Sorry this has taken so long to get out. I haven't been sleeping much at all lately. Literally about an hour or two a night, sometimes less. And sleep deprivation doesn't do much in way or getting something written that I DON'T hate. But I got loads of sleep this weekend, and I'm already about halfway done with the next chapter, which picks up when Aria and her mother are at the movies! I haven't said this the past couple of chapters (I'm always in such a hurry to post, and I feel like crap for it.) but THANK YOU so much to those that have reviewed, added this to their alerts, favorited, etc. I appreciate it so much. I've let this idea run wild in my mind, and write it more for myself than anything but it's a great reward to know other people enjoy it as well.

The other liars haven't been involved much up until this point, but next chapter that's going to change. Have a great week, everyone!

It had been three days since Aria had approached her parents about potentially working at the library. They hadn't brought it up again and she hadn't felt the need to add salt to the wounds she had created. Instead, the past three days had passed as if nothing had even happened. As if Byron hadn't called her a slut and as if Ella hadn't told her that Elliot would keep her from reaching her full potential. The words had yet to escape Aria's mind, but she knew better than to let them know that. As long as she walked on egg shells for the next few days, everything would still be fine when she actually started working. Walking on eggshells, however, was not working with Spencer. Since that night, Spencer had been nothing if not determined to know every little detail about Aria's time in Iceland. "Why did you guys leave so suddenly? What did you do while you were there? Why would you take a job out there? Why didn't you go to a regular school there? Why didn't you date anyone?" Spencer hadn't asked specifically about Elliot, but Aria knew that the girl with a genius-rated IQ was getting to the bottom of things.

Emily hadn't exactly been acting normally around her, either. It made Aria wonder if Spencer had talked to her about Monday night over the last three days. During fourth period that day, after she'd turned in her paper and waited for Ezra to begin the class discussion, out of the corner of her eye she saw Emily fidgeting in the seat beside her. Emily normally was a worrier, always overly-concerned about on thing or another, but Aria could tell that the girl was purposely avoiding looking in Aria's direction.

"Em? Everything ok?" Aria asked. "What's wrong?"

"What?" Emily flitted her eyes between Spencer, who sat in the front seat of her row and Aria. "Nothing. Just this whole A thing. I got a note in my locker this morning."

"What?" Aria turned in her seat, her concern switching immediately from her own secret to Emily's. "What did it say?"

"I can't tell you, exactly." Emily looked down at her hands which were neatly folded on top of her desk. She thumb wrestled herself, struggling with the words to say. "But this thing that A knows… nobody can know, Aria. If people find out they… they just can't find out. And that's exactly what A is planning to make happen."

"Em, whatever it is, you can tell me." Aria focused on Emily seriously until she finally met her gaze. Emily had been the first to approach her and fall back into friendship with her when she got back from Iceland. Aria would be damned if she didn't make sure Emily knew without a doubt that she was there for her no matter what. "Or Spencer, or Hanna. You know we're not going to judge you."

"Really?" Emily said, the vaguest hint of skepticism in her voice. "Well, why don't you tell us whatever your secret is, then?"

Ezra called the class to order then, saving Aria from having to respond, but her mind was now far from AP English. Emily had to have talked to Spencer about what was going on with her. Not that Spencer actually knew anything - not indefinitely, at least - but there was no doubt that they were creating theories based on their observations. It hadn't been dismissed from Aria's mind that both Emily had Spencer had been completely awestruck by the resemblance she and Elliot shared. It was definitely stronger than the resemblance she and Mike had. And both of them had felt necessary to point out that resemblance, as if she hadn't noticed it since the moment he'd been placed in her arms.

Aria could feel beads of sweat collecting at her hairline as she went over every possible scenario in her head. Spencer had agreed to help her with their math course whenever she needed, but that meant Spencer spending more and more time at the house, more time around Elliot. The entire situation was a double-edged sword. On one edge of the blade, everyone would know the truth and she wouldn't have to be paranoid of people somehow finding out. On the other edge, her family could be torn into smaller pieces than could be repaired if anyone found out too soon. But, when was too soon versus when was too late, Aria pondered. If everyone found out now, while she was in school, the word would be that she would never amount to anything. If not until after graduation, people would say she had been a liar. Which, in all actuality, was just another 'truth'. And, as much as Aria wished otherwise, she wasn't quite ready to deal with the consequences of taking a dare.

"Aria?" Ezra called out, snapping Aria from her trance. As she looked up from the spot on her desk that her eyes had been trained on, she could see that everyone's eyes were fixated on her. Ezra must have been asking her a question, but she hadn't the faintest clue about what.

"What?" She said blankly, unsure what else she really could say. She hadn't been listening and she'd been caught.

"Well, you wrote your character study on Calpurnia. What made you come to that decision?" Ezra furrowed his brow, unsure as to why Aria had just completely spaced out. He'd been asking opinions on why certain characters had been chosen as the subject of the papers he had assigned earlier in the week and though Aria normally was very alert, today she'd completely zoned him and looked paler than a ghost.

"Well, because she's not anyone else's first choice because we barely know her." Aria said. "Everything we know about her is based solely on Scout's observations of her because she's the one telling the story, but just because that's all Scout sees doesn't mean that that's all there is to her. I wanted to understand the person she is outside of the Finches' home. Everyone has a life that's separate from what people around them can see."

"So you don't think that what you see is what you get when it comes to the people around us?" Ezra seemed intrigued by this response and Aria could feel a blush creeping up her neck. "That no one in this room is exactly who they're portraying themselves to be?"

"Exactly." Aria glanced around the room. Most of the students had lived in Rosewood their entire lives. She could name and state a well-known fact about each of her classmates, but in all honesty, she didn't know any of them very well. "I mean, I've known every person in here since at least third grade. I can tell you all kinds of things that I've noticed about them throughout the years, but that doesn't mean I know any of these people from Adam outside of these four walls."

"But, would it be fair to say that because you have known them all these years that you have certain incite into their lives, regardless of how well you know them personally? That Scout has that same incite of Calpurnia's character?" Ezra questioned. He grinned, pleased with Aria's arguments. "Remember, she's been around for most of Scout's life. Scout may know her better than you think she does."

"We all see things about each other that no one else has probably noticed. Scout's no different." Aria agreed. She loved debating character studies, the fact that was no simple black and white answers were part of why she loved English class so much. "But the way she perceives Calpurnia isn't the only was she can be perceived. I mean if you or I met her on the street we wouldn't necessarily see her in the same light that Scout does. I think it's such an interesting thing about this book. When you're reading a story told in first person, especially from the observations of a child, we the readers get to imagine any sort of history for any of the other characters. And the story is actually told in retrospect. Scout may not have even noticed these things about Cal until she was much older."

"Well, I can tell already that I'm looking forward to grading your character study." Ezra's grin grew just slightly, his eyes twinkling playfully and Aria could feel the blush flooding from her neck into her cheeks. Though she was embarrassed, she returned the grin before averting her eyes.

"Let's go with that argument for discussion today." Ezra addressed the rest of the class. "Are there any other characters that you believe aren't exactly who they present themselves to be?"

The rest of the class was spent debating the topic, making arguments for various characters with the other students chiming in here and there. More than once, Aria could feel Spencer's eyes looking back to her. Of course Aria would mention having a secret life when she was, in fact, leading one. Aria didn't speak for the remainder of the period, hoping to keep the attention off of her completely. When the bell rang, she gathered her notebook and her copy of the novel into her bag, rushing to the door as quickly as possible. Not before Ezra called out "Aria can I speak to you for a moment?"

"Yeah, Mr. Fitz?" Aria thought better than to call him Ezra while there were other students within earshot. It stunned her that he was requesting a private conversation with other students within earshot.

"How are you?" Ezra asked simply.

"Fine." Aria replied, not sure what else to say. Ezra quirked an eyebrow at her and she couldn't help but relax herself. She knew he had the next period free, and the rest of the students from her class had already filed out into the hallway. "Yeah, I'm good. How are you?"

"I'm…" Ezra trailed off, walking around the front of his desk and leaned back against it with his weight on his palms. "doing alright. I've been thinking a lot about a trip that I took last weekend. More specifically I've been thinking about one of my students I ran into on that trip who is also leading another life outside of these four walls."

Aria looked to the floor and smiled softly.

"I hear you're trying to become part-time independent study." Ezra stated.

"I am." Aria agreed. This was going to come up sooner or later. All of her teachers had to approve the request before she could start working. Thinking better of her words, she looked back up at him and added with a hint of flirtation in her voice. "That is, if my teachers think I'm capable."

"I don't think so." Ezra said seriously and Aria's face fell. After a few moments, Ezra's face broke out into a grin again and Aria felt herself relax. "I know so."

"Oh, yeah?" Aria laughed. "Well it's not like working at a library is going to affect my work in this class or anything."

"I certainly hope not." Ezra chuckled as he turned behind him and grabbed a sheet of paper that Aria could see had something printed on it. "I know how much it means to you to be able to pay for Elliot's things on your own, and I think you getting that job will help you feel more independent. Here."

Aria took the flyer and looked it over. "What's this?"

"It's an ongoing young writer's contest." Ezra explained, pushing off of the desk and standing up completely straight. "I know that everything you do here is to make a better life for Elliot, but this contest is for young writers and I think you should do it - for yourself. Entrants have a chance at publication in one of four quarterly collections of short stories, as well as various semi-annual cash and scholarship prizes. I was approached to see if any of my students would be interested and I thought of you. I think this will be good for you, Aria."

"Wow. Thanks." Aria was taken aback by the suggestion. "I don't know about me winning, or even being published, but it means a lot that you would consider me for something like this."

"Just something to think about." Ezra locked eyes with her and the world shifted. He'd been approached about the contest as her teacher, but here and now that's not what he was approaching her as. What he was, exactly, wasn't clear to Aria yet but she doubted a teacher was supposed to look at a student the way he was looking at her. The way he was always looking at her. The butterflies in her stomach began to dance and she couldn't stop the megawatt smile from spreading across her face.

She wanted to kiss him, then. He hadn't even given her an answer about what it was he wanted, but what she knew was in this moment that she wanted nothing more than to just kiss him. His eyes flicked down to her lips for a brief moment and she knew that he was thinking the same thing. She could feel the heat radiating off of his body as he began to close the space between them. He was less than a foot from her now and the suspense of what was to come was making her heart throb inside of her ear drums. He lowered his face slightly, a mere couple of inches from her own. The pulse points on her wrists were pounding so hard she could feel skin on her forearms crawling as goose bumps began to rise over her body. Her breath hitched in her throat and her eyes fluttered shut. She could feel him exhale softly against her lips for just a moment before she could hear the door opening and she instinctively sprang back.

"Ezra, could you help me with – oh, Aria!" Mrs. Welch exclaimed, looking between the two nervously. "We always seem to be running into each other in here!"

"Yeah, funny how that happens." Aria said with a forced laugh, shooting Ezra a slightly alarmed look. "Thanks for the information about the contest, Mr. Fitz. I'll think about it."

"Please do." Ezra agreed as Aria rushed out of the classroom. As she closed the door behind her she released a sigh of utter relief. Mrs. Welch definitely had the worst – or worst, depending on your standpoint – timing of all the people in the school, that was certain. She'd made it all of ten steps when suddenly she felt someone linking arms with her.

"I think someone's hot for teacher." Hanna giggled into her ear. Aria stiffened immediately, praying silently that Hanna hadn't actually seen anything.

"What? Wh-why would you even say that?" She pulled her arm from the blonde girl's grasp and looked at her with what she hoped was a look that didn't say 'you caught us!'.

"Well, really, who doesn't have the hots for Fitz?" Hanna replied nonchalantly, continuing down the hall towards her next class. "I wish I wrote as well as you did if it meant I could discuss it alone after class. Of course, if it were me we'd be discussing something other than nouns and adjectives, if you know what I mean."

Aria could physically feel her stomach turn. At the moment, she'd rather take the dare of exposing her Elliot secret than have Hanna find out about she and Ezra.

"He was just telling me about this short story writing contest." She tried to explain calmly. Her nerves were on edge the last few days and comments about being 'hot' for Ezra were doing little to help calm them down. "He said he thinks I have a shot at winning a scholarship or something."

"He totally has a crush on you, too!" Hanna gushed excitedly. "Don't you see the way he practically drools when you talk about anything having to do with his class? Just think, in two years you could be dating him. "

"Han, don't be ridiculous." Aria shook her head. She and Hanna hadn't talked much since she'd been back in town; her former friend had spent most of her time trolling around campus with Mona with their noses in the air. She knew Hanna meant no harm with her words, but never had Aria so badly wanted to tell someone to shove a sock in it.

"Wow." Hanna took note of her sudden defensiveness. "I guess someone really is hot for teacher." she teased. "Seriously, though, Aria, we should hang out soon. I know I've been a bit of a bitch but I really do miss you. SO what do you say?"

"Yeah, sure." Aria muttered, eye-roll included. "Look I have to get going to class, ok?"

"I'll call you later!" Hanna waved before darting off in the other direction. Aria's relief wouldn't last for long, though. By the time she'd reached her next class her phone was buzzing in her bag. Without a second thought, she retrieved the phone to find a new text message.

Looks like someone isn't as good at keeping secrets as I am. Better shape up, Aria, wouldn't want something to happen to your precious English teacher if secrets started spilling now would we? – A.

Shit.

*PLL*

After Aria had turned in her completed application to the library and finished her homework, she and Elliot laid sprawled out on a blanket in the backyard. The weather was finally beginning to change from Summer to Autumn and Aria wanted to enjoy as much daylight and outside time with Elliot as she could.

"I love you, Elliot." She murmured, more to herself than anything. After getting that text from A she'd felt the urge to just be with her son. First A had been threatening to expose her secret son, now they were threatening to possibly hurt Ezra. Aria wouldn't let that bitch threaten to hurt Elliot. "I love you so, so much."

"Ya." Elliot agreed, pulling a giggle from his mother as she rolled onto her stomach to face him. She reached over and tousled his hair earning a fake glare in response.

"You are such a goof, E." Aria teased. Elliot grabbed one of the many books he had brought outside with him and handed it to his mother. "You wanna read, baby?"

"Ya." Elliot plopped himself down in her lap and opened the book. He pointed eagerly to the first page, urging her to start reading. "Ree."

Aria grinned as she began to read from the story he had chosen, Is Your Mama a Llama?. She was always fascinated by how much he loved books, a trait he had definitely inherited from her. As soon as she'd open a book no matter what it was, Elliot would sit and listen to her with such bewilderment and admiration it made her heart swell. She found herself wondering in moments like this how she'd been so lucky. She'd done something so many people would feel shameful about, something she herself felt shameful about for a while, and yet out of that she had the most beautiful little boy. He was, to her, the perfect child. He was polite and well-behaved and smart. He was everything every parent hoped for in a child and somehow he'd found his way to her, of all people.

"Elliot, do you know how much Mama loves you?" Aria asked as she closed the book, wrapping her arms firmly about his waist.

"Much much!" Elliot said, stretching his arms as far apart as he could.

"This much!" Aria agreed, stretching her own arms out to show him. "There is nothing that I won't do for you, Handsome. Nothing."

Elliot squealed excitedly, spring from her lap suddenly and running away from her for her to chase him. She watched for just a minute as he did so, amazed at how much he had grown in only eighteen months and marveling over the fact that he would only get bigger and smarter as the days wore on.

From inside of the house, little did Aria know, she was being watched. Hanna had arrived a few minutes ago and been let into the house by Ella Montgomery. Ella had told her that Aria was in the backyard and that she was free to show herself out there. Hanna had thanked her and made her way to the back door, stopping in her tracks when she saw Aria sitting on a blanket with a small boy that looked strikingly familiar in her lap. Her mother hadn't been joking when she said the youngest Montgomery looked just like his sister. After Aria finished the book she had been reading, Elliot began to run around the yard, Aria chasing him shortly after. The moment seemed so… intimate, Hanna decided. She didn't want to intrude, so she turned back and headed home.

*PLL*

Saturday morning Aria woke up to Elliot tugging on her covers.

"Mama!" He called out. "Mama, up!"

"Ok, ok." Aria mumbled, throwing the blankets back and scooping Elliot into her arms. She carefully rolled over so that Elliot was on her bed between her body and the wall. "What are we going to do today, Handsome?"

"Mike!"

"You want to hang out with Uncle Mike?" Aria giggled. Mike hadn't been home much lately and she knew how much Elliot adored his uncle that she was sure he missed him. Elliot bounced up and down on his knees, pleased at the idea of spending some quality time with Mike. "Ok, let's go see if he wants to do that!" Aria placed the toddler on the ground and followed him down the hallway to Mike's bedroom. She knocked twice, waiting for a response that didn't come. Keeping her voice soft she called out to him "Mike?"

"Mike!" Elliot shouted, banging on the door harder than Aria had wanted him to. "Mike, up!"

"Elliot!" Aria scolded and the hurt look in her son's eyes killed her. She didn't have to discipline him often, and the few times she had had to raise her voice with him always seemed to hurt his feelings. She absolutely hated it. "Let's use inside voices, please."

"K." Elliot shrugged as he continued to bang on the door. "Miiiiiiike!" He fake whispered to the door until Mike finally emerged.

"Hey, Buddy." Mike rubbed his eyes sleepily when he finally made his appearance. He carefully pushed past his sister and nephew and made his way to the bathroom. Aria picked up Elliot and balanced him on her hip while she waited for Mike to finish in the restroom.

"You want some pancakes, Handsome?" She whispered into his hair. He bounced excitedly, clapping his hands together rapidly. "Alright, let's go make some while Uncle Mike is in the bathroom."

As Aria mixed the ingredients and began to pour the patter onto the griddle, flipping each pancake when it was necessary, the members of the Montgomery house slowly began to fill the kitchen. Ella entered the kitchen first, brushing Elliot's hair back and planting a kiss on his forehead before sitting down.

"What are you doing, Aria?" Ella wondered aloud. Aria and her mother hadn't engaged in idle chit chat since Monday, so Aria knew this was her mother's way of moving past their previous altercations.

"Making breakfast." Aria replied, stacking the last of the pancakes onto the plate where she had piled the others. She crossed the kitchen in three steps and pulled a carton of eggs out of the refrigerator. Carefully, and as neatly as possible she cracked each egg into a medium-sized bowl and beat them with a whisk briskly. She poured the eggs into a deep frying pan and began to scramble them, adding salt, pepper and seasoning as she did. "Remember when Mike and I were little, every Saturday was Pancake Day?"

"I remember." Ella smiled fondly. Her own daughter wasn't even all the way grown yet, but she was so grown up compared to the baby girl Ella remembered from all those years ago. Looking at her now it was hard to believe that once upon a time, only yesterday it seemed, Aria had been the one laughing excitedly at the prospect of Pancake Day and now here she was, almost an adult. A young woman. A mother.

"I want that for Elliot." Aria said simply, smiling back and her mother before returning to the task at hand. "You always made simple things so special when we were kids. I want everything to be special for him, too."

By the time she had set up plates for the five of them and had Elliot settled into his chair, Byron and Mike had finally come down, Byron dressed casually and Mike still wearing his pajamas. After everyone else had situated themselves around the table, Aria sat herself down next to Elliot's high chair and began to cut his pancake into pieces small enough for him to chew.

"What were you guys banging on my door for, anyway?" Mike asked as he shoveled his syrup-drowned pancakes into his mouth. Aria made a face, praying silently that Elliot never grew up into a teenage boy. Teenage boys ate like… that.

"Well, Elliot wants to spend some time with you today, don't you?"

"Mike play!" Elliot agreed, bringing out a smile from Aria and a laugh from both Mike and Ella. Byron tried a little too hard to pretend that he didn't find it amusing.

"I was thinking, if you didn't have plans maybe you guys could go to the park?" Aria suggested, glancing at her parents and hoping they would agree to the plans.

"That's perfect!" Ella agreed enthusiastically. "Dad's going golfing in a bit, so maybe you and I can go do something?" It took Aria a moment to realize that the question was directed towards her.

"You and me?" She asked, somewhat perplexed by the suggestion.

"There's a showing of 'It Happened One Night' at the theatre in Old Hollis," Ella explained. "I was just thinking – I mean, it's been a while since you and I have been able to do something together. I guess I didn't think that maybe you had plans with the girls already, or-"

"Mom." Aria interjected, laughing softly. "I'd love to."

"Well," Byron cleared his throat, standing up from the table. "I need to get going, Thanks for the breakfast."

After he had left, Mike cleared he and his father's plates from the table. "Guess I need to get dressed then and take little man to the park."

"Mike play!" Elliot cheered, lifting his fists into the air in victory.

PLEASE don't forget to review! I love to hear opinions, good or bad. And the more feedback I get, the more motivated I am to get the story going.