Un Coléoptère Dans La Neitherworld
Chapter 10 is here! Yaaaay! X3333 Enjoy! Things are getting interesting! Woo!
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"…Haahooheheheh…" Beetlejuice laughed nervously, with his hands folded behind his back, staring at his obviously angry friend.
Lydia walked with a sway, curling her finger a few times, signaling for him to follow her. He swallowed a gulp of fear and did so. They entered the living room. She had her back turned to him and was tapping a foot. Oh yeah, he knew he was in trouble. So, naturally, he tried to get out of it.
"So..ah…crazy story, huh?" He opened the conversation.
She instantly turned to look at him and he could see the anger in her eyes and jolted back a bit. Lydia stomped up to him, "Like you don't know!"
Beetlejuice gasped and placed a hand on his chest, as if he was shocked, "You don't think I had anything to do with that, do you?"
"Of course, I do!" She returned, "Do you see any other ghosts around here?"
Beetlejuice instantly ran over to her and covered her mouth. Her eyes widened as her speech was muffled under his hand.
"Careful, Babes! You'll blow my cover!" He warned.
With both hands, Lydia managed to rip his hand off her mouth, "Me?" Lydia said pretty loud but then lowered her voice to keep her parents from hearing. She stared up at him, "That's what you're gonna do if you keep this up!" Lydia folded her arms and looked away.
"Keep what up…?" He asked in a confused way as he floated in the air, close to the ceiling.
She screamed and then heard her parents call her. She gasped and instantly jumped up and yanked his tie, pulling him down to the ground. They both smiled cheesily as her Mother and Father entered the living room.
"Is everything okay in here…?" Her father asked.
Lydia laughed, "Oh…yes, Father!"
Charles shrugged it off and said, "Alright, dear. Make sure you get washed up for dinner…"
With that, they went back into the kitchen. Lydia let out a huge sigh and let go of Beetlejuice and he fell to the floor. She looked at him and instantly pulled him to his feet. Lydia fixed his tie and brushed him off.
"Alright, Beej…" She said and he blinked at her, "I'll give you one more chance…" She held up her pointer finger, "But you have to be on your best behavior!"
He stood up straight, as if he were a soldier. He gave a salute, "Roger, Major Lyds! I can do that" He changed into a can and floated before her. After that, he transformed into himself, wearing an angel costume with a harp, "I'll be a perfect angel!"
Lydia couldn't help but giggle. Her eyes lowered with a smile and she placed her hands on her sides as she looked at him, "Well, I sure hope so…"
So, a bit of time passed. Lydia washed up for dinner. Beetlejuice cringed, even thinking about washing up before dinner. And before you knew it, they were sitting at the dinner table in the dining room. Dinner hadn't been served yet, everyone was just talking; mainly Delia who had been going on about her art and such. Lydia just wore a bored expression as she played with her fork. Then, without warning, Delia seemed to turn to Beetlejuice, who had been toying with a beetle he'd had in his pocket.
"So, Mr. Beetleman…" She began.
Hearing that, both Lydia and Beetlejuice sat up straight in their seats instantly. Beetlejuice jammed the bug inside his vest and tugged on his collar a little bit. He really was trying to be on his best behavior, for Lydia's sake. He was doing okay so far but being 'good' was a real challenge for him.
He cleared his throat and placed a hand on his vest, "Yes, Ma'am..?"
"How long have you been in Photography..?"
Beetlejuice closed his eyes and gave a smile, "Oh, a day or two…" Her parents eyed him strangely and he felt a kick from under the table, "Ow!..I-I mean…uh, it feels like only a couple days, haha…but I've been doing it for aaages…Love getting those shots! 'Cept for flu shots, pfft!" He joked and they seemed to laugh too. So he continued "And your daughter here! Why, she's a naturaaal!"
"Really…?" Charles asked.
"Oh yes, you got one talented kid, there!" He complimented, "She's got the type of photos you can really sink your teeth into!"
Beetlejuice got up and elbowed Lydia fondly, "Seriously, Babes! They look delicious…" Then, he sat back in his seat.
Delia clapped her hands together, "Well, that's delightful! We've got ourselves a little artist, dear!" She looked at Charles for a moment with cheerfulness.
Lydia felt both embarrassed but flattered at the same time. She wondered if he was just sucking up to her parents or if he really meant it. But still, Lydia thought as she placed a hand on her cheek, he was being good. He seemed to actually be making an effort to be nice. Maybe there was hope for him yet!
Delia got up from the table and told everyone she was off to get dinner. Lydia leaned forward and set a hand on Beetlejuice's. His eyes widened slightly and he gave her a questioning look.
"I'm really proud of you!" She said in a loud whisper, giving him a sweet smile.
He smiled big and grabbed the trim of his vest closest to his tie, "See? I can do this!"
Lydia sat back up and so did he as they heard her Mother re-enter the dining room. She was carrying a large, light blue bowl covered with a lid. She set it down in the middle of the table. Beetlejuice exposed a green striped tongue and licked his lips while rubbing his hands together.
Charles smiled, stuffing a napkin in his collar, "What are we having this evening, dear?"
Delia beamed, seeming so happy that he asked. She placed a palm on the handle of the lid, "We're having my famous spaghetti!"
"Spaghetti?" Beetlejuice instantly blurted out but quickly covered his mouth with both hands, causing Lydia to stare at him. He just laughed nervously, adjusting his hat. After a moment or two, she was just paying attention to her parents who began talking about something else.
Beetlejuice felt his breath shorten. He messed with his collar and then twiddled his fingers back and forth. He felt both anxious and nervous. That urge…no…not that urge again! He cracked every one of his fingers and then set his hands on his legs. His hands tightened on the fabric of his pants.
He closed his eyes tightly and whispered in a hoarse voice, "Mm'not gonna prank…Mm'not gonna prank…"
Beetlejuice opened his eyes and began to sweat. He glanced at Lydia in the corner of his eye. She was counting of him. She said she was proud of him. How many times has he heard that? Oh…that's right; Never! Man, he just did not know what to do. The temptation was killing him again, he thought as he bit on his nails. It took all of his self-control to keep his head from spinning wildly from all this pressure. He breathed in and out a couple times as he gazed at the spaghetti noodles
"Okay..Okay…" He said in a low voice. Lucky that no one was even paying attention to him, "I knooow I promised Lydia I wouldn't…But how can I resist?"
Beetlejuice blinked his eyes one time and subtle magic surged from his body and shot the bowl of spaghetti. Suddenly, striped green snakes with bright yellow eyes filled the bowl and began to scatter themselves all around the table. Charles was the first to shoot out of his seat and then run off with a large scream, soon followed by his wife.
Beetlejuice heard the door slam and he instantly fell out of his chair and began laughing hysterically as he kicked his legs. He was so busy laughing, he didn't even hear Lydia push her chair in violently and stomp out of the room.
He took a breath or two between his laughter, "Did you- Did you see their faces, Lyds?"
There was nothing but silence so he sat up, still with a smile, "Lyds…?"
He frowned when he saw she was nowhere in sight. Then suddenly, he cringed as her heard the faint sound of a door slamming. It wasn't the front door. It came from upstairs.
His eyes shrunk and he gave a low, "Uh…Oh…" He vanished in a flash of light and reappeared at the top of the stairs.
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Beetlejuice walked around the hallway until he found his friend's bedroom door. He placed a hand on the doorknob. He twisted and that's when he realized it was locked. He began to feel something he wanted to get rid of; guilt. Beetlejuice was the type who believed nothing he did was wrong. He placed both hands and head on the door, trying to listen to any noise coming from her.
"…Lydia? You in there?"
"Go away!" He heard her shout.
His eyes widened and then they narrowed, "Heeeey, it's me!"
"I know!" She replied.
"So let me iiin!" He said back.
"No! You're not coming in!" Lydia said, "I don't want to see you right now!"
"Oh, yeah?" He gave a small glare and placed his hands on his sides, "We'll see about that !"
He phased through the door with an all-knowing smile, his hands still on his sides, "I am a ghost, you know…"
Lydia was sitting on the edge of the bed with a hand on either side of her face, elbows on her knees and was wearing an angry expression, "Then why don't you go haunt someone else's house!"
Beetlejuice looked sympathetic but still wore a smile. He lifted his hands "Come on, Babes! You don't really mean that!"
She folded her arms and turned away from him. He tore off his hat and tossed it to the floor before running over to her. Lydia still didn't face him. She had her eyes closed; which was why she was totally off guard when she felt herself bouncing up and down. Her eyes shot open and her arms dropped to her sides. She glanced back at her bed and noticed Beetlejuice was jumping and down on it!
"Aah! Beetle! Juice! What! Are you doing?" She shouted in between bounces.
He continued to jump and when Lydia was in the air for a brief moment, he said "Just trying to 'lift' your spirits! Bring out that 'up'beat personality of yours!" He began to jump harder.
"Beetlejuice!" She shouted as she tried to maintain her sitting position but kept bouncing up in strange ways.
"This is fun!" Beetlejuice exclaimed as he did one final hard jump with a "Ha!"
That final jump sent Lydia flying off the bed and onto the floor with a thud as she landed on her backside, facing him with an "Oof!"
Beetlejuice stopped jumping and bent down, still standing on the bed. A slightly concerned expression overtook his face and he lifted a finger to his face, "…Oops…"
Lydia shook her head to regain her composure and then looked up at him with a mad look, "Do you even know why I'm mad at you…?"
He gave her a blank but guilty stare, "Uh…cause I launched you off the bed, haheeheh…"
Lydia shook her head with her eyes closed, "No!"
Beetlejuice put a hand on his collar and turned his head but still looked at her, "You found those bugs I left in your pillowcase…?"
Her eyes widened, "What?"
His eyes widened and he jumped off her bed with a laugh, "Ah…Nevermind, Babes!" He pulled Lydia to her feet, "So tell me, Lyds…" He twisted his body in strange, physically impossible ways and asked, "What's got you so bent out of shape?"
"You!" She said as she poked him, causing him to twist back into his usual form and fall on the ground.
"Me?" Beetlejuice sounded shocked, "What'd I do?"
She placed her hands on her sides and glared, "You broke your promise to me!"
He got up and looked confused, in almost an annoyed way, "What's the big deal? Ah!" All of a sudden, a large flyer came flying at him and the paper pasted him against the wall, "Ooh…sale on toe jam…"
Lydia walked over to him as the flyer slipped off the wall and he fell on his face.
"The big deal is when you make a promise to a friend, you're supposed to keep it!" Lydia explained and then he stood up.
"Why would anyone agree to that? That sounds pretty stupid!" He said as he looked up in thought.
"Oh, you think so?" Lydia said, gritting her teeth.
"Yeah, I do!" He said, bending down to her level.
"Fine! Then why don't you just leave?" She snapped.
"Maybe I will!" Beetlejuice replied, in an equally snappy tone.
"Good!" She said.
He glared and gave a "Hmmph!" He placed his hands on his head and then ripped off the white mask covering his eyes. Beetlejuice tossed it to the ground and put his hands in his pockets. He juiced back into the clothes he was wearing when he first met her, his hair now down. He slightly glanced back at her, "Later, Babes!" With that, his disappeared in a poof of smoke and bugs.
When he was finally gone, Lydia's expression softened and she just stared at the door with a bit of sadness. She then threw herself on her bed, burying her head in her blanket.
She escaped him but she couldn't escape her thoughts of him. He wouldn't keep a promise to someone he called his 'best friend'. Did he care about her at all…?
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Woo! 'Out Of My Mind' references for the win! XD This chapter was fun to write. It's a little sad but don't worry. It all gets better OwO Or does it? Find out next chapter.