Chapter 21-

: I think you will really like the babysitter in this chapter ;)

Previously on Déjà vu:

"Jake, I really don't care what you have to say to me anymore. You lied to me, and snuck around trying to figure out who my Dad is. If it was so important to you and your little buddies, why didn't you just ask?"

He stopped and I knew I had won, "I don't know. I'm sorry, forgive me?"

"It will take way more than an apology for my forgiveness." And then, I did what Jake is most famous for. I walked away.

…

"And, I'm sorry Mrs. Handson for surprising you like this, but… Zoey is our daughter."

Mrs. Handson looked at me with wide eyes, "Zoey, she is your child?"

I gulped audibly, "Yes."

Aria POV:

"You did what?" Hanna screamed from across the table. We were sitting at our usual table at the Apple Rose Grille.

Spencer rubbed her forehead, "I still can't wrap my head around it. That must have been hard." She looked up at me, "Props."

"So it's official. No more sneaking around!" Emily squealed.

"Yeah, I guess so." I said, still not even believing it myself. Ezra and I were officially out. For the first time, in a long time, I felt… free.

"ARIA AND EZRA FOR THE WIN!" Hanna yelled out into the open. We received dirty looks from the old couple sitting behind us but we all just laughed it off. No one could spoil my mood today. Ezra and I could go grab a coffee, go to a reading… leave his apartment at the same time without counting to fifty. I smiled at the memory even though it wasn't sweet. Like I said, nothing could ruin my happiness.

"So do you think he-" Emily began.

"OH MY GOD!" Hanna screamed, cutting her off.

"What?" I said, suddenly panicked.

"Double date!" She responded and I let loose a giant breath of relief. She looked pleased with herself. "You, Ezra. Emily, Maya. Spencer, Toby and Caleb and Me."

"That would actually be a quadruple date, Hanna." Spencer retorted.

"Yeah, whatever. But we should all go on one. To celebrate!"

"Well, I'm in." Emily responded, "Sounds like fun."

"Same."

"Agreed."

"Okay, Friday night? Masa?"

"The Japanese place?" Emily asked.

"No, the bowling alley." I laughed, allowing myself to just let free. Finally, after so long, I would be able to hang out with my boyfriend and my friends. It would be a fun night. Not to mention, well deserved and much needed.

I heard the door creak open from my seat in the living room. "Is that you two?"

"Yeah," came the two replies. Now that Ezra and I were public, he began driving Zoey home from school. Ezra came into view and I got up to kiss him hello. I turned to Zoey and gave her a hug.

"How was your day?"

"Good."

I laughed and gave Ezra a knowing glance. I'd been hearing the same response for years now. "Tell her what Mrs. Rosemary told you, Zoe." Ezra interjected.

"She said that I am doing very nicely in her class, especially in English."

That's my girl! "Oh, wow! That's wonderful!"

"And that's not even the best part," Ezra continued, smiling wide.

"She asked me to join the advanced reading group."

I took her small, little hands, "That is really, really great."

"We are so proud of you," Ezra said, placing his hand on my back. This is what a family should be. Congratulating each other, being together, not having to hide…

"What are you so happy about?" Ezra asked me as we lingered behind Zoey in the hallway.

"Why do you always ask me that? Do I need a reason?" I asked, the smile never leaving my face.

"Yes."

I laughed, "Well, I'm just happy. I'm glad we can finally be the family I've always wanted."

"Me too." He responded and I leaned against him.

"Oh, we're going out tonight. To celebrate our newfound freedom!"

"Wait, what?" He asked, suddenly panicked. He tried to cover it up, "Um, I mean, what about Zoey?"

"I've taken care of it." I said with a gleam in my eyes, "Mike the babysitter."

"Okay, so make sure she's in bed by 9, the latest, and the food's in the fridge. Oh, god. Why did I ever ask you to babysit? You need a sitter yourself." Okay, I'll admit. I was panicking.

"Aria, chill out. I'm 21. I'm hardly a child." He turned to Zoey, "We are gonna have a crazy night, my friend." She beamed up at him.

"Uh, no. There will be no crazy in this house…" I thought about my choice of words, "Or anywhere. Mike, don't leave this house."

"Uh, huh. Course." I rolled my eyes at his ever so reassuring response.

"Alright well, I'm going to give you a quick trial while I'm getting ready. Please, Mike, don't burn the house down." I said as I retreated to my bedroom.

"AND IF YOU NEED ANY HELP LOCATING THE FRIDGE, MAKE SURE TO ASK ARIA BEFORE WE LEAVE!" Ezra shouted from our room. I laughed and opened the door to find him clad in only his boxers.

"Well, hello there." I joked as I closed the door behind me. Ezra shot me a weak smile and rearranged his already folded pants on the bed. Strange.

I stripped down to my bra and underwear and quickly slipped on a tight, black dress that fell a few inches above my knees and dark purple pumps. I fixed my hair into loose curls and applied purple and gold eye shadow to my lids. When I was pleased with my appearance, I stepped out of the bathroom.

Ezra was fumbling with his tie when as he looked up at me. His arms dropped to his sides and he stepped towards me. "Y-You look a-amazing." He stuttered.

I let loose a childish giggle as I closed the gap between us. I wrapped my slender arms around his neck and kissed him lightly. "I'm excited for tonight."

"Yeah," He said suddenly serious. He sat down on the bed and motioned for me to come sit next to him. Was something wrong? I asked him and he responded with a smile. "No, Aria, I don't think you understand. I've been waiting 8 years to be able to go out on a date with you. It sounds childish but it's not. Most people just take for granted, I don't know, holding hands. To be able to hold your hand and not have to live up to anyone's expectations is a gift. We fought for our love, and we won." He looked up at my shining eyes, waiting for a response.
"Ezra, you have no idea how much I love you." I cupped his face in my hands and kissed him passionately. I smiled and laughed into the kiss. I'm not a big fan of PDA, because it might make the onlookers feel awkward, but at that moment, there was nothing I wanted to do more than just kiss my boyfriend in front of the whole city.

"Uh, I hate to break up the love fest in there but you're friends are here," Mike yelled from behind the door. Seriously? Way to ruin the moment, Mike.

Ezra and I said quick goodbyes to Zoey and made Mike promise not to burn the house down before we exited. Although I may never admit it to him, I'm glad Mike is my brother. I know I can trust him to be cautious. I mean, I think I can...

"Well look at that handsome couple," Hanna whistled from the passenger seat window of her silver Mercedes Boxcar. I could hear Caleb laughing in the drivers seat.

Ezra opened the door for me and helped me slide in. I bid him thanks and turned to Hanna and Caleb. "Hey, thanks for the ride."

Caleb turned around and smiled with his eyes, "No problem. And let me just add, you look exceptionally pretty today."

I laughed because I knew he was only kidding, but I felt Ezra tense beside me and Hanna tell Caleb "Eyes on the Road, Rivers."

"So is everyone else coming separately?"

"Yeah, they'll meet us there."

"Okay, so I'll have one… seaweed salad," Hanna began as the waiter was writing down our appetizers. "And I'll have water with no ice and lemon on the side." I heard Ezra and Caleb snicker at her particularity but I completely understood.

I was sitting at a rectangular table with Ezra on my left, Spencer and Toby on my right, and Hanna, Caleb, Emily, and Maya across from us. We laughed and joked with each other. Talked about our kids, jobs, and just life in general.

"Who did you leave Zoey with tonight?" Toby asked.

"She's with Mike…" I gave him a look that conveyed how displeased I was with this fact.

He laughed and Spencer but in, "Well next time bring Zoey over because we have our sitter all weekend, and she sleeps over."

"I'm sure the girls would love that." I paused to think, "But I bet everything is just fine at home," I said with bitter sarcasm.

Zoey POV:

I looked up at Mike with expectant eyes. I placed one hand on my hip, "So, what do you want to do?"

"Well, I don't know about you, but I really want ice cream."

I giggled, "Same."

Aria POV:

The night continued on as planned. We had a great meal and a really great time. We said our goodbyes to Emily, Maya, Spencer and Toby and walked out to Hanna and Caleb's car. As we waited for the valet in the night's cool air, Ezra slipped off his jacket and placed it delicately around my shoulders. I tilted my neck back and kissed him.

Caleb honked from the driver's seat, startling us and ruining the mood. I rolled my eyes up at him and got in.

"Step on it, Caleb. I need to make sure our child is safe."

"Sure, Aria." Caleb said automatically. It seemed weird that he answered so quickly.

Zoey POV:

"When are mommy and daddy going to be home?" I asked Mike. "I wanted them to read me a story."

"Zoey," He sighed, "You were supposed to be in bed 2 hours ago. If your parents knew you were up, they would kill me." Mike paused, "Well, at least Aria would."

"So then you read me a story quickly before they get home."

"They're not coming home… tonight."

"What?" I asked, my eyes full of curiosity. "Where are they going?"

Mike just looked at me and winked.

Aria POV:

"Get out." Hanna singsong-ed to Ezra and I. "Out of the car."

"Wait, what?" I asked, panicked. "Our house is on the other side of town!"

"Well, have fun walking." Caleb interjected with a sinister smile.

"Is this a joke? You've got to be kidding." I pleaded.

"Get. Out." Hanna gave me a look so frightening I would've jumped out the window of a moving train.

I scrambled out with Ezra at my heels. Safely on the sidewalk, I watched Caleb speed away but I heard Hanna's call from the distance, "Enjoy!"

I looked at Ezra expectantly, "Now what? Should we call Mike?"

"I think he can hold down the fort for awhile. Come with me." He took my hand and led me down the narrow street in Old Hollis. I hadn't been in this part of town since we packed up Ezra's apartment.

"Why aren't you mad? They ditched us so they could have an earlier start to their sex marathon!" I yelled.

Ezra smirked and me and then smiled. He looked up at the building before us, "No they didn't."

"Ezra what are you-" I looked up at the sight before me. My heart began to pound. I hadn't been here since my junior year of high school. It was either too dangerous, or too painful. I was standing before the building that changed my life. In this small little bar, my life flipped upside down. I met the love of my life, and began my first major scandal. I was standing before Hollis Bar & Grill. I felt tears in my eyes at just the sight of this landmark. "Ezra," I turned to face him.

"Aria, most couples say this but they don't actually mean it. We have been through everything together. Student- teacher affairs, jealous exes, disapproving parents, everything. I've been to hell and back for you and I can't say that I regret one moment of it." Ezra took a breath; "I'll challenge anyone or anything for you again and again. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone in my entire life. We've fought for each other and proved our love to be stronger than any outside force.

"Aria, I thought about a million different ways to do this. I figured our relationship has always been confined whether it be to my apartment our in my classroom. But our love has not. We didn't need big, fancy dinners to convey our love. We didn't need to make out in front of the whole city. We just needed each other. I guess what I'm trying to say is…" He got down on one knee in the middle of the sidewalk on the deserted street, "Is that we've been trying to make this work for a long time, and right now, reality is finally working in our favor. I promise to love you every moment of every day, for as long as you will grant me. Aria Marie Montgomery, will you marry me?"

AHHH! Cliffhanger! I hade a lot of fun with this chapter and I hope you liked it! It took me awhile to think of the perfect proposal speech but I like the finished product. Thoughts? Do you think Aria will say yes? AHHH! I'm excited and I already know what's going to happen.

On another note, I have a singing thing in front of a judge tomorrow and I wanted to know if you guys have any tips to calm nerves and make me sound my best. My heart is pounding just writing this. It's tomorrow so send your words of wisdom quickly! I know the basics like taking deep breaths and not drinking milk. Anything else? Do I have any singers out there?

Well, I hope you liked it! I certainly did!

XOXOXOXOOX,

Danni