Aria only looks at the paper long enough to see the circled red 64% and the underlined "see me" written beneath it. She scoffs at the message and quickly closes her notebook over her test. Only she isn't as fast as she thinks, and when she looks up she sees Emily next to her her giving her a sympathetic look.

"Aren't you gonna go see him?" Emily asks as Mr. Thomas, their history teacher, dismisses the class.

Aria rolls her eyes and stands to begin packing up her bag. "There's nothing to talk about. I didn't study. End of story," she replies, throwing her bag over her shoulder.

Emily nods and begins packing her own bag. "You know, next time just come over to my house. We can study together—"

"Aria? May I speak with you?" Mr. Thomas calls out from his desk.

Emily snickers and Aria lets out a heavy sigh, dropping her bag back onto her desk.

"See you at lunch?" Emily offers.

"Yeah."

She sits back in her seat as Emily and a few other students exit the room. Mr. Thomas comes to the front of his desk and leans back against it. His thinning dark hair is slightly spiked up in the front with gel—a hilariously pathetic image for someone in his 40's—and the angle of his arms on the desk reveals the dark stains on his shirt beneath them. There's a small line of sweat just below his hairline that seems to never go away and Aria has to try her hardest to keep from smiling, because the idea that this is the man who is about to give her a lecture on how to be successful in life makes her want to cry of laughter.

"Aria, you're a smart kid," Mr. Thomas begins with a sigh, rubbing his sweaty palms over his thighs.

"Your point?" Aria says sharply, though she already knows where this is going.

"My point is, lately you've been slacking off with your work. This last test is proof of that, and your research paper is about to be three weeks late as of tomorrow."

Aria groans internally. She completely forgot about the research paper, the same research paper that she has yet to get started on. "Yeah, that's coming along," she lies. "I've just been busy, but I'm almost done with it."

Mr. Thomas sighs again, like he knows she's full of shit. "Aria, you're a very bright student, one of my favorites, which is why I'm trying so hard to help you, but there's only so much I can do. I can't keep letting things slide, and this research paper is going to count for forty percent of your final semester grade. If it isn't in by the end of the week, it's going to be a zero. And even if you do get it in, unless you pick up your test scores it won't make a difference. History used to be one of your best subjects. I don't want to see you fail, Aria."

Aria bites her lip. "I know. I'm sorry, things have just been... hectic," she says softly.

"Look, I understand that this year hasn't been... easy for you, Aria. At all. I can only begin to imagine the horrors that you and your friends have faced during your time here at Rosewood High, and I am incredibly sorry what you've all gone through. That's another reason why I've been so willing to loosen up when it came to your work, but Aria, I also teach Spencer, Emily, and Hanna. I gave them the same treatment, allowing them the time to sort through things and get their lives in order, but they've all been caught up for weeks now. Your past is no longer an excuse. I just think you need to start putting in more effort. You have too much potential to waste it on not trying. You can't keep blowing off your work if you want to pass this class."

Aria stares down at her desk. She wants to tell him that she is trying. She doesn't know how to explain the fact that whenever she sits down to do her work it feels as if there is a physical force preventing her from getting anything done. Maybe if she could explain what goes on in her head at night he would understand, but then again, deciding whether or not she should keep breathing is not a valid excuse for a late assignment.

She wouldn't be able to prove it anyway. Her illness is of the mind rather than the body. Teachers accept what they can see. They accept physical proof of sickness, like a cast or doctor's note. Would Mr. Thomas even believe her or try to help her if she told him about her thoughts? Or would he give her a look of disappointment, because Aria isn't the only teenager in the world to feel sad and yet plenty of them don't have multiple assignments that are a month overdue.

She thinks about his reference to her friends, and she immediately feels guilty for even trying to think of a way to get out of her work. He's right. They've been through the same thing she has, potentially worse at some points, and yet they aren't struggling like she is. They are managing just fine, and she begins to accept the cold reality that her teachers are right. She doesn't have excuses anymore. But for some reason, this realization doesn't make her as upset as she thought it would, because that small voice in the back of her head is always there, whispering sweet words into her ear, reminding her that there's always a way out. There's a way for her to leave and never have to suffer the consequences.

"I understand, Mr. Thomas. Thank you. I'll get that paper to you by the end of the week," Aria says, although she can't tell if she actually means the words that are coming out of her mouth or if she's just saying them to make him feel better.

He nods and dismisses her from the room.

Aria doesn't see Emily at lunch. She goes home instead, her mind in need of a break. Mike is still at school meaning the house is quiet when she enters the front door. She recognizes the feeling of emptiness and hopelessness in her stomach and she knows that she should call Ezra, that being alone right now isn't the best idea, but the thought of bothering him when she's thinking about something as utterly stupid as a research paper makes her think twice about it.

Aria goes upstairs to her room and sits down at her desk before opening her laptop. She opens a new document and types her name into the top right corner along with the title 'WWII in the Pacific'. You can do this, she tells herself. It's just a research paper. The slight ache in her stomach reminds her that it's 12:30 and she hasn't eaten anything all day, but she wills it to go away so she can work, and as she blinks at the blank page, the cursor blinks back at her, mocking her.

She doesn't hear Ezra's footsteps as he walks up the stairs. She doesn't even notice when he leans against her open doorframe. He brings his knuckles up but hesitates before knocking. She seems to be staring her screen and for a moment Ezra wonders if he would be interrupting her work, but soon he realizes that her fingers haven't moved across the keyboard for a solid minute and he brings his fist in contact with the wall.

Aria jumps at the noise and turns to see Ezra. She nods her head, inviting him in, and he steps behind her and leans down, resting his chin on her shoulder. He looks at her laptop and sees the document she has open. It's empty except for her name and a title.

"Hey," he whispers, kissing her cheek.

"What time is it?" She wonders out loud. Her room is dark except for the light from the hallway.

Ezra stands up and looks at his watch. "About a quarter to seven."

Aria's eyes widen and she turns to face him in her chair. "What?" she asks softly.

Ezra notices the change in her demeanor—how quiet her voice gets and how her eyes start to drift away from the present.

"Aria?"

His voice snaps her back. "Sorry, I'm fine. I just was thinking about this assignment I have to get done by tomorrow."

Ezra looks at her skeptically but doesn't push it. "Anything I can help with?"

Aria shakes her head before reaching behind her to shut her laptop, then bringing her knees up and hugging them to her chest. "When do you come back to Rosewood High?"

"Missing me in English class already?" Ezra smirks at her and she laughs. "I'm scheduled to go back in two weeks. I'll be teaching AP English."

She nods. She'll be his student again.

"Aria... I don't have to go back if it makes you uncomfortable. I'm sure I can find another job—"

"No, please. It's fine. You need this job, Ezra," she reassures him. "Besides, the sub's ass isn't nearly as nice as yours."

Ezra scoffs. "I knew you just wanted me for my body."

She gets up from her chair and walks to him, wrapping a hand around the back of his neck and pressing her body into his. She trails the forefinger of her free hand down his chest before looking up into his eyes.

"Can you blame me?"

Aria pushes herself onto her toes and connects their lips, pulling him closer to her by his shirt. Ezra's hands rest on her hips as he pulls away.

"Have you eaten?" he asks her.

"I'm not hungry," she replies as her hand finds its way underneath Ezra's shirt. "For food, anyway. It's always been a fantasy of mine to have you naked in my bed."

Ezra raises his eyebrows. "Really?" he asks, his fingers trailing softly up her back.

She steps away from him and closes the door to her room. The light from the moon is just enough to make out each other's faces and Aria smirks as she pulls her shirt over her head.

"Really," she says, stepping forward and pushing on his chest until his knees hit the bed and he falls back onto it, taking her with him.

"Ezra?" Aria asks softly.

Her back leans against the pillows as Ezra's head rests in the valley of her breasts. His arms are wrapped around her and her fingers run carefully through his soft curls.

"Hmm?"

"When did you know that your father left for good?"

He's quiet for a moment before he finally speaks. "About a month after he left. He went on lots of business trips ever since I can remember, but I always knew this time was different. Mom had never cried like she did that night. My parents had been fighting a lot before it happened, and I had a friend whose parents were divorced so I wasn't completely unaware of what was coming. My friend still got to see both his parents, though. I guess I always figured if my parents split up my dad would never just... leave. Finally, after a month, my mom sat Wes and me down and told us that our father wasn't coming back. She didn't give us some bullshit story about him needing to stay for a job. She told us the truth. He abandoned us," he explains.

"I'm sorry," Aria whispers, her voice raw.

Ezra tilts his head back so he can see her face. Her cheeks are stained with tears. "What's wrong, Aria?"

She takes a deep breath. "My dad isn't working at Syracuse anymore. He left the university weeks before I visited."

"Aria..." Ezra whispers as his hold on her tightens.

"I have no idea where he is and I—I don't think he's ever coming back," she croaks out. "How am I supposed to tell Mike that his own father doesn't want to see him anymore? That we mean nothing to him? How am I supposed to tell everyone that my father left us?"

Her wet eyes find Ezra's as her tears fall on his face. As much as Ezra wants to, he doesn't say anything. He just continues to hold her and comfort her. He knows from experience that there's nothing one can say to dull the pain of being abandoned. He never particularly liked Byron, but he never thought for a second that the man would do something as despicable and selfish as leaving his children. Ezra could kill him.

"Thank you," Aria finally says after a long silence.

Ezra wrinkles his brow. "For what?"

"For being here. For staying with me."

Ezra gives her a sad smile as she leans down and kisses him softly.

"Always."

A/N: this is kind of a filler chapter, which i suck at so im sorry that its so short. i know you've waited a long time for this but hopefully now that i've gotten through this writing block the next chapters will come much faster (i know i say that every time but maybe if i keep repeating it it will actually happen) again, thank you for being patient with me. i know this chapter isn't the best but i wanted to give you something for all of your support with this story.

also: i plan on bringing Zack's twist from the show into this story. i just wanted to know if you guys would feel comfortable if i made aria the victim of his advances rather than hanna. as silly as it may sound, i dont want to potentially disrespect hanna's character by giving her storyline to aria, so if anyone is against me doing that please let me know.