I've been lacking the motivation to update. Sorry about that. Here it is. The story is far from over.

"It's going to be one hell of a year," Hanna ground out, slamming her locker shut. It was August 23, 2012, the first day of their senior year of high school.

"Hey, you're not the only one with problems," Spencer shot back.

"Yeah," answered Hanna dryly. "At least yours isn't standing twenty feet away." Hanna glanced to where Kate stood by her locker talking to several guys from their grade. She sighed and leaned against the wall. "At least I don't have any classes with her."

Aria came up to them, her heels making no sound in the busy hallway of Rosewood High. "What's up guys?"

"The bitch is here to ruin my life," Hanna moaned inclining her head Kate's way.

Spencer rolled her eyes and looked at Aria, "I already told her there were worse things going on."

"Yeah, how are you holding on Spence?" asked Aria as she began to work on the combination lock for her locker on the other side of Spencer's.

"Since Melissa lost the baby, life has been," Spencer paused as she thought about the word she wanted to use, "unpleasant in the Hastings household."

"Are sure that's all? You've been acted kind of weird lately," said Hanna.

Spencer slammed her locker shut as she gathered books in her arms. "That's all." She turned and looked at Aria. "Where's Emily?"

"Morning swim practice," supplied Aria as she rummaged through her bag. "She convinced that extra practices will help take seconds off of her times. She's been really worried about scholarships and college and stuff."

"I think she's running away from everything with Maya," answered Spencer, "she was so messed up after all that went down."

"We're all messed up," snorted Hanna as she applied lip-gloss, looking at her compact mirror to do so. "I have to deal with that bitch of a stepmother, you, Spencer, have to deal with whatever's going on at home that you're not telling us, and you," she said looking up at Aria, "are in a relationship but not in a relationship with your neighbor slash teacher who happens to be nine years older than you."

"Hey," protested Aria and Spencer together.

"He's not my teacher anymore," said Aria.

"Whatever," answered Spencer, "I need to get to class." Aria and Hanna watched as she walked away.

"What's eating her?" asked Hanna

"Beats me," answered Aria, shrugging. Hearing the bell ring they followed Spencer into class.

It was a typical first day of school. Introductions were given homework was assigned. Mrs. Benson took over Ezra's class with unbridled enthusiasm, and Mr. Bellisario, in his signature monotone voice, conducted math class, and Mrs. Hale gave them a quick lecture on government, making it clear she wanted to be anywhere but at school. As lunch time rolled around, Hanna found Caleb in the courtyard of school. Kissing him on the cheek as a greeting, she sat on the bench next to him.

"What are you working on?" she asked, looking over to his laptop screen.

"I think I may have found my dad," he answered quietly.

"That's great," Hanna gushed, but when Caleb remained silent she added, "It is great isn't it?"

"I'm not sure yet," he answered closing his computer with a click. He wrapped his arm around her. "I'm fine," he said, answering her unspoken question.

"You sure?"

"Yeah," he responded kissing her on the forehead. Just then, Aria walked by them texting away on her cell phone. She didn't notice them sitting there and she looked straight ahead, distracted.

"She has it so easy," said Hanna absently.

Caleb looked at her and raised an eyebrow, "What makes you say that?"

Hanna leaned in to him closer and looked up, "How many people meet their soul mates when they're twelve?"

"I don't think that necessarily makes her life easy," said Caleb easily, "her life might be harder than you give her credit for."

"Well at least her parents didn't get divorced and she doesn't have to deal with a bitch of a stepsister."

"Hanna," Caleb warned softly, he looked to where Kate stood on the other side of the courtyard.

Hanna shrugged, "She's going to make my life miserable. Just wait and see," she promised.

Caleb sighed. "It's going to be an interesting school year, isn't it?"

"Definitely," answered Hanna. She seemed less than happy.

After school, Aria drove home, her mother was going to be at a faculty meeting for the rest of the afternoon and Mike had lacrosse practice. She parked in her driveway, but instead of going into her house, she crossed the yard and went into Ezra's. After knocking the door tentatively she walked in. Setting her bag by the front door she walked to Ezra's study. The door was open and his back was to her.

Making sure that he could hear her as her heels clicked against the hardwood floors she leaned over him and peered to see what he was writing. Scowling, he grabbed the paper and held it as far away from her as he possibly could, "Sheesh, Aria, haven't I told you not to do that?"

Aria shrugged and sat on the clean spot on his desk, "Maybe once or twice," she answered dryly.

"You get to read it with everybody else," said Ezra, filing the papers into his desk drawer.

"Why?" whined Aria.

"Because," answered Ezra simply, his face relaxing. "How was school?"

"It was school," she answered. "Kate, Hanna's stepsister, is going there now."

"Anything else happening? I kind of miss that first day feeling when everyone comes back from summer vacation."

"I missed you," answered Aria simply.

"I missed you too," he said softly. "Who's your new teacher?"

"Mrs. Benson. She's new. We're starting off with The Dubliners."

"Old news, huh?" said Ezra. Getting up from his desk chair he looked on one the bookshelves to where an older-looking book sat. Giving it to her, he said, "Here's something to keep you busy, then."

"A Room of One's Own," read Aria slowly, "Virginia Woolf. I like her," declared Aria smiling.

"I thought you did," said Ezra, sitting back down in his chair.

Looking at the book closely, Aria flipped through the pages. "Ezra," she exclaimed suddenly. "I can't take this."

"Why not?" he asked lazily, leaning back in his chair.

"It's a first edition," she said breathlessly.

"So?" he asked looking at her.

"So?" she echoed. "So? It's worth an insane of amount of money." She put the book down on his desk next to her and jumped down. "I can't accept this."

"Aria," said Ezra reaching for her hand, he looked down for a moment to where skin met skin. It was the first time they had touched each other in months. "If I want to spoil you, please let me," he begged. "It's all I can do right now."

Aria looked at the book and then looked at him and into his pleading eyes. "All right," she sighed. "But I'm going to be scared I'm going to ruin the pages." She shook her head. "It's too much, Ezra. Don't do it again."

"Aria," he looked down at his socked feet for a moment before looking back up at her, "It's all I can give you right now," he repeated. It was all he could say.

"Tell you what," she said, letting go of his hand, "Buy me regular old books from the regular bookstore from now on and we'll be even."

"All right," he answered, but he hid his smile. She had no idea how much she was allowing him to do with that statement.

"I have to go," said walking towards the door, "I told my mom I would start dinner."

"Alright," answered Ezra turning back to his work.

"See you at dinner?" she asked hopefully, looking back at him.

He shook his head, "Probably not tonight. I was hoping to get this chapter done before bed."

"Ok, then," she answered. "See you later."

"Always," he replied.

That night after Aria had eaten dinner with her family and done her homework, she sat on her bed reading the book Ezra gave her when her phone rang.

"Hello," she answered.

"Aria," answered Emily softly.

"Hey, Em. What's up?" asked Aria, sitting up straighter in her bed.

"Have you talked to Spencer lately?"

"Not since lunch. Why?" asked Aria worriedly.

"I was running by her house earlier today and Jason DiLaurentis was in her front yard. They were arguing. And Mr. Hastings was arguing with them."

"The Hastings arguing in public," repeated Aria incredulously. "Something's really wrong over there. It has to do with more than Ian's suicide."

"You don't think…" Emily didn't complete the thought.

"I don't think what, Em?" asked Aria.

"You don't think that Jason might be Mr. Hastings' son, too?" questioned Emily tentatively.

"No," said Aria confidently, "No. She would have told us."

Emily sighed on the other end of the line, "It's only this is the first time she's talked to her father in months."

"Yes, but…" Aria struggled to think of another explanation, coming up with nothing she asked Emily, "It couldn't be, could it?"

"You know," said Emily carefully. "Jason was at Ian's funeral. He didn't look happy about something, and I thought," she paused, "I thought I saw him and Spencer talking together at some point."

"Maybe," Aria admitted. She waited a moment before continuing, "We should let Spencer tell us what's going on."

"Yeah," answered Emily, "I'm really worried about her."

"I'm worried about you to, Em," said Aria, changing the subject. "You spent the day either in swim practice or in class. Are you sure you're okay about Maya?"

Aria heard shuffling on the other end of the phone before Emily replied, "I know I'll be okay eventually, but everything had just started to work out with my parents. My mom was finally coming around to the idea of Maya and then," Emily let out a deep breath, "I just need to focus on college right now."

"Maybe we all do," said Aria, glancing at her clock. "See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, see you at school. Good night, Aria."

"Good night, Emily."

Downstairs Byron and Ella were watching TV on the sofa together when Byron flicked the screen off. "We weren't really watching anyway," he said to her.

"We weren't," she agreed. "What's on your mind?"

"What kind of book is Ezra writing?" asked Byron looking at the window to the house next door.

"He told me that he's taking Elliot's journals and turning them into a novel," answered Ella, she leaned her head against her husband's shoulder. "Why?"

"Curiosity," I suppose, answered Byron turning his attention back to his wife.

"Are you really going to be okay about Aria and Ezra being together?" she asked.

"When the time comes," answered Byron carefully.

"When the time comes," agreed Ella easily, "But until then?"

"I guess it's okay. I mean I guess I'm okay with it," he amended. "He's not her teacher anymore."

"I feel a but coming on," Ella replied dryly.

"Do you blame me?" he asked, his tone slightly exasperated. "He's nine years older than she is."

Ella sighed. "We've been over this."

"I know. I know," said Byron, forcing himself to remain calm. "But she's my little girl."

"She's my little girl, too," answered Ella. "And she could do a lot worse than Ezra Fitz."

"You mean, Ezra Fitzgerald," corrected Byron.

"No, I mean Ezra Fitz. She could do a lot worse than the boy next to door who's been sweet and considerate to her ever since they met."

"Except he's not a boy," muttered Byron.

"What was that?" asked Ella.

Byron cleared his throat. "I said that that's true."

"I thought you did," retorted Ella. She got up to the couch. "See you in bed?" She asked as she began to climb up the stairs.

"I'll be there in a few minutes," answered Byron as he headed to the kitchen. In the deserted dining room, he shook his head and said aloud, "I hope he's the man that Ella seems to think he is."

August 23, 2012

We never know how life is going to turn out. A chance interaction can affect a person for a lifetime, little ripples of water turn into bigger and bigger circles. A mistake made years ago can haunt years later. I wonder if it's chance that gives and takes from us what it would. Do the Fates still spin our destinies? Maybe it's man that creates his own path in life. Or in my case, woman.

It's easy to blame our parents for things that we inherit, the problems and pains of this world. It's easy to blame their parents and their parents until we go back to Adam and Eve. But this doesn't solve anything except spread the blame around. If it continues this way then my children will blame me and their children will blame them until another hundred generations have lived and died on this earth.

It's much harder to blame ourselves for the bad things that happen, and most of the time it's not our fault for every bad thing that happens in our life. But that doesn't mean it's not not our fault either. I don't know what I'm rambling about. I guess I just think about Hanna who's had to deal with a family she doesn't want to be a part of her life, a family she never asked to be hers. And I think about Emily who is finally coming to terms with who she is before all that was ripped away from her. And I wonder about Spencer who has been through more in the last year than most people experience in al lifetime, and who's still hiding secrets from her friends, secrets she shouldn't be burdened with.

The past can never be erased or undone. We can only move forward by learning from other people's mistakes and learning from our own. Today was the first day of the rest of my life. That sounds cliché, I know. But somehow it's true. I've entered a new phase, a new something that is more than just my senior year of high school. I don't know what's going to come next, what the Fates will weave for me or what the throw of the dice will be. But I, Aria Montgomery, am going to let whatever happens happen. That doesn't mean I'll let it define me, but it does mean that I will let it to help me grow and move forward.