Disclaimer: I do not own Beetlejuice or related characters, he belongs to Tim Burton. I do not own Beetlegeuse. I don't own Betelgeuse? I don't own any of the weird spellings for his name.

Setup: Pretty much all cartoon except I did want to keep Juno, the handbooks, and the legal system sort of inside. You'll see why later. Also, there might be some stuff a little screwed up from the cartoon (Like I don't know BJ's exact age) but I try to keep everything the same that I can. Other than that this is your standard Beetlejuice cartoon story. Or wait, is it?

Betelgeuse?

Written By: Melanie Ray

Part One: Dangerous Friendship?

Neitherworld/Outside the Roadhouse

"That is a strange sight to see," Jacques said as he watched Beetlejuice standing in front of the Roadhouse. Normally, Beetlejuice bothered Jacques, not the other way around. Especially not on that day, he was not in the mood. "Beattlejuice? Are you okay?"

Beetlejuice wasn't quick to answer, he felt too bummed out. "Today's Lyd's eighteenth birthday."

"Well, that is very good," Jacques said with a smile. "Why are you so sad? Why are you not there spending ze whole day with her?"

"Well, it's complicated." Beetlejuice didn't want to go into details about what happened last year.

"Oh, I know." Ginger showed up uninvited. Not that Jacques was invited either. Braindead bonehead. "I bet something embarrassing happened last year."

"Shut up," Beetlejuice warned her, thoughts of revenge already circling in his head.

"Come to think of it, you did come back zat day with your face less white thanusual." Jacques said. "It was downright pink."

Ginger giggled. "So come on, Beetlejuice. What happened, huh?"

"None of your business you no-talent spider. I'm outta here." Beetlejuice put his hands in his pockets and walked away.

Beetlejuice would never tell them what happened. He didn't like to think of it much himself. It had been really weird.

/On Lyd's 17th Birthday...

Betty Juice, Bertha, Lydia and Prudence had all gathered round a game board. They had been playing games that day, enjoying the birthday cake Delia made when Bertha suddenly came up with an idea.

"Ooh, we should play truth or dare," Bertha exclaimed.

"Better than these little games," Prudence agreed.

"Truth or Dare?" Lydia thought about it a second. "Well, we haven't played that yet I guess."

"Might be fun," Betty laughed. "Who'll go first?"

"I will," Bertha proclaimed.

"Alright, Truth or Dare."

"Truth."

"Have you ever kissed a boy yet?"

"...no." Bertha frowned. "Alright, your turn, Prudence. Truth or Dare?"

"Truth."

"Have you ever kissed a boy?"

"This is boring. Somebody do dare," Betty complained folding her arms against her chest. The party had no neitherworld fun at all. She was just ignored by them.

Prudence seemed a bit shy about it. "Sort of. It was just for my cousin's birthdayparty though. Seven minutes in heaven." Prudence shyness faded into a smirky grin when she saw the shocked faces on the others. "Alright Betty, Truth or-"

"Dare," Betty said quickly.

"Ummm..." Prudence couldn't think of much. "Stand on your head."

"Betty." Lydia gave him/her a warning. Betty got the message. She stood on top of her head, but not literally like she wanted to.

"Ooh! Lydia!" Bertha looked over at Lydia. "Can't forget the birthday girl!"

Lydia smiled. "Truth."

"Who's the one guy you would really want to be with?" Bertha giggled.

"Be with?" Lydia frowned. "You mean like date?"

"No." Bertha and Prudence giggled. "Like 'be' with?"

Lydia's mouth dropped open as Bertha and Prudence laughed. "I'm not answering that."

Betty Juice stayed quiet. The girls he used to know had grown up and he'd heard things like that before. After all, they were young women now. Almost out of high school.

"I bet I knew who it would be." Bertha laughed as Lydia became a bright red at her answer. "I bet it'd be Mr. Beetleman."

"The handy dandy handy man." Prudence giggled too. "Oh come on, admit it. You'd pick him."

Betty Juice looked uncomfortable too. "Let's just skip it, she won't answer!"

Lydia couldn't even look anywhere besides the ground she was so embarrassed.

"Come on, Lydia. Haven't you had a crush on him since you were a kid?" Bertha pushed.

"Uhhhh..." Betty was getting too uncomfortable. "I-I have to get going to...somewhere."

Bertha and Prudence just blinked in surprise as Betty Juice quickly ran out of the room. /

"Damn Truth or Dare." Beetlejuice kicked a rock as headed down the street. They had decided from that little embarrassment that maybe not coming to her next party would be a good idea. In fact, Beetlejuice had completely stopped being Betty from that point on. The 'girls' he had known for so many years had become women, and he did not want to hear or know about the things they talked about anymore.

He was really bummed out, but after her party she'd call for him. She promised. So, he just had to wait until then. 'I can't believe Lyd is really gonna be 18 already.' It was so hard to believe. So many years had gone by, but their friendship was still just as strong.

Neitherworld/File Bureau

Juno was blowing smoke out of her neck as she was looking through some papers. As a case worker, she always had a thousand and one things she had to get done. She stopped however as she saw someone new enter her office. "What?" she asked gruffly.

"" The ghoul seemed a bit nervous and his hands were trembling. He was called Mitand it was only his first week on the job. This wasn't what he was expecting to find in his first week. "Something has been discovered. Your attention is quickly needed."

Juno put down her papers and accepted Mit's papers. She groaned. "Beetlejuice. What's this regarding?" She took another puff of her cigarette.

"" Mit just pointed at the papers. "It's self explanatory."

Juno brought her full attention to the first paper. Who knew what the ghost was cooking up now?

NAME: BEETLEJUICE

AGE: 21

STATUS: DECEASED

POWER: 6 CENTURIES WORTH

PERSONALITY: PRANKSTER

"I don't see the problem." Juno stared at the basics of the document and the mark of approval. She moved to the second paper that was handed to her. When she saw it, her cigarette fell out of her mouth. "How could this slide by?"

NAME: BETELGEUSE

AGE: 642

STATUS: ALIVE

POWER: NONE

PERSONALITY: PRANKSTER

"Why do we have two files?" Juno yelled angrily. She shook the second sheet wildly. "This makes no sense. This second has a stamp of approval as well?"

"I don't know ma'am. We were just going through our files like always." Mit replied. "We found two sheets on Beetlejuice, both strangely marked approved."

"This is unacceptable." Juno stared at the papers. "How did this slip through the cracks? I want proper documentation started right away!" She picked up the first sheet. "He died when he was 21, I know it. I was his case worker." She groaned. "This second documentation is all wrong."

"It's marked though." Mit reminded her. "According to the papers, he's been classified as dead and alive."

"Why are we finding this just now? Why didn't I hear about this centuries ago?" Juno yelled in frustration.

"Well, our records show he died in 1344 AD. At approximately 12:35." Mit gave her another schedule. "We were shifting through a new record system in 1344 AD at approximately 12:35. Goof ups were made at that time."

"I know that." Juno frowned. "All those goofs were fixed though, quickly. Why was Beetlejuice's never fixed? And why does it bear an official mark?" She took her cigarette and put it out. "Go to him and ask questions. Dont tell him what's going on. I want details." She pulled out a blank piece of paper and started to write some questions. "Make sure you get a legitimate answer for all of these."

Mit took the paper quickly and went on his way. Never had this happened before. Yes, mistakes were made but they were quickly corrected and never approved.

Never.

The Living World/Lydia's Room

Lydia rushed back up the stairs and closed the door to her room after she entered it. She grinned as she looked at her old mirror. Now she'd be able to spend her day with her best friend! "Though I know I should be-"

"Lyyydiaaaa! Phone callll!"

Lydia groaned. "Coming, mother." She took off back downstairs and answered the phone. She frowned. "No, I'm not interested." She handed it back to Delia.

Delia pushed the phone back at her. "Oh come on, give him a chance."

"No." Lydia gave her mother the phone and darted back up the stairs. She knew who it had been. Miss Shanon's School for Girls only went so high, and she had started to go to a regular high school some time ago with Bertha and Prudence. The major difference? Guys were finding interest in her.

She didn't go out for cheerleading and she didn't say 'like' all the time. She certainly wasn't as popular as Claire, but for some reason, guys wouldn't seem to get the hint she didn't want to go out. None of them shared her interest in the paranormal, they all just liked her because well...

Lydia Deetz had actually grown up to be an attractive woman. Her bust, her legs, even her black hair seemed to lure guys to her now. If she ever actually tried to look attractive , she'd probably be even more popular than Claire herself. Still, Lydia didn't care. Besides, she was trying to finally see Beetlejuice to celebrate with her!

Lydia entered her room again and closed the door. She stood in front of the mirror. "Though I know I should be weary, still I venture someplace scary. Ghostly haunting I turn loose! Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice!"

"Did someone finally call for me?" Beetlejuice grinned as he showed up from behind Lydia. "Hey, Babes. How's it feel to be 18?"

"Eh. So-so." Lydia smiled. "So, what do you want to do?"

Beetlejuice grinned. "I say we-!"

"Lyyyydiaaaa, doooo-Oooooooor!"

Lydia groaned again. "Sorry BJ, I gotta see who's at the door."

Beetlejuice watched Lydia walk out of the room. He frowned and took off his ear, setting it on the ground. He had a feeling he knew who it was again.

"Hey, Lydia. It's me, Zack."

"Hello. Can I help you with something?"

"Oh. Well, I was wondering if you'd like to go out to a movie with me sometime."

Beetlejuice growled as he heard the conversation. 'Not again. I swear, these pests are worse than sandworms. Actually, I wouldn't mind feeding one to a sandworm...' He grinned as he heard Lydia's no and heard her coming back up the stairs. He put his ear back on and waited. "So, who was it?" he asked as she came back through the door.

"No one important." Lydia smiled. "Ready to go?"

"Ready." Beetlejuice grinned. Finally, he could spend some time with Lyds. It had felt like forever. It was already past 8:00 P.M. Beetlejuice was always used to spending time with her every day, right after her school. Sometimes, she'd even come to the Neitherworld for the night. The two could never be separated for very long. They had a closeness, a bond, with each other that no one could ever have. They could never spend that long away from each other. They never could.