Agony Manson: Don't worry, I haven't forgotten this is a BJ fic. BJ just doesn't have a big role in it to start off. Just wait. It'll all get better. Trust me.
no need to know: I think I know. ^_~ You naughty girl! I've spoiled you with Kyle! And it's too late to make up a new character for "Mel", Mel. Heehee! Glad you like it, though! Love ya! MWAH!
And now for more...
Spencers13 2002
Beta Reader — Rachel
PG-13 — Sci-Fi/Fantasy — Action Drama
Story concept, Endri, Kyle, Avo, Dr. Pepper, Faygo © Spencers13
Kiara & Jumper © readbooks__172
Beetlejuice and all other BJ characters are © Geffen Film Co.
Dr Pepper (the soft drink - with no period ".") © Dr Pepper/Seven-Up Inc.
Faygo (the soft drink) © Faygo Beverages Inc.
Chapter 6 - All Patched Up
Claire stepped into her apartment followed by a slightly grimacing Endri who had a firm grip over his stab wound to keep the blood from seeping out too much. She closed and locked the door behind them, then dropped her purse and keys next to it on the floor. As she removed her shoes, Endri took a quick look around.
It was a medium-sized apartment with overly painted white walls and ceilings. From what he could tell, it was a run of the mill two bedroom, one bathroom, kitchen and living room place. It had light tan carpeting that covered everywhere but a small square in front of the kitchen and front door. A cheery welcome mat was placed in the vacant space.
The couch had a subdued, checkered grey pattern on it and looked worn from many years of use. A chewed up coffee table sat in front of it. A thirteen inch TV/VCR combo sat on top of a rickety stand against the right wall near the corner of the living room with several stacks of video tapes and CD's next to it. An older-looking stereo system sat across from the right arm of the couch against the wall separating the living room with the kitchen. A tall floor speaker sat on either side. Two sets of sliding glass doors let out onto a small corner balcony. An old but functioning air conditioner sat in the only window in the living room, and the shades were drawn on that and the balcony doors, most likely for privacy. Two bookcases sat in the room against a short wall that extended 90 degrees from the stereo's wall. He couldn't tell what the other rooms looked like, but assumed they looked just as mismatched as the living room. Little piles of papers and miscellaneous items were scattered about making the place look more 'lived in'.
"I know it's a bit messy," Claire said from behind him as she struggled with her shoelaces, "but I don't get much company to keep it beautifully clean. Just ignore it, I guess."
Endri turned his head toward her and gave her his famous smirk. "I've seen worse."
"Well, take off your coat and glasses, and we'll have a look at that arm," she said after removing her other shoe and stepping out around him.
He slowly removed his jacket after he took his glasses off and put them in the inside pocket, grunting when he accidentally bumped his arm. He held the jacket in his good hand and took a look himself at the extent of the damage.
Claire gasped when she saw deep red blood covering his upper arm and making its way down past his elbow. "Oh man! You called that a scratch?!"
Endri chuckled faintly. "I've had worse." He balled his coat up so the blood-soaked arm was on the inside and laid it on the floor next to the couch.
"I didn't think such a thing was possible for someone who was dead. I didn't think you'd be able to bleed."
He carefully sat on the couch, positioning himself so as to not get any blood on the upholstery. His stabbed left arm rested in his lap as well as his right blood-covered hand. He didn't sit back, knowing he would get blood all over everything.
"If you'll get something to clean this up, I'll give you your first lesson about death right now," he requested, glancing up at her.
Claire nodded and immediately rushed off to the bathroom. She returned a moment later carrying several rolls of gauze, disinfectant and a wet washcloth. She began to wipe away the blood, but soon found the cloth to be soaked with the thick liquid and there was still much more to be cleaned off. After a moment, she was merely smearing the blood around instead of wiping it up.
She sighed in frustration. "This won't do. Come here," she instructed, guiding Endri back to her bathroom. She got him to lean over the tub while she removed the shower sprayer from its perch and turned on the warm water. Reducing the pressure of the sprayer to a light trickle, she brought the stream up and over his arm, washing the deep red blood away down the drain.
Endri groaned and his eye twitched in pain and irritation. The spraying water was starting to soak his white shirt. Soon half of his shirt was wet and some of the blood seeped into it, turning it a faded, watery pink color.
Claire noticed. "Damn! I'm sorry! Oh" She glanced around after turning the water off. "Here, take the shirt off, and I'll get you another. But first, we'll fix you up."
He sighed and stiffly pulled his shirt off. As he flexed his chest and shoulders, the corded muscles under his smooth, pale skin rippled and pulsed. Claire stared at his bared upper torso for a few seconds too long, managing to fumble with and then drop the shower sprayer.
Endri noticed her awkwardness. "Something the matter?" he asked innocently.
She quickly replaced the sprayer in its hook and shook her head vigorously. "No! No, I'm fine! Let's uh get you taken care of."
He repressed a chuckle and sat on the edge of the tub while she reached over and picked up a bottle of peroxide from the sink.
"This won't hurt you, will it?" she asked, holding the bottle up to his gaze.
Shrugging his right shoulder, he replied, "About as much as a human."
"Then hold still, it's going to sting. Keep yourself occupied and tell me about all this?" she coaxed.
"Mmm What do you have a question about?" Endri hissed as Claire poured some of the peroxide onto his wound. It sizzled and the normal reaction of white bubbles popped in his open cut.
"Sorry. Well-uh how come you bled like that? Even at all?"
"I may be a ghost, but my body is real. It's not like I don't--" he hissed again as she poured more of the stinging liquid onto his arm, "--have blood at all. However, my heart doesn't pump it, so it's not oxygenated and appears dark red. If I get cut, it will not pour out since there's no pressure behind it, but it will still leak its way outward."
Claire shook her head as she dabbed at the cut with a clean cloth. "Wow. It also explains how you're so deathly pale?"
"Exactly."
She turned around and picked through some healing creams and lotions. "Will it heal? If I use medicine, will it heal faster?"
"Yes, it will heal," he told her. "But it will heal very slowly no matter what you do to it."
"Then I should just bandage it up?" she asked, slightly unrolling a bit of gauze before him.
Endri nodded. "That would be best."
She smiled as she unrolled the gauze and slowly wrapped it around his upper arm.
"Tighter."
She unraveled it some and pulled it around tighter, this time glancing to him to see if it was good enough.
He shook his head. "Tighter." Claire repeated her previous action. "Tighter, woman, you won't cut off any circulation."
She blushed and refused to make eye contact. "Right, forgot."
Endri stared down at her as she worked. Her blue eyes were fixed on his arm in deep concentration and her dexterous fingers were firm, yet gentle as she continued to wrap his wound with the bleached-white gauze.
"You forget a lot."
Her blush deepened a few shades. "This is all so new to me. Before yesterday, I thought when people died, they just ceased to exist, you know? I never believed in ghosts and all that."
A half smile graced his lips as Endri observed her ignorance. "Hn everyone has their own opinion on the matter, and that is all I will say about it."
Claire giggled and shook her head. "I think you were wrong earlier."
Endri's blonde eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. "Wrong about what?"
"I think we're both equal when it comes to the need for lessons. Women can't be as complicated as what you have to tell me."
"We'll see," he chuckled.
Claire smiled up at him as she finished tying the ends of the gauze together and snipped the excess off with a pair of orange-handled scissors.
"There. How's that?"
The ghost flexed his left hand and worked his arm around in circles a bit before finally flexing his biceps. The wrap strained against his muscles, but didn't pop the knot or tear. His arm was still a great deal stiff, and he knew it would be really sore the next morning.
"Good. Perhaps you should study to be a nurse."
A small pink tongue escaped her lips. "Eew, no. I refuse to change old people's bed pans." A genuine laugh caressed her ears as Endri stood up from the edge of the tub and stretched his legs. It was the first time she heard him laugh, and it was a rich sound. "Come-on," she waved for him to follow, trying to calm the butterflies in her stomach, "I'll get you a new shirt."
"I hate to say this, but I won't fit any of your shirts," he called after her as she rounded the corner and disappeared into her dark bedroom.
Endri followed and stood in the doorway as the lights flickered on. The illuminated room did not strike him as anything special. A typical bedroom in a typical apartment. Scattered piles of clothes littered the floor, and the bed was unmade. A clock radio sat on a small bedside dresser alongside a reading lamp. Several stuffed animals, mostly tigers, lined the headboard of her twin-sized bed that extended into the center of the room. A writing desk sat alongside the same wall as the bed and dresser near the closet.
As his eyes passed around the room, he caught sight of Claire's rear end jutting from the deep recesses of her closet along the inside wall, separating them from the bathroom. It shifted back and forth a few times before the rest of her body emerged holding up a grey, button-up, short-sleeved shirt. It was huge compared to her small body.
"This was my ex-boyfriend's. He left some clothes here and never came back for 'em. I knew they'd come in handy someday." She smiled as she handed the shirt over.
Endri took it and stiffly pulled it on, taking care not to bend or bump his injury too much. He let the shirt hang open, not even bothering to button it, and enjoyed the incredible softness of its well-worn cloth.
"I washed it tons of times. He used to smoke," Claire continued, smiling.
He nodded to her. "Thank you."
She only smiled in return. "You hungry?" She giggled at her own question for a second before adding, "Do you even eat?"
"Of course I eat. I don't have to, but, like breathing, it's a habit."
She waved for him to follow her as she left the room. "Come-on. Kitchen's this way. I hope I have something you like."
Claire rummaged in the refrigerator and pantry, gathering meats, cheeses and other assorted food items to make sandwiches. She made four, planning on having two a piece, but found she was hard pressed to finish just one. Endri made up for it, though, easily polishing off his two and the one left over.
He wiped his mouth with a napkin when he was finished and stood from the table. "I must be leaving," he politely excused himself. "Thank you for your help and hospitality."
Claire smiled. "It was no problem at all. I'm just glad I could help."
Endri quit the kitchen with the blonde in tow. When he reached the front door, he paused for a moment. "Have a nice night," he said. "Don't forget to buy a mirror with the money I gave you tomorrow morning."
"I will," she paused, a thought striking her. "Hey How can I be sure you won't be sneakin' in here or peeping at me when I'm changing or something?" she asked, eyeing him.
Her reward was a smirk. "You'll just have to trust me."
"I don't know" she began slowly, keeping a wary eye on him.
A frustrated sigh pushed through his pale lips. "All right then, hang it here in the living room so I can't see into the bedroom or bathroom. And don't come out here in the nude. I swear I won't try to peep anyway. I'm not like that."
"Well, all right," she consented. "Hey, how are you getting back tonight?"
Endri shrugged. "I'll just walk along the street until I find a reflective surface to pass through. Store windows under street lamps work just as well."
"Well, okay. Guess I'll see you tomorrow then?"
He nodded once. "Tomorrow."
They shook hands good-bye, and Endri opened the door. He walked a few feet down the hall when he heard Claire call out "Bye!" to which he turned around and simply raised a hand.
Claire closed the door behind the departing ghost and leaned against it, biting her bottom lip. Am I doing the right thing, seeing a dead guy like this? She gasped. Am I dating him?! Eww! No! Absolutely not! Who cares if he's absolutely gorgeous and built like a tank, there's no way I'll touch him other than to shake his hand! This is strictly for informational purposes. He's only here to answer my questions, and that's it even if he is cute.
Tiredly, she sighed and drug her heavy feet off to bed. This had certainly been an interesting day she would not soon forget.
"BJ?" Lydia mumbled into his pointed ear.
"Yeah, babes?" he mumbled back.
She shifted in the bed to lay her bare chest across his.
"I'm kinda worried about Endri. It's almost one AM, and he's not back yet."
Beetlejuice snickered. "Oh, come-on, Babes. I may call him a kid, but he's no little boy. I think he can handle himself. Besides he's prob'ly not even coming back tonight"
Lydia went wide-eyed at his suggestion. "No you don't think he's"
He chuckled and ran his hands through her raven hair. "Now, as I see it, I fell in love with a human. So, maybe my boy is following in my footsteps? Like father, like son, eh? Haha!" he laughed.
A playful slap connected with his upper arm followed by a giggle. "I can't believe you!"
Beetlejuice giggled a little more before growing a bit serious. "I'm only worried about one thing"
"What's that?"
"Claire can we trust 'er? I mean, you two do have a nasty history. Has she really changed?"
Lydia shrugged and shifted her head to lay on his shoulder. "I guess we'll just have to wait to be sure."
"By then it may be too late, and I don't want my boy being hurt. Especially not by the likes of her."
"You said so yourself, Beej. He can handle himself."
"Mmm I just don't like it."
She yawned and began to draw lazy circles across Beetlejuice's chest before reaching up to trace up and down the line of his neck with her fingers. "Things will be okay. You should know that by now. How many hardships have we been through since we've known each other? Too many to count. And each time, we've come out on top and have been stronger and wiser because of it."
"Yeah, but those were physical hardships. The one's we're dealing with now are of the heart."
"Well maybe so, but this isn't our fight, BJ. We shouldn't be worrying about someone else's relationship when we have our own to work on."
Beetlejuice shifted slightly. "Mmm which reminds me"
"Yeah?"
He shifted to look down into her eyes to show his seriousness. "Babes you know I'll never grow old. But you you will."
Lydia closed her eyes sadly and lowered her head to the pillow. Her lover reached under her chin and lifted it with a few fingers. He wanted to look into her shimmering pools of life while he whispered his next words.
"But I want you to know that I'll always love you no matter what. Remember that."
Lydia smiled and leaned in to kiss him gently, wanting to convey her love with every move, every kiss. Soon their embrace became more passionate, and Beetlejuice shifted their bodies so his was now on top of his pale-skinned human lover. The front door slammed then, and they broke their embrace to glance at Beetlejuice's closed bedroom door.
"Endri? Izzat you?" the ghoul called through the door.
"Yes, fath- uh dad," came his son's reply.
"Everything okay?"
"Yes, everything is fine," Endri said through the door. "I'm going to bed. See you in the morning."
Several shuffling noises then a closing door from upstairs reached their ears.
"See?" Lydia said. "He's fine."
Beetlejuice was a little harder to convince as he squinted thoughtfully at the door. "I don't know his voice seemed pained."
"He's tired. — Oh, please stop worrying about him. Come here," she cooed, dragging him down to her and kissing him passionately once more.
Endri laid in his small, twin-sized bed thinking of the day's events and tomorrow's upcoming ones.
That girl he thought, she'll be the second death of me if I'm not careful. I've only known her for two days, and already I've been stabbed. He let out a ragged sigh before continuing with his thought process. I wonder how Lydia knows her? I'd better ask her tomorrow before I go see the girl. She kind of has a common name, but she is pretty though.
The ghost turned his head and stared out the window. The three Neitherworld moons were just in the right position in the sky for him to see them all through the window. He was still trying to get used to seeing three moons instead of one.
Oh, well. I guess I'd better plan what to ask her in advance. Hmmm
He thought up several questions before sleep claimed him, and just as he drifted off, he prayed that tomorrow would not be as dangerous as today was.
**********
Well, well, well! So, that isn't the last time Endri will see Claire. And BJ is so sweet, don't you think? Pledging everlasting love for his love? Awww! Well, now, what's next? Let me just say lessons will be learned and things will be said. So stay tuned for the next exciting chapter of BJ Afterlife - Dark Shadows! Dun-dun-dun!
And again. Please review! More reviews, more chapters that much faster. Luv you guys! *throws out kisses, hugs, and roses*
