Pretty Little Liars

Chapter 33: The Party

Dakota is on her third round through Tyler's house in hopes she'll find him but she's been wandering through partying people like Alice in Wonderland. Alcohol has been spilled down the back of her shirt and a drunk girl nearly vomited on her red Doc Martens. As much as she would like to run from this shit show, she'd also like Tyler to know that she stopped by.

She finds him with Kelsey Thompson in the den-- who is shaking her butt from side to side in front of his crotch. Dakota winces. Leaving doesn't sound too bad after all.

"Dakota, hey!" Tyler waves at her, his hand on his girlfriend's waist.

Kelsey's eyebrows knit together as she glances from her boyfriend to Dakota across the room. Tyler moves away from her to greet Dakota, smiling brightly.

"I'm so glad you could make it," he tells her.

"I said I would." She puts her hands behind her back to squeeze her index finger in order to keep her anger from exploding out of her. The mature yet jealous side is quickly taking over though for no reason at all. She doesn't have the right to be jealous. Tyler is dating a girl-- who she thought wasn't relevant-- and that's his choice. She should respect that.

"Nah, not really." He glances over his shoulder at Kelsey, unbothered. "Have you gotten something to drink?"

"Yeah, I was hanging out with some people earlier," she says. It's not a lie because she did come here with Neah.

"I don't think we've met." Kelsey appears next to Tyler, her head craned to the side as she looks Dakota up and down. She has a pixie blond cut with hoop earrings hanging off her tiny earlobes. She's wearing a beige colored crop top and denim shorts that look like panties. "Are you new to Rosewood? Foreign exchange student or something?"

"Kelsey," Tyler hisses at her.

"What?"

"No, actually," Dakota manages. "I'm Dakota Winthrop. We've had the same math class for two years now."

"Oh, right!" She snaps her fingers dramatically. "You were friends with Alison DiLaurentis."

It doesn't come as a surprise that Dakota is once again only being recognized as a friend of Ali's. She's kind of gotten used to it by now.

Dakota pastes on a smile. "Yep, I was."

"Kels, I'm gonna grab her something to drink," Tyler tells his girlfriend before gesturing for Dakota to walk with him toward the enormous kitchen. "You seem like you're out of your element, a little."

"A little," she admits. "I felt a lot better going to these things when Alison was around. I didn't have to talk to anyone if Ali could be in the spotlight."

He hesitates. "Yeah, I guess that's true."

Dakota wonders if she said too much. Does every conversation she has have to revolve around Alison? No. But does she somehow manage to incorporate her into every conversation? Yes. It's the only thing she has in common with anyone. A large part of her feels like it will always be that way. She will never be her own person as much as she tries to be. She will forever be one of the girls that was best friends with the dead girl.

"Don't mind Kelsey, by the way," Tyler says when they reach the kitchen. He bends his arm at an awkward angle to reach around Mason Byers and Kirsten Cullen making out by the fridge. "She's paranoid when it comes to... everything. Mostly about other girls. Apparently no one is allowed to look at me unless they're a straight male. And even that sends her up a wall."

"Then why date one of the most popular guys at Rosewood High?" Dakota wonders aloud.

He laughs but Dakota isn't sure why. "That's funny."

"Why?"

"I wouldn't consider myself to be popular," he answers shyly. "Friendly and easy to talk to, yes. Well liked, maybe. But not popular."

"You and I have very different definitions of your social status." Dakota grins coyly at him, taking a sip of whatever he just gave her, the alcohol slithering down her throat like she's swallowing sparks from a fire. She flexes her throat, urging herself not to cough yet.

"Maybe, but social status is shit anyway." He takes a drink, too, not even flinching. He's obviously had lots of practice. "Hope I didn't ruin any plans for your night by the way."

"Nah," she says. "I was just going to stay home and watch Judy Garland movies."

Tyler laughs again, a sweet and honest laugh that makes Dakota swoon. "Judy Garland movies, huh? Just when I thought you couldn't be any more intriguing."

"My cat would disagree."

"What's your cat's name?"

"I actually never named him," Dakota admits honestly, willing herself to take another drink and resisting the urge to spit it back up.

"Why not?"

"Because what if he doesn't like the name I give him?" She drums her nails against the side of the plastic cup. "Then I would feel guilty if he lived his whole life with a name he doesn't like. I mean, I essentially have the name that should belong to a douche bag boy and I'm not the biggest fan. I will forever resent my mother."

"I like your name," he says to her. "It suits you. Something that isn't quite ordinary yet sticks out enough to not be obnoxious."

Dakota feels her cheeks beam with color as she looks into her cup, the mixture sloshing around inside. "This tastes horrible."

And for a third time, Tyler laughs. "Let's get you a different one, then."