a/n: Just a little two shot I came up with to celebrate the return of Pretty Little Liars. Rated 'M' for the next chapter. By the way…it's AU!

"Spence, come on," Aria said as she laced up her sneakers. "This is our first day in a new state. Our parents aren't here…it's our freshman year of college! Let's start it off right."

"By going for a run?" Spencer asked doubtfully. "Aria, going for a run isn't going to help me forget Toby."

Aria sighed. "Spence," she said as she walked over and sat down next to her friend. "You were the one who broke up with him."

"Because we're living on opposite coasts, not because I don't love him," Spencer reminded her, moving over on her bed to make room for her friend.

Aria sighed. Spencer had been a bear for the last two weeks, and she felt bad for her, but try as she might, she hadn't been able to pull her from her funk. Toby had originally planned to come to Maine with them and find an apartment off campus so he could be close to Spencer, but at the last minute, he'd announced that he'd found a job in California via the internet and would be going there instead. Unwilling to be part of a long-distance relationship, Spencer had hastily called things off. And Aria felt bad; she had a feeling it was more because Spencer had been hurt than anything else. And she also thought Spencer was probably regretting her decision, but her friend was stubborn. Until she decided to talk about it herself, she wouldn't open up.

"I can't believe I'm begging you to go for a run," Aria said with a laugh, trying to change the subject.

Spencer gave her a half-hearted grin. "See…I'm rubbing off on you already," she joked. "Before you know it, you'll be eating tofu."

Aria wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Never," she said as she stood. "I'll be back. I saw a park just a bit down the road, so I'm heading that way."

"Have fun," Spencer said, as she flopped miserably back onto her bed.

"How much fun am I going to have at the park?" Aria asked teasingly as she walked out of their dorm room.

Ezra Fitz lay on his living room couch in his new apartment tossing his football up in the air and catching it over and over again. Thankfully, he'd be starting at the University of Maine in Orono tomorrow. He'd been here for two weeks already and still hadn't really met anyone. He'd figured meetings at the college would keep him busy but they'd been scarce, and he had entirely too much time on his hands.

When Shakespeare, his gold retriever, came over with her leash in her mouth, Ezra gave her a pat on the head and took it from her. "Ready for a walk, girl?" he asked as he sat up, taking her face between his hands and scratching her heartily. "How about a run?"

Aria struggled for breath as she ran along the paved pathway in the park. She really wasn't used to running. She'd only been a few times with Spencer, and it hadn't been enough to build up her endurance quite yet. She fixed her gaze straight ahead. You can do this, she told herself silently as she kept going.

"Shakespeare!"

At the sound of a man yelling she looked to her left, and then stumbled as she tripped on something. With a screech, she looked down to see a dog's leash tangled around her ankles, and began falling to her right. She threw her arms out in front of her so she landed on all fours. With a deep breath, she rolled over into a sitting position, and gave the golden retriever the evil eye. "Shakespeare, I presume?" she asked caustically.

"I'm so sorry!" She heard the male voice and his approaching footsteps at the same time.

"You shou—" Aria's irritated voice came to an abrupt halt as her eyes lifted to the handsome stranger's face. She used her hand to push her hair out of her eyes, desperate for a better look at him. "I…it was an accident," she said breathlessly. "At least…I hope it was."

"Definitely," he said, leaning down to untangle his dogs leash from her feet.

Aria took the opportunity to study him: his jet black hair was just this side of trendy; his lean physique told her he spent time at the gym. She couldn't wait to get a look at his eyes.

"You really made a mess this time, Shakes," he informed his pooch.

"She's done this before?" Aria asked in amusement.

"Oh, no," he answered, turning to give her a lopsided grin.

Aria's breath caught when their eyes met.

"Not anything like this, but Shakespeare is a bit of a master when it comes to making a mess of things. I'm Ezra," he said.

"Aria," she replied automatically.

"Well, Aria," he said holding his hand out as he stood. "Allow me to apologize on behalf of Shakespeare and myself," he said.

She felt a spark the second his hand gripped hers, and Aria had to remind herself to speak as she stood. "It…it's fine, really," she said, pulling her hand from his.

"Listen, I'm new in town," he started. "And I've been looking for a place that sells good coffee—"

"There's a place on the corner," Aria said, pointing in the direction of the coffee shop she'd passed to get to the park. "Best coffee in town," she said as if she knew what she was talking about. "I…I could take you there," she offered.

He grinned back at her, and she felt her heart jump in her chest. "That sounds great."