CHAPTER THIRTY:
❝︎Lizzie's Funeral❞︎

TODAY WAS SUPPOSED TO BE LIZZIE'S FUNERAL, BUT WHEN HARPER WALKED IN AND SAW LIZZIE TRYING TO PLAN HER OWN, HARPER WAS POSITIVE THAT IT COMPLETELY DEFEATED THE PURPOSE. MG looked at Harper as she walked in, Harper raising an eyebrow in silent question. MG just sighed and shook his head, telling her that he'd already tried to convince Lizzie of the same thing but it wasn't working.

     MG looked at Lizzie. "If you're trying to play dead, managing your own funeral defeats the point."

     "I'm way ahead of you there." Lizzie turned to look at them. She held a ring in her hand, a giant red ruby on it. "That is what this freakishly large ring is for." She put it on and the ruby glowed and Lizzie turned into Hope. "I'm unique and special. And for some reason, I'm really emo about it. Wait here while I go sacrifice myself unnecessarily. How'd I do?" She smiled and Harper had to hide her amusement. Footsteps approached them making them turn to see Alaric, Kaleb, and Jed walking over to them.

     "What's going on here?" Alaric hissed.

     Lizzie, who still looked like Hope, said, "Hey, daddy.

     "What is going on?"

     "I figured since we're disguising Hope's body as me while she roots around in Josie's subconscious, that I could pretend to be her while she's gone." Lizzie explained. Kaleb hummed and before he could say anything else, Lizzie interrupted. "Wow, is she really this short?"

     "Elizabeth?" Alaric questioned his daughter.

     "You need me to oversee the funeral."

     Kaleb looked at her before turning to Alaric. "Are we really gonna roll with this? Like this is gonna happen. . ."

     "Dad!" Lizzie interrupted again and Alaric hummed. "The emotion has to be real. And who better to put together a touching memorial to me than me?"

     Alaric stepped towards her. "Uh, sweetie, I think it's a great idea, but I just―︎I think people are gonna figure it out."

     "Yeah, he's right." Jed agreed. "Pack's never gonna fall for this."

     Lizzie looked up at three wolves carrying in more flowers. She cleared her throat and walked towards them, gaining their attention. "Hello there, fellow wolves. So nice to see you again, Piper, Trevor, Brock."

     Brock spoke, "Yo, we're gonna build a human pyramid after the funeral, if you want to join."

     "I'd love to. And then maybe after we could run around outside and stare at the moon for a while."

     Brock smiled. "Nice. Yo, you rock, Hope."

     "Back at ya, Brockmeister." As they walked away, Lizzie turned to look at them. "The defense rests."

     "Fine. But no doves." Alaric grumbled.

     As Alaric walked away Lizzie turned to look at the rest of them. "Alright, you heard the man. We've got work to do."

     Harper crossed her arms and scoffed. "You are a horrible impersonation of Hope."

     "That's why you're here." Lizzie smiled at her as the others got to work. Harper cocked an eyebrow. "Oh, please, Harper. You and Hope are practically joined at the hip. You get to stay by my side all day."

     Harper let out a humorless laugh. "No."

     "Harper, come on." Lizzie begged. "You can really help me nail this act."

     "Lizzie, look at me." Lizzie did as she asked. "I love you, I really do. You're a great friend. However, I will not help you tarnish Hope's reputation. Frankly, I don't have the heart to walk beside of you knowing that you're not actually Hope. I enjoy your company, don't get that wrong, I really do, but so much has happened and somehow you seem so un-phased by it all. Planning out your own funeral with joy whilst Hope is roaming around in Josie's mind with Josie somewhere trapped inside. Josie is out there and she's dangerous and she already thinks you're dead so I'm no doubt the next target."

     Lizzie looked at her and felt guilty for a moment. She understood where Harper was coming from.  Lizzie sighed and finally nodded. She pulled Harper into a hug and Harper immediately hugged her back which made a small smile fall on Lizzie's face. "I understand." She pulled away. "And hey, I know I'm not her, but if you need me for emotional support or whatever, I'm here. You've always been here for me, I owe you a lot."

     Harper gently smiled back and nodded. "Thanks, Lizzie. Same goes for you. I know you usually go to Josie about these things, but I'm here while she's not." Harper gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before walking away.

     "She's too good for this world." Lizzie whispered and MG stood there, nodding in agreement. "How is she still so kind? After everything she's went through, it's like nothing bothers her anymore."

     "It bothers her." MG disagreed. "She just hides it a lot better. She stays in her room a lot for a reason." With that MG turned on his heel and walked away, leaving Lizzie to stand there and watch Harper disappear.

     When it was time for Lizzie's funeral, Harper dressed in a black dress, taking a seat beside of Lizzie with MG on the other side of the girl. Lizzie looked around for a moment, people having already gathered. "Where's my dad?" Lizzie whispered.

     "He'll be here any moment."

     MG stood behind the podium, Kaleb starting to play the piano. They looked up as a video began to play, the first person being Wade to speak. "A memory of Lizzie? Um. . ." It cut off and went to another witch, a video which was badly spliced together. "I miss Lizzie so bad. The entire school will never get over it." Then it switched to Jed. "Lizzie was always, uh, really cool. Really hot." Then it went to Kaleb. "So many memories of Lizzie. And the fact that we remember at all means she didn't go into Malivore." Lizzie silently asked to cut if off, but Harper placed a hand on her wrist, silently telling her to wait.

     Harper appeared on the screen, there was a fond smile on her face. "Lizzie was one my best friends. She was a misunderstood soul, someone that cared deeply about those that she loved. She would do anything if it meant to save them. When Lizzie died in the merge, she did just that. She saved this school from danger. We owe her everything. Lizzie could be selfish, we all know this, but Lizzie was always honest. That was her best quality. I will miss her so much, I can only hope that she's in peace." The video ended and it went away. Lizzie looked at Harper with tears in her eyes and Harper only smiled at her and grabbed her hand.

     MG sat down and Kaleb and Jed stood at the mic. "Thank you," Kaleb said. "This ones for Lizzie Saltzman." Kaleb and Jed began to sing a song before it quickly became a competition between them of who could sing better.

     Lizzie quickly stood up, wide eyed. She grabbed the mic. "Okay, thank you. Thank you so much for whatever that was." She cleared her throat. "I'm here today to deliver the eulogy for Elizabeth Jenna Saltzman. Lizzie was more than one thing. She was a witch, a daredevil, a lover. Was she a saint? Eh, who's to say? But I can say this. She was the absolute best of us. She was a kind soul." This made others laugh. "She was kind, and nice. And sometimes she was just tired or having a bad day, or whatever." The laughs continued. "You all think you knew her, but you didn't. You're all wrong!" She ran off and Harper exchanged a look with MG.

     The other students were still laughing and MG stood up, going behind the podium. "I have something to say." The all quieted down and looked at him. "My first day here, Lizzie was my tour guide. Just like she was for most of you. I was so scared. And she knew it, too. At the end of my tour, I mentioned hating my name, Milton. And she said 'so change it'. 'No one here knows, so how about MG?'" Kaleb started playing the piano again. "Remember the shock bracelet Lizzie had? Or when she was suddenly into talent shows and Miss Mystic Falls and football? She was always trying to start over. And yeah, she could be extra, but she knew it. And she never stopped trying to change. But did you all let her? Or did you hold onto one image of her at her worst? She was an easy target who couldn't control her brain chemistry. So it was easier to think that she was broken than to root for her and accept that she was changing. If you really stop and think, I'm sure you have a good Lizzie story, too. Here's your chance. Start over." MG walked away.

     For a moment, no one stood. And then one of the witches did. She walked to the podium. "I liked to sew a lot. But there was no one else to do it with. When Lizzie found out, she started the sewing club." More people came up and shared more stories and Harper smiled.

     When it seemed like no one else was going to say anything, Harper stood up. She stood at the podium, looking at her fellow peers. "Lizzie and I were never that close, but there were times when we were there for each other when we had no one else. I had been upset, Hope was off dealing with Landon and Josie was. . . you know. Lizzie came in my room, ice cream and two spoons in her hand. She said to me 'someone once told me the cure to a cry pile', something I'd said to her before, and she sat there beside of me and comforted me when I needed someone the most. Lizzie truly is a loving, kind, selfless soul. We should give her more credit than we do."

When the funeral was over, Lizzie was off with her father, casting a spell with Josie's body in the circle, trying to get the black magic from her body. Harper was sitting in her room, something she seemed to be doing a lot more often these days. Her nose was in another book, as per usual. It was dark out, Harper didn't know how the thing with Josie had went. She sat in silence, Josie's bracelet hanging on her wrist.

     A knock came on her door, not thinking anything of it, she whispered a soft, "Come in."

    Josie carefully pushed the door open. She stood there for a moment, not saying anything. "What are you reading?"

     Harper looked up at her voice. For a moment, she thought it was a trick, that dark Josie had come to kill her, but Harper knew her Josie and she was standing right in front of her. Harper closed her book, tears springing to her eyes. "Jo? Is it really you?"

     Josie nodded her head. "It is."

    "Oh, Jo." Harper ran forwards and wrapped her arms tightly around her. Josie closed her eyes and hugged her back. "I'm so glad you're okay." She pulled back, cupping Josie's face with her hands. She smiled brightly and Josie couldn't help but smile back.

     "Stop looking at me like that." Josie laughed. Despite everything she'd been through, Harper still knew how to bring a smile to her face. She always did. She missed her. She never wanted to let her go. She loved Harper so much. "I love you, Harper."

     "Kiss me and say it again."

     Josie rolled her eyes but the smile never left her face. She did as she asked, kissing Harper deeply. Harper closed her eyes and kissed her back. Josie pulled away. "I love you."

     Harper's smile seemed to widen even more. "I love you too." She kissed her again.

     They sat on Harper's bed, Josie's head on her chest with Harper's arms wrapped around her. "I siphoned my powers into a coin." Josie admitted. "I'm just not ready to use them right now."

     "I get it." Harper nodded. "Just know you're not alone in this, Jo. I'm right here. I'm always going to be right here." Josie smiled and held Harper close. Harper pressed a kiss to the top of her head. Josie knew this wouldn't last forever, but she decided to not think about that, and instead enjoy the moment of being back in her lovers arms.