Ch 4

'And of course, this had to happen before I went to school…' Lincoln thought glumly as he rode on the bus to school. As much as he would have loved to go without Beetlejuice, he didn't trust the ghost not to turn his house into a literal minefield in their absence, or to leave their neighbor Mr Grouse alone, so once more, he had to take one for the team.

"Ah. School. Twenty of the best years of my life." Beetlejuice commented quietly.

"Twenty years?" Lincoln asked.

"Took them that long to expel me."

"It figures…" Lincoln grumbled. "Speaking of, I don't want to get expelled because of you, BJ…"

"Moi? Get you expelled? Perish the thought." Beetlejuice said in a voice so plainly faking innocence. Lincoln was getting a few strange looks from nearby students on the bus, who only saw the young man talking to himself.

"Yes, you. So I'm willing to make you a deal." Lincoln said under his breath.

"Oooo. A deal. I'm listening…"

"If you behave yourself through all of school, I promise I'll let you out in the afternoon, for the whole afternoon." He offered the spirit within.

"Hmmmmm. A really tempting offer…" BJ said quietly as he considered it. "Ya know what? Why not?"

"And by behave, I mean keep your voice out of my mouth." Lincoln amended. "No scaring. No pranking. No back talking."

"Ah, you're no fun." He complained. "But like I said, why not? You have a deal, Mr President."

"Good. Glad we could come to an agreement." Lincoln nodded as he looked at his reflection in the mirror, though he didn't trust the ghost any further than he could throw him.

"Who are you talking to, buddy?" Lincoln's friend, Clyde, said as he took a seat behind him. Lincoln thought for a moment about telling him what happened the previous night.

"Can you keep a secret, Clyde?"

"Sure, Lincoln. What's up?" Lincoln leaned in closer to whisper to his best friend.

"I've been possessed." Clyde blinked the moment he heard this. "I mean it. I'm currently host to a ghost named Beetlejuice." There was silence between them for a moment before Clyde started laughing.

"Oh man...you really had me going there, Linc. Did Luan put you up to this?"

"Don't think he's buying it, kid." Beetlejuice said, using Lincoln's mouth.

"Whoa. You catching a cold there, Lincoln? Your voice sounded terrible there for a moment."

"No, Clyde. I'm not catching a cold...look, before school, meet me around the east side of the building...I'll show you what I mean." Clyde looked hesitant for a moment, still convinced this was some kind of joke. However, the pleading look in Lincoln's eyes whittled away at his reservations.

"Alright, buddy. If it's that important to you." Clyde replied with a nod. The rest of the bus ride seemed to take an eternity in Lincoln's eyes, but eventually, they arrived at Royal Woods Elementary. While the rest of the students went inside, Lincoln and Clyde broke off from the crowd to slip around the side of the building. Once the white haired lad was sure that no one had followed them and no one was watching, he turned to face his friend.

"Alright...here goes:

Deep within, I am host

To the ghost with the most

With this chant, I turn loose

Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice."

The moment Lincoln said the three B words, he was surrounded by a soft light. Clyde stumbled back as the putrid phantom emerged from Lincoln's head, landing softly on his feet on the grass before him.

"Tah dah." He said with a bow. "No autographs, please." The african american boy just stood there, his mouth hanging open at what he had just witnessed.

"Dude….if this is some kind of prank...I'm impressed." He finally said. "How did you pull that off?"

"What? You don't believe I'mma ghost kid? You say you still need convincing?" An offended BJ asked with a sneer.

"Beetlejuice, no..." Lincoln tried to warn him, but he may as well have spoken to the wall for all the good it did. Beetlejuice levitated himself into the air, scoping the grounds for a target. In the distance, he saw the school janitor watering some bushes. Grinning, he pointed over at a patch of grass behind him, a ray of magic emitting from the tip of his finger. The patch of grass started to grow wild, even taller than the janitor, before growing large monstrous jaws at the six largest blades. The maintenance man of the school paused in his work when he heard the growling and turned his head to see the gargantuan weed. It roared right in his face like some kind of leafy green hydra.

"Huh. Crabgrass is getting kinda out of hand." He commented calmly, scratching his head. "Welp, better get the old equalizer." Beetlejuice just watched with a 'wth' look as the janitor stepped inside a nearby tool shed and emerged seconds later with a large scythe. One look at the blade made the grass monster screech, then shrink back to normal. "Hehe. Sometimes, ya just gotta show them who's boss."

"What that….?" BJ floated right back down, all kinds of bemused and annoyed.

"Dude, that guy's been janitor here for year…" Lincoln told him.

"Ooooh! That explains it. That guy's probably seen some sh-" He pauses, then glances upward at the rating in the corner before finishing with. "-stuff."

"Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice." Lincoln chanted, causing the ghost to re-possess him. "Convinced, Clyde?"

"...I'm not sure what I just saw...but I believe you, buddy. How did this happen?"

"I'll explain as much as I can at lunch." Lincoln said. "In the meantime, mum's the word."

"I thought the bird was the word." Beetlejuice joked, getting a snicker out of Clyde.

"...in the meantime, let's get to class before Miss Johnson marks us as late." The two boys double time it around the building and into the hallway, headed for their classroom.

'Sooo...MISS Johnson? As in, she's single?' Beetlejuice asked Lincoln inside his head.

'Don't even...wait, we could have communicated without talking this whole time?' Lincoln thought angrily at the ghost.

'Well, DUH.'

'Then why did you keep using my mouth to talk to me on the bus!? You made me look like I was some kind of nut!'

'You answered your own question there, Lincoln.' Beetlejuice answered, snickering.

'...I cannot wait until you are finally out of me…' Lincoln was red in the face with anger and embarrassment, forcing himself to stop and calm himself down before he entered the classroom. The first couple minutes of class went peacefully enough; with the morning announcements and collection of homework. It wasn't until the class was given a worksheet to do when things started to turn sour.

'Heh. She's not bad, is she?' Lincoln heard in his own head.

'Who?'

'The Teach. I mean, the legs are kinda skinny, but she's got librarian hair. You know, the kind that's all bundled up, but when she let's it down….oooooh boy.' The pranking ghost was practically drooling in Lincoln's head, which thoroughly disgusted the young man.

'Beetlejuice….'

'And doze hips! Wow. Could give yer mom a run fer her money, wouldn't you agree?'

'Seriously, dude? My mom's hips and my teacher's hips are the LAST things I want to think about right now...also Eew!'

'What can I say? I like big butts and I cannot lie.' Beetlejuice explained, the song suddenly playing inside the poor boy's head.

"Give me strength…." Lincoln groaned. He tightened his grip on his pencil and it snapped like a toothpick. "Huh?" He looked a little confused as he opened his desk to get a new pencil and effortlessly ripped the top right off its hinges. This got the attention of the whole class now. "Hehehe….rusty hinges." He said lamely, trying to explain away what happened. He grabbed a new pencil, carefully, and moved to the desk behind his old one, very red in the face. When he pushed the chair back, the back legs compressed like an accordian.

"Whoa. Someone's been eatin' his spinach." Liam whispered.

"Lincoln, are you alright?" A very concerned Miss Johnson asked.

"S...sure. Never better. Why do you ask?" Lincoln replied, a nervous grin on his face. He quickly straightened out the legs of the chair and cautiously sat down. He could hear the ghost trying to stifle his chortles in the back of his mind.

'Beetlejuice, I know you had a hand in that….'

'You said give me strength. Can I help it if I take things literally?'

'You are literally the worst...I can't believe I just pulled a Lori there…'

'Thank you. You're too kind.' Lincoln sighed in frustration and continued his work. Thankfully, nothing else happened for the rest of morning class, though Miss Johnson kept her eye on Lincoln for the majority of class. She wasn't sure what it was, but something was bothering the boy. She could tell that by the look on his face. And that sudden display of strength? First opportunity she could, she was getting to the bottom of this. When she dismissed class to go to gym, she called Lincoln back for a moment.

"Something wrong, Miss Johnson?" Lincoln asked as he walked back to his teacher.

"I could ask the same of you, Lincoln." She beckoned him to take a seat in front of her desk, which the young man did. "Is something bothering you?"

"Not...really. Why?"

"Because you look like it. Every so often in class, you've had this very annoyed look on your face. Is everything alright at home?"

"Yes. Everything is fine at home." Lincoln replied. His teacher looked at him for a moment, then nodded, seemingly satisfied with his answer.

"Mmhmm. And in school?"

'My only problem is not having your number, baby.' Beetlejuice said in Lincoln's head.

'Shut up.' Lincoln thought, glowering and blushing a little before shaking his head and trying to look as neutral as possible. "Yeah. Okay at school too." Now she was less convinced.

"Is someone bullying you, Lincoln?"

'No, Miss Johnson." Then he thought 'at least no one living…'

"Is someone bullying one of your sisters?"

"No. Miss Johnson."

'Is someone burning fudge, because somebody's smooookin'!' BJ intervened.

"Shut up, Beetlejuice…" Lincoln hissed through clenched teeth.

"Did you say something, Lincoln?" His teacher asked with a raised eyebrow.

"N...No, Miss Johnson…." He replied quickly. Far too quickly.

"Lincoln, listen to me a moment…" She stepped out from around her desk, bending down on one knee to look at him on his level. "...I know something is bothering you, and I want to help you, but I can't if you don't tell me what it is…"

'Kiss me, you fool.'

"WILL YOU KNOCK IT OFF!?" Lincoln shouted, once more red in the face. Agnes nearly fell back from this sudden outburst, a look of shock on her face. The middle Loud realized what he must have done and gasped. "Oh...no! I wasn't talking to you, Miss Johnson!"

"You weren't…? But we're the only ones here? If you weren't talking to me, then who?" Lincoln had to think fast. She couldn't tell him about Beetlejuice, even if he knew she wouldn't believe him. However, he was stuck between a rock and a hard place now.

"You...know that little voice in the back of your head…?" He started to say, sweating a bit.

"Your conscience?"

"Kind of….but not as helpful and A LOT more annoying…." He said, hearing the ghost blow a raspberry at him inside his mind. "...and constantly saying things to you that you don't even want to think about…." His teacher looked at him for a moment, trying to make sense of what he just said...and then it clicked.

"Oh! I think I understand now." She said with a soft smile, getting to her feet. "You're growing up, Lincoln."

"Say what….?" He asked nervously, BJ laughing it up inside his head.

"You're starting puberty. Perhaps a little sooner than most...but these days, that's becoming more common. Almost frighteningly so. Anyway, it makes sense. The uncomfortable looks, the mood swings the...well, it doesn't really explain the sudden strength….or does it?" Agnes looked out into space as she considered this. "Well, I suppose it's possible...but anyway, it's a natural thing, Lincoln, and nothing to be worried of or ashamed of."

"Uh….if you say so…."

"I would suggest you talk with your parents about it if it's really bothering you. They could probably help clear a few things up." LIncoln's face turned red again. If he weren't already dead, Beetlejuice would be dying of laughter. "Off you go, Lincoln." She said as she dismissed him to go to gym.

"You are NOT getting let out after school…." Lincoln growled to himself in the empty hallway, feeling positively humiliated.

"Totally worth it."

"So, that was the Beetleguy that was driving you nuts in class?" Clyde asked his best friend quietly at their table in the cafeteria. They were alone at the moment, as the rest of their circle of friends were getting their lunch. Lincoln was still on the fence about telling them, but here would not be the right place. For right now, he was explaining to Clyde what had just happened.

"Yeah...and he also caused that moment of freakish strength…" Lincoln admitted sourly. He decided to omit the teacher's line of logic in his retelling. He was embarrassed enough as it is.

"He can do that?" His nerdish friend asked in amazement.

"Yeah...the way Lydia explained it, he could give me the ability to use his powers if he allowed it and if I wanted it...but since Beetlejuice is a big jerk, he'll only let them slip at the worst possible times…."

"If it helps, I had fun." BJ said.

"It doesn't and shut up." Lincoln grumbled.

"Hey guys." Rusty said as he, Zach and Liam joined the two at their table. "So, Linc...that was pretty awesome what you did in class."

"Please don't remind me…." Lincoln groaned.

"You think you could do it again?" Zach asked eagerly. "Like, lift the table here?"

"I doubt it…" Lincoln sighed, but decided to humor his friend. He put his hand under the table and…..it lifted into the air at the slightest push from Lincoln.

"Whoa. Look at that." Came a voice from the other side of the lunch room.

"That's so cool." Rusty commented.

"It's...probably one of those cheap, plastic tables." Lincoln said with a nervous chuckle. He hastily put it down, causing it to clang loudly against the tiled floor. "Ooooor not."

"Incredible."

"The Loud Kid doesn't know his own strength."

"He's so strong!"

"He might even be stronger than Bison."

"Don't say that…" Lincoln pleaded, but it was too late. The damage was done.

"Someone care to repeat that?" Said a low, quiet voice from somewhere in the cafeteria. Lincoln and his friends slowly turned their heads to see a tall, thin boy striding toward them. He was wearing a black bomber jacket, torn jeans, and black sneakers. He had a patch on the shoulder that resembled a bison. His gray hair was as long as his neck and he had a mostly chewed toothpick in his mouth. "I could have swore someone said that someone was stronger than me."

"N...No Bison. No one here said that…" Lincoln said with a very uneasy smile on his face.

"Hmmm. Must have just been my imagination." He said, rubbing his chin a bit as he eyed Lincoln in a calculating manner. "Yeah...must have been. Right then. No harm done." The young man turned his back to Lincoln and his friends, allowing Lincoln to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Hey slimeball!" BJ shouted from Lincoln's mouth. "The Fonz called! He wants his jacket back!" Bison stopped mid step and turned around slowly.

"That was not my imagination…." He said slowly, glaring at Lincoln.

"I didn't say that. I swear." The Loud boy stammered. Bison did have to admit, the voices certainly didn't match. Something was fishy here.

"The 90's are dead, pal! Let it rest in peace!" Lincoln gulped as Bison's eyes narrowed. He slammed his fist on the table, putting a huge dent in it.

"That time, it was no mistake. You have a big mouth, kid. You should learn to close it." The tough guy said, never once raising his voice. "Perhaps a private lesson will help you. 3 PM. By the bike racks. Come alone." He cautioned Lincoln before he turned and strolled away. "And one more thing...don't make me come look for you either...or it won't be pretty." Lincoln just stood, too scared to even move. He only had one thought in his mind.

'I'm dead…'

'Ah, come on, kid. It won't be that bad.' BJ said in Lincoln's mind as he walked through the halls at the end of school.

'Won't be so bad!?' Lincoln thought, his mind full of wrath. 'I'm about to be beaten to a pulp by the strongest kid in school because of YOUR big mouth!'

'Well, you were the one showing off.' Beetlejuice retorted. 'Besides, he's just one guy. You can take him'

'I'm no fighter...at least, not to his or Lynn's caliber…'

'You'll be fine, Mr President. Jascque is more buff than that guy is, and he's a skeleton.' Lincoln sighed, wishing that he could had ANYONE else with him in his dying moments. He started making his way to the bike racks, no one daring to go with him. Bison, after all, told him to come alone. Lincoln's legs started to wobble as he turned the corner to see the jacket wearing boy standing right by the bike holders.

"Three on the dot. Very good, Loud. I don't like having my time wasted, and you didn't waste it. That's fine. Now then...on with the lesson." He snapped his fingers, four other, bigger kids emerging from the opposite corner.

"Huh!?" Lincoln gasped in horror.

'Uh oh…' Beetlejuice now realized he done messed up.

"I...I thought you said…"

"I told you to attend the lesson alone. I never said I wouldn't bring teaching aides. Allow me to introduce you to my pack. Tiger, Viper, Shark, and Falcon." He said, indicating each of the bigger boys who had a patch symbolizing their pack name. "And now, without further ado...the lesson."

"Bison, wait! I'm sorry! I truly didn't mean to say any of those things. I really don't know what came over me…" Lincoln pleaded, trying to back up, but his legs didn't seem to want to function.

"You know, Loud...under normal circumstances, I would have taken that apology and been on my way. However, this is a matter of principal. Someone else in the school seems to be under the impression that you are stronger than I. This, I cannot let stand. This is nothing personal anymore. Simply setting the record straight." He punched one fist into his other hand, the rest of his pack following suit.

'Ok, listen, kid.' Beetlejuice said hastily, though only the Loud boy could hear. 'I know we had our differences before, but you gotta hear me out on this one.' The five leather wearing bruisers took a step forward. 'You gotta let me out and deal with these guys.'

'Why should I listen to you after YOU got me into this mess!?'

'Isn't that all the more reason for you to make me fix it!? Besides, if you die, then I'm headed back to the Neitherworld, and if that happens, I'm gonna be in a whole heap of trouble!' Lincoln thought that he would probably deserve it in that case, but he didn't really want to die. 'I'm begging fer my afterlife kid….say the words!'

"Wait!" Lincoln cried out. "...can't I just say my prayers real quick?"

"Hmmmm…" Bison tapped his foot a bit as he quickly thought about this. "Why not? I believe myself to be a tough, but fair teacher. Go right ahead and make your peace, Loud." Lincoln quickly dropped to his knees and started muttering to himself.

"Deep within, I am host

To the ghost with the most

With this chant, I turn loose

Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, BEETLEJUICE!"

A blinding light shone from the white haired boy's body as he yelled the ghost's name for the third time.

"What the..!?" Bison and his four cronies covered their eyes at the bright flash. When they could see again, they found themselves face to face with a pale man dressed in a black and white pinstripe gangster suit, carrying a violin case in his left hand and flipping a coin in his other. "Who the heck are….?"

"I thought Rocky told yous boys…" He said in a Godfather voice. "...he don't want you round these parts no more…." He took a few steps toward them, which made the five boys retreat a few steps.

"N...Now wait just a moment, buddy. I think what we have here is a simple miscommunication somewhere along the line…" Bison tried to say.

"I'll say. We communicated and you mugs missed it. And now...it's curtains for you." BJ took a few more steps closer, backing the pack into a wall.

"...Come on, man...we can discuss this like reasonable folks, right?"

"It's curtains for you. Curtains I say!" He reached into his violin case, and then shoves a curtain rod with pretty pink and red curtains into his mouth. "And one for you!" He stuck another one into Tiger's mouth, this one white with a little sailor motive around the trim. "And you!" Shark was next, these curtains a plain blue color. "And here's a towel rack for you!" He shoved a whole rack full of towels into Viper's hand. "And all you get is a stack of washcloths, Falcon!" The last pack member just looked confused as he was handed a mountain of wash rags. "Thanks for playing and we hope you try again soon." BJ suddenly looked like a tv game show host, an invisible audience applauding as the ghost waved and walked off stage. Bison and his friends just stared at each other in bewilderment before they spit out the curtains and drops the towels and cloths.

"Hold it right there. What makes you think you can just come along and try and make a monkey out of me?" Bison demanded to know in his trademark calm voice.

"Ooo! Good idea!" BJ said with a grin, snapping his fingers. In the blink of an eye, Bison turned into a monkey wearing his jacket and jeans. "I love making folks go ape."

"Get him!" Tiger shouted.

"Dog pile on the creeeeep!" Viper and Shark screamed as they dove on top of Beetlejuice. They snickered as they thought they had crushed him. They weren't laughing for long when they noticed the ground around them was getting dark. They looked up to see the ghost with the most overhead, carrying a massive pile of dogs. He drops them right onto their heads, the dogs all barking, yapping, panting and wagging their tails.

"Note: No dogs were harmed in the making of this fanfic." Beetlejuice declared to the fourth wall. "Scumbags, on the other hand…." He smirked, looking toward Tiger and Falcon, who seemed to have the sense to run away. "Ya bunch of chickens!" He shouted, both boys turning into the biggest chickens anyone ever saw. "Hehehehe. That was fun."

"The fun's over, whoever you are." BJ turned his head and saw the monkey that was Bison had Lincoln in a headlock. "If you know what's good fer Loud here, you'll change me back."

"Fine, fine...though it was an improvement…." The impractical joker replied under his breath, snapping his fingers again and returning Bison to normal.

"Good...now you get lost…Me and Loud have unfinished business to take care of."

"Ya know...I would...but I think someone else has an appointment with you first."

"Oh? And who, pray tell, would have an appointment with me?" In answer, the grim grinning ghost pointed behind him. Raising an eyebrow, Bison looked over his shoulder. His blood froze in his veins as he saw nine VERY angry Loud Sisters standing right behind him, leering right at him. Lori was cracking her knuckles, Leni was standing there right her arms crossed, Luna was twirling a pair of drumsticks in her hands, Luan had a big old slapstick that she was wielding like a samurai sword, Lynn had a baseball bat in hand, Lucy was just standing there staring, Lola and Lana looked ready to charge, and Lisa had a phone in her hand and a look of 'give me a reason' on her face. "Ahem….I think I see what you mean…." He carefully let go of Lincoln and dusted him off. "However, I just remembered a previous engagement and will be unable to make this appointment. Class dismissed." With that, he turned tail and ran for it, a monkey tail waving behind him as he bolted.

"Are you alright, Lincoln?" Lori asked, running over to check the boy over.

"I'm fine, Lori...thanks to you guys...and Beetlejuice." He said, though added angrily. "...even though he got me into this mess in the first place."

"No applause. Just throw money." BJ said, bowing to the sisters and grinning broadly. This earned him a solid strike across the face with Lynn Jr's bat, knocking him to the ground and forcing him to spit out some teeth. "...I probably deserved that." He groaned.

"Save your energy, Lynn. Any damage you do to him, he'll recover in an instant." Lisa deadpanned as the short tempered sports star got ready to mash Beetlejuice like a potato.

"It'll make me feel better!" She snapped, her arms and hands trembling.

"Let it go, Lynn." Lincoln said, grabbing hold of her bat. "He'll be punished enough when we get home. He'll be stuck in my head all day….and I've got a ton of homework to do."

"Don't I get a little credit for saving yer neck…?" The beaten ghoul asked, slowly sitting up. Before anyone else could answer, Leni walked over to him and gave him a little hug.

"Did that help?" She asked sweetly.

"Not really…" He grumbled. Leni sighed lightly, then looked at her sisters, who were giving her odd looks.

"What?" She asked with a shrug. "He may be a big meanie and really disgusting, but he did help Lincoln."

"He was also the one responsible for putting Lincoln into that situation in the first place." Lisa commented.

"Doesn't mean he doesn't deserve something nice if he does something nice." Leni argued.

"Sis, I agree and all, but…." Luna started, but then she sighs. "Tell ya what, when BJ here does something nice, like legit nice, then fine. But if that something nice comes from him doing something rotten first, then no way. Ok?" Leni thought about it for a moment, then nods.

"Ok. That sounds fair."

"With that out of the way….Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice!" Lincoln called out.

"For once, I may be glad to go back…" The ghost groaned as he disappeared back into Lincoln.

AN: Enjoying the story so far? I hope so. But I'd like to try something. With each chapter, I wanna use a different chant to free Beetlejuice from Lincoln, like how Darkwing has a different line each time he does his "I am the terror that flaps in the night" bit. Anyone who would like to offer a suggestion for an incantation may feel free to leave a comment and, if I like it, I'll use it in the story and credit you in the beginning. Next chapter or two will have BJ and Lydia hanging out with some of the Loud kids, as well as some of Lincoln's friends. Don't really have a set plan for this one or a single story line (yet). Just gonna run with it as long as I have ideas. Thank you for you time and good fortune to you all until we meet again.