3 months later

For three months, Zach and Aria had been in constant communication ever since the events of Jurassic World. All three of them, Zach, Gray, and Aria, began suffering from horrendous nightmares for weeks after they all made it back home. As a result, Aria was constantly over at their house or, once Zach finally passed his driving test, they would come over to where she was, either at her Mom's or Dad's depending on what week it was. Calls would be made to the others' house at 3:00 in the morning after waking up from another nightmare about a dinosaur or in Aria's case, waking up and having an asthma attack from the panic she felt during the dream. At first, it was only a crying and terrified Gray calling Aria, but soon enough, Zach and Gray called Aria together, or she called their house and talked to the both of them.

At their parents' prodding, they all went to see separate counselors to talk about their ordeal. It helped greatly, and with time, the nightmares began to decrease.

Unfortunately, Zach and Gray's parents put off the divorce only for a little while before they went right back to it. It seemed not even a dinosaur attack that almost caused the loss of their two sons was enough to get them to stay together. Perhaps if they had actually been there, it would've been a different story.

Aria helped Gray through the process, knowing exactly what he was going through. She helped Zach too, but in a much more indirect way.

The three of them were able to spend a few weekends with Claire and Owen which was a much needed break for everyone. Claire had since become the model aunt, and her and Owen's relationship was constantly progressing. They always insisted that Zach, Gray, and Aria were more than welcome to come stay with them whenever they wanted, and the three of them certainly took them up on that offer. Their stays with the couple were something that everyone looked forward to. The first visit had taken some convincing on everyone's part, seeing as all of their parents weren't too keen on letting their kids stay with the people who had indirectly caused the whole dinosaur outbreak in the first place. But eventually, they relented and each visit was better than the one before it.

Zach broke up with Bethany only a few days after he got back. Needless to say, she was furious with him. She ranted that she had called him a hundred times ever since she found out what was happening at the park, and how she had come all the way to his house to make sure he was okay only for him to dump her, and that she knew that that girl she had seen over video chat was more than just a friend, and how Zach was selfish and rude and didn't care about her feelings.

Zach had let her yell to her heart's content, and then proceeded to point out to her that they were never really official to begin with, nor had they ever had a real date or even kissed once. He then pointed out that she had the tendency to be controlling a lot, which was the last thing he got out before she stormed away.

To be honest, it was kind of a relief to be free of her. He knew that he couldn't just pick up the phone and ask Aria out…as much as he wanted to. He had promised himself that he would give her time so they could both work out how they felt about each other.

As he predicted, the wait was torturous. Every time she came over or he and Gray went over to her place, he felt his stomach lurch all over again and he wanted nothing more than to just kiss her. It was even worse when they all went over to visit Claire and Owen. As much as he loved being able to get away from all of the yelling at his house and coming home to see more and more boxes packed up, he saw his aunt and her boyfriend together and it made him long to have the same kind of relationship with Aria. Owen had on more than one occasion given Zach advice on how to deal with his feelings for her.

The whole thing also tortured Gray. It was completely obvious that the two teenagers were head-over-heels in love with each other and he was just waiting for one of them to come out and say it. If no one did something soon, he was about to take care of it himself before he went crazy.

Gray really liked Aria a lot and he looked up to her. She was so much better than Bethany in almost every way possible. He had never seen Zach so protective of anyone before, himself excluded. They were perfect for each other.

Aria headed over to Zach's house one evening after feeling that she had been apart from him long enough. (It had been a day and a half.)

"Hey!" Zach said with a smile as he opened the door.

"Hey, Mitchell!" Aria greeted as she hugged him. "Where's Gray?"

"Out with friends."

"Really?"

"Yeah, he's been hanging out with a couple of guys lately."

"That's really good news. I know he's always had a hard time making friends. What about your mom and your dad?"

"I think they're meeting with lawyers or something."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

There was a bit of awkward silence before Zach said, "Aria? Look, it's been three months, and I don't think I can put it off anymore. I still like you and I have every day since we left Jurassic World. Every time I see you, I want to pull you into my arms and kiss you."

Aria blushed and looked up with a smile. "I'm glad you feel that way, Zach. Because…I feel the same. I just wanted to give you some space after you broke up with Bethany, and I needed time to decide if my feelings were real. And…they are. They always have been."

Zach took Aria's chin in his hand and leaned her head up before gingerly pressing his lips to hers. If possible, it was even better than their last kiss.

They had been through a lot, and knowing Claire and Owen, there was probably more to come, but as long as Zach and Aria had each other with Gray by their side, they knew that they could accomplish anything that was thrown their way. Absolutely anything.