A/N: A lot happening in the last chapter, I know, and sadly-or happily, whichever way you wanna consider it-there's not a lot going on in this chapter. It's kind of just a transaction chapter, but I can promise BIG things coming on in the next chapter. Now that Lydia and B.J. are finally on the same side, as promised you can expect some crazy things to start happening, so enjoy. Also, for those of you who are missing any of the other characters' interactions with our main character, just remember that his appearance is supposed to be kept secret-for now-and since the story's focusing on him, that's why other characters like Barbara and Adam are less prominent. Hopefully no one's too put off by that.

Anyways, without further ado, here is another chapter!


Chapter 7 - I Got A Type

"So you're supposed to be helping people, right?" Lydia asked. The rest of the day-after their lunchtime conversation-had passed by in a flash and now she and the new student were headed the same way home. The intelligent Deetz girl warned the ghoul that it would be best that he keep out of sight of her normal and ghostly guardians, but he was only too happy to oblige without having to be told.

"Last time I was around those guys, I got eaten by a sand-worm, remember?" he said with a scoff when she had first brought it up. "Like I'm gonna make that mistake again." Honestly though, B.J. had pegged down his premature defeat last time to his wrong opinion of the Maitlands. He had underestimated them, got too cocky with his own supernatural superiority, and as a result had let his guard down just way too much. Of course it didn't help that he'd wanted to do things the conventional way by having Charles and Delia Deetz witness their daughter getting married, because that could have been another mistake well avoided.

She does realize I could'a just zapped us anywhere else on the planet, right? Or even better, in the Underworld would've been good, he thought, reflecting over his poor choices of the past. No more mistakes for this beetle-man; not anymore.

"That's right," B.J. replied, in response to Lydia's first question about having to help people. "You catch on fast, Lyds. Helpin people is my new mo-jo right now."

Lydia had no idea what that meant, but she supposed it was his way of saying that he had no choice so he might as well.

Clearing her throat, she pretended to be occupied with shuffling her bag from one shoulder to the other; it just looked dorky carrying it on both shoulders, so unlike the country kids Lydia stuck to the city-way and tried to look as indifferent and as aloof as possible with regards to her schoolwork-which wasn't far from the truth, incidentally.

"Well you won't be able to help people much with that getup," she said, pausing to cringe her nose at his stench for extra effect. "If you're so good at changing your appearance and whatnot, why not change into something more appealing to the general audience? Or Christ, at least take a bath!"

The pale teen at her side sniffed indignantly. "You ain't worth a cent if you can't handle the juice," he said at last. "Listen Ba"-he paused, noticing the suddenly apprehensive expression on the young girl's face-"down in the other place, I've got women on me day and night. Can't get away really, and this is the kind of stuff that turns 'em on. Think I'm gonna change all that?"

Lydia tried to keep from gagging. "Yes, but it's disgusting to humans who aren't used to it! Come on, at least change the smell. I don't think people would mind the rest so much."

The ghoul rolled his eyes. "If it'll shut your yap, then I guess I can manage."

Cracking his knuckles, though really he could've done such a simple thing with his eyes closed, B.J. abruptly banished the smell from his person, smelling all of a sudden of something fresh and minty. Much better than before, to say the least. Lydia even managed a small smile of relief, though she did well to keep it hidden.

"Better how?" he asked, turning to face her.

Lydia refrained from nodding-she didn't want to encourage his scandalous behaviour too much. "Well, at the very least you won't scare off Beatrice Allistair and her posse anymore."

B.J. furrowed his brow in confusion. "Who?"

His companion stopped and frowned. "Beatrice Allistair? The A-class, blonde-wannabe cheerleader who was the very first to crowd around you...and then run away? She must've made up at least five new phrases to describe you."

He shrugged. "Never heard of her or seen her. Must'a been someone I overlooked."

Rolling her eyes, Lydia continued her slow walk. "I don't get why. She might be just your type. Perfect figure, pretty face, and just about everything else a guy would want."

Glancing at her from the corner of his eyes, B.J. couldn't help but smirk. "You jealous of her?"

"Me? No."

"You sure?"

"She's the polar opposite of me. I hate her obviously, but I'm not jealous of her. If anything, she might be jealous of me, but only cause of my dad's money. She's always saying that his millions of dollars should have been enough to fix my 'shadowy existence' into something 'remotely human', but then again she guesses that I'm just too low to be fixed."

"Sounds harsh."

Lydia shrugged. "I can deal with it. People like Beatrice are easy to ignore."

"Probably why I missed her, in that case."

Lydia was almost 100% certain that they'd closed the subject by this point, but just as they were nearing the gate to the Maitland-Deetz property, the ghoul suddenly spoke up again, right before disappearing on her.

"Oh and Lyds, I got a type, just so's you know. And believe me, you're the closest that's ever gonna get to my type, so keep that in mind next time that twerp starts botherin ya."

And then, without so much as a poof, sizzle, or any other noise, he was gone.

Leaving Lydia open-mouthed and gaping like an idiot. It might've been better at that point if he'd just made a direct pass at her, but then again that might not be his way...

No, definitely not.


A/N: Sorry that it's so short, but, like I said, this is just a transition chapter. I added in something like this because rather than have the plot go on and on and on with tons of things happening, I figured why not get some character development, dialogue, and a bit of fluff in here as well. Not exactly the most obvious fluff of course, but since when would Tim Burton approve of that?

Anyways, hope you enjoyed, and please don't forget to review/follow/favourite! Thank you! 3