Oh Brother

by pajama pants5

Aria and Jason never would consider themselves "friends" but when they find common ground to stand on, will they be able to walk without falling through the cracks? With senior year just starting for Aria and a new 'A' looming in their midst, who will Aria turn to for support? Can Jason handle all this drama or is he hiding something himself...

10. Chapter 10

Okay everyone I have finally reached chapter 10!

As always, special thanks to cristinaheartowen, Friend to All, CrazyLittleLiar, BearyFunny66, KaySub, Stelenton2, jariafan15, joy, Jenn23, mariabrieva, Siretha, VampireLoverForever27, DreamiGirl, ms. Jaicee lee, and caringiscreepyx!

I got my first constructive criticism which is always much needed to improve a story, and I'm going to use that tip to make the story better than ever! Hope everyone enjoys Chapter 10!

-Cheyenne

Spencer drove in silence for what seemed like forever. She went down at least five different back roads I had never even known about in all my years of living in Rosewood, but eventually, I found that Spencer was just doing a bunch of circles. I let her drive around for awhile, but I got tired quickly.

"Spence, what are you-"

"I don't want us to be followed." She stated assertively before I could even complete my question.

The intense look on her face showed me the fear and anger that was driving her. Both hands were gripped tightly against the wheel, her knuckles growing whiter and whiter with each passing minute.

Eventually, she stopped in a neighborhood a few streets down from ours, parking the car alongside the curb. She turned off her head lights and leaned back in her seat, letting a giant sigh escape her lips. She tried to hide the fact that she was looking around intently to see if anyone was around, but Spencer was about as subtle as a loaded gun.

She didn't even look at me when she spoke.

"'A' was the one who sabotaged Ali's show tonight."

I gave her a strange look and shook my head. "Umm… yea, I could have guessed that one… is that what you wanted to tell me?"

She slowly rolled her head against the back of her seat to look into my eyes. It was one of those faces where she was debating on telling me or not, fighting against her internal moral scale.

"Spence?" I said, breaking her silence.

She sighed and reached into her purse that was on her back seat to grab her phone. She held it up to me, the bright lights blinding me for a split second until my eyes could adjust.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to see the big finale because I was too busy destroying it, but I'm sure your brother did. –A

"What?"

My confused tone was matched by her equally confused expression. I must have read 'A's message several times just to make sure I was reading it correctly.

"But you don't have a brother…"

"I know." She said quickly, putting her phone back in her bag. "I think 'A' finally messed up. I'm pretty sure she meant to send that text you, seeing as which you're the only one of us who has a brother."

I thought about her words for a second. "Okay… so say 'A' did happen to send that to me… what does that have to do with Mike?"

Spencer gave me her 'think about it' face and I paused, trying to gather my thoughts as to why 'A' might have something to do with my little brother. Sure his behavior has been weird lately but…

Oh no.

"No…" I breathed, trying to regain my wits. "You don't think…"

I couldn't even finish or look at Spencer's gaze, but I could tell she was nodding, confirming my worst suspicions.

"'A's blackmailing Mike…"

I felt like I wanted to throw up. Not only had 'A' decided to come after my friends and I, but now he/she was threatening my family, and I was not about to stand for that. But Spencer's conclusion explained everything. Mike was most likely jumpy and mean to everyone because 'A' was trying to get him to do some of their dirty work and if he told anyone, well who knows what would happen! Mike sneaking out late was most likely to do some of 'A's bidding so the actual ringleader would never be caught.

"Mike…"

I couldn't even say anything besides his name. I didn't want to admit it to myself, but I knew Spencer was thinking the same thing I was.

"Mike was the one who sabotaged the show…"

I sank back into my seat and stared down at Spencer's carpeted floor mats. This couldn't be happening... not to me... not to Mike...

"I'm so sorry, Aria…"

Both of us were silent after that. Spencer knew this was a hard hit for me and even after all the rough patches we hit over the last week or so, she was there to comfort me. She placed a soft hand on my shoulder for reassurance and squeezed it tight. I felt the tears begin to swell up in the back of my eyes, tempting me to break down and cry, but I wasn't going to do that. I would never give 'A' the satisfaction of knowing they got to me. I've stooped to some low things in my life, but they were not going to see me defeated.

I gave a quick sniff and tilted my head back, pushing the tears in my eyes back down in their ducts. Spencer was quiet the whole time, just allowing me to gather my thoughts and process how I wanted to handle this situation.

"What do you want to do?" She asked, making me feel like she was reading my mind.

I sighed. "I'm going to ask him about it eventually… it's just a matter of how to get him to tell me the truth…"

Spencer nodded and gave my shoulder another squeeze. We were silent for the longest time, pondering how to handle Mike and the fact that he could be one of the people tormenting us day in and day out.

It was just so hard for me to believe that my little baby brother could be hurting me in such a way that some days I couldn't even bear to get out of bed. I thought back to all the great times we had growing up. Going on family vacations, playing practical jokes, learning about life and growing up happy seemed to be a distant memory now.

Why was this happening to me?

Out in the distance a few moments later, Spencer and I heard the screeching of car tires perforate the silence we had created. I snapped out of my thoughts as both of us looked into her rearview mirror.

It was extremely hard to see in the dark, but what seemed like a dark red Chevy was swerving in and out of the correct lanes and was heading right towards where we were parked.

Spencer's eyes went wide as she saw the Chevy come straight towards her brand new car. Her mouth was slightly parted, like she was holding in her breath, and her eyes were wide as she watched the for sure accident unfold. At what seemed like the very last second, the red car swerved out of the way of Spencer's new car and veered far off to the left.

However, the only thing that I happened to notice was the flash of blonde hair that passed by Spencer's window before the car over corrected itself and ran into the telephone pole in front of us.

"Jason?"

My worried voice caught Spencer off guard, like that was the last thing she had expected me to say.

Without even thinking, I jumped out of her car and sprinted over to the man in the now totaled Chevy, praying to the God's that it wasn't Jason's face I saw in that car.

I ran up to the driver's side window and my eyes went wide.

Jason DiLaurentis was sitting cockeyed to the left, his head resting against the door, and it seemed like that was the only thing keeping him up straight. His window was down and there was loud metal music blasting through the speakers so deafening that it made my ear drums quiver. There was large sticker on the side of his door that said 'DiLaurentis Rentals' which was most likely from his dad's business.

The car reeked of alcohol.

I hastily yanked open his door, causing Jason's head to fall hard to his side but surprisingly, he was able to pick it up and lean against the back of his seat. I looked into his once blue eyes to see that they were glazed over and cloudy. His hair was sticking up in awkward places and the red shirt he was wearing was wrinkled. I looked for signs of blood or injuries, and thankfully the only thing I found was a small cut on his forehead. It didn't look too serious.

"Jason!" I said somewhat loudly, my voice almost cracking with worry and my eyes scanning over the whole scene.

I watched as his eyes lazily roll towards me. I could tell he was trying to look me in the eyes, but it seemed like he couldn't quite focus on them.

"...Aria…?"

His soft, slurred voice forced me to let out a breath of air. I know in most cases like this when someone talks to you in that type of voice, a person would usually become more worried. But in this case, I was just glad he was able to talk.

"Are you drunk?" I asked, smelling the alcohol that penetrated my nostrils when he spoke my name. I made a disgusted face when the unpleasing smell hit me.

He looked down and the ground away from my gaze, like he was ashamed to speak. Obviously he was coherent enough to know and comprehend what I was asking him, so my fear lessened the slighted bit. I'm sure he thought by my facial expression that I was disgusted with him, but that definitely wasn't the case.

I looked back over at Spencer who had gotten out of her car and was standing by the door, her hands covering her mouth in shock.

I kept looking back and forth between Jason and Spencer, trying to figure out what to do. I'm sure the cops would be here any minute, assuming a neighbor heard the crash and/or saw the damage.

"Spencer!" I yelled back at her, causing a slight jump in response. "Cover me!"

"Aria, what-!?"

I didn't listen to the rest of Spencer's questions or babbling. I blocked out all other noises and focused on the barely conscious, drunk man in the driver's seat.

"Move over." I said, sternly.

"What?" Jason asked, finally looking back into my eyes with fear and confusion.

"I said move over!"

I gave his arm a shove, almost causing him to fall over. It seemed like he was finally processing what happened.

"Why?"

"Because this never happened!"

My intense glare and demanding tone of voice caught him off guard. He was clearly in no place to argue with me as I tried to shove him over to the passenger's seat. I noticed that he was struggling with his seatbelt; his blurry vision and poor motor senses were not giving him much help either. I became extremely frustrated after watching him fail at freeing himself that I leaned over his limp body and unbuckled his seatbelt for him. I could tell he was upset with himself when he practically slammed his hands down on his seat and let out a loud groan. He was functioning just enough to maneuver over and let me into the driver's seat.

I quickly turned down the music so that there was nothing playing and backed out of the telephone pole. The bending and cracking of metal filled my ears causing me to wince. I had no idea what was wrong with his car, and part of me prayed that nothing serious would happen.

I never looked back to see if Spencer had left too but I just assumed she would listen. Hopefully I was right.

"Aria you don't have to do this…" He slurred guiltily, breaking me out of my thoughts.

A scowl crawled over my face and I felt some anger surge through me. He was right, I didn't have to help him because it was his own stupid ass fault to go drink and drive, but then another part of me felt bad. Yes, I was angry at him for pulling such an idiotic move, but all I could think about was what could have happened to him if no one was there to help.

Im sure Jason wasn't realizing it in his drunken state of mind, but no one else would have helped him out, not after all the drama and past mistakes he's made. I was the only one in this gossiping small town that was going to give him a chance.

"Just shut up."

My angry tone was apparently enough to make him listen because he never said a word the rest of the way home.

The sounds the car was making were quite scary and it didn't take long for smoke to begin to rise out of the dented hood. Internally I was panicking but I knew I had to keep my cool to get both of us home safely. His deep breathing was another thing that was frightening me. I wasn't a doctor like Wren and I had no idea if there was something internally wrong with Jason that I couldn't see. To clear my head, I just assumed it was just the alcohol messing with his lungs.

It seemed like hours but only fifteen minutes later I pulled into Jason's driveway, making sure to park the car behind his house in the grass. I knew the last thing he would want in the morning was for people to figure out that he had been in a car accident over night. Jason had enough problems to deal with and a DUI was not going to be one of them.

I quickly shut the car off and waited until the car stopped smoking to let out a deep breath of air. I took both hands off the steering wheel and practically ran out of the car and over to Jason's door.

I opened it up for him and reached down under his right arm to help him up. His weight was so much more than mine because of his muscular build and height, but thankfully he wasn't too drunk that he could stand up.

I could tell it was hard for him to balance so I kept an arm around his waist and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. He stumbled a few times to his back door but was still able to walk to a decent extent. We both stopped at the door and didn't move for a few moments.

"Okay Jase, where's the key?" I panted, tired from lugging around his muscular frame.

I felt like I was babying him, talking to him like he was a little kid who I had to carry inside. But right now, I didn't really care. I just wanted to get him inside so he could lie down and relax.

I saw him reach into his back pocket and pull out a key. I was expecting him to try and fumble with the doorknob in an attempt to save some on his dignity, but surprisingly, he just handed me the key, not wanting to bother with embarrassing himself to seem independent.

I unlocked the door while still keeping one arm around Jason and pushed it open. The warm air hit both of us as we walked inside.

"Okay good. Now where's your room?"

I felt like a babysitter but I don't think he really cared or noticed at this point. I felt him start to lead me to the stairs as I helped him climb. His weight seemed to become heavier and heavier with each and every step, but I pushed through it. I could tell he wanted to walk up by himself but he kept stumbling and falling every time he tried. He never said anything as I continued to help him. The only thing that escaped his lips were pain and shameful groans.

Jason led me down the hall to the right, and if I remembered correctly, that was the same room he had when he was a kid. The only reason I remembered this is because it was the room directly across from Ali's, but her old door seemed to be shut.

I pushed open Jason's door and scanned my hand over the wall for a light switch. Once I found it, the lights kicked on, allowing me to safely enter Jason's room.

I walked him over to his queen sized bed and gently let him sit down. When his weight was off my shoulders, I felt this wave of relief wash over them. My muscles felt like they were alive again, like they had just received their first breath of air.

I saw him roll onto his back and over to his pillows before moving over to the far left of the bed. I was finally able to relax my own feet as I plopped down alongside him on the bed. I kicked off my shoes while my feet were still hanging off the bed before I took a good long look at the only room in the DiLaurentis house I've never seen before.

His bed was fairly large with navy blue sheets and a medium gray comforter. His walls were a nice shade of blue with several posters ranging from Lebron James to his Ivy League Collage flag. There was an adjoining bathroom to the right corner and he had a dresser across from his bed that was made of a nice tan wood, a digital clock was resting on top of it. Next to the bed on my side was a night stand with a simple, white-shaded lamp along with a watch and some mail laying askew.

Right under the lamp shade was a picture frame. I took the picture in my hands and gave it a long hard look.

The picture was of Jason and Alison what seemed like to be a few days or weeks before she died. Alison was on Jason's back laughing and Jason was bent over towards the camera, holding his little sister with ease. Jason's face was of pure happiness, one I've never seen him wear before. It was no secret Jason and Ali never really got along, so a moment like this with his sister must have been pretty sentimental to him for him to put it in a frame next to his bed.

Feeling like I was invading Jason's personal space, I set the picture back down on the night stand.

Almost at that exact same moment the frame hit the stand, my phone buzzed. Figuring it was Spencer, I dug it out of my pocket and unlocked it, gazing into the bright screen.

Looks like my gravestone was wrong. Next time he won't be so lucky. –A

I froze. I thought back to the gravestones 'A' had left in my back yard. It took all my memory to look back on that day and get a perfect image of what Jason's gravestone had carved in it.

"Jason DiLaurentis. Couldn't escape his fate. March 03, 1989 – September 01, 2012"

I looked over at the digital clock that was perched on Jason's dresser. The red numbers on the screen read 12:30 AM. I thought in my head about what today's date was. If the fashion show was on August, 31 2012 then…

"No… No, no, no…"

I fell back onto the pillow near his head board. The thought of 'A' somehow having something to do with this was just sickening. But how had they done it?

I looked over to Jason who was barely able to stay awake. He seemed to be just staring that the ceiling with his glazed over eyes, not really able to focus on much.

I picked myself off the bed, slid on my shoes and walked over to this bedroom door, ready to look around for any signs that 'A' had been here.

"No… where are you going…?"

Jason's slurred and soft question caught me by surprise, but I kept walking and never turned back around. I figured he was making some sad, distraught face from his tone of voice, but I didn't have the patience right now to listen to him worry about something as small as me leaving the room.

"I'll be back." I said simply, shutting his door behind me.

I curiously walked down the stairs looking at every picture frame, wall and door that could lead to some evidence about 'A.'

I made my way into the kitchen and walked over to the trash can. I flipped open the lid and the overwhelming smell of beer caused me to jerk my head back. I regained my senses and dug though the trash can, counting every empty bottle I found.

Twelve. Jason had downed twelve beers by himself in approximately an hour.

I looked over to his fridge to make sure there were no more six packs of alcohol left for him to drink. Opening up the cold door and feeling the rush of air hit my skin, I saw one more six pack still left untouched on the bottom shelf.

I picked up the heavy load but quickly noticed there was a piece of white paper taped to the bottom of it. My hand grazed over it as I was getting a better grip on the package. I ripped it off, setting the beers down on the counter and opened the note.

I can lead a horse to water but I can't make him drink it. –A

'A' set this up. 'A' was the one who sabotaged the show using Mike as a pawn and then put alcohol in Jason's fridge knowing about his past and how he would have the urge to drink.

I crumbled up the piece of paper in my hands and tore it to shreds before angirly tossing it into the trash can. I grabbed the beers and took them out the back door, throwing them out by the street into the garbage cans for the trash collectors to pick them up tomorrow morning.

I looked back over to Jason's family's rental car. The whole front of it was destroyed and come daylight, the whole neighborhood would probably notice it.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw a large blue tarp next to the DiLaurentis shed. It took all my power to hoist this thing up over my shoulder and cover up Jason's car. It took me a good fifteen minutes to cover up the whole thing considering how petite I was.

Panting and somewhat sweaty, I checked over the whole car and sighed. The only thing that was noticeable on the car was his tires, but thankfully those didn't look too bad besides the front right one which was completely flat. At least this would kind of hide the accident, as long as Spencer kept her part.

Speaking of the youngest Hastings, I pulled out my phone to send her a quick text to see what was going on, but apparently while I was covering up Jason's car, she sent me one first.

Police came but Toby and I covered for you. I told him what happened and he said he'll look at it tomorrow. Your mom thinks your at my house. –Spencer

I let out a breath of fresh air. Thank God I had such great friends as Spencer and Toby. I knew she wasn't happy about the whole situation but she would always have my back. I knew Toby was great with vehicles and had connections to local car shops, so I was relieved that everything could be fixed come tomorrow afternoon.

As I was walking back inside I thought back to what 'A' had done. Whoever this was, they made it seem like Jason would have accidentally killed himself by drinking and driving, even though 'A' had initiated the response.

I climbed the stairs and felt tears well up in my eyes again. If Jason would have drank just one more beer before driving, he would have died tonight, and I would have been there to witness it.

I opened the door to Jason's room and switched off the light. The window next to the bed was casting enough light in from the moon to give more than enough light to see. I quietly sat down on the bed and laid back against the head board.

Finally, 'A' had cracked my shell.

I felt the tears begin to fall onto Jason's sheets and a few quiet sobs escaped my throat. This 'A' wasn't just out for revenge, but they were after our lives. These weren't childish sorts of mind games, they were evil and vindictive, going after people other than ourselves to scare us even more than we already were.

I looked over to the man laying next to me in the moon light, tears obscuring my vision. He was now resting on his side away from me, looking peaceful and free of all the horrors of 'A' that could be lurking in his mind. In a way, I was jealous he didn't have to deal with any of their mind games like I had to, but then again, Jason was suppose to lose his life tonight.

I let those words play over and over in my head until the tears were nonstop. Jason was planned to die today. His life would had ended if one more drop of beer would have entered his mouth and I wasn't there to hide him from the crash. It brought the memories of Hanna's accident all those years ago back up to the surface.

I would have felt so responsible if Jason would have died tonight.

I let myself wallow in my sorrows for a few minutes but my sobs never seemed to stop. I tried to keep them quiet so Jason wouldn't hear but it wasn't long before I heard and felt the bed start to shift.

"Aria…?" His tired and still slightly slurring voice asked.

A loud and inadvertent hiccup escaped my lips as the tears continued to flow. Jason fumbled with the lamp and light soon filled up the room.

I could tell he was staring at me and saw the tear stains on my face. I'm sure it was red and puffy and I didn't particularly want him to see me like this, so I turned my head away from him and towards the wall, blocking his view to my face.

"No… Aria, don't cry. I'm sorry… I'm so, so sorry."

I felt large, warm arms wrap around my shoulders and pull me into their warmth. There was no way my tears were staying in now.

I felt all my emotions just let go as I sobbed and cried freely into his chest, leaving tear stains down his red, crinkled shirt. I wrapped my arms slightly around his midsection, feeling that the closer I got to him the safer he and I both were.

"Shhhh…" I heard him say a few times, resting his chin atop my head.

Even though he was only slightly awake and coherent due to his alcohol consumption, I felt comforted and protected within his strong arms. He was rubbing his hands up and down on my back trying to get me to calm down.

"I'm sorry, Aria…" He said in a whisper. "I don't know what I was thinking… please, please don't hate me."

I didn't mean to let out a one syllable laugh but it just seemed to slip out. I couldn't help but think about how horrible it must have looked on his part. He probably thought I was crying just over the fact that he could have been seriously hurt, which was completely true. If anything would have happened to Jason I wouldn't know what to do with myself.

I think I laughed because he was still partially drunk and was trying to comfort me. For God's sake he was the one just almost murdered and he was comforting me! Even if he didn't realize it, he was in a bigger mess than he thought.

I thought back to his words and he sounded like a small child who just had been scolded by his mother. Apparently Jason was the sad and almost childlike drunk type.

I pulled myself away from his chest and wiped my eyes, clearing my vision of all the stray tears. I looked into Jason's eyes to see that they were still cloudy and glazed, but they were slowly coming back to their original color of baby blue.

I gave a comforting smile. "I could never hate you, Jason."

My words were true and I didn't even realize I said them until they slipped out of my mouth. Like I had said before, I don't know what I would do if something ever happened to the man sitting next to me, and that's because I finally realized that he is one of the biggest parts of my life.

I feel responsible for his well-being because I brought him into this mess with 'A', and I sure as hell was not going to be the one to let him get killed because of it.

I watched him nod absently and look down at the bed, afraid to look at me while he spoke.

"I don't know what I was thinking…" He whispered. "I was so mad at what happened at the show. I came home and was going to go to sleep but I saw the beers in my fridge… I-I don't know where they came from…"

His voice was soft and shallow, showing me how ashamed he was about what he did.

I took my hand and gently placed it under his chin, forcing him to look at me.

"I know." I whispered, comfortingly. "I know you didn't mean to do it. Everything is over now… you're home and safe."

He looked so small and fragile despite his large frame and muscular body. He was inadvertently giving me puppy dog eyes like he was about to cry, but I never saw any tears; he was too strong for that.

"I'm not that person anymore…"

I could tell he was heartbroken. He had gotten himself so far away from his drinking past that for him to go back to it must have felt like a kick to the groin. The intense pain he had for himself was evident and I felt like in somehow, someway, it was my duty to fix it.

"I know, Jase." I said softly, brushing my thumb along his cheek. "You're not like that anymore. I believe you."

He nodded and relaxed under my touch. He leaned back towards his pillow, letting his muscles relax once more.

I soon followed suit and lay next to him, staring up at the ceiling.

"Are you going to stay up?" He asked, looking over at me with tired eyes.

I thought about my answer. "Yes, I'm not really that tired."

My answer was truthful but only partially. My body was practically on empty but my mind was running around like the tank was full. After walking down the runway for several hours, moving Jason's limp body into the house and moving that tarp, my muscles were exhausted. My racing mind was the only thing keeping me awake.

I heard him stir and I looked over to see that he was getting more comfortable, but he wasn't getting ready to fall asleep. Instead, he rolled over to look at me, his head resting in his hand that was propped up on his elbow.

"Me too." He said, looking me dead in the eyes.

I scoffed. "You're tired. You should get some sleep."

"So should you."

"I wasn't the one who got in a car accident."

My challenging tone wasn't meant to be harsh, but I saw his face fall and I instantly felt bad about what I had said.

"Jase, I'm sorry… That's not what I meant."

He shook his head slightly. "Yes it was. I know, I messed up. I need to accept that."

I didn't really want to argue with him any longer so I just let it be at that. Even with alcohol still in his blood stream, he was sane enough to take responsibility for his actions, and that was something I admired.

We stayed silent for a long time. He was just studying my facial features and I was looking off into space. I kept glancing over the picture of him and Alison. They looked so happy and it was probably one of the few times they were ever like that.

"What are you thinking about?" He finally asked, breaking me out of my thoughts.

I sighed. "A lot." I said simply, looking over at him.

I saw a smirk cross his lips and I raised my eye brows, curious as to what he was thinking.

"Do you want to finish our game?" He questioned, shifting in his position on the bed.

I looked at him like he was crazy. Not only was it around one o'clock in the morning, but he was still tipsy from all those beers and really needed to get some sleep.

The genuine look in his eyes told me that he really wanted to pick up our game where we left off, despite me not really wanting to confess my past relationship with Ezra. But also, I could see that he was tired, and was only staying up because I was.

I tried to get him out of the game, but I failed miserably.

"Jason, your still drunk and probably won't remember anything, let's just wait until tomorrow."

I was trying to be reasonable but it only seemed to get him more excited.

"Exactly. So you can tell me all your deepest darkest secrets and I'll never know past tonight."

I sighed. I would rather him have just passed out at the wheel then have to play this game with him right now. But the boyish smile that was beginning to play on his lips made me change my mind. It was rare to see him so carefree, even if he was drunk. And hey, maybe if I was lucky he would be right. He wouldn't remember what I told him and this could all just seem like a dream.

"Fine." I said, giving in.

I watched as he sat up on his bed and turned his body to face me. His legs were stretched out around me so that we were facing each other while I was stilling Indian style in between his muscular legs.

"If I remember correctly, you were telling me about your past relationship."

Damn. I was going to pretend that his drunken mind made it up but I didn't want to sound rude again. I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair, much like he does when he's not sure of what to say.

"Alright…" I groaned, dreading this game of twenty questions. "But remember, it's a secret."

I put my finger up to my lips to signal that this was a private conversation. I instantly started to giggle when I saw that he mimicked me. Maybe this game would be fun if he was going to act as little boyish as he was now.

"It comes out to be a really long story, but I met this guy in a bar, we hit it off and then the next week at school, he turned out to my new English teacher… Mr. Fitz…"

I watched as Jason's eyes got as wide as saucers. I knew that was the last person he was expecting to here. His jaw dropped and he looked like he was about to say something but could never find the words. He still had his drunken little kid face on but moment by moment I could see him coming back to the coherent Jason I was so use to. At this point I wasn't sure which one I would rather have.

"You… You dated Mr. Fitz?" He repeated still trying to process it.

I just nodded, hoping this conversation was going to end soon, but I knew I was never that lucky.

"What about Noel?"

His question caught me off guard and I looked at him with a confused expression. I could tell he was deep in thought. I figured because his mind was working slower right now it was taking him longer to process all this new information and interesting questions that for forming in his mind.

"Noel looks at you all the time… you blew him a kiss tonight at the show." He looked down at his hands like he didn't want to say it. I wasn't sure why he was getting so weird about talking about Noel, but I just brushed it off like he was embarrassed to talk about guys with me.

"Noel is just a friend. We've had our differences but we talked about it when he took me home." I explained, catching his gazed once again.

"I'm sorry… I was going to take you home but then Noel walked up…"

He trailed off at the end of his sentence, not really wanting to finish it. I was so curious as to they he was being so secretive about this whole Noel thing. I could tell by his downward glace that he didn't want to talk about it, but I knew in his half-drunken state this might be my only time to get an answer.

"Why don't you like talking about Noel?" I asked softly, not wanted to swim in rough waters.

He fidgeted and looked uncomfortable. I felt slightly bad for him putting him on the spot, but then again, he wanted to play this game and it was a fair question.

"He just looks at you funny... it seems like you might be attracted him as more than a friend..."

I knew for a fact that wasn't the whole answer, and I also knew that he didn't want to continue this conversation. I was about to say that Noel and I had nothing going on but he beat me to the punch.

"Did you know Alison was into photography?" He asked, changing the tone of the game.

It surprised me a little and I didn't have a response right way. I mumbled a quiet 'no' and watched his he gave me a small smile and turned around.

He bent down over the side and he looked like he was searching under the bed for something. His jeans were hanging precariously on his hips, falling down slightly to reveal his blue plaid boxers as he bent over. I was going to say a snarky comment like 'nice butt' or something of that nature, but that felt a little inappropriate so I decided against that idea.

He sat back up into his original position, wobbling a little bit because of all the blood that rushed to his head from being upside down.

I noticed that he brought up a pitch black, plastic folder that seemed to be holding large 10x14 pictures inside. I couldn't tell what they were of because the flap was taped shut. I could tell by the way it felt when he handed it to me that there were several pictures inside.

I looked into his eyes as if asking my permission to open it and he just nodded in response. I gently tugged off the tape that was concealing the envelope's contents and slide my fingers over the plastic.

I gasped at what I saw.

Inside the envelope were several photographs of me; most of them were taken while I was asleep but there were a few candid's of me while I was awake and alert.

I put my hand over my mouth and looked in awe at all of these photos. The photo paper they were on showed that they were recently developed. I came to the conclusion that Alison must have taken them before she passed, but Jason found them after remodeling the house and developed them to see what they were.

I took a long hard look at one picture in particular. It was of me while I was asleep but my hair looked like it was flowing behind me on the pillow. My lips were slightly parted and it looked like I was peacefully asleep, dreaming about the wonders of the world before it turned dark and gray. There seemed to be a small smile playing on my lips and my hands were resting in tiny, relaxed fists by my face.

I noticed I still had that pink streak in my hair and it caused me to smile.

"These are beautiful…" I breathed, not quite sure of what else to say.

I never looked up at Jason as I spoke, too mesmerized by Alison's photographs of me.

"I thought they were too."

Jason's simple sentenced cause me to finally look back into his eyes. They were no longer glassy and clouded; he finally looked alert and somewhat awake.

There were a few stands of Jason's hair straggling along his forehead, giving him a hot mess sort of look. That boyish charm he once possessed while being intoxicated was almost completely gone, but his innocence still seemed to remain.

"I found these under some floorboards in Ali's room. I had no idea what they were so I built a darkroom in the shed." He paused and looked down at the pictures in my hand. "When I saw those were of you I was going to have them framed and give them to you… but I figured now would be a good time since you're here…"

I looked down back at the pictures like he was and began to flip through them again. They all looked so professionally done it was hard to believe Alison took these while I was asleep and I never noticed.

I smiled at my favorite picture and ran my thumb over the smooth photography paper.

"This one's my favorite." I stated simply.

I saw him move closer to get a better look at the picture, his body getting closer and closer to mine.

"Mine too."

I looked up at him and saw he was smiling. It was a small but genuine, content smile.

"Everything about you in this picture..." He started again "...look's amazing."

I found myself blushing at Jason's sweet remark. I could feel his eyes on me but I didn't want him to notice my pink cheeks.

After a few moments of not looking at him, I felt his hand gently touch the bottom of my chin, forcing me to lock eyes, much like I had done with him earlier. It looked like he was coherent and the tipsiness was gone, but it was still hard to tell.

"Don't hide from me…" He whispered. "You look just as beautiful now as you do in that picture."

Once again I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks. I had never seen Jason so open and romantic before. It was like swimming in forbidden water and he was the one guiding me through it.

I felt his fingers graze up to my cheek, rubbing soft circles along my skin in a rhythmic pattern. His face was only inches from mine and I could feel his hot breath on my skin. Those piercing blue eyes were locked with mine and I couldn't pry myself away from them. I could tell he was trying to read me and I was doing the same with him. I had no idea what he was planning on doing, but I knew this wasn't the right time.

"Jason, we should really be getting to bed. It's late and-"

I felt his pointer finger maneuver its way over my lips to silence me from talking. His eyes were still intently focused on mine, reading me to see if his moves were out of line.

"Just let me try this… please. I need to know if what is going through my head right now is real…"

His pleading, soft voice echoed through my eardrums and caused my blood pressure to run sky high. He was once again running his fingers over the skin on my cheek and it sent shivers down my spine. My heart rate picked up and I could feel it beating through my chest and into my veins.

I haven't felt anything like this since when I first met Ezra.

I watched as his lips parted slightly and he moved closer to me, closing off the little distance was had between us. There were no sounds in the room besides my heavy breathing and his soft ones.

I felt that he used his legs that were still on either side of me, to pull his body closer. He kept his right hand softly on my cheek at all times, and I felt his left hand slide up my calf and onto the lower part of my thigh. I jumped a little at the initial contact but quickly calmed down.

In my head, I knew what he was going to do, and I also knew that this probably wasn't the best time for it… but I didn't have the will to stop him.

He got about an inch away from my face and I felt his hot breath on my lips, practically forcing me to lick them to keep them moist. His eyes were locked on to mine for a few moments, anticipating my reaction, hoping that whatever he wanted to do wasn't crossing a moral boundary.

After a moment or two of suspense and anxiety, it happened.

He leaned in with one swift motion and kissed me passionately.

It was a soft, trying kiss to see how I would react. Even though I had assumed this is what he was going for, I was still taken by surprise when his lips actually touched mine. I didn't kiss him back at first, still in shock and confusion at what was going on with my best friend's older brother, and eventually he pulled away.

He kept his face near mine for another second or two, lips still parted seductively, teasing me into wanting to feel his lips on mine for a second time.

"Come on, Aria…" He breathed. "Kiss me…"

And I did. I couldn't take it any longer. I practically jumped onto his lap and wrapped my arms around his shoulders, forcefully putting my lips onto his.

I could tell he wasn't expecting my hasty attack, and I felt his body getting knocked back slightly. He had to use his arms to catch himself from falling off the side of the bed, but I soon felt those same arms snake around my lower back and pull me closer to him.

I was now on my knees in between his legs with his arms wrapped tightly around my lower back, having the steamiest kiss I had shared with someone in a very long time. His right hand began to glide up my back and into my hair, pushing my lips harder onto his.

I knew that this was probably wrong, falling for an older man again, especially one I just got to know on a personal level after a drunken driving accident.

But to me, this felt so right.

After a long session of passionate kissing I pulled back to catch my breath. My face was inches from his and my mouth was hanging wide open, sucking in air as hard and as fast as I can. Normally, I would have felt stupid doing this, but thankfully Jason was doing the exact same thing.

We were looking at each other intently, trying to read to see what the other person thought about this whole situation.

Never in my life would I have dreamed of kissing Jason DiLaurentis… and never in my life would I have thought that he tasted so good.

My breathing began getting less intense and slowly was getting back to its normal steady pace. I relaxed my arms that were around his neck and placed them loosely on his shoulders, sitting gently back down on my knees.

Jason took his hand away from the back of my head and placed both his hands on the sides of my thighs. He was looking at me like he was scared to speak, scared that he crossed the line with me and that I was going to run off like everyone else in his life.

What he didn't know was that I was never going to leave him from this point forward.

"Stay." He finally said in a hushed, soulful whisper.

I nodded as we both began to reposition ourselves on the bed into a more comfortable sleeping position. I was on the left facing him and he was doing the same from his side of the bed.

I felt like we had been looking at each other for hours, but in reality it had only been a few minutes.

"Goodnight, Jason" I said, letting a yawn escape my tingling lips.

As I closed my eyes feeling the sleep come over me, just like the night before, I was barely able to hear him respond.

"Goodnight, Aria."

It finally happened! I hope you all liked it!

Please tell me your opinions on the most recent episode of Pretty Little Liars in regards to what happened to Jason! Were you just as shocked and scared as I was?

Review and tell me your thoughts!

-Cheyenne