Hello there! Thanks a lot to all the people who read and comment on this short story. Here's the last part. Hope you enjoy it! And please please please plase COMMENT!
First Day. Part II
Almost two weeks had passed since that time at the park.
The whole incident wasn't forgotten easily. Most of the people still panicked every time they saw a beetle. The fountain was removed some days after that and the musicians that used to play in the park refused to come back to Peaceful Pines ever again.
-Lydia? Is that you? - Delia's voice called from upstairs.
Great... She had been found out.
-Yes, mother!-
-Where are you going?- her stepmother shouted from her room.
-Hum... I'm going to the park for a while-
-Again, pumpkin?- Her father had just appeared in front of her. He was probably in the kitchen to get a sandwich or something- You have been going there a lot these days. Why don't you stay in the house? It's getting late anyway-
-Oh no, I really need to go, I...I like it there!-
Charles raised an eyebrow and looked at the young girl suspiciously. She really had been acting strange lately. She would go to school in the morning, then spend the whole day doing her homework while whispering random words to herself; and right before the sunset she would go to the park. Sometimes she seemed to be thinking about something incredibly complicated.
-I promise I'll be back before it gets dark, okay?- she insisted- Please?-
He grabbed her by the shoulder and stared at her for a second, in which she felt her mind was like an open book and her father was trying to read it; but finally he patted her head and opened the front door for her. As he watched her run down the hill to the town, he wondered if his daughter finally got to make some good friends. Judging by the smile on her face, it was probably something like that. Certainly nothing to be worried about.
---
-You kidding? Stop pulling my leg!-
-I'm not kidding; she wanted me to be an artist, just like her. That's why we moved from the city. Delia said I would develop a talent here -
-At least she's not your real mother. That woman is a %#&!-
At this the young girl stopped, eyes widened. The necklace that has hanging from her neck gulped and turned his eyes up to her, looking like he felt a bit, just a bit guilty.
-Sorry kid-
Lydia bit her lip for a while and then smiled at the white and black striped necklace. She was getting used to hear him cursing; but lately she noticed he was cursing less often and apologized more every time he did.
-It's fine... Anyway, Delia's not really such a bad person. She was the one who bought me my camera!-
The weird couple kept talking like this for some minutes.
They had been seeing each other since the incident at the park. Unexpectedly, both of them happened to like each other's company very much, though they almost had nothing in common, except for the fact that both of them liked strange things. They could spend the whole day talking about anything without getting bored.
Sometimes they had to hide somewhere around the town. Lydia couldn't let people know she spent almost every day hanging around with a weird creepy man, or a talking object, depending on the case. Usually it was the object.
Not that she cared about what they could say, but until now she had been avoiding to tell her parents what she went to the park for. And how was she supposed to explain it to them if they found out? What would she say? That she had been meeting with a grown man with magical powers and whose name she didn't even know yet, who also happened to be death?
Yep, that's right. Death. The guy was a corpse. Or rather a ghost. Well, actually the closest term to describe him was "poltergeist", that's why he could materialize in the world of the living, as long as someone said his name three times. A name she hadn't been able to figure out yet.
Funny, isn't it? He was truly born to prank people.
Of course he never really told her this; she had to find it out on her own. He said he didn't want her to freak out about it. Though it wasn't that hard to discover; she just noticed he forgot to breathe for a whole hour one day.
But instead of being scared or disgusted, she was amused by the idea of having a death friend. She also loved to see him transforming into random objects, even if it was just to trouble someone.
-Hey Lydia, wanna see something funny?- he suddenly asked her.
-Is someone going to get hurt?- she answered right away.
-Maybe- he said, grinning. She surely knew how to read his mind!
Instantly she glanced at the people around them and followed the necklace's sight until she found a short snobby guy with his brown hair perfectly combed, who was trying to open his car's door.
-That's the mayor!- she exclaimed, making some people turn their heads to stare at her.
-Oh really? Even better! It's show t...!-
At that moment, Lydia held the necklace with both of her hands, as if it could stop him from pranking the mayor and ran as fast as she could behind a tree.
-Come one, babes! Lemme have some fun- the necklace mumbled through her fingers.
-Sorry, but I can't let you do that. We'll be in big trouble if you...OUCH!-
She suddenly let go of the necklace, which had turned into a bee.
-I'll just give him a hand. Or a foot- and so the bee turned into a hand and then into a smelly foot, making her back off.
-It's your fault that he can't get in his own car, remember? This morning you...- she told him, but she realized he wasn't around anymore. He just popped behind the mayor, still as a big foot.
Well, just a little kick wouldn't be so bad, right? Maybe she was over reacting; though she didn't know yet how much he was allowed to do (yep, there were rules that he had to follow, even against his own will) or even if he could really hurt someone. He called himself "The ghost with the most", so she guessed that meant he was very powerful.
This was the only scary part of that man, the fact that she didn't know that much about him; because he was a lot like a kid, nothing to be scared about, just very spoiled, clumsy and childish. Though he was over 600 years old.
Thank God she knew exactly how to deal with him... most of the time, or who knows what could've happened to the people in Peaceful Pines those two weeks.
Anyway, she still wasn't used to see him pranking other people... And how come no one EVER noticed that kind of things!?
-What? Wait, no, no! Don't do it!-she yelled at the poltergeist, panicking. The foot had just turned into a giant boot; with long silver spikes- Stop it!!!-
She ran as fast as she could, attempting to save the mayor from a painful (and mortal) kick in the butt; and then, as the mayor turned around, the boot disappeared, along with Lydia.
Not very far from there.
A young girl dressed in black appeared out of God-knows-where, in front of the road to the hill that lead to her house, beside a giant talking boot. After almost ten minutes of yelling at the grinning boot, which turned back into a necklace not long after that, she was able to calm down and realized the mayor was fine and that she wasn't in trouble.
Then she noticed it was getting dark. It was time for her to go home. This is why the ghost made her appear in front of the road to her house. Sometimes he could be a jerk but he always cared about her.
-That was not funny!- she was still freaking out about what happened in the town as she walked to her house.
-You kiddin me? Of course it was funny, you should've seen your face!-
- You could've hurt him, or worse!- Lydia kept complaining.
-You offend me, Lydia Deetz. I would never dare to hurt a fly!- the necklace said in a polite tone, making appear a monocle on his right eye.
-You eat flies, BJ- she said, sighing.
-Oh... right- and he grinned.
At this she giggled. How come she could never stay mad at him?
This kind of things happened every time they met; he would just go and prank someone until she got mad or scared and scolded him for a long time. It seemed like he liked to make her mad, or to be scolded...
-So, have you figured it out yet? - the poltergeist asked.
He didn't have to explain himself; she knew exactly what he meant, so she sighed deeply. They had been talking about this every single day since they met, though the result was always the same.
-Sorry, not yet-
-Oh come on Lyds, it's not that hard!-
-Well, it's not really that easy either!- the girl complained right away- You can't say it or write it, right?-
-Or spell it- he confirmed.
-Then how am I supposed to guess your full name with only two letters as a clue, BJ?-
-Can't help you with that, babes- the necklace sighed, almost sadly.
It seemed that unless someone said his name three times, he couldn't materialize in the world of the living in his normal shape. Also, he could only appear in the houses of those who knew his name. That's why they always met on the park or anywhere, except for Lydia's house; and he would normally be a necklace, a hat, a dog, a book, anything but a living thing, especially a human.
Actually, finding out the poltergeist's name was such a hard thing to do that he could only manage to materialize by possessing someone and then making him/her say his name.
-By the way, can I ask you something?- the girl said, glancing at the ghost in her neck.
-Sure, babes. Spit it out!-
Before he turned into something disgusting (she knew he would, he loved to take everything literally), she held the necklace in her hands.
-How come you never tried possessing me so I could say your name? - Lydia asked- wouldn't it be easier that way?-
At this, the necklace froze (not literally) in her hands. He never expected her to ask THAT...
-Nah, won't do, Lyds. And you wouldn't remember my name anyway-
Wait a second, was it her imagination or her mind tricking her or he was actually blushing a bit? ...Was that even possible? I mean, he was death!
- But you could make me write your name on a note and then I'd remember it-
Damn this kid, she was too smart. Of course that could work; he did it all the time!
Maaaan this was going to be embarrassing.
- I wouldn't dare, babes-
-What? What do you mean by...?- she decided to trick him. Pranking him was funny too- Wait. You mean the ghost with the most is afraid of a little girl?-
-HEY!- he instantly turned into some kind of parody of a ghost, like a cartoon. Gloomy, with huge eyes, a curved tail (instead of legs) and chains on his wrists and ankles – The ghost with the most isn't afraid of ANYTHING!-
With every word he said, he became bigger, attempting to look scary, until he was as big as a house. Those tricks never worked on her, which was probably the reason why he agreed to meet with her, at first. To find something that would scare her.
-Then what's the matter, B?- she asked, in a calmed tone and with her hands on her hips.
Suddenly, the huge ghost disappeared and turned back into a necklace, which was floating in front of her. Now she was sure, he blushed.
-You see, possession is some nasty stuff, Lyds. Got it?-
She blinked.
Whoa... Not exactly the reaction she was expecting from him. It was quite obvious that he wouldn't say anything more than that. He had too much pride. But she understood what he meant right away.
So he liked her too much to make her go through possession, huh?
-Oh B! Of course I get it - she smiled at him, taking the necklace and hugging it to her chest.
It was surprising that he could be so sweet sometimes...
-Come here big boy!!- he yelled and escaped from Lydia's grip, chasing after a green beetle.
...But she shouldn't get accustomed to that sweetness.
---
Break, broom, birth, bull, biscuit, big, baby, breath, burn, black, berry, boot, breakfast, bumblebee, butter, bite...
Jacket, jail, justice, jump, joke, junk, jelly, jogging, judge, jingle, jeans, jam, joy, jubilee, jostle, journalism, join...
God, there were too many words that were written with B or J!
Lydia was now sitting on her bed, wearing her black dress with long sleeves and belt, as always. On the floor and the bed were many books, most of them dictionaries and a lot of papers with random words written on them.
It was almost 9 o'clock; her parents had already gone to sleep, so she had to light a few candles instead of using the lights of her room; this way they wouldn't notice she was still awake.
It was already her time to go to sleep, her head hurt, she was hungry again... But she didn't want to stop.
She wanted to find out his name.
This scene had been repeating since two weeks ago. As soon as they were separated, she started to miss her friend a lot. They always had so much fun...And so she started to wonder about his name, until she fell asleep.
Lydia fixed her hair into her unusual ponytail and rested her head on a pillow with a paper and a pencil on her chest.
All she knew about his name were two letters. Two words. Too bad she wasn't getting any better at charades. He tried to explain his name to her with charades that morning, but it didn't work.
After trying innumerably times, they gave up, she went to school and he probably went to prank someone or maybe he went home.
Ah... the Neitherworld.
That was the other reason why she wanted to find out his name as soon as possible. She wanted to go to the Neitherworld so badly...
He had been telling her a lot of things about that place, where inhabited all kind of weird creatures. It was called that way because nothing there was exactly what it seemed to be. BJ was, in fact, the best example for that. He wasn't exactly a ghost, neither a corpse, neither a poltergeist. He was a bit of each one.
The only certain thing there was that each person of that world had chosen to be there, instead of... whatever was on the other side.
-Alright, back to work- she said, yawning.
Hm... Back. Another word with B.
She wrote it down in her list, the paper she had over her chest. Actually, the list started on a paper that was near her feet, continuing on other 3, including the one in her hand.
-Backjail- she said, but nothing happened.
BJ also told her that when she figured out his name, she would notice immediately, though she had no idea what that meant.
-Urg... I thought Backjail was it- she said to herself as she wrote it on another paper. He should have been a lot in jail when he was alive.
-Let's see, how about Bumjoke?-
Nothing. God, this was frustrating!!
Well, at least each time she tried a new word she was closer to say the right one. She also had been writing each name she said, since the very first moment. So before saying any name, she would check on her list if she had already said it, and if nothing happened after saying it she would write it down.
The first week she had been saying just random combinations of words with B and J, but then she thought that if the people from the Neitherworld choose to be there, maybe they could also pick their names. So now she was looking for names according to his personality or alike him.
And what a personality he had! He was the weirdest person she'd ever met, including herself and her crazy step-mother Delia.
-Maybe Beejoy? - Nothing again.
First of all he loved pranks. He was mostly a poltergeist after all, so it was natural.
He could appear out of nowhere and he liked to do it in the creepiest shape. He seemed to want to announce himself with a loud scream of one of his victims.
On the second place, he loved bugs, but not in the same way she did. He loved to EAT them. And he seemed to especially like beetles.
-Beejob?- No, not that one- Bumble...Nah, that name's too long. But... oh well, how about Bumblebeejam?-
Yuck! Jam made of bumblebees?
Too bad it didn't work; it seemed like a perfect name for him. He surely would eat something like that...
Third: He was pretty nasty, in any possible way. He wasn't even sure when he took a bath the last time, and the mere idea made him shiver.
Most of the time he was mean to every living thing, and she suspected that his behavior was the same for the people from the Neitherworld. Anyway, he always tried to be nice to her.
Maybe he would pick a name that would be hard to say for anyone, in a disgusting way. Then probably it would ACTUALLY be something like Bumblebeejam.
-Then...Bugjelly? - she asked to the air- No, right? It's too feminine for him-
She giggled. That was another good name for him. It even made her want to throw up.
But despite all that, the pranks on people and sometimes on her, the nasty things, the rudeness, the habit of eating bugs and many other things, she liked him a lot.
Lydia remembered that after the incident with the fountain, they talked for two hours nonstop. After that he walked her home and right before leaving, he snapped his fingers and the slime and beetles disappeared from her hair and clothes.
And thank God for that. How was she supposed to explain to her parents where all that slime came from?
-Butter...Hum... Juice?-
Now that she thought about it, when she first saw all that slime on the fountain, she had the thought that it seemed like beetle juice.
-Wow, that name is just perfect for him- she laughed a bit- since he likes beetles so much!-
In that second, Lydia's mind was left completely blank, without a reason. She forgot about all the words she had written on her list and the other names she had been thinking of.
There was nothing left but the last word she just thought of. Then she knew it.
-His name... is Beetlejuice!-
She felt some kind of electricity running from her mouth to the rest of her body. The papers and books in her bed flew in the air as the room seemed to become darker.
BJ! Now it all made sense! B for Beetle and J for juice! Of course it was perfect for him, it was his name!
When she finally noticed the flying books, she jumped in the air, trying to catch them before they bumped into the walls and the noise woke her parents up; though for some reason she felt like they wouldn't hear a thing.
Suddenly, everything stopped and the books that remained in the air fell to the floor.
She listened carefully, with her heart racing, wondering if her parents were awake; but it seemed like they were sleeping soundly.
When she turned to see her room, she could barely see. Only one light remained, the one coming from her oil lamp, inherited from her biological mother.
She approached to the lamp, which was on a small table covered with a black tablecloth. Right in front of her mother's lamp was a paper, with a few words written.
It was very unusual, since she never wrote those words, and how come this was the only paper which wasn't on the floor?
Hm... Interesting. It sounded like a spell, or rather a poem, but it was unfinished. There was a missing word. But why was she interested in that? She just figured out her friend's name! There was no way she could be wrong...
Beetlejuice.
Wait, could it be that...?
She read the poem again just to be sure; her eyes widened as she stared at the paper. His name was the missing word in the poem, it finished the rhyme!
So three times, right?
-Though I know I should be wary, still I venture someplace scary...Ghostly haunting, I turn loose- she stopped, taking a deep breath- Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice!-
A strange wind made her things tremble and messed her hair. She felt more electricity than before.
The paper she read disappeared in the middle of that chaos; the tablecloth lifted in the air and covered her and the whole room transformed into... Well, only God knows what the heck it turned into.
When everything was over, it looked like a dungeon or something like that, with only one door.
Lydia looked at herself, surprised. Her tablecloth turned into some kind of... dress? No, it was a red poncho. It had a beautiful design of a spider's web; and under that she was dressed in black from her neck to her ankles, and even her feet.
-Hey babes-
The air was trapped in her throat. He looked exactly how she remembered him from the first time. He was wearing the same dirty suit with black and white stripes, the pink shirt, the boots, the blond crazy hair, the red nails and that wicked smile of his.
He was now leaning comfortably on a wall, arms crossed.
-Beetlejuice!-
She couldn't help but hug him, surprising the ghost a bit, who held her so they wouldn't fall and hugged her back after a second. It's not like many people dared to hug him, but... Oh well, he could get used to that.
-It's so good to see you!- the girl in his arms exclaimed- Beetlejuice, that's your name, isn't it?-
-Told you it wasn't that hard, babes. But watch it with the B word- he winked, messing her hair with his hand.
-You were right. By the way, where are we?-
-Don't you know? I thought you were smarter than that, Lyds-
She blinked, letting go of him and glancing at the huge room. Then her black eyes found the only door in all that space, which had a weird shape. Her heart skipped a beat.
-We're going to the Neitherworld?-
-Bingo!-
The poltergeist offered his arm to the grinning girl, who held it firmly, despite the fact that it had moss growing on it and the smell wasn't exactly charming.
But the heck with it, she didn't care!
The weird couple walked to the door, as the man opened it for the excited little girl beside him, who didn't seem to be tired any longer.
Luckily, today was Friday night.
Well, that's it guys! THE END!
Oh and when I said "Luckily, today was Friday night" I meant Lydia doesn't really have to go to sleep early xD.
I'm kinda sad because it ended so quickly... I'll try to write some more about those two, but first I'll have to take care of my other stories :P
PLEASE COMMENT!
Maybe I'll write a sequel faster that way ;D love you guys, thanks for reading and see you next time!