Pretty Little Liars

Chapter 31: The Brother

"I'm thinking slutty," Ellery tells Bree on their way into school, her Chanel purse dangling from her bony elbow. "Like, uber slutty. If I can't get Eric Manning to notice me, then I might as well just be a lesbian."

Bree eyes her. "You know that you can't just switch on a sexuality, right?"

Ellery shrugs her shoulders. "If you say so."

They're talking about their outfits for Tyler Firestone's weekend party-- which is supposed to be just as legendary as all of the Firestone raves that have come before it. Bree has been to almost every single one, snapchatting the whole thing and then uploading cute pictures to Instagram the following morning. This is the first year she isn't feeling it. Jordan says he doesn't have a problem with her attending but she knows that it's in the back of his head, her going to parties without him. But on the other hand, he's been to countless college parties so what's the harm?

"I don't know how Jordan is letting you go to this," Ellery tells her next, as though she can read her thoughts. "I would not let my hot-ass girlfriend like you go to a party with a bunch of horny teenage guys."

"He trusts me," Bree says.

"Should he?" she teases.

Bree's eyes slide over the front lawn of the school, to where she notices her old friends in a tiny huddle, the conversation heated. Maybe they know something about A.

She clears her throat. "Catch up with you later?"

Ellery blinks. "Why? We always walk into school together." She follows Bree's gaze. "Ew, you're not seriously going to hang out with them, are you?"

"There's just a small thing I have to talk to them about," Bree tells her. She knows what involving herself with them might mean for her social status but her care for that has started going down the drain. "There's this detective that thinks we had something to do with Ali."

Ellery bounces her shoulders again and waves goodbye. "Catch you later."

Bree approaches the girls, holding her breath and hoping none of them think it's too weird for her to insert herself into the conversation.

"I did not know Tyler had a girlfriend," Dakota is saying when Bree reaches them.

"Kelsey Thompson." Sabrina nods, her arms folded over her chest.

"I didn't think they were that serious," Dakota counters, her eyes glued to Tyler and his girlfriend migrating from clique to clique, probably inviting more people to his party.

"Are you guys going?" Bree decides to ask, none of them looking alarmed that she's talking to them. That's a good thing, right?

"Why? So we can give more people reason to talk about us?" Sabrina grumbles. "I was just telling these two that people are back to thinking we had something to do with what happened to Alison."

"That was bound to happen," Neah tells her, looking bored. "We were her friends. We're obviously going to be suspects."

"Please go to the party tonight, you guys," Dakota whines, looking at the three of them. "Tyler invited me and he sounded like he really wants me to go. I can't show up by myself."

Bree isn't quite sure why Dakota would somehow think that she would go out of her way by accompanying her to a party but that makes one thing clear: she's never lost her optimism over the years.

"I'll go," Neah tells Dakota. "I have some stuff going on at home and I really don't feel like being there for more than I have to."

Bree goes to ask her if everything is okay but Remy stalks by them with his head ducked, his black hood pulled hiding his face. He shoulders past Andrew Campbell on his way into the building.