CHAPTER 1

Beetlejuice was not fond of change. Even after more than six centuries, he had not learned to deal with unwanted changes in his afterlife. He hated people messing with his stuff or forcing him to alter his plans, he despised new rules and laws almost as much as he despised soap, and he couldn't stand seeing any of his scummy rivals become successful in anything. Sure, he was prone to boredom and took great delight in finding new ways to cause mischief, especially among his neighbours, and he loved the excitement of going on new adventures whenever possible, but anything new that he didn't willingly cause or agree to himself was a different story. And so it was that when Lydia, his best friend in the whole wide Neitherworld (or in all the regular world, too), acquired a boyfriend at the age of sixteen, the 'ghost with the most' was none too impressed.

"A boyfriend?! Eeeeyuck!"

"Nice of you to be supportive," Lydia said sarcastically.

"Pfft! Support?" Beetlejuice snorted, and promptly turned into a big, pink bra. "I didn't like THAT little talk, either. This growin' up stuff is the pits!" The scowling bra quickly became a disembodied arm and shoulder with a smelly, hairy armpit.

Lydia gagged and held her nose. "Ewww! Beetlejuice, please!"

"So what's his name?" asked the disgruntled dead man as he turned back into himself but remained floating in the air.

"His name is Sean," Lydia replied softly, unable to hide a smile at the mere thought of the boy. "I really like him a lot. He's such a gentleman and we could talk for hours about anything. Yesterday, during lunch, he gave me a drawing of a spider he made. He's so talented, BJ. You should see how detailed it is."

"Big deal," Beetlejuice grumbled, waving his hand dismissively. "You've seen REAL spiders so up-close and personal you could smell 'em. Remember when I took you on a tour of some of the Neitherworld caves?"

"That's not the point, Beej," she said. "He drew it especially for me. It was... sweet."

The ghost rolled his eyes and let out a sound somewhere between a groan and a gag. Meanwhile, Lydia rummaged in her school bag and retrieved the drawing from one of her binders. She showed it to her friend, who only took a brief glance before floating a little closer to Lydia's bedroom ceiling. He shifted position and reclined in mid air, crossing one leg over the other and folding his arms tightly across his chest. If his body language wasn't clear enough, Lydia also noted the utterly foul look of defiance upon his face as he refused to look at the drawing or even meet her eyes.

"Anyway, we have a lot in common," the teen said, turning the picture away from her all-too-obviously disinterested friend so she could look at it herself. "He's into photography as well as drawing, and he enjoys studying bugs, especially arachnids. We like the same kind of music, and he even plays guitar in his own band. I've seen them perform and they're really good. I think even you'd like them, BJ."

There was a long silence and Lydia had to look up to make sure her companion was still in the room with her. He'd drifted towards the window, still in his reclined position, and had his head turned to gaze out into the night. Lydia couldn't see his face to read his expression.

"So, anyway," she continued, placing the drawing on her dresser, "we've been spending a lot of time together already. He's treated me to lunch several times and we've been to a couple movies. And, today, he asked me to be his girlfriend."

Beetlejuice continued to stare out the window, eerily silent. Lydia waited for what seemed like an eternity for him to say something. The sound of her own breathing seemed abnormally loud in the complete stillness of the room. She felt a lump appear in her throat and swallowed hard, anxiety building as she awaited some kind of response from her supernatural friend.

"And you said yes," he finally stated rather than asked, his tone flat and dry.

"Yes," she replied, suddenly feeling strangely guilty, although she wasn't sure why. "I really like him, Beetlejuice."

"Yeah, you already said that, babes," the ghost said, still gazing out at the darkness.

"I don't expect you to understand," Lydia explained, "but I really do want to be his girlfriend. And... I'd really like you to say it's okay."

Beetlejuice's head swung around. "Me?" he asked, looking genuinely surprised and confused.

"Yes, BJ. You're my best friend. And I just... well, I'd like to have your blessing, so to speak." She shrugged nervously and offered a shy smile.

For a moment, Beetlejuice didn't know what to say. Some part of him was warmed by this simple request, although he'd never admit it. But another part - a stronger, angrier part that he was far more inclined to obey - was fuming at the girl's audacity. Lydia could actually watch the shift in his demeanor as he went from mild shock to something softer and unnameable, before taking a sudden swing into anger.

"What's it matter what I say?" he blurted harshly. "You're gonna do what you want, anyway. Why should I agree with it just to make you feel better about your stupid decision?"

Now it was Lydia's turn to be angry, not to mention hurt. "How can you say that?"

"Easy. Like this." He repeated his previous question exactly the same as before. "Or like this." He repeated it again, but this time he took off his head and balanced it on one finger. "Or like-"

"Beetlejuice, do you want to know what I think?" Lydia interrupted, growing more upset by the second at his display of childish antics and hurtful attitude.

"Not really," he replied coldly, putting his head back on and slipping his arms behind it like a pillow as he continued to lounge in the air. "Unless it's about how to roast a dozen roaches in under thirty seconds."

"I think you're jealous!" she pressed on, lips quivering as she held off tears. "I think you're jealous and afraid!"

Beetlejuice threw back his head and laughed mockingly. "Oh, please, babes!" he said. "I'm not jealous of some little nose-picker you met in school. And I'm not afraid of anything." He closed his eyes and appeared relaxed as could be.

"That's a lie and you know it!" the girl insisted angrily, her composure beginning to shatter. She trembled with barely-contained emotion and found herself biting down on her bottom lip at the ghost's apparent nonchalance in the face of her pain. Finally, she could no longer withhold the tears that had been threatening to spill down her cheeks. She covered her face with her hands, trying to hide them, and sat heavily on her bed, head inclined towards the floor. "I should've known you would react this way."

Beetlejuice opened one eye. He took in the sight of his best friend hunched there on the end of the bed, broken by his cruel indifference and obstinacy. For a moment, he felt pretty satisfied, but then his ghoulish heart ached at the knowledge that this was Lydia he was looking at, and he alone was responsible for her suffering.

"Lyds," he started before he knew what he was saying.

"Forget it," she said, voice muffled by her hands. "I can't expect you to understand. Sometimes I forget you're dead."

Why did that sting a little? Beetlejuice cleared his throat before swallowing the lump that was forming there. It was true; he didn't understand. For him, existence could go on and on without change. But Lydia was a living girl, and she was growing up. She had her entire life ahead of her, during which she would have countless new experiences and reach many milestones as she grew older and older. He knew she would be getting her driver's license this year, and pretty soon she would be out of high school. After that... well... her life could go in any direction. He began imagining her getting some kind of full-time job, getting married, having her first child... He had to stop right there before he made himself physically ill.

"Uh... look, babes," he said hesitantly, floating nearer to her. "I didn't mean to upset ya. This stuff is all just kinda new to me... know what I mean?"

"What do you think it is to ME?" Lydia asked, finally removing her hands from her face. Her eyes were fixed on the floor, but Beetlejuice could clearly see the dark tracks of mascara that haphazardly painted her pale features. The sight of those black tears made him feel like even more of a heel, and he had to suppress the compulsion to turn into a shoe.

"I've never felt this way about a boy before," she continued. "I've had a couple of dates, but Sean is just so... special."

Beetlejuice's stomach twisted at this. Jealousy flared within him once more, but his love for his friend overruled it. He made himself take a deep breath and felt the green flames die down as he let it out slowly.

Lydia, meanwhile, continued to stare at the floor in silence. She was preoccupied with thoughts of Sean and trying to gain some control over this emotional roller-coaster she was riding. It took her by surprise when she suddenly felt a hand resting gently on her shoulder, and she lifted her head to see Beetlejuice right beside her. He was still hovering in the air and had an expression of apprehension on his face, as if he were uncertain about the contact he'd made. With his eyes as big as saucers, he looked like a frightened animal, ready to recoil and bolt at the first sign of disapproval from her. She reached up and covered his hand with her own, hoping to put him at ease. He did seem to relax slightly, but there was still some great, undefinable pain in his yellow eyes that Lydia had never seen before.

"Listen, Lyds," he finally struggled to say, "I really didn't mean to make ya cry." A black and white striped handkerchief appeared in his free hand and he offered it to her. She took it gratefully and began wiping the streaks of make-up from her cheeks. "And if this boy means so much to you," he went on, "I think you should follow your heart, okay?" His own words rewarded him with a wave of nausea, but he didn't let Lydia see it.

The girl abandoned her efforts to clean her face and reached up to throw her arms around his neck. Beetlejuice stiffened momentarily, then felt himself melting into her grip. He allowed his body to descend from the air until he was sitting on the bed next to her and returned her embrace.

"Thanks, Beej," she said against him, squeezing tighter.

"Even if he IS a little nose-picker," the ghost added slyly, trying to save face a bit.

Lydia understood and managed to laugh. She knew Beetlejuice was pushing himself well beyond his comfort zone with this whole situation, and he needed to make wise cracks to release tension and protect his ego. He would never want to be accused of anything as disgusting as being sensitive or caring.

They maintained their embrace for an unusually long time, clinging to one another with an odd sense of mutual but unspoken desperation. This would be a big change for both of them. In the silence that followed, each one's mind raced with different ideas and possibilities about the future. When Lydia felt Beetlejuice heave a shaky sigh, she held him just a little tighter, gripping the striped fabric of his jacket and memorizing the feel of it beneath her cheek as she rested her head against his shoulder.

"I can't stay a kid forever, BJ," she found herself saying at last.

"I know, babes," he said softly.

"But you'll always be my best friend. You know that, right?"

"Yeah," his voice was heavy with emotion. "I know."

She finally withdrew from him and looked him in the eyes. He looked older somehow. His usual fun and carefree presence was nowhere to be seen. It had been replaced by this serious, somewhat sad figure that hardly resembled the Beetlejuice she knew and loved. She supposed that she appeared very different to him at that moment, as well. It really was a strange situation. She should be nothing but happy about having her first boyfriend, so why did she feel more like someone had died?

Inside, the ghost with the most was raging, screaming, crying and begging for this all to be a dream. He was terrified... terrified of losing his best friend to... to what? To life. To growing up and leaving him behind. This little girl that he treasured more than anything and with whom he'd shared so many adventures was becoming a woman, just as she was supposed to; and no matter how much his heart cried out to prevent the inevitable and keep her to himself, he knew she had to live her life, whether it included him or not.

"I'm kinda scared, too," Lydia interrupted his thoughts, almost as if she had been reading them.

"Of what?" he asked.

"Of growing up. All the firsts that are to come." She averted her gaze and blushed slightly as she imagined things such as her first kiss.

"And this is the first of your firsts," he said, feeling a sense of foreboding.

"Yeah," she agreed.

"Well, I'll still be here to protect ya, babes... when you need me."

Lydia looked back up at him and he gave her a smile, trying to appear more confident than he felt. She sighed and leaned forward to put her arms around him again. Beetlejuice felt sick, and it wasn't because of all the mushy talk and sentimentality. His arms came around her possessively and he held her tight to his chest.

"I know I can count on you, BJ," she said into him.

A moment later, he released her and tried to act nonchalant once more. "Well, it's gettin' late, Lyds. You should probably be goin' to bed soon, before your parents start bustin' down the door."

Lydia looked at the time. "Gosh, you're right. I hadn't realized how late it was."

"Yeah," said the ghost as he resumed floating and put some distance between them. "So, I'll get goin' and see ya tomorrow."

"I'm actually not sure I'll have time tomorrow, Beej," she said, looking apologetic. "Sean is taking me to the bowling alley after school, and I have my English assignment to finish when I get home."

Her words hit Beetlejuice like bullets, but he showed no sign of it. "Oh, well, the next day, then," he said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "G'night, babes."

"G'night, Beetlejuice... Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice."

And the ghoul disappeared, leaving his parting display of an eyeball, a bat, and a tin can.