Vibrant colors danced in front of Arias eyes. Woman in vivid oranges, yellows and reds danced about, and their dresses flew around them almost taking on a life of their own. Aria spun around watching the tail of her dress dance like the other girls. A smile took over her face and she glanced up into the crowd of color dancing to the music. Between the twirling couples Aria could see a set of piercing blue eyes staring back at her.

"Ezra!" She called, excitedly. "Dance with me!" His eyes darkened. From the bright blue, they grew deep like an ocean at night, and finally onyx black. His smiled faded as well and he gave her a blank stare. Aria began to push through the crowd to make her way to Ezra. The people were thick and no matter how much deeper into the crowd she got, Ezra got no closer. Aria began to feel anxious. She pushed a little more, letting go of her fear of being rude. She called his name, but could no longer hear her voice over the music. The groups of dancers seemed to be getting tighter and her pushing became more, and more useless. Ezra didn't seem to be moving, but he grew father away by the second. Aria was confused. She was walking towards him, what was going on. Arias heart began to race, as she pushed harder, and called louder; to no avail. There was a loud bang and Aria gasped.

Arias eyes flew open and she looked around disoriented. Ezra's TV was still playing, but the movie she had been watching was long finished.

"Oh, sorry." She heard a voice say. Aria sat up farther, and looked behind her. In the kitchen, there he stood, Wes. "Sorry, my class finished early, and I didn't see Ezra's car; I thought you guys left."

Aria looked around the apartment, looking for Ezra. "I guess I fell asleep waiting for Ezra."

"Is he not here?" Wes questioned.

Aria took out her phone and looked at the time. The blank screen stared back at her. No missed calls, and no text messages. "I talked to Ezra two and a half hours ago. He said he was finishing up and coming home."

Wes could see the disappointment on Arias face, even though she was trying to hide it. This was a look he had mastered himself over the years. "I'm sure he just got hung up at work. Do you want to go get some food? I'm starved."

"It's kind of late..." Aria thought out loud.

"Yea, it is late. And, I'm assuming you haven't eaten, yet." Wes pushed.

Aria couldn't deny she was hungry. "Why don't we order take out, incase Ezra gets back."

"Aria, you've been cooped up inside all evening. Ezra will call on his way back." With a sly smile, Wes put his hands in his pockets and moved toward the living room slowly. "Plus, I'm new to Rosewood. Won't you be so kind, as to show me what this town has to offer."

Aria couldn't help but grin at Wesley's charm. It was obvious that he wasn't going to give this up, so Aria put on a devilish grin and grabbed her bag. "Lets go." She walked to the door without another word.

"So, where exactly are you taking me?" Wes asked nervously. Aria had to disclose anything about their destination.

"You'll see." She said dismissively. Aria knew when Wes had asked her to show him around town that he was looking for the hot spots. He seemed like a well brought up party boy who could talk women into anything he wanted. It was safe to say, Aria wasn't going to give him what he wanted. They weren't going to a 'hot spot', or even a regular restaurant. The place they were going was about twenty minutes outside Rosewood.

They pulled into a small ally and Wes looked at Aria like she was crazy. "Are you going to mug me?"

Aria burst into a fit of laughter at his seriousness. "What?"

"People take other people to allies to mug them." Aria got out of the car and stood, but Wes stayed inside yelling so she could hear him. "Ezra didn't tell me you were in the mafia. We can go back and order take out, or whatever you want."

Aria laughed at Wes playfully. "Shut up, and come on. They're going to close soon."

Wes got out and walked with Aria up to a glass door with worn away words on it.

"Il signore scelta" Wes read, with a surprisingly great accent. "The ladies choice?"

"You speak Italian?" Aria inquired in awe.

Wes smiled, opening the door for Aria. "There are a lot of things you don't know about me."

The two made their way to one of the many available booths. There was only one other man sitting at a table reading with an empty plate. The place was a small family owned restaurant that had been one of the first restaurants in the area. They hadn't updated much since then, and still only accepted cash. Aria came here mostly to read, and because the food was incredible.

"Vegan?" Wes said with a smile.

"Is that a problem?" Aria gave him a condescending smirk.

"I love vegan." Wes said sincerely. A small elderly woman came over and asked their order in broken English. Aria ordered in the little Italian she new, and Wes followed suit.

"So, are all places in Rosewood like this one?" Wes asked disappointed.

Aria rolled her eyes. "No, places this decadent are few and far between in Rosewood."

"Good, it's nice to have places like this; ones that are hidden. When every place around is a quaint, it becomes... un-unique I guess." Wes, and Aria laughed at his lack of vocabulary. "I guess what I'm trying to say is... it's better when places like this are forgotten by the masses. Then they are appreciated more when they're found."

"Seems like everyone in town has forgotten this place besides me and Lenny." Aria motioned with her eyes, to show Wes who Lenny was.

"You know his name?" Wes asked laughing. "You and Ezra must come here a lot." Wes took a drink of his water, and picked up a bread stick, hiding his eyes from Aria.

"Actually..." Aria looked down picking at some of her chipped finger nail paint. "Ezra and I don't come here."

Wes perked up and stared at Aria, his eye brows raised. "Why not? He would love this place."

"It's kind of... my spot I guess." Aria looked up meeting Wesleys eyes. "I've never told anyone about this place... much less bring them here."

He could tell Aria was hesitant to tell him that. "Well," Wesley started with a smile. "It means a lot that you would show it to me."

Aria shrugged non-chalantly."My intentions weren't pure."

"I knew it!" Wes demanded. "You were going to mug me!"

"I was. I changed my mind when I lost the element of surprise." Aria playfully joked along.

Wes laughed and looked down at the table distantly. When he looked up all joking was gone from his eyes. He was very intense and it made Aria uncomfortable. "Why did you really bring me here? We could have gone to any place in town. So why this one? Why somewhere so... personal?"

Aria moved her straw around her cup, not wanting to answer the question; her reason was childish. "Honestly?" She asked looking up. Wes nodded his head in agreement before she continued. "You seemed like someone who wants to hit up all the most popular spots, and hang out with the cool kids. This is the last place on earth someone would go to find those things."

Wes looked at Aria in mock horror. "You did it to spite me!" Aria grinned guiltily. "You thought I would hate this place, didn't you."

Aria laughed, "I did."

"What did I do to you to deserve that, Montgomery?" Wes asked still surprised by Arias honest answer.

"Not me, Ezra. I think he feels inferior to you. That drives me insane." She replied.

After a moment of silence Wes laughed and spoke again. "You want me to hate dinner."

Aria laughed along. "I wanted you to have a horrible dinner."

The elderly woman came back and set their food down.

After the woman left, Wes looked back at Aria. "Would you be mad if I said I'm having a great time?"

Aria smiled back. "No."

Ezra held his hands around a leaking connection under Rachel's faucet. The water spewed out uncontrollably, soaking Ezra from head to toe.

"Here" Rachel said urgently. Ezra took the towel and wrapped it around the leak. This was a temporary stopper, but the water was soaking through quickly.

"Turn the water to the house off." Ezra shouted panicked.

"I don't know how to do that!" Rachel shouted back.

Stepping out of his car, Ezra recalled the happenings of the night. His shoes squeaked as he miserably made his way to his apartment. Stalking to the door Ezra fumbled for his keys. He flipped the lights, and slid off his wet shoes. Ezra peeled off his wet shirt and looked to the couch.

"Aria?" He called. No answer. He looked for a note, on the counter, on the couch, on his desk. His heart sunk as he looked at the type writer, remembering the last time he asked her to wait for too long, and came home to an empty apartment; the typewriter was empty. He picked up his phone and had no messages.

"She probably went to get take out." He thought to himself. Undressing in the bathroom, Ezra hoped into a warm shower, reveling in the heat. He lathered the soap up his torso, and his arms, then moved to shampooing his hair. He rinsed, and conditioned his hair, and washed the other various parts of his body, before rinsing again. Ezra wrapped himself in his robe, and stepped out to find his phone and call Aria.

Laughter coming from the front door caught his attention. He could hear Wesley's voice outside the door, fumbling with his key as he told an anecdote. Ezra figured Wes had found a girl to romance thinking Ezra would be out with Aria. He sighed to himself and grabbed some clothes; getting dressed in the bathroom. Finally the laughing pair was inside and Ezra stepped out towards the common area. Much to his surprise, the girl Wes was romancing was Aria.

"You guys seem to be having a great time." Ezra said in an odd tone. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel. Threatened, or angry. Should he be thankful that his brother took Aria out when Ezra was indisposed? Was he supposed to feel anything? Should he be giving a second thought to the two of them walking in laughing?

"You're home." Aria stated flatly, all of her laughter fading.

"I told you I would be..." Ezra said plainly, trying to conceal his emotion until he knew what he should feel.

"And I waited, for two and a half hours." Aria said slightly frustrated. Seeing him here brought back her fear from earlier that evening. She couldn't shake the feeling that Rachael was a threat.

"Well, I'm here now. Let me take you out to dinner to make up for it." Ezra said, grabbing his jacket off the couch.

"Actually..." Aria started looking at Wes awkwardly. "We already ate." Ezra looked up eying Wes carefully.

Wes could feel the tension between the three of them raising. "I got home from class, and Aria had fallen asleep waiting for you. I felt like a jerk for waking her up, so I convinced her to have dinner with me."

Ezra sighed, frustrated with himself. He should have called. "A pipe busted, and I was trying to fix it and..." He trailed off not knowing what to say.

"I thought you were Mr. Fitz, not Mr. Fix It." Aria quipped.

"What about a movie?" Ezra asked hopefully.

"It's getting kind of late." Aria declined. "I think I'm just going to go."

Ezra shook his head, at himself. "Okay, let me walk you out."

Aria walked towards the door giving Wes a genuine smile. "Thank you for tonight, bye."

Wes smiled back. "No, thank you for not mugging me." The two shared an inside joke, making Ezra feel more out of the loop. "See you Thursday, Montgomery." Wes called as she left the apartment, a devilish grin playing on his lips.

Ezra shut the door behind them, and took a few long strides to catch up to Aria. "Thursday?"

"Wes and I are getting coffee after class." She stated planely, focusing on the stairs.

"Can we have lunch tomorrow?" He asked.

"I don't know. Am I going to have to wait for Wes to pick me up?" They had reached her car now, and Aria turned to face Ezra as she spoke.

"Aria." Ezra replied frustrated.

"I'm sorry, that was uncalled for." She apologized.

"I should have called." Ezra apologized back.

"Yea, you should have." She let out a deep breath. "But, I can't be mad at you for trying to keep someones house from flooding." She gave him a soft smile.

Ezra started laughing. "Trust me, I failed." He lifted his hand to cup her cheek and pulled her into him. All of her frustrations washed away with the pressure of his lips on hers; his body against hers. He slowly walked her backwards until her back was pressed against her car. Ezra firmly planted his hands against the windows on either side of her head. Her hands slowly moved up his body taking in every contour of his muscular shape.

Ezra pulled only centimeters away. His lips so close it left Aria yearning for more of him. "A whole day without your lips is far too long." He whispered, then leaned in for another kiss.

Aria opened her front door to muffled yelling coming from the top of the stairs. A similar scene had played in front of Aria for the passed couple days. She was hesitant to stop long enough to listen from the outside of her parents door. Aria had a fear that she knew it was her they were arguing about. Ever since she and her father had that chat about Ezra in the kitchen, Ella had been giving him the cold shoulder.

The next morning Aria was grabbing her things for school when she received a group text from Spencer.

Spencer: Meet me on Conerstone, where the billboard is. ASAP.