A/N: Thank you for all the reviews. I didn't have much time to proofread this so please excuse my errors, but there it is a double chapter. =)

"Thought this would be the best time to catch you out here," Jason said walking up towards the Montgomery's back porch. Knowing Aria, there was supposed to be some really great stars out tonight and then there she was – sitting on the white swing with a blanket and book.

"What are you doing here?" she wondered, closing her novel and glancing at him.

"I thought we should talk," he pitched. Aria went quiet and Jason took that as his chance to explain. "I never intentionally tried to stand you up Aria. Whatever you think I did about that night for your homecoming, I didn't. I promise you."

Inhaling, she decided to go with it. "So what happened then?"

"I don't know, but I tried calling you – to tell you I couldn't make it anymore. I was going to grovel a ton when I got back."

A smile cracked through Arias features. "But then I heard you got hurt and I was so confused. I tried to come see you but-"

"I know," Aria nodded. Her friends had told her this part. "Why didn't you call me when you were gone?"

"You wanted us to take a break," Jason claimed. "You texted me back that night after I left a bunch of messages for you saying I had a sudden business trip and you texted me that you wanted some time and space. I tried to call you after that to convince you for us to be together, but your phone went right to voicemail again."

"When was this?" Aria asked bewildered.

"I don't know, like I told Emily, maybe that night of the dance or the morning after?"

Surprised, Aria glanced up to Jason. "You talked to Emily?"

"Yea, when you guys were at her locker the other day. I've been meaning to catch you ever since but you've been avoiding me like the plague," he accused. Unfortunately, Aria didn't have a snappy comeback for that statement because it was true, but why didn't Emily tell her?

Of course, she hadn't really seen much of her friends since she missed school that day after the locker fiasco and she was with Holden just yesterday or today…

"Why would you think I'd want us to take a break?" Aria wondered still slightly confused. Everything he was saying didn't completely add up to her.

"Because we fought the last time we saw each other," he claimed. Sighing, he really looked at her. "Aria, I blew up for the stupidest reason and we both knew that. Plus, I told you, actually, I promised you I would be at this dance and I had to end up cancelling. I know those school functions mean a lot to you and I thought you were upset about that. I would never stand you up."

"Are you sure you called my house phone too?" Aria asked as she thought about all of this.

"Yea, like a dozen times," he told her. Confused on why she didn't get any of his messages that night, she raised her hands and rubbed her forehead.

"Aria!" Ella called. Twisting the knob of the backdoor, she swung it open and was surprised to see Jason standing near there. "Yea mom?" Aria asked, cutting her awkward staring silence.

"You should probably come in now, it's getting late," she instructed in a motherly tone.

"Okay," Aria said pulling the blanket off of her.

"Did you need help?" Ella asked watching her daughter.

"I got it," Aria stated, holding her book and blanket in one arm while standing up on the other. Her ankle was doing better with each day, along with her head and other wounds. "I'll see you around Jason," she murmured before going in the house and shutting the door behind her.

The next morning Aria was up early laying in bed trying to think of the predicament she was in. Jason claimed that he tried calling her many times, and maybe he did. Maybe she didn't check her phone that night when she waited for him. But then why wasn't the home phone working? Groaning, Aria turned on her side and felt her thoughts wander again. 'A' had messed with him; pretending to be her and saying she wanted space. But that didn't make sense either. Why was 'A' warning her about hurting Jason on the one hand but trying to break the relationship at the same time? 'A' was acting so bipolar…nothing was making sense anymore.

Now moving to sit up in bed, Aria leaned back against her headboard and tried to think. This whole time – getting mad at him and thinking she was stood up wasn't real, but then what about the Spencer thing. Feeling there was no explanation for that, Aria had a surge of anger inside of her. There was no foul play with 'A' involved in that one. This issue seemed to unravel by itself.

She should have seen it truthfully. The way that Spencer suddenly stopped hating on Jason and the way Jason always tried to talk to Spencer and get her to be somewhat cordial to him. Feeling overwhelmingly stupid, Aria pushed herself out of bed and got ready for the long school day.

"So I heard Jason came to see you last night," Spencer spoke when she met Aria at her locker.

"Yep," she sighed.

"So how did it go?" the Hastings wondered.

"Fine. He just came over to apologize."

Getting a weird vibe, Spencer ignored it and continued to push. "So did you forgive him?"

"Maybe," Aria shrugged, closing her locker before leaning against it.

"Okay, what's with you?" Spencer asked checking out Aria for any weirdness.

"Nothing, I think that I really have to evaluate this for myself. 'A' messed with me for a reason and maybe it was because of Jason."

"So…you're thinking Jason could be 'A'?" Spencer asked puzzled. "Aria, for the width of time you two dated each other, I can almost positively say that he's not 'A'."

"Why? You always used to think he was," Aria blamed. "Just because he's your half brother now means that he can't be the one blackmailing us."

"Woah, okay, what made you wake up on the wrong side of the bed today?" Spencer snapped in a confused tone.

"Nothing," Aria sighed. "I just need more time to think."

"Okay," Spencer said trying to get off topic. "You can have as much time as you want – no one is trying to push you. And I'm here if you want to talk…"

"Thanks," Aria flatly smiled before walking off to class without even a goodbye to Spencer. Aria arrived to Physics with a groan. She didn't mean to be mean to her friend but just this whole thing with 'A' and Jason had set her off. She was so mad at the DiLaurentis for not telling her Spencer was his half sister, and she was upset that 'A' had fooled her so easily. Bearing her way till lunchtime, Aria decided to skip out on the girl chat in the cafeteria and go to the library.

"The library?" Hanna repeated with a furrowed eyebrow after Aria left them.

"I think its because she's mad at me," Spencer groaned while picking at her salad.

"Why would she be mad at you?" Emily wondered.

"Because of the whole sibling thing with Jason. I tried talking to her about it today and I think I made the whole situation worse."

"For who exactly?" Hanna asked trying to clarify the people she was talking about.

"Me…Jason…probably Aria," Spencer grumbled.

"So Aria's mad because you and Jason are siblings?" Emily asked still mixed up.

"No, I'm not quite sure why she's mad but I think I pried a little too far."

"Do you think they will get back together?" Hanna wondered after a bit of silence.

"I wasn't really sure if they were officially apart," Emily claimed.

"Me either," a male voice claimed behind them.

"Jason," Spencer stated in surprise. Both Hanna and Emily seemed embarrassed of their words.

"Have you guys seen Aria?" he wondered.

"She went to the library," Hanna quipped for him.

"Did she eat?" he asked them worriedly.

"I think she might have brought her lunch with her?" Emily guessed, while her other friends didn't have a clue.

"Thanks," he said before walking off to find her.

"Well, lets hope that goes well," Spencer muttered before they moved onto a different topic.

Aria hid in the way back of the library where nobody would be. Peace and silence was what she was aiming for, and it was just what she was able to get. For a while she sat there on the floor thinking about what she was going to do with her life. At one point she had everything she wanted and now? Now she was just an angry hurt mess.

"Never thought you would be the one to hide," Jason claimed as he walked up to her.

"How'd you find me?" she wondered.

"We seem to be the talk of your lunch table," he announced coming to sit down with her. Aria let out a dry laugh and checked off the thought in her head. She knew that that would happen. As soon as she announced she was off to the library she was given weird looks.

"What are you doing here Ar?" Jason questioned as she sat there all alone.

"Trying to figure out my life," she sighed, leaning her head back against the stack of books.

"What is there to solve?" he asked.

"A lot," she claimed. Glancing away from him, she picked at her knapsack.

"Talk to me," he pushed, nudging her softly.

"I can't," she spoke sadly. The phrase felt like a stab to the gut for Jason and he swallowed his emotions stirring inside him so he could ask why. "I don't know where we stand anymore," she replied.

"We can still figure it out," he declared softly. "Its not like we are out of time or our relationship is a one time thing."

Keeping quiet, Aria wondered if that was really true. To her, their relationship with each other did feel like a one time thing. It was so epic that she worried that if they each had a second chance, it would be too screwed up to continue. Plus, Aria had to face the fact that she wasn't big on second chances.

"We used to tell each other everything – we shouldn't stop now," he told her in the silence. Thinking back to the times they had together, what he said felt true. Except for the subject of 'A', Aria did tell him everything. Of course, he didn't though. Now she wanted to scoff at the statement. She told him everything, but he didn't.

"Were you ever going to tell me Spencer was your half sister?" Aria blurted out with blame.

Stunned at what he was hearing, Jason took a few seconds to gather his thoughts. "I tried to think of every scenario possible of why you wouldn't tell me or why you felt the need to wait, but what I came up with just…didn't make sense," she sighed. "I get that you might have wanted to keep it a secret till we got further along in our relationship but I never thought…"

Aria stopped, unsure of what she was really saying; and it was until the bell ring that she finally ended her sentence. "I guess I just never thought your distrust of me would hurt this bad." Getting up from her spot in the library, she swiftly scooped up her bag and walked out from the library with Jason still sitting there frozen.

More time seemed to pass and between work and school, Aria barely realized it was now Friday. She had a doctor's appointment in the afternoon, which allowed her to stay home and have a day to herself instead of suffering through the long school day.

Ever since 'A' had pushed her down the stairs, she found it harder and harder to push through the day. Her happiness was on low, except for when she was at work, and she couldn't seem to control her emotions.

Cleaning up her lunch plate, Aria glanced at the clock and found it was almost time to leave. Taking her keys, purse and phone in hand, she made sure she didn't miss anything and locked up the front door on her way to the hospital.

"So how is the lovely lady today?" Wren asked as he came into see her.

"Hoping she can wear heels," Aria stated with a hopeful look. Wren let out a chuckle and nodded. "Well let's check everything out and see shall we?"

Nodding, Aria spent a few hours at the hospital, running some last few follow up tests and charting her progress.

"It seems your stomach has fully healed," Wren claimed while looking at the scar. "How's the wrist?" he wondered.

"Its been fine, no problems," she smiled as she held it up. Bending down to her ankle, Wren carefully glanced at it. "And the ankle?"

"Nothing too bad," Aria claimed.

"Aria," Wren said elongating her voice in his accent as he glanced up at her. "You know it's in your best interest if you tell me everything right?"

Sighing, Aria stared at Wren for a while before giving in. "I still feel a bit of pain but nothing I can't handle," she quickly put.

With a very doctorly look on his face, he had her get up from the bed and show him when and how badly it hurt.

"Please say I can wear heels again," she pleaded as he wrote a few notes down on his clipboard.

"If I do, you have to promise to start gradual. Don't just jump into them right away."

"Wont jump," she said repeatedly nodding, "I'll just slide right in, easily and smoothly," she joked.

Cracking a smile, the two looked at each other. "I'll wear them in moderation," she promised.

"For only a few hours at a time until your ankle can build up the tolerance again. I don't want you coming back in here injured and hurt."

"Yes sir," she smiled to him while getting giddy about her good news.

"As for your head things are looking good. Did you end up finishing the bottle of pain pills I prescribed for you?"

"No," she said getting back to being serious, "I mostly tried to handle the pain. I'm almost positive I still have about half of the meds left."

"Okay well good. Then you can stop taking those and I don't think we need to see each other again Ms. Montgomery," Wren smiled before signing off on her chart.

"Hey Wren? Can I ask you a question?" Aria wondered.

"Sure," he said sticking his pen in his coat pocket.

"Do you believe people are meant for each other?"

"Pardon?" he questioned with a tilt of his head.

"I just…I don't know. You and Spencer have a way of finding each other again and again. You must have a reason for continually being with her right?"

He hesitated for a few seconds, "yea sure. But may I ask what you are getting at?"

"Love," she muttered. "It's complicated."

"I think it's meant to be," Wren stated, "if it were easy, there would be missing passion and connection. To establish something real…it has to be dramatic. It has to feel real in order to be real."

Watching her sit in silence, Wren let out a breath and set his arms at his sides. "It's different for everyone Aria. If you have something special with someone you shouldn't hold back."

"Even if it's dangerous?"

"Is someone hurting you?" Wren asked with a furrowed eyebrow.

"What? No," she answered quickly with raised eyebrow, "I just mean dangerous like you feel like you could lose something if you're not with the person."

"I'm not sure if I understand what you mean," he stated, pulling up a chair.

"That fatal attraction type of thing – but its not really fatal," she added with a rush of breath. "Is it always worth it to deal with the talk and challenges that come with a relationship? I mean, are people supposed to feel like they belong with the other person? Do you feel that way about Spencer?"

Baffled, he tried to take in her questions. "Well…I-I…" Wren closed his mouth and tried to start again – this time making it a little less personal while also trying to answer her questions. "Depending on the risk, it might be worth it to take it," he acknowledged. For some reason there were so many cryptic words flying around the room, he couldn't seem to get his head straight. "And I'm not sure about what Spencer and I feel for each other. But for now, it's enough for both of us. I'm not saying you should ever settle Aria, but there is a time and place to pick a fight or sort through words of an argument and sometimes you have to let them go."

"Does that help?" he questioned when she kept quiet.

"Yea, thanks," she slowly nodded. Pushing back on his rolly chair, he got up and made sure she was getting down from her place too.

"I'll see you around Aria. Tell Spencer I said hello yes?"

"Sure," she mumbled as she watched him walk away.

"So?" her mother asked as she came through the door.

"I'm good to wear heels again," she faintly smiled as she set her things down.

"That's great sweetie," Ella smiled but then soon started to frown, "but I thought you would look a little more happy."

"I am," Aria pushed, trying to make her smile seem more believable. "I just have be sort of gradual into them and they can't be for too long periods of time. I can also stop taking the pain pills for good and everything else looks okay," she informed her mom.

"So no more rechecks?" Ella wondered.

"Nope," Aria confirmed. "Not unless I run into any more problems and I don't plan on doing so."

"Good," Ella smiled again, this time running a hand over her daughter's hair. Aria had seemed a bit more glum these past few times she had interacted with her and she wondered why. "Is there else you want to talk about?"

"No, just tired," Aria sighed, snuggling into her mom. Touched by her daughter's actions, Ella made sure the two of them felt comfy and relaxed for the rest of the day.

"Mike," Jason rushed out when he opened the door. "Is Aria around?"

"She's sleeping on the couch," he stated flatly. As he came walking back in the house after his lacrosse practice, he saw his mom sneaking out from Aria's grasp. She had must of fallen asleep on her and now Ella had to go out and grab dinner for them. So as their mom left, Mike took back the protective brother stance.

It was easy to grasp when Jason saw him after he opened the door and he knew he was doing it too. It was the reason Mike slammed the door in his face when Aria got home from the hospital and it was the reason he was never out playing ball or at the center anymore. Mike was a smart kid – picking up that his older sister was hurt and it was because of him.

"Can you give her a message for me? And please make sure this gets to her?" Jason asked of the teen.

"Sure," Mike shrugged.

Hesitant, Jason trusted the junior Montgomery enough to relay his message to Aria. "I'm being called out of town again – just for a few days, maybe a week at tops, but can you tell Aria? I came over here to tell her myself so we wouldn't run into communication errors again but…"

"Yea, I got it. Don't worry," Mike said lightening up his attitude a bit. "I'll tell her – promise."

"Thanks," Jason said. Glancing into the house again, he hoped Aria would wake up. But instead, there was silence and Jason turned his back to the door. Sullenly walking down the steps, he checked his watch and saw he was going to be late to catch his plane.