So, continuing my ability to figure out stuff based on small details, I figured out the timeline of the movie. Using an image of the newspaper Betelgeuse is reading near the beginning of the film that discusses the Maitlands' deaths (and staring at a blurry date at the top until I figure out what it is supposed to say), I have used the process of elimination to figure out when they died. The newspaper appears to be dated for March 26, meaning they died at the end of March. The Deetz family moved in a month later according to dialogue, placing their arrival at the end of April or the start of May. And then the Maitlands miss about three months in the Waiting Room, which means the almost-wedding happens around the beginning of August (give or take). Building off that, I've determined that would mean that this story takes place around the end of September (providing some time for everyone to settle in together in the household and to renovate at least some of the rooms back to how they used to be).

And if you see a name familiar to the cartoon series, I warn you now she's not an exact copy of the cartoon character. I just drew a little inspiration from her role in the show and decided to give her the same name. Don't expect or ask for more cartoon characters.

Lydia almost sighed in relief as the final bell of the day rang. Her teacher hurried to remind her small class about the upcoming science test, but most of the girls were already shoving their books in their backpacks and heading out the door. Lydia moved a little slower, letting the crowds ebb before she faced the halls. Since Adam and Barbara were still gone, she didn't feel any need to hurry. She could take her time and look for some photo opportunities, her camera tucked in her backpack.

She wandered out of the Miss Shannon's School for Girls quite casually, her mind turning over the artistic possibilities she could try. The leaves were changing colors and the afternoon light tended to be a beautiful golden shade that worked perfectly for photographs.

Lydia vaguely noticed a few other girls still hanging around and gossiping, but her thoughts remained distracted. She spared them no more thought than she did the crisp chill in the air. Her mind continued to focus on good locations to use her camera rather than who was still standing around the school.

She grabbed her bike and started pedaling towards town, her thoughts turning towards the old barn that stood near the field with the cows. She figured the afternoon light, if she could get the angle right, would make the old building look imposing and ancient.

Lydia managed to pedal her way down the road a while before she felt the prickling sensation on the back of her neck, the feeling that someone was watching her. She could have continued onwards regardless, but curiosity and vague annoyance compelled her to turn off the road and head down one of the trails that eventually ran alongside the river.

If someone, alive or dead, was following her for some reason, they might not be able or willing to move away from the more populated areas. And if they did keep stalking her, Lydia figured she could either deal with them or out-ride them. Since she needed to ride her bike all the way across town and up a very long hill daily since her home and school were at opposite ends of Winter River, she felt pretty confident she could out-race most problems.

Regardless of what her stalker or stalkers tried, she might be able to manage some nice nature photos once she lost whoever was watching her. The changing leaves would be beautiful to capture on film.

By the time she reached the tree line and was out of sight of any witnesses, it became clear that her stalkers were catching up. She could actually see them now. Lydia stopped her bike on the trail and waited. She wasn't a coward. She could handle the four girls following her.

None of them were in her class. They were a grade ahead of her in school and at least a year or two older, depending on when their birthdays were. But since there were a fairly small number of students at the school in general and everyone literally grew up together, they'd singled her out as the new girl from New York the moment she arrived. And thanks to the school uniforms, they hadn't realized what Lydia was really like and assumed that someone from New York must be a traditionally stylish, cultured, extravagant, and shallow girl, just like someone from the movies.

Needless to say, the Goth, unhappy, and vaguely suicidal Lydia who attended the last month of the spring semester threw them for a loop. And a few months ago, she hadn't been making the best decisions and flat-out told the shallow, Barbie doll clones what she thought of their behavior right before summer vacation. Things went downhill from there.

Lydia got along with most of her classmates, but the four older girls were another story. She'd antagonized their blonde leader with far too much makeup and padding intended to give her a fuller figure. She'd spoken bluntly to the older girl, called out her materialistic shallowness, and didn't play the proper popularity games with her. And thus Lydia ended up with a group of arch enemies. They rarely caused much trouble for her, the fact she was in a different grade and classes from them ensuring that they didn't cross paths too often even in the small town. But they occasionally felt like being annoying and making their dislike known. And since most of the town was still in the same general direction, the detour off the main road wasn't a huge deterrent for them.

"Hello, Claire," said Lydia dryly as the group of girls stopped their bikes, surrounding her like they expected to intimidate her. "Hello, Ashley, Brittany, and Megan. What brings you out here? Aren't you afraid you'll break a nail?"

Claire scowled and put the kickstand down on her bicycle. The blonde teenager brushed back her hair haughtily and then crossed her arms in front of her padded chest. She walked slowly, circling Lydia. If someone else tried the act, it would seem like a predator such as a tiger or a wolf preparing to attack their prey. But because it was Claire, it seemed more like a kitten stalking a toy mouse. Lydia couldn't be scared of her.

"What about you? What's the local freak doing today? Looking for some werewolves and vampires in the forest?"

She seemed so proud of her taunt, but all it did was make Lydia roll her eyes. This was just sad.

"Do you even hear yourself? Those things are supposed to be nocturnal. If you're going to make fun of me, at least to it right and be imaginative about it. Say I'm going to cast a spell on you. Say I'm going to perform human sacrifices. You could even say I'm going to summon an army of the dead and enslave the town. But looking for werewolves and vampires in the middle of the afternoon? That doesn't even make sense, even for the weird romance novel versions. Which are probably the only ones you've ever heard of."

There was some quiet snickering from Claire's companions while the teenager's cheeks reddened slightly. Lydia shook her head at them. They might be thirteen and fourteen year old girls, but they weren't as smart and mature as they thought. And they definitely couldn't handle someone who didn't respond to attempts at gossip or insults.

"You think you're so funny," said Claire sharply.

She shrugged and said, "If you're going to say stuff that sounds like a joke, then I'm going to treat it like one. So are you done? I have more important things to do."

"Come on, Claire," said Megan uneasily. "Let's leave her. She can wander around the forest and probably get bit by a snake or something. We don't need to risk it too."

That was something Lydia figured out quickly about the older girl. For someone who grew up in the small town in the middle of the countryside, Megan never seemed fond of nature. She avoided insects, dirt, and mud like the plague, making other girls at the school seem practically fearless of the stuff. Adding a fear of snakes to her list of issues wasn't too much of a stretch. The red-head probably would have done better in a city environment. The only reason she probably set foot on the trail and got close to the forest was because Claire told her to come along.

"Relax, Megan," Ashley said. "You're not going to be bitten by a snake."

"Fine, but I don't want a case of poison ivy either. Let's just go."

"Shut up," snapped Claire, glaring at her companions before turning back towards an unimpressed Lydia. "Do you know what I really hate about you? Even while you were acting like the creepiest and weirdest person ever and moping around like a depressing shadow, you thought you were so much better than everyone else. Your family was making expensive and freaky changes to your house while you make snide comments about our appearances, acting like wearing black all the time that you're not at school makes you so special. You're just stuck up and you have absolutely no reason to think you're so great."

That actually made Lydia laugh wryly. Claire thought she was stuck up? When the blonde girl practically plastered herself in makeup and called her "one of those weird Goth girls who don't have any friends" before Lydia retaliated with the Barbie doll comparison? The irony was too much to handle. What twisted logic was she using to come to that conclusion?

"Don't laugh at me," said Claire sharply, her hands balling into fists at her sides. "Just look at you. You're pale and freaky-looking, like a drowned kitten. You have no sense of fashion, so you just wear black all the time. I hear you write creepy poems for class. Everyone is probably scared you'll put a hex on them. No boy in their right mind would want to date someone as weird as you."

Once again, her words sparked a brief laugh from Lydia. Not only were her insults still ineffective and rather tame, but the last one was hilarious. She was probably the only one of them who'd received what was essentially a proposal. Even if it was a mistake and the wedding was permanently canceled, the entire thing made Claire's rant particularly pathetic. Besides, she didn't feel like dating currently anyway. So why should she care?

Her amusement only infuriated Claire further while leaving her companions looking uncertain how to react. Lydia adopted the most unimpressed expression possible as the teenager hunted for an effective verbal weapon.

"You really are a freak," said Claire. "You think you're so great and you don't care what other people see when they look at you, right? Because you know no one can stand you, so you decide to pretend you don't know it. They might not say they hate you to your face, but it's pretty obvious. That's probably why your father had to remarry. Your real mother probably couldn't stand having such a disappointing daughter and left you."

Lydia flinched, her sheer surprise at the vicious attack making it impossible to hide the hurt. Old wounds reopened and even Claire's companions looked shocked and horrified at how far she'd gone with that one. The teenager's spiteful words weren't anywhere close to true, but they still tore at the pain and loss from over five years ago. Time might heal all wounds, but they could still hurt if someone cruelly ripped them apart.

"Claire, isn't that…?" Brittany began uneasily before a sharp glare silenced her.

"I'm surprised your father and his new wife even brought you along when they moved here. I would have thought they'd leave you behind in New York so they could get away from you," she continued, pouncing on the newly discovered weakness. "Maybe they knew you wouldn't take the hint that no one wanted you around."

While her insults were blunt and laughable before, Claire's words now sliced sharp and deep. Even with the improvements to their relationship and adding the Maitlands to the family dynamic, there were some topics that were still tender and sore. Bringing up her mother hurt enough already, but Lydia was just now get past her issues with her dad and Delia. The older girl seemed determined to undermine and rip it all to shreds. Or at least leave her miserable again for a while.

Claire took a deep breath in preparation for spewing more venomous words, but another abrupt noise interrupted her and made every girl stiffen in shock and fear. A loud, predatory, and creepy hissing came out of the undergrowth. Then came the rustling of leaves as something large crawled closer to them. Panic began to set in, the other girls whispering frantically to each other in confusion and dread.

Then a serpentine shape rose into view and the screams started. Even a little fear gripped Lydia at the familiar sight as Megan produced a blood-curdling shriek. It looked like a giant, striped snake, far larger than any local species. But the head was more humanoid, with hair and a man's facial features combined with fangs and slitted pupils. The overall effect of the serpent and human traits made the creature especially unnerving and unnatural.

The teenage girls scrambled away in terror, Megan already pedaling frantically towards the road. Claire actually brought up the rear since she had to clamber back onto her bike, but she caught up fast during their frightened retreat. Lydia didn't run like the others, though she didn't like seeing the same snake that attacked her family in their home. The memories he evoked caused shivers even as the other girls raced out of sight towards the safety of the road.

"They move pretty fast," hissed the serpent, smirking with his sharp fangs exposed.


Betelgeuse found Lydia quite easily. He already knew the layout of the town and he'd seen the girls' school the night before. So he had no trouble locating the girl when she left on her bike. Betelgeuse followed her at a reasonable distance, keeping in mind Lydia would be able to see him unlike most people. He actually needed to try a little stealth and sneakiness to keep from drawing her attention.

At first, there wasn't much to watch as she rode down the road. She wore a school uniform rather than her usual black ensemble, but she didn't do anything much of interest to him. Then he realized he wasn't the only one who was following the girl. Four other girls wearing the same school uniforms were riding their bikes in formation like a pack of hunting wolves, stalking Lydia as she turned off the road and onto a trail towards the forest.

He didn't know what the girls might have in mind, but he could figure out a few things based on his observations. The uniforms meant they were underage like Lydia, their predatory behavior implied they were hunting her for some reason, and their snooty and spiteful expressions gave him the feeling that they would scare easily. He decided to keep an eye on things as Lydia stopped at the edge of the forest, the girl waiting for the arriving pack.

He found a nice spot just a little deeper beyond the tree line, hidden by the brambles and tree trunks. It kept him camouflaged from the girl while still leaving him close enough to watch and listen. Betelgeuse settled in comfortably as they encircled Lydia. Judging by the annoyed expression on the girl's face and the lack of concern, he could expect quite a show.

Lydia actually greeted them dryly, making it clear that she didn't see them as a threat or anything more than a vague aggravation to her day. It didn't take long for him to realize the blonde girl with the excessive amounts of makeup was the ringleader of the group. She climbed off her bike and tried to intimidate Lydia. But this Claire girl seemed like a complete amateur. And Lydia… She was something else.

Confident and mildly bored, Lydia met her insults with comments about how pathetic they were or even suggestions on how to improve them. While Claire tried to tear her down, Lydia didn't seem at all bothered. She frustrated and annoyed her tormenter without a single hint that she cared about Claire's opinion. She didn't have to attack or even directly insult the blonde girl. Lydia just kept in control of the situation and didn't let anything faze her.

At least the girl he'd chosen to stalk turned out to be mildly impressive in comparison to her spiteful peers. Of course, if she didn't have a spine, he probably wouldn't be as strangely obsessed with her as he was. Not to mention she would have been too scared to let him out again. He had to face it. He liked her more and more the longer he hung around.

Betelgeuse watch as the one of the other girls tried to convince them to leave, worrying about snakes and poison ivy. Honestly, since he was in the woods, they should probably have larger concerns. But Claire didn't seem to be giving up on her attempt to rattle Lydia. But she actually laughed at the blonde girl's attempts and Betelgeuse struggled not to do the same. He could tell Claire was blindly reaching for any possible insult now, no matter how weak or nonsensical.

Then Claire said something about the girl's mother and Lydia flinched. That caught his attention, Betelgeuse shifting his posture from relaxed to something more focused and intense without even noticing the change. For the first time since she started her verbal onslaught, something she said affected Lydia. Claire hurt her.

If he'd been unnaturally obsessed with Lydia for an unexplainable reason before, what happened when he saw that flinch pushed it to a new level. Betelgeuse saw that moment of pain and all that he could think was that someone hurt his girl.

He'd found her. He'd seen something in her that he couldn't ignore or explain. He might have given up the idea of her being his bride, but she was something. He didn't have the word to describe exactly what she was yet, but he'd unconsciously claimed her as something in that moment he first saw her. And that magnetic pull towards her and the impossible-to-understand obsession with the child only served to strengthen that claim.

She was his girl. She was his. And he did not like people harming what belonged to him.

Someone tried to interrupt the blonde girl, to stop her from continuing. She didn't take the hint. Claire kept talking, but he was no longer listening. He was busy reshaping himself into something more appropriate.

One of the easiest and first tricks that any ghost learned was how to manipulate their own bodies past what anyone alive could do. Ripping, tearing, mangling, decapitating, twisting, shredding, and contorting their forms was as easy as reforming modeling clay. It didn't hurt and some ghosts could create very horrifying appearances that way.

He was better than most, though. He had more experience and practice than most ghosts could ever achieve. He could make himself no longer look human. And thanks to the nervous remarks earlier by the red-head, he knew what to reshape himself as.

Betelgeuse discarded his limbs, lengthened his body, and stretched his teeth into fangs. He gave himself stripes to match his suit and adjusted his appearance until he appeared more reptilian. But he kept enough humanity present to make the entire ensemble extremely unnerving. Then he made sure he was solid and visible enough that even the biggest skeptics would be able to notice his presence. And when he saw Claire was about to speak again, he hissed like a hungry predator in shadows.

While Claire and her cronies might be brave while they outnumbered their victim, they started freaking out the moment they heard sounds and movements from an unknown source. He almost considered it too easy. That didn't change the fact he enjoyed their reactions when he rose into view in all his creepy snake glory.

The four terrified girls fled screaming out of the forest, their bikes racing back up the trail towards the road. Lydia remained in place: not happy, but not shrieking. Betelgeuse counted the entire thing as a success and smirked with his fangs-filled mouth.

"They move pretty fast," he hissed, listening to the fading screams. Then turning towards the remaining girl, he said, "I don't think your friends like me very much, Babes."

"They're not my friends," said Lydia, taking the opportunity to start pulling herself back together from the encounter. Wrapping an arm around herself protectively and staring at her feet, she added, "And could you turn back to normal, please? Talking to you like this is really unnerving. I don't have good memories of you as a snake."

Right, she didn't appreciate him dropping Chuck over the banister. And the whole first haunting encounter was probably more fun for him than it was for the girl. He didn't mind turning back. He preferred having limbs anyway.

"Sure thing, Lyds," he said, mimicking a shrugging movement without having shoulders. "I just couldn't pass up the chance when the red-head complained about possible snake bite."

Changing back to his proper shape took almost no effort, the shift between forms accompanied by a sound similar to snapping rubber. He brushed off his sleeves casually while Lydia tried to recover her previous confidence a little. He didn't have that long a wait before she looked close to normal. Betelgeuse had to give the girl credit. If she got knocked down, she got back up again.

"So you heard all that," said Lydia. "Figures. I guess you'll want to know what that was about."

He shrugged and said, "Not unless you particularly feel like sharing, Babes. I'm not that curious about why someone's future gold-digging trophy wife feels like chasing the local Goth girl." He knew she meant the comment that upset her, but he didn't give her a chance to correct him. "So other than the verbal jousting with that dog pack, what do you do for entertainment around here? Because other than a very desperate and enthusiastic woman I met last night, there really doesn't seem to be much to do around here."

"Charming," muttered Lydia dryly, rolling her eyes. "No wonder you stayed out of trouble last night. You've been too busy looking for a new bride."

"No, I'm just having fun. And she enjoyed herself just as much as I did."

"And clearly she had low standards."

He smirked proudly and spread his arms dramatically as he said, "She was drunk and her boyfriend was cheating on her. In that state, she had no standards. That doesn't mean she didn't end up with a real catch."

That prompted a small smile of amusement, which he counted as a victory. She seemed more focused on him and his conquests than she was on that Claire girl now. And they'd somehow settled into a more relaxed state than some of their last conversations. Maybe scaring off the other girls earned him a little good credit with her.

Casually folding his arms behind his back, Betelgeuse started strolling down the trail. Lydia hesitated a moment before following, pushing her bike alongside them as they walked.

After a few minutes of silence, Lydia asked, "Are you having a good time? Being on Earth, I mean."

"Almost anything beats the Netherworld, so yeah."

"Adam and Barbara never really told me about it and the Handbook doesn't give a lot of detail. What's the Netherworld like?"

He glanced at the girl briefly. She wasn't as depressed and suicidal-seeming as she once was, but her curiosity and fascination with death still clearly remained. A little bit of interest made sense with how many ghosts she dealt with, but she needed to avoid taking things too far. He'd have to keep an eye out to make sure Lydia didn't get so curious that she wound up working for Juno. Taking a shortcut wouldn't work out well for anyone.

Betelgeuse abruptly realized he was acting like he planned on staying around. His mind kept trying to make weird decisions without him really noticing. Especially when those decisions involved Lydia. He would need to pay more attention to that in the future.

"The Maitlands probably didn't see much of the place. Just the Waiting Room and maybe Juno's office. Of course, they aren't really missing that much. It's just…" He shrugged casually and described, "You know, little dark, little gloomy, and as always— hey! Full of dead people, what are you going do?" Kicking at a rock across the ground, he continued, "Honestly, it gets old really fast. The place is dull and completely boring. Out here has a lot more to offer."

"Like what?"

He gestured towards their surroundings. The colorful leaves, the crisp autumn air, and the sunlight filtering down through the canopy were all things that weren't available in the Netherworld. The living simply couldn't appreciate what they had. Existence was far more exciting and full than in the Netherworld.

"I figured you'd be more concerned with the fact there are living women out here you haven't tried chasing yet than with the wonders of nature," said Lydia dryly.

"I'm a big fan of nature. Nature has all the best insects to snack on."

That startled a short laugh from the girl. He turned out to be completely correct before. He did like the way she looked when she was happy. There was just something right about it.

Shaking her head ruefully, she asked, "What are you doing here, Betelgeuse?"

"Watch the name thing," muttered the poltergeist. "And what do you mean, what am I doing here? You're the one who decided to let me out. I can't figure out why, but you did."

"No, I mean why are you here? In the forest? Talking to me? I figured you'd be out scaring people or partying or conning someone or something. So what are you doing here?" she asked quietly.

He barked out a laugh and shook his head ruefully, turning his gaze skywards. He spread his arms out, still cackling slightly.

"I honestly have no freaking clue, Lyds. Not a single one." Then, the laughter dying down, he said, "But you're the only one around here who might say my name, you keep surprising me, and I'm not bored around you. And for some reason, I can't get you out of my mind. Which is a little distracting, but I can't seem to change that. So until I somehow straighten out my head, I have a feeling I'm going to keep orbiting around you. Or at least until you kick me back to the Netherworld."

She stopped walking and stared at him with an unreadable expression. Then she started rubbing the bridge of her nose tiredly.

"So now I have a ghost stalker. I don't know if I should be horrified or simply unsurprised by how my life is going." Lydia glanced back up at him and said, "You know, the smart thing would be to get rid of you right now."

"The smart thing would have been not to call me out in the first place. But here we are."

"You're crazy."

He nodded and said, "Most poltergeists are at least a little bit."

"You're dangerous."

"I'm the Ghost With The Most. There aren't a lot of things more powerful and dangerous than me."

"And now you're admitting that you're obsessed with me?"

"Apparently, yes. And I don't know why."

"You know that is really creepy, right? Are you trying to make me get rid of you faster?"

"Yes," he said honestly. "One of us has to do the smart thing. I already caused you enough problems. You don't deserve more trouble and I'm not great with limits. Not even limits I set myself. If you don't get rid of me, I won't stay away."

It would make her life and his afterlife easier if she got rid of him and never called him back. Putting some distance between them and ensuring he couldn't come back to her little town might be enough to break whatever strange obsession was growing. He wanted to stick around. He wanted to keep the child as his girl. But he still had enough guilt and disgust with his previous actions that he knew she deserved something better.

She was nice to him, letting him out without any benefit and risking the chaos he could bring. He should return the favor and do something nice for her. A fair trade and a fair deal.

She smiled slightly for some reason and started pushing her bike along again. Betelgeuse waited a moment before following.

"And that's why you deserve to stay out. I promised you two days free and I meant it," she said. "After that… maybe we could renegotiate terms."

This version of Claire is not meant to be an exact copy of the Claire from the cartoon. But I wanted a blonde, snobby bully type of character, so I named her after the cartoon version. Just don't expect to see the rest of the cartoon cast showing up. And requests for various characters will be thoroughly ignored.

Yes, Betelgeuse quoted Hades from Disney's "Hercules" when describing the Netherworld. I couldn't resist. And it fits perfectly.

Remember, reviews are nice and I always appreciate them. I love hearing feedback on this and all stories I write. Thanks.

Once again, go and buy my book. There's a link on my profile, but it is currently not working for some reason. So just go to Amazon and look up "Dead Man Walking" by A.R. Jones. You can't miss it. You can buy it for the Kindle or download the Kindle app thing for your smartphone. You can probably even download it on your iPad or other computer things. Just go out and support my original piece of fiction, please.