The next 20 minutes went by quickly; far too quickly for Aria's liking, and little did she know, it was far too quickly for Mr. Fitz as well. He had spent most of the previous 20 minutes recounting tales from his freshman year of high school and how he dealt with losing his dad. Much to Aria's surprise, he had actually found himself in a rough spot much like Mike himself. He said he was lucky enough to have an older brother who was 20 at the time to help him through things. Right before the bell rang Aria finally asked the question that she was dying to know the answer to.

"Mr. Fitz, I love your stories and hearing all this has been really helpful to me. But, what I was wondering was, if maybe, just maybe… I mean, I know you're busy and all and you probably have a girlfriend at home who demands a lot of your time, but could you maybe hang out with Mike a bit? You know, be like, a role model for him; someone to help him through this, because I'm not so sure I can."

Mr. Fitz cleared his throat again right as the bell rang. Aria loved the way he cleared his throat. There was just something about that sound. "Look, Aria… I know you're brother has it tough, but are you sure he would feel comfortable hanging out with some guy he doesn't even know? I mean, have you even asked him?"

"Oh, well I would obviously be with you guys, because, well, obviously it'd be weird since you don't know each other, and you at least know me." Aria responded, more as a question than a statement, hoping to change his attitude.

He shuffled in his seat, ran his hand through that gorgeous hair, and took a deep breath in as the class started to file in. "Um… well… okay. Okay, yes, I will do it. But you have to be there. I wouldn't want it to be too weird for him." Aria smiled as she watched him giving in, and through all the excitement running wild in her mind almost missed when he spoke again, much quieter this time. "And for the record, there's no girlfriend at home."

The day left in a blur, and before Aria knew it, it was time to go home and face her messed up family. She wasn't so excited to see her mom for the first time since the awkward exchange the night before. Luckily, she ran into Christy on the way out of the school.

"Aria! Hey, girl, hey!" Christy exclaimed. "Seriously, where have you been? I feel like I've barely heard from you since I've been back."

"Oh, I've been busy, with Mike, and my mom, who, by the way, has been totally weird lately. I think she's gone bipolar." Aria responded, confusion flowing given the weird circumstances. "One day she won't even leave her room and reminds me of Casper the ghost, and all the sudden out of nowhere she turns all Bachelorette on the night of the final rose ceremony. I can barely keep up. Coffee? Please say yes!"

"Of course, Aria! I'd never say no. Then can we go to the mall? I am just dying to get a new Coach purse, and Daddy just paid off my credit card, so there's plenty of room on it!"

It was so Christy to get whatever she wanted by her parents. This upset Aria a little, because she didn't have a "Daddy" to pay off her credit card for her, and she had no idea what was up with her mom.

Aria and Christy spent the next four hours drinking coffee, doing some serious retail therapy, and talking. It had been a great distraction, but all that didn't matter now that she was about to walk through the front doors of her broken home. As soon as she walked in, she noticed a light on in the kitchen. This was highly unusual, as Mike spent most of his time in his room, and her mom was usually nowhere to be found either. She decided to walk in and check it out. Surprisingly she found her mom sitting at the kitchen table, with a glass of wine, and a book. 'A book?' Aria thought, confused as she could be. 'Since when did she get so full of life?'

"Hey, Mom," Aria said, with a hint of awkward tension in her voice. Her mom, Ella, hadn't even tried to talk to her since the night before.

"Oh, hey, Honey," Ella responded like nothing was different. "How was school? Where have you been?"

"School is fine, not that you've cared to ask at all since it started, but no, so far, the past two weeks of my life have been just dandy. Thanks for asking."

"Aria, I know things have been tough around here, but there is no need for the attitude. I am still your mother."

"Oh, you are? I didn't realize that. I didn't even realize you were still around until last night when I saw you practically throwing yourself at the guy, who by the way looks about five years too young for you!"

"He's only three years younger than me, and actually, I've been meaning to talk to you about that. It's not like you think, Aria. I didn't just meet him."

"Oh! Well, I'll be damned. That's even better Mom! Three weeks after you lose your husband and you've already found some guy from your past. When will he be moving in; another week? Should I clear some space to make room for the kids he probably has, too? Maybe we could just clean out Dad's office!"

"Aria! There is no need to talk to me like I don't miss or love your father still! Things have been hard for me, too. Patrick is an old friend, yes, but your father knew him also. In fact, your father knew we were seeing each other."

This was getting to be too much for Aria. She was starting to think she didn't even hear her mom right. 'There is no way she just said… wait…' "What?! You were seeing him BEFORE Dad passed away? Oh my God, this is just too much. You… you are unbelievable. How could you do that to him? To your husband, Ella! To me. And what about Mike?"

"It was your dad's idea. He knew Patrick, and Patrick had been a good friend to him. He didn't want to see me suffer, and he didn't want me to be alone. He knew I was having a tough time dealing with things, so he suggested I find someone to spend some time with to ease the pain. I didn't want to agree Aria. I really didn't want to. But you know your father, he was stubborn, a trait you definitely inherited." Ella stopped, and smiled as she remembered her husband. "It took some time, but eventually, we both just knew he wasn't getting any better. He wouldn't give it up, in fact, it was his dying wish that I would try to move on. He wouldn't be happy unless I tried. Then he suggested Patrick. It seemed crazy, yes, but I made the call, mostly just to please your father. One date turned into two, and two into three, and before I knew it, there were actually feelings forming."

"Mom, you were cheating on Dad. I don't care if he told you to. Cheating is cheating."

"We didn't do anything, Aria. There were no kisses; I never stayed with him. It was strictly platonic; just two friends spending time with each other. I would have never cheated on your father, not even if he asked. I'm sorry we didn't tell you, but both your dad and I thought it would be best for you two. Please, Aria, I just lost your father. I don't even know where Mike is. Just please, don't you grow distant on me too."

"Maybe if you'd been here, and I don't just mean here, but really here the past few weeks, you'd know where he was. I need to go do homework." Aria turned and made her way out the kitchen, but Ella followed her to the stairs.

"Patrick's really great, Aria. I'd really like for you to meet him. Please, just think about it." She said, one last plea before Aria disappeared into her room.