Hey everyone! So most of us already know, but for those of you that don't, Jake (played by Ryan Guzman) is Aria's new TEMPORARY love interest in season 4. (Yes, it does suck, we want Ezria!) Anyways, enjoy the story!

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Pretty Little Liars or any of the characters in this story.

To a stranger, Aria and Jake looked like any other young couple walking into the Rosewood Movie Theatre. If anyone were to see what was under Aria's long-sleeved shirts and the scarves she insisted on wearing in the hottest weather, they would see the skin was purple and blue from the anger of her boyfriend. There were scars and bruises on every unexposed piece of skin on Aria's body, and she couldn't even tell anyone for fear of what Jake would do to her. So, until she could figure out a way to make all the pain stop, Aria was stuck pretending to be happy and in love with her new boyfriend in public, while she cowered in fear and begged for the pain to stop when they were alone.

So here Aria was now, at the Rosewood Movie Theatre, holding hands with her "boyfriend", wishing she had never agreed to go out with him in the first place. More than that, she wished she could take back the biggest mistake she'd ever made, only one months earlier.

Flashback:

"Hey!" Ezra said, standing in front of his girlfriend of over a year. When she stared at him silently, he sat down.

"Is everything okay?" he asked, concerned.

Aria looked him straight in the eyes. "Why didn't you tell me that they offered you the job." she asked, quietly. As she watched, Ezra's expression went from concerned, to surprise, to something that seemed to be guilt.

"Because I don't think I'm going to take it...and I didn't think that you should share in the burden of that decision." he responded, looking down.

"You need a job, Ezra." Aria said, emphatically.

"Yeah, but you know what would happen to us if I end up back at Rosewood." he responded, evenly. "Things are different now, people know about us." As he said this last part, Aria's face twisted in a way that meant she was about to cry.

"Hey, don't cry. Don't cry. We're okay." he soothed, placing his hand on her back.

"No we're not. Nothing about us feels right anymore." Aria said, looking up at him.

"I'm sorry." Ezra said.

"It's not your fault." Aria replied.

"I want to fix this." Ezra said, a look of determination on his face.

"I know." Aria said, sadly "I know, but you can't." she said, looking into his eyes. She took his hand. "We've been chasing what we used to have ever since you found out about Malcolm but...I just don't, I don't think we can ever get that back.

Ezra looked down, sadly. "Things aren't easy but, they can still be good." he said, hoping he could convince Aria that they could get through this, just like everything else.

"It shouldn't be this hard." Aria choked out, shaking her head as tears continued to spill down her cheeks.

Ezra paused for a moment, putting his head in his hand. Finally he spoke. "If-If you're not happy anymore...you know that's what matters most to me."

Aria looked into his blue eyes. "Hey, I love you just as much as I always have." she said. "And that's why I want you to take this job."

Ezra knew she was telling the truth. She did love him, and she wanted what was best for him. It was one of the many things he'd admired about her, her need to make everything okay for everyone, even if it hurt her. But that was why he had to make her realize that he wanted nothing but her. She was everything for him. He sat there, thinking of a way to communicate what he felt.

After a moment of silence, Aria got up and started to leave.

"Aria, wait." Ezra said, grabbing her hand. Aria turned around and waited for him to speak.

"I love you." he said, staring into her eyes.

Aria sighed, squeezing his hand before she dropped it and walking away, leaving Ezra alone on the bench.

End Flashback

Aria still thought about Ezra every day after they'd broken up. She still slept clutching his t-shirt, wishing his arms were around her again. She still read the poems he'd written her, the books he'd given her, watched the movies she used to fall asleep in his arms watching. She was a mess, and that had ultimately been what had pushed her to say yes to Jake. She had needed someone to help her forget about Ezra. She figured this was her punishment for trying to forget the man who'd loved her for over a year, given up several jobs because of their relationship, stayed up late to comfort her as she cried in his arms, or on the phone when her parents forbade them from meeting.

Aria was so lost in thought, she didn't notice the person standing in front of her until she bumped into him.

"Oh, sorry!" they said at the same time, and as the figure turned around, Aria gasped as she felt her side throb from the collision and bit back the tears. When she looked up, she was shocked to find herself looking into the familliar blue eyes of Ezra Fitz.

"Aria? Are you okay?" he asked, noticing her pained expression.

Aria felt Jake squeeze her arm so tight it hurt. She nodded, trying to discreetly free her arm while holding back the tears that threatened to spill over at any moment. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about that." she said, smiling.

Aria could tell that Ezra wasn't convinced, but he dropped it. "No, don't worry, that was totally my fault." he said, smiling. "How have you been?"

Aria smiled back. "Pretty good. Just the usual. How about you?"

"Same old." he said. He looked uncomfortably between Aria and Jake.

"Oh sorry!" she said, looking between the two men. "Ezra, this is Jake...my boyfriend. Jake, this is Ezra, my...friend." she said, internally cringing at her own words. She wished the floor would just open up and swallow her now.

"Nice to meet you." Jake said, holding out his hand.

Ezra took it and smiled, though Aria could tell it was forced. They had known each other too long not to know what was going on in the other's mind.

"Well, it was nice seeing you, but the movie's going to start." Aria said, not meeting Ezra's eyes.

"Yeah, I better get going too. Bye." Ezra said, and Aria couldn't help but notice the sadness in his voice. She looked up at him and, sure enough he was looking back at her.

"Bye." she said, allowing Jake to lead her away, sparing one last glance at Ezra standing there, watching her.

*PLL*

"Who was that guy?" Jake asked when they were seated in the theatre. Aria could tell he wasn't happy.

"Ezra? I told you, he's a friend." she said, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Don't you dare lie to me. I saw the way you were looking at him." Jake spoke angrily into her ear.

"H-He's my ex." Aria stammered.

"Your ex that you still like." Jake accused.

Aria looked terrified. She knew what would come next. "Jake-"

"You know what, I think I left something in my car." Jake said, getting up and roughly grabbing her arm. Aria whimpered in pain.

Aria followed him, bracing herself for what was about to happen. Jake led her to the abandoned parking lot and shoved her roughly against his car. Aria cried out in pain as she fell against the car door.

"Get up." Jake said, angrily. Aria remained on the ground, curled up into a ball.

"I said GET UP!" Jake yelled, kicking her as her screams filled the parking lot. She knew it was no use, everybody around was either in the theatre, or too far away to hear her. Jake was a lot of things, but he was smart. He wouldn't hit her where there was a chance of getting caught.

"Please stop!" Aria begged, sobbing.

Jake grabbed her roughly and dragged her to her feet. "Look at me!" he shouted.

Aria looked up at him. The fury in his eyes made her shudder. Her whole body hurt, she could feel new bruises forming on her stomach each time Jake punched her. One particular blow was so hard, Aria couldn't breathe and fell to the floor again.

"Get up!" Jake said, kicking her on the floor.

Aria cried harder and harder when, all of a sudden, the kicking stopped. Aria waited, counted to 10 in her head, but they still didn't come. Finally, Aria mustered up the courage to look up and, when she did, she almost fainted in relief.

She saw strong arms holding Jake back. Arms that, not too long ago, had held her in a much gentler way. As Aria watched, her savior turned Jake around and punched him in the face. Aria could see blood squirting from his nose as Jake fell to the ground.

"Ezra." she whispered barely loud enough for her own ears to was just so weak, it hurt to breathe. She continued to watch as Ezra fended Jake off, easily dodging his punches and kicks and responding with a few of his own. After a blow to the stomach that sent Jake back to the ground Ezra stood over him, watching him try to get up.

"If you dare come anywhere near Aria again, you'll be sorry." he threatened. "Now get out of here and don't let me see you again."

Jake quickly rose to his feet and limped to his car. He was gone in under a minute.

Ezra knelt down in front of Aria, who was whimpering quietly."Shh, I'm here now and I won't let anybody hurt you ever again." Ezra promised as he lifted her into his arms and carried her towards his car.

"Thank you." she whispered.

Ezra kissed her forehead in response and, for the first time in two months, Aria knew that everything would be okay.

Hope you all liked it! I know we all needed some happy Ezria ever since the season 3B finale and finding out that Aria's going to have a new love interest in season 4 so I hope this helps. Don't forget to review! :)