"Aria! Aria!", Alison cries worried. "What's wrong?" But her friend is no longer answering her. Aria has already fallen to the ground and shows no reaction. A feeling of panic overwhelms Alison. What's going on? Is Aria drunk? She had insisted firmly that she didn't want to drink any alcohol.

Alison searches for the other girls in the crowd desperately. Tears blur her eyes. At last she can recognize Hanna's blonde, curly hair. "Hanna", she shouts to get the attention of her friend.

Simultaneous, Alison draws all the attention of the other party guests to herself when she shouts for her friend in panic. Everyone turns around to her and looks curiously at the girl who is kneeling next to her friend, who is lying on the floor with her eyes closed.

When Hanna recognizes what has happened her eyes widen and she fights her way through the crowd to her desperate friend. "What's wrong with her?" Hanna asks frightened. Alison notes how her mouth moves, but no sound comes out of it. Instead, she just stares at Hanna.

Alison doesn't hesitate any second longer after she has made a plan and decides to leave her friend alone with Aria. She can still hear Hanna's loud shouts behind her, when she is running along the corridor. Hanna probably doesn't understand what she's up to and why Alison is simply running away. But Alison has no time to explain to Hanna what she is going to do.

Because Alison doesn't run away. She runs to him. She can't do it alone. She can't do it without him. She doesn't know what to do. She feels as she once did, like the little girl who is searching for the help of her brother when someone upset her. But she needs him now.

Without paying attention to the other people, she is running and is only looking for him. It doesn't matter to her when someone shouts at her angrily, because she jostled theperson. She has to find him now.

Finally, she sees him. Jason stands lonely and leant against the wall in the hallway, watching the people who walk past him as he hears the desperate shouts of his sister. "Jason! Jason!", Alison cries. He immediately turns to look at her and feels how his heart is starting to beat faster.

Tears overflow his sister's face as she is running towards him. Immediately, Alison reaches for his forearm and wants to pull him with her. "You have to help me." Jason has no choice but to go with her because she pulls so heavily at him.

"Ali, what's going on? Why are you crying?", Jason asks worried about his sister. "You have to come with me. I need your help. Aria is..." As soon as he hears Aria's name, he interrupts her. "What's wrong with Aria?" He asks tremulously.

"I don't know, everything was fine and then... you just have to come with me", Alison replies in tears.

Like his sister, Jason doesn't even notice the people around him as his sister pulls at him. His heart beats so incredibly fast. Something's wrong with Aria. He rarely saw his sister with such a fearful look.

He begged Alison not to go to this party. Chad is definitely not one of those people his sister and her friends should spend time with. Finally, he shouted at her angrily because she didn't want to trust in his judgment and had to do exactly the opposite of what he had told her.

Jason didn't want to go to this party. Just as he doesn't want to go to any of these parties and still does. Ultimately, he is only at this place because he knew Alison wouldn't listen to him and the girls would be there.

When Jason and Alison arrive at the bunch of people who are standing around Aria and Hanna, the others immediately take a step back to clear the way for them. Jason doesn't even notice their shocked faces that are looking at the unconscious girl at the floor. He notices them as little as he notices Hanna, who helplessly kneels beside her friend on the ground.

Jason kneels on the other side of Aria and bends over her head. He turns his ear to her mouth and to his relief he can feel her breath on his skin.

Jason looks at Hanna. "Has anyone called the ambulance?" Hanna just nods, without saying a word. "Did she drink alcohol?" He asks turning to Alison. His sister shakes her head, still shocked by what has just happened.

"No, she didn't want to drink", Alison says so silently that almost only Jason can hear it. "I told her, she should get something to drink, but she didn't want to", Alison says tremulously.

Jason looks down at Aria again. Something is not right. She was feeling well and then she lays unconsciously on the floor, even though she hasn't drunk anything? Suddenly Jason is overcome with an idea. An idea that simultaneously frightens him and makes him angry.

"Have you been with her all evening?" He asks his sister. Alison shakes her head. "No, just at the beginning." Jason notes how the rage in him is getting bigger because he suspects his suspicion is correct. "Why? What did she do afterwards?" He asks.

"Chad came to us and flirted with her. I left them alone", Alison says, feeling immediately that she shouldn't have done that. She should have stayed with her.

But she has no time to think about it or to regret anything. The next moment, her thoughts are interrupted by seeing Jason in the corner of her eye. As she turns her gaze to him, she sees how her brother pushes Chad at the collar of his shirt against the wall with a loud bang.

"What did you do to her?" Jason yells at him, though his face is only a few inches away from Chad's. "Have you poured anything in her drink?" He asks angrily. His hands are still holding the fabric of his clothes. He won't let him get away with it.

Alison's eyes widen as she understands what her brother blames Chad for. She left her friend alone, and Chad took advantage of Aria to make her weak-willed and submissive. Alison watches how Jason is still screaming at Chad.

But Chad doesn't answer. Instead, he just looks arrogantly down at Jason. "She's sixteen, asshole!" Jason shouts again. Chad's face still remains unmoved. He probably didn't know, but he probably didn't care anyway.

"You won't get away with it", Jason warns. Even if Chad doesn't say a single word and admits nothing, Jason is sure his suspicion is correct. Chad has poured something in Aria's drink. He doesn't want to imagine what Chad has planned to do with her afterwards.

"Oh yeah?" Chad says with a mocking grin. "Perhaps you shouldn't play the good guy that much. Otherwise, I may give the police the hint to make a drug test with you." Jason still pushes Chad with a firm grip against the wall.

Jason has to control himself to not just beat him up. But that wouldn't help either Aria or him at the moment. "You can't be serious. You can't compare what you wanted to do to her with what I'm doing", Jason hisses at him angrily.

"I drink a lot and take drugs. I don't deny it. But at least, I am just ruining my own life. I don't hurt anyone and don't harm anyone but myself", he shouts at Chad. He doesn't care how many people are standing around him and can hear everything he says. It's no secret that he is taking drugs, anyway.

"I don't know why I'm justifying myself in front of you", Jason murmurs as he can see the blue of the police lights in the corner of his eye and hears the siren of the emergency doctor in the next second.

Shortly thereafter, a number of paramedics storm the party, who only have to ask the crowd for a moment, before they arrive at Aria, where Hanna is still kneeling. Jason hears how Hanna tells in tears, what happened and what Jason suspects, what might have caused her condition.

The policeman, who has just tried to capture the situation and listened attentively to the blonde, tearful girl on the floor, looks around among the other party guests and sees Jason, who still has a firm grip on Chad.

The policeman approaches to the two men and immediately understands the connection between the girl lying on the ground and the two men. "I suppose you are the young man whom the other party guests reproach for making the girl submissive with the help of knockout drops?"

Chad doesn't answer, but just rolls his eyes. "Yeah, that's him", Jason replies instead, finally letting his hands fall of him. "Turn around, we'll take you to the police station", says the policeman as he pulls his handcuffs out of his belt.

Chad turns around without resistance and lets the policeman handcuff him. "I won't say anything without a lawyer", he replies. "Of course", the policeman answers mockingly. It is obvious what the man, who is presumably himself a father of a family, thinks of the young man who is still trying to get out of the crime that he committed.

With a strong grip, he leads Chad out of the house. They go past the other party guests, who still stare at him incredulously.

Immediately as Jason looks back at Aria, the rage in his eyes gives way to a look full of concern for the girl, who is still lying on the ground and is examined by an emergency physician. He is waiting next to Alison, who wiggles her arms around his waist and buries her face at his shoulder.

Finally, Aria is lifted on a stretcher and driven out of the house. When the emergency doctor sees the crying Alison and her brother, who is still looking anxiously at the unconscious girl, he approaches them.

"How is she doing? What's wrong with her?" Jason asks immediately as the man stands in front of him. "After our initial examinations, and if she hasn't drunk anything, I would unfortunately suspect that you are right with her suspicion, young man", says the doctor sighing.

Jason notes how he clenches his fists. "Therefore, my colleagues from the police will ask you to make a statement. You don't have to do that immediately. You can also go to the police station tomorrow and leave only your personal data if you want to accompany your friend to the hospital", the doctor explains.

Alison looks questioningly to her brother unsure of what to do. "You'll go to the hospital. I'll make my statement now", Jason says. As much as he wants to know that Aria is doing well, it is also important to him that Chad is going to be called to account for what he has done and that as soon as possible.

Alison nods. "Can one of you inform the girl's parents?" The doctor asks the two. Alison nods again. "Yes, I'll call them", she confirms. "Good. Thank You. Then come with me", the doctor asks her and Alison follows him to the hospital car.


It drives Jason crazy to wait at home until Alison comes back and tells him how Aria is feeling. He would have preferred to go to the hospital after he had made his statement and noticed that Alison hasn't been home yet. But he knows that the doctors are taking care of Aria and her friends and her parents are with her.

For him, it was important at that moment that this asshole can't escape and the police will take him with them. He would have liked to take his anger out on him. But he knows that doesn't help anyone. Him least of all.

Immediately, his head turns to the door as it opens gently and Alison comes in with her father, who picked her up at the hospital. Every second that he has to wait for Alison till she begins to talk is unbearable for him.

"I'll go to bed. And you two will do the same soon, right?" Their father says with a stern look to his two children. Both nod silently as they watch their father as he goes up the stairs.

"Aria is ok. The doctors couldn't completely avert the effects of the drops, but under medical supervision she is relatively safe", Alison says.

"Tomorrow, she can probably be discharged from hospital. The doctors have done tests to prove that these drops caused her condition. This had to be done as quickly as possible because the drops can only be detected for a few hours. The results are handed over to the police. They were positive", Alison continues, noticing how tears blur her eyes.

Jason just stares at his sister. The rage in him is still huge. However, knowing that Aria is safe in the hospital, the worries slowly fall of him.

Since he is lost in thought, he doesn't even notice that Alison is walking up to him. He startles as she puts her arms around him and presses her face against his chest. Tears are streaming out of her eyes. "I'm so sorry", she whispers softly sobbing.

Jason puts his arms around her and pushes his sister tightly against himself. Affectionally he breathes a kiss on her crest. "Thanks for your help tonight", Alison murmurs against his chest. Jason strokes protectively over her gold-blond hair. "For you always, Alicat", he replies. And for Aria.

"If I hadn't left her alone with him, that wouldn't have happened", she murmurs softly. "I should have listened to you. We shouldn't have gone to this party." Jason doesn't say anything. Of course, he could say that he told her from the beginning that it is a bad idea to go to Chad's party. But he knows that his sister is already suffering enough.

"You should go to sleep", he says instead. Alison nods. "You should too. You look tired", Alison replies. In fact, she feels like seeing her brother the first time properly today and seeing the exhaustion in his eyes. They both walk up the stairs slowly and Alison embraces her brother again.

"You are wrong with what you said to Chad. That you only harm and hurt yourself. That's not true", she murmurs softly against his chest, before she frees herself out of his embrace and disappears into her room before Jason can even say or contradict one word.


Jason knows that he is crossing his own borders. He is breaking their agreement, but when he passes her parents' house, he immediately stops his car, gets out, and walks hastily to the door. But to be honest, he has crossed the boundaries for a long time. He can't even talk himself into thinking that he doesn't care about her.

Jason rings the bell so quickly that he can't even think about what he wants to say, when she doesn't open the door herself. After all, her parents don't know about him. At least not in connection with their daughter.

And just as surprised, Ella looks at him as she opens the door and sees him standing on the other side. "Jason", she says in surprise, frowning. Aria's mother looks tired. Jason can see how the little sleep and the worries of last night have affected Ella. Dark edges under her eyes and her pale skin let her look years older.

"Hello Mrs. Montgomery", Jason greets her. "You're probably wondering why I'm here. But I just want to ask how Aria is feeling." Immediately, the expression of Ella's face changes as if she had just realized why he was standing in front of her door.

"Oh yes, you were also at the party, right? Your sister told us that you stayed until the police took your statement. We have to go to the police with Aria tomorrow, so she can make her statement as well", Ella says. "I thank you very much for your help."

"Don't mention it. You don't have to thank me", Jason replies. Ella smiles at him. She had heard a lot of rumors about the young man standing in front of her. The other women in town had informed her quickly about the son of the Dilaurentis family, who seem to slip deeper and deeper into the drug addiction.

Now he stands in front of her with a clear look and seems to be honestly and sincerely worried about her daughter.

"Do you want to come in? Aria is certainly looking forward to your visit", Ella suggests. Jason nods, though reluctantly. He had actually come to visit her and talk to her. But when they saw each other last time before the party, they argued.

He walks quietly into the house and follows Aria's mother into the living room. "Aria, you have a guest", she announces Jason to her daughter. When Aria sees Jason standing behind her mother, Aria sits up straight on the couch and smiles at him embarrassed.

"Hi", she says softly. "I'll leave you alone", says Ella, disappearing out of the room. Jason walks around the table and sits down beside her. Aria pulls the blanket, which is lying over her legs, a little higher, although her is not cold at all.

Jason smiles slightly. Aria is wearing only a pair of jogging trousers and a simple shirt and he can imagine why she is pulling the blanket up. And Aria notices that her attempt to hide her cozy clothes went wrong as well.

"I'm sorry. I look badly", Aria excuses herself, referring mainly to her clothes. Jason smiles at her amused by her embarrassment. "You look great, as always. Just a little pale", he assures her and smiles at her.

For a moment, they both remain silent. It is so quiet that you can clearly hear the ticking of the clock on the wall. "I'm sorry", Aria whispers softly. "I really didn't want to go to the party. I just went because you asked me not to go", Aria admits, lifting her head cautiously and looking at him. Jason doesn't reply.

"And I just flirted with Chad because I was angry with you", Aria whispers softly. "That was stupid of me." Jason lowers his gaze and stares at his hands.

When Aria follows his gaze, she can see how his fingers tremble slightly. She knows that thoughts are racing in his head and that she has to give him time. When she says a word too much now, she puts him under pressure and he will rebuild the wall around him.

"I'm just mad at myself", Jason suddenly says, sighing. "I made you to put yourself into danger because of my behavior", he murmurs softly and then looks deeply into her eyes.

The sight of him leaves Aria speechless. She has never seen him with such a gentle gaze. She has never felt that he meant every word absolutely honestly and didn't want to hide his feelings. He had never been so worried about her.

"I was really worried about you, Aria", Jason admits, burying his face in his hands. "The thought of what he was going to do with you, what would have happened if Ali hadn't been with you and immediately realized something was wrong, almost kills me", he says tremulously.

"He didn't. Nothing happened", Aria replies immediately. "That's not true", Jason says energetically. "You put yourself in danger because of me. Because I wasn't able to tell you that I care about you." Aria holds her breath for a moment, as Jason reaches for her hand.

"You're important to me", he confesses and Aria's heart feels as if it is jumping in her breast. In fact, Jason feels relieved to express what has long been indisputable. Jason hesitates a moment before he goes on.

"I like spending time with you. Every time we maintain a distance from each other, my life was really a whole lot more unbearable than with you", he says. "Maybe I should stop denying that I really need a friend like you. That a friendship with you would really mean a lot to me."

Ouch. The fall came so unexpectedly that the pain now runs through her properly.

Aria tries not to let Jason notice that her heart has got a deep crack at his last words. He cares about her. Hearing these words from him means much more to her than she had ever dared to admit.

Friends. He wants to be her friend. She should be his friend. A friend.

But when she looks at him, she is almost ashamed of these thoughts. His look. This look, with which he now looks at her, she can rarely describe with words. She knows it is an effort of will for him to sit in front of her and ask her to be there for him. Although friendship is an incredible gain to any other person in life, it is a big risk for Jason.

For weeks, she had hoped and begged him to let her help him, to allow her to be there for him. And that is what he does now. She shouldn't be so selfish and only think that she actually wants more of him than just his friendship.

He needs her friendship. He wants someone to be there for him. He wants her to be there for him. And she can see all his unspoken fears in his eyes.

Please don't let me regret that I let you into my life. Please don't cause any more pain. I couldn't stand being hurt by you. Especially by you.

"I'm here for you. Always. But don't think I don't need you the same way", Aria replies, looking into his eyes as if she is sealing a promise.

Jason smiles at her in relief. He has hoped that Aria could forgive him. But if he is honest, he wouldn't have been surprised if she doesn't want to have anything to do with him anymore. He has behaved horribly, and other people have turned away from him for less.

"Do you still notice anything about the effect of the drops?" Jason asks hesitantly. It is still hard for him to remind himself what happened last night. Especially because he just feels so damn guilty. "Not really, I'm just tired today", Aria replies. Jason nods.

"I should go back home anyway", Jason says. "I didn't want to kick you out. You can still stay a bit", Aria replies quickly. "No, you better get a little rest", Jason says and Aria suspects that he needs some time to recover from last night's events himself.

"Ok, I'll take you to the door." Jason nods and gets up from the couch. Wordlessly they stride to the door. Although he came to her and asked her for her friendship, her relationship is still unresolved.

Unresolved, because Aria doesn't know if friendship is really all that he feels for her. And unresolved, because she doesn't know what that really means for them. As she is standing in front of him, she doesn't know how to say good-bye to him.

Ultimately, she does what she would like to do at this moment. She takes a step out of the door and pulls the door behind her as far as she can to protect them from prying eyes. Aria takes his hand in hers and leans a little further to him and stretches her head up to his.

But Jason takes a step back. And with this reaction, she knows she doesn't want to hear what he will tell her. "Aria", he murmurs softly, and Aria feels that he doesn't even want to say the next words himself.

"Maybe we shouldn't do that." There they are. The words she was so afraid of. Because she doesn't want to stop. And she also doesn't know if she is able to stop. "Maybe we should just be friends if you understand what I mean", Jason says.

Of course, she knows what he means. You don't kiss a friend. And it's so hard for Aria because Jason is more for her than a friend. But she promised him. She wants to be there for him. And if it is necessary again under his conditions.

Finally, Aria nods and only looks after him as he turns around hesitantly and goes back to his car. It has never been so painful for Aria to win a friend.

So what do you think? I would really appreciate if you take the time and leave me a review. I am not a native speaker (as you probably have noticed ;)) and it is a lot work for me to translate my stories into English. So I am a little bit sad about the small amount of reviews I got for the last chapters :( I really wanna know what you are thinking even if you don't like my stories.