In My Head

by SABATHco

Set in 1994, Lydia and Betelgeuse have become best friends since the accident in Winter River. But Lydia can't stay forever and is ready to grow up. How will Betelgeuse handle that Lydia is no longer a child, and is a woman who is ready to go to university-not to mention the possibility of finding a love interest.

4. Juno

Chapter IV: Juno

Lydia knocked on the roadhouse door as she summoned herself to the Neitherworld, dressed in her red spider web poncho. It was Jacques who answered the door, to her surprise.

"Oh-la-la, 'ello, Lydia," said the skeleton in his thick French accent. "Ging'er is just down zee 'allway!"

Walking in, Lydia followed Jacques down the hall to Ginger's apartment. "Where's Betelgeuse?" she asked, looking around. She figured he would have been here. After he'd been so moody, maybe he was out trying to relax? She felt guilt settle in her stomach.

"Oh, Be-a-telgeuse is out. 'E 'as an appointment with Juno. 'E said 'e will be back to pick you up zo you don't miss zee show," said Jacques with a toothy smile. He knew all too well Betelgeuse liked him as a neighbour, even if the ghost would never admit it. He didn't need to; his skeletons in the closet told him.

Juno? Why in the Neitherworld would he be seeing that old goat? She wondered why Betelgeuse didn't tell her… He hated that woman and usually enjoyed bitching about her. Why wouldn't he mention having an appointment with her? It wasn't like Betelgeuse was actually busy doing anything else…
She pushed the thought aside and followed Jacques down the hallway to Ginger's apartment. "Thanks, Jacques, I appreciate it." Her voice turned distant, but she had a job to do. She had to check in on her friend.

"Oh, no, it is not a probl'em, Lydia." Jacques patted Lydia on the shoulder and led her in to see Ginger.

"Oh, hi, Lydia," Ginger said softly, her eyes looking up to the girl. "Betelgeuse told me you'd be coming by."

"I didn't realise spiders could get so sick," Lydia mused, looking at the bed-ridden arachnid. "Is there anything I can get you?"

Ginger shook her head, wrapped up in a web blanket. "Jacques took the night off work, so he said he could check in on me. I'll be fine, Lydia, it's just a cold, I'm sure."

"Okay, but tell me if you need anything. Or Betelgeuse, he'll get back to me about it." She wondered again why Betelgeuse didn't tell her about Juno. Why would he even need an appointment with her? He'd been trying to avoid her his whole afterlife after the Maitland incident.
"Well, I may as well stay with you until Beejay comes back. I don't know how long he's going to be, he didn't tell me," she murmured, both Jacques and Ginger sharing a glance.

"Oh, I'm sure it just slipped 'is mind, Lydia," said the skeleton as he put his hand onto her shoulder reassuringly. "You know Be-a-telgeuse."

"Yeah, he finally got a job. He can earn some cash now."

"Betelgeuse has a job," said Lydia. "He still does exorcisms, I thought." Both Ginger and Jacques shared a worried glance once more. "What's going on?" Okay, what wasn't Betelgeuse telling her? And why!? They were supposed to be best friends!

Jacques put his hands together. "Er… Be-a-telgeuse has not done zhat since your friends, zee Maitland's."

"He's only just started working for Juno again… Punishment from Judge Mental," Ginger explained.

"What!? How long has this been going on!? He can't be getting punished for all of that! That was years ago now!" said Lydia. God, she'd been a child when that all happened! She was much older now! She'd put it behind her, and so had Betelgeuse. Why was he getting punished for it only now!?

"Hon, what's years for you is merely seconds to the Neitherworld. We work slower here," said Ginger, coughing for a moment before she wiped her nose with a tiny tissue. "You gotta remember that the Neitherworld works differently. Sometimes faster, too. It's a lot different from the Outerworld. Sometimes things don't make sense at all!"

She had that right. "But Beejay usually gets in trouble right away…"

"Eh… zhis has been in zee works for quite some time," said Jacques. "Not to mention zee whole sandworm and shrunken 'ead thing. Per'aps you should speak with 'im yourself. Why don't you go and wait for 'im? I can look after Ging'er."

Lydia just nodded, not really knowing what to say. She wished Ginger to get well soon before she headed out of the apartment and down to Betelgeuse's. She had a spare key and opened the door—he usually didn't mind her being inside. Plus, he gave it to her anyway, considering the whole name thing would sometimes call her here. And if he wasn't here, then she could stay here and wait. Now that sort of seemed to make sense why he'd be out and got home grumpy sometimes. He usually brushed it off. Perhaps it was Juno?
Closing the door behind her, she walked inside, seeing clothes and other various things on the ground—the usual. She picked them up and put them on the lounge so they wouldn't get trodden on.
"Beejay, you home?" she asked, just making sure. She walked around to the bedroom, the door ajar. She pushed it in. His bed was a mess, sheets over the coffin. She did smile at the photo of her on the side, though. She had one of him in her own bedside table. Of course, she had to put it away so her parents wouldn't see it. They'd go mental if they knew they'd become friends after what had happened—not to mention Betelgeuse could have killed her father. She knew it was his 'job' to scare them when the Maitland's hired him, but still. At least now he'd gotten a bit of a soft spot for Charles—even if he wouldn't admit it. Betelgeuse didn't admit much, really. Except for their friendship.
Picking up the photo, she saw something behind it. A ring. He must have forgotten to put it on. He always wore his rings. No wait… This ring was the ring he put on when they were about to get married. She looked at the ring on her own finger. Despite what it had originally been for, it was now a promise ring that they shared to show their friendship. She wondered why he wasn't wearing it. It actually hurt her more than she realised.
She heard the door open and she dropped it, startled. Oh crap! She looked quickly under the bed but it wasn't there! She didn't have time to pick up the junk under the bed and search either. Hopefully he just wouldn't notice it was gone and she quickly ran out of the room to see Betelgeuse with a cigarette in his mouth, tossing his hat where the clothes were on the lounge.

"Hey, Lyds, you ready?" asked the ghost.

"Why didn't you tell me you were working for Juno again?" she asked.

Betelgeuse looked up for a moment and huffed. Fucking Jacques and Ginger! "Look, babe, it's not what it looks like. I was gunna tell ya, it just didn't happen to come up," he said with a shrug. "Not like it's somethin' I'm proud of. I hate it, but Judge Mental blah, blah, blah." He didn't want to get into the details right now.

Lydia frowned. "You could have told me either way," she said softly, walking up to him. "Is this why you've picked up smoking again?"

"Mm, maybe," said Betelgeuse, brushing it off. "Come on, babes, we gotta go. You wanna get a good seat, right?" This really wasn't something he wanted to talk about. He didn't do the whole 'feelings' thing.

Wait, was this how Betelgeuse had money now? Because he was back to working under Juno?
"Only if you tell me everything," she bribed. "You want me to go, then you have to talk to me."

Rolling his eyes, Betelgeuse leant an arm over Lydia lazily. "You really wanna hear all about that slit-throat bitch, Lyds? Why don't we just go already!? Doomie's waitin' on ya!"

Alright, fine. He could get out of it for now, but she wanted to know about it after the show. She removed his arm and walked over to the door.
"I hope you don't think this excuses anything, Beejay. I want you to tell me about it after the show. I'm not going to quit!"

He had no doubt about that. "Yeah, yeah," he muttered before putting the cigarette out and following her outside to Doomie. The car honked its horn excitedly at the sight of Lydia.

"Hey, Doomie." Lydia patted her hand over Doomie's bonnet and the car honked happily once more. She giggled and got into the passenger seat, Betelgeuse getting in the driver's side.

"Well, Doomie, you know where to go," said Betelgeuse, sitting back and letting the car take over. Doomie revved and they were off.

*****
"I just knew they'd be real monsters!" said Lydia as they drove out of the drive-in. "That was great! You have fun, Doomie?" she asked, patting the dashboard.

Doomie honked in a yes.

The show had been full of wicked (real) monster trucks, much like Doomie's were-form. Violence and destruction, yes, but it was all in good nature for the show. Thankfully, Lydia was reassured that no 'monsters' were harmed during the show. She gathered it was like wrestling on TV.
She leant back in her seat and drank the coke she got from the show. She was glad that they still had real people food here in the Neitherworld. Not everyone ate like Betelgeuse. In fact… she was pretty sure he was the only one that ate that way. And he still ate the occasional normalcy.
"I better go home after we get back, though. I still need to study. I also need to start designing my new dress," she said. She didn't forget that she needed to hear about Betelgeuse, but she didn't realise the show was going to end so late.

"Hey, you still seeing that dork?" asked Betelgeuse. He was surprised the thought had even popped into his head. Why was he even thinking of that little dweeb?

"Victor isn't a dork," pushed Lydia, "He's actually very nice." That didn't mean she was going to the dance with him, though. "And would you stop saying it like we're dating? We're not." She made that clear.

"Oh yeah? Might wanna tell Jethro that," snorted the ghost. He felt Lydia slap his arm and he winced. "Hey, whoa there, tiger, I was just kiddin'!"

"Betelgeuse, you've got to stop getting so jealous of me having other friends," she said as they'd pulled up at the roadhouse. She absentmindedly toyed with the ring on her ringer.

"Me!? Jealous!?" shrieked Betelgeuse. He snorted and put his hand to his chest. "What do I have to be jealous over that kid? He can't even stick up for himself! I'm a rebel, babes, you know I can."

Lydia looked away, not knowing what to say. Betelgeuse was kind of right. Ever since she'd met Victor, he hadn't been able to stand up for himself at all. To be fair, Davey was bigger than him, but still. He could have showed some kind of courage.
"That doesn't make him any kind of loser," she tried to fight back as she got out of the car, "It just means he's got a soft heart."

"Yee-uck!" Betelgeuse hissed, his tongue hanging out.

"Oh, c'mon, Beejay," she said as he got out of the car and Doomie put himself away, "It's not so bad to be sensitive. After all, I know you are when you want to be."

Betelgeuse fluttered his eyes and put his hands together. "Babes, you really know how to make a dead guy's heart beat again," he snorted before putting his hands back down. "I'm the ghost with the most, babes, I don't need anyone else tellin' me that."

"Oh yeah?" Lydia rolled her eyes. "You love being praised, Betelgeuse, and we all know it," she sighed as she walked inside the roadhouse.

Betelgeuse just chuckled. "To a certain extent," he mumbled to himself before he followed Lydia inside. "You really gotta go home? It's still early!" He tapped his watch that stated it was almost midnight.

Lydia's eyes shot open. "Deadly vu, I won't even have time to study!" she cried. "I should really get going. I'll talk to you later, Beejay!" She was sure her parents didn't notice her disappearance—they hardly did considering she locked herself in her room most of the time (when she wasn't outside with her camera). Still, she needed sleep, it was a school night.

Betelgeuse stopped her by teleporting in front of her. "Hey, what are you so worried 'bout? It's not like Chuck and Delia will notice you're gone. When do they ever?" he shorted. "Er, not that I mean any offence by that," he added quickly. "Why don't you just sleep here?"

"I can't, Beejay," said Lydia frowning. It was sad that even Betelgeuse knew her parents wouldn't notice her absence. She knew they did care, but Delia was so into her art and her father was so into relaxing, they just had other things to concentrate on a lot of the time. There was a plus side, though: she got to hang out with Betelgeuse a lot without them pestering her where she'd been.
"Besides, you have work, too," she reminded him. "You can't just do whatever you want anymore. And I still want to know why you didn't tell me, so don't even think you're out of the woods yet."

"Chicks…" he muttered.

Lydia smirked. "G'night, Beejay." She then said 'home' three times and was teleported back to her normal room. She sighed heavily. She didn't have time to study right now, so she got herself changed and went to bed.

Back in the Neitherworld, Betelgeuse figured he should do what Lydia said—be a responsible adult and go to bed considering he did have work. It wasn't that bad, Juno and he hated one another, but it was fun getting to piss her off.
He'd already pissed her off so much she'd sent him home early today. Maybe he could do it all over again tomorrow! He got to annoy dead people, tell them how miserable their afterlife was going to be, and he got payed for it! The filing he tended to drone out… But it was work for Juno or a ticket to Sandworm Valley. He'd take the work—even if he hated it.
He chuckled as he floated over to the fish tank and fed his piranha a small fish from the other tank. The water soon turned red and he grinned. "Well, better go to bed. Got nothin' better to do anyway," he muttered to himself as he drifted through the wall and headed towards the coffin. He was changed with a snap of the fingers and plopped himself down.
"Huh… " he murmured, leaning back up. He frowned. Okay, who had been in his room? Ginger? Jacques? Nah, what the hell would they want with his room? Something was definitely moved, though.
Wait, Lydia had been here before he got home. He quirked a brow. What had that little goth gotten up to, and why would she be in his room? Then again, it wasn't like it was the first time Lydia had been in his home alone. He trusted her enough.
Whatever it was, he didn't care too much and he took his rings off, putting them onto the drawer. Lazily, he chucked one of them too hard and it bounced off, rolling into the floor and under his bed.
He huffed and dropped, pushing the sheets back. "There you are, you little shit," he said, grabbing it. That's when he saw something else. Another ring. His ring. Actually, the ring he shared with Lydia. A friendship ring that had previously been a wedding ring.
A shudder went down his spine at the thought. Damnit, he really thought he'd fucked up their relationship with that one. Thankfully, Lydia was able to get past it all. But what was it doing on the floor? He wasn't stupid, Lydia had obviously found it and… dropped it when he came back home? She did rush back into the living room.
Getting back up, he sat himself on the bed, holding the ring up. Honestly, shit like this wouldn't get to him, especially if it were anyone else. However, this was Lydia. She'd recognise the rings he shoved on both of their fingers in desperate need to get out of the Neitherworld—something she probably could never forget.
There was that disgusting heavy feeling in his gut again. Guilt. She'd found it and knew he wasn't wearing it. Hell, it wasn't like he did it on purpose… Okay, that was a complete lie. He took it off because it started to make him feel strange. Heavy. He didn't really know why and what it meant, and he didn't want to, but now Lydia—being a girl—probably thought he didn't like her anymore or something like that.
Putting it on the bedside table to join with the others, he felt like popping into Lydia's mirror and asking her what the deal was, but she would be sleeping now, and (if only for Lydia) he didn't feel like waking her up when she was already going on about studying and whatnot. Instead, he turned off the lamp and went to sleep. Surely it wasn't that much of a hassle. It was just a ring, wasn't it?

*****
In the morning, Lydia woke up from her alarm clock going off, slapping it and rolling over with a groan. She didn't get much sleep last night because her mind had been racing. She had been thinking too many things. Victor, study, plans for her dress for prom, and what was going on with her best friend.
She flopped herself onto her back, not wanting to get up. She knew it was a school day, but she felt like she could sleep another ten hours straight. And then she heard Delia call out her name, making her nose scrunch up.
"Coming!" she yelled back, rolling her eyes. She slipped the covers off and sighed, running her fingers through her bed-hair. She stopped when there was a whistle from the mirror. She almost screamed when she saw Betelgeuse watching her.
"Betelgeuse!" she yelled, startled by his appearance.

"Two more times and I'll be there to put that cute little school outfit on ya," he snickered.

Lydia hissed. Her pyjamas were hardly show-offish. They were a matching t-shirt and long pants, black in colour. Hardly anything to get excited over.
"Very funny, Beejay," she yawned, sitting back on her bed. "What are you doing here? Don't you have work? I've told you a hundred times not to sneak up on me like that, too."

Betelgeuse just smirked. Like he ever listened. "Don't remind me of the 'W' word, babes. Just figured I'd call in an' see when you had a spare minute or two."

Lydia perked up a little curiously. Oh yeah, considering Betelgeuse now had a job, he couldn't just pop in any time he wanted to. They'd have to have some kind of schedule. That was going to take some getting used to.
"I've got a few minutes," she said, stepping off her bed and grabbing her school uniform, "What's up?" She threw her jacket on over her shoulders to cover herself as she got changed, turning her back to the ghost.

"Are you ever gunna turn around and let me see those?" complained the ghost, leaning against the frame of the mirror. She teased him so.

Lydia just rolled her eyes and laughed. "No, Beejay." This wasn't new. Their friendship was very open and she was comfortable getting changed in the same room as Betelgeuse. Besides, she was covering herself, anyway. It wasn't like she'd let him see her nude or anything. They were best friends! Amazingly, she did trust him and knew if he ever did anything, it was probably in good nature—even if it was still perving. She'd gotten used to his behaviour.
Doing her buttons up, she turned around and took her jacket off. "So? Anything you'd like to talk about?" she asked, slipping her promise ring onto her finger.

"Er… yeah," mumbled the ghost, "but you gotta call me out."

Always a catch. Lydia sighed as she put her school skirt on before removing her pyjama pants. "Alright, but I have to send you back soon. Delia's already called me down."

Betelgeuse just shrugged before his name was said three times and he appeared inside the room. He plonked himself on the side of the bed and leant over. "I know you were in my room last night, Lyds." He flashed his hand that had the ring on it now.

Lydia stiffened a little as she looked at him, standing up. She had guilty written all over her face. Okay, she was caught. It wasn't like she'd done anything bad, though, and Betelgeuse didn't seem pissed off over it.
"I'm sorry, Beejay. I was just waiting for you to come home, so I checked around. I saw that you weren't wearing your ring." She stopped when he put his hand up.

"Babes, I seriously don' care. You bein' in my bedroom is more excitin'." He grinned mischievously.

Lydia frowned seriously. "Oh, come on, Betelgeuse. Why weren't you wearing your ring? And why didn't you tell me about Juno? Why are you acting so strange and keeping things from me? Don't you realise I may be gone soon? It feels like you're not taking anything seriously anymore. I know you like your pranks and playing around, but can't we be serious for a moment?"

Betelgeuse just raised a brow before he heard Delia call out Lydia's name more forcefully this time. "Looks like I've been saved by the witch," he muttered, "Sorry, babes, gotta go to work." He tapped his watch. For once in his life, he was thankful he had somewhere else he could disappear to.
He gasped dramatically when Lydia grabbed his collar and looked at him seriously. Boy, she was really serious about all of this. He just looked at her innocently, brows arching.

"I'm not letting this go, Betelgeuse."

"Hey! It's not my fault you're mum's such a drag-,"

"Betelgeuse!"

"Whoa, one more time and I'm outta your fingers, babes—quite literally," he said, putting a finger up.

Lydia sighed, shaking her head and letting go. "Betelgeuse." The ghost was gone with a flash and she flopped herself on the bed for a moment. She didn't even have time to worry about this right now. She had to go to school, and then she had a date with Victor tonight. One she hadn't even mentioned to Betelgeuse.
It wasn't like it was a date, really. It was just a movie. A movie with a new friend. That's all it was. It was a way for them to get to know one another just a little bit more. Plus, if Betelgeuse didn't want to talk seriously, then fine. He could act like a child.
She got back up and grabbed her books, putting them into her bag before heading downstairs to eat breakfast.

*****
While she was in class, Lydia tried to concentrate. She was angry, though. She didn't understand why Betelgeuse was trying to ignore the fact that she wouldn't be in Peaceful Pines all her life. She was graduating soon, and then she'd be in university. They couldn't hang out as much, if at all when this happened!
School was demanding, but university was even more so. Not to mention Betelgeuse had work now. God, did he ever think about this kind of stuff? About their friendship!? About her!? They were best friends, she thought he'd think about her a little bit more, but clearly he didn't care. And that hurt. Betelgeuse didn't care about many people, but she thought she was different. Apparently not.
She rested her cheek on her knuckles, sighing mentally as she tried to ignore Claire whispering behind her. Maybe this was her turn to be selfish. She shouldn't even be thinking of Betelgeuse, she was going out with Victor tonight. She needed to think of what she would wear, what they were going to see. She knew The Crow was out now and she'd been dying to see it. Should she bring anything?
She jumped when the bell rang, startling her out of her thoughts. Pushing it all aside, she grabbed her belongings and headed outside for lunch.

*****
In Juno's office, Betelgeuse floated with a cup of coffee for her. As her assistant once more, he had to do everything for her—a real pain in the arse.
"Your highness," he mocked, planting it down into the table. Despite the fact that Juno could no longer eat or drink, he figured it was going to be fun watching natural habit happen before him.

"Shut up," Juno spat, taking the coffee by pure instinct. She was too busy to bother with him, nor was she any more pleased than Betelgeuse about this little arrangement. She didn't understand why she had to be punished for his crimes as well? It wasn't like it was her fault! She had warned the Maitland's not to call him out! But no, apparently that wasn't enough and had given them the wrong idea—thus she was being punished for even mentioning his name to them.

Leaning his elbows onto the table and floating just above the floor annoyingly, he gave her a smug smile. Juno put the mug to her lips and took a drink. Like expected, the liquid came right out the slit in her throat, making him slap his hand across the table and cackle wildly.

"Why you…!" the elderly ghost sneered, hot coffee dribbling down her throat and top. She slammed the mug onto the desk and stood up, "Don't you have anyone else you can go and pester!?"

Betelgeuse stood back up and folded his arms. "I'm all yours, babes. Judge's rules, 'member?"

Juno just groused. "I can't believe I'm stuck with your mess one more time," she muttered. "Get out of my office. I don't care if you have to make a small appearance here every day, I won't be putting up with your bullshit."

The perks of having this job were getting better and better. Just show up, piss off the boss enough for her to throw you out and get paid for it!
"Just tell me how ya did it and I'll be on my way," he said, his finger slicing against his neck. Juno scowled and a pot plant was tossed in his direction. Snakes came out of his hair as he screamed and fled from the room.
Well, now that he was off work early (again), he could head back over to the Outerworld and bother Lydia some more. He popped from the office and attached himself to Lydia's bike on the shiny surface. She was sitting by it with a sketch pad out. There was a lot of noise, so it was obviously lunch time.
"Yo, babes!" he said, his voice squeaky. When Lydia looked at him, he grinned, "Let me out!"

Startled, Lydia looked at the small reflection on the rim of the wheel. "Betelgeuse, what are you doing here? I'm still in school! Others will see you!"

"Nah, just call me into the toilets. No biggy!" said the ghost with a grin. When Lydia gave a concerned look, he huffed. "C'mooon, just for a few minutes."

"Alright, but you can't be too long. My friends will probably wonder where I went off to."

Betelgeuse looked around. "You're sittin' by yourself, babes…"

"They went to the vending machine," Lydia said. She stood up and put her sketch book down. "I'll see you in the bathrooms."
When Betelgeuse disappeared from the bike, she headed off to the girl's bathroom and stepped inside. Making sure no one else was in there with her, she locked the latch on the door and called Betelgeuse's name three times.

Appearing fully in the girl's bathroom, Betelgeuse brushed himself down. "So, what's goin' on?" he asked.

Lydia hadn't forgotten about this morning, and she was still annoyed about his behaviour. "Why are you off work so early? Do you always finish now?"

"Nah, Juno couldn't handle me so she tossed me out," said Betelgeuse without a care.

"She tossed you out!?" Lydia burst out, clamping her hand over her mouth for a second as she'd been too loud. She lowered her hand when no one made a noise outside. "Betelgeuse, this is punishment and you're getting fired already!? When are you going to take things seriously!?"

"Hey, she didn't pull the plug on me, Lyds, she just said I could go home early," said the ghost, leaning against a cubicle. "You really think that bitch enjoys havin' me around again? I quit from her the first time 'cause she was nothin' but a control freak! I don't do rules, babes, you know that."

Lydia shook her head. "Everyone has to obey rules once in their life, Betelgeuse, and that means you-,"

"Hey, I'm already dead! My life's been over for hundreds of years."

"That's not what I mean!" She gave a frustrated noise and slapped her hands down her sides. "Do you want to get thrown to the Sandworms?"

Betelgeuse stiffened at the word, standing up. "Gee, what's your problem, Lyds? Is it that time of the month?"

What!? No! Lydia gave another aggravated noise. "How dare you blame me being serious on that!? Betelgeuse, you're a grown man! Don't you realise that you can't spend the rest of your afterlife acting like a child all the time!? I'm going to university soon! Do you even care!?"

Betelgeuse waved a hand. "Hey, I got no issue with rags, babes. Back in my day that's what they used! Despite the fact that-,"

"Is that all you think about!?" hissed the girl, her eyes furious now. They were almost glazed with tears.

Okay, temper tantrum. He'd said the wrong thing. Betelgeuse gave a large exhale. "Alright, alright, I didn't wear the ring because I was pissed off, okay? Nothin' personal!"

Pissed off? What the hell did she ever do to him!? "At… at me?" How could she not find that personal!? In any way whatsoever!? That was the whole fucking point of these rings!

"What? No. Er… that came out wrong," said the ghost, scratching his head. Lydia looked shocked, even more so upset. He wasn't as dumb as he made himself out to be. Despite his greediness, he was quite intelligent, and he knew he'd upset her.

"Then what…?"

The ghost groaned. He hated emotional crap, it was so draining. "Look, babes, it's nothing. I got it on now, right?" he said as he held his hand up, "Isn't that all that matters?"

That he had it on!? "No!" she called out, "It doesn't matter that it's just on. The whole point of these were to be promise rings so we'd be best friends forever! God, Beejay, I thought this meant something to you—to us! I thought I meant something more."

"Don't you think you're overreacting, babes?" suggested Betelgeuse. Boy was he wrong. How many years had he been around women, and he still said the worst thing possible when someone was upset.
Lydia's ring hit him right in the forehead and he winced, fumbling it in his hands. She opened the door and ran out, saying his name three times before she was out of sight. With a flash, the Outerword was gone around him and he was back inside the roadhouse.
What the hell had just happened!?