Societies Misfits (Completed)

Chapter Thirteen

Jackson stands there in a black tux alone next to his red pick up truck with shades on and I walk over to him as mom has already walked inside and is talking with Sean and Piper's parents.

"Hey, stranger," I say tapping his shoulder and he looks up and smiles.

"Thanks for fixing my flat tire," I say and he stares at the Bandage wrapped my hand and I hide it around my back

"What happened," He says lifting his shades up to his hair

"Oh, I fell over yesterday and scraped my hand," I say not wanting to tell him that I did t to myself.

He turns his head to examine my face and I can feel myself blush

"Well, we better go, " He says holding out his hand and I'm shocked for a moment and I place my hand in his.

Our fingers interwinds and my heart flutters at the sensation of his warm smooth fingers around mine.

The hand holding doesn't last long though as we make it up the stairs and stand there we both look at all the teary eye in the chapel and we both fall quiet again.

"Wow there's a lot of people here," Jackson says shaking his head a little to make his shades fall back down to sheiks his eyes.

The whole eleventh grade looks to be here I whisper to him as I see Clair And Hudson who are both talking to Brent and his boyfriend Max.

"Yeah, I hear the whole grade was allowed to take the day off to pay their respects"

Jackson and I take a deep breath at the same time and we enter inside.

The sudden feeling over sadness is overwhelming as its falls over upon us, Off too the side there is one shared portrait of Sean and Piper both smiling and holding hands and at the bottom labeled in big print, it says.

"In loving memory of Sean Cook and Piper Cannon"

I try to hold back any sort of emotion i feel as both Jackson and I stare at it for a little while, while other people gather around amongst it staring at the two lovebirds and crying I decide that I need to get away from there faces for a few moments so I walk over to Clair and Jackson follows me.

Clair notices me and without saying a word we exchange a long hug while Jackson shakes Hudson's hand and it's very off-putting to me since how in one minute Hudson can be like one of the guys almost acts like a boy and the next act like such an adult, i don't really feel that way about Jackson because I don't really know him enough to judge on that sort of stuff.

"I can't believe this is real," Brent says staring at everyone in the roo all of

"Tell me about it, Life is insane," Hudson says holding Clair in his arms as a tear slowly falls from her cheek and onto her black dress.

Heels clank on the floor behind me and I'm almost afraid to turn around but once I do I see four very pretty and extremely tall people descending towards me. One couple has the features that Sean had and the other of Piper. Pipers mother looks exactly like her and I almost jump when she is the first to approach me from the group.

"Thank you guys so much for coming," She says to all of us while still staring at me in the eyes.

I feel heart Broken staring back at her as I can see the black bags hang deeply under her beautiful brown eyes and whites the fill her eyes have turned to a deep dark red.

"Bridget if you don't mind can we have a word for a minute or two" She says sounding completely drained.

I nod and walk over with them to an empty corner in the church

Sean's parents stand quietly while both of Piper's parents begin to speak.

"Bridget, I know this might be hard for you as it is for us but we would like it if you could speak on behalf of Sean and Piper" She says trying to put up a brave front but ultimately beings to cry into her husbands shoulder while Sean's mom starts back at me with watery eyes.

I look around the church at all the other people here contemplating my options.

Before even saying a word the microphone atop the stage cracks and the priest's voice comes through it with ease as he tells everyone that the ceremony is about to start and any quests remanded unseat should find a set now so he can begin the ceremony. I make my way to mom sitting awkwardly in-between Clair and mom while Jackson's sits two pews behind me.

The church overall is very beautiful. From the wide-open windows where you can see far as the eye can see to the crystal Chandelier that hangs above my head and I imagine it falling and crushing me but I stop that disturbing thought from continuing to manifest inside my mind as I watch a churchgoer light candles and the ceremony beings.

"Life is so precious" The priest begins with a near effortless sounding voice.

"Life is but a dream, that very few succeed," He says gleaming deeply into everyone's eyes and it feels like he is speaking directly to you

"Life for Crestwood sweethearts was a relationship any couple would dream of," He says it as if he's had a personal connection to them.

It's honestly making me upset to hear someone speak so almost calculated like he's been rehearsing all night to speak about two teens death, I feel like him and the media and just how this whole thing has played out is odd to me. They are like marketing off two innocent kids. What gives this old man the right to call them "Crestwood sweethearts" They both have a name, not a label of some sort.

I shift in my seat and I can tell that mom is keeping her eyes on me the majority of that time.

He continues with some other bullshit stuff about how they were A+ students and they were loved by everyone which is true to some sort but it bothers me that he genuinely believes he knows them and that its almost like he attended school with them the way he keeps going on.

then he finally after what feels like a million miler seconds he says "We gather here to celebrate the life of Sean Cook and Piper Cannon" He conducts a prayer and I pretend to pray to whoever is out there to watch over Sean and Piper.

It's weird how even if you don't believe in a god you still fear him or whatever it is the most. The prayer ends and the priest asks that the family members and friends of Sean and Piper engage in a few kind words.

Pipers parents both stand up first but it is her mother who takes the microphone as her husband stands there for emotional support.

"Piper, Pips. You were my one and only daughter I ever had the gift of raising. You were such a positive and kind-hearted soul not only to your younger brother but to your peers. I look up to you in many ways from how easily you could start a conversation with ease and how outgoing and forthcoming you were. Piper, you were never afraid to stand your ground even if at times you were wrong. You were and still are everything a mother and a parent could look for in her child and I'm forever grateful for having the blessing of raising a beautiful young lady. So where ever you are in the universe just know that I will be thinking about you every day and that mommy loves you dearly"

I don't know whether to clap or cry. Piper's mother's words really resonated with me in ways I can't explain. Although she was reading from a piece of paper it almost felt like in a way the words she was speaking so dearly about how daughter I could imagine so vividly. From the times I saw Piper in the cafeteria standing up to Nate a lacrosse player who was called one of his so-called friends and teammate the most harmful and hurtful names imaginable. Or the time when, even though we weren't really close once my lipstick was fading off my lips and she pulled out her lipstick which was the same shade and brand as mine and retouched it for me.

Next up is her dad, he is very tall and very tan which I take note in my head for an odd reason as his brown eyes glisten across the pew of people in his roughly short yet very sweet eulogy

"Pips I will never forget how stubborn you were when you were little, how you wouldn't ever in a million years touch your green because you said 'Peas are not for eating they are for throwing" He says with a smile as he recounts that moment "Ever since then every time we would have vegetables with peas that would be the first thing you would mention. Champ have fun up there and don't get too crazy up there with Sean" He says looking up to the sky and a few people chuckle.

The sun from the window begins to shine very beautifully through the open windows and Sean's parents both walk up to speak.

The weird thing I didn't pay attention to until now that there is no coffins inside the chapel. Perhaps they are already at the cemetery getting prepped for the barrel but it puts me off a bit to the point where I can barely pay attention to what Sean's parents are saying until I hear his mother speak.

"We would like to call up Bridget Lovey to say a few words on behalf of her classmates," She says holding her hand out and I feel heads turn to me as I step awkwardly stand up and walk over to the mic.

I clear my throat and stare into the crowd of people mostly unfamiliar faces but a couple I spot out from afar like the lacrosse team sitting at the far end of the pews and surprisingly not cracking any jokes as they all look at me with blank faces like they blame me for this happening.

The dizziness returns and I try to control any fear I have. I don't know what's wrong with me, I use to be so good in huge crowds of people and talking and being the center attention but all I can think about is hundreds of different colored eyes and in all shapes and sizes starting straight back at me.

"My name is Bridget Lovey and I was one of Sean and Pipers classmates" I begin hating how I started this but there is no turning back now, I have to just let go of how I'm feeling right now in this moment and focus on my breathing and my choice of words not wanting to embarrass myself and mom with my poor word choice

"I never really had the complete pleasure of getting to know Sean and Piper on a personal level but from my very few interactions, I can tell how Inlove the two of them really were. They were so inseparable and never left each other's sides at all times. I take that back, they rarely left each other's side"

A dark cloud comes over me and I can feel all my emotions flood out of me and I see my mom out of the corner of my eye starting to worry, This next part I will forever in my mind regret saying but I felt it was something I had to get off my chest and tell everyone. So I stare into Jackson's eyes from the crowd for comfort and he stares and smiles back at me as if he knows where this could be going but he is completely wrong.

"The night I threw my house party I never thought in a million years that something like this could lead to, well this," I say pointing around the church.

"If I could of just somehow controlled who was invited to it and who brought drinks I could have prevented all of this" I say feeling like crying but I hold it together as I say my enology but it feels as if I'm having a completely private and personal conversation with Jackson,

"You see Sean and Piper were all over each other at the party, just like any drunk teens in love would be and frankly they were enjoying there time," I say and I finally break away contact for a split second from Jackson and look to see Both of Sean and Piper's moms comforting each other and balling into each other and I think I should stop but I can't.

"It was all my fault for kicking them out at such a late time of the night and expect them to drive home after drinking for hours"

"Sean and Piper didn't choose their fate, I did and I'm the one who should be held accountable for two innocent teens lives. You see they didn't get to choose how they die, they didn't get a warning or anything, I don't get how I could have been so stupid to kick out two very drunk but also very tired teens and expect them to drive home is just unacceptable" I finish saying and I'm surprised no one stopped me when I realised I haven't even said one word.

The priest walks over to me and I feel disoriented as he whispers in my ear and asks if I have anything to say. I stare confusedly at Jackson who is sitting two pews behind my mom and I, shake my head and walk off stage in complete an utter confusion.

I don't understand I think to myself as I sit in between Clair and mom and mom. Mom lightly holds my hand. It felt so real what I said up there like I actually found the words to speak it or saw what I was about to say play out in my mind but I didn't say anything.

Mr. Nixon the school principal stands up and he is the last to speak about Sean and a Piper.

"Hi I am Dan Nixon but most of the people here know me as Mr. Nixon the Principal of Crestwood High. I had the complete pleasure of having two wonderful and intelligent students attend my school. Sean and Piper weren't only students of this wonder of a school they attended but they were also beautiful and loyal people who would help the community. Piper was a straight-A student who would volunteer every so often, she raised money for many charities. Piper was and still is a such a kind-hearted person" He says wiping a tear with a handkerchief and continues

"Sean Cook was on the Lacrosse team and fell madly in love with Piper. He wasn't just a pleasure to teach but also a very smart gentleman with great qualities"

He finishes his speech with "Both of you will be missed equally and may you two fly high angels" He steps away from the mic and they Priest concludes that this is the end of the funeral and that we will be laying to rest Sean and Piper shortly.

The car arrives with the coffins inside with Sean and Piper. We all stand outside near a new barrel sight in the cemetery where a tree has been recently planted. I hold Jackson's hand tightly not wanting to cry or even look at the heartbreaking look on Mr. and Mrs. Cook and Mr. Mrs. Cannon as the bodies of their children get lowered into an empty six-foot hole.

My legs begin to shake as the driver of the black car opens the trunk of the car to reveal two identical looking coffins placed on the opposite side of each other. The people who were invited to the barrel was very limited and very private and personal. Only friends and family of the teens and selections classmates were invited to watch the barrel.

Around seventy people stand before the perfectly dug out hole as the priest and the dads of the teens join the driver to help place the coffins onto a cart to push closer to the hole. I stand still eyeing mom who is standing on the opposite side comforting the mothers of the teens like she's best friends with them all. Clair and Brent weren't invited but Max and Hudson were which was quite strange. Jackson wasn't invited either or shall I say asked to say his final goodbye since he is new to the school, and really never met them, but I Incested that he tag along for moral support and I guess the parents didn't mind.

"This is really heavy " Jackson whispers in my ear brushing a strand of hair away from me and for a moment I think he is talking about the coffins but than remember he isn't even lifting them.

"If it gets too much to watch we can go sit on that bench," He says pointing his head onwards to a park bench across from where Sean and Piper are being buried.

I nod to him but I can't keep my eyes off the coffin as they both begin to be lowered. I realize now that the hole has been dugout doubled the sized so the both of them can be buried together.

The priest raises his hand a begins to speak "Two individuals taken so soon. So much life ahead of them taken away. In their final moments of life, all they had was there love for each other. Would the parents like to say anything before we begin lowering them" He says and I look straight into both of the parent's faces but no one speaks.

"let's all begin a prayer for Sean Cook and Piper Cannon by placing our hands together," He says holding his hand up and bowing his head and everyone does the same expect Jackson, mom and I

"Dear heavenly Father, bless these children journey while they travel to the afterlife, " I begin to see the coffins descend into the ground and before long the prayer is over and the barrel is complete

"In Jesus name amen" The priest completes the prayer and the priest steps to the side to reveal the headstones which have been placed to the back of the hole

I squint my eyes from afar and read

*******************

In loving memory of

Sean Michael Cook

2001 to 2018

May you fly high in the sky angel

*******************

And the identical one next to Sean's takes my breath away

Rest in peace

Piper Josephine Cannon

2001 to 2018

The truth will set your spirit free

My eyes dart from left to right as I reread Piper's Headstone multiple times but I

Can barely make it out now as people throw flowers onto the coffins. Either I'm hallucinating seeing the message or I'm going crazy so I walk past the crowd of people blocking my view and examine the headstone once again.

*******************

Rest In Peace

Piper Josephine Cannon

2001 to 2018

Forever in our hearts

*******************

I Breathe in a long slow sigh of relief just as Jackson Taps my shoulder

"You ok?" He saying removing his shades once again and I stare into those green eyes and tell him

"I'm good, I need to use the restroom," I say pushing passed him and the group of people around the headstones as I begin to head off down the hill to proceed with phase two of my plan.

SM

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