Nick and Aria have not been playing very nice together... therefore the story hasn't come together very well either. I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, but I really wanted to get something out there for you guys. Anyway, I have a couple of things to say about general stuff, but I'll save that for after this chapter!

"So, I've got you the perfect thing to wear to the dance tonight... just a little something I had my good friend Mister..." Nick trailed off when he caught the angry look on Aria's face.

"What the hell was that back there?"

"What was what?" Nick feigned ignorance, giving that wide-eyed look of innocence that most girls would swoon over. Most girls except Aria that is.

"Don't play dumb Nicholas, it doesn't suit you" Her pursed lips covered with gloss beckoned to be kissed and at one time he might have been able to get away with a small peck, but that time had sadly come and gone long ago. Now the only options he had to placate her were humor and charm with a smothering of the truth. Leaning against the car door he studied the girl he called his best friend before answering.

"Jealousy makes the heart grow fonder my dear, and anyone who tries to tell you otherwise is selling something" Nick supplied, the perversion of the classic line from The Princess Bride making Aria laugh despite herself. "Really I think you'll find that I have improved your relationship by leaps and bounds. Next time you see him he'll be brimming with a need to declare his love and devotion in order to curtail the evil advances of the dashing Prince on his beloved. Trust me, you'll be thanking me by the morning."

Aria remained unconvinced.

"Why Hans Christian Andersen, I didn't know you had moved from the realm of children's stories to relationship advice" She scoffed, Nick chuckling as he returned his attention to the large box that was at his feet. Picking it up, he turned back to look at Aria who was now glaring skeptically at the parcel he held. As he smoothed the wrapping paper with his hands, he watched as her interest was piqued, not enough for the previous conversation to be forgotten, but enough that she wouldn't be in such a foul mood over it.

"Alright, so maybe I did lay it on a bit thick back there, but seeing him looking all couple-y with another bird and knowing it was upsetting you pissed me off, and you know how I get when something upsets you" An image of Nick pummeling a guy that made an unwanted and unsettling pass at her one night came to both their minds. She smiled despite herself. Her rational side knew she shouldn't encourage his behavior, but the part of her that still believed in fairy tales loved the notion of having a (slightly tarnished) prince riding in on a white horse to save her. The notion she couldn't truly have that with Ezra yet depressed her more than it should. She was well aware of the limits on their relationship when she agreed to it but still...

"I just wanted him to have a taste of what you were feeling and, you know, make sure he's aware of the fact that there is someone out there to keep him in line" He got the last part out uncomfortably, unsure how Aria would take the news that he was deliberately trying to intimidate, or at least shake up, her boyfriend. The cocking of her head to one side told him she was intrigued, a reaction he liked much better than the berating he was expecting. "I mean, the guy's in the perfect relationship-" He put up a hand to silence the contradiction already tumbling out of Aria's mouth, "Let me finish before you naysay" She rolled her eyes but remained silent.

"As I was saying, the guy has it made. He's got no one outside of you to be held accountable too... no angry dad with a threatening shotgun, no overprotective mom with a kitchen knife and threats of castration. Hell, even Mike doesn't get a shot at him, and we know that boy has an intimidating temper." A memory of Mike being subdued after he took one of Nick's jokes the wrong way came forward in the minds of most in the car and Aria sighed sadly at the memory. She knew something was going to have to be done about Mike before he managed to snap too badly to be put back in place. "I know you said your girlfriends know, but what's the most they can do? Glare menacingly over To Kill A Pigeon-"

"Mockingbird" Michael corrected, unable to help himself even though he was well aware Nicholas knew what the title was.

"Oh whatever, it's the implication that's important!" Nick threw back. "Anyway, the point is the guy could flunk anyone of them in a heartbeat. The distribution of power here is ridiculously skewed."

"Anyone of us could go to the police!" Aria challenged.

"And lie to them? Because, as you have continually told me, you two have never actually done anything illegal. And yes, you could go to the principal, but the most they'd do to him is quickly and quietly shove him out the backdoor while you get known as the slut that was screwing a teacher for better grades" Aria gave him a look so fiery with rage that it could melt at least one, if not both, of the polar icecaps. Nick put his hands up in submission. "Not my words, the fictional student body's words"

"Alright, fine, you've made your point... but who died and made you-"

"King of anything?" Nick sing-songed away as he smirked.

"You are such a child" Aria complained, flopping back against her seat, her want to continue on with the conversation fleeing fast in the face of Nick's glib attitude. He had said his piece and now the conversation would either continue in the face of his lack of interest or end with his dismissal. Not being one to let Nick have the final word very often, Aria decided to throw in her two-cents (should be worth more considering it was a conversation about her relationship, but whatever) before letting the whole thing drop. "Look, I'm not saying I don't appreciate what you're trying to do... it's actually slightly sweet." Nick almost seemed to puff-up proudly at her words, "However, as a rule, you really shouldn't go around antagonizing people, especially ones that mean so much to me. I love Ezra, and in order for all of this to work out, I'm gonna have to accept that the man I know and the one the world sees might have to be different." Aria turned her head to glare at Nick as she said the next part, wanting to make sure he got the message loud and clear.

"And I can't have you going around and paying extra attention to him that makes everyone wonder why he's so special and then ruins any chance of me and him ever being alone! We clear?"

"Crystal"

"Well good," Aria settled back in her seat, pleased with herself and her ability to speak rationally to the infuriating guy beside her. She looked expectantly at the package in Nick's lap before locking eyes with the future monarch. "What's in the box and, more importantly, is it for me?" Nick grinned with satisfaction as the conversation began to swing back into his favor, a fact not getting passed Aria. However, she was too absorbed by the present to really care.

"I'll have you know that there is a fantastic, custom-designed designer dress that has been carefully folded and wrapped to cross the Atlantic without damage in this little parcel" Aria was almost salivating as she began to picture what could be in that lovely box. She would have been foaming at the mouth if the memory of the last time Nick bought her a dress wasn't still fairly well engrained in her mind... the amount of double-sided tape that would have been required to actually wear it was astronomical, and she knew for a fact that that adjective would have worked well to describe her Dad's blood pressure when he'd seen the gown too. "And, for your information, it actually isn't for you..." Nick paused momentarily for dramatic effect, "it's for Byron."

Aria began to laugh earnestly, quickly drawing Nicholas into her fit. The mental image of Byron Montgomery in a dress was equal parts hilarious, terrifying, and disgusting... obviously the only reaction to have was insane amounts of laughing, or vomiting (but that wasn't an option anyone really enjoyed now was it?). The laughing only got worse when Aria's phone began to ring and her Dad's name and picture popped up. Grabbing the phone from her hand, Nick quickly put the phone on speaker, covering Aria's mouth with his other hand as he did so.

"Helllloooo" Nick drew the greeting out like he normally did, wanting to make absolutely sure Byron knew who he was speaking to before he began to talk.

A moment or two of silence passed on the other line.

"Now see, this is the point in my nightmares where I usually wake up" Byron commented, only partly kidding.

"Now Byron, is that any way to speak to someone who came all this way just to see you and your darling family? I even bought Aria a dress and everything!"

"God damn it Nicholas, if that dress requires even one piece of tape, so help me God..."

It was a comfort to Aria that no matter how confusing and chaotic life managed to get, there were still constant things you could count on. Those simple facts of life that nothing could change. You know, things like the sky being blue...the grass being green... and Nick always being able to rile up her Dad to near heart attack-inducing levels of hypertension.

Guess he'll have to start carrying around the aspirin again this week, Aria thought just as Nick began to almost cackle. Yep, lots and lots of aspirin.

First of all, aspirin helps in the event of a heart attack, just in case that last bit didn't make sense to you.

Back to important stuff, I'm really not one of those authors big on self-promotion or who holds updates hostage until they get a certain number of reviews, however I'm gonna take a moment to step up on my soap box and tell you all to go check out my profile with links to my Polyvore and Tumblr accounts (it's the link I use as my homepage). These websites, particularly the Tumblr, have extra content from both of my stories that won't end up here. There is actually even a Byron/Nicholas short on the site that gives you a better picture of what those two are like together, as well as the one scene (at least for me) that is the ultimate Nick/Aria moment.

Also on those sites (and expressly linked to in my profile) is another part of the reason why I've taken so long to update. I'm a student in college and I'm currently in a Creative Writing class where I'm working on a rather large story that counts for a great deal of my grade. It's a fairly time consuming business, trying to create a whole bunch of characters out of thin air, but I'm really enjoying it. The biggest challenge I'm facing at the moment is an extra-credit part of the assignment where you have to create a cover for your story, which means picking someone to play my main character... which is turning out to be easier said than done. So, what I'm asking you all to do is go over to my Tumblr or Polyvore, read this little short I wrote about the character, and then take a look at the actresses I had in mind for the part and tell me which one, if any, you think fits (also, let me know what you think of the story!). Feel free to do it in these comments, the ones on the Polyvore, or through Tumblr. I'm not going to sit here and demand you do that or anything, just know it will really help me out and once that is out of the way, I'll have more time to work on this and my other PLL story.

Damn, this is a long note. I'm gonna just stop talking now.