"Noel." Ezra said suddenly, as he laid behind his girlfriend, spooning her whilst their legs stayed tangled together. "He has some kind of grudge against us for some reason."
For the last ten minutes, they had been discussing everything and anything about who this stalker was. Neither could decide, way too many people disliked them both.
"No, he moved on and got over that. We aren't the main target now, so it won't be him. What about Jackie? She's hardly our biggest fan. She could be behind it?" As good as Aria's theory was, Ezra knew Jackie. It wasn't her. Aria pulled Ezra's hand down towards hers, and intertwined their grin gets together as he began to press kisses to her bare shoulder.

"No, she wouldn't. Anyway, if we're putting Jackie on the list, Jenna's going on there too. Oh, and you can add Connor."
"I barely know Connor, Ezra. I bet he doesn't even remember my name."
"Well he lied so that people would think that you both ha-" Aria cut him off, furiously shaking her head.
"Alright, we're not going into that again." She paused, fighting against his fingers as he wrestled with them. "What about Maggie? Cece? There are a lot of people to list, anyone could be trying to kill us." Aria began to panic, the thoughts and curiosity sending her insane. She needed to know, before she lost it.
"Calm down, don't let yourself get too worked up..." Ezra whispered soothingly, biting down on the delicate skin of her shoulder.
"How many marks have you left on my skin? That must be at least three." Ezra let out an amused laugh, pulling back to count the small marks on her neck.
"Five, actually." Aria faked a gasp, reaching for her neck to run her fingers over the sensitive marks now visible on her neck. "I could always go for a six?" Aria was about to answer, when they heard a knock at the door. She let out a groan, wiggling her hips.
"I was just about to suggest round three..." She sighed in frustration, sitting up in the bed. "Later?"
"You bet." Ezra sat up with a grunt, pressing a final kiss to Aria's lips before pulling away. "Get dressed, oh and put on a scarf." With a sigh, she did as she was told, grabbing some underwear and some leggings out of her bag, just throwing on the tank too from before and grabbing up her skull and crossbones scarf.
By that time, Ezra was already fully clothes and had already opened the door, staring at whoever was behind it.
"You're not upsetting her." Ezra warned the mysterious man, Aria sneaking up behind Ezra to see who had dared to disturb them. She was having was too much fun, all of the thoughts and panic proofing as soon as his lips touched her skin.
"Dad?"
He didn't look himself. His hair was all over the place, his face was covered in muck and he could barely stand up straight. "Are you drunk?"
"Go wait inside." Ezra warned, knowing that something was going to happen, Byron was here to do something.
"He's my Dad, Ezra. I think I know how to handle my own father when he's drunk." Ezra pushed the door shut slightly so that he could speak to Aria privately. "He looks like he's ready to kill, he needs to leave before he does some damage."
They heard a scoff from behind the door. "I'm only here to collect Aria." The strange tone of voice caused Aria to feel weary, lacing her hand with Ezra's. "Come on, no body needs to get hurt if you just hand her over." Ezra's eyebrows shot up then, his threatening words sounding nothing but real. It was then that he noticed the bulge in Byron's left pocket, and leant towards Aria.
"Go try and call Ella, and then go wait inside." Knowing that this was hardly safe, Aria nodded once, and disappeared into the apartment with her phone to dial her mothers number.
"Everything okay, Aria?" Ella's voice rung through the phone, the voice she'd missed way too much. "What's wrong?"
"Dads here, and he's drunk. I don't know what he's trying to do but there's something in his pocket and... Just get over here."
She heard Ella let out a frustrated sigh, mumbling words to herself. Ella knew he'd try something like this, it was only a matter of time.
"Don't let him in. I'll wait outside the apartment for when he comes out." Aria spun around to tell Ezra, but Byron was already pushing past him into the apartment.
"Come on, get your stuff." Byron ordered, approaching Aria to give her a nudge. Aria didn't move however, and just stood still, arching a brow. "Come on then."
In Byron's mind, he only wanted his daughter safe and at home. Not with the monster that'd taken her away in the first place.
"Dad, I'm staying here with Ezra."
Obviously, Byron didn't like that, because he grabbed Aria by the arm and pushed her in the direction of the drawers.
"Hey, don't touch her." Ezra growled out, becoming protective over his girlfriend. Even if Byron was her father, no one was allowed to touch her that way. "Get your hands off my girlfriend, Byron." Byron only rolled his eyes, gripping tighter at his daughters arm. Aria winced lightly, gritting her teeth together to hide the pain that rushed along her arm. "Let. Go." Was all Ezra said, not wanting to get too close in case he did something drastic. Byron pushed Aria behind him, as if he was trying to protect her.
"Hurry up, Aria. Get your stuff and let's get out of here."
"I'm staying here..." Aria muttered quietly, trying to push past her father. "With Ezra."
"No. I demand you pack up and come with me. It'd be a real shame if someone was to call the school and inform them of this, don't you?"
"I've graduated, you can't do that..." She trailed off, taking a jump towards Ezra, but Byron pulled his arm backwards, almost toppling onto her.
And then that was it, Ezra lost it.
He dived for Byron, shoving him out the way so that he could tend to Aria as she let out a sniffled sob, running her hand over her cheek. He reached out to stroke it but Byron managed to pull Ezra back, and sent a fist straight into his face.
"Dad!" Aria exclaimed, rushing over to an expressionless Ezra, he just stood un-phased. "Get out."
"Aria..." Byron began, trying to reach for her, but Ezra pulled her back. "We're your family, not him. This is your last chance, or you lose me forever." Aria glanced between Ezra and Byron, both having an intense stare of with each other. "Do you want to be called the class slut for the rest of your life? Just because your English teacher couldn't keep his hands off you?"
Ezra let out a sarcastic laugh. "You're one to talk."
"She's going to be named as the slut, the whore. What, it's not like you actually love her or anything. You just want her body, and then you'll throw her back like a used toy." Ezra gritted his teeth, his breathing beginning to become uneasy as he failed to hide his anger.
"I love your daughter."
"You've ruined her life, Ezra Fitz. Taken away our Aria." That hit Ezra, hard. But he didn't let that show. "You killed our Aria Montgomery." The last thing that Ezra wanted was for Aria to see him hit her Dad, but he had no choice. Obviously, Aria picked up on it as he stepped forward, managing to place a hand on his chest to stop him.
Ezra glanced down at Aria, the anger beginning to subside. She shook her head, raising a hand to brush along his cheek. The tears rolling down her cheek made sure that there was still anger there, but he managed to control it. She turned again, leaning against her boyfriends chest.
"Move out of the way." Byron ordered, pulling the object that they had all been wondering to see. A small gun.
"No." Aria said shakily, as Ezra tried to manoeuvre her out of the way to safety, but she wouldn't budge. "You're not going to hurt him." Ezra hated this side of Aria, the side that would try to stand her ground and protect others. This wasn't something silly anymore. Instead of fighting and making Byron smug, he reached out for Aria's hand, running his thumb along the side of her hand. "I love him."
This seemed to anger Byron even more, their affection becoming too much as he lashed out at Aria, smacking her straight around the face. She let out an almost screech, losing her balance before Ezra could reach her and dropped to the ground.
It wasn't until a second later that Byron realised what he had done, murmuring out apologies as he ran from the apartment in an an instant.