Surprisingly, Phili wasn't all that busy. It was a Saturday, so people were sat indoors playing computer games, and watching movies they'd seen a hundred times. Ezra was being off with Aria, a sure sign that something was up. Of course, Aria hadn't bothered to ask but it was something, and Aria wanted to know what it was. He had tried to be as civil as possible, without accidentally spilling everything to her like usual.

The text was still fresh in Aria's mind, running over and over again until her head began to spin.

Don't get used to Ezra being around to protect you; he won't be your knight in shining armour for much longer- Wesley.

It was short and sweet, but scared the living crap out of her. At first, it was something that she could laugh about, one of her friends playing around. Now? She just wanted to put the past behind her, and forget about Wesley, about Byron. About it all and just move on. How was she supposed to do that if someone was still pranking her?

Exactly.

Looks like Aria was set up for eternal misery.

"What're you thinking about?" Ezra suddenly blurted out, placing a hand on her knee as he finally parked the car, deciding it would be best to act himself. Being mad at someone that Aria thought was dead wouldn't be the right way to go about it. "You haven't said a single word the entire way here." Aria shrugged her shoulders with a frown, staying completely silent about the matter. He wasn't getting into her that easily. "Com e on..." Ezra said, flashing Aria the most innocent look that he could, pushing his lips out in an adorable pout. It was one look that Aria just couldn't ever resist.

"I got a text message..." She trailed off, picking her phone up from the dashboard to hold it out to him, sinking back into her seat. Ezra read through the message, knuckles turning white from how hard he was gripping the phone after reading it. "It's probably Noel again."

"Yeah, Noel." Ezra stuttered out after a few moments, instantly regretting lying to her. He should've told her right then and there, but he didn't. Instead he went for the easier option, not hurting her. But then, now he was hurting her in a different way by lying.

After a few moments of sitting in silence, they both slipped from the car, meeting each other on the path.

"I vote pizza." Ezra said with a chuckle, slipping an arm around her petite waist. Aria immediately leant into his side, staying as close as possible to her older boyfriend. Now, they didn't have to worry that much about being seen. Aria was eighteen, and no longer went to Rosewood. It wasn't illegal, or wrong in the eyes of the law.

They had decided on a small restaurant in the centre of town, a hole in the wall. It was an Italian place, both had visited before. After taking their seats, a young waitress came to stand before them, grinning down charmingly at Ezra. Ezra nodded in her direction once, glancing at Aria as she glared at the young glare.

"What can I get for you two this evening?" The waitress asked, introducing herself as Ally. Ezra ordered first, Aria asking for the same. One thing that Ezra loved was when Aria would get jealous. It wasn't very often that they were out in public, so he rarely got to see this side to her. He ran his foot up her leg to remove her attention from Ally, shaking his head sternly.

"Stop." He mouthed, shaking his head in amusement.

She just shrugged, trying to kick his foot away, but he wasn't moving. The feeling sent pleasurable shivers through her body, her mind now moving to something else.

Ally excused herself to deliver the order to the chef, Ezra letting out a low chuckle. "You get jealous so easily. Did you see her? She was fourteen, at the most."

"Not like you don't like younger girls." Aria said nonchalantly, not knowing whether she meant that, or whether she was just teasing him. Either way, it was true.

Correction, Ezra didn't like jealous Aria.

"Sorry."

"Forget it." Ezra shrugged, impatiently tapping his foot.

The meals came quite quickly, and they were soon eating in dead silence, occasionally glancing up at each other to smile a fraction, before looking down again. After a while, Aria had had enough, and she reached over the table, not giving him any time to react before she brushed her lips against his, instantly tasting the spaghetti in his mouth, the young waitress burning holes into the back of Aria's head with her intense stares.

"What was that for?" Ezra asked after swallowing his food. Aria ran her tongue over her bottom lip.

"Not talking to me. It was me saying sorry." She paused, glancing down at his empty plate. "I'm ready to go."

Even though she didn't say it, Ezra knew what she meant. He ordered for the bill, leaving Ally a tip despite Aria's attempts to stop him, before pulling Aria from the restaurant in a hurry.

Aria lead him down the road, practically bouncing in excitement as she clung to his arm, her mood instantly changing the moment she was away from the restaurant.

"Car's on that side." Ezra muttered, as Aria began to walk across the road quickly.

That's when it happened, all too quickly.