Cinderjuice

A Beetlejuice fanfic by Lady Norbert


Author's Notes: I do want to apologize; this chapter and the two before it were all largely written while I battled a series of low-grade fevers, so if anything doesn't make sense, that's why.

Posting this for Tumblr's "trashmudquinn." She and her boyfriend are the cutest Beetlejuice and Lydia cosplayers you could ever hope to see. Go look at their photos and tell me I'm wrong, I dare you.


Chapter Eleven: ...And What've You Got?


BJ supposed he was grateful to Donny. After all, it wasn't like he had to come and try to help with this whole mess. He could have just gone to the resort with their parents and left BJ and Lydia to their own devices. Absurdly nice little twit.

He could have done without walking into the room and seeing Donny with his arm around Lyds, though. Sure, it probably made sense in context, but still.

Donny was leaving on the noon stagecoach, so Lydia had gone to see him off and allow BJ to try to take a nap. He was trying, he was, but he wasn't having much more success in the bed than he'd had in Doomie's backseat. His mind just refused to turn itself off and it was driving him crazy.

"How do you just lose some of your juice?" he asked himself, tossing and turning. "It doesn't leak out of your brain. It's not like Doomie needing an oil change now and again. It's there. It's supposed to always be there, all of it."

He rolled onto his stomach and put the pillow over his head, trying to block out the light. "Now I've really done it. And I don't even know what I've done! Can't eat, can't sleep, can't send Lyds home, can't do anything... ugh, I'm hopeless. I just want things back the way they used to be."

That was what he wanted... wasn't it? The human form did have a few advantages. Not in the Neitherworld, obviously, but in the Outerworld it had been quite handy. Lydia had definitely never kissed him in his usual form. Of course, she'd only done it to freak out her father. On some level it bothered him that the chance to wind up old Chuck was the only reason... well, never mind that. The less he thought about that, the better. Bad enough she was here, potentially in danger, unable to get back to her life, and all because he...

"Nope. We are not going there," he growled audibly. "You've screwed things up enough for one week." He paused. "Who am I talking to?"

Fortunately, he didn't have time to listen for a possible answer, because the air was split by a sudden scream - a scream he recognized a little too well.

"Lydia!"


Stairs, he decided, were for the birds. They took entirely too long. He didn't bother to look out the window and try to figure out where she was; he simply bolted for the door and clattered down the steps, through the lobby of the inn, and out into the street.

"There he is!"

A couple of those suits who worked for the Fairy Godfather had somehow materialized on the sidewalk, and one had grabbed Lydia. When BJ reached the scene, however, they turned their attention on him. "The Fairy Godfather sends his regards," said the one who had released her.

"Hey, you can talk? I didn't know that." BJ sort of circled around, trying not to let either of them get behind him. "How the heck many of you are there?"

"He knows you're fixing to make trouble for him," said the other, "and he asked us to personally... ensure that you don't."

"No, really! We're just trying to find his lost juice so he can fulfill the terms of the contract!" Lydia protested.

"Save your breath, Babes - I don't think they're listening!" He felt panic wash over him as he realized they were carrying those violin cases again, and preparing to open them. "Lyds, run!"

He was vaguely surprised when she obeyed. "You're in quite a mess here, Beetlejuice," said one of the suits. "There's no place in the Neitherworld where you can hide that we won't find you."

"Look, Grumpy, Dopey," he said, raising his hands, "can we make a deal here? You go back to your boss, tell him everything's hunky dory, and we'll just let the whole thing drop. I'm not coming at him without what's left of my juice. So let's call this off, huh? You leave me alone and..."

The sound of six musical meeps punctuated the air.

"And what?" asked a suit.

"Aaaand I'll tell my girlfriend not to run you over with our car!"

"Huh?"

They turned around a split second before Doomie's front bumper rammed into them, sending them flying. Lydia was behind the driver's wheel, and the passenger door popped open so BJ could scramble in next to her. "Drive!"

"Where are we going?"

"Anywhere, just away from them!"

"Floor it, Doomie!"

BJ looked back to see the bewildered suits being left in a massive cloud of dust. "That's my boy! Keep going!"


"We have to stop sometime," Lydia said, some time later. "Doomie can't keep this up forever, even flying."

"I know, but we've got to pick a spot where they're not likely to find us for at least a little while..." BJ rubbed his face. "What about the Neitherwoods? We've camped there in the past, and there shouldn't be any giant apes around this time to make off with you."

She chuckled. "I wonder how Thing Thong's doing these days. But that seems like a good place. Amid all that green, Doomie should be pretty decently camouflaged for a little while."

"Meep meep!"

"I think he approves. BJ, maybe you should try to sleep til we get there."

"Nah, I'm too wired now. This adrenaline stuff is kind of fun. I feel almost like my old insane self again," he admitted.

She laughed. "All right. Who knows, maybe the lost juice is in the woods? You were doing some pretty crazy things while you were dressed as Grim-"

He reached over to cover her mouth. "Don't say it. Let's not take chances."


They reached the Neitherwoods a short while before sundown, and Doomie was exhausted. "Go over to the river and get him some water," Lydia directed, finding a pail in the trunk. "I'll see about building a fire - we've got nothing to eat, though."

"Oh, right... I ran out of the room when I heard you screaming and I left everything Prince Vince gave us."

"Well, there's got to be something around here that will work."

She had the fire going by the time BJ returned, and once Doomie's thirst was slaked, the two humans set about trying to find something they could eat that wouldn't kill them. It wasn't easy, and there wasn't nearly enough, but BJ knew enough about the plant life in the woods that they managed to heat some water and boil a sort of stew.

Once the sun went down, there really wasn't anything to do but climb into the backseat and make an attempt at sleeping. Lydia pulled her knees to her chest, trying to hide under the poncho; she kept looking up at the Neitherworld's alien sky, tracing the unfamiliar constellations with her eyes.

"What do you think'll happen if I can't get you home?" BJ asked her, quieter than usual. "Chuckie's gonna flip his lid."

"Well, knowing my parents, it's going to be a while before they realize I'm gone," she mused. "I was thinking about it, and I've noticed that time here and time in the Outerworld don't seem to run quite the same. The Outerworld moves more slowly, I think. And you know what they're like - it'll be a few days until it really registers with them. I'm more worried about the school picking up on my absence."

"You shouldn't have come."

"I know, but I had to. You would have, if I were in trouble."

"Always, Babes." For the first time, he noticed she was shivering. "You cold?"

"Kinda. I forgot Doomie's roof doesn't close." The car beeped apologetically, and she chuckled and patted the seat. "It's not your fault, Doomie."

"Here." He started to wiggle out of the suit jacket; it wasn't very heavy, but he figured it was better than nothing.

"No, you'll freeze," she objected. Before he could argue, she shifted across the seat and stretched out next to him. "I have an idea." She pushed the lapels of the jacket apart, then slid her arms around his waist so she was half inside the garment with him. "It's hardly ideal, but we can manage for a night, and it'll be warmer for both of us."

He snorted a little, but softened, seeing her relax. "Sure, Babes. Get some sleep."


BJ awoke after a few hours to find her huddled firmly into the hollow of his ribcage, small and warm. Her face was pressed into the fabric of his shirt, and somehow she'd matched her breathing to his. He watched her for a moment or two.

"What am I gonna do with you, kid?" he muttered. He adjusted the jacket as best he could to cover her shoulders, locking his arms around her to keep her secure, and rested his cheek against her hair. Sleep reclaimed him quickly.