Okay. Disclaimer. Still doing that, huh? I know Beetlejuice isn't mine, but why the heck can't I pretend? Oh well, Beetlejuice, Lydia, the Maitlands, Prudence, Bertha, Claire, Prince Vince, Juno, the Neitherworld, other assorted characters... Nrggghhh.... Not mine.
For the love of mercy, isn't that bad enough? Don't sue, too!
----------------
Here's my leap of faith. Instead of waiting a day to see if this makes sense to me then, I'm going to trust that you guys are right, and I'm too hard on myself, and post it now... And wait to see what you liked, and didn't like. If the last part seems random, well, it is. She's tired, and rambling a little. This doesn't mean there won't be consequences, when she wakes up.
----------------
Beetlejuice slurped noisily at his strawberry flemon sorbet, grabbing a handful of candied beetles and mixing them, in his mouth, with the syrupy sour concoction. Glancing, over the oversized glass, at Lydia.
"I gotta tell you, babes… Unnatural weather we're having." Behind him, blasting against the plate-glass window, hail stones of an odd off-red, blazing with tiny sparks where they hit the side of the building, and tumbling, like errant embers, to collect on the sidewalk. "I mean, this kind of heat? It ain't even summer yet…"
"Uh-huh." Lydia murmured, watching the display, as she slowly stirred her eye scream into a nasty, bubbling mess of green globs, and white lumps. Soft, half frozen 'eyes' bobbed here and there in the noxious looking liquid, rolling with her methodical stirring, looking up accusingly from time to time. "It's real pretty, Beej. What do you call this kind of weather, anyway?"
The poltergeist lifted an eyebrow, and gave her a measured glance. "We call it shitty, babes." He informed her, matter-of-factly. "Only some kind fucking screwball'd be out in weather like this!"
He paused as she turned her gaze, and twisted around, following her line of sight. A squat, ash-covered man, rolling wisps of smoke, was trundling along the sidewalk, pushing along an especially wide broom. His goggles, smudged with black, gazed matter-of-factly sky-ward. His low hum, reaching the poltergeist's ears, even over the hissing of the embers…
"Well hell, babes." Beetlejuice grumbled, turning back to his drink. "What the fuck ever. The guy's getting paid, ain't he?" He pulled his straw free, and pointed with it at her now increasingly agitated dessert, despite the fact that she was no longer stirring it. "What'd you get, anyway?" He added, flatly. "Remind me."
"Hmm? Ah… Pistachio ooze, with clotted whipped cream." Not looking down at the bowl, she scooped a spoonful of the twisting mess up, and lifted it to her mouth, slurping it down as well as any dead guy he could name… But she barely seemed to taste it.
Still, he was satisfied. "That's my babes…" He muttered, grabbing another handful of candied beetles, and this time dropping them directly into his tall, cold drink. "Ain't none of that tame shit for you…" The odd compliment elicited her first real smile of the trip, which, in its own perverse way, made him want to scowl. What the hell was eating the girl's ass?
He pursed his lips, drew his straw from his drink, and pointed it at her, deciding it was time to cut the crap. "Okay, what's the deal, babes? Getting all broody over some stupid shit you ain't even gonna talk about… That's your mother's crap, not yours!"
The accusation caught Lydia off guard for a moment, and then she grimaced, screwing her lips up in a frustrated little purse. "Hell Beej… Is this what being in love is like? Because it's driving me fucking crazy!"
"Agh." He grunted wisely, tipping his seat back, and regarding her with an annoyed look. "That fucker again. Fine, all right…" He waved his fingers resignedly. "Get it out of your system. What'd he do now?"
Lydia started to answer, the words clearly ready on her tongue… And then, oddly, she made a little sound of anger, and picked up her complaint, what had to be halfway through. "-And then he eats the fucking cookie! He knows living world food makes him sick! So he spends the rest of the night trying not to throw up, so green my parents can see it, just because he didn't want to refuse when I offered him one!"
Which left the question of why she'd offered him one… "Huh." Beetlejuice drummed his fingers on the table, sympathizing with her gripe, but truthfully, far past bored with the subject of the little royal. "So you're dating an idiot. Good to know. Might come in handy… Seriously, babes?" He leaned forward a little, giving her a look of rapidly fading hope. "Can we talk about something else for a while? Scary movies, seedy nightclubs… I don't know… What the fuck we're gonna do over summer vacation… Sandworms, for god's sake? Anything else?"
Lydia shot him a look of short patience… But almost as soon as the look had formed, it was gone again, replaced by her usual expression of tolerant amusement. "I've been driving you crazy, haven't I?" She noted sagely, just a trace of a smile adorning her lips. "Well hell, Beej… I didn't ask for any of this, you know. I figured things were fine the way they were…"
"No shit." The poltergeist snorted, reaching into his pocket for a grimy, tarnished flask, shaking it around briefly, then adding its contents to his iced drink. "I gotta tell you babes… This whole getting older thing ain't doing shit for you. You and me, we used to go out of our way to make trouble… Fuck 'em all! Now," And he pointed at her, frowning. "You. You. You go out of your way to make sure you ain't caught doing shit wrong." He spread his hands in exasperation. "What the hell? Seriously?"
A sigh escaped her, and she pushed back her bowl, clearly not about to finish it. Especially now that it seemed to be moving on its own… "Excuse me for not wanting my life turned on its ass." She muttered, blowing her bangs aside, and, failing that, yanking them irritably out of her face. "You know what happens when my parents find out about you…"
"No," He demanded, dropping his chair with a solid thump to the floor, and leaning possessively closer, "You tell me babes, what happens? No, wait, I'll tell you… Nothing happens. Those folks of yours can't do shit. We got a contract. Them?" He waved his hand dismissively. "They can whine about it until their eyes bleed. I honestly don't give a fuck."
Lydia smiled a little. She couldn't help it, in his own twisted way, the poltergeist was cheering her up… But it didn't last long. "And the rest of it?" She cast a glance around them, at the Freaky Eye Scream Shop, where she'd had to have tried over fifty of their nine hundred and ninety-five concoctions. "The neitherworld, my boyfriend, the rest of my friends?"
"Fuck them too." Beetlejuice growled, grabbing his drink, and pulling it down, hard. Apparently without regard for the risk of brain freeze. When he'd emptied the twelve-inch tall glass, he slammed it down, and glowered at her, daring her silently to say she gave a damn about anyone but him.
And, well, she couldn't do it. Because Beetlejuice was Beetlejuice, and arguing with him was more pointless than arguing with her parents. They all had skulls like brick walls. "I'm just saying…" She pressed anyway, not trying to compare the other things she risked losing, to her best friend, but he cut her off anyway.
"You're saying," He muttered, grabbing her dish as well, "That everything's fucking changing. And you know what, babes?" He made a sweeping gesture, indicating their surroundings, dismissively, and the goth girl herself, most of all. "I didn't ask for any of this shit either. But since it turned out decent, why the hell are you fucking with it more?"
A wave of frustration flowed over her skin, making angry goosebumps rise, as she watched her best friend down the soggy mess that was supposed to be her dessert, sickeningly. "So what," She demanded, frustrated with him, frustrated with herself, and more or less frustrated with her whole goddamn life, "Nothing's supposed to change? Ever? That's it?"
He slammed the bowl down, hard enough for droplets of green to fly out of the bowl, and spatter across both the table, and her arms. "Why the hell not?" He growled.
"Because I'm not dead yet!" Lydia found herself yelling, rising to her feet… And abruptly, the center of much unwanted attention. This time though, the girl was just too angry to back down, turning to the surprised faces watching her, and snarling, "Mind your own goddamn business, and east your fucking eye scream!" Like word of that wouldn't end up reflecting poorly on her…
But Beetlejuice meanwhile, was laughing as she sat back down… A bit humorlessly, shoving the empty dishes away from him, but still, he was laughing. "That's what I'm fucking talking about!" He yelled, not seeming to care if everyone was listening. "That's my babes, that don't give a damn what anybody thinks! Where the hell has she been?"
Lydia just stared at him, trying to figure out both whether the poltergeist was crazy, and in her own mind, when she had started to change. Long before she could blame it on Vincent, she was pretty sure… With a sigh, she sort of crumpled, just not having the energy to argue with the dead man anymore. "Damn." She agreed, a bit disheartened. "This does suck, doesn't it?"
To this, Beetlejuice seemed to have nothing to say. He just watched her, eyes angry, lips twisted in what could almost be called a sulk. Fingers drumming once more on the table. Gradually though, they became slower, then stopped. He hated seeing Lyds like this. Hell if he knew what to do about it though.
The poltergeist sighed inwardly, as he realized a compromise had to be made, and for once, it looked like he was going to have to be the one to offer it… Only for you, babes. "Look, Lyds…"
Surprisingly, the girl interrupted him, taking away the need for him to be the bigger one. "I hate that it's changed too." She agreed out of nowhere, her voice soft again, her gaze cast down to her hands. "But you couldn't expect…"
"Why not?" He asked bluntly.
The question hung between them, and at last, Lydia shook her head, and looked up again, considerably more calm. "You're right Beej. This is my problem, not yours. It shouldn't get in the way of us having fun."
"Hey now," He protested, starting to get angry again, "I didn't say shit about it not being my problem…"
"Then I don't know what else to offer." She denied quietly, interrupting what was almost certain to be another argument-worthy rant. "Because my life is changing. Regardless of whether or not you change with it." Her eyes flicked to his, briefly vulnerable. "You're my best friend, Beej. I'd do anything to keep from screwing that up. You know that."
Almost against his will, Beetlejuice found his anger ebbing. Hell. Hell, she had to go and play that card. He frowned a bit to himself, pulling the flask back out of his pocket, and nursing back the foul-tasting liquor for upwards of a minute, before grudgingly, turning his attention back to her.
"Yeah, I know that." He agreed, annoyed with himself for not being more annoyed with her. "What the hell ever. You wanna talk about the prince, we can talk about him. I don't care." Which meant of course, that he did… Damn it.
When had this little girl made him so fucking soft?
What was apparent by this point though, were two things. One, they weren't going to get anywhere, arguing. And two, they weren't about to get any more privacy where they were. "Want to get out of here?" Lydia prompted after a minute, already getting to her feet, like she knew the answer.
She was right too. Beetlejuice got right up with her, hissing between his teeth, "Fuck, yes." Beetlejuice being Beetlejuice. Some things would never change…
At least she desperately hoped not.
----------------
Lydia poked through the aisle of candy, looking for something sweet… Something that wasn't chocolate. She'd had enough chocolate to last her a lifetime. Disappointed to find a lack of her favorite hard candies, she grudgingly grabbed a roll of cream-savers, hardly the lemon drops she loved so much, and took the bulk of her purchase up to the front of the little store.
She was nervous, and couldn't help it. The dimly lit 'convenience store,' reeked of alcohol, and coffee, and stale sugar. The guy behind the counter barely looked at her as he rang up her purchase, a length of beef jerky hanging out of his mouth, a baseball bat just to his right, in handy reach. He didn't seem to think she was much of a threat though.
Shifting, her eyes traveled to the security camera, hanging just above eye level to one side, then away again. Damn. She was never this on edge in Winter River… Or in the neitherworld, for that matter. She handed him her money, he handed her the plain brown bag. Never even looking in her direction. She squeezed the crinkly paper in her fist, and headed out the door, fast, like she was afraid of being caught, doing something she wasn't supposed to do.
An arm caught her around the middle, hard, as she emerged into the night, and Lydia gave a muffled squeak of surprise… Even knowing damn well that it was only Beetlejuice. She looked up at him with a scowl as he let her go, cackling softly to himself, like he was just enjoying their little outing so much. "So what d'ya get, that couldn't wait til you got home, babes?" He grinned evilly, adjusting his coat, to give her a chance to collect herself.
Lydia gave him a flat, annoyed look. "Tampons." She muttered, making the poltergeist forget what he was doing, and look up, apparently baffled.
"Huh?" He grunted intelligently.
"Fizzy energy drinks." She answered this time, pulling one out of the bag, and holding it in his direction. "You want one?"
He gave her a dour look, accepted the can, and promptly shoved it into his pocket, without a second glance. "You're real cute, babes… You know that?" She just smirked, cracked the can, and, while he watched in amusement, guzzled it down in three swallows. "So, not planning on getting any sleep tonight, huh?" He mused, starting to walk away, and forcing the girl to fall into step behind him, if she didn't want to get left behind.
"The three pounds of chocolate we just ate at that fondue place, didn't tip you off?" She murmured with a smile, crushing the can, and shoving it back in the bag.
Beetlejuice laughed, a guttural, nasty amusement to the sound, leaving her hard pressed not to giggle. "Can't believe you ate all that creepy crawly crap I brought in from the neitherworld…" His eyes glinted as he regarded the night, the light from a passing street lamp briefly catching unnaturally in his gaze.
"Anything's good when it's covered in enough chocolate." Lydia agreed flippantly, suppressing a brief shiver at the unexpected cold of the enormous city. "What I can't believe is that you snuck liquor into one of the pots…" She gave him a short, accusing look. "I almost got threw up!"
"Sure, babes…" Beetlejuice drawled, inspecting her through a quick, narrowed glance. "That's what did it, the three inches of rum. Not the fucking huge pot of melted chocolate you sucked down… 'Sides. I used the living world shit, didn't I?" Then, after a brief pause, "You know you loved it. I always had you figured for a rum drinker."
Lydia didn't say anything for a moment, walking in silence beside him, the two just another pair of faces in the still crowded streets. "Okay," She added, grudgingly, "I guess it was good." Then, after another moment's thought, "I stand by my flawed logic though. It was your fault."
Beetlejuice just chuckled, not arguing. Quickly though, he had something else to say. "So, secrets, huh?" Lydia wondered briefly what he was talking about, before she remembered how the topic of the prince had come back up at the restaurant… Because he couldn't eat one cookie without getting sick, and Beej was tucking into a chocolate smorgasbord with the best of them.
"Secrets." She agreed, with just a trace of a sigh, her eyes wandering off down one of the many side streets they were passing. It was weird being here… Her first visit to the big city. Her mother was from New York, originally. Sometimes she still talked about it like she wanted to go back, just for a visit. To Lydia's knowledge though, the older woman never actually had. "I kinda wimped out, on letting him tell me what they were though."
The poltergeist pressed his lips into a thoughtful moue, before they twitched into a truly, fiendishly pleased look. "Well hell, babes… You want me to find some dirt on the little royal, all you gotta do is ask!" Lydia gave him a short, uncertain glance, which just seemed to please him more. He cackled softly, rubbing his hands together, like a man about to dig into a feast. "Gotta tell you, if he thinks it's good enough to freak you out, I sure as fuck wanna know!"
A flare of uneasiness rose in Lydia's gut, as much as anything, prompted by how gleefully her best friend seemed to be taking the idea. She'd learned over the years that this usually led to trouble… And not the kind that was easy to get out of, either. "You know what?" She prompted, after a moment of weighing just how many ways this could go wrong, "You convinced me. I'm just going to ask him."
Beetlejuice scowled, looking slighted. "That's not what I was hinting at, Lyds." He protested, clearly not ready to call his fun off just yet.
"That's what convinced me." Lydia assured him dryly, pausing, as the two reached a red light. For once, the poltergeist didn't flick it immediately to green, and this left the two standing on the street corner, almost encased in darkness, as he tried to think of a way to argue this.
"I like trouble-making Lyds better." He muttered at last, and then, just when she was certain he was too deep in his own schemes to notice anything else, he suddenly pulled his coat off, and swung it around the smaller girl's shoulders. "Goddamn it, babes… You're turning blue! This ain't the fucking neitherworld! You wanna get sick?" He sounded genuinely angry.
Lydia smiled, burying the miscreant expression in the folds of his heavy black and white stripes. "Guess I forgot." She lied, touched by the poltergeist's rare show of concern, and unwilling to show it. He'd just make some wise-ass comment if she did, ruining the moment…
The coat smelled like him, of course, but that didn't make her wrinkle her nose, as it might once have. Like dirt, and tobacco, and a faint hint of mold… None of them bad smells, and altogether forming a scent that encompassed most of her life now. Her room smelled like him, her clothes often smelled like him, her pillow…
Actually, she didn't want to think that one through too deeply.
But the point was, she was so used to him, in so many little dismissible ways. Nothing he did got to her any more, not really. And as much as he griped about her changing… He was changing her too, constantly. The chocolate covered crawlies only being the latest example. …Apparently though, that never occurred to him. That her whole life had been changing, from the moment she-
A wordless curse escaped her lips, and her hand flew up to her chest, closing around the empty space that should have been occupied by the poltergeist's ring. What the hell, she'd never put it back on? That had been two days ago! She swore at herself roundly, using words she'd only ever heard Beetlejuice himself use before, stomping her foot angrily against the concrete… And inevitably, drawing the dead man's attention.
Beetlejuice just looked at her though, pursing his lips, apparently writing the girl off as nuts. He didn't say a word… Not at first. But he did follow the movement she'd made at her chest, with his eyes. Since he didn't comment on it, she thought he hadn't figured out why… His words only a moment later though, quickly banished such illusions. "Never seen you take that off before." He noted, quietly, not once suggesting it might have just fallen off. "Guess you got sick of wearing that tarnished old thing."
It wasn't tarnished of course, it still gleamed like anything, but that wasn't what he was really saying anyway. What he was saying, was that this too, was change, and he didn't like it. But he was already tired of singing that song, so this unspoken observation was all he offered.
"The string broke," She heard herself muttering, lying by habit, even to him, "I've got to get a chain for it."
Beetlejuice made a rude sound. "Bullshit." He denied, looking just mildly amused, for reasons she didn't really want to think about. "Points for believability though, babes. I saw you take it off the other night, when you were waiting for your date." Lydia stared at him in surprise, as much as anything, because she just hadn't sensed him watching her. "Gotta tell you though… Knew you'd lie to the rest of the world kid, same as me. Figured when it came to us though, that shit was off limits."
He didn't actually sound disappointed. She couldn't tell what he was feeling… But she felt awful. Sick, like maybe the chocolate she'd gulped down earlier was coming back on her. She opened her mouth, whether to apologize or make excuses, she'd probably never know… Because at that moment, the mix of what she'd eaten earlier, collided suddenly with her fizzy energy drink, and the whole goddamn world seemed to turn green.
With a lurch towards the trash cans in the nearby alley, Lydia was barely able to knock the lid aside, and grab onto the rim with both hands, before everything she'd ingested over the course of the last three hours, forced itself at once, back out of her. And it tasted a hell of a lot worse, coming back up.
It was only gradually, when her world had stopped spinning enough for her to wonder how she was still standing, that she gradually became aware of Beetlejuice's arm firmly around her middle, gently supporting her. Other things came into focus, like the man in rags, just a few feet away, utterly ignoring her sudden violent sickness, his face hidden behind an oversized hat. People on the street, glancing in her direction as they walked by, laughing. Beetlejuice… Not saying a damn word.
"I told you I was sick." She croaked, wiping her fingers across her lips, and shooting him a strained little smile. Beetlejuice didn't seem to know if he should look amused too, or just disgusted. But his eyes were odd, serious, even as his lips twitched in a smile.
Lydia went on suddenly, like she hadn't even been interrupted. "Hell, you're right…" She found herself turning into his arms, suddenly exhausted, the energy drink not having accomplished shit for her. "I didn't mean to lie to you. Even if you probably do lie to me all the time."
"Huh." Beetlejuice grunted, eyeing her warily, like she might still throw up on him. But he might have looked just a little worried too, if she'd bothered to look up… "You're probably right kid, but hell, you expect that kind of shit from me. You're supposed to be the one that doesn't go for that crap." With a sudden crouch, he grabbed her, and swung her off her feet, making the goth girl squeak in surprise, to find herself suddenly cradled against his chest. "What the fuck ever. You ready to head home?"
Lydia shook her head, still nauseous, but suddenly certain that the last place she wanted to go was back home. "I'm not tired," She lied again, already forgetting the consequences of her attempt at deception only seconds before, "Let's go do something else for a while." Never mind that she barely had the strength to lift her head, after her bout with being sick…
"Heh, whatever Lyds." Beetlejuice grunted, already pulling the magic around him that would send them somewhere else. She was just being stubborn of course, but hell, that was half of her charm… "B-words, babes."
The goth girl laughed softly. "That an order?" When he just grinned, she met his look defiantly, already feeling better. "All right, all right. Beetlejuice…"
---------------
In truth, the neitherwoods normally wasn't the sort of place a dead guy took a breather… Even aside from the whole, no living allowed in the neitherworld, deal. But in his opinion, that was just because most dead couldn't take care of their own asses in the dangerous trees, much less watching out for an even more vulnerable living sort.
Beetlejuice of course, not being most people. He laid next to the Deetz girl on the gently sloping hill, the two of them gazing up at a sky more filled with angry clouds, than any hope of stars. Twice now, she'd almost fallen asleep- even started to snore, once, making him grin. Each time though, she'd stirred, forced herself awake, and continued regarding the twisting dark sky.
Not more than a handful of words had been exchanged between them… He, personally, was enjoying the break in conversation. He didn't like arguing with the girl… Not when he couldn't juice her ass if she annoyed him, like he could everyone else. Lyds on the other hand, seemed to have something on her mind. He just hoped to god it wasn't the fucking royal again.
The soft sounds of someone weeping filled the air, drifting between the other, subtle sounds of the neitherwood night. Weeping willows, probably. If not though, he really didn't give a damn. It was kind of musical though, with the whispering of the late breezes…
"Beej?" Ah, there it was. The girl was gonna go on about something else now… Hell only knew what. "Can I ask you something?" Beetlejuice grunted noncommittally, and the girl rolled up on her elbow, considering him with a frown. "I'm serious."
"Too fucking serious, if you ask me…" He grumbled, resigned to an awkward series of question and answer anyway. "Just fucking ask… No promises I'll answer."
"Fair enough." She didn't lay back down though, continuing to watch him in the darkness. "See, I was thinking about all those girls you've gone after since I've met you…" He smirked, just a little. Kid was jealous? Served her right. Her next words though, quickly banished any thoughts of a smile. "I know you didn't care about them. You pretty much told me so. Beej… Have you ever loved anyone?"
The sheer absurdity of the question, made it refuse to let itself register in his otherwise distracted brain. Gradually though, he understood what she was asking, and tilted his head, stared at her, and asked eloquently, "What the fuck?"
Lydia just gave him that look she had, the one she always gave him when he was being unreasonable, and she knew she was right. He kinda hated that look, now that he thought about it… "I mean it! I want to know if you've ever given a damn about anyone but yourself, Beej!"
There had to be a smart ass answer to that… And normally, he'd be able to find one, no problem. But at the moment, a truthful answer was a hell of a lot easier. "I give a damn about you." He muttered, summoning his hat with a twitch of his fingers, and pulling it down over his eyes. "What, suddenly that's not fucking good enough?"
Silence, from Lydia. Until he peeled the hat back, with just the tip of his thumb, and peered at her from beneath it. She should be satisfied by his answer… She'd never given a damn what he thought about anyone else before, so why now? But she just looked thoughtful, staring off into the shadows, like they held some secret only she could see. After a moment, he found himself unconsciously following that gaze… And so was caught off guard, when she asked her next question. "So… You've never been in love?"
Love? Hah! Love caused nothing but trouble… He'd met enough saps tangled up in their own guts over a ghoul, to know that. "Nope." He denied, matter-of-factly, tugging the hat back over his eyes, before she could notice his brief interest. "Figure I'll wait 'til I find a living girl to marry me, for that crap."
He was sure he could feel Lydia's eyes turn back to him, staring, hard enough to burn a hole through the ragged material… But when he peeked again, she was still gazing off at nothing at all. "That's kind of backwards." She noted, almost to herself. "You're supposed to fall in love, then get married." A small pause. "At least, that's the way I've always heard it."
"Well, you've heard wrong!" He heard himself growl, rising up to a sitting position, and discarding his concealment with an angry toss. "Say I fall in love with a broad, great. Whoopee. Then she decides she ain't gonna marry me. What happens? I get screwed over, twice." Lydia just stared up at him, surprise registering in her dark gaze, like she hadn't expected him to put that much thought into his answer. Or get angry.
"Why wouldn't she marry you?" She asked at length, when it was clear he had nothing more to say. For a minute, he was sure the girl was bullshitting him… But the look in her eyes was just too unguarded to be mocking. It left him, honestly, without a goddamn thing to say.
At last he grunted, and sank back down to the grass, no longer looking at her. "You're too good for your own good, babes." Was all he offered, enigmatically.
A long breath followed, broken only by the soft hissing of the errant breezes through tall grass. Then, quietly, as honestly as anything he'd ever heard from the girl… "I guess I just don't like the idea, of you ending up alone someday."
The words, so quietly spoken, left a feeling like a red hot spike, jamming down through his collar, and piercing a lung. For a minute, he couldn't speak. Him? Alone? How the hell was he gonna end up alone? Lyds was right- His mind refused to go any further with his. He wasn't even breathing. He'd gotten so used to the idea of the goth girl as part of his afterlife, that the idea of her, just not there, suddenly scared him worse than facing a dozen sandworms.
"You goin' somewhere?" He rasped, not really surprised how hard the words were to get out, but confused as fuck as to why one little living girl had ever managed to change his afterlife so much.
She didn't answer right away, and every second she didn't, was like a red hot needle dancing somewhere in his guts. Then, to his surprise, since he wasn't looking at her, he felt Lydia suddenly tucking herself into his side, gently. Like she was cold, even though she was bundled up in two of his coats. "Nah," She murmured sleepily, with no clue that her simple answer let the poltergeist start breathing again, "'M not going anywhere."
He was quiet after this, when she didn't offer any more. He didn't know what had brought up her sudden curiosity, and in all honesty, just didn't want to fucking think about any of it any more. She was tucked into his side, curled into a ball, suddenly even smaller than her small frame seemed capable of. He turned his head, and looked at her, lying there, suddenly so still. It took him a minute to realize that this time, she really had fallen asleep. Like she just fucking trusted him to protect her.
Beetlejuice frowned, and turned his gaze back skyward, wrapping an arm absently around her motionless frame, and reaching with his other hand for a cigarette. He hadn't had a smoke all day, and well… The damn things helped him, when he didn't want to think. A minute later though, he paused, lit match in hand, and just sort of laid there, still, letting the tiny flame dance its light across his grimy skin.
Then, without a word, he put it out, and took the cigarette from his lips, tucking it right back where it'd come from. Didn't want to wake the kid… Who the hell knew what she'd come up with this time?
They lay there in the darkness, silently, alone, waiting for morning.
----------------
PS, People need to go review 'Mostly Dead.' I want more chapters, K. J. Gough has a great concept there, so go review!