Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Pairing: Aria/Jason. Some Aria/Ezra. Others are mentioned.
Summary: She never meant for this to happen but it did and now she has no clue what to do about it. Jason/Aria.
Author's Note: Hope you all like! This goes out to my youngest sister who is an even bigger Aria/Jason shipper than me. She is also the inspirtation for this story. So, y'all can thank her for making me get off my lazy ass and finish this thing. Lol. Love ya, kid! Hope you all enjoy. It's been one helluva ride!
seven day fool
chapter 7
I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today.
William Allen White
Sunday
She leaves the DiLaurentis's house in the early hours of the morning. She's still technically grounded, but Aria finds that she doesn't really care. Instead, she walks barefoot to her house, her black heels clutched loosely in her hands. The pavement is cold under her feet but she doesn't feel it.
No, she just continues to walk through the empty town.
She's chewing on her lip as she crosses the street and unlocks the door to her house. She enters it slowly and locks it when she's through the threshold. Her house is still the same. The kitchen is still to her right. The couches are still in their same place. Everything is still the same.
But Aria feels so different. She feels so light. She feels…Jesus, for the first time in so long, she just feels.
She can't help smiling as she quietly creeps up the stairs and down the hall. She shuts the door to her room as soon as she's in it.
"Do you have to go?" He asks her sleepily.
Aria grins and pushes his hair from his face. "Yeah, but I'll see in a few hours anyways. You're officially invited to the Montgomery Sunday Family Lunch."
He lets out a small smile and opens his eyes to look at her. "I'd like that."
She knows that she'll deal with the repercussions. She knows that people will talk. She knows that shit will be thrown their way but she's not afraid of it. For the first time in a long time, she's okay with not knowing what comes next.
She's okay with the unexpected. (She's more than okay going through everything with Jason).
She sighs as soon as she falls into her bed; she tugs the covers to her chin and buries her head in her pillow.
It's odd to her, how she started the week as Ezra's girlfriend and ended it with being with Jason. Not that they've ever actually stated anything. They're not official (not yet) and Aria is okay with that. She's okay with getting to know him. She's okay with getting coffee, watching a movie, she's okay with the long lapses of silence, the shy glances, the tentative steps towards something bigger (greater) than she thought possible.
She wanted everything and anything all at once with Ezra. With Jason, she's more than happy stepping back and letting things progress.
She thinks it shows maturity. Growing up. Becoming an adult. The thought scares her but it doesn't surprise her.
(She doesn't know how, she doesn't know why, but in the span of seven days Aria Montgomery has changed and God…she likes it).
She's exhausted as she closes her eyes and succumbs to sleep just as the sky starts turning a brilliant shade of pink. It's a new day and a new Aria and she's never looked so forward to…living, breathing…loving.
(She doesn't know what today will bring; she doesn't know what tomorrow will bring. She's not a psychic, she doesn't what will happen a week, a month, a year from now, but for once, she's excited to find out).
I spy with my little eyes, a little liar growing up. Scary isn't it? A.
3 years later
"It's Ms. Grey." Aria tells him as she starts laughing.
"No." Jason replies stubbornly. "I still think its Loca Lucy."
"Nope. That hitch in her voice? All Ms. Grey."
He sighs and climbs off the bed and looks out the window. He swears softly. "It's Ms. Grey."
"I told you!"
He chuckles as he pulls back the covers and climbs back into bed.
It's easy for Aria to forget everything that happened during moments like this. She forgets the handful of years and just thinks about the present, (the future), always wrapped in Jason's warm embrace.
She did end up going to NYU. (Hollis wasn't even an option at that point). She's doing journalism (was there any doubt?)
"I got into NYU." She tells him quietly one night. They're in his car, seats dipped low as they stare at the midnight sky.
"I knew they'd accept you." He smiles as he turns his head and stares at her. "I like New York City." (Take me with you, is what he doesn't say).
"I'm glad." She replies, relief evident in her voice. (Please come with me. Don't leave me alone. Ever, is what she doesn't say).
They stare at each other some more before the distance is closed and she's melting, drowning (down, down, down they go) in his arms.
Aria should know better by now; sometimes they don't even need to say anything. They just know.
It was hard at first. New York City is expensive, so they got a small apartment in the Bronx and it's not nearly as bad as everyone said it would be. Every Sunday in the summer, there's a block party with food, music, and laughter that more than likely echoes across the bridge. They've both become fast friends with their neighbors, who have all but adopted the painfully out of place couple, into their little family.
When Aria is at school, Jason is at the local community center. He manages it now and can't help but love the kids that wander in.
(So much has changed that Aria sometimes wakes up and expects it all to be a dream. But then she looks over at Jason and sees him sleeping peacefully, she'll tame her wildly beating her and lay her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat as it lulls her to sleep).
"New York City, the city that never sleeps." Jason says out of the blue one night as they venture out of their apartment and catch a bus to Times Square.
She looks at the masses of people and the lights and how the city manages to compete (and win) against the night sky. "It's more than that. It's our home."
He looks over at her and puts an arm around her shoulder, pulling her against him. "Home. I like the sound of that."
"Me too."
Some days, she'll feel nostalgic and she'll think of Rosewood and how everything is going there. She doesn't dwell on it for long. She doesn't have anyone there anymore.
Spencer (and Toby) found their way to California, so did Hanna (and Caleb) but they're in Montecito, with Caleb's newfound family; Emily chose Duke; Mike is on his way to Penn State and their parents have settled comfortably in Boston with both of them teaching at Boston University.
She and Ezra still keep in touch sometimes. He's writing a book and still teaching at Hollis. He's seeing a new woman, her name is Melanie and she's a Philosophy professor. ("She's unlike anyone I've ever met." He confessed to her one day, and even through the phone, Aria can see him grin. She smiles and finds that she is actually genuinely happy for him. "I'm happy for you." She tells him. There's a silence. "Are you happy?" "More than you could ever know." "Good.")
Jason knows about her conversations with Ezra and he's not jealous. At least not much, but he likes Aria's honesty and to be honest? Aria has never lied to him since that night, three years ago, when she crept out of his house and walked through the empty town.
"What're you thinking about?" Jason asks her.
"The future." She tells him. She's done thinking about the past. It's over.
"How's it look?"
"It looks…we look…happy."
(That's it. That feeling in the pit of her stomach, every time she goes to school, every time she comes home, every time she sees Jason…it's happiness. It's complete and utter freedom).
Oh God. This is it. This is the start of the rest of her (their) lives.
And for first time in a very long time, she's ready for it.
See? What have I been telling you? The best thing comes to those who wait. Life's full of surprises bitches and don't you ever forget me. A.
It's done. Like holy shit, it's done. What do you all think? I'm actually kind of okay with it. Of course we all know what happens after this…Aria and Jason get married and have tons of kids! Lol. I wish.
Thanks for sticking with me guys! You all are the best! Sincerely, your encouragement and support mean the world to me! HUGE SHOUTOUT: Maiqu, halegranger, Unhr25, msbookworm23, Imthatonegurl, ME LOVEY JAZZY, rjt040190…and everyone else who read and favorit-ed, alerted and all that good stuff, you all are awesome and I adore each and every single one of you.
Thanks again, you guys have been the best!
Love,
Bex.
P.S. Any mistakes are mine and mine alone.