A/N: Hi all (well, "all" assuming anyone reads this). This is an idea thats been kicking around in my head for a while, and its also my first published fic. So im terribly excited. Anywho, i hope you like it.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, which is terribly sad. I WISH i owned Beetlejuice...
A shadowy figure raced across the front lawn of a large, white house. The shape reached the porch, and a light flickered on, illuminating it-or, more precisely, her.
She was a short, slim young woman in perhaps her early 20's. A heavy black velvet skirt fell to her ankles, and her short sleeve blouse was also dark. Both matched her gorgeous hair, which was pulled back in a messy ponytail. A stuffed knapsack hung from her back, and a small duffel bag was slung across her shoulders. Her startlingly pale skin almost seemed to glow in the moonlit night. Any passerby at that moment may have mistaken the girl for a wandering ghost. They would be wrong, of course-but much closer to the truth than anyone could ever know.
Lydia Deetz's big gray eyes glimmered with excitement as she fumbled with her keys. After nearly dropping them twice in her haste, she finally managed to jam them into the lock of her parents home.
"Open! Open! Open!" she hissed, fighting the desire to fling herself against the wood. With one final, vicious twist, the door gave way, and Lydia stumbled inside.
There were no lights on in the house, but she had expected this. A large wall clock to her left proclaimed the time to be 12:17 am, long past Charles and Delia Deetze's bedtime. Forcing herself to stay quiet, Lydia yanked off her shoes, hoisted her bags higher on her shoulders, and charged up the stairs, to her old bedroom.
Six months! Her mind screamed. Six whole months since she had been here. Since she had seen her father and stepmother. Since she had run up these stairs, opened this bedroom door, stepped into this chamber…
Six months since she had seen him. Her best friend. And, to Lydia at least, that was five months and twenty-nine days too long.
After closing the door and switching on the light, Lydia peered around suspiciously. But, at least at first glance, everything was right where she had left it. Apparently, Delia had decided to lay off "improving" her personal space-at least for now. With a sigh of relief, Lydia threw her bags at the massive four-poster bed in the center of the room, and launched herself at her mirror.
Though her brain had already started on the strange focusing maneuvers needed to use the mirror, Lydia hesitated. Taking a step back, she shut her eyes and counted to three. When she opened them again, her mind, and the glass, which had begun to swirl, had cleared. Her excitement faded and was quickly replaced by anxiety. It's pretty late, she thought. Maybe he wont even be awake. Maybe I should talk to him tomorrow.
"But, I want to see him now." She growled to herself. He went to bed late. He'd be awake. And, besides, he wanted to see her too. Surely he wouldn't mind. Would he?
The doubts that had plagued Lydia since her last visit home back in December returned with a vengeance. He had been so…different. Not distant, not really, just…quieter. She didn't know how to explain it. He had pulled pranks, and they'd had tons of fun, of course, but…something had changed.
Well, of course it's different! Her over-thinking brain cried. It was you who had the stupid, logical idea to tell him you shouldn't hang out during they school year. He has every right to be distant; you've only seen each other a half dozen times since you started college!
A swift, furious mental battle raged. Her doubts lost. With a determined sniff and her chin pointed stubbornly, Lydia stepped back up to the mirror. After a moment's concentration, the glass began to twist and glimmer strangely. Lydia's heart pounded, and her mouth went dry. A half-year of impatient waiting ended in this moment. Whether he wanted to see her or not.
The glass cleared, and Lydia looked not at her own reflection, but at an extraordinarily messy, very familiar room. No one was in sight, but unless he had redecorated (Hah!), his bed was just to the side of the mirror.
Seeing this room brought all her excitement back. With a barely stifled giggle, she leaned forward and tried to get his bed in sight. When her nose nearly touched the glass, she could just barely see a corner of something that was possibly a coffin. Before she could get any nearer, a loud snore startled her. She laughed quietly.
All right, she thought. He's sleeping. But, hey, what's a little lost slumber among friends? Besides, his beetle pajamas are cute.
As is to stop Lydia from blushing at describing anything of her best friends as cute, another snore came through the mirror. She grinned.
"Hey," she whispered. "Time to wake up, Beetlejuice."
For a painfully long second, there was silence from beyond the mirror. Thinking that perhaps he hadn't heard her, Lydia had just opened her mouth to speak again when a shuffling noise came from the direction of the coffin bed. Though aggravated that she couldn't see him, Lydia settled for listening eagerly. After a moment, she was rewarded.
"Hunh?" grunted an obviously half-asleep BJ. Lydia smiled.
"Beeeej…" she said in her best hypnotic tone. Her desire to laugh made this difficult. "You want to go to your mirror. You WILL go to your mirror…."
Movement came from the direction of Beetlejuice's bed. A levitating form detached itself from the shadows in the corner of the mirrors viewing area and floated into her line of sight. Her first glimpse of her ghostly best friend in half a year made Lydia snicker. He laid horizontally in the air, arms and legs hanging downwards, red tipped fingers just brushing the floor. Long, messy, blonde hair partially obscured his bluish face, which was totally expressionless. Half lidded eyes surrounded by purplish bags barely managed to focus on the mirror. If she hadn't had prior experience with sleepy Beetlejuice, Lydia would have thought her "hypnotizing" had worked perfectly. He arrived in front of her, and slowly lifted his head.
"Good morning sleepy." Lydia said teasingly.
Raising his hands, Beetlejuice rubbed his eyes lethargically. "Lyds…" he moaned. "Its not mornin', Its-"
He froze in his movements and dropped his hands in shock. His head snapped up and greeny-yellow eyes went wide as they met hers. All tiredness vanished as sudden realization struck him.
"Babes!" He howled. "You're back, you're back! Lemme outta here!"
Although it was tempting to torture him by prolonging his time trapped in his own world, Lydia just couldn't.
"Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice!" She cried.
The ghost dove through the mirror and tackled her in an enthusiastic hug. Cackling madly, he lifted them both off the ground and spun wildly in midair. Lydia laughed too, BJ's exuberance adding to her own joy-and considerable relief.
But although her parents were heavy sleepers, Beej's laugh was able to wake the dead-literally.
"Hey BJ," Lydia said. "I'm happy to see you too, but we gotta keep it down. If my parents were to wake up…well, I don't think they'd be able to shake this one off."
Beetlejuice pulled back a little bit and grinned mischievously at her, exposing crooked and greenish teeth.
"Oops." He said, comically half whispering, half shouting the word. He lowered them to the ground gently and released her. "But I just can't help it Lyds! I'm gonna burst with excitement!"
Beetlejuice shot into millions of pieces, and then quickly collected himself back together.
Lydia smiled at him. Though they may have seemed silly or juvenile to anyone else, she always enjoyed BJ's stupid puns. They were just part of who he was: the ghost with the most. And besides, she thought, Beetlejuice IS silly and juvenile.
"So." She said with a smirk. "Didja miss me?" She leapt onto her bed and sat cross-legged, eyes following BJ as he zoomed around the room.
"Tons Babes!" he exclaimed, dropping like a stone onto the bed beside her. Lydia jumped a bit at his sudden direction change, and was shocked to find herself a few mere inches from his face. A rush of emotions hit her, and she found that she was unable to move.
What's he doing? Her mind barraged her with questions. Why won't he move? Why wont I move? Oh my god, am I blushing? Why am I blushing? Is he gonna-?
Beetlejuice flopped backwards onto the bed, hands linked behind his blonde head.
"So Lyds," he said casually. "Watcha been up to?"
Lydia found it necessary to catch her breath. What was that? She wondered. The whole thing had lasted for probably less than two seconds, but her heart was racing and her palms were sweaty. As she inconspicuously wiped them on the bedspread, she snuck a glance at BJ. He looked totally relaxed, as though nothing had happened.
Oh well, she thought. If it didn't affect him at all, then it was probably nothing. Yeah. Absolutely nothing.
Turning to face him, she noticed his attentive look and remembered he had asked her a question.
"Well," she began. "I graduated in May…"
They proceeded to talk all night.
A/N: Alright, i hope you liked it! More to come, and very soon! Please, please, please review, constructive criticism would be HIGHLY appreciated!
-Mel
