Emily had been nice enough to drive and not ask any questions as Aria sobbed silently next to her. She pulled into a largely empty car park and reached over and gave her friend a reassuring squeeze of the shoulder.

"Aria, I'm sure Fitz isn't going to break up with you over some stupid fight," She sighed, slowly massaging her friend's hand. "You guys are bigger than that,"

"This isn't some one off fight. Its been building for a while," Aria's voice was quiet and meek as she continued to cry.

"You didn't stay over at his house last night, did you," It wasn't a question, more of a statement. Aria shook her head.

"Look," Emily continued. "Spencer said she saw Jason this morning, with bruises all over his arms and face. Bruises like yours,"

At this Aria's head snapped up.

"Aria...did he attack you?"

"No!" Aria vehemently denied. "No, of course he didn't!"

"Aria, are you telling me the truth?"

"Yes! He did not attack me, I swear. Do you not think I'd mention something like that?"

"I don't know what I'm supposed to think. First you've got strange bruises all over your wrists, then I hear Jason has bruises too, and now you're broken up with Ezra. What was I supposed to think?" Emily sighed, rubbing her forehead.

"Well, its nothing like that. But I did get attacked last night..." The events of last night slowly poured out of Aria's mouth as Emily patiently listened, nodding at appropriate points, until it got to the part where Aria stayed in the DiLaurentis house over night.

"Wait? You stayed at his house? Aria, did you not know how dangerous that was?"

"Look, I had nowhere else to go, OK? And since he had just saved me, I figured I was safe," Aria defended. Emily groaned.

"Nowhere else to go? Spencer lives right next to him! Couldn't you just have stayed with her?"

"And say what? 'I was attacked by three drunk men and I don't want to go home right now, can I stay with you?' You know Spencer would just have asked questions, especially if she found out that Jason was the one that saved me,"

"So, come stay with me and Hanna," Emily replied. "You didn't have to stay there. Who knows what he might have done while you were asleep? And after those dreams you had who knows what you might have tried to do instead of sleep"

"Ew," Frowned Aria. "Look, nothing happened, he gave me some food and then I went to sleep. Thats all,"

"And how did you know the food wasn't poisoned?"

"Ok, now you're sounding like Spencer. This isn't a horror movie, nobody in real life poisons microwaved pizza,"

"Sorry," Emily smiled. "Its just, I'm worried, that's all,"

"Em, you don't have to be. Nothing happened," Aria hugged her friend tightly. Emily always was the one you could count on most.

"Wait..." Emily quickly pulled away. "Is that what you and Ezra fought about? Was he jealous of Jason?"

"There's nothing to be jealous of," Emily raised an eyebrow. "Ok, so I didn't tell him in case he got hurt. But that's not what we fought about,"

"So what was it?"

"Just his friends, and you know, Jackie, and..."

"Jackie? You mean, his ex Jackie? Did something happen between them?"

"Oh no, nothing like that," Aria shook her head. "Its just, we weren't moving forward in the relationship, and I'm just...tired, you know? Look, I don't even know if we've broken up, or if I'm just over-reacting,"

"Maybe you should call him," Emily suggested. Again, Aria shook her head.

"I don't feel like talking to him right now, we both need a bit of space. I'll talk to him, tomorrow maybe," Aria said despondently. "Ugh, when did my life get into such a mess?"

"Well we both know one reason why," Emily muttered. They both nodded in mutual agreement. "Speaking of that mess in particular, what has A said about you staying over at the DiLaurentis house, and you know, sort of breaking up with Ezra..."

"Honestly? I don't know. My phone died yesterday which is why I couldn't call a repair service, and right now its charging at home," Aria answered. "Though I'm thinking about chucking it away for good, becoming fully Amish. It seems the only way I'm ever going to get away from A,"

"Nah, you know they'd still find a way to get you," Emily laughed. The mood in the car settled again. "So...what are you going to do now?"

"Go home, try and avoid my mom, just...try and avoid everybody," She murmured. "Try to forget about these last few days, I suppose,"

"What do you want me to tell Hanna and Spencer?" Emily said, her voice full of love and care.

"Just tell them Ezra and I are going through a, um, a rough patch, I suppose. Say I didn't tell you why,"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, thanks," Aria almost whispered. "I'm so sorry that you have to keep lying for me, Em,"

"I know you'll tell them everything when the time is right," Emily smiled in return. "Can I give you a lift home? I promised I'd be back by 5. Hanna has apparently meticulously planned this Desperate Housewives marathon, down to every bathroom break,"

"Thanks Em," Aria grabbed her friend's hand tightly. "I really mean it,"

"Don't mention it,"

/X/

Aria had managed to enter the house quickly, without being noticed by her parents, and without being questioned as to why she was soaked to the bone. Running upstairs, she collapsed in a heap on her bed, not caring how drenched the sheets got. God, it felt like decades since yesterday morning, when all that she had to worry about was some silly dreams. When, in her mind, her and Ezra were still on solid, but slightly, rocky ground. Now it felt like everything had slipped through her fingers, like water.

Her phone beeped threateningly across from her, taunting her, and she hardly had the energy to check it. But eventually she relented and flipped it up, bracing herself for what she might find. There of course were the messages from Ezra, all from last night bar 2 from this morning, but none since their row. Yep, space was definitely needed right now. There was one from Hanna, about some homework assignment that she'd already forgotten about.

And...none from A?

That couldn't be right...

Nope, definitely none.

She definitely thought that out of everyone, A would have the most to say about the events of the past few days. The dream? Staying at Jason's house? The situation with Ezra? But no, there were no cruel messages, or demands. She wanted to feel relieved but there was still a feeling of dread in her stomach, as if A was just building up for something much, much worse. And with A, there were no limits as to how far he or she would go.

Aria was interrupted from her musings by a knock on the door; her mom.

"Hey, I feel like I haven't seen you in a while," Ella Montgomery said softly, lounging in the doorway.

"Yeah, I've been, um, busy," Aria faked a smile.

"Aria, why do you look like you've been hit by a flood?"

"Oh, just got caught without an umbrella. Stupid, I know," Aria rolled her eyes. Her mother tried to smile, but Aria could see how drained she looked. She'd aged 10 years overnight; Aria guessed it must have been Mike. Now she definitely didn't want to give her parents extra hassle about her near attack; they were much better in somewhat blissful ignorance.

"So, who'd you stay with last night?"

"Spencer"

"What did you guys get up to?"

"Oh just talking, you know, usual girl stuff," Aria replied.

"Well, its good that you're out with your friends, and out of the house," Her mother smiled, but to Aria she still looked sad.

"I mean, if you and Dad ever want to go out one evening, I can alway, I don't know, look after..." She tried to suggest but her mom quickly interjected.

"I don't think you and your dad are going to go out any time soon. Not while your brother is still like this..." Ella shook her head. "Anyway I just wanted to check in. I'll let you get on with your work,"

"See you later mom,"

Ella merely nodded before quickly disappearing down the hall, wiping the tears from her eyes. Aria watched her mom leave, feeling dejected and useless that she just couldn't do anything. Emily had talked about how much Aria liked to fix things and it was true. When she couldn't put the pieces back together she just felt...completely and utterly useless. All she could do now was remove her sodden clothing and climb into bed, not caring that it was still early, curling up with a good book and her Ipod, and try to put all thoughts of the previous few days out of her mind.

Maybe she should have a Desperate Housewives marathon of her own, anything to get her mind off things.

/X/

Aria awoke the next morning feeling much more refreshed and ready for whatever life threw her way. She could finally have a long shower, re-curl her hair, pick out a nice outfit and grab a really good cup of coffee. A new outlook on life was what she needed. Yesterday was gone, today was going to be better. Because nothing could really be as bad as the past few days, right? She even started contemplating if she might really be able to patch things up with Ezra. She might really have been over-reacting. Everyone deserved a second chance.

Determined to talk to him today, she headed out of the house to run some errands, coffee in hand. Of course, fate struck at that moment and she ran head first into a girl, and her coffee spilled all down her nice new top.

"Great," She muttered. "Thats just great,"

"I'm so sorry!" The other girl exclaimed hurriedly, trying to dry Aria off. "I'm really sorry,"

"Its ok," Aria replied, still annoyed. "Could have happened to anyone,"

Now she was up she took a good look at the girl she'd just run into. She was a few years older than her, with a head full of bright, shiny red hair. She was stunning, even if her hair was so bright that Aria almost felt blinded. She was sure she'd never seen her around here before, Aria was sure she'd remember a girl like this.

"Hey, I don't want to trouble you anymore than I already have but..." Bright red-headed girl continued. "Could you help me out, really quickly? Its just I'm a bit lost..."

"Sure, what do you need help with?" Aria replied, trying to be helpful.

"Um, do you know where Jason DiLaurentis lives?"

Wait, what?

"Um...sure," Aria replied. Was this dirty sneaker girl? No, this girl looked like she'd never ever go running in mud. "Wait, who are you, exactly?"

"A friend," Red headed girl's eyes narrowed. "Why, do you know him?"

"Yeah, I'm also a ...friend, I suppose," Aria answered. Why did she suddenly feel so weird? "Anyway, Jason lives just over there, if you follow the lane down to the bottom, then turn left, its the house on the right,"

"Oh, super, thanks!" The girl smiled, her teeth nearly as bright as her hair. Seriously, it was like she was shining. "Well, I better get going, thanks for your help! Oh, and sorry once again, about your top,"

"Don't mention it," Aria forced a smile.

"Well, it was nice to meet you,"

"Ah, you too,"

Well, bugger, this day just took a turn for the worse.

Her good mood ruined, she headed back into the house, to change her top and attempt to turn this day around, before it got any worse.


A/N: Wait, another update? Woah. I know this is short but I wanted to get it out before tomorrow. Anyway, once again hope you enjoy! And I'm so glad people are enjoying this story, I really am. My priority is that you guys like this! So if you have any suggestions, or where you'd like to see this go, I'd love to hear them. Should Aria get back with Ezra, etc. Once again, thanks so much for all your reviews!