AN: My first Aria/Ezra fic! I'm a little iffy about it, but after listening to Carrie Underwood's song 'Twisted' over 50... times... while writing this (Windows Media player counted how many times I'd played it. I'm not exaggerating.), I had to post it. I liked including Mike in it, just to kind of provide a stable ground for Aria outside of Ezra. Anyway, that's about it. Enjoy guys!

Oh, about tonight's episode, my only thoughts are: WHOA. LUCAS? WHAT? O.O And Alison's kind of a bitch, poor Emily. My heart goes out to Spencer's mom. Major kudos to Alex, though. He is definitely a keeper.

When she thought about, Aria had to admit her relationship with Ezra was a little bit twisted. Her teacher? Really? She scoffed. Just when you think scenarios like that exist only in movies and day time soaps, you walk head first into one. Blocking out the fighting of her parents downstairs and the punk rock pounding against the walls of her room from Mike's, Aria got lost in Sherwood Forest. From cover to cover, she knew every word that leaped off the page at her and still loved them. They were like Ezra to her; calming, bracing, and most importantly they reminded her of the time they'd spent together.

She wasn't fooling herself, far from it. She knew there was no conceivable way that this could end well for them. She was 16, he was 25. Unless a miracle happened and Rosewood suddenly became a metropolis of understanding, chances were that Hardy would be right; at the end of the line, she'd get a diploma and he'd get a pink slip and orange jumpsuit. But, the kicker of the entire thing was, she'd gone and fallen in love with him. The words hadn't been said, but Aria knew it wouldn't be long until they slipped out and everything fell apart. If there was anything Aria Montgomery knew for absolute certain anymore, it was herself and she knew it was only a matter of time before those three words would rip her world apart.

But, flipping through the book Ezra had signed for her, she couldn't bring herself to be afraid. She knew she should be, there was certainly enough to be afraid of. If this got out, it wouldn't take longer than a New York minute for it to be circulated around Rosewood, and one more piece of the perfect little town would be broken because of her. She shuddered in the warmth of her room, pulling her sweater tighter around her. Her parents would be the worst. They would be furious, her brother would just lose it, her friends didn't need the aggravation with all of their boyfriend/family/grade issues, the police were already all over everybody after Jason stirred up trouble so they wouldn't be far behind.. It was all too much to think about, but those thoughts circled around her mind every time she or Ezra had an attack of conscience and tried to back out before the point of no return came and smacked them in the face, otherwise known as "A" blowing their secret to high hell and back.

Part of her wanted to run, wanted to flip a switch and not be so damn in love with a guy 9 years her senior that the thought of losing him induced an anxiety attack. But, as with most things in life, there was no off button, no opt out, and though Aria loathed the very notion of it, she was willing to admit defeat this once. She loved Ezra Fitz, and there wasn't a single thing she could do about it.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket, and a well known feeling of dread filled her for a split second. She checked the screen and saw Ezra's name flashing on her screen instead of "Unknown". The dread vanished, leaving no trace of the fear and uncertainty Aria had learned to live with. She answered the phone with a bright, "Hey, you!"

"Hi, I'm not calling at a bad time?", Ezra asked, making Aria giggle. That was her Ezra; considerate to a fault.

Aria listened to the arguing downstairs get louder, and decided that it was an easy decision. "Perfect time, actually. A world war is taking place in my living room right now. Can you get me out?"

Ezra knew the situation and knew that behind the levity, there was a deep wound that hurt Aria daily. He wished he could make it go away, do something more permanent to keep her happy and smiling, but how permanent can you be from inside a jail cell? "I think I have an idea or two. Just figured out how to make this great new dish called Craft Dinner. I've never tried it before, but it could be interesting, or mind numbingly horrifying." The laugh that came from the other end of the phone was well worth the potential explosion in his kitchen. He really needed to buy a cook book.

"Well, I can't miss that. I'll be right over. I'll tell them I'm sleeping over at Spencer's to help her prep for the SATs.", Aria laughed. SATs weren't for two weeks but Spencer had all but claimed an entire desk in the library lounge for her studies, so it wasn't really a stretch.

"I'm looking forward to it. See you then.", Ezra agreed, hanging up after they said their farewells. Aria slipped down from her windowsill, and hurried around her room gathering her make up, a change of clothes for the night and her textbooks. She didn't even hear the knock at her door over her thoughts, but jumped when her brother Mike called to her.

"Aria? Where are you going?", Mike asked. Aria stopped, slowly putting her jeans into an overnight bag then turned and smiled at her brother.

"Sleeping over at Spencer's, she's freaking out over the SATs.", Aria answered. Mike nodded slightly, and Aria put the rest of her things in her bag, double checking twice to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything.

She hoisted the duffel bag over her shoulder, then turned again to her brother. Mike leaned against her door frame, looking utterly miserable as the fighting floated up the stairs, followed by the front door being slammed shut loudly. Both siblings winced at the sound, and Aria touched her brother's arm gently. "Hey, I'll have my phone on me, call me if you need me or if anything happens, alright?"

"Will do.", Mike agreed, giving her a small smile. Aria nodded, then side stepped him into the hallway. She had one foot on the stairs when Mike called back to her. "I'm happy for you, sis. Just be careful."

Aria turned back and found Mike standing in his doorway. "What do you mean?"

"You're not going to Spencer's. I heard your phone call, you're going to a guy's house aren't you?", Mike asked. Aria went pale, but nodded. She'd lied to so many people, she couldn't lie to her little brother. "Relax, I'm not going to tell Mom and Dad. Your secret is safe with me."

Those words were like a steel toed boot to the stomach for Aria, but she still smiled weakly. 'Famous last words, little brother.', she thought bitterly.

"Just be careful okay, sis? If anything happened to you, I don't know what I'd do.", Mike told her. She couldn't help but smile at that. She and Mike had always been like a unit, working together seamlessly, and she was glad that this whole mess with their parents hadn't ruined their bond.

"I'll be careful. You don't need to worry about me, or the guy. He's... He would never hurt me.", Aria promised. Ezra was her protection from everything else that was insane in her life.

"He must be something special. Think I can meet him sometime?", Mike asked, giving her a smile. Aria grinned back, thinking that he had no idea just how close he was.

"Maybe... We don't know where we're going yet, but... You'll be the first to meet him." If the police don't crucify him first. "I've gotta go, Mike, but thank you. Remember, call me if you need me, okay?"

"For sure. Have fun, sis." Mike vanished into his room, leaving Aria smiling.

During her walk to Ezra's apartment, Aria could only smile. Her brother had a point. Ezra was something special, in so many ways that Aria couldn't even list them all without a notebook. She hoped that she could keep her promise and that Mike and Ezra could meet one day, when all the lies and secrets didn't matter anymore. Maybe they could all go to a hockey game or something, so two of the three important men in her life could get to know each other. It was a dream, but it never hurt to hope.

Yeah, Aria knew that being in love with Ezra was a little bit twisted. It definitely wasn't the ideal situation for a high school girl to be in, and she knew things could only get worse before they could possibly get better, if they ever did. But she had hope and at the end of the day, it didn't matter what anyone else said. When they were together, they felt right, and as twisted as it was, she was going to keep on loving him, even if everyone else on the planet said it was wrong.

That's it, guys. Loved it? Hated it? Thoughts/comments/opinions on the newest episode? Feel free to let me know. =)
Thanks so much for reading, and have a good night/morning/afternoon!
Much love, Oracle. (L) (L)