I don't have much of an author's note today. I mean, I do have some Lucian things I'd like to say, but I'll wait for that when I update "Dear Love" or start the new one.

So, here's a new chapter! Enjoy!

Wednesday afternoon, the girls and Ella took the afternoon off from school to help move Aria into Ezra's apartment. Byron still didn't have an inkling, but the group wasn't thinking about his reaction; only of Aria's well being. She'd yet to go back to school and had just started to move from her bedroom down to the living room; only so that she and Ezra could watch a movie or two without the confines of her room. It was in her mother and boyfriend's best interest that she had a change of surrounding.

Boxes were packed into the trunk of Spencer's car and the bed of Toby's truck. Spencer had borrowed it from him without much of an explanation. She simply batted her eyelashes and got her way.

Aria watched the activity from the swing on her front porch with tired eyes. She's spent majority of the previous night awake, Ezra rubbing her back to soothe her. Nothing worked though. Her nerves were running high, especially with the move her father wasn't aware of. Not that she considered him all that integral to her life anymore and hadn't for some time.

Emily was carrying two cardboard boxes stacked on top of one another. Spencer was barking orders from the living room at Mike who had taken part in helping his sister. Hanna was watching as Ella loaded the car. Ezra was the only person Aria couldn't seem to locate, but he was standing behind her in the open doorway of the front door.

Ezra watched her broken figure. Aria's elbows were rested upon her knees, propping her face up. He couldn't see her eyes, but Ezra had a feeling they were lifeless as they had been for awhile. It was now up to him to bring back that warmth. He just didn't know how.

"Hey," he said, finally emerging and sitting down next to her. Aria looked up and smiled. It was something genuine this time. There was a certain factor of having fresh air and wearing her favorite dress that made Aria fell a bit better than she had in days. With a sigh, she rested her head against Ezra's shoulder. His arm automatically wrapped around her waist.

"We together are going to be turning over a new leaf." Ezra pecked her forehead. "Think of this as a new adventure. We've always wanted a future together. Now we're getting one; maybe just a bit earlier than expected. And I promise that I'm going to bring you back one way or another."

Aria nodded her head, consequently nuzzling it further into the crook of his neck. "Thank you, Ezra. I don't think I could go through this alone." Those were more words spoken than she'd let out in a week. Ezra's heart lifted; Aria could be making progress.

"I wouldn't let you go it alone," he said, toying with her fingers. Nobody seemed to notice them and vice versa. More often than not, Aria and Ezra were stuck in their own fantasy land where only the two of them existed to one another.

"I love you."

Ezra's heart stopped. He hadn't heard those words from Aria in days. Immediately, tears sprung into his eyes. He let go of her hand to wipe them away, but Aria's beat it first.

"Don't cry," she said, brushing the salty drops away with the pads of her fingertips. "You know I do. And I always will, even if I'm not acting like myself." For the first time in what seemed to be ages, Aria lifted her lips to meet Ezra's, her fingers tracing his jaw line. Kissing him gave Aria ultimate relief and escape from her life at the moment.

"It's been too long," Ezra said once they'd pulled apart, resting his forehead against hers. The porch swing moved lightly in the breeze that ruffled Aria's dress as well.

"Far too long," she agreed. The bubbles lasted for a few minutes more until Spencer came bounding out of the house, shooting them a smirk. Her voice sounded loudly as if she wanted to wake the entire neighborhood.

"Everything's packed, Mrs. Montgomery. Are we ready to go?"

Aria's mother, who's been discreetly watching them from her job at loading boxes into Spencer's car, looked up startled. She'd been admiring how tender Aria and Ezra seemed to be with one another, as well as how for a moment, she could see the old version of her daughter. Ella now instilled trust in the young man to bring her back.

"We're ready on my end. Aria? Ezra? Are you two ready?"

Ezra tugged on Aria's hand and pulled her up from the swing to walk over to his car. "I think we're good."

"Yeah," Aria nodded, placing a slight smile onto her face. "We're ready." She took Ezra's hand and squeezed tightly for both her own reassurance and comfort in the matter.

Three hours later, everyone had vacated apartment 3B. Aria was sitting on Ezra's large couch staring at the ceiling while Ezra made coffee to serve in his Hollis college mugs. He figured he'd have to get new ones to replace them with considering he didn't work at the local university anymore.

The tiny apartment had always felt like home to her, except this time, Aria was actually living her. Part of her was excited to see how she and Ezra would act around one another with the new occurrences and another part was absolutely petrified. Couples had been known to fall apartment while living together; the figured out that they were incompatible and their habits and quirks got on each other's nerves. Aria didn't want anything like that to happen to herself and Ezra.

There wasn't much to study on Ezra's ceiling, but she needed something constant to focus on than let her mind wander off into oblivion. It was painted over in the same smooth blue color his walls were. Ezra seemed to have changed a few things around in preparation for her arrival. There was a new poster over their bed. He reorganized a few shelves to make room for her books and such. Aria thought this was preliminary, but little did she know Ezra had done it all on his own free will. He wanted her to be as comfortable in her new home as possible.

Ezra had been watching Aria since they moved in. There were slight traces of a smile on her face every so often as things were being put away. He knew she was excited to be living with him, and likewise for himself. But now, she seemed to shut down again. At this point, he wasn't sure what he could do except get her to talk to him about everything. Not yet though. Ezra would wait for the right time. His only goal now was bringing back that smile.

"Do you want creamer in your coffee?" His voice broke the silence of the apartment, minus the buzzing of the TV playing in the corner.

"Yes, please," Aria replied, sitting up against the arm rest of the couch. "With two sugars. You know how I take it."

"Never with milk," Ezra said, a slightly amused expression playing at his lips.

"Never with milk." Aria giggled faintly, which caused Ezra's ears to literally perk up in the air, straining to hear the sound again. It was all too small, but audible. Ezra's eyes prickled and an even wider grin came over his lips. It lasted until Aria shifted back to staring at the ceiling; he'd lost her again.

The ding on the coffee pot let him know that the hot drink was ready. Ezra poured the dark stuff into the two mugs and went to work on mixing them to his and Aria's likings. Finally, he clambered over to the couch and handed her the designated mug.

"Creamer and two sugars. I used Splenda is that's alright."

"It's fine," Aria replied, taking the mug between her hands and let it warm them graciously. Her body was feeing entirely too cold lately. She reached over to take the afghan blanket and wrap it around her shoulders.

"Aria, it's March. Why are you wrapping a heavy blanket around yourself?"

"I'm cold," she said, curling deeper into the comforts of the blanket. "It's chilly."

"Not really," Ezra spoke, his brow furrowing. She could possibly be sick. What a way to start off living together, he thought wryly. Ezra pressed his lips against Aria's forehead in order to check her temperature. She wasn't warm; he'd check again later if signs of a fever or the flu progressed. "You're not warm, so you don't have a fever."

"I'm not sick, Ezra," Aria stated, looking at him while taking a sip of her coffee. "Just cold. The window is blowing a breeze and its freezing. Would you mind shutting the window?"

"Of course," he replied. With his free hand that wasn't holding his coffee mug, Ezra cupped the side of Aria's face for a second and held her gaze before kissing her quickly. Aria responded eagerly, trying to keep him down on the couch. It seemed as though with one kiss, the real Aria came back.

Almost like "Sleeping Beauty" except Ezra wasn't trying to awaken Aria from some deep slumber. He was trying to awake her from the current state she seemed to be stuck in.

Bed time was a completely different matter. There was something significantly different about going to bed together knowing it would be that way for many nights rather than their occasional sleepovers. Ezra had already climbed into bed. He had a pair of reading glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, book in hand.

Aria stood across from the bed, fiddling with the hem of the Hollis tee shirt she picked to wear to bed. When they had made love, it hadn't been this awkward. In fact, gliding into his bed in a rouse of kisses felt highly natural. But knowing that they'd be sleeping beside one another each night scared Aria. What if she began to scream again? What if she kicked him? What if he'd rather sleep on the couch after a fight? It was mundane things like that that ran around in her head.

Ezra was ready for the next step. Not wanting to pressure Aria, he continued to read his book and refrain from looking over at her. She's climb into bed in due time when she was comfortable. Clearly, she was unsure of what to do. They'd shared a bed before, but never had it been this permanent.

It took a few moments before Ezra couldn't stand the awkward silence. "Are you coming? If you're not comfortable, you can sleep on the couch."

"No," Aria said, taking a deep breath. "I'm coming." Easily, she climbed into his, now their bed. Once her back hit the mattress, she felt completely at ease. Emitting a sigh, she smiled. "I missed this."

Ezra beamed; she'd smiled more today than she had in weeks. His thumb ran across her jaw line in a slow line before massaging small circles at the point where he stopped. Aria's hair was splayed over the pillow as she closed her eyes. Her lips parted slightly as sleep began to take its gripping hold over her body.

"I missed having you here," he said, cupping her cheek. "The last time you were here…"

"Was…yeah, I remember." Aria bit her lip and blushed.

"I wouldn't have changed that night for the world."

"Me either."

Curling inwards, Aria's body molded against Ezra's shirtless form. Her head rested against his chest, right over his heart. It beat normally, the thump just barely audible. "I love you, Ezra," she said quietly, while yawning.

"I love you more, Aria." By the time he replied, she'd fallen asleep. "More than you'll ever know."