Chapter 3
"Dahna, you look beautiful this evening." Elizabeth Forbes complimented, walking up in a simple grey dress, hardly any makeup on. "Do you mind if we talk alone for a minute?"
Both Meredith and Luke glanced at each other knowingly before looking back at the sheriff. "Sure, come on Luke, let's go thank the mayor for a wonderful party." Yanking him by the hand, they quickly disappeared into the crowd and gave their niece some privacy.
"What can I do for you, Sheriff Forbes?" Dahna asked cordially, swirling the light golden liquid around in her wine glass and tried to keep the smile on her face.
Elizabeth sighed, not close with the newer generation of Fell's, but she had been close friends with Delilah and Landon. She dated Landon briefly in high school, but they decided their friendship was more important and they were better off as just friends. They were right because Elizabeth never saw two people more in love than Landon and Delilah, even though she was an outsider.
"I'm sure you're aware of Caroline and Dacia's recent feud and I just wanted to clear the air, so to speak, so there's no hard feelings." Elizabeth hated that she had to do this, but Caroline clearly wanted nothing to do with Dacia. "Do you have any idea why they're no longer speaking?"
Dahna understood why Elizabeth wanted to talk and had a feeling she would be heavily intoxicated by the time this night ended. "Dacia told me it's because of Tyler Lockwood. Apparently, he broke up with your daughter to be with my little sister. Dacia doesn't think so, but I wouldn't put it past that jockstrap to sow seeds of tension between them." Snorting, Dahna set her empty champagne glass on the nearby table and popped an hors d'oeuvre in her mouth.
"I wouldn't doubt it, I just wish there was something we could do for them. They were such good friends up until a few months ago when that Lockwood boy started dating my daughter." Elizabeth sighed wearily, scrubbing a hand down her face and wished she could go home because she hated these events almost as much as Dahna. "Any ideas?"
"Not that I can think of at the moment, I'm afraid." Dahna replied serenely, taking a shrimp next and suddenly felt hungry. "I have to say this and forgive me ahead of time if it's 'out of line' since you're the sheriff and all. It's nice to see you in something besides your uniform, ma'am."
Elizabeth smiled brightly, shrugging modestly. "Thanks, I figured it would be nice to actually dress up for a change to show people I'm a woman underneath my uniform. Caroline gets so embarrassed when I don't come dressed up like everyone else." She laughed softly, nodding when a waiter walked by with glasses of champagne and took one, affably including Dahna.
"Ah what the hell, not like I have somewhere to be tomorrow." It was Sunday, which meant she got a day off of work and school – mostly. She still had homework to worry about, but Dahna didn't want to think about that right now and started making a small appetizer plate.
"I normally don't drink, but tonight definitely calls for it." Elizabeth agreed, not looking forward to the council meeting they would attend after the party ended. "So how is Dacia holding up with everything? I know it's been three years, but I do worry about you girls."
"We're okay for the most part and Dacia is getting better as the days go on. Some days are worse than others, but she's strong and will get through it." Dahna truly believed that, flashing a small smile and wondered where her little sister had gone, hoping she was alright.
"Well, hopefully they can work out their differences because no man is worth losing a friendship over." Elizabeth said, adding her two cents and looked up when she noticed someone gesturing her over to talk with them. "Excuse me Dahna, I'll be back in a bit."
"Take your time." Dahna murmured as she watched the sheriff walk away and turned back to her plate of hors d'oeuvres, hoping this party ended soon they could get on with the meeting.
"Well, well if it's not my partner in crime."
Turning around, Dahna's night went from bad to good at the sight of her best friend, Jenna Sommers. "I was wondering if you were gonna show up since Elena's here." She replied, popping a shrimp in her mouth and embraced Jenna momentarily.
"Hey you know me, Aunt of the Year and all." Jenna winked, tossing hors d'oeuvres of her own on a plate. "So how've you been?"
"Alright, I guess. Just trying to deal with a situation between Dacia and Caroline Forbes." Dahna sighed in frustration, trying to nurse her fourth glass of champagne since she felt a buzz coming on. "I have no idea what to do about it."
"Well if it's any consolation, you look stunning tonight." Jenna complimented, nudging her friend and popped a broccoli in her mouth after dipping it in ranch sauce. "Then again, I'm sure you've heard that repeatedly tonight. So what's going on with the girls?"
Taking a deep breath, Dahna told Jenna everything Dacia said, not leaving one detail out because she legitimately needed help with this. "And I'm thinking Tyler Lockwood did it on purpose to break their friendship up." She finished, suddenly slamming her fourth glass back and knew she'd be heading for the open bar soon for something stronger.
"Damn…" Jenna whistled lowly, frowning. "So, is she okay?"
"Dace would probably kill me if she heard me say this, but those girls are like two peas in a pod." Dahna kept her voice low, a smirk curving her lips. "They remind me of how I used to be with this guy Sid I used to date in high school. That boy didn't know his head from his ass crack." She snorted, elbowing Jenna in the gut when she began laughing. "Don't even start, I swear, I'm so glad he moved out of Mystic Falls because just being around him made me lose IQ points." They both laughed harder and started walking away from the hors d'oeuvres before they ended up eating all of them.
Jenna snorted, sipping her champagne slowly. "Yes well, let me know when the ass crack comes back and tells you that, even though he does love you, he's found someone else who 'completes' him. Then come talk to me about ass cracks." Jenna mentioning Logan Fell, her ex-boyfriend and ex-love of her life left a bad taste in her mouth as she slammed back the rest of her champagne in one gulp. "Oh no, I'm not drinking alone tonight." She grunted, tipping Dahna's glass up when she tried taking a sip of it and forced her friend to drink as fast as she was. "Bottoms up, our girls can drive us home tonight."
"Please! Dace doesn't want to be in the same car with me right now. I really pissed her off and I feel bad about it. I'm just…I don't want them making the same mistake we nearly did, you know?" Dahna leaned against the wall, taking another glass of champagne that Jenna procured and didn't care if she ended up blitzed at this point. "She's changed so much this year, Jen. I don't even recognize her anymore. All of her carefree spirit and happiness has vanished."
"D, did you ever consider the possibility that, because your father's birthday is coming up, she might be upset about it?"
Dahna shut her eyes and drained her glass, grabbing another one instantly and decided a change of subject was definitely in order. "I wish they would hurry up with this meeting already so I can go home and soak in a hot bubble bath and escape reality for a few hours."
Jenna snorted into her third glass of champagne, shaking her head. "Nice subtle subject change, bud." She checked her watch, seeing it was a quarter to nine and felt her eyes widen. "Damn, I really hate leaving you here to wallow in self-misery, but I have a date tonight. Call me tomorrow?"
Dahna smiled, not taking that remark to heart and nodded. "Definitely, go have fun and don't do anything I wouldn't."
"That would be nothing then, which isn't happening. This girl needs some MUCH needed attention. See you later, D!" Hurrying away, Dahna was left there alone once again, wondering where Meredith and Luke had gone, heading down the hallway to find them.
~!~
Knowing Elena was on a date with her new boyfriend, Stefan Salvatore, Dacia decided to handle this function like all the others. They loved coming to these events and he looked as though he'd twirl her around the dance floor all night long if allowed. Caroline would annoy her new boyfriend, Matt Donovan, until he agreed to dance with her.
So she found a different bench to game on since a couple was playing a course of tonsil hockey on her usual one. Walking further down the huge property, Dacia finally found another bench that was smaller and near the pond way out in the back. It practically called to her to come sit down and Dacia couldn't ignore the need of solitude as she lowered herself on the bench, immediately pulling her fully charged cell phone out.
Crossing one leg over the other at the knee, Dacia kicked her heels off and squished her toes in the cool grass, loving the feel of it. She smiled softly and started up her usual cell phone game, leaning back against the bench comfortably. It was called Burnout 3 and the object of the game was to crash a car into every vehicle around hers. The more damage she did, the more points she acquired and Dacia's score was very high.
This party absolutely sucked! Tyler hated them to the point that it forced him to drink, which is why he currently had a silver flask in his hand full of Vodka. He took a long swig of it and stopped short at the sight of none other than Dacia Fell sitting on a nearby bench in his backyard, playing with her phone…again. He had no idea what she did on that thing, but every time he saw her, she was on it. What the hell could have her so intrigued and enthralled? He decided to be brave, thanks to the Vodka consumption, and headed over to her to find out.
"So, I think you have an addiction to your phone." He commented, watching her slowly look up until those beautiful milk chocolate brown eyes met a dark abyss.
Rolling her eyes heavenward, Dacia knew her solitude had just been smashed to smithereens, thanks to Tyler Lockwood's appearance. "It's not an addiction, it's called a cure for boredom."
No matter how hard she tried, Dacia couldn't help noticing how dashing and handsome Tyler looked in a suit. Though she preferred him in jeans and t-shirts because they looked practically painted on. Why was he suddenly talking to her? She wasn't anything special.
Hell, even when she was on the cheerleading squad, he never gave her a second glance or said one word to her. Instead, he dated cheerleader Barbie and used her for sex. Caroline Forbes was a slut in every sense of the word and, since Tyler had dumped her, she had tried sinking her hooks into Matt Donovan. She failed miserably at it too, which made Dacia laugh because Matt spoke his mind and didn't do everything Caroline wanted.
"What do you want Tyler?" Dacia demanded, irritated that he interrupted her game. "Shouldn't you be at the party?" No doubt he was trying to get into someone's pants and Dacia would let hell freeze over before it was hers.
"This is my house." Tyler scoffed, plopping down right beside her on the bench and leaned over, watching as the small cars smashed against each other on the screen. "I hate these parties, they won't miss me." Dacia looked saddened, even though she tried hiding it, and Tyler suddenly wanted to wash it away. She wouldn't give him the time of day though, especially after her fallout with Caroline. "You know it's not your fault right?"
Chewing her bottom lip, Dacia didn't know how to respond to that and knew what he referred to. Why did Tyler have to sit so close to her? Why did he have to smell so good? Why did she suddenly feel like a big puddle of goo melting into the bench? When he leaned over and watched her play the game, Dacia tried like hell not to breathe his scent in because it was pure intoxication. His cologne made her crazy and weak in the knees.
"What's not my fault?" She retorted, snapping her eyes up to once again meet the dark abyss and immediately regretted it.
Smiling easily, Tyler leaned back against the beach leisurely and took another swig from his flask. "Your fallout with Caroline." He watched her perfect lips purse tightly together while still chewing her bottom one and Tyler suddenly had the hunger to suck on it. Her warm milk chocolate eyes spread a warmth through his body that would eventually start a fire of massive proportions. "She thinks I broke up with her because of you and I didn't. She was way too clingy, too whiny and, to be frank, couldn't get it done in the bedroom. She couldn't get my rocks off." He was very blunt when tipsy, a sensual smirk curving his lips. "And she has a sandpaper vagina. I felt my dick chafe every time we had sex, it wasn't the best feeling in the world."
Dacia made a face and shoved Tyler in the shoulder as hard as she could, scoffing. "Gross Tyler! I don't need to know about your sex life, or lack thereof, with my ex-best friend. It doesn't matter what happened, what's done is done." Sighing, Dacia went back to playing her game, taking it off pause. "Besides, you have no one to blame for that except yourself. You're the one who chose to ask her out. That's what you get for thinking with your dick by assuming some hot cheerleader Barbie doll is always the answer to your pleasure."
"Then what IS the answer to my pleasure, Dacia? Please enlighten me since you seem to know every damn thing else about me." He snapped, no malice lacing his tone, only exhaustion.
Tyler didn't want to fight with her, not tonight of all nights. It was nice sitting out here talking with Dacia without prying eyes and ears. It was something NORMAL, which his life was anything but lately.
"Stop playing that damn game and talk to me."
Sighing resignedly, Dacia reluctantly obeyed his command and turned her game off, turning to fully face him. "I don't have the foggiest idea what the answer to your pleasure is. I can't even begin to get inside your head because I don't know you, Tyler. All the years I've lived and grew up here with Elena, Caroline, Matt and Bonnie, this is the first time you've ever said more than five words to me." She shook her head, wondering why she was having this conversation with Tyler Lockwood of all people. "Pleasure doesn't come from your penis, it come from your heart. You find someone you can see yourself sharing all your deepest darkest secrets with. Someone who would accept anything that comes from your mouth and know you'd never lie to them and then you do something completely out of the ordinary…you let yourself fall in love. Love, true love will lead you to all the pleasure your body can handle, possibly more. Try that for once, I dare you." Turning her eyes back to her phone, Dacia promptly turned it back on and started gaming again.