"Guys, this is your senior year. I have to be pushing you, otherwise you won't be prepped for your end of year exams." Mr Fitz said to the class, as he set another homework assignment. It was only to write a book review. "I'll give you a deal, if you can do this essay by tomorrow, there won't be any more homework for a week." The class agreed, and he went back to teaching about William Shakespeare's sonnets. "Does anyone know how many lines a sonnet has?" The same hands went up. "Miss Montgomery."

"Fourteen lines, and ten syllables per lines." Aria replied, and Ezra nodded his head.

"And, does anyone know what an Iambic Pentameter is?" Only two hands went up: Spencer's and Aria's. "Come on guys, this is eight grade. You should know this." A few more hands went up including Emily's. "Miss Fields."

"It describes a particular rhythm that the words establish in each line. That rhythm is measured in small groups of syllables." Emily replied.

"Yes, very well done. When we speak, our syllables are either stressed or unstressed. For example, the word remark consists of two syllables. "Re" is the unstressed syllable, with a weaker emphasis, while "mark" is stressed, with a stronger emphasis. In poetry, a group of two or three syllables is referred to as a foot. A specific type of foot is an iamb. A foot is an iamb if it consists of one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable, so the word remark is an iamb. Pent means five, so a line of iambic pentameter consists of five iambs – five sets of unstressed syllables followed by stressed syllables."

"What does stressed or unstressed mean?" A jock asked the teacher, having no clue about poetry what so ever.

"Can anyone answer that question?" Ezra asked the class, and the same hands went up. "Miss Hastings."

"Stressed is a stronger emphasis, and unstressed is a weaker emphasis." Spencer replied.

"Exactly, and before the bell goes I would like to hand you back your essays." Ezra started to hand the essays back to the students. "May I say Miss Marin's, Miss Montgomery's, Miss Fields and Miss Hastings work were the best in the class, because they actually put emotion into it."

…

Like yesterday, Ezra Fitz leant back in his wooden chair. He sighed, and looked at his desk. He had a stack of twenty-nine marked papers about a day that changed your life. There was one left, and that essay was by Aria Montgomery. He had read everyone's, and once again, Hanna Marin's, Spencer Hastings, and Emily Fields were the ones that stuck out. And, he was sure that Aria's would too. Hanna's was about a day when Emily needed to call Maya, so she went up to Caleb and asked him to do something with Emily's phone. Spencer's was about a day she sat on Toby's porch tutoring him French, and realized he wasn't a bad guy. Emily's was about the day she found out she was gay, and about Maya. Other essays were about parents splitting up, a favourite TV show being aired, first date, a first kiss, but they still didn't put emotion in it like those three girls did. It didn't shock Ezra, the girls had been through a lot, but he didn't know that they would put all their pent up emotions on a piece of paper and hand it into their English teacher. But, they did spend quite a lot of time in those five months after the big –A reveal. So, they trusted him.

Ezra sat up straighter, and put the last essay in front of him. Aria Montgomery's essay, about a day that changed her life. He already had a feeling about what it was about, and it made him smile, that he was capable for changing her life. He started to read.

I think the day that changed for my life would have to be the day I came back from Iceland. I looked in the mirror in my bedroom, one of the only things unpacked from my many boxes strewn across my bedroom floor. I looked at my reflection, and thought how much I had changed since the last time I was standing in front of my mirror. My brother was running around looking for his lacrosse kit to be in time for the new school years try outs. I said, I would take him to school, and then I drove off to a stuffy college bar called Snookers in Old Hollis. I walked in, and I sat down. I noticed a good-looking boy two barstools down, and I ordered a cheeseburger to go with my beer, which I wasn't even drinking. I turned my head to look at the notice board and saw a still missing poster of my best friend Alison Dilaurentis. The cute guy at the bar asked if I was alright, and I replied saying that I was a bit jetlagged. He asked me where I had been and I said Iceland. The man said that he liked Iceland, and he spent a bit of time writing in Reykjavik, I said I write too, and he asked if he could read some of my writing.
I asked if he really wanted too, and soon he asked me what major I was taking. I think he thought that I was in college, and I thought he was too. I had no idea what the implication of the next year would bring to both of us, and the many sacrifices we would make. He didn't look old enough to look like he just got out of college. I said I was leaning towards English, and he said that's what he was teaching. A smile came on our faces, B-26 came on, and I accidentally said I love this song. He said the name of the song, and I smiled. I excused myself to go to the bathroom, and he asked if he could come with me. He was cute, so I thought why not. We ended up kissing on the bathroom counter. The next day, after we had exchanged numbers, it was my first day back at school in Rosewood. I bumped into my best friend Emily, and she said that she heard the English teacher was really hot. We walked into the classroom, and I took my usual seats. Two seats from the window. The new teacher came in, but I was writing down the date in my folder. He wrote his name on the board, turned around, and said Holy Crap. I looked up, and my eyes saw the man who I had made out with a day before.
A year later, on our anniversary, he was the guy in the bar, two seats down from me. He was reading Ulysses, and had a glass of scotch in front of him. I excused myself to go to the bathroom, and he asked if he could come, I replied with of course. And as we were kissing, on the bathroom counter, in the stuffy college bar bathroom, the song that we had heard a year ago started playing.
The day that changed my life is Labour Day. It is the day my best friend went missing. It is the day my best friend's body was found in her old house. But, it is also the day I met my soul mate in a bar. In other words. You. It's the day where we made out on a bathroom counter, my legs wrapped around yours, both looking at each other's lips, discussing books, and Iceland.

Ezra smiled. He was right. Her essay was about him, and he loved that he had changed a tragic day for her into something special. He marked it an A, packed the essays up, and headed out of Rosewood High.

…

Aria Montgomery sat in Spencer's living room with her best friends, Spencer Hastings, Hanna Marin, Emily Fields, Toby Cavanaugh and Caleb Rivers. Hanna was trying to persuade them that she can cook cake.

"You can't." Spencer said, chuckling.

"I can."

"You set fire to my kitchen." Aria said, and Toby and Caleb burst out laughing.

"I was twelve. But I can cook."

"Okay, go make some cake, against Toby." Emily said, and Hanna got up from her seat.

"I will accept that challenge, come on Cavanaugh." The next hour was them cooking food, Hanna asking for directions from Toby on how to make the cake, and trying not to set the Hastings kitchen on fire. "Oh god." Hanna moaned, collapsing on the floor.

"You've got to ice it yet." Caleb said, and Hanna slapped his leg.

"I'm never cooking again. That was hell."

"Wasn't that bad." Toby said.

"You can cook."

"You just admitted it yourself." Aria said, waggling her foot in Hanna's face.

"I think I admitted it when I was trying to cook, and then Mr Chef here just does it so damn professionally." The group chuckled, and the oven timer went off. "The results. Oh god." Hanna and Toby got up. "That's hot."

"You're supposed to put these on." Toby said, throwing her a pair of oven gloves.

"Can I eat them now?" Caleb moaned.

"You're just never full up." Emily said.

"It doesn't look very appetizing." Hanna said, and everyone crowded around her cake.

"Yeah, Toby wins this." Spencer said. "And, I think you put a tad too much sugar in."

"Ya think." Emily said.

"I'm gonna try it, but I'm scared too." Hanna said, and they chuckled. She got some spoons, and gave it to everyone. Caleb started digging into Toby's cake, and sat down onto the sofa. Hanna had a spoon of her cake. "Not that bad."

"Caleb! Don't eat it all." Emily whined, and grabbed a spoon, and started to eat Toby's cake. Toby held his arms out for Hanna.

"No, I don't want your pity hug." Hanna said, but Toby kept his arms open. Aria and Spencer chuckled, and Hanna moved in for a pity hug. "I hate pity hugs." She said, and she pulled away.

"I feel like I should try it." Aria said, she hesitated, but tried it. "Not bad."

"I told you guys I cook." Hanna said, jumping up and down.

"Toby can do it better." Caleb said, his mouth full of food. Emily put her hand under his chin, and shut it.

"Wanna pity hug?" Spencer asked Hanna in a baby voice, holding out her arms.

"Give your boyfriend one." Hanna replied, while Aria dug into the cake.

"I don't know why, but this is the kind of cake which you can't stop eating." Aria said, and they chuckled.

"Caleb! You asshole." Emily screamed. "He's eaten like half the cake."

"I want some." Spencer said, grabbing a spoon, and running over to the cake.

…

"I really want some cake." Caleb said, and they chuckled.

"You just had some." Toby said.

"Yeah, like an hour ago."

"Pig." Emily said.

"I'm a dude."

"So is Toby, but you don't see him eating like everything in sight." Aria said.

"Meh." Hanna's phone beeped, and she checked it through smiling.

"Guess we're all going to an All Time Low concert." Hanna screamed, and they all gasped, but Emily was jumping up and down.

"Like All time low the band." Toby said, and Hanna nodded.

"I signed up for a competition, and I won, bitches. We're all going Friday Night. No excuses." Hanna screamed the last part.

"Do you know how long I've been wanting to go to an All Time Low concert?" Aria said. "It's going to be so fun."

"Where is it?" Spencer asked.

"Philly, and guess where we are sitting." Hanna teased.

"Please say the front." Caleb said.

"Yes, please say we're sitting there." Emily said.

"Yes. Yes we are."

"I kinda want them to play teenage dirtbag." Aria said.

…

"Hey, how was your marking?" Aria asked, walking into Ezra's apartment, and sitting on the couch.

"It was kinda boring, but yours brightened it up a bit." Ezra replied, kissing her hello. "How was Spencer's?"

"Hanna and Toby had a cooking competition, Toby won, and the six of us are going to a concert on Friday thanks to Hanna."

"What concert?"

"All time low." Ezra looked at her lips. She giggled. "I think you need a proper hello kiss."

"Mhm. Yeah I think I do," he murmured, and he started kissing her neck. He slightly brushed up her shirt a bit, and saw a huge yellow bruise. He retracted his lips, and examined the bruise further. "Aria…" She bit her lip, and her gaze moved downwards, at her bare feet.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you." She whispered to him, her voice raw with the sudden revelation. He gently cupped her face in his hands.

"Aria. I understand that you didn't tell me. You're going through a lot at the moment, and I know it's hard for you. You're blowing it over your shoulder, but I know it's at the back of your mind." Aria nodded, and inhaled a shaky breath.

"I didn't want you to worry." He chuckled, and gently kissed her nose. He went back to examining the bruise.

"I always worry about you."

"I'm sorry, I didn't tell you, when I should have." He looked up into her eyes, and saw the fear in them. He cupped her face in his hands.

"Aria." She bit her lip, and tears clouded her vision. "You're safe, Aria. I won't let him hurt you. Ever again. Over my dead body." Aria nodded, and a small smile came upon her face.

"Can we watch a movie?" Ezra chuckled.

"Which one?"

"Strangers on a train. I'm missing my black and white movies." Ezra fake gasped, and put the disc in. He sat on the couch, and Aria snuggled up close to him. He put an arm around her shoulder, and kissed the top of her head. "I've missed this."

"Missed what?" He asked gently.

"You. Us. Both of us sitting on this couch watching a movie, and eating Chinese food. Well, I've been missing watching old movies as well."

"Why haven't you been watching them?"

"Jake said, that whenever he saw something in black and white on a screen he thought it was broken."

"If I was in the same room, I probably would've punched him." Aria chuckled, and nodded her head. They stayed in that position for the rest of the night, neither were hungry, and they were invested in watching the movie. When the credits started to roll, Aria's eyelids starting drooping, and soon she fell asleep. Ezra gently lifted her up bridal style, and walked over to his unmade bed. He placed her in, and took off his jeans and t-shirt. He got into bed, wrapping his arms around her waist in the process. She murmured something in her sleep, and moved closer to Ezra.

…

"Are you sure your ex-boyfriend isn't the one you're afraid of?" Jake asked, as they had a five minute break. Aria fought the urge to roll her eyes.

"I've told you. I'm tiny, I'm an easy target and I need to get my mind off things." Aria replied, annoyed. Jake nodded, and walked back onto the blue mat. Aria walked in front of him, and his eyes turned black. He grabbed Aria's waist, and applied pressure to a certain spot in her back. She gasped at the sudden immense pain.

"Don't scream. You know what I'll do if you scream." He whispered, and forced her lips to his.

Aria jolted awake after her nightmare. She sighed, and realized she was still in her clothes she wore to school. She took them off so she was only in her bra and pants. She turned her head to look at the alarm clock. One twenty-eight in the morning. Great. Were these nightmares ever gonna stop?