It had been a week since Aria and Ezra had split up and every English class was 10 times as awkward as the last. They would make awkward eye contact or Ezra would call on her in class and as she answered the tension between them flooded the room. No one knew they had been dating. Everyone just knew there was some sort of tension in every class period this week. At the end of Monday's class Ezra had asked her to stay late but she was the first to leave class. We were all in the some Don't Ask Don't Tell position and it was getting worse by the day. Aria was so, so distant. She was a million miles away and we didn't know how to help her no one did.

"Alright class, I know its Friday and you all want to go home so"

"So you're going to let us go home?" Noel joked

"Funny Mr. Khan, but No" Ezra replied "Today we are going to have a debate that will count as a test grade so all of you must participate" Ezra said as he gave Aria a look. She just rolled her eyes back at him.

"So what's the topic?" Spencer interrupted

"Is lying ok" Ezra replied

"That's it?" Hanna asked

"That's the topic" He replied

The debate began smoothly everyone was giving their case but it wasn't the debate Ezra was looking for so he throughout this question. "Ok here's a scenario" he interrupted "What if you lied to someone you loved to protect them from something. Even though at the time they hated you for it at the end it's what was best for them"

Aria knew he was talking about them and suddenly the debate turned into an argument

"So Mr. Fitz hypothetically speaking if you told someone lie after lie, keeping secrets from them and hiding away the truth. Even though that was "best for them" that's ok?" She asked

"That's correct" he said "I believe in certain circumstances lying is your only option"

"But what if what you thought was in someone's best interest wasn't. I mean you don't just get to go around deciding how people get to feel" she replied

"Ok that's true but let me show you an example, who wants to volunteer" Ezra asked the class "Ok Sean, Spencer, and Hanna come up here" he said " So hypothetically speaking Hanna was dating Sean and Spencer knew Sean was cheating on Hanna but he asked her to keep it quiet. He was going to stop sleeping around and just be with Hanna. Should Spencer keep that secret?"

"No" Emily interrupted "If I were to find out someone was keeping a secret like that from me I would be just as mad at them as I would be at the person who cheated!" she replied

Lucas interrupted them "But what if they would've went on and had a happy marriage and you just took that away by spilling the beans"

"The truth is like a box of chocolates once you know a little bit of it you just want more" Hanna replied "See Spence I'm not just shoe smart, I think that quotes from a movie"

Spencer let out a sign "Life Han, Life is like a box of chocolates"

"At least I was close" she replied

"Yes Han you were so close" Spencer replied trying not to argue her point.

This debate was basically at a standstill except for the little back and forth commentary between classmates so Ezra through one last point out. "Ok class ends in 15 minutes so I want to wrap up this discussion so; Say there's a couple and their relationship was always worth fighting for why would one slip make it so easy to give up on" Ezra asked the class
"Well when an individual realizes that what they've been fighting for is unrealistic they begin to give up on it" Aria replied
"What would make it unrealistic "Ezra asked

"When you begin to ask yourself "is this real worth it?" That's when you need to rethink something in that relationship" she replied
"But if in the end it came out to be worth waiting for and you"
Aria quickly cut him off "But an individual can only wait so long before they get tired of trying"
"But what if the other individual was able to explain how what you thought was so wrong was really so right" Ezra pleaded
"Ya and what if I wasted my time trying and it never ended out happily" she replied
"But if it could've and you walked away wouldn't that kill you" Ezra asked
"I believe if your soul mates "she paused and looked him in the eye "you'll always find your way back to each other even if at the time it seems worthless to fight for it I think you'd eventually learn to find love in them again" she replied
"So you'd walk away that easy with the hope of finding that love again" he questioned her before asking "you wouldn't even stick around long enough to let the other individual explain. To me that's foolish Ms. Montgomery, you spend your life searching for a soul mate only to find one and let them slip away after a simple mistake"
"But what if that mistake was so unforgettable and so selfish of the other individual wouldn't you walk away at some point too?" Aria replied back to him
"Someone who meant the world to me once said "relationships are worth fighting for no matter what the odds" if that individual believed in those words with their whole heart and truly loved the other individual the same walking away would be impossible" he said to her. Those words stung as she

Thought about them her face suddenly turned bright red and she left the room as tears started rushing down her cheeks.

"Aria" he called but he was too late she was long gone. Her friends gave each other that look before Spencer got out of her seat and heading to check on Aria in the bathroom she knew that fight wasn't an ordinary debate it was about their broken relationship a way for Ezra to talk to her. He probably didn't mean for it to go this far but it had and there was nothing he could do about it.
"Mr. Fitz" Noel interrupted "I see what you're saying but I think your stance on this is even more foolish than Aria's. You see the individual who is truly at wrong in the argument needs to have the knowledge to understand they are equally as foolish as the individual walking away"
"How so" Ezra replied standing back up from his desk
"Well the person who's wrong needs to have the patience to wait for the other person to realize there just as wrong for not fighting for their relationship. As well as the one who lied and cheated needs to own up to what they did and not only that, but be man enough to apologize.

You see the man in supposed to be the foundation of the relationship if the foundation crumbles the structure will come down as well. So the women and the man have to help each other and keep each other stable so that if one falls the other is always there to pick them up." Noel said as he got up in front of the class. "But if one individual could walk away so easily the man isn't doing his job as the foundation to provide to her what she needs. So although the man lied and the women was walking out you can't blame her for shattering something that wasn't completely stable to begin with." Noel said just as the bell rang for class to be dismissed.

Noel made a point to be the last one to leave class and went up to Ezra's desk. "What did you do to her that is so horrible she won't go back" Noel asked.

"That's a bit personal" he replied

"Not anymore you made it public in front of the whole class" he replied "I know it was about her" he said as he headed for the door.

Ezra stopped him "About who"

"Aria" he replied "That argument was about your relationship with her everyone knew it. Well the ones who were awake. But still Mr. Fitz that argument was too passionate to have just been about nothing. Look I used to go out with Aria, I know she's a very passionate person and she stands firm in what she believes. But if what you were saying up there was true that she doesn't know the whole story, you have to let her know! Cause if you don't your just letting her slip through your fingers and that's no one's fault but your own." Noel said as he walked out of Ezra's class.

Deep down Ezra knew Noel was right but he'd never admit that.

Hanna and Emily entered the bathroom to find spencer hugging Aria as she sat on the floor, her face buried in her hands. She wiped a tear from her cheek "was everyone laughing at me walking out on that" she asked
Hanna shook her head "Noel just told Ezra how it is"
She looked up "He did"
"Ya if only you could've heard it he stood up for you Ar, and no one really noticed you left half the class was asleep until the bell rang anyway" Emily said

"Do you want to go to out next class" Spencer asked

They sat there for a second before Aria cried into Spencer's shirt "No" she sniffled "I can't do this anymore, he was supposed to be my happy ending, my happily ever after."

Spencer stroked her hair softly "I don't understand, what happened between you too"

Aria doesn't reply but stands up and walks over to the sink to wash her face off "Nothing" she says as she turns to face them. "I'm just going to go home" she replied before leaving the bathroom.

Her three best friends turned to face each other as there phone chimed. Emily read out loud "One of you knows too much doesn't it suck to be on the outside?"-A

By now it was 9 o'clock on a Friday night and Toby had just left to go have movie night was Spencer. Aria's been conflicted all day decided what to do about this Ezra's situation. She can't so it anymore she can't keep living this life. She grabs her a pen and a piece of paper.

Toby,

Its Aria, I'm leaving for now whether I go on a drive and I'm home in the morning or a week or even never I just wanted to let you know I'll be ok. I can't face this town anymore. I can't keep living with –A. I need a break. I love you, thanks for everything you've done for me. ~Aria.

She stuck the note on the counter and left. She drove aimlessly for a while thinking about everything that's happened since she found out Ezra was A. If she returned to Rosewood would this be her new life? Avoiding Ezra every day! Or would she be better off starting her life again a few towns over? She thought if I leave rosewood no one will see me again. No one's going to care I'll just be another one of those missing Rosewood girls. But then she realized buy disappearing she was letting A win. She had built up way too much to let A just pull her right back down. So she pulled off to the side of the road and took out her phone. It was time to tell her friends the truth. As she thought about what to say a text came through her phone. "Careful Aria, telling the truth to the wrong person at the wrong time is how you'll end up like me –A" But she couldn't let A get to her she had to go with her gut on this one.

I'm alright, but I can't keep doing this on my own anymore, I realized that y'all are the ones I truly need in my life. I know it's early but would you meet me at Spencer's lake house at 3am. I know who –A is. ~SOS Aria.

She signed it and then proceeded back onto the express way. She couldn't decide if she was going to send it or not but she had to, she couldn't live like that anymore knowing more than her friends. So she reached her hand over and pressed SEND.