Cute, fluffy angst. You know I love it.
"Ow..." Lydia's eyes stung, lids seemingly having a mind of their own as they refused to open. She lifted her hands to rub at her face, feeling something slick and wet smearing over her skin. Her brow furrowed, and experimentally tried wiggling her foot, but just like her eyes, it wouldn't respond. "What...?" The girl was suddenly aware of a rough, uncomfortable surface beneath her, laying flat on her back. She squirmed, but her body just would not cooperate with her, and so she began to panic. "What's happening?" Lydia tried valiantly to wrench herself herself free, move her arms, open her eyes, anything. She tried to scream, but the sound didn't leave her lips. "What's happening?"
"Mornin', Babes." The familiar voice elevated her, and all at once her green eyes snapped open, her mouth pulled into a smile and she threw herself at BeetleJuice. He caught her mid-spring and hoisted her up, letting her fling her arms around his neck. "Or maybe I should say 'Good night'," he mused.
"BJ, what's happening?," she exclaimed, eyes wide and in panic. The grungy ghost grunted, shifting her in his grasp until she sat neatly in the crook of his elbow, then turned and gestured behind them.
Her Father's car was torn and crushed; the back end buried beneath a lorry, a lamp post ploughing through the bonnet. Police, ambulance and fire brigade lights burned her eyes in the darkened main road, but as they adjusted she saw her parents. Both wrapped in reflective blankets, bandages around her Father's head and a sling on her Mother's arm. The red headed woman screamed and screeched at her husband, who sat in the back of an ambulance, wounded head held in his hands despite the pain, sobbing and choking into his palms.
Lydia gaped and clutched the lapel of BeetleJuice's suit, then notice the stretcher two medics were carting towards a different ambulance. Something lay upon it, covered with a white sheet slowly dying crimson, both men looking rather sick and mournful. Her arms began to tremble, even when her friend took hold of the hand on his jacket and gave it a squeeze. She listened to her parents, blocking out all the other noise and focusing on them.
"It's all your fault! How could you?! Look what you've done! Look what you've done to our little girl!"
The Goth girl swallowed slightly, resting her cheek on BeetleJuice's shoulder. "Beej, am I... am I..."
"Dead?" The word hung in the air, his voice far less gruff than usual. "Yeah. Serious head trauma. You were dead the moment that pretty head of yours hit the driver's seat." He flicked his arm to grasp at his sleeve, then began wiping away the blood dripping down her face. "Sorry, Babes."
"M-my parents... th-they're going to be alright?" BeetleJuice huffed irritably; trust Lydia to focus on her parents' well beings rather than the revelation that she was dead. Typical sweet heart.
"Their time ain't up. Broken bones, whip lash and emotional scars that'll probably be with them for the rest of their days... that just happens when you lose a kid." She whimpered pitifully, nuzzling her way under his chin and began sobbing. He winced, wanting desperately to make her laugh, but knowing it was the inappropriate time, so stroked her back and rocked her from side to side.
"A-and I'm really dead?," she spluttered. "No way back, o-or a chance for a miracle?"
He shook his head, then began to attempt neatening her hair. "Sorry, Lyds. Just the way it is." The grungy ghost nearly burst into tears himself when Lydia clung to him for dear death and howled into his shoulder. He held and petted and cuddled her, hushing her and promising everything would be alright.
"Y-you won't l-leave me, will you?," Lydia sobbed eventually, looking up at him with bloodshot eyes. He gaped, shocked by the very implication.
"'Course not, Babes! Here's what's gonna happen; you're gonna come live with me at the roadhouse. We'll set up a room just for you, and if'n you ever wanna split, well you just let me know and we'll find you a place all your own!," he explained, lifting her up into the air in both hands. "I'll show you the ropes, teach you how to haunt people and, hey, I could teach you magic too!" A weak, wet little chuckle slipped from her lips, but it was far from the bubbly, sweet giggle he was used to. He frowned and set her down on the ground, lowering to one knee to be at eye level with her. "Long story short, I'll take care of you, Lydia. Y'know I'm here when you need me, and I always will be. And it's a heck of a lot easier now!"
She made that small, wet sound again, then looked back at her parents. Her Mother had stopped screaming and had simply broken down into fits of hysterical cries, her Father holding her tightly against his chest. The girl bit her lip slightly, then let fresh tears begin to fall. BeetleJuice frowned sympathetically, getting to his feet and offering her his hand. "C'mon, Babes. Let's go home."
Lydia looked up at him, then his hand, back to her parents, then his hand again. She took it hesitantly, letting BeetleJuice lead her back to the Neitherworld, with a thin chance of ever seeing the real world again.
Hail to the princess, baby!