"I don't want to leave yet," Aria said with her head pressed against his chest.
"You have school tomorrow," he said. "Plus you need to bring Hanna back to Boston."
"Do I have to?" Aria sighed.
"I am going to tell you a secret," he said rolling onto his side, "but if I tell you, you have to promise to go back to Boston tonight."
"Okay," Aria said a little skeptically.
"I applied for a job at Boston College," he told her. "I'm moving there after Christmas."
"What?" Aria was in shock. "Did you do this for me?"
"I did," he smiled, "but I also did it for me. It's a better job at a great university."
"I'm so happy for you," Aria smiled kissing him.
"There's something else," he whispered.
"What else could there be?" she asked.
"Aria," he breathed, "will you marry me?"
"Ezra?" she sighed. "This isn't a joke is it?"
"No," he smiled. "I'm completely serious."
"Yes!" she smiled. "Yes! I'd love to!"
"Come here," he laughed. He pulled her close to him and kissed her sweetly.
"Look at us!" Hanna laughed. "We're starting a whole new phase of our lives. Getting married? It's crazy!"
"I know," Aria looked at the ring on her left hand. "I totally was not expecting this. I mean, how am I going to tell my parents?"
"I am not the one to ask," Hanna smiled. "I straight up lied to my mom about Caleb and I getting married."
"At least we have some time before we go home for Christmas," Aria offered.
"Yeah," Hanna breathed as they pulled up to their apartment. They grabbed their bags from the back and trudged upstairs to their cozy home to find Emily and Spencer lounging around in the living room.
"Oh hi!" Emily smiled uneasily when she saw Aria. "Sorry about missing the wedding."
"It's fine," Aria replied. "You should probably apologize to my parents."
"We're really sorry," Spencer reiterated.
"I'm gonna go," Hanna snuck into her bedroom. She found the lights on and the room littered with candles and rose petals. "What the...?"
"I love you," Caleb said sneaking out of the closet holding a bouquet of flowers.
"Caleb," she laughed. "What? Why?"
"I'm sorry," he said, "about not being your date this weekend. I was being a little selfish."
"I understand where you're coming from," she told him. "Rosewood's a dark place."
"I only lived there for about a year," he answered. "You were there your whole life. Anything that I can't deal with is nothing compared to everything you've been through in that town."
"Thanks for understanding," Hanna smiled throwing her arms around him. Then she paused. "Does that mean you're going to my mom's wedding?"
"Only if you tell her that we're married," Caleb said.
"Deal," Hanna winked.
"Hey!" Spencer knocked on Hanna's door. "We're going out tonight. Want to come?"
"We're kind of busy!" Hanna called back.
"They're having sex," Spencer turned to her friends.
"Shut up!" she heard Hanna yell through the door.
"Yeah, they're definitely getting it on," Spencer teased. She turned to Aria, "how about you? Down for a party?"
"I think I'm just going to get some reading done," Aria replied.
"Em?" Spencer needed a buddy.
"I can't," she lied. "I'm seeing Cory."
"I thought she was visiting her parents," Aria said.
"It got cancelled," Emily said quickly.
"Well, I'll just go alone," Spencer sighed retiring to her room to pick out an outfit.
Hanna kneeled over the toilet doing the same thing she'd done every time she was stressed out and overate. She felt her stomach empty and made a few last retching sounds until she felt like a load was taken off her shoulders.
"Hanna?" Caleb said knocking on the bathroom door. "You okay?"
"Yeah," she said wiping off her mouth and opening the door. "I'm fine."
"Are you sure?" he asked. "You're not going back to...?"
"I just ate something bad," she replied. "I'll go see if we have some club soda or something."
"Okay," Caleb sighed. "Let me know if you need anything."
Hanna walked into the kitchen digging through the fridge to find something free of calories. Finally she pulled out a bottle of diet soda and poured herself a glass. Then she heard the front door open.
"Spencer?" Hanna breathed when she saw her. Her friend was a mess. "It's ten in the morning. Where did you sleep last night?"
"Can I talk to you?" Spencer breathed.
"Yeah," Hanna ran over to her. "What's wrong?"
"In here," Spencer said leading them into her bedroom. They both took a seat on Spencer's bed.
"Spencer?" Hanna was worried. "Did something happen?"
"I did something bad," Spencer sighed. "We were at this party last night...and I was really wasted..."
"Do you know how many stories start like that?" Hanna laughed. Then she saw Spencer glare at her. "Sorry."
"Anyway," Spencer continued, "I was totally out of it. I met this guy..."
"Preston?" Hanna asked.
"No, not Preston," Spencer replied. "His name's Jace or Jimmy or something. We were talking and drinking and...I don't know how it happened...but we ended up in a bedroom. Then we were kissing..."
"Did you guys...?" Hanna breathed.
"No," Spencer told her. "I stopped it before anything happened. I just...how do I tell Toby?"
"Oh Spence," Hanna gave her a hug. "It will all work out."
"Should I go there and tell him tonight?" Spencer asked.
"I don't know if that's a good idea," Hanna told her. "You have a lot on your mind. Maybe you should give it a day or two."
"Thanks," Spencer said watching her friend leave. "You're a good listener."
Hanna smiled and walked back to her own room where she saw Caleb hard at work on one of his engineering models. She took a seat on the bed and grabbed her sketchbook.
"You feeling okay?" he asked her.
"I am now," she smiled. Then she turned to him. "Caleb?"
"Yeah," he replied.
"I want you to know," she told him, "that I gave you my heart. If you break it again, I'll have nothing left."
"Hanna," he said taking her hands in his. "I have plenty of extra hearts. You can always borrow one."
"Shut up!" she laughed.
"You'll have to shut me up," he winked leaning down on the bed and pulling her on top of him.
No weddings or funerals but there's a new engagement. Who do you guys think is next?
