Sunday morning Aria woke up with red puffy eyes, after crying herself to sleep with her head on Liam's chest. Liam assumed the tears were due to Ezra, and all the attention Aria got after Nicole brought up the subject of Ezra Fitz. Aria's world was crashing down around her and she was practically drowning in the rubble.
"Thank you for staying with me again," Aria looked up at Liam's green eyes staring down affectionately at her.
"It's no problem," Liam replied. "The whole situation is just awful, and Nicole was completely tactless," he shook his head remembering the previous night's interactions with the bimbo.
Liam gently lifted Aria's chin with his fingers and planted a kiss full on her luscious lips. Aria's eyes briefly widened in surprise as she got butterflies in her stomach when she leaned into Liam's kiss. Their lips lingered briefly in unison before Liam leaned back to assess her response. Aria reached her hands around Liam in the biggest bear hug she could muster before laying her head back on his chest with a contented sigh.
"I hope that wasn't inappropriate," Liam spoke softly as he combed his hands through Aria's silky hair. Spencer was always baffled by how Aria never had a case of bed-head.
"No, Liam," Aria replied. "I've had a crush on you for a while now, but don't want you to get any more tangled up in the situation with Ezra. He kind of broke me. Besides, you know how Jillian is about inter-office relationships."
Since Aria broke the relationship ice, Liam decided to dip his toes into the water. "Was Ezra the last guy you dated?"
Uh oh, Aria thought. She'd never told anybody about Jason, for fear of upsetting Spencer but also for fear it would break the fairytale spell. Aria held onto hope that one day she and Jason would be together, but as the days turned to weeks and then months between communications with him she felt the story was maybe over before it had even started. Their month or so together around Charlotte's trial was kind of like the prologue to a story the writer had lost interest in.
"Well, there was a guy I dated briefly before moving to Boston, but things didn't really work out," she replied, not going into detail for fear of more tears. Liam had assumed the previous night's tears were from Nicole going on about Ezra, but if she sobbed now he might put together the pieces that Jason was actually her long-lost love.
"Well, there's no pressure to jump into a relationship," Liam said. "I know how stressful it is to work with Ezra, and I don't want to complicate things either. It's just that I'm finding it harder and harder to control myself around you."
"Let's just see how it goes," Aria replied as she coyly turned her face back to Liam.
He responded by hungrily pulling her lips to his. Aria responded favorably, offering her tongue as she rolled herself onto Liam. Desperately she ground her core into Liam's growing erection. Things were escalating quickly. Seeing Jason the previous night had awakened her sexual desire, the very yearning she hadn't felt since he left her on the floor of the Philadelphia airport. Maybe this was wrong? Aria had been celibate since Jason left, taking care of herself when absolutely necessary, but she always felt guilty afterwards. Then she remembered Nicole, and took out the previous year's frustration on Liam's throbbing cock.
Spencer and Caleb spent the majority of Sunday morning in bed celebrating their engagement, as well as putting off cleaning up after the party. Robin and Ted had been nice enough to clean up after the majority of the previous night's shenanigans, but there was still a bit of deep-cleaning to do, let alone finish unpacking.
Around 11:30 Spencer rolled off Caleb for about the 4th time, and put on a pink silky robe. Caleb groaned as he got out of bed too, throwing on last night's jeans and a clean white t-shirt.
After Spencer's necessary minimum of 3 cups of coffee, she suggested to Caleb they video chat with her parents to give them the good news.
"Whom do you think we should call first?" Spencer asked, referring to either of her divorced parents, as Caleb didn't have any family to speak of.
"How 'bout your dad?" Caleb suggested.
"Really?" Spencer asked incredulously, wondering what kind of crack Caleb was smoking that made him think Peter Hastings would be the best first place to break the news.
"Yeah, of course. Isn't it kind of tradition to make sure a man gets permission from his would-be fiancé's father before proposing?" Caleb responded.
"Well, it's a bit too late to ask for permission now, isn't it?" Spencer asked.
"I talked to him last Sunday when you were out studying for your exam," Caleb replied. "He wanted to be the first to know."
"It's too late for that too – all our friends know," Spencer snarked, not looking forward to speaking with her father. Things had gotten ugly after the senate race when Veronica had to turn down the position thanks to Peter's previous infidelities and the political shitstorm threatening her power.
"Spencer, I know you're still mad at your dad, but you should give him another chance. He was there for you growing up, and you mean the world to him," Caleb spoke convincingly.
Spencer knew Caleb was right, she couldn't stay mad at her dad forever. With a sigh she opened her computer, and was about to log on to skype when Caleb reminded her she was not dressed to be video-chatting with her family.
After dressing properly, Spencer rang her father, who accepted the chat request immediately. Peter Hasting's face, plastered with a huge smile, filled the screen.
"Whoa dad, remember you don't have to be inches from the camera to video chat. It's actually quite disturbing. I can see your nose hairs," Spencer joked. She had been avoiding her father for nearly a year, but it felt good to see him and joke around again. Spencer was surprised at how much she'd missed her father.
"Ha ha Spence. It's so good to see your face again," Peter continued smiling, just waiting for the good news he knew to be coming. "How's school going? Anything big news from Boston?"
Spencer held up her left hand to display her ring with a shy smile. Something in her father's face reminded her of how in love she'd been with her father as a little girl; she missed those times.
"Well, I got this piece of jewelry yesterday and I'm hoping you'll be available to walk me down the aisle when Caleb and I get married," Spencer said with tears in her eyes, suddenly feeling very sentimental and nervous.
"Congratulations, Spence. I would love to walk you down the aisle," Peter replied before turning to Caleb "congratulations to you too, that ring is beautiful."
"Thanks Mr. Hastings, our friend Ted helped me pick it out."
"Please, you're practically family now, call me Peter," Mr. Hastings replied.
"So how are things in Philly, dad?" Spencer asked.
"Busy, I gave up individual law practice and work for a large pharmaceutical company now. The work is challenging, there's so much to know and learn, but it keeps me out of trouble," her dad replied. "Well I'm sure you kids have a bunch of other calls to make so I don't want to keep you too long. I've been thinking about planning a visit to Boston soon, and now I have even more reason. Love you two, congrats again!"
"Bye dad, love you too!" Spencer replied.
"Bye Peter, thanks again," Caleb said as the screen went dark.
"Wow, that was so much easier than I thought it would be!" Spencer exclaimed when the call was over. "I'm so glad we called, I didn't realize how much I miss my dad. I guess my mom is next?"
Veronica also picked up the skype call immediately, but was poised at a reasonable distance from the camera. "Melissa, honey, your sister is calling," Veronica turned her head to yell towards the guest room of her apartment in Harrisburg. Though she'd turned down the senate position, she still moved to the state capital to work as a legal aide for Governor Tom Wolf. Shortly Melissa was seated next to her mother on the couch looking suspiciously at her sister's left hand on Caleb's knee. Melissa never approved of their relationship, assuming Spencer had stolen her best friend's boyfriend the way she'd stolen Melissa's boyfriends and fiancé.
"Hi mom, hi Melissa!" Spencer's excitement at how well her father took the news spilled into what was to be a difficult conversation.
"Good afternoon Mrs. Hastings, Melissa," Caleb said nervously. "Spencer & I have some news to share."
"Oh my god, Spencer Jill Hastings," Veronica began viciously, "you'd better not be pregnant! You've got a career ahead of you and I don't want your little fling with Caleb to ruin your future."
"Mom, it's not that," Melissa interjected dryly, pointing at Spencer's hand on Caleb's knee.
"I'm not pregnant mom, Caleb & I got engaged yesterday," Spencer said defensively.
"Oh honey, that's great," Veronica softened her demeanor. "Congratulations."
"Have you told Hanna yet?" Melissa asked, adding the bitterness her mother had dropped to her own disgust. Though she now realized it was Alison who had broken up her and Ian, she never forgave Spencer for breaking up her engagement to Wren.
"For god sakes Melissa," Spencer yelled defensively, "Wren kissed me! I did not go sneaking around behind your back, he came on to me!"
"Well then I guess congratulations are in order," Melissa replied coldly. "I wish you both the best."
"Melissa, there's no need to be snide to your sister," Veronica mildly scolded. "This is one of the happiest days of her life."
"Right, sorry Spence," Melissa replied with not even a semblance of apology. "When's the big day?"
"Well we just got engaged yesterday," Spencer replied curtly. "I haven't been planning some sort of fantasy wedding my entire life, so we don't have anything decided yet."
"Does your father know?" Veronica asked. Though she was not a fan of Caleb, she knew he made her daughter happy but was worried about how poorly her ex-husband would react.
"I just spoke with dad, and he was over-the-moon excited," Spencer said dejectedly. She couldn't believe how horribly this call was going. Just goes to show how fucked up my family is, she thought. "I was really nervous to tell dad, but I didn't think I'd get such a cold response from you."
The call ended abruptly when Melissa stood up and slammed the laptop closed. "Where the hell did she get the nerve to show off how happily engaged she is after she broke up Wren and me?"
"I cannot believe them!" Spencer yelled through fresh tears after her sister abruptly ended the call. "Why does she have to make everything about her?"
Caleb wrapped his fiancé in his arms and kissed the top of her head. "Shh, Spence," he spoke calmly, "it'll be ok. She's probably just stressed out, you know how high-strung the Hastings can be."
Despite herself Spencer began laughing through her tears. Caleb was right. The entire family had type A personalities, and frequently clashed. It was probably too much to hope that all of her family members would be capable of showing genuine enthusiasm for her.
"I guess I probably should call Hanna," Spencer was not excited to tell her friend she was now engaged to her ex-boyfriend.
"How about we go get you something to eat first?" Caleb suggested, sensing Spencer's hangriness.
"That's a good idea," she replied. "I'm going to see if Aria wants to get brunch. Oh, and maybe Jason."
"Only if he doesn't bring that floozy bitch with him – Aria will tear her throat out," Caleb gently reminded Spencer of the scene they'd witnessed less than 12 hours ago.
"Fine," Spencer huffed. "I really want to see Jason though so I'm going to call him while you get ready."
Forty-five minutes later Spencer and Caleb walked into their favorite brunch place and waved to Aria and Liam, who'd reserved a table for them next to the big front window. Caleb pulled Spencer's chair out like the perfect gentleman and she kissed his cheek as she sat down.
"Jason should be here any minute," Spencer announced. "Without Nicole," she finished as Aria shot daggers through Spencer with her eyes.
Before the last sentence was out of her mouth, Jason walked through the door and began scanning the room. Caleb stood up and waved him over, standing up to shake his hand when Jason arrived. Aria stared at the menu in front of her, the one she knew by heart, to avoid making any sort of eye contact with Jason. She knew if their gazes met she'd be reduced to tears yet again, and she just didn't' have the energy to cry anymore. Guilt from her morning with Liam ambushed her mind and she began to feel nauseous.
"Hey Aria," Jason said when he sat down, worried to see his former lover looking so forlorn. "I'm sorry about Nicole. I heard she brought up your past with Ezra last night."
"Yeah, there was that," Aria mumbled, still avoiding eye contact with Jason. Though it had only been about a year since they were together it seemed like an eternity. Like she didn't even know this guy that was sitting across the table from her.
When the waiter arrived to take their drink orders, he poured a glass of ice water for each of the patrons at table number 11. Aria took one sip then sat up abruptly and ran towards the bathroom. Everyone else at the table looked at each other trying to figure out what the hell just happened.
"I'll go check on her," Spencer said, excusing herself to the bathroom next.
When she walked into the canary-yellow 3-stall bathroom and heard her small friend throwing up. Spencer walked into the stall behind Aria and lovingly held her hair back. After two more gut-wrenching hurls, Aria was empty. Really empty, she thought.
"Are you feeling okay?" that was a dumb question Spencer thought, of course she's not feeling ok. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"I don't even know where to begin," Aria mumbled in despair, now sitting on the cold checkered linoleum floor of the women's restroom with her head between her knees. " Ezra's back in the picture without a restraining order and he's making my life a living hell. It's worse than before. He's very discrete and threatening to ruin my career if I don't keep quiet. I haven't told anyone, not even Liam."
"Oh Aria," Spencer replied as she reached down to pull her petite friend off the cold floor. "Keeping that to yourself drove you mad before. You were broken when I moved to Boston, and I don't want to see that happen again."
Once on her feet, Aria managed to walk herself to the sink. There she splashed cold water onto her face and rinsed the vomit taste from her mouth. Aria saw the broken girl she had been in Savannah, the one Jason DiLaurentis had brought back to life. Then he left for Ethiopia and Aria started crumbling again. That time she was saved by Spencer. But then Ezra returned. And now Jason. With Nicole. Aria's head was spinning out of control and she felt the familiar twinges of panic setting in.
"You should probably let Liam know what's going on," Spencer spoke gently. "He really cares about you."
"I know I should, but I'm scared," Aria replied. "I'm afraid of Ezra spreading lies that I'm the one stalking him. He told me no one would believe me – that I'd be seen as troubled former student trying to turn her attractive former teacher into her sugar daddy. Besides, I don't want to get too close to Liam. I don't have a strong enough heart to have it broken again."
"I think you should give Liam a chance," Spencer said tentatively. "You shouldn't let Ezra's abuse prevent you from being happy with someone else. Besides, Liam adores you, and you guys are perfect for each other."
"There is no such thing as a perfect couple," Aria said angrily through fresh tears. Tears brought on from seeing Jason. From guilt after her morning with Liam. "Someone always gets hurt. It's been years and I'm still paying for falling in love with that Asshole I now have to work with."
"Well Sweetie, you can't use Ezra as an example," Spencer said. "Besides, I just got engaged, so hopefully I won't be heartbroken."
Aria managed a brief smile through her tears. "I didn't mean you, Spence. Just me. The Universe just does not want me to be happy."
"Again Aria, you can't use Ezra as a general rule. Unless there's some other guy you've kept hidden," Spencer joked, but stopped herself before she mentioned the secrecy of her relationship with Ezra.
"Well, uhm," Aria began slowly as Spencer raised her eyebrows. "I did date someone for about a month when we were in Rosewood for Charlotte's trial, before I moved up here. "
Spencer froze. Maybe that's why Jason called her from Ethiopia to suggest she consider Boston for law school, to "get away from Toby."
"We did notice you were gone a lot," Spencer said slowly, suspiciously. Then added, "but truth be told we thought you were getting back together with Ezra. Did this other person break your heart too? Even if you were only together a short time?"
"It was intense. It was the happiest month of my life," Aria replied.
"But…." Spencer coaxed.
"Our lives were heading in different directions," Aria continued with a sigh. She did not want to be having this heart-to-heart with Spencer in the middle of a brightly-lit canary-yellow bathroom. "My world came crashing down when he left me crying on the floor in the Philadelphia airport before going off to Ethiopia," Aria looked at the ground in shame. "I'm in love with your brother Spence, and he broke my heart."
Before Spencer could formulate a response there was a knock on the door. "Spence, Aria, everything OK in there?" they heard Caleb ask.
"Uh yeah, we're fine," Aria replied with a slight croak in her voice. "Be out in a few moments."
"Aria, I'm so sorry," Spencer whispered softly as she pulled her petite friend in for a hug. "You'll get through this. I am here for you no matter what." How the hell am I supposed to respond to that?
Meanwhile, out in the restaurant Jason is caught between a rock and a hard place. What the hell happened to Aria?
"So, Liam, we haven't had a chance to talk. How long have you and Aria been dating?" Jason tried to sound casual.
"Oh, uhm, we're just coworkers actually," Liam replied, still reeling from his intimate morning with Aria but not wanting to spill that information. "I'm helping her with the editing of Ezra's new book."
"Oh yeah, how's that working? I'm sure Aria's thrilled to be on the project. Despite all the chatter and whispers, she did have a good student-teacher relationship with him," Jason lied. "He was kind of her mentor."
"I have noticed some of her earlier writing shared quite a bit of similarity to Fitz's style, but after her junior year at SCAD she changed her tone quite a bit. Have you had a chance to read much of her work?" Liam replied.
"Not really," Jason said. "She was kind of shy around me, being her friend's big brother, and well her other friend's half-brother. The DiLaurentis tree is kinda gnarly."
"Did you hear if Aria and Fitz kept in touch while she was in Savannah?" Caleb casually asked Jason. He could tell something was up by the way Jason was sniffing around the Aria-Ezra topic and didn't want things to get ugly. Caleb knew Liam had been staying at Aria's since he and Spencer moved out. It was only a matter of time before Liam and Aria couldn't resist each other. The sexual tension between them could be cut with a knife.
"No, we didn't talk much after she left for college. I'd get an occasional drunk text from her, but nothing serious," Jason was walking on thin ice. "I ran into her at the Brew one night before Charlotte's trial started but it was just small talk."
Jason watched suspiciously as Caleb and Liam shared a "look." Jason was clueless, and it was beginning to sound as if he might once have a thing for Aria. Liam felt a pang of jealousy.
"For what it's worth, Aria is definitely not into Fitz," Liam defensively. "He's kind of turned into a colossal ass-hat after the success of his first book. This one is some sort of dystopian fantasy of what I would consider a deranged stalker. But of course Ezra tells me I just don't get it."
"Oh, I thought it was a tale of how he created a beautiful life with some long-lost love," Jason replied, half-sarcastically and mildly confused.
Things were getting fairly heated. Caleb stood up before he spilled the beans on Ezra's stalking – it wasn't his place. "I better go see if everything is alright in there."
After a relatively non-eventful brunch, Jason hugged Spencer good-bye, shook Caleb's and Liam's hands and gently rubbed Aria's shoulder to break her staring contest with the concrete sidewalk. Caleb had to head into work to get caught up on a couple of new programs he was working on. Liam headed home to do laundry and pick up fresh clothes to bring to Aria's. Spencer hooked her arm in with Aria and excitedly suggested video-chatting with Hanna and Emily to give them the good news.
"So," Spencer began when they were out of earshot from the guys. "Jason?"
"Yeah, well you know I always had a thing for him when we were younger," Aria replied. "Then when I ran into him one night in the brew, we just started casually talking. It was the first time I genuinely forgot about the monster on my back."
"There's no need to be embarrassed," Spencer consoled her. "Besides, I'd love to have you as a sister! I mean you practically already are."
Aria leaned her head into Spencer's shoulder and smiled. "But what about that peace-loving freak he's got wrapped around his neck?" she asked, when reality came back.
"Honestly, I don't think Jason gives two shits about that girl anymore," Spencer told Aria. "She spent most of last night hanging on Jason's arm for show as she flirted mercilessly with Ted and Barney. Jason just shook it off, pretending she only acts that way when she's drunk."
"Well she doesn't deserve someone like Jason," Aria said somewhat huffily. "And Jason deserves so much better."
"I agree," Spencer replied as she opened the door to walk into her apartment building.
"I'll race you!" Aria yelled as she abounded towards the stairs.
Spencer waited a moment, shaking her head, before sprinting up the stairs two at a time to plow Aria into the door to her apartment, arriving just a moment later than her small friend. Aria felt some of the weight that had been bearing down on her chest in recent days evaporate as she sat on the floor giggling uncontrollably with Spencer.
"Aria," Spencer got on one knee and dramatically grabbed Aria's hand. "Will you be my maid of honor?" she asked with the biggest doe eyes she could muster.
"Of course Spence!" Aria replied. "I would love to!"
"Yayyy! Thanks Ar," Spencer stood up and bear-hugged Aria. "Now let's go call Hanna and Em. We should probably call Hanna first." Spencer then explained how poorly the call had gone with her mother and sister right before brunch.
"God," Aria replied, "Melissa is such a bitch. You don't have anything to worry about with Hanna. I think the bigger problem with be between Emily and Alison."
Spencer offered Aria a diet Coke before opening her laptop to video-call Hanna. The blond fashion mogul answered the call on the third ring, wearing a humongous smile and sounding a bit out-of-breath.
"Uhm, did we catch you in the middle of something?" Spencer asked somewhat incredulously. What the hell kind of physical activity could Hanna possibly be in the middle of on a Sunday morning?
"Oh, no, I was just laughing at Em. She managed to spill her entire cup of coffee down her favorite beige long-sleeve shirt." Hanna turned the computer so Spencer and Aria could see a bewildered Emily standing in the doorway, in only a bra and jeans, holding a coffee-stained shirt and presumably empty mug.
"Dammit Hanna," Emily said playfully behind a huge grin, "turn the camera around and toss me one of your shirts."
Hanna refused, so Emily helped herself to a zip-up hoodie draped over the back of Hanna's desk chair. "Hey guys," Em's face popped in front of the camera. "How's Boston treating you? Aria, you shacking up with Fitz again?" Emily joked, not knowing the truth.
Aria's face fell immediately and Spencer interjected. "Fitz is a washed-up piece of shit that doesn't deserve to breathe the same air as Aria, but that's not why we called." Spencer wriggled the fingers on her left hand to capture the pair of Rosewood friends' attention.
"Oh my god, congratulations Spence!" then as an aside, " Caleb's taste in jewelry has certainly improved, I'm impressed," Hanna said, genuinely happy for her friend.
"That's beautiful Spence, I'm really happy for you," Emily said sounding slightly upset. "I guess you heard about what happened between Ali and me?"
"Yeah, Em. Hanna told me," Spencer replied. "How are you doing?"
"Well considering she shattered my life and won't let me see my own kids," Emily spat bitterly. "I'm fan-fucking-tastic."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Spencer continued.
Emily prepared to be ripped apart for cheating on Alison. "In my defense, she was a controlling bitch. Remember junior high? It was like that, but worse. I waited on her hand-and-foot, working my ass off to keep things together when she was pregnant, and she wanted nothing to do with me. It's the hormones, she'd say condescendingly. Our relationship was not as beautiful on the inside as everyone thought. Like we were supposed to be in some magical bliss when we got engaged. Alison used that ring as a noose. Fuck her."
Aria and Spencer stared, dumbfounded. What the hell happened to sweet Emily? they thought in unison.
Emily sat down on the bed, now fully clothed, next to Hanna, who put a friendly arm around her shoulders. "So what kind of wedding are you thinking of having, Spence?"
"I haven't put too much thought into it yet, but I definitely want you to be part of it. Aria is going to be my maid of honor, and I'd like you two to be bridesmaids."
"Isn't your sister supposed to be the maid of honor?" Hanna asked.
"Uhm, no. Fuck Melissa. I don't even want to invite her," Spencer spat angrily. "She pretty much called me a conniving slut this morning when I gave her and my mom the news."
"Oh Spence, no need to worry about me," Hanna replied, knowing the angle Melissa was using to torment her sister. "Caleb and I grew apart. We're different people now, and we want different things." Spencer and Aria did not notice the brief shared moment when Hanna caught Emily's gaze and smiled.
"Okay, so now that's settled," Hanna continued. "We need to start planning. Engagement party, bridal shower, bachelorette party. You girls are going to be booked solid until Spencer's wedding." Hanna loved planning extravagant events.
a/n: Ok, so I think I am making this too complicated, as per usual. I had planned on having the engagement party as part of this chapter, but my mania took over and decided to throw a curve ball. I'm not sure how I feel about the opening scene with Aria & Liam. Sleeping with Liam is something else Aria will hold in and struggle with. Basically she is a basket-case of emotion right now. Working with Ezra has pushed her back into a dark place, and seeing Jason with Nicole was too much to handle. Let me know what you think!