A/N Please Review! I really appreciate them. Plus, they keep me motivated. For those of you who were wondering/commenting I'm currently an English major. I'm nearly done with my degree and I plan to go on to graduate school for English. What I post on here is just for fun (and for character study) and is usually a first draft. I'm keep making up the story as I go along. I do not own PLL.

November 23, 2013. Aria sat in the kitchen of the Montgomery house and watched as her mother peeled potatoes for the next day's Thanksgiving dinner. It was her first time back since she had left home and she was enjoying the familiarity of the scene.

"Are you sure you don't need help?" Aria asked Ella.

"I'm sure," Ella responded, "I'd much rather hear you talk about school." She grabbed another potato from the bag and started to peel it.

"I declared an English major."

"I knew that," replied Ella listlessly.

"My roommate's name is Lucy. She's a musician. She says she's going to win American Idol one day."

"Really?" Ella didn't seem very interested.

"My favorite class is Literature by Women. I read Persuasion last week. I meet Ian in that class too. He's nice. All-American boy. From a military family, that sort of thing."

"Anything else you want to tell me?" Ella began to chop the potatoes she had peeled.

"Ummm," Aria stalled. "How's Rosewood High?" she asked instead.

"Aria," her mother warned.

Aria sighed in defeat. "Fine. Ezra and I went on our first real date. On my birthday."

Ella deliberately set the knife down on the cutting board, turned to her daughter, and gave her a bright smile. "Finally," she said, raising her hands towards heaven.

"You're okay with this?" Aria watched as her mother came to sit across from her at the table.

"More than okay with this," Ella told her daughter firmly. "What happened?"

"Well," began Aria slowly, "In an abbreviated version of events—we got into an argument. Spencer got involved. She made us talk to one other. We lived happily ever after. Maybe," she finished.

"Where did you go for your birthday?"

"Coney Island," pronounced Aria with a smile. "It was fun. I got to wear jeans, and nobody stared at us."

"Of course not, sweetie," said Ella slowly. "Why would they?"

Aria looked out the window for a moment before turning her gaze back to Ella. She shrugged. "I just expected it. He's nine years older than I am. He was my teacher. He's a Fitzgerald."

Ella took her daughter's hand in hers before answering, "There in the city, nobody knows those things."

Aria peered at her mother, "You're glad I went away, aren't you?" she realized.

Ella nodded her head slowly, "I am. I'm glad that you realize that, to the outside world, there's nothing wrong with your relationship now," she emphasized. "But I'm also glad that you're experiencing a little bit of the outside world."

"Mom, we lived in Iceland for a year," said Aria pointedly.

"But you're an adult now," replied Ella. Aria contemplated that thought for a moment before asking another question.

"We're you upset," she asked carefully, "when you figured out that I was seeing Ezra even though I was his student?"

Ella looked her daughter hard and took a moment to brush the hair out of her eyes. "If it had been anyone other than you—someone he known and trusted for years—I think I would have felt betrayed. But it just felt right. And now," she paused for a moment, "it feels normal."

"Not the typical girl next door story, huh?"

Ella shook her head, "Not typical at all."

"What does Dad think?"

"Your father is…concerned. But now that you've graduated, I think he's handling it better. Just don't get married too soon."

"Married?" Aria ground out, stunned.

"Honey, you didn't think Ezra was going to lead you on all this time and then not marry you, did you?"

"I just, I just never heard anyone say it out loud before," said Aria.

"Maybe it's time you start thinking about it," Ella suggested. She squeezed Aria's hand before letting go and getting up from the table. "Oh, and Aria?" she said, turning back to her daughter. "No sleepovers at Ezra's. That would give your father a heart attack." She turned back around and gave her attention to the potatoes. Shocked, Aria could only stare at her mother.

That night, Aria wrote in her journal Dad and marriage, circling each of those words and putting question marks next to them.

The rest of vacation passed swiftly, and, to Aria, it almost felt like old times. With the exception of Emily's absence, it seemed that Rosewood never changed. She even had a night in with her friends at Hanna's house on November 25.

"What's so funny?" asked Spencer. She was curled up on Hanna's bed, staring at her friends as they sat on the floor and painted their nails.

"You," laughed Hanna. "You've loosened up so much I hardly recognize you."

"What about you?" shot back Spencer. "Who knew you were the family type. You've hardly stopped talking about Caleb's family since you got home."

"Children, children," Aria shook her head, "stop bickering."

"You don't get off so easy," said Spencer.

"Yeah," echoed Hanna, "I saw you and Fitz holding hands in public. Right in the middle of Rosewood. Risqué,"

"Are you blushing? You are," Spencer laughed.

"Yeah, well, you're the one who brought the two of us together."

"Really?" asked Hanna. She grew serious. "Do tell."

"It started out with Aria jumping Fitz and getting him to have sex with her," began Spencer.

"Spencer!" interrupted Aria. "Don't tell her that. I don't want my parents finding out."

"Are you saying I can't keep a secret?" asked Hanna.

"Well," let out Aria.

"I will have you know that I haven't told you guys about Caleb's dad," Hanna clamped her hand over her mouth.

"This is why we don't tell you anything," Spencer piped up. "Anyway, so Fitz and Aria. Did you know that his real name is…"

"Spencer!"shrieked Aria. "No," she said firmly.

Spencer lifted her arms up helplessly, "She's going to find out anyway."

"I'm going to find out what?" asked Hanna.

"That Toby and Spencer hooked up at her house when her parents weren't home," supplied Aria. She looked at Spencer and shrugged, "Payback."

"So, Caleb and I do it all the time," Hanna stared back at her friends innocently.

"Well, Melissa didn't walk in on you did she?" replied Aria.

"Aria," let out Spencer, throwing a pillow in her direction. Aria threw it right back. Soon Hanna was involved and hairbrushes and nail polish lay forgotten on the floor. Aria's journal entry for November 25 read very little. Instead, a taped photograph of her with her friends covered the page.

November 27, Sunday, the last day she would be at home before returning to school, Aria and Ezra walked down the main drag of Rosewood in the middle of the day, holding hands and smiling at each other. They looked at the windows of shops and stopped at The Brew for a cup of coffee. It had opened up since Aria had gone away to school and as soon as she walked in she liked the ambiance and feel of the place. She let Ezra order her coffee as she looked for a place to sit.

She was walking to a back corner when she spotted Jason on one of the sofas. He spotted her, and she took a moment to say hello, deciding that it would be rude not to greet him.

"Hello," she said politely.

He got up from his seat, "Hi."

"Spencer said that you were working in Philadelphia," Aria offered.

"Yeah, I was working with my dad's, my stepdad's," he corrected himself, "construction company. I'm part of the architecture firm." His eyes flickered to where Ezra stood in line by the counter. "I haven't seen you since I went to visit Spencer."

"It's been busy," Aria paused, "I'm sorry, I…"

"You're not available," Jason supplied, "I know." He looked and saw that Ezra was waving to Aria and watched as she smiled back at him. "He used to be my teacher," he stated thoughtfully.

Aria looked at him carefully. "He's my neighbor," was all she said. "I knew him before he was your teacher."

"And yours too, I suppose," said Jason. He offered Aria a small smile.

"I'm sorry," she responded. She looked to an empty table in the corner, "I'll be sure to tell Spencer I saw you. It's was nice seeing you."

"You too," said Jason. He sat back on the couch and later watched as Aria and Ezra held each other's hands and talked, oblivious to the fact that the world was watching them.

Later that night, Aria and Ezra were cuddling on the couch in his living room watching a movie when Aria asked, "Do I have to go back to school tomorrow?"

Ezra paused the movie before answering, "I would be very disappointed if you didn't."

"I know, I know," groaned Aria. "I'm smart. I'm talented. I shouldn't waste that. Same old story everyone else hears."

"But you're not everyone." He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "You're my Aria." She giggled.

"I used to think I wouldn't like that," she mused, "being someone else's."

"It's only fair," he protested, "I'm yours."

"Does that mean you'll give me whatever I want?"

"Whatever," Ezra affirmed.

"Let's take off to Paris," said Aria.

"Alright."

"No, let's go to Brazil."

"Okay."

"Buy me a Porsche?"

"If you want one."

"How about a cruise in the Caribbean?"

"Fine by me."

"Let me move in?" Her tone didn't change but Ezra sensed her body language. She suddenly became tense, expecting a serious answer. He turned so he could face her.

"I thought your mom said no sleepovers."

"How do you know that?" asked Aria.

"Because your dad told me the same thing." Ezra sighed and considered. "We're going to do this the right way. We'll date. I'll propose. We'll get married. Then, you'll move in," he finished.

"Marriage," said Aria, "that's the second time I've heard someone say that about us this vacation."

"Does it scare you?" he asked.

"Does it scare you?" she returned.

"I'm twenty-eight years old," he reminded Aria softly. "The idea of marriage doesn't intimidate me the way it once did."

"It frightens me a little," Aria admitted, "mostly because I've never thought of it before. But the idea you," she continued, "that doesn't scare me one bit."

"Good," said Ezra leaning back into the couch. "So we're agreed."

"We're agreed on what exactly?" asked Aria, raising an eyebrow.

"That one day we'll get married, one day we'll move in. But we're not ready for it now."

"One day we'll be a family," added Aria.

Ezra shook his head, "We're already a family now." Aria instinctively leaned in closer to him, laying her head on his chest.

"I guess we are."

November 28, 2013

I go back to Columbia tomorrow for classes on Tuesday. Spencer's ready, but I know she'll miss Toby. I'll miss Ezra too. He's staying here for now. He said something about a couple of projects he's working on. He's promised to come visit often. He gave me a key to his apartment and said Spencer and I were allowed to use it whenever we wanted. No parties, was all he asked.

Ezra once told me that I should redecorate his apartment. I didn't take him seriously at the time, but maybe now I should. His place seems too gray and modern. Formal, that's a good word for it. It's not his taste at all. Or mine. Maybe that can be something I work on while he's gone. I'll surprise him for his birthday! That's plenty of time to get everything done.

The countdown to Christmas vacation begins. Three major papers and an oral presentation stand between me and semester break. I'm counting down the days.