A/N: I love you all! haha, I absolutely loved all the reviews I got! They were so sweet and hopefully SUV101 is feeling better! Thank you all so so much for the reviews. They mean so much and I love reading them! Enjoy the double chapter!

They went to the fair like Aria suggested and had fun. Although the two didn't do many of the coasters that were there, they played games, ate tons of food, and took a ride on the bumper cars. Aria felt like she hadn't laughed this much in ages and Jason couldn't believe how beautiful she was when she did smile like this. Neither of them wanted this night to end.

"I can't believe you just did that," Aria laughed to Jason as he won her the big giant dog from one of the game stands. He must have spent hundreds of dollars to get this considering you had to pass each level to get the animal bigger and bigger in each size.

"I told you I would," he chuckled back as they walked together. "So what now?"

With a smile on her face, Aria glanced all around and then took him to the funnel cake stand.

"Again?" he laughed to Aria.

"They're good!" she chuckled back as they stood in line. After ordering and sitting down to eat the sugary food, Aria checked her phone to make sure Mike didn't need her. Tempted to call her mom, Aria's finger lingered over the 'send' button.

"Go call her, I'll be right here."

"You sure?" Aria wondered hesitantly.

"Jason Jr. and I will be fine right here," Jason laughed while patting the large dogs head. Giving a large chuckle and bright smile at his comment, Aria got up from the bench and shook her head. "That is so not his name."

"It's a nice one!" he called as she walked away. Laughing again, she put her cell phone to her ear and waited for her mom to pick up. It rang and rang, and the sound began to make Aria nervous.

"Hello?" Ella answered.

"Hey mom," Aria replied with relief.

"Hey sweetie, is everything alright?"

"Yea, just checking in. Jason and I went to the fair. I was thinking of spending the night at Spencer's, is that okay?"

"Sure," Ella answered. "Hey Aria? Do you know where the cooking spray is? I was trying to make some muffins and couldn't seem to find it."

"Oh," Aria said embarrassed over the phone. "Uhh…"

"Still worried huh?" her mom asked her, clearly seeing why it was hiding. "Its alright, you don't have to tell me. I can use butter."

"You know what, I'll come home tonight and we can make some more muffins or something."

"Or you can just stay over at Spencer's and stop worrying over me. I'll be fine here. Did you need to drop off your clothes or anything?"

"Uh no thanks mom," Aria blushed, as she slipped in a little lie about sleeping over Spencer's. Jason's bed and company just sounded too good to pass up.

"I'll see you in the morning then," Ella chimed to her daughter with happiness in her voice.

"Love you mom," Aria noted before going to hang up the phone.

"I love you too sweetie," Ella replied back as she disconnected the line.

"So?" Jason wondered as she returned to the table.

"She's fine I guess and I'm free to stay over your place."

"Oh really?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. Blushing fiercely, Aria cleared her throat and went to a different topic. "So the school dance is coming up."

"Are you going?" Jason wondered, knowing Aria was uncomfortable and wanted the subject changed.

"I was thinking maybe you and me could go."

"What about your friends?" he wondered. Jason knew those four literally traveled in a pack, and he was curious to why she was drifting away.

"They're going," she added, "Hanna's going to go with Caleb, Emily decided to ask Paige, and Spencer is still unsure."

Caleb had asked Hanna a few days ago. It was funny how well he knew her too – making sure the whole scene was public and romantic. Not to mention asking her as soon as the tickets came out so there would be no miscommunication or worries (like Hanna tended to do). As for Emily, she decided to go out on a limb and as her old swim teammate Paige. She had to move on from Maya and start living her life. In Emily's perspective, she tried to make her friends understand that it was unfair to keep holding onto Maya when all she was doing was trying to push her away. So taking the first dance of their senior year as a fresh start, Emily asked Paige to go with her.

"Is Spencer going to go with Toby?" he asked, still thinking he was her boyfriend.

"Uh…no," Aria responded while biting her lip. With what 'A' did to that relationship, there was no salvageable relationship left. "She doesn't know if she really wants to go this time. Wren, I think is trying to convince her to go."

"Wren?" Jason asked puzzled.

"It's…complicated," Aria sighed, not sure how to title him. Letting it go, they talked a little more about the dance, with Jason agreeing to go, and then the two got up to leave.

"I had a lot of fun. More than I thought I would," Jason laughed as they made it to his car.

"Me too," Aria smiled, hugging Jason Jr. closer to her chest before getting in.

They laid in his bed, with the large stuffed animal at the foot of the mattress. Aria, who couldn't sleep was drawing doodles on Jason's chest while he laid perfectly still with her in his arms.

Soon though, Aria began to get tired and before Jason could even say goodnight she was out like a light. It was a beautiful thing to watch her sleep, but it was even more beautiful to have her in his arms. He loved the way he could feel her chest move up and down against him as she breathed, and he loved the way she snuggled with him too. Soon after watching her for a while to calm his mind, he too feel asleep and only awoke again when Aria shot up from his arms in a cold sweat.

"Ar?" he asked groggily.

"Sorry, bad dream," she croaked with a shaky breath.

"Did you want to talk about it?" he wondered, shaking himself from his sleep. Sitting up behind her, he touched her shoulder lightly and felt chills run down her body.

"It was about my mom," she whispered to him. "She just…the knife…"

"Come here," he instructed. Taking her back into his arms they laid on the bed together. "I know you might not want to tell me about what happened today, and you still don't have to, but just know that it might help to talk about it," Jason put out there.

Considering his words, Aria took in a deep breath and recollected the memory. "I came home and she was sitting on the couch," Aria said, finally telling him what happened. "I was surprised, I mean, I was expecting to put my things and go upstairs to check on her."

Tugging on him for comfort, Jason kissed her head and she continued. "I called her name twice before finally stepping around the couch to see her. She had a kitchen knife sitting in front of her on the coffee table. I wondered what she was doing with it, but it was like she wasn't even herself." She paused for a second. "I went to take the knife away but she snapped at me so I sat with her on the couch. From there, she just…cried. She was really hurt that my dad left and I couldn't do anything about it. She ended up falling asleep before I called you."

Taking it all in Jason inhaled a deep breath. "And the dream?"

"She was dead," she stated with tears rolling down from her eyes. "I didn't get there in time and she just…"

"She wouldn't do that to you and Mike," Jason declared firmly. "She won't."

"She already did," Aria pushed. Moving her head up to look at him, her eyes were sad and pleading to have him understand. "She hurt us Jason…she hurt me. And I know I can't fully understand what she is going through, but I promise Mike everything was going to be okay. I can't back out on that, I just can't."

"You won't Ar," he said holding her tightly, "You won't," he repeated. As Aria ended up falling back asleep again, Jason stayed awake thinking of what loss he was at. There wasn't really a way to help Aria and her family. Only his words and comfort could do something but he wanted to do more. He didn't like feeling helpless, especially when it came to her.

"Morning sleepyhead," Jason murmured as Aria began to stir.

"What time is it?" she grumbled, hiding her face against the morning sun that was coming in.

"A little after 7. I was going to wake you up in a few minutes."

"Did Mike call?" she groaned, still trying to wake up.

"Nope. Your phones been pretty silent."

Happy with the answer, Aria let out a little relaxing sigh, and snuggled back with Jason. Feeling Jason twist and turn a bit, Aria went to get comfy again with him. "I love you," he murmured to her. Feeling that fluttery feeling that only he could give her, she opened her eyes and leaned up to kiss him. "I love you too."

They laid in bed a while longer before going to face reality again. The two quickly got ready for school, falling into that morning routine that they loved. Each of them moved swiftly with each other, never really crossing paths to become a hindrance.

"So I'll pick you and Mike up today?" Jason wondered, twirling his keys in his hand as they walked onto the school property together.

"Yea, sounds good," she smiled, checking her phone and texting her brother to make sure he was here.

Kissing her head, Jason waved to Aria's four friends in the courtyard, said his 'I love yous' to his girl and parted ways with her.

"You guys spent the night together?" Spencer asked with judgment in her voice.

"How did you know that?" Aria wondered checking her outfit as her friends stared at her.

"You wore that last week," Emily pointed out quietly.

"Whatever," Aria brushed off.

"So what happened to dinner yesterday?" Hanna wondered.

Taking in a big breath, she told her friends about what happened with her mom and the rest of her night. As the bell rang signaling class, the four continued to talk about what was going on with all of them. Wren and Spencer now had something going on, Emily was for sure taking Paige to homecoming, and Hanna was suspicious that Caleb was catching on about 'A'. She had gotten a few warning texts from 'A' to make sure he backed off and it was putting the poor blond girl on edge.

"Let's go dress shopping today," Hanna declared as they met up at Emily's locker.

"We have till the weekend Han," Spencer stated.

"Don't be such a party pooper Spence," Hanna sighed.

"I'm cool with going," Emily said putting her input in to stop a fight. Lately Spencer had been a little pushy and snappy towards all of them. They figured it was because Spencer still had to deal with Toby in school while still also hooking up with Wren, but none of the girls were for sure.

"I'm free," Aria shrugged.

"So after school today?" Hanna clarified. Nodding, the four of them went to go part ways and go to class.

"Hey!" Aria said spotting Jason as she made her way to History. Grinning from ear to ear, Jason made a detour from where he was headed and stood in front of her. "I'm going dress shopping with the girls today. Is it still okay if Mike gets a ride home with you?"

"Yea that's fine," he nodded brushing some hair away from her eyes. Blushing, Aria nodded and then quickly went to kiss him. "I'll see you later," she called over her shoulder as she walked away.

"What about this one?" Aria asked her friends, stepping out of the dressing room for the millionth time. She was the only one left to find the dress. Her friends kept telling her she was just being too picky but Aria thought that for this last homecoming with Jason on her arm, the outfit had to be perfect.

"Aria, I'm telling you, they all look great on you," Hanna whined.

"The last 20 dresses looked great on you," Emily groaned.

"Please just pick one so we can get out of here and eat."

"Last one," Aria said running back to the dressing room.

"Aria!" they all groaned as she changed. Her last dress that she slipped on was black that seemed to fit Aria's style very well. There were chains, beading and a belt. Instead of being frilly and overly girly like Hanna or Spencer, Aria stuck with this.

"This dress is definitely you," Hanna claimed.

"Is that a good thing or bad?" Aria wondered, biting her lip.

"It's perfect," Emily smiled.

"Very you," Spencer smiled too.

"And it's a very good thing. You look hot!" Hanna exclaimed. Laughing, Aria went to go pay for the dress. Happy with the decision she made, the four of them walked out of the small boutique ready for the up and coming weekend.

The days ended up going by fairly quick. Ella had shaped up like she said – being home for Mike when he came home from school and making dinner for the three of them. Jason had hung around from time to time too, not as much since work seemed to be piling up. Aria was getting excited for the dance, along with the rest of the girls. 'A' had been quiet and it was almost like they really got to live.

"So did you hear Mr. Fitz might be coming back? Hanna asked Aria as they were near the Marin girl's locker.

"What?" Aria exclaimed, taking her eyes away from Jason who was soon going to be walking by them.

"Yea, since your mom is thinking quitting and stuff, the Principal was looking into spots to fill her job and I guess Mr. Fitz thought about it. I thought you knew this."

"No," Aria answered in shock. Jason who was glancing at Aria's way quickly waved. She waved back; plastering a fake smile on her face like everything was okay.

"How do you know this?"

"He stopped by the other day. Him and Tamboreli were walking down the hall talking when I was on my way to the bathroom." Shutting her locker, Hanna looked to her friend. "You'll be fine. So what if he becomes our teacher again. You still have Jason."

"That's not the point Han," Aria sighed.

"What is? Its not that big of a deal."

"He just…I don't know, Ezra really creeped me out last time and I don want Jason to feel like we have a problem or anything."

"Aria," Hanna said going to set her friend straight, "Jason seems like a pretty cool guy. I doubt he would just go off the deep end because of Mr. Fitz and if you really don't want to be around the guy, calling for a transfer. But we don't even really know if he's coming yet anyways."

"Right," Aria sighed, walking with Hanna to their next class.

It was Thursday night, on the eve of the homecoming dance when Jason had dinner at the Montgomery's again. They were such welcoming people and Jason really liked them. At the time though, although Jason was happy to be with these nice people, he was somewhat angry and curious at Aria. He had found out Mr. Fitz was coming back to Rosewood high to teach English. 12th grade English to be exact. Aria knew how Jason felt about Ezra, especially since he was her ex, so why hadn't she told him? She knew right? She had to have…

"Mike and I are going to get some ice cream, did you two want anything special?' Ella asked her daughter and Jason.

"Ben and Jerry's?" Aria asked, putting in her special request.

"Alright, Mike! Come on!" Ella called from the stairway. Waiting for the two to leave, the couple sat on the couch to watch some TV before Jason went to talk.

"Hey Ar?" Jason asked after they left and had some down time.

"Yea?" she smiled up at him.

"Mr. Fitz." Jason watched and waited for emotion to flicker across her face, and when it did, he knew she knew something.

"What about him?" Aria wondered, trying to play dumb. She had yet to tell Jason that Ezra might be coming back to Rosewood High, and possibly as her teacher again.

"He's going to be your teacher again. He's coming back to Rosewood High."

Feeling a bit of shock, Aria hoped this wasn't true. Its not like she didn't like Ezra, she just didn't feel comfortable with him anymore. It was the reason she didn't tell Jason. She didn't want him to be worried or upset about the whole situation. For a while, she didn't even know if he was coming back for sure. Except now she did.

"You knew this though didn't you?" he challenged to her.

Aria felt somewhat speechless now. Was it the time to play dumb or be truthfully honest? "Yes," she whispered shamefully. "But I didn't know if it was for sure. I thought it could have been a rumor."

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, getting angrier by the second.

"I didn't want you to worry," she quickly replied. "I didn't want this to be a problem."

"You lied to me Aria," Jason accused.

"No! I didn't! Jason, I just wasn't sure…"

"You know I don't like the guy Aria…"

"I know!" she said quickly trying to fix this.

"You should have told me," he accused, looking at her with hard eyes.

"Its not a big deal," she said in a small voice.

"Of course it's a big deal Aria!" Jason blew up. "It's a huge deal. He's your ex and your teacher – again. You can't expect me to just sit back and watch the two of you interact!"

Staying quiet now, Aria wasn't sure what to say.

"I should go," he said getting up and grabbing his things.

"Jason," she called.

"Not tonight Aria," he sighed tiredly. He had been working a lot lately; it was another reason why the two hadn't seen a lot of each other. Walking out the house, Aria was left alone. Sitting back on the couch, the girl sighed and reached for her phone. It had been beeping as Jason was leaving. There were two messages both from unknown.

You let him leave Aria, you may never get him back–A

Tisk tisk Aria, what did I tell you about hurting my brother– A

Aria swallowed hard and ran off the couch to try and get Jason back. Opening the front door, she looked into the dark night for him but he was gone. A sickly feeling came over the Montgomery and she tried to text and call him to apologize.

"Please call me back Jason, please," she begged as she left him a voicemail. After about five minutes, Aria finally tried to call Hanna to see what she would do.

"Do you know if he got home okay?"

"No," Aria said with tears in her eyes.

"Text Spencer, ask her to check if any of his house lights are on. If so, I guess just give him some time Aria. Ezra is a big deal to him…"

"I should have told him," Aria sighed. "I was so stupid…"

"No, you made a mistake. Just…apologize to him tomorrow at the dance. I'm sure he just needs some time to cool off."

"Right," she sighed. Saying her goodbyes, Aria quickly texted Spencer like Hanna suggested and then was startled when her mother and brother came through the door.

"We bought a ton of ice cream! Oh…Aria, where's Jason?" Ella wondered.

"He…went home. He had a lot to do tonight."

"Okay," she responded obviously skeptical about the answer.

"We bought chunky monkey," Mike pitched, seeing there was something up with her sister's answer too.

"And cookie dough," Ella smiled.

"Sounds great," Aria forcefully smiled, getting up to help them with all the dessert they brought home.