***Chapter 62***

**Aria's POV**

"So which was your favorite movie from today?" Jason asked, from the driver's seat as he pulled away from the arthouse theater that we had spent the day at and headed for the highway.

We had stayed through the evening show, Jason purchased us tickets to the festival, which meant that if we wanted to come back the next day to keep watching Kubrick movies we could. It sounded like a great idea, at first. But I worried. Worried that something would happen while we had our phones silenced for nearly 10 hours, though I checked between movies. Worried that the police protection would get tired of hanging outside the theater. And worried that if we came back for a second day, Charles would follow us.

So despite the fact that I had spent most of the day alternating between munching on popcorn and falling asleep, curled into Jason, I knew we couldn't do it again tomorrow. Besides, there was no guarantee that we would get the comfy loveseat that was at the front of the small movie house theater. As soon as I had walked into the theater and saw the set up, I moved straight for it. It was closer than I typically liked to sit, not far enough back. But there was a row made up entirely of couches. The fabric soft against my hands, and while part of me hoped that they found a way to sanitize these, I pushed the worry down in favor of the comfort offered. This might be my new favorite theater just for the couches.

"Dr. Strangelove, hands down." I answered confidently, out of the movies we had watched today it had always been my favorite. "What about you?"

"The Shining, it's a classic." he replied, glancing over at me. "Though I can't tell if the ghosts are supposed to be real or not in that one."

"They are in the book. But that also goes way more into dealing with alcoholism than the movie did."

"I didn't know you were a Stephen King fan." his voice sounded skeptical, tinged with surprise. Not that I could blame him.

"Not really, but like you said, it's a classic." I gave a shrug, leaning against the window so I could watch him as we headed away from the theater and back towards Rosewood. "Thank you for today."

"Of course, I had a great time." he glanced over at me, offering a soft smile. "And I think I might like Kubrick movies now."

"I don't just mean the movies, but that too." I redirected, causing him to look over at me. "Thank you for getting me out to do something relaxing that didn't have anything to do with Charles."

His gaze alternated between me and the road, and I almost wished we weren't driving right now. It felt reassuring to have him check in with me like that, clearly measuring my meaning. Not uncomfortable scrutiny, but obvious care, like he was making sure that everything was actually okay.

"Any time, Aria." he offered so sincerely that I wanted to dismiss it, he must have recognized that as he continued. "If you need to get out of Rosewood, or even just your house, we'll go. Just say the word."

That phrase struck a chord, bringing up a memory of the book Ezra gave me, if I needed to leave Rosewood. This felt different, not just a daydream or theoretical escape. Looking at Jason, it felt like he was offering to steal me away from all the chaos that was our lives. Leave it all behind and fuck the consequences. He had said it before, that he would take me out if I wanted or needed it. It felt so comfortable somehow, like he would take all my worries away if I just said the word, or at least try. The urge to run away swelled up within my chest, threatening to bubble out my mouth. I wanted to say it. To leave tonight. Forget about everything else and just get away. The feeling spread through me with a surprising warmth, settling like his jacket that had been wrapped about my shoulders for most of the day to chase away the cold.

I reached out towards his right hand, which was resting casually on the armrest while he drove one handed. Our fingers laced together with a familiar feeling, the slight roughness of his warm hands soothing against my own colder skin. I wasn't sure how to tell him how much I appreciated this, the feeling of safety that he gave me. I hadn't expected it when we had planned the movie marathon, and I doubted it would have been anywhere near as comfortable with anyone else. Even if I had tried going with the girls, we would have just gotten tangled back into the same worries and fears about Charles following us. Jason gave me an out from that in some ways, while still being in the loop enough that I didn't have to hide my fears in the first place.

"I'm sorry if I pushed earlier." I went with, feeling the memory of how awkward that part of the day had been. "About the whole sponsorship stuff."

The discomfort that I had felt about pushing him, when he kept going out of his way to take care of me had risen surprisingly quickly. Despite the fact that I had tried to shove that interaction down, and had been able to focus more on the day of watching movies and spending time together instead. The space that had been taken up in my brain by watching movies all day and chatting with him had been cleared by the quiet moment. And it had surged back around me.

"I'm glad you did, to be honest." he rubbed his thumb soothing across the back of my hand, tracing small circles across my skin. "I hadn't known Spencer didn't have a sponsor and now can maybe help her find a group that could help out."

I tilted my head at him as I evaluated that, he was clearly being honest. That it had been a good thing, despite the unease it had stirred in me. I relaxed a little more, squeezing his hand briefly in relief.

"Just cause I can't be her sponsor doesn't mean I can't help." he continued.

My phone chirped loudly, making me nearly jump at the sound. It had been so quiet, even after I had turned the ringer back on after we had left the movie. With one last squeeze, I released his hand and grabbed my phone from my purse. I saw his right hand return to the wheel as I looked down.

"Let me guess, a message from the girls?" he asked, glancing briefly at me.

"No, actually it's a message from Clark." I unlocked the phone, confused at why he was texting me after 10 at night.

Clark: Have you checked your mail? They sent out finalist notifications.

I immediately opened my email, hoping it was there. But there wasn't anything from the Cardillo stomach knotted slightly, hoping he meant the actual mail and not just my email.

Aria: You're a finalist?!

It made so much sense that Clark had made it as a finalist in the contest, his work was so precise. He might not have felt like it was good enough for National Geographic yet, but it felt like it to me. And what he'd taken at the junkyard was incredible, he had a great eye for focus and field.

My phone chirped again, and there was a picture message from Clark. A letter saying he was a finalist in the competition. I could feel my face break into a grin, that was amazing. I quickly typed back a message.

Aria:Congrats! 🎉 I never had any doubts

My skin was buzzing with anticipation, as I glanced at the road signs to figure out how much longer before we were back at my house. I was hoping even if I didn't make it as a finalist that there would be a letter, like colleges did with rejections. At least that would give me an answer, instead of wondering for days if it was just delayed in the mail.

"Clark made it as a finalist in the Cardillo Fellowship photo competition." I explained to Jason after a moment.

"That's awesome." he cheered along, despite not having met Clark. "So that means you got your notification too, right?"

I huffed a little as I rolled my eyes at him, he was wildly overconfident in my photography talent. Especially since he had never seen my work. "I haven't heard anything yet. It's apparently an actual letter though, so I can check when we get back to my house."

"Let's get you home to see your notification then." he gave an assured smile, and reached over to take my hand. The engine roared a little, as he picked up speed.

"You're ridiculous." I laughed, but couldn't contain the hope bubbling up within me.

It was nice to have his complete faith in my abilities, no matter how silly his sincere belief in me seemed to be.

"So that means I get to see your work then? At the competition?" he teased.

"Assuming I am a finalist, you mean?" I replied in a teasing tone. "Then yeah, I didn't know you were interested in photogaphy."

He gave a bit of a shrug before glancing over at me. "I don't have a lot of experience with photography. But I do like art."

"Jason, you don't have to pretend to like things just cause I'm into them." I hedged, worried about the things he was trying out just to make me happy.

It was a little uncomfortable, the fear that he was changing his interests to match mine. Almost as though his own interests weren't enough. I didn't want him to feel like that, that we always had to do my things. Like the gallery opening, or the movies today. It had worried me in the past, with Jake that he wasn't into the same sort of things that I was. And I had realized he was right in that I didn't want someone who didn't surprise me. Or that only wanted to do my things.

"I'm not, Aria." he answered me, squeezing my hand in reassurance. "But I do want to support you. Even if photography isn't my hobby, I can still appreciate art."

"And the movies today?" I didn't want to pick a fight, but it felt like that's where we were heading.

He breathed out a sigh. "I've been seeing ads for that movie festival for the last month or so. And I knew you like old movies.I figured if you knew who the director was, you might be interested in going."

"Oh."

I felt off balance, like that took the wind out of my sails. I was making a bigger deal out of things than I should be. It was ridiculous to think that Jason was changing his interests just to match mine. I shifted in my seat, a little uncomfortable about the turn of the conversation. That he wasn't interested in sharing his own interests with me. And that it was always about me, even though he also had things going on in his life. Stressors that drove him out of town, from dealing with his family. I had tried to take care of my family and friends for so long, needing to take on the hardships for others so that I could fix things. It felt selfish of me to only focus in on my interests and hobbies.

"Sorry, Jason. I guess it just felt like every time we hang out, it's all about me. That we only ever do the things that I like." I admitted with a blush, looking down into my lap.

"If it makes you feel better, you can try out some of my hobbies some time." he started, reassuringly. "But I still want to see your photos."

I was excited to find out what all his hobbies were, most of our lives had been wrapped up in Charles and Ali, and everything that went along with that. It was almost like a little bit of freedom to explore more about him than our current troubles and the secrets in the past.

"Sounds like a good deal to me." I answered after a moment.

The car pulled to a stop and Jason reached for the gear shift, for me to only just realize that he had pulled up in front of my house. The car ride had flown by, and I had been so focused on our conversation that I hadn't realized we were almost home. Through the glass, I could see the squad car that was parked across the street, watching us as we idled.

"Do you want me to walk you inside?" Jason asked, turning in his seat to face me.

"No, you should get headed home. It's been a long day."

He had only just gotten back into town this morning, so had to have been up for a while before he got to my place this morning. And though I wanted to spend more time with him, enjoy the safety and peace that he gave me, I was anxious to check the mail for a notification. It would also avoid some of the judgement from the cops watching us, him not following me into my house late at night. It felt the cops were always watching us, watching me. They were here to protect me, I tried to remind myself.

Deciding that I needed to head inside, or have him come in with me, I moved to pull his jacket off, letting my shoulder drop and my arm pull up the sleeve. But his hands stopped me, gently tugging the leather back over me. "You can give it back to me another day."

I nodded, tugging the jacket comfortably around me. The warmth and scent of Jason was comforting. The routine familiar, and though it felt like I was giving in to the teasing from earlier in the day, I was happy to let the jacket keep the warmth of the day on me.

"Thank you again for today." I repeated, before leaning over the center console to press a kiss to his cheek. "I'll talk to you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, and let me know when you get your notification." he reminded me as I moved to open the door.

***End Chapter***

So a bit of a short chapter this week, but I wanted to get it up on my schedule. Let me know what you think.