So far things were going okay at the dinner. Aria and Ezra were sat a few seats down from his mother, Diane. It wasn't silent, the mutters of people chatting to the person next to them filled the room with noise and prevented any awkward silence.
Whilst everyone was talking about politics and financial difficulties, Aria and Ezra were set in their own world, talking about everything and anything whilst Ezra's hand ran up and down her thigh.
"Are you sure that you're feeling okay?" He whispered, making sure no one else could hear their hushed conversation. "I don't think that you should eat anything, just in case."
"Ezra, stop fussing. I'm fine, I don't feel sick anymore." Aria lied smoothly, placing her hand atop of his before it could go any higher. "Behave yourself, Fitzgerald. We're at the dinner table." She shot him a stern look, watching out for Ezra's expression as she leant towards him and whispered in his ear. "Oh, and for the record; I'm not wearing underwear." Aria knew exactly how to get to her boyfriend, it was so easy if you knew how. He squeezed her thigh, letting out an almost inaudible groan at her words.
"My, my, Miss Montgomery. That's a very inappropriate thing to say at the dinner table." His tone was polite, purposely mocking the rest of the people around him.
Aria emitted a light giggle, shaking her head in amusement. It was quite ironic, how at one point Ezra was expected to be one of these people sat at the table, talking about politics.
"Well, Mr Fitz I must say it's inappropriate to have sex with your student."
"It's not my fault that you don't wear a long enough skirt during my class."
"And it's not mine that you couldn't keep it in your pants."
They both knew who had won that round.
"Touché" Ezra said simply, pecking her lips quickly, whilst the other ran up and down her thigh once again. Aria watched him intently, making sure it didn't slip underneath her dress. The last thing either wanted to do was get caught doing anything, especially here.
The nausea returned again after a while, but Aria managed to push the feeling away, focusing on Ezra's hand on her skin and taking deep breaths. Thankfully, her boyfriend beside her didn't pick up on anything, which she was thankful for, the last thing that Aria needed was Ezra making a scene and dragging her out.

After about four or five times of repeating this, Aria had had enough, and excused herself from the table to use the bathroom. Not that anyone but Ezra noticed, of course.
She climbed up the stairs, searching for the bathroom. It didn't take her long to completely empty her system again, and clean out her mouth with some of the expensive looking mouthwash they had there.
After quickly checking her phone, Aria began down the hallway again, lost in her own thoughts. They travelled back to the last time that they'd had sex, her insides tensing as she remembered the feeling of Ezra buried deep inside of her.
It was strange, how not two months ago Aria and Ezra couldn't leave the apartment together, and now they were going out to dinners, parties. Aria was done with all of her school work, the exams were done. Now they could live their own lives, start a family.
And then something, a hand to be exact- Reached out and wrapped itself around Aria's mouth to put an abrupt stop to any screams that were sure to fly out, and pulled her backwards. All Aria could do was panic, trying to rustle free from whoever was holding her hands behind her back at this point.
It wasn't until Aria's head hit the wall that she tried to scream, but nothing came out.
"Stop trying to scream, you won't get anywhere." The person said, raising a sharp brow. Aria had seen this man before, but couldn't quite put a finger on what his name was. She was to panicked to even think straight.
It took Aria a few more tries before she gave up, and tears began rolling down her cheeks. All she wanted to do was scream, or screech. Anything that'd get someone's attention. "It seems that not many people like you, Aria Montgomery. Not like they say they do." She stared at the tall man for a while, absorbing his adolescent features. He had to be in his twenties, but had the appearance of a teenager with his hazel eyes and scruffy blonde hair. "And someone wants you dead."

Ezra waited, and waited, and waited for atleast a half hour, before he finally gave up with waiting for the return of his girlfriend. He pushed out his chair, ignoring the glare from his mother as he excused himself and began up the stairs.
This was exactly why Ezra didn't want to come out, Aria was blatantly sick.
"You know, I appreciate that you aren't so fond of me right now, but you could at least have the decency to say hello when you walk through the door." Diane said simply, standing beside Ezra at the top of the stairs.
"Can we talk about this another time? I'm trying to find Aria." More like 'Please leave me alone, I hate you.'
"You're very fond of this girl, no matter how much trouble she brings to you and your life."
"I love her, Mom."
"Maybe so, but does she?"
"More than anything, she's my life."
"You shouldn't put your life in that girl, Ezra. She'll break your heart."
Ezra rolled his eyes, trying to be as polite as possible.
"No, she won't. We've been through too much to stop now, we're endgame. I'm not going to give her up, not for anything, certainly not money." He paused, his next words firm. "So you can get on board, or stay out of mine and Aria's life."

All that Aria could think, was 'This is it.' The person who had his hands around her neck, who called himself Cyrus earlier on, was slowly squeezing the life out of the petite girl. Aria had to admit, this was not how she wanted to die. Maybe in fifty years, beside Ezra; But not now.
"Tell Wesley I said hi." Was all that Aria heard as she closed her eyes as tight as she could, before a yell filled the room.
"Get your hands off of her, right now." It was a demand, not a warning, and Aria opened her eyes to see Diane stood a few feet away, with Ezra sprinting down the hallway at full pelt. Cyrus leant forward, whispering into Aria's ear in a hushed tone.
"I'd be careful who you trust, someone you know rather well hired me to kill you, and I'm going to." She threw her head back, the tears only becoming more frequent. He loosened his grip around her neck, allowing Aria to gasp for a breath as she dropped to the floor, clawing at her throat for some kind of air.
Ezra was there in an instant, diving down at the floor as he collected his girlfriend into his arms, glancing behind him at his mother.

"Are you okay?!" Ezra rushed, pulling Aria's face up by his hands to search for any injuries, checking her over continuously. "Who the fuck was that?" He continued to search Aria's face and neck, despite her weak attempt to push him away. As much as she wanted to tell him to stop it, she couldn't breathe, let alone get her words out right. All that was coming out was wheezes, and coughs, before she let out a choked sob. Ezra collected her into his arms, rocking her back and forth.
"It's okay, I promise you it'll be okay..."
Neither could suppress what they felt or was thinking right now, it was something none of them could handle.
Proof that there was a real threat out there.