I'll Do It For You--Sparia
It had been another long day at work and Spencer Hastings was looking forward to settling on the couch with a glass of wine. Unfortunately, that was not what life had in store for her. She nearly had a heart attack when she found her front door was unlocked, but cautiously entered anyway.
“What’s wrong?” Spencer asked worriedly as she walked into her apartment and found Aria sitting on the couch, tears staining her cheeks. Aria shook her head and held out a piece of paper.
You are cordially invited to the wedding of Nicole Gordon and Ezra Fitz. Please RSVP by January 7th.
“Oh, sweetie,” Spencer said softly, putting her arm around her friend.
“Three months ago we had plane tickets to Italy. I had a wedding dress. We were eloping! I know we took a break, but I didn’t think he’d be engaged to her in less than six months,” Aria cried. Spencer gently smoothed Aria’s hair.
“It’s a dick move,” she agreed. An unexpected giggle escaped Aria’s lips.
“What?” Spencer asked. Aria shook her head, still giggling.
“I’ve just never heard you say dick. That’s more of a Hanna thing,” she said. Spencer joined in the laughter.
“I guess I’ve been spending too much time with Hanna,” she said. Aria nodded, but her giggles quickly turned back to tears.
“How could he do this? Did I mean so little to him?” she asked, tears dripping down her nose. Spencer reached over and grabbed a tissue, wiping away her friend’s tears.
“This doesn’t mean you weren’t important. It means it wasn’t right. You deserve better, Ar,” she said. Aria didn’t respond. It was several minutes before either woman spoke.
“I’m supposed to RSVP with my response. I don’t want to go. I can’t go,” she said. Spencer nodded in understanding. She hadn’t gone to Toby and Yvonne’s wedding, and she hadn’t been engaged to Toby only three short months ago.
“You don’t have to go,” Spencer soothed. Aria looked up at her through her tears.
“How do I tell him I’m not going?” she asked. Spencer hated that after everything he’d put her through, Aria still cared about protecting Ezra’s feelings.
“I’ll do it for you,” Spencer offered. Aria’s eyes widened.
“You will? Really?” she asked hopefully. Spencer nodded.
“Sure. I can throw in some choice words too if you want,” she said. Aria rolled her eyes. She had no doubt Spencer would love to say a few certain things to Ezra. She could just imagine Spencer starting with this latest betrayal and ending up yelling about high school. It might be funny if she hadn’t been so upset.
“Just saying I won’t be attending the wedding will be enough,” Aria said. Spencer sighed heavily, pretending to be disappointed.
“Fine, fine. I won’t say anything mean,” she promised.
“Do you mind if I stay here tonight?” Aria asked. Spencer shook her head.
“Of course not. You’re always welcome here. I have work in the morning, but you can stay as long as you want,” she offered. Aria gave her a small smile.
“Thanks, Spence. I appreciate it. Urgh, I have no idea how I’m going to work with him now! We still have to do a ton of promotion! This is going to be worse than working with Liam. You know, he didn’t even tell me he and Nicole were serious again?”
Spencer didn’t say anything. She wasn’t particularly surprised to hear that. From what she’d heard, Aria and Ezra had been fairly distant while working on the finishing touches of their book. Ironically, they used Liam for a lot of the back and forth. Still, Ezra sould have told Aria he was engaged instead of just sending a wedding invitation.
“How did you do this with Toby?” Aria asked suddenly. Spencer felt a small lump in her throat, but she swallowed it down.
“It was hard… It was really hard. But it’s like comparing apples and oranges, you know? Toby and I hadn’t just been together, let alone engaged. We’d been apart for years by the time he and Yvonne got married. And we didn’t have to work together. It wasn’t easy, and I’d imagine this is a million times worse, but it does get easier eventually,” she promised. Aria nodded slowly.
“I just feel like it’s so rushed. Kind of like it was with me. He proposed and less than a week later we had tickets to Italy. Now he’s been back with Nicole for three months—at most—and he’s already proposed and they’re getting married in another three months. Except she actually gets a wedding,” Aria said bitterly. Spencer frowned.
“I thought you wanted to elope,” she questioned. Aria shrugged.
“Not really. I’ve always wanted a nice wedding, not too big, but a real wedding. But then he really wanted to, and Emily said I should and… I don’t know. I guess I felt like the marriage should be the important part,” she explained. Spencer nodded. She’d be lying if she said she hadn’t thought the elopement was an odd idea.
“I still have that stupid dress hanging in my closet. I can’t even return it, because I did my own alterations,” Aria whispered. Spencer hugged her friend.
“Someday you’re going to meet someone, and you’re going to forget that Ezra ever existed. None of this is going to matter, because you’re going to have so much love for this other person,” Spencer said. Aria looked at her.
“Has that happened for you?” she asked curiously. Spencer frowned.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“Have you found someone who made you forget Toby?” she asked. Spencer shrugged.
“Caleb made me forget, for a little while. But I guess I’m still waiting to find that right person,” she said. Aria sighed.
“What if we never find them? What if we’re alone forever?” she asked.
“Tell you what, if we hit thirty-five and we haven’t found anyone, I’ll propose to you,” she said jokingly. Aria laughed.
“Sounds like a plan.”