Maybe Baby

Chapter 3: The Finish Line.

Aria tumbled out of bed the next morning, knocking the phone on the floor in the process. She picked it up and checked the time; 8:30. Great, in the midst of it all she had somehow forgotten to set her alarm clock, either that or she had magically turned it off in her sleep. It didn't matter, though, she had still overslept.

No matter how much she hurried she would still be be late, however she had to hurry either way. She rushed to her closet, grabbing random things from it. She didn't have time to pick something proper so what she would have to wear that day would be a pair of denim shorts and flowy with shirt with beads on the neckline. It wasn't the ever so colorful Aria wardrobe, but it would have to do.

She rushed to the bathroom without making her bed, she simply didn't have time for that. She brushed her teeth, did a light and quick make-up, and then she finished by brushing her hair and putting it in a high ponytail. Normally Aria was an accessory kind of girl, but that specific day she didn't have time for it. Worst case scenario she knew that Hanna always had emergency accessories in her locker.

She ran back to her closet to figure out the shoe situation. She scanned her shoes and tried to decide which would be quicker to throw on. She opted for her dark brown Ugg boots because it was simply just sticking her feet in them. Again not her usual colorful self, but it would just have to do.

She mentally kicked herself as she ran downstairs. Why did she have to oversleep? She knew why! It was because of the decision she had to make about her and Ezra. It had kept her up late, and then came the phone call with Hanna, and even with her late night she was no step closer to having made a decision. She was still torn, but hopefully her day with Hanna that day would help ease things a little. It could also make things worse, but Aria chose not to think about that. She knew she didn't wanna leave her friends, but she didn't wanna leave Ezra either. What the day with Hanna would hopefully do was assure her that either way things would be okay. That was what she hoped for.

When Aria came downstairs she was surprised by the smell of coffee, and when she stepped into the kitchen her mom sat there by the kitchen table, sure enough sipping coffee. Ella looked up at Aria and smiled as her daughter sat down across from her. She pushed a plate with a spinach bagel on it over to Aria, a girl who oddly enough liked almost anything spinach related.

Aria began nibbling on her bagel while her mother kept sipping her coffee. This just seemed weird. Aria had overslept, and her mother was sitting there totally chillaxed as if it was just a regular sunday morning. Aria was confused to say the least.

"Uhm, mom? Not that I don't like your pressence, but why are you still here?" Aria decided to speak, sounding just as confused as she felt. Her mom simply smiled at her.

"Well, I don't have to be at work until 10 today, sweetie." Ella then said, but Aria was still confused. Her mother sipped her coffee again and continued to smile at her daughter, and she was just a little too happy this early for Aria's liking, and the fact that she was so calm about Aria being late was just odd. She just let her sit there and enjoy her bagel while she should be hurrying off to school. Odd, indeed.

"How come you didn't wake me then?" Aria wanted to know, still confused. She took another bite of her bagel while her mother calmly sipped her coffee again. Aria was a little stressed about it, but man that bagel was good.

Ella chuckled at her daughter. It amused her how forgetful her daughter could be sometimes. "Honey, have you forgotten? You don't have to meet until 10 as well." Ella said, sipping the last of her coffee, and then she grabbed a tomato bagel.

"You couldn't have told me that earlier?" Her mother chuckled at her little freakout, but Aria wasn't amused. She surely looked like crap, and now she found out that she actually would've had time to dress herself properly. Not at all amused. "Look at me, mom! I look like something the cat dragged in because I thought I overslept, and now I find out that I actually did have time to get dressed!" Her mom chuckled again. "Stop laughing, it's not funny!"

"Don't be so dramatic, Aria. I think you look very pretty today." Ella said, and Aria had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. Of course she'd say that, she was her mother for crying out loud. She didn't fight the urge hard enough, though, because Ella noticed. "Hey, I'm not just saying it. I mean it. You've had days where you've looked like something the cat dragged in, but today is not one of them. You look nice."

"So you're saying that I sometimes look like something the cat dragged in?" Aria wanted to know, kicking herself for using that specific (and rude) tone with her mother. Ever since her fight with Spencer she just hadn't been able to control it, but she knew for sure that her mom was one of the people she wasn't supposed to take it out on. She quickly retreated the last remark. "Sorry."

Her mom simply smiled and said; "That's okay." She paused to finish the rest of the bagel while Aria was only halfway through with hers. She had always been a slow eater, and normally Ella was too. "Do you want a ride to school once you're done?"

Aria smiled and nodded, and then she tried to finish the rest of her bagel quickly. Quickly turned out to be 15 minutes, and then she helped her mother clean up the kitchen before the both of them walked out to Ella's car.

Ella started the car, and Aria sat quietly in the passenger seat next to her, deep in thought. She couldn't wait to see Hanna, and maybe Ezra? He had said he'd try to stay away from her while she made the decision, but surely she'd be able to sneak a peek of him? She hoped so.

She couldn't believe how incredibly hard this decision proved to be. She wished she could just be the crazy romantic and run off with Ezra without any consequences, but she still had her 'friends' and family to consider in this. How much wouldn't it hurt them if she went? She knew she would still have Hanna no matter what, but she couldn't help thinking the same thoughts over and over again. Would her mom and dad love her the same if she went away with her High School teacher? Would she ever be friends with Emily and Spencer again?

Aria had a feeling that Emily would eventually come around after the revelation that Aria had been seeing Ezra, but would she if she found out that Aria had run off with him? That would most likely multiply the taller girl's disappointment with a thousand, and Aria didn't know why, but she hated disappointing that girl almost more than anything. There was always that sweet silver lining that she would be just as supportive as Hanna once everything had settled, but if she hadn't come around before Aria was supposed to run away with Ezra then the smaller girl wasn't sure she could go. Oh, the dilemmas.

Spencer, however, could rot in hell for all Aria cared. Okay, Aria didn't mean that, but she was just so upset with her friend. The person she thought out all people would understand had been the worst. She knew both Hanna and Emily would be disappointed at first and eventually come around, like Hanna in fact had done. She had just thought that Spencer would have been the first to be supportive, not Hanna. It just proved that you could only know people so well.

Regardless of everything Aria knew deep down that she probably couldn't leave things the way they were with Spencer, but whenever she thought she couldn't possibly go for whatever reason struck her at the time, it felt like her heart was being ripped out at the thought of staying and not going with what was surely the love of her life.

It became more and more clear to her that she needed all of her friends in this, not just Hanna. Hanna was a crazy romantic even more so than Aria herself, but what Aria also needed was for someone to look at it calm and collected without any attached feelings. She knew Spencer could provide that, and therefore she hated the fact that they weren't exactly friends at that point! She also needed Emily's cautious nature, but who knew when the tallest of the bunch would speak to her again?

The advice Jenna had given her yesterday was great, and right after Aria had thought it had made things a lot easier. Why shouldn't Aria take a risk for love? It just wasn't as easy as she had hoped. In the perfect world she would take that risk, run off with Ezra, be on perfect terms with everybody afterwards, and then would all live happily ever after. Nothing was that simple, though. Sigh.

In the back of her mind she hoped that Hanna had somehow filled Spencer and Emily in on the subject, and they now weren't mad or disappointed in her anymore, and they were gonna be helpful on the subject. Knowing Hanna, though, the blonde girl always made it worse before it got better so Aria kind of hoped she hadn't, but then again. No, well... No... Aria had confused even herself. It was all so stressful and complicated, and she knew all three of her friends could ease the situation more than just one, but Aria probably wouldn't be that lucky.

The question that had bothered her all day yesterday and would probably do so for the rest of the day still remained; should she stay or should she go? She wanted to go with all her heart, but a big part of her also wanted to stay. Hopefully the Chunky Monkey she was gonna have with Hanna would help just a little, if anything relieve some of the stress, and maybe she'd figure out how to make Spencer and Emily come around. When she was on right terms with every one of her friends the decision would hopefully be much easier to make. You had to be optimistic even at times like these.

"A penny for your thoughts?" Ella interrupted said thoughts, and Aria was kind of glad she did. They were depressing, and if she could have just one minute of not thinking them she would be glad!

"Uhm..." Aria wasn't sure what to say. She couldn't just come out and say it like it was; Mr. Fitz asked me to run away with him, what's for dinner? She could try to get her frustration across without being literal? "I have this decision to make, and I'm torn about what to do. I don't want people to hate me if I make the wrong one in their eyes, and it's really frustrating. It's basically life or death."

"Aria, you're 16, how can you possibly have a life or death decision to make?" Ella teased her daughter slightly, but Aria sent her very saying look that clearly stated that she was in no such mood, and that it was very serious indeed. "Okay. Well, can you be more specific?"

Aria shook her head. "I can't. It involves someone else, and I've promised not to tell, but I'm scared that I'm gonna either hurt said person or my friends." Aria paused and let out a very annoyed sigh. "Please, help me."

"Aria, sweetie, I don't know how much help I can be. It doesn't sound like a decision I can help you make." Ella said and watched her daughter look down with a sad expression. She hated that, but all she could do was give parental advice. "Try clearing your mind of everything, and just whatever situation you find yourself in; follow your dreams. Always follow your dreams."

Aria looked up. It sounded so much like what she'd been told by everyone else she had confered on the subject. "It doesn't help much." She said, feeling a little bit disappointed, but still mustered to send her mother an appreciative smile for her try to help. "But thanks."

Ella smiled as if to say 'you're welcome', and then the school came into sight. Aria started unbuckling her seatbelt even though she knew she wasn't supposed to. The car was still in motion after all, but she was eager to get out and talk to Hanna, and she also wanted to see and talk to Ezra even if he said he was gonna keep away.

The car was barely parked when Aria jumped out of it. She hurried towards the school so she could find Hanna as soon as possible. She probably shouldn't rely that much on Hanna in this whole situation, but she couldn't help it. Her head and heart were a mess, and so far it had eased it a little to talk to others about it. She only had until tomorrow to figure everything out.

She would love to be able to talk to Emily and Spencer about it, too. That would make it a lot easier to deal with than just talking to Hanna about it, not that it hadn't helped, but she still felt unsure of everything. Hopefully this whole day would bring her closer to an actual decision.

Meanwhile inside the school Hanna was awaiting Aria's arrival when Spencer and Emily approached her. Spencer seemed to be on a mission like always, and Emily seemed rather concerned. Normally Hanna wasn't known to be the quickest person in the world, but she put two and two together.

Hanna opened her locker even though she had already gathered what she needed from it, but she wanted to look occupied. She was in no mood to talk to them because she knew what it was gonna be about, and she would want to defend Aria, but how was she gonna do that and not reveal anything? It was up to Aria to tell them the rest of it, but at this pace she might not get to that. It was gonna be their loss, though, if she did decide to go.

They stood behind Hanna now, and the blonde of the group had a feeling that they weren't buying the being occupied thing. She closed her locker and turned around to face them.

"Have you heard how Aria acted yesterday?" Emily asked, and by that Hanna immediately knew that Spencer had been there, too. Hanna fought the urge to roll her eyes as Emily carried on; "Can you believe her?"

Hanna could see that Emily was in complete disbelief about the whole Aria situation, but she surely didn't know as much as Hanna did. She probably only knew that Aria had talked to Jenna and afterwards blew up on Spencer, but Hanna knew the whole story.

"What I can't believe, Em, is that yesterday you were so eager to let Aria have the chance to speak out, and now you're so quick to judge after only hearing one side of the story." Hanna said with what she herself found to be some price-winning disappointment and blame. Nailed it, she thought to herself, and then walked away from her friends to go to Aria's locker to wait for the shorter girl, but then they followed her so she decided to add a finishing touch to her rant to make it sting just a little bit more; "That's just so wrong, wouldn't you say?"

Emily avoided the question, and Spencer took over. She was like that. "Don't blame Emily for this. Aria is out of control, and you know it!" Spencer stated as though they were facts, and the expression on her face matched the one she always wore when on a mission.

Hanna wanted so bad to blurt out everything that was going on with Aria to straighten it all out, but that would be to betray her little Chunky Monkey. Even if she was to tell them what was going on they would surely just turn right around to form a new attack on Aria. This was indeed a very delicate situation.

The blonde of the group chose to ignore that last remark about Aria being out of control. She stopped at Aria's locker, turned around to face Emily and Spencer, and she was far from happy with them. Why were they like that? Hanna had digested the affair Aria had with their English teacher, and then she had called to apologize to the shorter girl for her reaction. The way it was supposed to be!

When had Hanna become the mature one? She wanted so bad to tell them the whole situation, hopefully then they'd come around and be there for there friend. Tomorrow might be the last day they had her, but it still wasn't Hanna's place to tell. Maybe she could work in some hints into the conversation somehow.

"Well, she's got a lot going on." Hanna said, leaning up against Aria's locker. She knew that was way subtle, but hopefully. "You know what that's like."

"A doesn't count." Spencer said, thinking she knew it all. It was so far from what this was about, though, but when Spencer thought she knew everything there was no talking to her. "We all feel the pressure from A, but that hasn't made any of us behave like that with each other."

"You are so stupid!" Hanna blurted out before she could even stop herself. She tried to cover her mouth, but it was too late. "You attacked Aria without knowing all the facts, of course she was gonna blow up on you. Wouldn't you?"

"Hanna..." Emily said in a way that only she could. It sounded as though she was pleading Hanna to stop her rant, but Hanna didn't care. "Please stop."

Hanna couldn't believe Emily was taking sides. It was so unlike her to do something like that. She was normally one to give everyone an even chance, but apparently she was on team Spencer now without even knowing all the facts. This was frustrating.

"No, I won't! It's unfair to Aria that you're ganging up on her, and you don't even know what's going!" Hanna had never been one to lecture before, but that was the role she had taken upon herself at that specific moment. Emily was taken aback by Hanna acting so out of character, Spencer, however, hung herself on Hanna's very last words. It hadn't been the first time she had heard those words in the last 24 hours.

"What do you..." Spencer tried to find out what Hanna had meant, but was cut off by the blonde girl.

"But you know what?" Hanna whisper-yelled, not wanting to draw attention to them. She was furious, though, and at that point she was basically trying to get rid of them as she saw Aria coming towards them. "Just keep it up. I don't give a crap, but if monday comes and Aria's gone... Don't come crying to me!"

Those were Hanna's last words, and then she left her friends standing there to go greet Aria. The shorter girl looked distraught, but who could really blame her? The decision she had to make was obviously taking it's toll.

Emily and Spencer stood frozen in their spot and watched as Aria came up to Hanna. The two hugged, and then they walked down the hallway, past Emily and Spencer. They were talking, and the two taller girls decided quietly amongst themselves to discretely follow the other two and eavesdrop. It was wrong, but they were on a mission.

"How did you sleep last night?" Hanna asked, concerned about her shorter friend. Aria offered her a half-hearted smile, and Hanna sympathetically offered her one back. "That bad?"

"No, actually. My heart and head found some peace after we made up, and I easily fell asleep." Aria said, steering towards English to sneak a peek at Ezra with an unaware Hanna. "It was the waking up part that was hard. I'm going out of my mind thinking everything over, and all I get told is to follow my heart. Either that or follow my dreams. It's just not that simple, you know?"

Hanna nodded as if she understood, but she didn't quite know what to say. She hadn't been epicly in love like Aria, and she certainly hadn't been romantically asked to run away with someone. She didn't understand to put it mildly, but she listened and tried to understand, and Aria appreciated that so it didn't matter that much.

"So I'm guessing you're no closer to a decision?" Hanna asked, though she obviously knew the answer. Aria didn't say anything, but merely smiled – a sad one at that. It broke Hanna's heart, but luckily she knew that the Chunky Monkey waiting for them after school would help a little bit.

They walked quietly for a bit, and then Hanna noticed where this walk was going. English class. Aria wanted to go see Ezra, but that wasn't a good idea. Hadn't Ezra said they should try to stay away from each other or something like that? Hanna didn't comment it, though, she simply stayed by her friend's side.

"We'll be best friends either way, though." The blonde tried her best to ease everything for her shorter friend, and it was appreciated, but only half succeeded. "If you go I'll come and visit. It won't change our relationship, and if you can't find it in you heart to go I'll be there for you."

Aria could feel her best friend hinting towards her going, and she wasn't surprised. Hanna had always been the most romantic out of the four, and these days Aria wished she was like that. She wished she could just go and not care about everything else, but there was her family and the immense disappointment that would follow, and then her friends who were already acting out. No, she couldn't just go.

"I love you, Han, for being there for me." Aria said, reaching out to grab Hanna's hand to show her affection for the blonde girl and get her appreciation across. By then they had reached English, and Aria peeked inside to see Ezra. Hanna stayed outside to listen, but Ezra wasn't there. "Excuse me, who are you?"

The woman who had been writing on the blackboard turned around to face Aria. "I'm Ms. Shepard." She said with a smile, and she seemed nice, but Aria found herself hating her slightly because Ezra wasn't there. "I'm the substitute teacher."

Aria nodded, taking it all in. She still had questions, though. "Where's Mr. Fitz?" Aria wanted to know, hoping she wasn't coming across as inpolite, but she was desperate to see him even though she knew it wasn't wise to.

"He called in sick." Ms. Shepard revealed, and Aria felt her heart sink at that piece of information, but it was probably for the best. "I'm filling in for him."

Well, obviously! Aria thought to herself and stepped out of the class room with her head low. Hanna immediately threw her arms around the shorter girl to comfort her, and Aria leaned into it, sniffling a bit.

She didn't know how she could possibly go through that day with her thoughts troubling her that much, she wouldn't be able to focus on her studies. Why did it have to be that difficult? Why couldn't she just say 'I'm gonna go' or 'I'm gonna stay', and then that would be it? It sucked, and it was supposed the be thrilling because it was a big symbol of Ezra's love for her.

Ezra had said he'd tried try to stay away from her while she made her decision, and she knew that was why he wasn't there, but it still hurt. She didn't feel like it was a decision she could possibly make, and she just needed some reassurance from the people closest to her.

Hanna's support helped her big time, but she hated to say that it wasn't enough. She needed Ezra, but he was staying away so he wouldn't persuade her decision. She also needed Emily and Spencer. When they weren't upset with her their support had always helped her through tough times, but she didn't feel like they would listen to her now.

Hanna let go of Aria and leaned her head against the shorter girl's, gazing into her best friend's hazel eyes. She could see every emotion in her eyes, and that was the thing with Aria. She always wore her emotions on her sleeves. She had never been good at hiding her feelings, no matter how hard she tried. Right now Hanna wanted to make her petite friend's worries disappear.

"What do you say we blow off school and go straight to my house?" Hanna whispered, her head still leaning against Aria's. Aria's eyes shifted a bit, and Hanna could tell that she didn't wanna be there, but that she couldn't get herself to say it. "We're gonna go to my house!"

With that Hanna had made the decision for them, and she linked her arm with Aria's and tried to lead her through the halls towards the parking lot, but the shorter girl didn't move.

Aria looked down. She didn't know why, but she was about to cry. She fought back the tears, though, and looked back up. "What about school?" Was all she could say. She knew she was focussing on the wrong things again, like when she had asked Ezra what about his car. She just seemed to lack the right words these days.

"Screw school! It will still be here tomorrow." Hanna said in a way that only she could, hoping her bubbly, happy self would somehow rub off on Aria a little bit, making her forget about everything for just a minute or two. "What you need is Chunky Monkey, some girl talk / advice. A day with no worries. I'm gonna make you have fun today if it's the last thing I do!"

Aria smiled, and for the first time that day it had been a genuine one. She loved Hanna for caring so much, and all she could do now was give in. She nodded her head to say yes, and Hanna squealed out in delight and began dragging them both through the school out to Hanna's car in the parking lot.

You had to give the blonde girl props. She never failed to cheer Aria up. Where the other's gave greater advice, Hanna had always been the best at cheering her up, although her blonde best friend had been amazing at the advice thing yesterday.

She just hoped for a day with no worries like Hanna had said, and she knew if someone would be able to give her that it would be Hanna, and she almost couldn't wait to indulge in Chunky Monkey and girl talk with a her best friend. She actually caught herself feeling relief as she and Hanna left the school.

Still inside the school were Super Detective, Spencer Hastings, and Side-Kick, Emily Fields. They had been following Hanna and Aria to get to the bottom of everything, but they hadn't been able to gather anything from their two friends' conversation, other than they had decided to ditch school.

"Well, that didn't help much." Emily said, stepping out of hiding with Spencer. She turned around to face her fierce best friend, who still looked like she was on a mission. "Maybe we're reaching?"

"I don't think so." Spencer said, not really taking in what Emily had said. When she was in her investigating zone there was only one way, and that was Spencer's so she almost didn't hear everyone else. "We need to go to Hanna's and get to the bottom of this.

An odd expression crept onto Emily's face. "What about school?" She used Aria's exact words, but this was just freaky. Spencer was acting obsessed (what else was new?), but this was different.

"This is more important." And with those words Spencer turned around and followed in the footsteps of Hanna and Aria to get to her car in the parking lot.

Emily, the always side-kick, followed right in the tail of Spencer. "Wow, I never thought I'd live to see the day when Spencer Hastings would blow off school for something else."

I'll give you a kiss or three for your commitment

"Just go into the living room and throw yourself on the couch. I'll bring in the ice cream." Hanna said as they entered her house. She took off her own bag, and then relieved Aria's of hers, throwing them both onto the floor in the hallway of the house.

Aria simply nodded, walking into the living room where she sat down on the couch like she had been told to. She put her feet on the table like she knew Hanna always did when they were indulging on sweets together. Hanna always said that it was the extreme lazy position, and that was the best way to have a 'fat' day.

It was strange because Aria had somehow always felt closest to Spencer, but these days she wasn't sure. She had always felt like she had more in common with Spencer, and that the ambitious girl understood her more, but the night before and this day made her see that Hanna actually understood her the best. She had just in a way accidentally overlooked it because Spencer was more in your face, but she saw it now, and that was the most important thing.

She had a feeling that if she decided to stay then Hanna would be the one who had tipped the scale. How did you leave a friend like that? She didn't know, but she had to push those thoughts out of the door right that second. This day was about indulging in sweets with her best friend and having fun. Tomorrow was for the other stuff.

"Look, look, look!" Hanna said with a funny voice as she entered the living room. She carried the carton of Chunky Monkey in the stretched out palm of her hand while waving her other hand around it to illustrate just how magnificent it was that she could do it like that, and she high-fived herself mentally when she saw Aria crack a smile. That had been the whole purpose of it.

"Thank you." Aria said as Hanna handed the ice cream to her, and then the blonde friend ran out of the room to grab two spoons from the kitchen. She came rushing back and handed one of the spoons to Aria, and she immediately dug her own into the ice cream, taking the first bite. "You know, you could have carried the spoons with the ice cream."

Hanna licked her spoon in funny way, making Aria chuckle. Mission accomplished again. "I know, but that would have ruined the dramatic effect!" She simply stated, digging her spoon into the carton of Chunky Monkey again to have another bite.

Aria dug hers into it as well. It was funny that whenever they had days like these where they just pigged out together they would always eat of the same carton, and sometimes they would even share the same spoon – at least when they ate ice cream. When they at cake or something like that they would share the same fork.

That day Hanna had made Aria realize how much she valued their friendship, and how much she wanted to maintain it. She didn't know why she hadn't realized it before, but Hanna might just be her best friend out of the four. The blonde never failed to cheer her up, and she couldn't remember days like this with just Spencer or Emily. Sure, she had a special bond with each of the girls, but it wasn't like the one she had with Hanna. She realized that now.

"This is sooooo good!" Hanna moaned, making a face to prove her point of how good it was, and Aria couldn't help chuckling again. This ditch day was exactly what she needed.

Aria took another spoonful ice cream into her mouth, and obviously she agreed with Hanna. Chunky Monkey was her favorite after all. She dug her spoon into the carton again, and she got three chocolate bananas up with, and that didn't go unnoticed by Hanna.

Hanna did this funny twist in her seat, falling off the couch while reaching for Aria's spoon. The chocolate bananas in Chunky Monkey were like the best thing in there besides the actual ice cream. Aria laughed and gladly handed Hanna her spoon once the blonde was once again up on the couch.

Hanna licked the spoon clean and handed it back to Aria, and then she dug her own into the ice cream again to have another bite, but she was interrupted when the door rang. She groaned loudly with annoyance, and then she got up from the couch to go get the door.

Aria stayed back with the ice cream, taking another spoonful of it into her mouth. It was so good. If she decided to go with Ezra she was gonna ban Hanna from eating Chunky Monkey without her, but if she chose not to go they would have to down about 5 cartons of it to help Aria get over the hurt of losing Ezra. Besides Chunky Monkey was only Hanna's third favorite (behind Baked Alaska and Cookie Dough) so surely she wouldn't miss it if Aria went.

Another spoon of ice cream, and Hanna re-entered the living room with a gloom look upon her face. She sat down next to Aria again and took a spoonful of the ice cream into her mouth to lessen the mood. Aria eventually got why when Spencer and Emily entered shortly after, and then she did the same.

"You ditched school to eat Chunky Monkey when Coffee Caramel Buzz is clearly better?" Spencer said, attempting to make a joke to lighten the mood while her and Emily remained standing. Hanna and Aria were not amused.

"Sure, you would think so." Aria simply said, using a very monotone voice while avoiding eye contact with the newly arrived. She acted like she thought the ice cream was way more interesting and took another spoonful of it into her mouth.

"I like Phish Food or Half Baked better." Emily said, mainly stating her favorite flavors to sort of break the tension, but why would she succeed when Spencer didn't? Aria kept her focus on the ice cream and ate another spoonful of it.

Hanna, however, seemed to join in because she really had a sweet tooth. So did Aria, but she was far more upset with their friends. "Half Baked is for when you can't decide between Cookie Dough or Chocolate Fudge Brownie." Hanna said and stuck her tongue out at Emily. They always had that 'argument' when the girls had a movie night and ate Ben & Jerry's.

Emily shook her head as if to say no, and then she decided they should move on from the ice cream talk. She and Spencer were there for answers, and answers they were gonna get one way or the other.

"Aria?" The swimmer tried to get her petite friend's attention away from the ice cream, but Aria continued to ignore both her and Spencer. "Aria, would you please look at me?" She didn't. "Please, Aria?" She finally did, mainly because she could feel that gaze of Emily's bearing into her. "Thank you."

Spencer and Emily shared a look. Emily didn't quite know what to say next. She had gotten Aria's attention, and now Spencer took over.

"You have been acting rather strange lately, and..." Spencer led off, but then Aria looked away again, unimpressed. "I'm sorry, it's just that you tell us about you and Mr. Fitz, and it's like we don't recognize you anymore. You have to understand. It's like you've been lying to us, and we just don't know, and..." She paused. "Please look at me."

"Aria?" This time Hanna spoke, and Aria looked up and met her gaze. It was so full of care, and Aria knew Hanna only wanted what was best for her. "Why don't you just tell them what's going on? They are here now, and Spencer is clearly sorry about yesterday. She wouldn't be if she wasn't, right?" She turned around to look at Spencer who nodded, and then she turned back around to face Aria again. "See!"

Aria seemed to think about whether she should tell them or not, and then she finally spoke. "I'm still upset with you for yesterday, Spence. You were so harsh with me, and then you had the nerve to come up to me after I spoke to Jenna and say the things you did. It hurt."

"And I'm so sorry for that." Spencer interrupted, her eyes wide in the way they were when she regretted something, and then she finally sat down in a chair. Emily was still standing.

Aria didn't acknowledge Spencer's a apology with an answer, she merely shrugged and carried on explaining things; "The thing with me and Ezra is that it has been a whirlwind from day one, and after he found out I was his student we tried to maintain a relationship." She paused and watched her friends to see if they were getting upset with her again. It didn't appear so. "I don't know why, but suddenly he was always one foot in and one foot out, always looking for a reason why it couldn't possibly work. It was so frustrating because I knew we both loved each other. I knew it even before the poem." Her friends looked confused so she offered an explanation. "B26. You've read it."

"That was about you?" Hanna exclaimed, completely interrupting Aria, but she did know the story. She just didn't know that B26 was about Aria.

Aria simply nodded, and then she continued to fill in Emily and Spencer. "It was frustrating that he always found an excuse for why we couldn't possibly be together, but at the same time keeping a door open for us." A pause for dramatic effect. "Therefore I wrote a poem myself to get out my frustration, and it accidentally fell into Ezra's hands. I was mad at first because he just read it, but now I'm glad he did." Another pause. "It made him step up."

Emily and Spencer were confused. "Then why have you been acting so un-Aria?" Spencer asked, sounding as confused as both she and Emily looked. It didn't completely add up.

Aria took a deep breath, preparing herself to drop the bombshell on her two friends. "He asked me to run away with him." She paused and watched as two very shocked expressions crept onto Spencer and Emily's face. "That's what I was trying to tell you about yesterday at school, but then you all attacked me, and I had no-one to talk to, and I really needed to get out to lift some of the weight off of my shoulders. You, my best friends, had disowned me, and I was desperate to talk to someone so I turned to Jenna, and she actually turned out to be nice and very misunderstood."

"We're so sor..." Emily started an apology she didn't get to finish because she was interrupted by Aria.

"I'm not done." She said, and her friends looked surprised at the fact that there was more to the story. "I have until tomorrow night to decide if I'm gonna go with him, but if I don't he's still gonna go. He says he can't stand being my teacher anymore and be in town where we can never officially be together. So if I don't go I lose him, but if I do I'll hurt my family so much, and I'll leave you behind to deal with A. I'm struggling very much with this decision, and that's why I've been so un-Aria and snapping at everybody."

Emily finally sat down as well. That was a lot to take in. That was like an epic love story, and she had been acting so stupid towards one of her best friend in a time where her friend had really needed her. She had just walked away from her. She regretted that now.

"I'm sorry." Emily said, but she thought those two words sounded lame at that point. Aria, however, smiled because she really appreciated her friend's apology. Besides she had already forgiven Hanna, and Emily hadn't even said anything hurtful.

"Me too." Spencer chipped in from her seat, and even though Aria had told herself she would never forgive Spencer for yesterday, she felt herself nodding at her friend with a small smile as if to say 'I forgive you'. "Don't worry about us, just follow your heart. How many chances do we get in a life time at an epic fairytale love story? We'll always be here."

"Yeah, I agree." Emily said and smiled at Aria, and the shorter girl was really appreciative that despite of everything they were so quickly on board with her relationship with Ezra. "And don't worry about A, we'll deal with the her or him. Just follow your dreams."

Hanna couldn't help herself from chuckling upon hearing almost her exact words being repeated by her friends, but eventually when you had been best friends for so long that was bound to happen, right?

"That's what I keep being told, but it's just not easy like that." Aria said, and you could her the agony of not being able to decide in her voice. She wished it was that easy, and she could just clear her head of everything, and just go where her heart wanted to take. It just wasn't that simple. "It's so frustrating that I don't know what to do. I love Ezra, but then there's my family. If I stay, though, I think I'm always gonna be longing for Ezra. I hate this."

Aria groaned with annoyance, and then she dug her spoon into the ice cream that had now melted a bit. It was still good, though, she concluded as she took it into her mouth. She had hoped it would ease it a bit, but no. She groaned again and threw her spoon onto the sofa table, and then she leaned back in the couch and closed her eyes.

Hanna could clearly see that her friend was distraught, and so could Emily and Spencer. Hanna knew she couldn't make it go away, but she could damn well try by being the best friend there ever was. The question was how, though, and then the idea struck her.

"Hey, what do you guys say to a sleep-over?"

Aria opened her eyes and sat up straight. She glanced over each one of her friends and decided. "Okay."

Anything for you to go all in

The sleep-over yesterday had been great, and her friends had really tried their best to easy the situation and get her mind off of everything. On occasion they succeeded, and they proceeded to do the very same thing at school that day, but as Aria arrived home she was still no closer to making a decision.

I can't leave my best friends

She opened the door and stepped into her home, and she dumped her bag in the hallway, and then she walked up to her room where she sat down at her desk. She didn't know if she was gonna go, but if she did there had to be note to her parents, and she was gonna write that now.

Dear Mom and Dad,

There is no easy why to say this. I love you both, but there is something I've kept from you. Just after we had gotten back from Iceland I met a guy at a bar, and we started a beautiful relationship. He turned out to be my new teacher, and I think you know who I'm refering to now. It hasn't been without struggles, but we love each other deeply, and a few days ago he asked me to run away with him.

If you're reading this it means I've decided to go, and I don't know where our love will take us, but I know it's far away from Rosewood. I hope you won't be too disappointed in me by this decision, and that you will continue to love me even though I've run away with my English teacher. Or Ezra, the love of my life, as I know him as.

I will continue to love you, and I will miss you so much, but this was something I had to do. I hope we'll eventually see each other again, and by that time you will have digested all of this and be accepting of my relationship with Ezra.

I love you so much, but the love I feel for Ezra is something I've never experienced before, and I just had to see it through. Don't attempt to follow me, though. It would be a waste 'cos I don't even know where we are gonna go.

I'm sorry for any pain that this might cause, but know that I love you. I know I've written that a bunch of times now, but I hope that it might somehow lessen the blow and make you forgive me faster, but I do. Love you, that is. You are the ones who gave me life, and I know running away with my High School teacher might seem extremely ungrateful, but that's not what I am. I appreciate everything you've done for me, but this was just something I had to do do.

I'm deeply sorry.

I love you!

Always,
Aria

She folded the letter and put it into an envelope. She would decide what to do with it later. She didn't even know it was gonna be used yet, but if it was she didn't want them to find it too all. They might try to stop her then, and she didn't want that. If she decided to stay, however, she didn't want them to randomly find it and find out that she'd had a relationship with a teacher. Her relationship with Ezra would be over if she didn't go, and then that would just be unnecessary drama.

If you don't take a risk for love, what do you take it for?

She placed the envelope with the words Mom & Dad scribbled neatly on it on her desk, and then she got up and walked over to her closet where she pulled out her gymbag. She was gonna pack the bare necessities into it, and she had decided to do it in her gym bag because it was easier to get out of the house with that unnoticed. She was just thinking in case she decided to go. If she didn't it would just be easy to unpack.

You've been acting so un-Aria

A few pair of leggings, a couple of skirts, one or two dresses, her favorite pair of jeans, a few tops (or anything related). Now she just two pair of shoes, and then she would throw some random accessories into the bag, and after that she rushed out into her bathroom to gather her toiletries. Done!

Don't worry about us, just follow your heart.

That was easy. If only the decision of whether or not to go was. She walked around in her room, contemplating what to do, and eventually she threw herself onto her bed, still contemplating. She closed her eyes, and every possible scenario raced through her head multiple times, but she still wasn't sure.

Just follow your dreams

She heard the door downstairs. It was probably Mike who was home from Lacrosse. Sure enough, within 5 minutes Mike had raced past Aria's room and entered his own, and soon after Aria could hear the familiar sound of his music. Normally Aria would be a slight bit annoyed with the fact that he turned his music up so loud, but that very day she found it quite sentimental to hear it. It was friday, and it might be the last day she heard her brother's music in a long time.

Clear your mind, follow your heart

Her brother. A thought struck her! She glanced at her desk where she knew the letter to her parents was. She could give it to Mike and ask him to give it to their parents at the right time, but if she didn't go he could just tear it up and throw it out. Surely he would do that for his sis?

What are you gonna do?

She stumbled out of her bed and walked over to her desk, picking up the envelope. She walked out into the hallway, and a weird feeling formed in the pit of her stomach as she walked the familiar route towards her brother's room. Why did she feel so weird?

She stood in front of her brother's door, and then she knocked on the door. He didn't appear to have head her so she knocked louder, and she heard the volume of the music being turned down.

"Come in!" She obeyed, and his brother smiled when he saw her. They had always had a good bond, and it would suck to lose that if she went. Maybe she should stay? "What can I do for you?"

She walked into his room and sat down on his bed. "I have this letter for mom and dad." She explained, and he stared at her with an odd expression because he didn't know what she was going on about. "Uhm, I'm gonna go out later, and I want you to give it to them." Mike nodded. He was with her so far. Give the letter to mom and dad, check. "But there is a condition! Like I said; I'm gonna go out later, and you're gonna give the letter to mom and dad, but only if it's 30 minutes past my curfew and I'm not home. You understand?" He nodded, and Aria smiled at the fact that he was so willing to her help her, no questions asked. "However, if I'm home by curfew you just rip it up and toss it out, okay?"

"Sure thing, sis." Mike said and winked at his sister. He accepted the letter from her, and then he turned his back to her to face his computer, cranking up the music again. She took it as her cue to leave.

She stopped in the doorway. "I love you!" She yelled over the music, but he was so into it that he didn't hear her. She shook her head at her dorky brother, and then she walked back to her room. She had a decision to make, and her deadline was creeping closer and closer.

You've been acting so un-Aria

How many chances do you get at an epic fairytale love story?

Follow your dreams

Follow your heart

Un-Aria

I can't leave my friends

Just follow your heart

A couple of hours later she was no closer to making a decision, but she had to go. It was 5:30, and she was meeting her friends for dinner at 6. It was an 'in case she goes' event, and she wasn't gonna miss it.

She grabbed her gym bag and threw it over her shoulder. She tried screaming goodbye to her brother, but he didn't hear a thing. Her parents were both at seperate faculty things so it wouldn't be that difficult to sneak out. She wouldn't have to explain where she was going.

She had decided for the next few hours she was gonna clear her mind of everything, and she was gonna try and do what people had told her. She was gonna try to listen to her heart. It normally wasn't that difficult, and it shouldn't be now.

She ran down the creaking stairs of the house, hurried out of the house and grabbed her jacket on the way. She found her phone as she closed the door, and then she texted the girls to tell them that she was on her way to the restaurant.

When they were all there and eventually were done eating, she hoped a decision would just strike her because she had been thinking it over so much, and she was no closer to decision. It would have to be done on impulse because thinking was obviously not helping her.

She began the long walk towards the restaurant.

I'll give you a kiss or three for your dedication

Ezra was standing by the train station an hour before he was supposed to, but he was so sure now that all he wanted was Aria, and he just couldn't wait to have her, and that was why he was there early.

It was 8:30 now, and so far he had passed time by checking all the trains that left past 9, and where they drove to. One drove to New York, and he had pictured what kind of life they would have together in New York. One drove to Nashville, Tennessee, and he imagined what their life would be like country. Another drove to some town in Ohio he didn't exactly remember the name of, but he did remember fantasizing about living there with Aria. There was also a train going to Miami, Florida, and he had imagined being with Aria there, but he couldn't exactly see them live there. There was also one to San Francisco in California, and he pictured them being there, and he could just see Aria as a California girl, and there would also be a lot of opportunities for him there.

He had narrowed it down to either New York or California in the last half hour. He hoped with all his heart that Aria had decided to go with him, and he remained optimistic by considering which city to run away to.

They would have the most opportunities in New York and California, and somehow he couldn't shake the feeling that Aria seemed more like a California girl to him. He was fairly certain that it was where she would want to go once she got there. He couldn't imagine anything else.

He had packed a suitcase with a bunch of his clothes, books, and what else he thought he had needed to take with them, but most importantly was Aria. He hoped he wouldn't have to go alone. He just couldn't stay somewhere they had to be a secret.

Aria's poem had opened his eyes, and now he couldn't not be with her. It had to be official. It had to be public, and it couldn't in Rosewood. He wanted to stand on mountains and shout that he loved her. He wanted a real relationship with her.

If she didn't come he would have to go by himself. He couldn't bear them being a secret anymore, and he certainly couldn't bear to be looked at just as her teacher. He was gonna go either way, hopefully with her. If not the only logic conclusion was that they were over. He was going, she was staying. Hopefully it wouldn't turn out that way.

He glanced at the big clock at the station. 8:45. The moment of truth was approaching, and he felt some butterflies in his stomach coming along. He was so nervous to find out Aria's decision. He almost couldn't bear the thought of her not coming.

He had called in sick yesterday and this very day. He did what he had said he would do, and that was to try and stay away from Aria so he wouldn't be persuading her decision. It had to come from her and not anyone else. It was difficult to go all day yesterday without seeing her, calling her or even texting her. It was difficult not to have seen her that day either, but hopefully he would be seeing her again in 10 minutes. It was now 8:50.

The lady at the ticket desk had been sending him very annoyed looks for the past 30 minutes because he hadn't bought a ticket for any train yet. He knew she was working at a train station as someone selling ticket, but surely she would have a High School degree, or at least brain enough to consider the fact that possibly, and just maybe possibly that he was waiting for someone?

Another weird glance from the ticket lady, but Ezra chose to ignore it. He looked up at the big clock again with anticipation. Only 5 more minutes to go, and the butterflies in his stomach got more intense. He almost didn't know where to put himself anymore.

The moment of truth was creeping closer. He couldn't wait to see Aria again, to hold her. He hoped that she had been able to tell her friends, and that they might have eased the situation for her a little bit. If the decision didn't seem as tense to make that would make it a lot easier to say 'I'm gonna go', but that was wishful thinking on his part.

2 minutes to go, and still no Aria. She was just making things exciting in the most intense possible way, surely that was it, right?

1 minute! C'mon, Aria, he thought to himself, looking all around. He didn't know where she would be coming from if she came, and he was catching himself feeling just a little bit desperate for her to show up. He kept looking around for any sight of her, and then the clock struck 9.

He could hear the churchbells playing their melody from far away. It was the moment of truth, but still no Aria. He wasn't giving up, though, he was gonna give her a couple more minutes. She could just be running late, right?

Another looked from the ticket lady. He had now been there for a whole hour without buying a train ticket. He grabbed his suitcase, and he could almost feel the lady hoping that he was either buying a ticket or getting the hell out of there, but he did no such thing.

He walked closer to the big clock, and then he put the suitcase down on the ground, and now he just stood there and stared at the clock. He probably looked crazy standing there just staring at some big clock, but he didn't care. It was now 2 minutes past 9, and Aria still wasn't there.

He was beginning to get a horrible feeling about this. You wouldn't show up late for something like this, would you? He wasn't giving up yet, though, she could still just be running late.

He kept staring at the clock. It was now 5 minutes past 9, and Aria wasn't there. 6 minutes past, no Aria. He looked to the side, and the lady who sold tickets still looked very annoyed with him. He sent her look, and he hoped it said 'don't worry, I'll buy a ticket eventually"!

8 minutes past 9, and Aria still wasn't in sight. Not that he would know, he was still staring at the stupid clock. It was ahead. It had to be ahead, right? It was the only explanation! The only explanation that would give him comfort, anyhow.

The clock was ticking along, and Ezra had come to realize that he hated the way a clock sounded. It was a strange thought to have at that point, but at this point he was just trying to distract himself from the fact that Aria probably wasn't coming. He had to be realistic about things now. She wasn't coming.

10 minutes past. He grabbed his suitcase and began walking towards the ticket lady to finally buy a ticket to wherever. He didn't care about that anymore. Anywhere, but Rosewood.

He had gone so far that his back was now turned to the clock, and he could hear the large hand shift another minute. Then he heard footsteps behind him, and he saw a glimpse of hope. He turned around to see who it was.

"You came!" He exclaimed with so much joy at the sight of Aria standing there with a packed bag over her shoulder. He had given up for brief minute, but he had known it deep in his heart. He was curious, though. "What made you decide?"

Aria smiled with so much happiness when she saw the joy in Ezra's eyes at the sight of her, and then she began walking towards him. "Well, I've been terrified to make this choice because I didn't wanna disappoint anybody, but in the past few days my friends have been giving me a ton of advice, telling me to follow my dreams and to follow my heart." She now stood in front of the love of her life and gazed up into his loving eyes. "It's not as easy as it sounds, and up until a few minutes ago I wasn't even sure myself, but then I realized something that made me decide." Aria stepped closer to Ezra if that was even possible, and they were only an inch apart now, and he whispered a barely audible 'what?' to which Aria continued; "You are my dream, Ezra Fitz, and my heart belongs to you."

"That was beautiful!" Ezra said, and it sounded weird, but Aria knew she had made the right choice when she could smell his very familiar cinnamon breath, and also by the love so clear in his voice by what he had just said. He, however, had more; "But very corny."

Aria simply smiled and stood up on her tippy-toes because of the height difference. "Yeah, I know, but you love me."

"I do!" Ezra said, leaning into the kiss that they had been building up to. It started as something sweet and tender, but then it developed into something more deep and passionate. They pulled apart after little bit, and then Ezra smiled at the love of his life. "What do you say to California?"

"Let's go!"

All the way to the finish line

Disclaimer; Still don't own Pretty Little Liars. Still just own my song 'A Kiss or Three' that I'm seriously considering naming 'Maybe Baby' after this fic.

That's officially the end of this fic, but I already have inspiration for a sequel. What do you say? It will take place a year after this chapter, and it will find Aria coming back to Rosewood for reasons I will not tell at this point. Review me if you want a sequel, and even if you don't . I really would like your feedback. I hope you enjoyed it :). I enjoyed writing it very much, and I also really loved giving my take on Hanna and Aria's friendship. I ended up enjoying it very much, and I want it to come across like that in my future fics like that as well. I'm ordinarily team Sparia, but somehow in this fic I found myself being team Haria (?) :b. Anywho, thanks so much for the reviews. Appreciate them! They are like a nice hug from a friend :). I also would like to say that I have a Spemily one-shot in the works, and also another song-based fic which is Spemily as well. The one-shot will be called Sweet Dreams, Em, and the multi-chaptered fic will be called Heart Flutter after my song Heart Flutter. I don't normally ship Spemily, but I'm gonna give it a go because one of my best friends likes them. Plus, if Emily were to fall for another one of the friends it would probably be Spencer. Anywho, I really hoped you enjoyed this last chapter, the cheese and the way it ended. You are an Ezria fan, so why wouldn't you ? Hopefully you'll greenlight the sequel to Maybe Baby, and I'll get to work on it. Sorry I ramble. The sequel will have more than 3 chapters that much I can reveal, and by that time I'll hopefully be established as a PLL ff writer, and I'll re-establish the whole dedicating a chapter to the best reviewer of the previous chapter thing that I've been doing in other fandoms. I'm gonna stop talking now, and just once again say that I hoped you enjoyed this, and then leave you with the usual; please review :).

Laters,

AK-tutti :)