Announcement: Just wanted to say that this is an AU story, so some stuff might be a little different from the movie or cartoon. The story is based on both since BJ's a bio-exorcist, but is also has some characters from the cartoon.

Disclaimer: I don't own Beetlejuice.

Soul Bound

Her eyes scanned over the reflection, examining the dark, straight locks that framed her pale, sharp features. Her pixie nose wrinkled and pale lips pursed in frustration at her appearance. Dark almond eyes scrunched up, she turned away and stepped out of the bathroom that all of the girls shared, which made a long wait line in the morning.

Adoption day…It just had to be adoption day.

She watched as girls ran by adorned in pink, frilly dresses ran by. Her nose wrinkled at the bright, frilly articles. Never being one for bright colors, she glanced down at her own dress. A soft lilac purple with a small bow on the collar had sufficed. She had been difficult, but she absolutely refused to wear pink.

Breakfast was spent sitting at a table across from the other girls. She was known as the quiet one, or the outcast, if you will. She never knew she carried this title, but never knew much of anything that went on between the other girls, keeping to herself with her nose in a book.

This one was spent looking in the small compact mirror, twisting and turning it so it reflected the light just right. She had found it tucked in the grass at the edge of the playground. No one had been around when she had picked it up and dusted it off. She had stuffed it in her pocket for safety, meaning to show it to one of the teachers later.

"Do you have to prove to yourself that you're ugly?" came the snide reply of a girl a few tables down.

"Don't worry about her Lydia," an overly-enthusiastic voice called.

Lydia brightened as she saw the owner of the voice, her best friend. "Claire!" she exclaimed as she watched the preppy blonde sit down beside her.

Opposites, yet best friends. Claire was a lighter version of Lydia with her curly blond hair, sapphire blue eyes and obsession with pink. Lydia wondered why Claire had yet to be adopted. She was one of the most adorable girls there and one of the sweetest too, but they both had yet to find good, loving families. This was something Lydia saw impossible for herself, but wished the best for Claire.

"Hey, what's that?" Claire asked, pointing to the object folded in Lydia's cupped hand.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, remembering the compact mirror she had found earlier. She held it up so Claire could see her reflection. "Found it out on the playground." She turned it back around and admired the intricate design that swirled around the gemstones.

"My compact!" the blonde screeched as she dove for Lydia's hand and took it. Lydia blinked, slightly taken aback. "You found it. Thanks!"

The dark-haired girl nodded and smiled. She knew Claire had a compact, even though as an eight-year-old girl, she didn't use it for makeup. She didn't imagine the dark purple, heart-shaped compact to be hers.

"You're welcome," she said. One thing they taught you at Healing Hearts Adoption Center was to be polite, plus all of that other school stuff. Lydia never cared much for school, but she always enjoyed a good book.

A shrill bell signaled that breakfast was over and they filed out into the front hall. Both boys and girls were antsy as richly dressed couples filed in, surveying each child. Some talked to the children or played games, getting to know each other. Claire gave Lydia a reassuring smile as a blond couple strode over to them and took Claire by the hand. Lydia desperately wanted to reach out or run, not wanting to be left alone in the midst of the crowded room.

A few couples passed the young goth, but none stopped to talk to her until two men stepped up. Both had handsome faces and looked fairly young. She smiled at them and opened her mouth to greet them, but her lips slowly closed and she backed away. Why were those two men holding hands? They both shrugged and moved onto another kid, a boy of about five years of age.

A sigh escaped parted lips and she slipped away outside. A gentle breeze blew through the playground, rustling the edge of her dress and her raven locks. Rust against metal made the swings screech as she sat down and pushed off, slowly rocking back and forth with her bare feet dragging the dusty ground where years of swinging had indented in the grassy floor.

The sound of beating feet against cement caught her attention and she smiled at the sight of Claire running towards her. They met each other in the middle of the black top. Before Lydia could say anything, Claire wrapped her arms around her.

"They're taking me!" she exclaimed. Lydia's smile dripped down slowly into a confused pout.

"What?" she asked monotonously.

"That couple! They're adopting me! They've got a really big house in Peaceful Pines and I get my very own bedroom with dolls and everything!"

"What?" she repeated the second time. "No! No no! You can't leave! Please!" she begged. Any more of these lies and she would be on her knees.

Claire's expression softened and dropped. "Lyds, I'm sorry…I really am, but…"

Lydia knew what she was going to say. "I wish I could take you with me, but I've always dreamed of this" would definitely dig her deeper.

The raven-haired girl shook her head and smiled, giving her one last hug before pushing her. "It's okay. It's what you always dreamed of, right?"

Claire opened her mouth to respond but couldn't find the words so she just nodded. Digging into the pocket of her dress, she pulled her hand out and open it up, revealing the folded compact. "Take it."

Lydia looked from Claire to the compact. "But…"

"Mom and Dad can buy me a new one." She was already calling them Mom and Dad.

Lydia nodded and took it, cupping both hands over it like a fragile bird. If they had hugged one more time, they might not have been able to let go. Claire glanced over her should and back at Lydia, her eyes shimmering with tears, both happy and sad. A flash of pink and she was gone.

Tears streamed down her face as she looked outside of the rain-stained window. She sniffled before she turned on her side and glanced at the compact on the table beside her bed. She maneuvered herself into a sitting position and grabbed the compact, opening it with one swift movement of her thumb.

Thunder crashed and she jumped, hugging her knees to her chest. She pushed herself off of the bed and scurried out of the room. Her sock-clad feet slid across the hall and she dashed into the bathroom. Grasping the edge of the counter, she peered into the dusty glass of the mirror. She looked at the compact then brought it up to level with the mirror.

Her eyes widened in amazement as she stared into the endless void they create. A clap of thunder and a flash of lightening and a whole new world was revealed to her.