3:2 Goodbyes Sure Do Suck

Goodbyes Sure Do Suck

Part 2

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RECAP

"Phoenix?" He repeated. "So what does that mean for Landon?"

Landon looked down before looking up at Rafael. "I'm guessing it means I become human. Mortal?" He questioned, earning a nod and a half sad yet reassuring smile from Lizzie. "Which is probably why Kate isn't here to tell me herself." Landon complained.

Lizzie then felt her blood start to boil ever so slightly at the fact he spoke about you like that. "She would be here, Landon, but she didn't want to face Rafael and you. Not because she's scared of the outcome, but because she's upset at the fact you decided to run off." Lizzie scolded not only Landon but also Rafael. "Don't blame her choices on her because of your actions." Lizzie stated before walking off.

The boys stood there for a moment before following after the blonde.

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Lizzie and Rafael were inside the gym, Lizzie getting the spell ready obviously while Rafael just paced anxiously. Lizzie was holding a book about the spell you had found, reading the 'instructions' as she grabbed a handful of leaves and made a circle around the Trident.

Curiosity took over Rafael as he walked over. "What is that thing?" Rafael asked, nervousness evident in his voice.

Lizzie looked up, calmer than when she last spoke to him. "Oh, no name." She replied. "But the 'Fork of Saving Your Ass' has a nice ring to it." Lizzie joked, the corner of her lip curving into a smile.

Rafael chuckled softly as he lifted the Trident up. "You built this today?" He questioned, almost surprised Lizzie was able to do this.

"Yeah." She breathed out, looking down at the Trident.

"Damn, girl." Rafael complimented.

Lizzie then looked up into his eyes. "You want to thank me? Be sure to tell my dad how awesome I am. Sometimes I think he wonders." Lizzie explained.

Rafael placed down the Trident. "He'll figure it out. Your dad's a good guy." Rafael complimented once again, Lizzie smile no longer there. "You're lucky, you know? To have a dad like him. Who makes mistakes because he's trying to protect you." Rafael explained sadly, crouching down next to the circle in the middle of the gym.

Rafael let out a sigh while Lizzie made her way over. "Well, at least you have the moppet and cousin-girlfriend." Lizzie says, adding her nicknames for you and Landon to try and lighten the mood a little.

Rafael glanced up at her. "Yeah." Rafael said. "But I hate that it has to come to this for him. And I hate that Kate hates me right now." Rafael commented, looking down sadly.

Lizzie felt a pang at her heart, obviously her having a go at Rafael and Landon before got to him more. "I didn't mean that she hates you, she's just upset at the fact you left her without saying goodbye. I could see that because she kept dozing off." Lizzie paused. "She was thinking about all the possibilities she may never see you again." Lizzie explained.

Rafael stayed quiet, it seemed he was ignoring Lizzie but it was the quite opposite. He was listening to her every word intently. "Look, what I'm trying to say is that, she loves you endlessly, she could never hate you." Lizzie summed up. "And besides, she's the one that gave me this spell idea." Lizzie stated, earning Rafael to look up at her with hope in his eyes.

Hope and Landon sat on the bleachers, you obviously not with them in the gym. "Are you sure about this?" Hope asked Landon, looking at Lizzie and Rafael talking.

"Uh, I mean, it's kind of ironic, huh? Raf spent all day yesterday convincing me to go back inside my body, and today he needs me to give the most important piece of it away." Landon explained, looking over at Hope.

Hope turned her head to look at Landon when he said that, giving him a confused look. "It's not the most important piece." Hope stated.

"You sure about that?" He questioned, earning a awkward silence to take over. "It doesn't... it doesn't matter." He stuttered. "I'd lay in front of a bus for him. At least this plan seems a lot less painful." Landon commented.

It was silent for a moment. "We're ready." Lizzie called out to the two before looking back at Rafael who she motioned to get into the circle.

Hope and Landon got up and walked over to them. Lizzie handed Raf the Trident for him to hold. "Aren't we going to wait for Kate?" Rafael questioned, wanting to see her.

"I'm here." You called out, earning everyone's attention. You walked up to them, waiting for them to start. "Let's get started." You commented, earning Rafael, Landon and Lizzie to move, you and Hope just watching.

Lizzie then walked inside the circle. "Moppet, you are here." She pointed where she was in the circle. "Raf, there." She pointed at the spot behind Rafael before walking out of the circle.

"And, Hope and Kate, you're moral support, so don't screw it up." Lizzie smiled sarcastically.

Rafael and Landon look at each other before pulling each other into a much needed hug before separating. Rafael then looks back at you and Hope, more specifically you. "Thanks." He commented.

You weren't sure why he was thanking you, but you smiled back anyway, still upset with the act from earlier but happy he was okay. Lizzies hands were on Landons shoulders, everyone's eyes closed besides yours and Hopes, but nothing was happening. "You can start now." You commented.

Everyone's eyes opened. "I did start, but nothing's happening." Lizzie explained confused.

Hope gave her a confused look. "What do you mean?" She questioned.

Lizzie stayed quiet for a moment before looking over at you and Hope. "There isn't any magic in the moppet to siphon." Lizzie stated, Landon moving out of her grasp as he moved to walk behind her, hand on his mouth as if he realised something.

"I don't understand." Hope said.

You then put the dots together, crossing your arms over your chest. "Oh my god, she means he's not a phoenix anymore." You said, looking at Hope and Lizzie while everyone looked at you.

"It makes sense. The golden arrow felled the phoenix, just like the prophecy said." Landon added onto your comment.

Rafael looked from you to Landon. "Wait. But you were brought back." Rafael stated, not understanding.

"As a human," Landon cut him off. "but the phoenix part of me died, leaving me one final, mortal life." Landon explained. "I should have known. I can feel it. I feel... different." Landon rambled.

Both you and Hope moved to stand next to Landon. "I can't believe that this is happening, I suggested the spell and it never crossed my mind." You said, feeling guilty, as well as upset at yourself for not thinking about it. Hope grabbed onto your hand, interlacing them as she rubbed circles on the back of your hand with her thumb, trying to calm you down.

Lizzie looked between everyone, glancing at Rafael who placed the Trident down. "We'll run more tests. Maybe there's something we missed." Lizzie tried to be positive, trying to find a solution but the problem was the solution as there was no solution for what was happening to Rafael.

"I can go outside and try to fly." Landon suggested.

You immediately looked over at him. "Now how are you going to do that? By jumping off of the roof and hoping you miraculously sprout wings before you break your neck?" You explained, staring right into his eyes that looked at you. "Absolutely not!" You exclaimed, not wanting to lose two people you love in one day.

Again.

"No!" Rafaels voice rang out, stopping you from your rant. "I don't want to waste another second fighting a losing battle. I want to make the most of whatever little time that I have left. Just want to be with... with my friends. I want to go out on my own terms." Rafael concluded, everyone just listening.

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You sat on a seat, watching the SuperNova play out. "Hey." Rafaels voice called out, drawing your eyes away from the beauty of it before looking at him, watching as he grunted, placing down four heavy barrels. "Could use those Tribrid muscles. Got a couple more kegs I need to haul over." He stated, walking over but you stayed quiet as you watched him. "But I can see that you're not in the mood for a, um... for a party." Rafael stated, taking a seat next to you.

You brought your legs up so they were crossed so you can leaned your arms on your legs, to which you rested your head in your hands. "I think I'm just a sore loser." You whispered before looking at him. "I've beaten death before but... I really thought we were gonna beat it this time." You explained softly, tears making their way into your eyes, glassing them over. "But I don't want you to go." You sobbed.

Rafael placed and arm around your shoulder and brought you into his embrace. "Hey.. it's okay, Katie." You haven't heard them call you that in a long time. "I'm not afraid, trust me." He whispered, your breathed was uneven and he could tell how upset you were about this. "You know that I believe that everyone gets their own version of heaven." He continued.

"And for me, it's gonna be my best day ever, just on a loop. A day outside with the people I love." He paused, rubbing your shoulder as a way to calm you down, also wiping a few stray tears. "But... I'm gonna appreciate everything I can while I'm here. I mean, a supernova that we can actually see with our naked eye?" he questioned.

Both of you looked up to admire the beauty of it, your breathe was still uneven but you had calmed down. "I mean, that's once in a lifetime." Rafael stated.

As soon as Rafael said that, you repeated the word in your head. "A lifetime." You whispered, barely audible.

"Hey, um, there's something that I need you to do. It's, uh, one last favor, it's, uh, for Landon." Rafael said, letting go of your shoulder seeing as he felt you were calmer now.

You wiped your tears before getting off the seat. "Sorry. I can't right now." You commented, walking off to find Hope. You didn't mean for it to come out in a harsh way but you had just come up with an idea to save him, possibly.

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After Rafael had told Landon for the two for them to bounce and just hang out together, they were now in their room, eating burgers. "Bro, you were right. This is so much better." Landon said with a full mouth.

"And we didn't even have to scam strangers for these bad boys this time." Rafael laughed, also speaking with a full mouth.

The room fell silent, a comfortable silent but something nagged at Landon and he just had to speak. "I'm sorry, Rafael. I really thought Kate and Hope would find a way. You know, that's just what they do. Finds ways." Landon commented.

Rafael nodded slightly, swallowing his food before responding. "Yeah, uh... Kate and I were talking earlier." He trailed off, kind of confused. "I think I scared her off." Rafael stated.

Landon chuckled softly. "Kate doesn't scare easily." Landon said, taking another bite of the burger. "What'd you say to her that made her 'scare'?" he questioned.

"I, um..." He paused. "I was gonna ask her to look out for you, after I was gone." Rafael continued.

"You know she already does that, right?" Landon joked, lightening the mood slightly, the silence coming back. "Well, you won't have to worry about that anymore, will you?" He questioned. "Now that she knows I'm not a phoenix, she won't let me step foot outside." Rafael laughed. "Right?" He questioned again.

A smile formed on his face. "She definitely won't." He responded, both of them laughing. "For three foster kids, our lives got pretty weird, huh?" Landon questioned, watching as Rafael was laid back on the bed.

"So weird." Rafael agreed. "Weird life..." He trailed again. "...weird death." He concluded.

Just then a soft knock was heard from the door, Jed walking in. Raf sat up an Landon turned around, both of them looking at Rafael. "You didn't ask the pack for this... but we thought just in case." Jed moved more out of the door frame, Rafaels dad walking in.

"Dad?" Landon and Rafael both got up from their seated positions. "W-We came looking for you." Rafael continued, looking at Landon.

His father nodded. "I heard. But I'm here now. And I'm not going anywhere." He stated. Rafael moved forward and wrapped his arms around his father, embracing him in a tight hug. Jed then left, closing the door on his way out. "What can I do, son?" He questioned, his voice a whisper.

"Exactly what you're doing now." Rafael responded, both of them not letting go.

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You had found the ascendant, what you were looking for before grabbing Hope—who was confused about where you were leading her— and going to find Lizzie so she could help. "Lizzie." You called, grabbing the blondes attention. "Did you see the supernova?" You questioned.

Lizzies expression dropped, her face making it obvious about how dumb you sounded. "Kind of hard to miss it." Lizzie scolded. Hope walked to stand next to Lizzie, wondering what was happening as well, that's until you brought out the ascendant from your bag. "Is that what I think it is?" She questioned.

"I had an idea. For the love of god, please tell me one of you two know where Ric keeps his stash of Bennett blood." You pleaded, grasping the ascendant tightly but not so tight to the point it'l break.

"Off the record, I can think of at least three super-secret hiding spots." Lizzie immediately stated.

Both of you looked at Hope as she started speaking. "I can also think of a few." Hope commented.

You face was now full of Hope. "Great. Let's go. We're literally running out of time." You said, walking off with the both of them following.

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After casting the spell, it was now morning and Hope had gone to explain what had been done to Landon since he had no clue. "He's gone. I mean, Rafael's literally gone." Hope could tell he was trying to make sure his voice didn't break. "I didn't know werewolves disappear when they die." Landon commented.

She shook your head. "They don't." She whispered, confusion now evident on Landons face. "Come with me. I have some explaining to do. Come on." She stated, grabbing his hand as they both walked. "Last night, Kate told me Rafaels version of heaven and what that looked like and that gave me an idea." She said while walking. "Even though we couldn't heal him, we could still save him, so Lizzie, Kate and I used the coven ascendant and supernova to give Raf his peace." She explained.

All the students, including you—who stood at the back of the main room—stood in the main room, looking at Rafael. "Hey." He said. "Um, what's-what's going on?" He questioned but no one said anything. Instead, Jed, Rafaels second, walked up and shook his hand before standing beside him.

Rafael then walked down the few steps and walked towards Kaleb, some students moving out of the way like he was royalty. "What's up?" Kaleb said, shaking hands with Rafael aswell. "What's up?" He repeated. "I-I know you got a lot of questions that need answers. I just want you to know that I never doubted that you were gonna survive this for a second." MG walked up to them. "I knew the whole... I really... Okay, I-I doubted it hard. But, uh, you know who didn't?" Kaleb questioned, unable to lie when MG caught him out. "My man." He looked at MG before walking off a little bit.

MG lifted his hand up. "We're gonna miss you, man." He said, bringing him into a hug that last a few seconds before letting go of each other. All of the students then moved out of the way and revealed Alaric, holding his hand out, to which Rafael took, only to be pulled into a hug by Ric.

"Because a prison world is only a prison if you're alone." Hope continued. They let go of each other, Alaric not wanting to let go since this was hard but he did so anyway and moved out of the way so that he could say goodbye to Landon, Hope and you. "We can't stay, but he can. With everything he needs to keep him safe and happy."

Hope brought Rafael into a tight hug, she loved Rafael, a lot, and now that she was hardly ever going to see him again broke her heart. "With his family." They both held each other before letting go and Rafael moved onto Landon to which he hugged tightly.

After they let go, Rafael looked over at you to which you ran straight into his arms, wrapping them around his neck, tears rolling down your cheeks. "I hate that your leaving me, but at least I can come visit." You breathed out. "I wish I could say everything I'm going to miss about you but the list will go on so I'm going to keep it short." You whispered. "I love you so much, and I'm going to miss you." You breathed out, not letting go.

Rafael also didn't let go as he just listened to you. "Goodbyes really do suck." You commented before letting of one of your brothers, knowing that'd you may never see him again.

"Always and forever. Maybe that's what heaven is."

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You, Landon and Rafael walked out the front door, Landon closing it. "Can't believe you pulled it off." Rafael commented, holding his duffel bag.

Landon looked at you. "Like I said, she finds ways." Landon responded.

You wiped your dried tears off of your cheeks as they made your skin feel stuck in one position. "What can I say? I'm a genius." You commented.

"Yeah." Rafael breathed out as he turned around, a silence forming. "You were right about another thing, too. Goodbyes sure do suck." Rafael recalled what you said.

Landon laughed. "Yeah." He said, looking at his shoes. "It's more like 'see you later.' This is a prison world. We can visit." Landon said, a smile on his face..

"Yeah." Rafael said.

You decided to speak up. "Hey." You caught Rafaels attention. "I promise we will." You promised.

"Yeah." He repeated, knowing you guys weren't lying.

You let out a shaky breathe as you looked up at Landon. "Our world won't be the same without you, man." Landon commented.

Rafael looked between the two of you. "Look, the only promise that I need..." He trailed off. "is that you two.. you two live the rest of your lives like we always talked about." Rafael asked, hoping that you both will agree, tears forming in his eyes. No words needed to be shared as he knew you both silently agreed. "All in." He said, raising his hand in a fist, you and Landon also lifting up a fist, all of you hitting them softly.

You all laughed softly but stopped and turned your heads when you saw a car pull up, both of Rafaels parents in the car waiting for him. " 'Cause that's what I'm gonna do with them. My family." He said, happy he was going to live the rest of his life with his family. Both you and Landon looked at each other as you both thought he was saying you weren't family anymore.

"Just sucks that I got to leave this one behind." He stated after a few, looking back at you, Landon and the school.

Tears glassed over your eyes once again, already falling down your cheeks. Landon let out a deep breathe, trying not to cry, to be thought for Rafael. "You deserve it. You've always been all in. For me. for Kate. For everybody.And we love you for that, brother." Landon gave a short speech, rubbing your shoulder slightly.

"I love you, too, guys." Rafael responded, the three of you all bumped fists once again before going into a group hug, none of you wanting to leave since instead of the three of you against the world, it was no only two.

Once you three left the hug, Landon started running back to the school entrance. "Wait, wait, wait. I almost forgot." You and Rafael watched Landon before looking back at his parents, shrugging.

You wiped your tears as you looked back over at Landon and saw he had the sword of Rafaels royal descendant, earning a chuckle from Rafael. Landon then walked back over, bowing with the sword handle facing him, causing you to bow jokingly aswell. "Until we meet again, our once and future king." Landon joked.

Rafael grabbed it, holding it firmly as he gave you two one last look, taking in every detail to remember you two before walking away to the car. You wrapped an arm around Landon as tears once rolled down your cheeks since you didn't want him to leave but this was for the best.

Landon wrapped an arm around your shoulder, letting a few tears slip as he watched his brother walk away, both of you loosing the warm of your sibling as he walked away to his new life.

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You stood at the end of the pier, wearing a oversized hoodie over your uniform as it was a bit cold out. "When did you get here?" You heard the familiar voice of Landon call out to you.

This prompted you to turn to face your brother, going to respond. "As soon as we got back. Needed to clear my head." You explained.

Landon's nodded before speaking up again. "You really came through for him." Landon commented.

You shrugged subtly and smiled softly. "I promised you and him I would, even if Lizzie was the one who told you." You replied, pausing before continuing. "It just wasn't how I figured it'd turn out, but..." You trailed off, unsure of what to say next. You looked up at the sky, knowing what you say next might not go how you planned. "You know, the supernova's still going on, Lan. Lizzie can send you back." You hesitated as you said the last part.

"You're not seriously suggesting I go back to the prison world." Landon scolded you. Upset you would even think about that.

You licked your lips slightly. "Maybe!" You raised your voice ever so slightly but calmed down before continuing. "For a little while, maybe, until all of this Necromancer crap blows over. You'd be with Raf and you'd be safe." You continued.

Landon let out a sigh. "You wouldn't be there." Landon said. You understand what he was meaning, that he wanted you and Rafael, not just Rafael to be there. "I don't see the point." He said after a moment of silence and a shake of his head.

"I'm scared Landon, that's the point." You replied, your voice wavering. "Yeah, we saved Raf but it still feels like we lost him, and you of all people know how that effects me." You explained, memories of your parents flooding your mind like rapid water flowing between the rocks. "Especially now that you're human." You said after a moment.

"You mean weak?" Landon questioned. "Somebody you're gonna have to spend the rest of your life worrying about and, and-and-and protecting?" He continued, obviously upset with the way you were thinking.

You let out a sigh. "Landon..." you trailed off.

"Now that I'm not special." He spat out.

Now you were shaking your head. "Landon, do not put that on me. You know that I've never needed you to be special." Your words made him become quiet, now allowing you to speak. "I have always loved you for who you are and you know that I love you now. Why are you picking a fight about this?" You questioned, getting annoyed with him.

"Because not once today did you say that it would be okay." Landon scolded.  "Me giving up everything that made me fit in at this school, everything that makes me fit with you, Raf, Hope, everyone. Today is a prime example of when you were telling me that I go back to being just me, you didn't say that it'd be okay, that we would be okay. And I know why you didn't say it." Landon paused, catching his breathe. " 'Cause you don't believe it." Landon finished.

You looked down, away from his eye sight, knowing he was right. "Admit that." Landon said, but you stayed quiet as you looked back into his eyes. "I promised Raf that I'd live my life the best I can, and so did you but what you want isn't living, Kate. Not to me." Landon scolded you once again before walking off, leaving you alone on the pier in your thoughts about what Landon has said to you.

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A.N: sorry for the lack of updates 😭😭 here is an extra long chapter for yall <3