A/N:
Sorry for the wait you guys, I know I was on sort of an updating roll last week and then all of a sudden stopped.
I was working all weekend and have been off for the past few days.
This chapter is WAY longer than I anticipated and that's why it took so long to update, but I hope you like it. :)
SolitudeMyLove: I sort of stole that idea from the show, yes, mostly because it's one of my favourite episodes, plus it's the episode that contains the line "yesterday you were ready to give me tongue for giving you two tickets" that Spencer says to Aria. (which we all know she secretly wanted to do) every digital watch i've ever owned was 24 hours, so that's all the experience with them I have to go by. :P
Fender18: I see you picked up on that ;) yes the Hastings will be out of town, definitely the perfect opportunity... I mean, who knows what could happen when Spencer is all by herself for a week? Well, of course, I do... but unless any of you are cyber mind readers, upcoming events are safely locked away in my brain. ;)
Though I am hoping that what I have planned will work out well when I go to write it, and I also hope that it satisfies you guys' hopes of what this story will bring. :)
But that's still a little while away, so for right now please enjoy this crazy, ridiculously long chapter (seriously it's like 5k+ O_O ).
You guys do that, and i'm gonna go pass out for a while, my eyes are kind of falling out of my head right now...
Read, Enjoy, Review.
(pretty pretty please... I think I really earned it with this one!)
Aria woke up that morning to the sound of her alarm loudly buzzing beside her. She was still in the clothes she wore yesterday and though she didn't remember how she got there, she was lying on her bed.
"Aria? Are you up yet?" she heard her mum call her from downstairs.
"Yeah, I am."
She got up and got changed. She put a small bit of make-up on before grabbing her bag off the desk in her room and then moving back to her bed to pick up her phone. She noticed a piece of paper underneath it. She picked it up and opened it, reading it slowly, as a gradual smile spread across her face. She put the piece of paper in her pocket and made her way downstairs.
"Aria, are you having breakfast before you go?"
"No, I'll just get something in school."
"Okay, I'll see you when you get home, oh and we're having spaghetti for dinner tonight; make sure to remind Spencer to bring her appetite." Ella laughed.
"Spencer's coming for dinner?"
"Yes I told her I would make enough for her tonight, she is helping you study, I think it's the least we can do."
"Thanks mom, I'll tell her, see you later."
-XXXX-
It had been quite a stressful morning so far. My alarm didn't go off which resulted in me getting up half an hour late, and rushing to school. I got there with a few minutes to spare and was now standing at my locker, pulling books out of it. I was a total mess, and I looked it.
"Hey Spence, are you okay?" Emily and Hanna approached me looking slightly anxious.
"Not really, my alarm never went off and I got up half an hour late, I haven't exactly had the best start to the day." I sighed loudly before closing my locker.
"So how did the 'studying' go last night." Hanna said suggestively.
"Really well, I don't know what Aria was so worried about, she really does know her stuff, she just needed to revise a little bit, she's gonna do great."
"Spence, I didn't mean the studying, I meant the 'STUDYING'" she drew the last word out slowly and gave me a very evident wink.
"We didn't do that kind of study, Han. It was an actual study date." I said matter-of-factly.
"You're so boring, where's the fun in that."
"There isn't any, but there wasn't supposed to be, plus her mom was there anyway."
"Oh speak of the devil, hey Ar." Hanna said.
I turned and saw her walking towards us, a huge smile on her face, before greeting any of us she pulled me into a tight hug, running her fingers along the back of my neck.
"Well I never, how rude." Hanna said sarcastically.
She pulled away slowly and then greeted both Hanna and Emily with hugs before moving back to my side.
"I got your note. And I figure you were the one who brought me upstairs to bed?" she asked.
"Spence! I thought you said there was no 'studying'? You dog…" Hanna moved to high five me before I rolled my eyes and shook my head.
"No, Han, she fell asleep on the couch after a hard nights work and I brought her upstairs and put her into bed. She looked exhausted."
"Yeah, and then I woke up this morning to this note beside my bed."
She took the note out of her pocket and moved between Hanna and Emily.
"Is it okay if I show these guys Spence?"
"Go ahead, it's not like there's anything bad in it, sorry to disappoint Han." I winked at her slightly.
"Come on Ar, read it out loud." Hanna encouraged.
"Okay, 'Aria, who told you you're not good at math? *sticky out tongue face* when you're reading this, you probably won't know how you got upstairs, but you fell asleep on the couch so I brought you up to bed, I just couldn't wake you, you looked too adorable. I hope you're not mad at me for leaving without saying goodbye, but you deserved the break after how hard you worked last night. I need you to know how much you amaze me. (Not just with your math skills) but with how well you do in everything, you're so creative, and charismatic, empathic and understanding. You can do anything you put your mind to, and I hope you realise it, because whatever it is you decide you want to do, I hope you know I'll be right behind you, supporting you, and waving a flag with your name on it. (I can get a flag, but it's optional.) P.S: I freaking love spaghetti.'"
"Wow Spence, you're such a loser." Hanna said.
"Yeah, but she's my loser." Aria wrapped her arms around my waist protectively.
The morning bell rang and we all made our way to class.
-XXXX-
At the end of the day, I opened my locker and pulled out all my math books and notes.
"Hey, are you coming over now or do you have things to do first?" Aria leaned against the wall as we talked, tilting her head to the side slightly.
"You are too cute." I said with a smile, she blushed a little and smiled up at me.
"I don't have anything I can think of, do you want a ride?"
"Yeah, that'd be great thanks Spence."
We linked arms and walked out to my car, before getting in and driving to Aria's house. We got out and made our way inside, sitting down in the same spot we were in last night.
"I'll just get us some drinks." Aria made her way into the kitchen as I took out my books and started writing out exercises for Aria to do. She re-entered the room and set two glasses down on the table in front of us.
"Spence? Before we start working can we do something?"
"Sure, what do you want to do?"
"I haven't kissed you in almost 24 hours, what do you think I wanna do?" she said softly as she moved closer.
I leaned in the rest of the way and pressed my lips to hers lightly. She immediately deepened the kiss as she slid her tongue into my mouth and began massaging my tongue with hers, she groaned softly as I moved my hands to her waist. She tangled her hands in my hair and pulled me even closer. She placed a final chaste kiss on my lips before moving a hand to cup my cheek.
"I love you." She smiled.
"I love you too." I moved my hands to her back and pulled her towards me once more, kissing her once and hugging her.
"Okay, let's pick up where we left off yesterday."
-XXXX-
"Aria will you get some plates please?"
"I'm on it."
"Ar, I'll help you." I offered.
"Spencer, you're a guest, you just make yourself comfortable." Ella said.
"Yeah Spence, sit your butt back down." Aria joked.
"Aria…" Ella said with raised her eyebrows.
"Sorry… sit your backside back down… better?"
We all laughed as Byron and Mike also made their way to the table. Ella brought out a large tray with 5 plates on it, placing them in front of everyone at the table as Aria sat down beside me and smiled, taking my hand underneath the table.
-XXXX-
"That was delicious, thank you Mrs. Montgomery." I said, taking a drink of water.
"Thank you Spencer, you know you're welcome to have dinner with us any time you want."
"I'll remember that, thank you."
"Thanks mom, me and Spencer are gonna go back to studying."
"Okay, we'll try and keep it down."
"Thanks mom."
We took our books from the living room and moved upstairs to Aria's bedroom. She cleared her desk and put her books down. I set down a piece of paper in front of her.
"Okay, try doing these 10 questions and see how you do."
"Okay."
I sat down on her bed and looked at my phone.
Hanna: Spence how's the 'studying' going? ;)
Spencer: It's still just study Han, nothing else; get your mind out of the gutter. ;)
Hanna: Tell that to Aria, not me!
Spencer: What's that supposed to mean?
Hanna: It means she's horny as hell :P
Spencer: Has she said something to you?
Hanna: We always talk about that stuff. Don't worry Spence, it's nothing bad, she's not complaining, it's just joking around.
Spencer: Oh… Okay. I better get back to it Han, I'll talk to you later.
I moved over to her, and put my hands on her shoulders
"Are you okay?"
"Yep, I'm just done."
"Great, I'll correct it for you."
I sat back down on her bed and looked over the piece of paper.
"100% correct again, you have nothing to worry about with this test, I promise you."
"Thanks so much for all your help Spence, I don't know what I would have done without you."
"Hey, I just explained some things, you did most of this stuff on your own, you really don't give yourself enough credit."
"Well thanks for being here, and for giving up your week just to help me."
"Any time, I think we're about done for the night."
"I could sleep for the rest of my life, I'm so tired." Aria fell back onto her bed.
"You need a break, go asleep, I'll see you tomorrow." I leaned down and kissed her. I grabbed my things and moved to the door.
"Bye Spence."
"Bye Ar."
I made my way downstairs and headed out to my car. I drove home and tried watching some TV. After a while I decided Aria had the right idea and went to straight to bed.
-XXXX-
It was Friday and Aria was nervous. I was nervous for her, but I was trying my best to be calm.
"It'll be fine, you know this stuff, you've studied so hard over the past few days and I know you can do it."
"Thanks Spence, I'm just scared he'll give us horrible questions, he's done it before."
"Even if he does, it's nothing you haven't prepared for, I gave you hard questions last night, and you did fine with them."
"I'm just gonna be nervous until it's over and done with."
"Hey guys, you two look terrified, what's up?" Hanna asked as she stopped walking.
"Aria has her math test today, she's a little bit nervous."
"Oh yeah, I forgot, Spencer said you were doing really well all week, I'm sure it'll be fine Ar." Hanna said supportively.
"I know, I just want to do it now, I don't want to have to wait until last period."
"Hey, how about you guys come over to mine tonight for a sleepover? My mom's out so we have the place to ourselves, it can be kind of a 'screw you Mr. Collins' party."
"That's a really good idea Han."
"Yeah it is, I'd love to, thanks Han."
"No prob, I'll text Emily and see if she can come. I'll see you guys later."
"See you later Han."
"Okay, I gotta go to class Spence; I'll see you at lunch."
"Okay, see you later Ar."
-XXXX-
Emily, Hanna and I were waiting at my locker. Hanna texted us all telling us to meet her there after school and we would drive to her house then. We were just waiting for Aria to get there. We were all silent and I could tell that Emily and Hanna were just as nervous for Aria as I was. I caught a glimpse of her dark hair and a second later saw her face as she made her way towards us. She was grinning widely and as soon as she saw me she started running. She jumped into my arms as I caught her and spun her around.
"Oh my god, that was the best test I have EVER done, it went so well!" she exclaimed excitedly as I put her down.
"I'm so happy for you; I told you you could do it." I smiled at her.
"Good job Ar!" Emily said.
"It looks like we've got two brainiacs in the family now." Hanna said as she put her arm around both Aria and I at the same time.
"Come on guys, let's blow this joint." Hanna said in a mocking voice.
We linked arms and all made our way out of school as fast as possible.
-XXXX-
"Em, you pick the DVD, we always do so you should this time." I said.
We were all sitting in Hanna's living room, trying to decide what to do for the night to celebrate Aria's ass kicking of that test. Oh, that reminds me.
"Hey, I told you you're a butt kicker." I whispered into her ear as she sat down next to me.
"Maybe a little." She smiled at me before putting her feet up on the couch and cuddling up into my side.
"Okay, Sliding Doors it is." Emily said and she moved over to sit down on the couch next to where Aria and I were sitting.
"I love that movie!" Hanna exclaimed excitedly as she jumped onto the seat next to Emily.
"Spence?" Aria asked me.
"Yeah?"
"You said you have something planned for our second date?"
"Yep, I do."
"Well, are you gonna tell me anything about it? I mean, it's not like I have any major things going on in my life that make me super busy but I do need some notice you know." She laughed.
"Oh yeah, of course, I have it planned for next Thursday night."
"Thursday next week? That's so far away. Can't we do something this weekend" She pouted slightly, and I moved to kiss her pouted lips gently.
"This is the kind of something that can't be moved…" I said regretfully, I really wanted to do something this weekend with her but the exhibition would blow her away, and I needed it to be a surprise so telling her was not an option, but I was running out of excuses, and fast.
"Well, can we have our second date this weekend and then our third can be next weekend? Thursday kind of in the middle of the week, I don't know if my mom will let me go out."
"She can't this weekend." Hanna blurted out.
"She can't? Why not?"
"Because…" Hanna paused, "I already asked her to help me with… a… book report that's due in next week, she must have forgotten to tell you, right Spence?" There was that wide eyed anime look on Hanna's face again.
"Oh, eh, yeah, exactly, sorry Ar."
"Oh, I guess that's okay then, I mean I'm not gonna deprive Hanna of education. But I still have to get around my mom and dad."
"Don't worry, it'll be fine."
We then concentrated on the movie, and I quickly and subtly texted Hanna,
Spencer: Quick thinking, thanks Han.
Hanna: No prob Spence, we may as well do that project tomorrow.
Spencer: Didn't you make that up?
Hanna: Not entirely… I could do with some help.
Spencer: Okay, I'll help you.
I saw Hanna smile over at me and I rolled my eyes. This would be a long weekend.
-XXXX-
The next evening rolled around and I asked Emily to get Aria out of her house for a while, so I could go over there without her wondering why I wasn't at Hanna's.
I knocked on the front door of the Montgomery house and waited for an answer, I was quickly greeted by Ella.
"Hi Mrs. Montgomery."
"Hi Spencer, Aria's not here at the moment, she and Emily have gone out…"
"Oh no, I was actually looking to speak to you."
"Oh okay, come on in." I made my way inside and into the kitchen where Ella poured both of us drinks.
"What can I do for you Spencer?"
"Well, there is an exhibition on in Philadelphia this Thursday evening"
"Yes, Aria was saying something about it a little while ago."
"Yes, she was trying to get tickets, with no luck, but you see my parents get tickets to exhibitions there all the time and so I have two, I was hoping to take Aria with me and kind of surprise her. She knows nothing about it but I know since it's on a Thursday it might be an issue for you and Mr. Montgomery so I thought I would stop by and see if it's okay if I take her with me, I promise we won't be too late home."
"That seems perfectly fine with me Spencer, I know how responsible you are and you always take care of all the girls when you're with them. Of course she can go."
"That's great, thank you so much. Oh and this is a surprise so, would it be okay if you don't mention this visit to Aria when she gets back?"
"Of course, mum's the word."
"Literally." I joked, and we laughed together. I couldn't help but think how kind and welcoming Aria's parents were and that Ella and Byron would be accepting of Aria and I if they found out about our relationship.
"Great, I'll probably be here at about 6 to collect her."
"I'll see you then, take care Spencer."
"I will, you too." I quickly walked back to my car and drove home. I heard my phone chime and pulled it out to see I had a text from Aria. I opened it and began replying as I walked inside.
Aria: How's the report going? I miss you :(
Spencer: Pretty well, I miss you too, weekends are no fun without you. :(
Aria: At least we have our date to look forward to, where are we going again? ;)
Spencer: You know very well that you're not allowed know that information. :P
Aria: I'll get it out of you eventually!
Spencer: I highly doubt that, but try your very best.
Aria: I have my ways… ;) I better go, Emily and I are in the movies, ttyl love you :) xxx
Spencer: Have a good time, I love you too, eat some popcorn for me :D xxx
I threw my phone on my bed and decided to make a start on my homework.
-XXXX-
I thought Thursday would never come and when it finally did, I thought Aria would burst before we even got there.
"Please tell me Spence!" Aria moaned, again. At lunch, again. Making Hanna laugh, again.
"I can't believe she hasn't given up yet." Hanna laughed.
"I won't give up until she tells me." Aria said.
"I want it to be a surprise."
"You keep saying that and I keep telling you that I don't like surprises."
"Guys, will you please tell me?" Aria had been making a habit of trying to crack me and when she failed, she would move onto Hanna and Emily.
"They don't know where I'm taking you Aria." I said innocently.
"Emily definitely doesn't because she would have told me by now…" Emily blushed and looked down. "And Hanna… Hanna has a cocky grin on her face so she definitely knows."
Hanna took out her phone and pretended to text. "You're not getting jack out of me Montgomery."
"I hate you all." Aria frowned and pouted. She was too cute when she was pretending to be mad.
"Well, you can hate us all you want but as long as you're ready by 6 tonight that's all that matters."
-XXXX-
Later that evening I arrived at Aria's house, at 6pm sharp.
"Hi Spencer" Ella greeted me at the door before I even had a chance to knock.
"Hi Mrs. Montgomery."
"Aria will be down in a minute, she's just grabbing something."
Aria came down the stairs slowly, in a short red dress and matching ruby red lips.
"Hi." I said simply.
"Hi Spence." She smiled at me and we stood looking at each other for a moment before I remembered Ella was in the room, and she was now looking at us both like we were a little crazy.
"Eh, we should probably get going. Are you ready?" I asked as I opened the door.
"I'm ready, see you later mom."
"Bye you two, have a good time." Ella closed the door behind us and we walked to my car, I opened the passenger door for Aria and closed it once she was safely inside.
"So where are you taking me?"
"That would be telling…" I pulled out of her drive and got on the road, starting our journey to Philadelphia.
"Please, tell me Spence, or have you forgotten I hate surprises?"
"How could I forget that since you've been reminding us for the past week? Aria, I promise you, you'll like this one."
"I guess I'll have to trust you then. Mostly because I'm already in the car and you're going about 80mph, Jesus slow down!"
"Sorry Ar, I forgot you don't like it when I drive fast."
"Well, you better start remembering a lot of things about me. We were just friends before but if you're out of line now, I have the power to withhold sex."
"What? You wouldn't!" I said in mock fury.
"I really would." She retorted just as sarcastically.
"So we're not even having sex yet and you're already withholding it? That's gotta be some kind of record."
"Aria Montgomery, world record setter… Yeah, I like the sound of that."
-XXXX-
I pulled over and parked a short walk from the art gallery.
"Okay, we're here" I got out of the car and moved to the other side of the car to open the door for Aria.
"Thanks Spence."
"Hey, Aria?"
"Yeah?"
I moved closer to her and pressed her against the door of my car, moving my hand to her face and resting my other on her shoulder.
"I love you."
"I love you too, Spence."
I captured her lips and kissed her passionately as she pulled at my waist to press us closer together. As we kissed it dawned on me that this was our first kiss in public, as a couple. I pulled back and looked around, nobody even gave us a second glance.
"I love not having to hide us." Aria smiled up at me.
"I know, no one here knows us and they don't care, it's like a secret holiday away for a night."
"It's perfect." I smiled back at her and moved my hands to her small waist, turning her around.
"Okay, we just have to walk for a minute, close your eyes."
"Okay, okay." She closed her eyes and covered them with her hand.
I held on tightly to her as I guided her towards the entrance.
"Careful, you have to go up steps now."
I helped her navigate the few steps upward and we came to a stop just outside the door.
"Can I open my eyes yet?"
"Wait… okay, now you can open them."
Slowly she let her eyes adjust to the bright lights of the entrance to the art gallery.
"Oh. My. God. Is this what I think it is?" she asked excitedly, grabbing my hands in hers.
"Yep." I said smiling.
"Okay, I changed my mind; I'm not withholding sex from you. EVER."
"I thought you'd like it." With every happy word that escaped past her perfect lips I felt my smile growing in width.
"Like it? Are you kidding? This is AMAZING, Spence. I 've been trying to get tickets to this show for months!"
"I know it's all you've been talking about."
"You're amazing, I love you so much." She kissed me hard and pulled me into an embrace, squeezing me tightly before pulling back and taking my hands in hers once more.
"I love you too, shall we go inside?"
"Let's do it." She grinned at me and we entered in anticipation.
-XXXX-
We had been at the gallery for about an hour and I was amazed at how insightful Aria really was, I had always known how creative she was but I never really understood how deeply art really meant to her.
"Hey Spence, what do you think of this one?"
She pointed towards a small painting of a mountain. The sky was overcast and the mountain itself looked as if it was formed of smoke. There was a person kneeling at the foot of the mountain, with their hands clutching the small amount of grass that grew there.
"I really like it, what does it mean?" I asked, knowing how much she loved discussing the meanings of each of the paintings we had encountered that night.
"To me it kind of represents a sort of metaphorical limbo. The person in the painting is stuck in the same place in their life and can't escape the feelings associated with it. This person is so desperate, and their problems are represented by this mountain, do you see how it's painted?" she pointed out the different brushstrokes and explained to me how the artist used them to make a smoke-like affect. She continued,
"It's like the mountain is a shadow, constantly following this person. They can't escape it's constant presence, and they can never get over what the mountain is constantly reminding them of, day after day."
"That's amazing. Art really is wonderful."
"It is Spence." She smiled at me and took my hand, leading me outside onto a balcony.
"Thank you so much for bringing me here, I've had such a perfect night, I don't want it to end."
"You're welcome, I just want to love what you love, because I know how much it means to you."
"You're so sweet." She pulled me in and kissed me softly, and I held her for a moment as we took in everything that had happened in the past few weeks, how much both our lives have changed, and how much they were still going to.
"Let's get back in there, I want to make sure I see everything before we go." She took my hand once more and led me back into the gallery.
"Hey Ar, I'm just gonna get us some drinks, I'll meet you over there in a minute."
"Okay, thanks Spence."
I moved to the large table at the side of the room and picked up two glasses of champagne.
"She's very beautiful." I turned to see a woman smiling at me and nodding to where Aria was standing.
"I know." I smiled and looked at her lovingly.
"Are you two together?"
"Oh, em, yes, we are. She's my girlfriend. We're on our second date tonight." I said nervously.
"And you took her here?"
"She loves art and she was trying to get tickets to this show for months. I thought I would surprise her."
"That's very thoughtful. You two really do look well together."
"Thank you, I better get back, she's probably wondering where I am."
"Of course."
I moved back over to Aria who looked at me with a half-smile.
"Who was that you were talking to?"
"A woman who told me she thinks you're beautiful."
"Seriously? She said that?" Aria asked, her cheeks turning a slight shade of red.
"It's not that hard to believe, I mean you are breathtakingly beautiful." I wrapped my arms around her waist and kissed her forehead.
"You're such a sweet talker." She said moving away and taking my hand.
"Only for you."
-XXXX-
At the end of a great night, we were driving home and Aria was gushing about what an amazing time she'd had.
"It was so amazing. I can't believe you did that for me. I mean I know you're amazing and sweet and thoughtful but you've seriously outdone yourself this time."
"I just wanted you to have a nice time." I said modestly, she was making me blush and I was running out of ways to hide it.
"Spence, you can move your face all you want but I can see how red you are." She laughed, I blushed again. "I'm sorry sweetie, I don't mean to embarrass you, I'm just so happy and elated right now. I love you so much. But next time, I'm taking you on a date, I want to return the favour and bring you somewhere nice."
I smiled, everything about this night had been perfect. Well, almost everything, I had a twisting feeling in the bottom of my stomach that I hadn't been able to get rid of.
The rest of the dive home was relatively quiet on my part with Aria making most of the conversation.
I pulled up at her house at 11.40pm and turned off the engine.
"I'll walk you to our door." I said, once again moving to open Aria's door for her.
"Who was it that said chivalry is dead?" She joked, I just smiled.
"Spence? Are you okay? You've been quiet since we left the exhibit."
At this stage we had stopped and were standing at her front door where the porch light had now turned on.
"I'm okay… I've just been thinking."
"About what?" she asked, moving toward me and taking both of my hands in her protectively.
"About us."
"Us? Aren't you happy?"
"What? I am happy, I'm so happy, I've never been happier in my life, and that's why I've been thinking." I really ramble on when I'm nervous.
"So what's wrong?"
"Okay… Well, tonight was so amazing. Being with you there, just the two of us, not having to worry about anything, it made the date so much better, and I really enjoyed it."
"So did I Spence, it was so nice being able to dress up and go out with you, and hold your hand walking around and being able to kiss you."
"Exactly. And after being able to do that… I don't think I can go back to secret kisses in the bathroom and hiding out in your bedroom."
"So what are you saying?"
"I'm saying… I want to be able to hold your hand all the time, I want to be able to take you out somewhere and not have to pretend we're just friends, I want people to know we're a couple."
I paused.
"I want to come out, Aria."