A/N: I can see that the second chapter did well with readers thanks to the first 3 reviews which I have officially gotten for this story! Thanks to the reviewers and especially sm4567 whose words of praise and encouragement are motivating me to write further! I can only hope that the third chapter will also meet with public approval, and, with that being said, here we go!~

Chapter 3 - Plays and Scares

Upon arriving home, Lydia immediately set to work upstairs, first with her homework and then with practicing potential lines for the play. She wasn't going to try out for the lead of course, but so far the character of "Camille", based on the script, was the only one which she could remotely act out. The plot of the play had to be one of the worst she'd ever read, but apparently it was a county favourite so it wouldn't be wise to judge it.

The main character, Camille, was the daughter of a rich and handsome count who, after the death of his wife, had decided to plant a willow tree each year in her honor. Apparently the old countess had a thing for willow trees or whatever, but there wasn't really a point to them until the end of the story anyway.

For the main story, it focused on how Camille as a young maiden was being initiated into society through a series of balls in which her father tried to introduce her to eligible young men. The noble men all had some problem or other-one had no manners, another smelled unpleasant, etc.-and Camille didn't like any of them. But after running away from her third official party, she ran into a mysterious stranger who always wore a mask and never spoke so his identity was kept a secret.

After a short time, of course, Camille fell in love with him and ended up secretly marrying him with the permission of a reverend. The reverend's character was admittedly interesting-and even better than Camille herself-but Lydia knew better than to mock the school committee by trying out for a male role. Anyways, the count soon found out about the marriage and went mad with rage, eventually finding the man and killing him. Through a twisted turn of events, it is revealed that the stranger was actually Camille's long-lost brother and he had been trying to save her the grief of marrying a man whom she didn't love.

The count, after finding out he killed his own son, killed himself as well. The last act took place after all of these deaths when Camille went to confess her sins to the reverend, who turned out to be aware of everything, and who advised her to become a nun in order to cleanse herself through faithful service.

Camille was a fairly selfish person though, so she knew she could never become a nun. In the very last scene, out of guilt, remorse, and self-loathing, she hung herself on the very first willow tree ever planted after her mother's death.

To be honest, Lydia didn't think that any of the play was that gruesome. In fact, it sounded just like a bad melodrama. But nevertheless, Camille was the only role she could play because most of the time she was described as being "unhappy" and "lamenting her life". Lydia wouldn't even have to act that out; she was never happy. Every other female role was either another rich girl, a servant, or the ghost of Camille's mother who confronts her only twice during the entire play. The ghost would've been ideal since her lines were short, but her character was described as "the gentlest and most beautiful creature on the planet".

Lydia would be a disgrace!

Sighing, the Deetz girl took out the script and began pacing her room, muttering the lines as silently and as unintelligibly as possible.

Suddenly, just as she was rounding up the first act, a gust of wind blew in through the window and blew the script right out of her hand.

What the-? I could've sworn that window was closed, Lydia thought, walking over to close it instead of picking up her script. Just as she had slammed it down though, she realized that the wooden frames handing made contact.

Instead, of all things, a hand was blocking the way.

"YOUCH!" came a yell from outside.

Lydia shrieked and backed away from the window, her eyes wide. She would've been ready to make a run for it at any second, but then she heard commotion from the other side of her door. Instead of Barbara or Adam arriving first though, it was surprisingly Delia who showed up to see what was going on.

"Lydia! Oh goodness!" the red-haired woman exclaimed. "What happened? You scared me half to death, and I almost dropped my ashtray!" Delia Deetz wasn't a heavy smoker-especially not since she knew how much their ghostly roommates disapproved-but when sculpting, and stuck for inspiration, she had to have something to calm her down.

Unsure what to do, her stepdaughter wondered if it would be wise to point out what she had seen. One look at her window told her that it wouldn't be smart; the hand was gone as if it had never been there and the window was closed. But Lydia knew she hadn't imagined it. Would she had heard the scream so clearly if she had? Hallucinations weren't unlikely for the girl, but she wasn't delusional!

"I-I'm sorry," she replied at last, stumped for what else she could say. Besides, even if she tried to tell Delia about it, she likely wouldn't be believed. Even after three years, the modern woman still had trouble believing that Adam and Barbara were actually ghosts, so why should Lydia scare her even more?

Delia soothed down her smart-looking black dress. "Well, since you're sorry, let's forget it then, hm?" She was about to turn and go, but then she spotted Lydia's discarded script on the ground.

"Oh, what's this?" she asked, going over to pick it up. "A play?"

Lydia didn't ever face-palm herself, but she just as well might've at this point. "It's for school."

"You school's putting on a play?" Delia mused. "How...quaint." Regardless though, she read through the title and the brief summary on the first page. "Sounds dramatic, dear. Are you going to be starring in this? It doesn't sound like you at all."

"It's for a good cause," Lydia muttered, trying unsuccessfully to snatch it away.

"Oh really? Does your father know."

"Well, he-"

"I'm sure he'll want to go see. It's so rare to have you out of the house, never mind participating in something...well, normal. I think we'd better share this with our little friends as well." Of course Delia meant Adam and Barbara. Not that she was out to get her stepdaughter or anything, but for once she had actually grown excited at the prospect of having Lydia do something. To claim that she was even remotely related to such a gothic teen was an embarrassment that Delia Deetz would simply not bear!

"Wait, hold on a-!"

But Delia was already gone. Cursing silently in her head, Lydia had no choice but to follow her out the door and downstairs.

Outside, clutching his hand and over-dramatizing everything, a certain humanoid beetle-man was rolling around on the back lawn and yelling into open space.

"That little-! What does she-?! If I ever get my hands on her, I'm gonna-!" But for the time being, he could do nothing but clutch at his injured hand. Until that point he had left Lydia alone because he just didn't know how to approach her. Not that he had a problem with freaking her out or anything, but he wanted to make sure that the timing was right for a really spectacular entrance. She hadn't seen him in over three years after all, though it was doubtful she could ever forget him anyway.

The biggest problem was that he needed her one way or another to get him out of his fix with Juno. The old lady wouldn't like him trying the same trick twice to get out of the eternal limbo with the usage of his name and whatnot, but he had no choice. He didn't make the rules-as a matter of fact, he still didn't have any rules-but he did had to follow them, unfortunately.

Sitting up, he began to scratch his chin deviously. "Can't go in there anyway," he reasoned. "Still got them Maitlands to deal with..." And he was in a hurry after all. Things to do, people to see, trouble to cause, it was all too much for just one ghoul to handle! On the one hand he reasoned that he should try figuring out just how to get that wretched anklet off, but then again, he wasn't keen on touching it.

And so instead, he began to think.

And think...

And think...

And finally the beetle-man had an idea. A fairly awful idea which he was sure was bound to work. May as well try it, he thought. No one could resist me for very long and so many the subtle approach is best this time...

No sooner said than done, and he went about putting his plan to action. Suffice to say, a certain someone would get a big surprise the next morning...

A/N: A bit longer than before, and hopefully enough to satisfy. Just as usual to the readers, enjoy! Please remember to review/follow/favourite! 3