Chapter 15, for you guys. Cannot believe this Story reached 50k words already. Thankful for all your reviews and kind words! They make my day!
Enjoy :)
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With a heavy sigh she opened the unlocked door, letting herself in. She could hear the radio playing and moved a hand over face, holding back a yawn. Visiting Alex had been more exhausting than she would like to admit and she didn't really feel like going out anymore, but she had promised Spencer and her guilt was already pretty much eating her alive, so she couldn't really bail on their night on top of everything else.
"Aria?", she heard her name being called and looked up at Spencer, who was coming out of the bedroom. Already dressed in a tight, black strapless dress that finished just above her knees, she gave Aria a shy smile. It fit her perfectly. Her hair fell in soft waves over her shoulders and her make up didn't hide her natural look, but just highlighted how beautiful Spencer was with just a bit of powder, mascara and the red lip stick she wore. But then again, Spencer never failed to look amazing and her beauty had only increased over the years, as had her style. It made her look older, more sophisticated – Aria smiled up at her friend.
"You look nice.", she complimented when Spencer reached her and Spencer wrinkled an eyebrow.
"Nice? It took me far too long to get ready to just look nice!"
Aria chuckled. "You know what I mean. You look gorgeous, as you always do. Now, can you please help me get ready myself? I think I will fall asleep if you leave me alone in the room."
"Come on.", Spencer laughed and grabbed her by the hand to lead her to the bedroom. "We can't let that happen, can we?"
…
"Perfect.", Spencer concluded when she finished doing Aria's hair and smiled brightly. Aria looked beautiful. She always did. But seeing her in that navy dress that cut short, exposing her legs and showing just the tip of her chest, Spencer couldn't help but feel heat rising in her body. After thinking about their night again and the fact that she might have developed a crush on Aria, she couldn't help the tingling that went through her stomach whenever she looked at her tiny friend. Still, she tried to shake it off as much as possible. Even though, she had kind of admitted to herself that her feelings for Aria were more than just friendly, she didn't want anyone to know. After all, Aria was still struggling with her relationship with Ezra and as far as Spencer knew, Aria was also still straight and not interested in women. She just had to work out a way to forget about the crush and the wild feelings bottling up inside her, so things could back to normal again. Normal. She had a feeling she forgot what that felt like.
"Are you coming, Spence? They are here." Aria's words pulled her out of her thoughts and she nodded quickly, following Aria out of the room.
"I can't believe we're going out tonight!", exclaimed Hanna, who was sitting on Aria's right side as the tiny woman was squeezed in between her and Spencer in the back seat, leaving Emily on the passenger's seat next to a driving Ali.
"I know! It's been ages since we went out!", joined Aria as she pulled out and opened a bottle of sparkling whine that had been hidden in her lap, taking a sip before passing the bottle to a delighted Hanna.
"Seriously, Aria?", groaned Emily and turned her head so she could face them in the back. "What are we? Seventeen? We're going to have enough alcohol when we get to the club."
"I had a long day, okay? I can't wait until we're in Philly!", defended Aria, taking the bottle back from Hanna and taking a much bigger swig before raising an eyebrow at a scolding Emily. "Now, do you want something or not?"
Emily rolled her eyes but took the bottle that was reached out to her anyway.
"No spilling! I swear, you guys better not make a mess. I just had the car washed on Thursday!"
"Don't worry, Babe.", Emily leaned over quickly to kiss Alison's cheek, hoping to calm her down and succeeded when Ali smiled, her eyes still on the road.
"When did you take that with you?", asked Spencer as she took a sip herself. She hadn't even seen Aria bring the bottle, but then again she was too focused on Aria's appearance to notice. The alcohol made her way down her throat, burning slightly and Spencer squeezed her eyes shut at the disgusting taste. "This is awful. I know why I prefer a vodka soda any day to this amateur drink."
Aria laughed at Spencer's words and between her and Hanna the bottle was finished about half way to Philadelphia. Leaning towards the window, Spencer looked at the passing cars, thinking about the people in them and wondering where they were headed. Being lost in the flashlights and the speeding vehicles, it took her a moment to notice the weight on her shoulder. She turned slightly seeing Aria leaning on her side with her head leaning against her shoulder, eyes closed.
She smiled softly at her friend, hoping she would feel more relaxed when they arrived Philadelphia. She knew something was up with Aria. She had noticed a change in her behavior ever since she had left the ranch that morning but she didn't want to question her in front of the others – she wanted to wait and talk to her privately. She didn't like seeing her hurting like this. And while she knew she was still suffering from her and Ezra's conversation she was somewhat sure there was something else bothering her. She was about to turn around again, not wanting to intrude Aria's nap when she saw Hanna reaching out a hand to Aria. Slapping it away quickly, Spencer shot her a quick glare.
"Leave her alone, Hanna. I think she can use the rest."
"We're going to a club tonight, Spencer. Not a sleepover. I'm not going to let her sleep away our first night out in years!"
She reached out her hand again, ready to poke Aria's side with one of her fingers, when Spencer grabbed her wrist tightly. "Stop it. Once we're parked we will wake her up. Just let her rest a little, okay? She had had a tough couple of weeks."
"Fine. But the minute this car stops I'm going to shake her awake.", Hanna gave up and crossed her arms over a chest with a pout, facing away from Spencer. Spencer chuckled. Her blonde friend was too adorable sometimes.
When the car stopped in front of the bar, Hanna stayed true to her words and began nudging Aria. "Wake up, Aria! We're here! It's time to celebrate!", she declared loudly, but Aria refused to open her eyes. Burring herself deeper into Spencer's body and nuzzling her head into the crook of her neck. The sudden movement startled the taller woman and she drew in a long breath, feeling goosebumps form on her skin. "Look at tiny Aria. She looks adorable when she's sleeping away her liquor."
"I'm not drunk yet, Em.", came the ruffled reply and Aria sat up immediately, Spencer feeling the loss of the warmth where Aria's body was pressed into her. For a second she wanted to bring the girl back to her, but she quickly slapped herself mentally for even thinking that.
"Are we ready?", asked Alison, already stepping out of the car and Spencer and the others followed through.
"You okay?", Spencer bend down a little to reach Aria's ear and swung an arm loosely around her side as they walked into the busy building.
"I'm fine.", Aria replied simply but gave her a smile as to calm her nerves.
"Let's have fun tonight, all right?", she let out as she raised her head a little to meet her eyes and Spencer smiled back softly. "Sounds perfect."
…
"I think you're done with drinking, little one." The drink she had held firmly in her hand was being lifted and Aria followed the floating glass to see who had just stolen her margarita.
"Give it back, Hanna!", she whined in a childish voice as she felt the room around her moving.
"Aria, you are barely even looking at me! Be happy I didn't let Spencer come over here because that would have escalated far too quickly. You almost fell from that bar hocker a minute ago!" Aria ducked her head in shame. She felt the alcohol rushing through her system but she could still think somewhat logically and was aware of her surroundings.
"I really need this tonight, Han." Her voice still low and the confusion and pain she felt echoed through her words.
"Why? You've been off every since you got into the car. What's wrong?" Hanna sat down on the free barstool next to Aria and softly gave her hand a squeeze.
"You can talk to me, you know?"
"I thought we were having fun." Aria whined back, trying to reach the margarita, but Hanna was quick in holding it out of reach.
"Well, I think you're past fun right now and slipped into the depressive phase."
Aria knew it was Hanna's attempt to joke so she put on a small smile and sighed.
"Everything is really confusing right now." She didn't say anything else for a while, but Hanna didn't make a move to get up. She saw the concern in her friend's face and decided to speak up.
"Ezra and I – we're taking a break."
"What? Since when? Why didn't you say anything?"
"It's not that I wanted to keep it from you guys, I promise. I just didn't want to ruin our girls night." Aria felt the alcohol wearing off a little as her mind played back her conversation with Ezra.
"We talked over the phone last night. He was mad at me for staying at Spencer's because she felt sick and it all just ended in this big argument, I don't know. It just blew up. And then, when we calmed down, he asked me if I even wanted to try and work on our relationship and I just froze. I couldn't really answer that. So I asked him for space."
"Oh.", Hanna let out. Still comforting her by holding her hand on top of the table.
"Well you know, I'm here for you, right? Me, and the girls. Hell, even Caleb. He still worries about you, by the way."
Aria laughed gently. "Tell him I'm doing okay. But I will let him know if I need to burrow my best friend's boyfriend again. Thanks, Han."
Hanna nodded and smiled in response. "Always."
"How is the baby making going? I just – you are drinking alcohol, so?"
"Well, we're still trying but I got my period a few days ago and took a pregnancy test before that – so I can surely say I'm not pregnant right now.", Hanna sighed somewhat thoughtfully. "But we will keep trying and we want to schedule with a professional to talk about options."
Aria noticed the tad of sadness crossing Hanna's features, before Hanna spoke again.
"But things are going pretty well now that Mona has moved out. I feel like we're finally ready to start our lives together without drama."
"I'm really happy for you. You and Caleb deserve this. I can't wait to be an aunt again." She squeezed back Hanna's hand once more before letting go and tried not to think of her crumbling relationship with Ezra. Hanna noticed.
"I'm sorry about you and Ezra. But whatever you decide, I am here for you, got it?" Hanna's eyes wandered to the glass she had just taken away from her. "Maybe you really do need this tonight." With that she slowly pushed the drink towards Aria. "Just don't let Spencer see."
Aria chuckled and looked around to see Spencer dance around in a silly way with Emily and Alison moving around next to her, not really paying attention to her and Hanna. She grinned at the sight and turned back to quickly drain the last of her margarita.
"I didn't say to drink it all in one swig, Aria!", Hanna laughed. Aria ignored her friend's amused outburst and stood up, holding out her hand for Hanna to take.
"Come on, Han.", she announced, not waiting for the blonde to move as she took hold of the blonde's wrist, dragging her along with her to the dance floor. "I'm tired of all the depressive talk. Let's dance with the girls."
"Finally!", Emily yelled out happily as she tripped over to them, pulling them towards them as they danced to the music. Being there with her friends, laughing along with them, dancing to songs from the 90's – Aria felt like maybe everything was going to be okay. She didn't think of Ezra or Alex but about the group of girls that was making silly faces at her and she laughed as a drunk Emily spun her around, making her turn around herself for a couple of times. She smiled as Alison's hands found Emily's waist to steady her fiancée and at the way Emily dipped in to kiss Al's lips softly. She chuckled at Hanna's attempt to get Spencer to trade her flats for her heels, as she whined out in pain and she beamed at the thought of their friendship remaining strong through all these years.
The music changed its rhythm as a slower song began to play in the busy bar, people moved from the center to grab drinks and Hanna excused herself to go to the bathroom. Emily hugged Ali close as they swayed to the light tune of Ed Sheeran's Thinking out Loud. Couples gathered along them, as she suddenly felt a soft hand took hold of hers. "Wanna dance?", she looked up to see a goofy smile playing on Spencer's lips and she let Spencer lead them through the lyrics of the song. "Are you okay?", the taller friend asked, her hand loosely around Aria's mid but not too close and their hands intertwined. "I'm good." Aria was tired of talking. For a split second she debated laying her head on Spencer's chest, wanting to feel the comfort of her friend, but she didn't want to give people or their friends, or Spencer for the matter, a wrong impression, so she kept moving to the soft tunes with Spencer guiding her. It felt good to be close to her friend again. She had avoided her all evening, trying not to talk to her too much in fear she would slip Alex into a conversation. She still felt extremely guilty and part of her wished she didn't have to go back to Alex. But she had to. She couldn't stay away. Something inside of her had snapped and she felt like she had to help Alex heal and get back on track. Focusing on Spencer for the time she tried to block out any other thoughts of the troubled twin sister. She would deal with that in the morning. At this moment, she just wanted to enjoy a nice evening with her closest friends.
…
Having Aria so close to her, Spencer felt as though her heart was about to explode. Even though she longed to pull Aria closer to her, she made sure to keep a distance between their bodies as she didn't want Aria to feel weird and have her friends making silly comments. To the outside world it probably looked like two close female friends that were dancing and enjoying a good night out, but to Spencer it felt so much more than that. Ever since she had allowed thoughts of Aria back into her head and heart, she couldn't stop the feelings that were circling inside her. She knew she would never be able to tell Aria how she truly felt and a part of her hoped this crush would soon vanish, but on the other hand she hadn't really been looking around the club to find a man to keep her company and make her forget about those confusing emotions either. Hanna had tried to fix her up with one of the guys that had approached them earlier in the night, but even though he was not bad looking, her eyes had always travelled back to Aria who had sat by herself across the bar with a drink in her hand. She had tried to talk to her all night but Aria had simply waved her off and pleaded for Spencer to just have fun and dance and stop worrying. So she had tried. She really had. But when she had seen the bartender handing her the fourth margarita that night, she grew worried and was about to approach her before Hanna had stopped her, telling her she could handle it. And apparently she had handled it, Spencer thought, as she hold onto Aria's hand a little tighter. She tried to block out the spark of jealousy as she wondered how Hanna had gotten Aria to talk and get up to dance when she had tried to cheer up her best friend before. However, she decided to settle for being happy that she could see Aria's smile again. When the song ended just as Hanna came back from the restroom Spencer and Aria parted with a small smile to each other and the five of them began to sing along together as a new song blasted through the speakers.
The clock radio in Ali's car showed it was just after two a.m., as they drove back to Rosewood, the radio playing gently in the background. Spencer felt the body next to her stir slightly, the head nestling in the crook of her neck. Aria had snuggled into her side again and was sleeping peacefully, her pattern of breaths being like a melody to Spencer's ears. Hanna was on the phone on the other side of Aria, probably texting Caleb and Emily leaned against the window, her eyes closed and Spencer was sure she had dozed off as well.
"Thanks for driving out here, Ali. I think this night was just what we needed.", she kept her voice low, not wanting to wake Aria and Emily.
She could see Alison smile through the rearview mirror.
"Of course. I had fun tonight. I missed this. Us having fun like that. It felt good to be young again.", came back the whisper and Spencer laughed at her words. It was true. They were not even 25 yet and Spencer felt already like an old pensioner with everything they had been through over the last years.
"I'm glad Aria enjoyed herself in the end as well. She seemed pretty down at the beginning."
Spencer's eyes moved to Aria. "Yeah. She has been through a lot these days."
"So have you, Spence. How are you holding up? Hanna told me you were sick yesterday. You should have called to let me help you with the Lost Woods."
She turned to Hanna in surprise, trying not to move too much to not disturb Aria in her sleep. "How do you know I was sick?"
"Uhm, Aria told me. She said she stayed there with you and took care of things."
"What? Aria has got things on her own to deal with! She shouldn't have had to organize things in the Lost Woods as well." Alison's voice rose slightly and Spencer made a gesture for her to lower it down.
"I think it was good for her to keep herself busy after what happened with Ezra."
Spencer's eyes grew wide at Hanna's comment about Ezra and Alison squinted in confusion. "Ezra? What's wrong with her and Ezra?"
"Shit.", Hanna let out and Spencer was surprised Hanna even knew about that.
"Don't say anything to Aria, okay? But she and Ezra are taking a break."
"Hanna!", Spencer scolded from across the other seat. "That isn't your story to tell!" She shook her head softly, thinking how typical it was for Hanna to just let the words slip without giving it a second thought.
"She told me she wasn't keeping this from us.", Hanna defended herself. "And how did you know anyway?"
"I was at the Lost Woods with her, remember? She called him when I was asleep and I found her crying when I woke up. She told me this morning."
"Poor thing.", Alison let out and Hanna ran a hand softly over the back of the woman next to her.
"She is going to be okay.", Spencer mumbled, running a hand tenderly over the side of Aria's face as they continued driving through the empty streets.
"I promise you're going to be fine, Ar.", she vowed to a sleeping Aria in a whisper, so no one else could hear. "Cross my heart."
…
This is it for now. I'm going on holiday next week for two weeks and I don't know if I will be able to upload until then, but I will try. Hope you liked the chapter. Nothing too crazy happened but you can see Spencer is already falling for Aria. And Aria is still figuring things out. See you next time. Leave some words. Much love.