm watching tv. Ezra stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her and bent down.

"Wes said yes!" he exclaimed. "He and Hanna are gonna come!"

"That's great Ezra," Aria spoke with a smile, turning her head to kiss Ezra on the cheek. "Now, I have to go get ready," she realized. She got up and headed into the bedroom.

"Why does she have to get ready now?" Malcolm asked innocently. "We're not leaving for another hour."

"Girls take forever to get ready, bud," Ezra spoke with a smile.

Aria turned on the water in the shower as she striped off her clothing. After she finished her shower, she wrapped the towel around her body; squeezing her hair dry. She opened the door to her closet and looked around, not having any idea what to wear.

Knowing Ezra's mother, it would be somewhere fancy, so she settled on a tight, teal dress. Walking back into the bathroom, she pulled her fuzzy robe over her body and plugged in her hair dryer. Once her hair was dry, she heated up her curling iron. Aria curled her hair into loose curls, letting her dark locks fall down her back.

Aria put on foundation and powder to cover up any blemishes that could be found on her face. She cover her eyelids with eye shadow, achieving a perfect smoky eye look before sliding mascara over her lashes.

She walked back into the bedroom as Ezra was walking in to get ready. She smiled at him as she pulled the dress over her body.

"You look beautiful," he spoke truthfully while caressing her cheek.

"Aww, thanks sweetie," she replied, pecking him on the lips.

Aria walked back into the bathroom and fixed her hair slightly. She swiped some light pink lipstick over her lips before leaving the bathroom yet again. Ezra was changing into a suit. She kissed him lightly on the cheek, not wanting to get lipstick all over him, before walking out into the living room where she saw Malcolm sitting on the couch.

"Hey! You have to get dressed," Aria told him with a chuckle.

"I.. don't know what to wear," Malcolm said, tentatively looking down.

"Come on, I'll help you!" she smiled.

Malcolm opened up his suitcase and glanced over at Aria, confused. She fished through the suitcase and found khaki pants and a light blue buttondown shirt.

"Here, this is perfect!" she exclaimed as she lay the outfit on the couch.

"Alright, thanks," Malcolm replied with a small smile.

He left to change in the bathroom as Aria walked into the kitchen. She grabbed a glass and filled it with water before sitting on a stool and taking a sip. Ezra came out of the bedroom and feigned a look of shock.

"Aria Montgomery, ready before everyone else?" he spoke playfully, his mouth dropping before smiling. "This is unheard of!"

She glared at him for a couple seconds, but then she broke out in a laugh. "Oh shush," she spoke before pulling him close to her and kissing him on the cheek.

Ezra stepped closer to her and Aria wrapped her arms around him as he let out a sigh. She looked up at him.

"What's up?" Aria asked quietly.

Ezra kissed her forehead before speaking. "I just.. I'm sorry," he spoke.

"Sorry about what?" she questioned, confused.

"About dinner with my mom, about Maggie, about Malcolm, about everything." Ezra breathed out, waiting for her reaction.

"Come on, Ezra. It's okay," Aria replied softly. "Do I wish I knew about Maggie and that you got her pregnant? Of course, but it's too late now. He's your kid and now he's here, you have to take care of him. No, we have to take care of him," she corrected herself.

"But I.. this just got pushed on you. You shouldn't have to deal with this, you're still in college."

"Ezra, I love you more than anything in the world. Yes, this certainly isn't the best thing that could have happened now, but we have to roll with it. I'm here with you for the long run, your obstacles are my obstacles," she spoke truthfully.

"Thank you," Ezra said softly. "That means a lot to me."

Soon enough, the three of them were ready to go out to dinner. Aria, Ezra, and Malcolm walked out of the apartment and two blocks down the street to the Italian restaurant they were meeting Ezra's mother, Wesley, and Hanna at.

When the three reached the restaurant, they saw Wesley and Hanna waiting for them.

Wesley fidgeted with his tie, obviously uncomfortable. "Mom's in there," he spoke, "but I didn't want to face her alone."

Aria gave Hanna a quick hug, their nervous expressions mirroring each other. "It'll be fine," Hanna whispered in Aria's ear.

Ezra slung his arm over Malcolm's shoulders and led the crowd into the restaurant where Dianne was sitting alone at a large table.


I'm aware that it's taken me almost two months to write this chapter and I'm so sorry. Freshman year of college is more difficult than I expected and now I'm busy with finals and everything.

In a week, I'm off for over a month. I'm spending a couple days in Maine, a week in Paris, and then a couple days in Florida, but when I'm home I'm determined to write a couple chapters of each story I'm working on, and possibly start a new one.

As always, please review so I know that people are actually reading what I've worked hard on :)