Beetlejuice is not mine. Not the bigger, greater idea of him, the original, that everybody, including me, loves and fan-fics. However, the Beetlejuice in this story, is as much mine, as he can be, without violating copyrights… Which I don't want to do. Get it? Main characters, not mine, backdrop, not mine, story, mine. Enjoy, and please don't sue!
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Yeah, I actually did intend a break... . Best laid plans, and all that.
Okay, the common theme from everybody about the end of the last book seemed to be this… OMG, how could Prince Vince do that! What a jerk! How evil! Etc, etc… Well, okay, so he wasn't exactly written to be evil, however you read it. Therefore, I'm doing my best to prove that fact with a glimpse into his life a year later… It's amazing how much a year spent dwelling on the love you lost, can change someone. This being said… He is trying to do what's best for her, in his own way. It's just everybody else that better not piss him off… Which means anyone, anyone, trying to keep him and Lydia apart…
But that's just part of the story… The part I'm starting with.
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Juno sucked on the cigarette between her fingers, like it was the source of her strength, scowling at the most recent file of her two most active 'clients.' She'd long since given up on dragging either one of them in for any minor infraction… It was faster to do it herself, and a lot less irritating. And this was probably just another minor infraction. They left her with another of those almost every week. Apparently, if she'd thought going easy on those two would inspire them to behave, she'd been badly mistaken.
The door to her office chose that moment to fly open without warning, and the caseworker lifted her head, a steady string of insults ready for whoever had interrupted her this time… Only for the words to stop at, "Who the hell-?" Before she saw exactly who the hell, and fell quiet.
Prince Vince stood in the doorway to her office, a far more imposing figure than he'd been just a year before. His long black hair, cast with a wet sheen in his face, his deathly black eyes, pits of warning and stony awareness of his own station… He stood, not like a prince, but like a king. Rather than the break-up with the Lydia girl having pushed him back into his previous, passive self, it had awakened something in him… He took an active role in the workings of neitherworld law that his family hadn't bothered with in generations, and was well known, and very well respected. He was also a man no one cared to cross… And if they did, weren't given the chance to cross twice.
"I require your council, Juno." He said softly, with that quiet spoken voice that demanded instant attention, without ever raising. Without waiting for permission, he came into her office, swinging the door shut silently behind him, and came to a stop in front of her desk… Not sitting, but continuing to stare down at her. When she would have risen to meet him, he raised his hand, stopping her. "I trust this will take but a moment."
Belatedly, Juno put out her cigarette, having learned long before that the prince just didn't like them. That left her without the familiar comfort, as she was forced to crane her neck up to look at him, the fact driven home at every turn that he was calling the shots here, not her. "I trust this is about the Deetz girl?" She attempted, with some small trace of her usual unimpressed manner. "She is usually the reason you see fit to make these personal visits…" Far, far too many personal visits, for her taste…
Prince Vince met her gaze with his depthless, black eyes, and sending the moment into an even more precarious one, smiled, just a little. "Miss Lydia…" He agreed softly, a trace of fond affection touching the name even now, when to her knowledge, the two of them were nothing more than friends these days. And despite the fact that it was Prince Vince who made their times together few and far between, and not the other way around. "Yes, you assume correctly. I'd like to discuss the matter of my dear Lydia's visa… If it wouldn't be too much trouble."
Not for an instant did Juno mistake that as a request, or anything but a command. She considered the prince with a sudden touch of unease. "You're revoking the girl's visa?" She prompted, starting to reach for her slender, familiar source of comfort, and forcing herself to pull her hand away at the last moment. Damn, if that wouldn't cause another headache with those two… There was no telling if they'd actually comply, and if they didn't-
"On the contrary," Prince Vince denied smoothly, resting his hand, fingers splayed, across her desk, "I'm here to see that her right to come and go as she pleases in the neitherworld, is never revoked." This was the last thing Juno had expected, and she considered the royal with a briefly quizzical look. He inclined forward, just slightly, in a way that included her into his conspiriorations. "What do you remember about the visa that was issued to my precious Lydia, Juno, all those years ago?"
Damn. Was she supposed to remember every piece of paperwork that crossed her desk over the centuries? "I'll have to have it brought in," She muttered, reaching for the intercom, "Hold on…"
Vince caught her hand, staying her, his grip like steel. "Not necessary." He denied coolly, dropping a folder he hadn't possessed a moment before, onto her desk. "I made a point of keeping a copy." He did not yet draw his hand away, but all Juno could do was stare at it, pointedly, until he did. More from pity, she suspected, than any actual need. The prince had really turned into a real piece of work… Determined to prove himself, and earn the respect of his followers, in a way no Royal had been since she'd crossed over to this side. And he'd learned every trick of intimidation…
And if he was believed, was currently determined to use every one of them at his disposal, to serve his precious, unrequited love. "Here, I believe." He flicked the pages open expertly to the right one and pointed out a single line of print on the paper. "You do see the problem, don't you?"
Juno reluctantly turned her eyes from him, to the folder in question, and read the sentence he was indicating. Then paused, and read it again. And cursed softly, under her breath. "Just a little addendum my parents added to the contract, to make certain my interest would be forced to wane with time." He explained quietly, then went on to explain further, in case she hadn't gotten it, "This visa was issued for the sole purpose of use by a minor, Juno. In less than three months, Lydia Deetz will turn seventeen, legal age in the neitherworld. The permission that she's had, until now, to come and go unchecked, will be revoked."
The case worker took in an unnecessary breath, closed her eyes, and leaned back in her chair, weighing this. Damn. If the Royals had gone this far, no doubt they'd put up barriers as well, to prevent a new, adult visa, from being granted. She tapped her finger slowly on her desk, before opening her eyes again, leaning forward, and studying the visa at greater length… As she should have done years before.
"My parents," He explained again, fanning the fingers of both hands across her desk now, and leaning in even closer, "Have taken every action at their disposal, to make certain that I never see my dear Lydia again… At least not until she passes. If even then, she moves on to the neitherworld at all. As I'm certain you're aware, there are other options available to a newly dead soul…"
Juno nodded slowly. In her personal opinion, one she'd always held, Beetlejuice and Lydia had just the one life they'd have together. The girl's soul was bound for bigger and better things, and she'd never questioned that. She wouldn't be trapped in the neitherworld, neither here nor there… Not someone like Lydia Deetz. She'd make it through. But now, this… "What did you have planned?" She asked quietly, studying the papers herself, for some glimpse of what the prince had in mind.
Without pause for explanation, the prince reached out, and flipped to another page, easily, as if he'd done this himself many times before, in anticipation of this very moment. "My parents always overlook things they have no desire to see." He explained, pointing to a new line, with that faint trace of a smile again. "Whereas I myself, found that particular loophole to their plans, mere days after I met my Lydia." The more Juno read, the more uneasy she looked. "What do you think my chances are, of success, good Juno?"
The caseworker looked up slowly, admiring, for a moment, the plotting mind of the neitherworld prince, before she asked him in no uncertain terms, "Do you realize what you're suggesting? What your plan will cost the girl?" Her voice rose, just a fraction, more than she would usually dare with the dangerous man, "Are you doing this for her, or for yourself?"
Prince Vince's eyes betrayed no reaction, but again, that smile curled across his lips, and she saw it this time for what it was, what it meant. He'd never given up on the Deetz girl. He'd always planned to get her back, and when he did, to get her back forever. He might even honestly believe himself that this was what was best for her… But then, this world was all he knew. And apparently, he didn't think twice about the idea of condemning her to it, forever.
"Lydia Deetz is the only woman I've ever loved," Prince Vince explained quietly, the first trace of softness touching those otherwise untouchable black eyes, "And I will make her happy. You know how she loves this world, Juno… I will not allow her to be forced to surrender it forever. But in the end… It will be her decision. I give you my word on this."
"A decision she has no way to understand the consequences of!" Juno pointed out, growing more and more frustrated by the moment. "You're taking advantage of her desire for something that's good for her now, without weighing what will be best for her down the road! Lydia Deetz is meant for bigger things…!"
"And what could possibly be bigger, than the opportunity to become princess of the neitherworld?" He countered, a bit coldly now, any trace of fondness gone. "Understand this Juno, there is only one thing in this entire neitherworld that means a damn thing to me… You do not want it slipping through my fingers." When Juno could only stare, frustrated and useless, he finally straightened up, smoothing his jacket, as he went on calmly, saying, "I trust you'll give me your full support in this plan, then?"
What could she say? Prince Vince was, without a doubt, one of the most powerful people who had ever ruled in the neitherworld… Already with hordes of devoted followers that demanded his distant ancestors' step down from the throne, that he might rule it, the way the neitherworld had once been ruled, millennia before her memory. If he had his way, it was entirely possible that not only would Lydia one day be princess of the neitherworld… She might well be queen.
"I understand." Juno agreed quietly, against every instinct that screamed at her to object. "You'll have my full cooperation."
"Thank you." Prince Vince murmured politely, reclaiming the file, and stepping back from her desk in a way that was nothing but dismissive. "Once things have worked their way through, I will see that you are compensated for your efforts." And with this he was gone… This time not even using the door.
Juno lowered her head to her hands, and reclaimed her cigarette, this one already lit. She didn't even seem aware of it. This was why, she saw suddenly, this was the reason for the prince's sudden change from his parents' obedient lap dog, into a man who made even them think twice about annoying. All his bids for power, his entire, ungodly fast climb to the top… It was all for one living girl. He'd never given up on Lydia Deetz. And if he had his way, her world would never be the same again.
And there wasn't a damn thing she could do…
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Lydia's first impression, on waking, was of being cocooned in a soft breath of cool air… With her eyes closed, she could almost see it in her mind, a delicate silver bubble, wavering, fragile as a thought, encircling her from head to toe. More gradually, she also became aware of a foot thrown across her ankles, bare, cold, and a strong chest pressed into her back, while lifeless fingers sought the bare skin of her stomach with slow, lazy strokes.
She smirked, briefly, being she threw Beetlejuice off, and sat up, giving him her best exasperated glare. The ghost with the most just grinned like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar, who knew damn well he wasn't going to get into trouble for it, a look of smug contentment written across every feature. "You know, babes…" He drawled, in a matter-of-fact way, "I used to hate when you wore those shapeless gray things to bed… But I gotta tell you, I'm getting used to it. Now, I know you wouldn't think I would…"
"What the hell are you doing in my bed?" She demanded, looking more amused than anything, as she shucked the layers of covers, and swung her feet to the floor, sparing him another, tolerant glance, before she stood.
"Shit, babes… Do we have to go over this again?" He stretched, exposing pale, decidedly hairy flesh, scratched his chest, and gave her his best leer. "Hell, if you're gonna have dreams like that about me, I wanna at least be able to watch! You look damn sexy when you're having those kinda dreams, I gotta tell you…"
Lydia paused, already going through her dresser, and not quite looking back at him, asked with a tease, "What makes you think they were about you?" She then pulled out a blood-red sweater that flattered her figure, and a pair of tight black jeans… Pointedly not yet getting dressed. She remembered what had happened, the last time she'd gotten dressed in her own room…
"Really?" He asked silkily, waiting until she turned back around, and then tucking his hands beneath his chin in a way that was supposed to be feminine, and in her own soft voice, echoing, "Oh, Beej! Hm-mm, do that again…!" He ended it with an eerie little giggle, then dropped his act, and looked at her with a leer, while Lydia stood there at a loss for anything to say. "Admit it, babes. We both know you want me."
At last Lydia just made a small sound in the back of her throat, making a face. "It is so creepy when you do that. You know that, don't you?" Before she tucked her clothes under her arm, and made to leave for the bathroom, intending to get dressed there.
"Oh, no you don't!" Beetlejuice growled, snagging her easily from behind, turning her… And somehow or other, ending up in her bed, with her beneath him. "Goddamnit, Lyds…" He hissed, pressing his face into her waves of loose black hair, breathing in her smell, hard. "How long are you going to make me fucking wait? It's been a year…"
"It hasn't been a year!" She protested, quickly doing a mental check to make sure it really hadn't… "Nine months, tops!" At this point though, anything further she had to say was swallowed up by his seeking mouth, as he devoured her lips hungrily, fingers dancing along her ribs and belly, before those tingling, ghostly kisses, progressed to her throat with single minded determination. Her willpower began to weaken, and her eyes fluttered closed, drinking in the heady sense of his touch, of his magic, devouring her like a man starving for something to eat… "God, Beej… That's not fair." She whispered weakly.
"Never said I was going to play fair…" He murmured, tugging her gray sweat shirt up now, his hands disappearing beneath the soft folds, as he teased her unmercifully. "Hell, you wanna talk about fair… Nine months is the longest dry spell I've had, since I was a kid! You're killing me, babes… Again!"
"Y-you're a pig…" She murmured, closing her eyes, and winding her arms loosely around his wide shoulders. "G-god damn it, Beej… Get off me…" This last was not really a strong enough objection to stop the poltergeist, but she accompanied it by a weak blow to his ear, and he sighed, rolling off her, and considering her panting, limp form. She meanwhile, remained lying there, staring up at nothing at all, her eyes oddly fixed, her lips parted. "G-god damn it…"
Beetlejuice snorted, fixed his cufflinks, and pointedly looked anywhere else. He wasn't going to push her… Not past a certain point. Not Lyds. But hell, it was clear she wanted it just as much as he did. Her wide pupils and flushed skin attested to that. "You're wasting a perfectly good opportunity to screw, you know that, don't you?" He muttered, lips turned up with a trace of bitter humor.
Girl didn't appreciate the hell she was putting him through… But she'd give in, sooner or later. Hell, he'd wait, if he had to. Not that he wanted to… He decided to change the subject, his voice just a trace wistful. "You know, even if that oversized blanket of an outfit is cute on you, I'd still love it if you came to bed sometime, wearing that slinky black number again."
Lydia was sitting up slowly, fixing her eyes on him with a slightly unfocused gaze… And there it was, the trace of anger, the hot flush of her cheeks, when she realized how close she'd been to giving into him. Again. This might as well be a daily ritual, now. But it still always seemed to piss her off. Broads. Who could figure them? And Lyds was one of the easier ones to understand, by his book…
But she wouldn't show that she was mad, or that she was, as he figured it, probably more upset with herself, than him. "If I went to sleep in something that sheer, I'd wake up half frozen." She informed him, with a slightly forced calm, and an over the top exaggeration. "See, I've got this dead guy that likes sneaking into bed with me… Pretty much every night."
"Look at it this way, babes… Least you know where I am." And he bared his teeth at her in a crooked grin, making any trace of annoyance leave her, that quickly. She sighed, ran her fingers through her hair, and shot him an affectionate glance, before reclaiming her clothes, and readying to head into the bathroom again. "Hey, Lyds, hold on…"
Lydia paused, and looked back at him, wary for any more tricks. "Uh-huh?"
"You, me… The Abusement Park? Don't forget that's today." He straightened from her bed, snapping his fingers, instantly dressed in his trademark black and white suit. "You bring that new neitherworld camera you picked up, I guarantee you'll get shots that'll stop a few breathers' hearts." He cocked an eyebrow at her, adding innocently, "Maybe show your moms later…"
"Urg." Lydia didn't dignify this with a response, but she did look pleased, and he'd learned well to read when she was really excited about something. "But you have to promise not to let me ride any of the rides," She cautioned, "No matter how much I beg. We're there to take pictures, and enjoy a few cheesy carnival games, that's it. Not get me killed." She added, with a gesture over her shoulder, "Why don't you get my camera while I get dressed? It's in the bottom drawer." And like that, she left him.
Beetlejuice sighed… Of course the only reason he didn't spy on her, well, other than her being able to sense him every time he turned, was because the girl fucking trusted him not to. Not that the one was necessarily entirely unrelated to the other. Not bothering to bend over, he merely glanced at her dresser, and made the drawer in question fly open, and her newest acquisition come flying into his hands.
Shutting it, almost as an afterthought, he turned her current favorite toy over in his hands, musing that he should have been the one to buy her something like this… Not made her buy it herself. She should have had one years ago. Instead, she'd had to save up, to buy it on her own. He couldn't afford shit for a decent present… And it had been almost a year- Nine months- he corrected himself with a grimace, since he'd given her the last one. Though, since when did he care about that shit?
"Since Lyds." He muttered, dropping his weight against the wall, and waiting for her to emerge. Fuck if he'd ever thought it would frustrate him, not having money to buy nice things for a broad… Maybe he should turn his old place upside down a few times. See if he'd missed anything. The only alternative to this of course, being actual work… And that was out. Other than the odd, easy way to make a buck, of course. Maybe he should try that handyman gig in town again… Shit, he was going over this much stress for a chick that wasn't even putting out?
Shaking his head over how love, or something that passed for it, could change a guy, he briefly considered giving up on the girl, going down to the nearest bar, and forgetting this whole damn thing had ever-
His thoughts got about this far before Lydia floated back through the door, grinning, and all he could do was realize how fucking hot the girl looked in pretty much everything she had on. He'd love to see how she looked with nothing on… "Ready, Beej?" She prompted excitedly. Beetlejuice have a small, noncommittal grunt, wondering if the girl had somehow gone up a cup size, without him noticing. "Beetlejuice!"
The poltergeist blinked, looked up at her in puzzlement, taking in her amused look, and slowly broke out in a grin. "Two more times, babes." He murmured easily, wondering at just what point the girl had stopped using the mirror, and come to rely solely on his juice. Not that he didn't love the excuse for a little innocent groping in the darkness…
"Hmm." Lydia took her camera from him with a smirk. "You forgot the damn poncho. Or do you want me to freeze my ass off?"
"Hell no," He muttered, watching said ass intently, as she bent back over her drawers, "Losing that ass would be a crime against every man alive… or dead, for that matter." He quickly found somewhere else to look, as she straightened, and fixed him with a rueful set to her pretty lips. He did his best to look innocent… A look he'd never been able to fucking pull off worth shit, and knew it.
Before he could dwell on it though, he had a minor revelation. That was it, he realized suddenly, she was sick of the damn poncho… He'd get her something else. A nice coat. Well, a cheap coat, but a decent one. Pleased by finding such an easy solution to his problem, he now began weighing the options of actually buying it, or just swiping it, when no one was looking? "Two more times, babes!" He said again, lifting his arm in an invitation for her to snuggle under it. "Unless I forgot anything el-"
"Lydia?" The quiet, subdued tones broke through his words, making them both briefly freeze. "I need to talk to you. Are you awake?"
God damn… Olivia? Since when did she give his girl the fucking time of day, anymore? Before he could urge Lydia to hurry, she was already grabbing him hard around the waist, her face buried against his rough coat, the words spilling from her twice more in a rush. "Beetlejuice-Beetlejuice!"
And the darkness swallowed them up, and the bitch, Olivia, could wait. Thank god for being dead…
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Olivia waited a full minute to crack the door open, quietly, to peek and see if Lydia was still in bed. She really needed to talk to someone… And she knew her teenage daughter wasn't the best candidate for spilling her heart out to, but she'd already been over this discussion a million times with Adam and Barb. She needed new insight… And it wasn't like it didn't concern the girl. They probably should have had this discussion months ago.
She was more than a little surprised, on entering, to find the room empty… A glance at the tousled bed said that her daughter had left in a hurry, but when she laid her hand on the sheets, they were cool to the touch. She must have left a while ago then… Funny she hadn't seen her leave. She'd been up for hours, herself.
A little disheartened, she closed her daughter's door again slowly, then leaned against it, weighing her options. But then again, the last thing she really wanted to think about, were the problems she was having with her husband… Not without someone to lend a sympathetic ear. And okay, again, their daughter might not be the best choice, but…
She shook her head, and decided to find solace in the Maitlands' company. Again. The last time she'd seen them, they were discussing renovations to the attic… They hadn't done that since her own parents lived there, sort of giving ownership rights, and all the little details of it, over to her and Edmond. So why now? Maybe because Edmond hadn't come home in three nights…
Olivia bit her lip, and wondered what she'd do, if the husband she'd relied on so long to be there, just wasn't anymore? She couldn't even put her finger on just what exactly the breaking point had been, some little argument they'd had the week before… She couldn't even remember what it was about. In retrospect, maybe thinking about a little remodeling was just what she needed.
The stairs creaked under her weight, only the ones to the attic ever did that, never the ones downstairs. When she reached the attic door, she knocked. It was only polite, it did serve as their bedroom, after all. She was greeted by a hasty 'come in,' followed almost immediately by the door flying open, and Adam bodily dragging her in by the arm. "Settle this for us, Olivia," He pleaded, indicating the space just off to the side, and above, "Wouldn't a skylight look absolutely perfect up there? I know Barbara and I still have enough money from when we were alive…"
"Those things suck the heat right out of a house, Adam." Barbara countered, in the worst sort of argument the two ever had, where her lips were still turned in an affectionate smile, and her eyes still glowing with love. "Ghosts aren't the only ones living here. Olivia and Lydia need to stay warm."
There was a pause after this, not in either of their enthusiastic banterings, but in Olivia's hearing them. Olivia and Lydia, Barbara had said. Not Edmond. As if he just wasn't coming back. She suddenly knew again that she needed someone to talk about this with, someone who hadn't written her husband off, without seeming to give it a second thought. "Have, either of you seen Lydia, this morning?" She interrupted, making both of them pause, and look at her, put briefly off their stride.
"Isn't she still sleeping?" Barbara asked after a moment, looking puzzled. "If she'd decided to go out, I'm sure she would have said something to one of us."
Olivia was not so sure, but that was really the least of the things needling at her at the moment. "I need to talk to her," She said quietly, "About Edmond. And she's not in her room." The Maitlands exchanged glances, and Adam cleared his throat, clearly the one of them designated to say something about this. "She needs to know!" Their adopted daughter interrupted him, before he could. "She's not a stupid girl, she has to have noticed that he hasn't come home!"
Adam paused, letting her get her say out, then noted, in a gentle way, "I'm not sure she has, Liv. She's kept very much to herself lately… There are days where I don't even see her myself, except first thing in the morning, and right before it's time to go to bed." He added, almost apologetically, "She has her own concerns now. And since things haven't been settled between you and Edmond… Maybe it's best if we don't bother her with ours."
Ours. Such a simple little word, that sent waves of relief through her, which shouldn't come from such a little word. Above all else, she was not in this alone. She had to remember that. She needed that. "I'd just rather she hears it from me, than her father." Olivia explained quietly, wondering herself whether that was really the truth, or if she was just looking for another source of comfort. That wasn't the way it was supposed to work after all, she was supposed to be comforting her daughter, not the other way around.
She just didn't have anyone else to turn to.
"I'm sure she just went into town for a while." Barbara offered, a little out of the blue, looking utterly unconcerned. "I have a hunch there's someone that's been taking up all this time of hers… Just a hunch, mind you." But the smile she added to this, indicated that maybe Lydia had been sharing secrets with the ghost woman, that she hadn't been sharing with her mother… Though the smile faltered, as she went on to say, "Let her enjoy herself. There's enough time to talk about what's going wrong when the day's over."
Olivia looked at the woman in frustration, knowing damn well she was right, and knowing at the same time that for her, this just wasn't good enough. "I'm going to go look for her." She denied, making Barbara sigh, and Adam pointedly focus his attention elsewhere, like he was disappointed in her decision. She was willing to argue her point though, play the part of a protective mother, even if that wasn't her real motivation… Not that she'd even admit that to herself. "We don't know what's going on in that girl's life anymore. This is as good a time as any to find out."
"Well," Adam offered, albeit a bit reluctantly, "Maybe you should start at the school. Back when you were going there, you used to spend almost all the time you weren't with us, in the parks around there, taking pictures." A pause, and a trace of subtle humor, as he added, "I can almost guarantee you that's what she's doing now, date or no. Taking pictures."
"Thanks." Olivia murmured, telling herself she would have figured it out without him, but grateful for the offer of help. "Anything you need me to pick you two up?"
"Not yet." Adam was studying their surroundings again, clearly going over the changes he wanted to make again, before flashing her a smile, and a fatherly wink. "Don't worry, as soon as we get sorted out what we want done, we'll be asking you to make plenty of trips for us, Liv."
Olivia shot him a tolerant look, some inner part of her suddenly not as upset over the idea of Edmond's absence, as she had been a moment before. The Maitlands had been her family first, and they would always be there for her. It wouldn't be entirely bad, things going back to the way they used to be… Maybe. That didn't mean she didn't still want Edmond to stop being so goddamn pig-headed…
Her mind was racing with a thousand different scenarios of what the next few days might hold… At least a dozen different ways her conversation with Lydia might go, when she found her… And far more variations of what her next meeting with her husband might entail. With her head as far up in the clouds as it was, it was remarkable the woman didn't get into an accident on her way into town.
But by chance or fate, she suddenly found herself pulling into the first of the beautiful parks that surrounded the school, and slowed the car to a crawl, before parking, and getting out. Instantly she was hit by the chill wind of a late Connecticut winter, and drew her scarf a little further around her face, squinting her eyes against the biting wind. Why on earth would Lydia come here, on a day like this? Adam must have lost track of which month it was…
Nevertheless, though a cursory glance around didn't reveal her daughter's tell-tale black coat, she didn't immediately get back in the car, taking a step forward instead, and admiring the glassy sheen of the trees, weighted by creaking, brittle ice. It was beautiful, come to think of it. She used to come here all the time, for pictures like the one of the crystal-laden lilac branches before her…
Actually, she realized with a little pang of memory, she used to come here all the time with Edmond, to get away from both their parents. His had been even harder to deal with than hers… But like hers, they too had left Winter River years before. Even back then, all he used to talk about, was starting a family. That, and how lucky he was to have a girl like her. Olivia pursed her lips, and found the tree they'd used to sit under for hours, planning their futures together. It was bigger than she remembered it. But then, trees grew, didn't they?
With a sigh, she decided that this was actually the last place she wanted to be, and without her camera to give her the excuse of taking pictures, she turned to head back to her car… Only to see a familiar, stern-featured woman, also older than she remembered her, examining the old sedan with a clear expression of distaste. The woman herself was likewise, one of the last people Olivia wanted to talk to… She'd made enough of an impression on her, during her high school years, to ever after avoid a confrontation, whenever possible.
Unfortunately, at the moment, it didn't seem possible at all, because the sharp-tongued woman was between her and her car, and she wasn't walking home. Taking a deep breath, she narrowed her eyes, and did her level best to walk right past the woman, without giving her the benefit of a glance. Just as she reached the door however, she was struck by a sudden stab of inspiration. Lydia was a Junior this year, wasn't she? That would make Miss Shannon her teacher… And Miss Shannon made a habit of being in all her students' businesses.
Steeling herself, again, she turned back to the woman, as if only now noticing she was there. "Miss Shannon!" She greeted her, as if the experience was somehow a pleasant one, "I haven't seen you in years! You're teaching my daughter now, aren't you?"
The teacher in question, still inspecting the stylized spider insignia on the car's hood, turned to her almost reluctantly, considering her through narrowed eyes for upwards of a minute, before making a sound of recognition. "Olivia." She murmured, almost to herself, as if confirming a hunch. "You wouldn't by any chance be talking about Lydia Deetz, would you? I'd heard you married that Edmond boy…" A pause, as she pointedly turned back to the apparently offensive artwork, and clicked her tongue in dismay. "Well, it's easy to see why the apple doesn't fall far from that tree."
Biting back her initial sharp response, followed by swallowing her quick need to offer some sort of acceptable excuse to her former authority figure, she finally paused long enough to collect her thoughts, and managed, in a surprisingly casual voice, to ask, "I was just wondering if you'd seen her today? She left early this morning, and I want to make certain she's staying out of trouble…"
Miss Shannon's head snapped up, as if on a string, and the suddenly critical expression on her face, far outweighed any contempt she had over the painted spider. "You want to make certain she stays out of trouble?" She echoed, almost contemptuously. "Well, better late than never, certainly! Though why you didn't start to do something years ago…!"
Anger flushed Olivia's cheeks, driving out any sense of the outside cold. Was this woman suggesting that she was a bad mother? "I don't know what you mean," She denied stonily, now meeting the woman's gaze without flinching, "Lydia is a perfectly responsible girl. She never stays out too late, she gets wonderful grades, she never gets into fights, and she hasn't been in any trouble that I'm aware of!"
"That you're aware of?" Miss Shannon did her best to look even more contemptuous. "Well perhaps you don't consider it to be causing trouble for a girl of her young years to be regularly in the company of a man twice her age…!"
Olivia's mind, ready to barrel forward with more reasons why her daughter was a good girl, and thus, how she hadn't failed as a parent, came to a skidding, confused stop, and she was left staring at the woman uselessly, without any clue what she was talking about. "A man twice her age?" She echoed at last, far more quietly than her screaming, frantic, furious brain demanded. "What are you talking about?"
Brief surprise flickered across the teacher's face, and she narrowed her eyes at Lydia's mother with a small, pursing frown to her lips. "Are you going to tell me that you honestly didn't know?" She demanded haughtily, as if somehow this were even more unforgivable. "She's been wandering around town in his company for years… I always assumed he was just a friend of the family. Though why anyone would wish to be friends with such a disreputable creature, much less trust their daughter to him…!"
This was roughly where she broke off, possibly because Olivia now had the older woman's heavy coat front balled up in both fists, teeth gritted, as she demanded in a no-nonsense growl, "Who-the-fuck-are-you talking-about?" The possibilities spun through her mind without mercy… Some predator, taking advantage of her daughter? Years? What had he done to her?
Miss Shannon looked, to say the least, surprised, maybe even shaken. "I don't know his name!" She snapped right back, put on the defensive. "Some grimy looking thing who does odd jobs around town, always wearing the same filthy long coat!" Her voice dropping a little, she pushed Olivia off her, with surprising strength. "I would think you would have some idea what's occurring in your own daughter's life, Mrs. Deetz! Do not blame me for your lacking!"
With that, she turned her back on the other woman, and stormed away, sallow cheeks flushed pink, eyes sparking in indignation, and leaving Olivia with the horrible sense of just not knowing what was going on anymore.
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