Okay, brand new story of BJ and Lydia. I know it's more or less like 'My dearest friend' but with a twist, I hope you all will like it as much as I have enjoyed writting it. Please, keep your reveiws coming in. Thank you again, and enjoy.
Mr and Mrs Beetlejuice
Chapter 1, Married as Punishment
The sound of the tall double doors being swung open echoed throughout the silence courtroom of Judge Mental, all heads turned in the direction of the door to see who was bring brought in, and there wasn't much of an surprise when they all saw that it was no other than Beetlejuice the famous 'Ghost of the Most'.
Beetlejuice was dragged in from behind by two officers of the Neitherworlds, gripping hold of his arms on either side of him while his huge butt brushed the floor.
"Oh no," groaned Jugde Mental in despise before covered his hand over his eye socks. "What was it this time?" he asked, to one of the officers who had bought Beetlejuice to the corthouse, once he removed his hand away from his eye sock and leaned against his desk as he gaze down at Beetlejuice.
"Causing damage to the Neitherworld's Head off office your honour," answered one of the officers, after he and his partner tossed Beetlejuice onto the spot of the trapped door that led to the sandworm land, before the huge cage fell on top of Beetlejuice to stop him from escaping. "He blow up the Mayor's office."
Judge Mental frowned in confusion, "what were you doing at the Mayor's office? I thought you were forbidden to ever stepping foot inside that building again after what you did last time."
Beetlejuice stuck his head out through the gap of the bars so he could look up at Mental then gave a shrugged, "he gave me a job in decorating his office."
Mental stared down at Beetlejuice in disbelieve, "Why?!"
"I needed a job," said Beetlejuice honestly. "I'm late with my rent, and my housemates have threatened to throw me out if I don't pay up so I needed the cash."
"Out of all the folks in the Neitherworld, he could of picked to do the job he'd chosen you to do it instead," said Mental.
Beetlejuice nodded his head, "probable thought he was getting a better deal, I guess."
"So you go and blow up his office when you found out later he wasn't going to pay you as much as you thought?" Mental asked angrily through gritted teeth.
"No," said Beetlejuice defensively. "That wasn't my fault."
"Like we haven't heard that before," said a familiar voice.
All heads then turned in the same direction to the speaker only to discover that it was no other than the well-known prosecution of the Neitherowlrd's court room, the tall dressed blue union frog.
"Oh! Your honour, could we finally throw him to the sandworms at last then we won't have to put up with his 'beetle nonsense' once and for all?" pleaded the frog.
The crowd then cried out their agreement to frog's words.
Beetlejuice gaze around in fright as they made a lot of noise and then gripped tightly on to the bars encase the trap door was to open beneath him.
Mental frowned in thought at the frog before turned his skull to gaze back down at Beetlejuice. "No," he said shortly.
"WHAT?" cried the crowd in the court in disbelief.
"What?" said Beetlejuice.
"WHAT?" shirked the frog. "But? - why not your honour?"
Mental leaned back in his chair stretched his long arms out, and gripping hold of the sides of his desk while clutching hold his bony hammer in one hand. "Because the sandworms don't appear to have any affect on him, I've lost count on the many times he has escaped from them, and when he has escaped from them he goes back to his old tricks again," he explained.
"Ooohhh...!" said the crowd, except the frog whom still looked very puzzled.
"So what do you suppose we are to do with him, your honour?" the frog asked.
"I don't know," replied Mental quietly. "But I'm sure I will figure out a good one," he seemed to be talking more to himself than to the court room which in away made everyone feel very disturbed including Beetlejuice.
"Perhaps," he said at last. "Yes, maybe that would work..."
Everyone looked confused at the Judge. "Your honour?" asked the frog.
"I've just thought of the perfect punishment," he replied smoothly.
"You're going to make me pay for the damages, right?" asked Beetlejuice chuckling nervously.
Mental gave him a hard stare as if he couldn't believe how anyone could ask such a dumb question. "With what? You've already confessed that you're flat broke."
Beetlejuice gave a grim look of regret for mentioning it in the first place, and cursed himself for not coming up with a lie instead.
"What is it, your honour? What are you planning to do?" asked the frog curiously.
Mental titled his skull to once side slightly to his left as he drummed his bony fingers on either sides of his desk thinking hard, the court was silence were they waited.
"Get you little living friend to come to the court Beetlejuice," he said finally.
"WHAT?" the whole courtroom cried out in confusion, including Beetlejuice and the frog.
"You heard," said Mental smirking leaning an elbow on the desk, and rested his bony chin on top of his hand. "I want Miss Lydia to come here at once, I think you will be needing her for what I got planned for you to tell you."
The frog bubbled, "But-I don't understand, w-why would you need her here, your honour."
"You'll see. Now call her and make it quick," he commanded to Beetlejuice.
Use sure why the judge wanted Lydia at the court was a mystery to Beetlejuice, but he did as he was ordered without questioning the judge's motion to why he was ordered to do this, as he pulled out a red handset piece of a phone from inside pockets of his stripy jacket.
At the Deetz's house, inside her dark bedroom, Lydia was sitting at her desk busy finishing of her homework after amounts of studing since two days ago on friday, when suddenly her phone rang went. She knew immediately that it was Beetlejuice calling cause of the strips appearing every time it rang; she then put down her pencil and answered it.
"Lydia Deetz speaking," she answered.
"Babes, I need you to get over here and quick. I'm at the courthouse," said Beetlejuice into the mouth piece.
Lydia frowned widen eyes to the sound of panic in Beetlejuice's voice, "why? What's happened?"
"You will know soon enough, Lyds. Just get over here, Pronto!"
"I'll be right there," she said before hanging it up.
"She's on her way, your honour," said Beetlejuice, after sticking the handset piece of his phone back inside his jacket then turned to gaze back up at Judge Mental.
"Good," said Mental with a brief nod. "Guards! Take him down into the prison waiting room where he'll wait till Miss Lydia has arrived."
On his command, the hooded mask ghoul pulled the leaver for the cage to be lifted so when it was removed, two of the officers whom had bought Beetlejuice in, could grab hold of him. They got hold of him by his legs and then drag him off along the courtroom leading to another double room behind as Beetlejuice scrapped against the floor on his front.
Just on the left hand side of Mental's high chair. Beetlejuice was taking through a normal size frame double doors, and on both side of these doors stood two officers, who'd pushed them open to let the ones gripping hold on to him through so once they were in, the officers could closed the doors behind them.
After being dragged along a square pattern dark green and white title floor, there were several different shape and size doors. The officers dragged Beetlejuice right down the hall until they came to the very last one of the hall. "Okay, here should be fine," grunted one of the ghoul officers.
Once one of the officers had opened the door to Beetlejuice's cell they throw him head first inside so when the officers had let him go, he hit the wall ahead with such force that he left a huge crack in the wall before as he fell backwards onto the floor. Groaning in pain, Beetlejuice jerkily raised a hand to his head and rubbed the slight bump on the top of his head and then slowly got up onto his feet.
He gazed at the steel door for a moment before he walked over to the cell bench and sat down to wait till Lydia arrived. He later leaned back onto the bench and stared up at the high dark ceiling of his cell, very soon he began tormenting himself with such thoughts as he wondered what the judge had planned for him.
Until finally what felt like an eternally, the door to his cell had opened. "LYDS!" Beetlejuice cried with joy when Lydia walked into the cell, he got up from the bench and ran over to her to hug her.
The two ghoul officers looked sicken of the sight of them hugging one another, and then decided to close the cell door again and locking the pair in.
"Oh BJ, what did you go and do this time?" she asked him once he's released her from his arms.
"Babes, you've got to believe me it wasn't my fault," he told her.
Unable to stop herself Lydia gave a wide smile as she raised a knowing eye brow at him, "really?"
Beetlejuice looked outrage at her comment, "why is it that nobody believes me?"
"Cause you tell lies," said Lydia sweetly.
"Point taken," he muttered before taking a step backwards from her and turned his back on her, staring up out of his cell window for a moment.
"Okay, why don't you just tell me what you did that was so bad for you to end up here?" Lydia suggested to him.
He turned around to gaze at her; he stuck his hands deep into his pants pockets before he began. "Jacque and Ginger have been on at me for weeks for my rent and you see I'm er..."
"Broke!" said Lydia simply.
He gave a grim smile, "yeah that. So, really I was getting kind of desperate for cash, and I- I - er… began asking around for a quick cash in hand job. I tried everywhere but no body could or wanted me a job..."
Lydia grinned, "I wonder why."
Beetlejuice frowned at her, "you're not helping Babes."
"Sorry."
"When I was about to give up, I had thought about calling you so that you could let me out. I mean if I couldn't get the cash here, I'll get it off your folks they are always wanting prettily Delia Lyds," he continued.
"But you didn't," said Lydia.
"No," he said, "I was gonna too mind, but then I'd over heard a conversation by a couple of know it all from the Neitherworld's top head of law say that the mayor wanted to redecorated his officer but couldn't be assed to get in some professionalizes to do the job."
Lydia frowned in confusion, "then what happened?"
"He gave me the job; left me to it while he went off to do whatever it is he does. Then I got started on," explained Beetlejuice as starching his arm nervously. The reason why he was feeling so nervous was because he wasn't so sure how Lydia would react once he has told her the rested.
"It was all going so well when suddenly I- I did something really… ssstuupid," he had mumble the last word of his sentence that quietly it difficult for Lydia to understand he said, but she pretty much guessed what it was.
Lydia let out a small moan of despair, "Oh no, BJ you didn't go and insult those Neitherworld tools again did you?"
"It weren't them that caused the trouble," he told her.
Lydia stared at him in confusion, "then what did?"
"These this new machine that the Neitherworld's house had build that paint walls, ceilings and all the odd places were most folks can't get at. Plus it's suppose to get the job a lot quicker," Beetlejuice explained. "Honestly, it did a fine job of the place until it got nearly to the end. It started playing up and so I-I… er- … gave it a good kick and then it sort of went crazy."
Lydia didn't need him to tell her the rest of the story, "Oh dear."
"Yep," said Beetlejuice nodding.
Suddenly the sound of the cell door being opened again echoed loudly off the walls, making the pair jump in shock. They turned to gaze at the door, to watch it swing wide open. When the door was open wide enough, Judge Mental walked inside the cell with his bony hands placed behind him, followed closely by the frog hands behind him.
The frog still looked very confused as he did when he was in the courtroom, wondering why they were asked to have this meeting in this great dirty cell and not in the courtroom. It appeared Mental still hasn't told him yet on what he was intended to do with Beetlejuice or to why he asked for Lydia to come.
Lydia and Beetlejuice turned their heads to gaze at one another nervously before looking back at Mental who stood waiting for the cell door to close behind him.
"Hmm... forgive me for asking, your honour but- is there and prettily reason why you arranged me to down here and not in the courtroom? We're in here and not out in the courtroom?" Lydia asked Mental.
"What?" said Beetlejuice frowning in confusion, "aren't we going back out into the courtroom?"
Mental gaze at Lydia and then began to pace slowly about in the cell while the frog stood by the door. "Because Miss Deetz, I would rather not have an audience for what I'm about to discuss with you," he said.
"Okay, so judge what is it that you've got planned for me?" said Beetlejuice.
Mental then stopped his pacing and turned to face Beetlejuice, "I want you two to be married."
"WHAT?" said Beetlejuice and Lydia together in horror.
"WHAT?" repeated the frog, staring wide eyed at Mental.
If the frog was confused before then he was deftly lost in understanding on how this was meant to punish Beetlejuice, as he gaze at the judge and then turned at the pair.
Lydia and Beetlejuice stared wordlessly at Mental in belief surely Mental couldn't be serious, could he?
"B-But..." said Lydia, nervously. "I'm under age."
"You're sixteen, it is aloud," he mumbled in replied, unmoved by the horrified look on Lydia's face.
"But why Lyds?" asked Beetlejuice.
Mental pulled a face at him, "Because no other women would want to end up married to you, beside it's the prefect punishment."
"I don't understand, in what way with me being is marriage to Beetlejuice, is suppose to punish him?" Lydia asked him.
"Oh perhaps you'll forever blame him for your unhappiness, with you being married to him you'll then be forever forbidden in beside i think it is think that beetle jerk thought about settling down," said Mental smoothly.
The frog then frowned, and slowly a wide smirk appeared on his ugly face as is he finally understood the insides of the plan.
Lydia gaze hopelessly back at Beetlejuice.
"How long are we to stay married for?" Beetlejuice asked.
Mental raised an eye brow, (so to speck since he doesn't have any eyebrows.) "How long do you think for? All eternally, this isn't like any normal marriage Beetle-jerk, once you've said 'I do' there's no turning back I would have thought you already knew this specially after the first time you tried to marry your little friend."
Beetlejuice looked shocked at Mental, "how do you know about that?"
"While we were waiting for your little friend to arrive, the Head Officer sent me this," said Mental smirking evilly, as he held up a brown folder file from behind his back.
Beetlejuice groaned in disbelieve, "they didn't put it all on file."
"Well, of course they did," said Judge Mental, jerking his skull head in a sort of a bow of suggest. "There had to be some kind of record to explain why you had ended up in the waiting room for about six mouths before you went looking for Miss Deetz to apologise for what you did."
He then opened the file and began reading it out loud to them, "about four years ago in mid June, at 11. 52am 'The Ghost of the Most' blackmailed the Deetz's daughter into marriage before he agreed to saving the Maitland's from being exiled."
"Yeah, but... t-that was years ago," argued Beetlejuice.
Mental slammed the file shut with aloud 'snapped' as he turned to glace at Beetlejuice, "in what way is it different?"
"We weren't friends at the time, and anyway I've made up for what I did them since then,"replied Beetlejuice.
"Is that it?" asked Mental, in a bored voice.
Unable to make any more excuses Beetlejuice full into silence.
"What if we refuse?" Lydia asked him at once, for some reason she knew she wasn't going to like his answer.
Mental first gave a frown of surprise as if he hadn't except this question, before put an arm behind his back again and then gave a fake sign, "well, of course you can refuse but then I would have no choice but to ban you in seeing Beetlejuice ever again but that is up too."
Lydia felt her heart sink to her stomach as she turned to glance at Beetlejuice in horror.
Judge Meantl couldn't have picked a more better way to blackmail them into doing this, he knew that neither of them would choose his second option. Lydia couldn't ever give Beetlejuice up for anything and if she had to marry Beetlejuice instead of loosing him, she would do it.
'Perhaps being married to Beetljuice wouldn't be so bed,' thought Lydia as she bite her bottom lip. It wasn't like before when Lydia had first met Beetlejuice, he always looked after her whenever she was sick, if somebody upset her he would cheer her up, and when he didn't start up trouble or upsetting anyone he's a really a fun guy to be with.
"No, no you don't need to do that Judge. We'll agree of the marriage," said Beetlejuice as he placed his large hands on to Lydia's shoulders and massage her gentle.
"Good," said Mental before he began pacing about in the cell again, "so here's what you two will need to do."
Both Beetlejuice and Lydia stood listening intently as he spoke, "by noon tomorrow, you'll need to return here to the courthouse where we and your witnesses to your marriage, will be transported to a church in the world of the living and make your vows and then sign an agreement to your marriage."
"Is that it? That all we gonna do?" asked Beetlejuice.
"That is all," replied Mental.
"Does it have to be an r-real... marriage, your honour?" Lydia later asked the Jugde.
Mental stared at her in disbelieve then he suddenly frowned at her in surprise and gave aloud, 'Oh!' of understanding. "You mean real as in ...." he said as his hummed the last word.
Mental knew what she meant a 'real marriage.' Real as in a sexual one, but like Lydia he couldn't bring himself to say the words out loud because the very mentioning of it made him feel ill. "No," he said. "no, that is you don't want too, that design is entirely up to you."
'At least that was something,' thought Lydia with a sigh of relife, before glancing at Beetlejuice from over her shoulder.
Beetlejuice looked a little confused, "Hang on, er...What such as marriage is going to be then?" asked Beetlejuice, removing his hands from Lydia's shoulders and stuck them deep into his pants pockets. "I mean are we to live together you know… that such of thing."
'Good question,' thought Lydia as she glance back at the Jugde.
Mental removed his hands from behind his back, and frowned in thought as he pressed the tips of his bony fingertips together in front of him. "Naturally of course, you two will have to live together but not to be together around the clock. You two aren't to cheat on another none have any kind of affairs cause if you do, the pair of you will have to pay the pay for it."
"In what way? You'll separate us?" asked Beetlejuice curiously.
Mental pulled a face as if he was thinking about it for a second before answering, "no, because I've always believed that once somebody has cheated on the their partner, they no longer care about the other in that way anymore so there is really no need for them to worry what will happen to them afterwards."
"So?" said Lydia nervously. "What will you do if that did happen?"
"Well, we won't be able to do anything about it straight away but what we will happen is when your time has come Miss Deetz; You aren't not to ever re-entry the Neitherworld again, so that you will never have to set eyes upon the Beetle-freak again."
Argued Beetlejuice, "So you will separate us?"
"No," said Mental shacking his skull. "Because not only will she never be able to see you again, she'll be spending the reat of her afterlife on her own. Trapped in that big house of hers, unable to see her friends non family ever again when their time is up so in a way Lydia will be punishment for either your doing or her own."
At Mental's words Lydia felt her knees turn to jelly so badly that she wondered how she was able to stay up stretch. Indeed Mental really has this time thought this whole thing through properly, but then Lydia later gave a frown of confusion.
If either she or Beetlejuice were to cheat on one another, Lydia would end up trapped on earth for all eternally so what were to happen to Beetlejuice? She noticed that Mental hadn't mention anything about that yet.
"Oh! Don't think for one moment that your going to get off lightly Beetle-jerk," said Mental when he noticed that Beetlejuice looked rather relaxed.
Beetlejuice raised an brow at Mental in suprise.
"You will never again be aloud out of the Neitherworld," said Mental.
"Er... encase you haven't noticed Judge, but I've already got that curse put on me," said Beetlejuice rather rudely.
Mental stared furiously at Beetlejuice, "I 'meant' that even if some other dimwit from earth does try does call your name no matter how many times, you won't be able to step foot out of our world."
Beetlejuice now looked really worried, "what never?!"
Mental nodded, "Ever."
"Okay," mumbled Beetlejuice before he tunred to Lydia, "now I am taking this seriourly."
"Now, if you two don't have any more questions. I suggest that you get start on making arrangements," said Mental as he was about to make his way towards the cell door.
"What? No, wait one second your honour," shirked the frog waving his rather large hands about.
They turned to face the frog, whom chuckling nervously as he recovered himself. "What if the Beetle brain tries to do a runner?"
Lydia glanced at the frog angrily.
Mental glance at Lydia from the corner of his socket, "You can't blame him for asking Missy, he has done it before when we've tried to punish for some that he'd done."
Lydia gave sign at Mental's words, unable to deny it.
"That is a good question, I'm glad you that you brought it up," Mental commented the frog.
The frog looked delighted with himself as he gave a wide ugly smile.
Mental turned to glance back at the pair one last time, "if you and Miss Deetz 'do,' try to do a runner. I'll have no choice but to send you both too 'The Last Resort Resort on the River Schticks' for all eternally, not even your powers Beetle will you be able to escape like you did last time when you got yourself into trouble; I'll make sure of that."
"OH NO YOUR HONOUR, NOT THE LAST RESORT RESORT ON THE RIVER SCHTICKS, PLEASE!" shirked Beetlejuice in horror as he full onto his knees at Mental's feet clutching the ends of the Judge's robes. "That place is worse than the sandworms."
Mental glance down at him pitifully. "I know," he smirked evilly. "I've have heard that you hate the place so if you don't want to end up there I suggest that you show up here on time as I said, and don't try anything funny you won't need to worry."
"Okay, no problem," squarked Beetlejuice weakly.
"Good," replied Mental, hastily pulling the end of his robes from Beetlejuice firm grip.
"Sorry, your honour you said earlier about making arrangements, what do you mean exactly?" Lydia asked Mental softly.
"Arranging for your friends and his family to come to this wedding of yours, of course what did you think I meant?" said Mental, looking up at her. "This isn't going to be some big fancy wedding, Miss Deetz. But you will need to invite your friends and his family to be as witnesses of the marriage."
"WHAT? No way, I'm not having my lot coming," said Beetlejuice at once.
Mental argued, "Oh yes, they will."
"B-but...Can't I not just invite my friends?" asked Beetlejuice.
"I wouldn't think that you'll have many friends," said Mental.
"What's the matter Beetle-jerk don't want the family finding out that you're finally going to be tied down?" teased the frog.
"Oh shut up," snapped Lydia.
"Now Miss Deetz, don't forget yourself," said Judge Mental warningly.
"Sorry, your honour," she apologised.
Mental bowed his skull in exacting her apologia before he returned to Beetlejuice, "You are going to need a lot of witnesses for this wedding, Beetle-brain and only have a few there would be good enough, so I suggest that as soon as you leave here you go and do as I've ordered."
Lydia glance at Beetlejuice and then back at mental before she nodded in reply.
"Right," he said finally before turning towards the cell door and commanded for it to open. At once it swung open, making an awfully loud noise as it did so. "You are free to go, remember to be here tomorrow at noon," Mental reminded them quickly before he walked out of the cell followed closely by the frog.
Walking out into the bright street outside the huge double doors of the courthouse, Beetlejuice caught hold of Lydia by the upper arm and gentle swung her round to face him, "listen Babes..."
But Lydia stopped him for saying any more, she held up her hands in a pleaded sort of way for silently and gentle pressed them on his chest away from embrace. She knew that he was feeling terrible guilty for causing this happen, "BJ, its okay you don't need to say it."
"But Lyds I do," said Beetlejuice putting a hand to his chest where his long still heart rested beneath his skin. "I feel really bad in putting you through this."
"There's no point in duelling about it now we've agreed to do it and if we don't and go against Mental's wishes we will than have things to worry about," said Lydia marched down the steep steps from the courthouse. turning away from him and then
"I say Babes you're taking this rather well," said Beetlejuice as they made their way towards Doomie whom was walking for them on the side of the road.
"Well, I guess being married you isn't going to be too bad than not having you around at here altogether," she said, giving Beetlejuice a weak smile. "I would rather us being locket together in marriage than apart."
"Right, where to Lyds? The Roadhouse?" Beetlejuice asked her, once he'd slammed his side door.
"No," she said simply, before leaning over her side of the door and then ordered... "Doomie, drive us to the Juice family house."
"What? No Lyds, Wwwaiiittt...." cried Beetlejuice gripping tightly on top the wheel, it was to last. Doomie was already heading of down the street at the speed of light heading directly for Beetlejuice's parents.
I hoped you all enjoyed chapter 1. Chapter 2, will be a while till it will be posted onto the site but it will be soon. Please, do send in your views and comments on this story, thank you.