Phew, LONG chapter. :) Okay I've been working on this ALL DAY LONG!!!

Don't really know what else to say except for I hope that you enjoy it and let me know if you do :)

Lacey

Chloe, Jordan and Riley got off of the bus and headed away from the school. They had fifteen minutes before their classes started and they hoped that no one would notice that they weren't on the playground.

"There's the store, let's go before on of the playground teacher's sees us." Jordan said. They all crossed the street and headed for the small grocery store.

"What about this, a rose." Chloe asked picking up a pink one and smelling it.

"It's nice, but I don't think that Aunt Layla likes pink. I like the rose though." Jordan said as they looked around.

"What are you kids doing here?" An elderly woman asked them as she came up. They all turned to look at her, a little guilty that they were caught so quickly.

"We wanted to get our aunt a rose because she's been sad lately." Jordan explained. Why lie to someone you didn't even know?

"I see, that's a lovely thought. Well roses mean something, did you know that?" She asked and they all shook their heads.

"What do you mean?" Jordan asked.

"Every color of a rose means something different. For instance, a pink rose, like the one you've got there means thank you, where as a, say yellow rose, means friendship." She explained.

"So what would be love? We love our aunt." Chloe asked.

"Well there are different kinds of love, but the easiest one to recognize is a red rose. That means 'I love you'." She said. Jordan, Chloe and Riley looked at each other and smiled.

"We'll get that one. Thanks for the help." Jordan said as he pulled a single red rose out and they ran to the cashier to pay and hoped they wouldn't be too late.

"You keep the rose Chloe, we don't want it to get ruined." Jordan said when they crossed back to the school. Chloe nodded and held the rose as if it were more precious than a diamond.

"Do you think we should call Uncle Beej before school lets out? Tell him what we are doing? Aunt Layla might be so happy with the flower that she'll want to call him back tonight." Chloe said.

"I don't know, do you think we should?" Jordan asked.

"Maybe, but don't tell him about the flower, lets have that be a surprise." Riley said.

"Okay, today at afternoon recess we'll call him and explain what we did. I hope that Aunt Layla wants him back. Wait a minute…you know what grown ups do when they make up?" He asked.

"They always want to be alone." Chloe said and rolled her eyes.

"Right, so Chloe why don't you see if you can go to a Samantha's house tonight for a sleep over and we'll see if we can go over to Mark and Matthew's house." Jordan said.

"On a school night? Without any warning?" Chloe asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Try, if we can't then we'll give the rose to Aunt Layla and tell her it was from us. She'll be happy and we'll just have to come up with another idea. We want them to be happy when they get back together." Jordan said. He was half tempted to tell his brother and sister what went on, after all, he was ten, but he didn't risk it.

"Okay, I hope I can get Samantha's mom to let me stay over. This idea is too good to waste it." Chloe said and ran off to her classroom.

"You talk with Matt Riley and I'll see Mark in class. Tell him that our we want to stay over because our aunt and uncle are making up." Jordan said.

"Okay." Riley said and took off. Jordan heard the last bell and sighed. He'd get in trouble for being late, but it was worth it if everything happened the way he hoped it would happen. He had a feeling that Uncle Beej loved Aunt Layla, but he didn't say it. Maybe he'd ask Uncle Beej that if they called him this afternoon. Right now Miss Jorgenson was going to be mad and he needed to talk to Mark. Chloe was right, this idea was too good to waste it on them. Besides they didn't have money for another flower.

Stacey looked at the exhausted ghost who was watching television. She never knew ghosts could be exhausted, but Beetlejuice certainly was. His eyes seemed more sunken in than before and he had a hallowed look about him. If she didn't know any better she'd say he was love sick, but he'd never admit to that. She felt bad for him, whoever did this to him certainly did a number, but she didn't know why he didn't want to talk about it. He still joked with her, a little, but he wasn't the same sleazy ghost that she had started to like when he was here the first time. He changed, a lot and now she missed the old one.

"Beej, you wanna do something' tonight? I know it's the middle of the week so there's not a lot of stuff is going on, but I don't have a morning class tomorrow and it'd be fun to go out. I could use a drink and I know you could use a drink too." She said. Beetlejuice turned to look at her, his eyes slightly blurry from not being able to sleep. Not that he really needed to sleep, he was dead after all, but sleeping tended to keep his energy up and he felt the drain. He missed Layla being next to him, cuddling up to him in her sleep. She never snored, but sometimes if she was really out she'd breath deeply and blow her breath across his chest. He missed that.

"Sure Stace, I could use a drink." He said and got up. "Or a dozen." He said under his breath.

"What was that Beej?" Stacey asked grabbing her purse.

"Huh? Oh nothin' Stace, let's go to a bar." He said and she tucked her hand in his arm as they left.

They walked into a bar close to the campus, filled with college students who were drinking beer. Beetlejuice felt old walking into the room filled with barely legal boys drinking the piss warm beer that they were serving.

"Can I get a strawberry daiquiri?" Stacey asked as they sat down at the bar. Beetlejuice looked around the bar and frowned. It felt clean, even though there was shit on the floor, no smoke drifting in the air. It didn't seem like a bar, just a restaurant with shitty food and alcohol.

"What about you Pops?" The bartender asked.

"S'cuse me?" Beetlejuice asked, narrowing his eyes at the bartender, who couldn't have been more than twenty five himself.

"What do ya want to drink?" He asked.

"Whiskey, straight up." He said and scowled.

"Wanna get drunk tonight huh?" He asked getting out a shot glass and filling it up.

"Did anything in my appearance say that I wanted to fucking talk to you asshole?" Beetlejuice asked.

"Chill Beej, he was just making conversation." Stacey said and gave an apologetic look at the bartender. Beetlejuice just downed his shot and ordered another.

"Take it easy Beej, we just got here." Stacey said. She'd never seen him like this and she was starting to get a little worried about him.

"Don't worry 'bout me Stace. I can take more than you think." He said and downed the drink, nodding for the bartender. "Ya know what Sparky, just leave the fuckin' bottle." He said and snatched it out of his hand. "Get me a bigger fuckin' glass." He said. Stacey just looked at the bartender and shrugged.

"Get him a bigger glass Brian." She said.

"You know that asshole?" He asked pointing behind him and looking at her.

"Sure, he is in one of my classes, this is just a part time job for him so lay off, he's nice." Stacey said.

"Whatever." He said and grabbed the tumbler that Brian set out.

"You gonna be okay with him Stace?" He asked.

"Get the fuck outta here." Beetlejuice sneered and poured himself a glass and gulped it.

"I'll be fine Brian, he's with me." Stacey said. Brian nodded, but Beetlejuice saw his hand signals for her to call him if she needed anything.

"I told ya to get the fuck outta here Boy." He said. Stacey rolled her eyes and dragged him away from the bottle.

"Let's dance Beej." She said. He just shrugged and let her lead him out to the floor. Stacey went over to the jukebox and plunked a quarter in, making a selection. She went back to Beetlejuice and put her arms around his waist. He breathed her in and let the whiskey relax his mind for him. He closed his eyes while they slowly moved and he listened to the music.

" And for all you know
This could be
The difference between what you need
And what you wanna be
Yeah, what you wanna be"

It reminded him of Layla and he felt like he'd been kicked in the gut. He stopped dancing and Stacey looked up at him.

What's the matter Beej?" She asked.

"What the fuck do they know?" He spat out. Stacey raised an eyebrow.

"Who know about what?" She asked.

"Goddamned song, I know what I fuckin' want." He slurred, the whiskey finally working on him.

"What's that?" Stacey asked. Beetlejuice looked at the pretty girl in front of him and shook his head. She was right here and willing, Layla was gone and she wasn't.

"I need a drink, two drinks." He said and stumbled off the floor and back to the bar.

"Why two drinks?" Stacey asked following him. She'd only taken a few sips of her daiquiri while he had downed half of the whiskey bottle he opened. Beetlejuice sat down and poured himself another shot.

"One to remember and another to forget." He slurred and drank it down. "Damn it come on Stace, let's get the fuck outta here." He said and dragged her out.

"Where are we going?" Stacey asked as he hauled her out. He pulled her up to him and kissed her, hard. Stacey was surprised and tasted the alcohol on his breath, but she gave into his strength and felt her knees give.

"Back to your place Sweetheart. I think we both need to get fucked." He said and kissed her again before she replied. He thought of Layla and felt guilt rushing through him. He grabbed Stacey by the back of the head and deepened the kiss even more.

Stacey pushed off of him and had to catch her breath. She'd never been kissed like that, ever and she liked it.

"Jesus Beej, I need to breathe." She said.

"Let's go, I need to fuck you right now." He said and she heard the desperation in his voice. Even drunk he still thought about Layla and maybe getting Stacey in bed would fix that, he could only hope it did. He couldn't feel like this for the rest of eternity.

Stacey knew that she should've stopped him, but after that kiss, she didn't really want to control herself around him. They made it back to her dorm room and it wasn't two seconds before she closed the door when he grabbed her and threw her down on the bed, landing on top of her.

"Beej, you're goin' really fast." She said between the kisses that he was giving her.

"Don't make me stop Stace, I can't take it tonight. I need you tonight more than I need her." He said. Stacey wanted to ask who the her was, but he ripped at her top and tore it off of her. She wanted to squeak, but he was powerful and commanding. She'd never had that experience before and she felt like the old Beetlejuice was shinning through, she forgot to think about the fact that he was drunk.

Beetlejuice wanted to get Layla out of his mind, forever. Stacey was there, he knew, even in his drunken state that if he had sex with her that she would agree to marry him. He could see it in her eyes and he'd be free. Free from everything, the chains of being summoned and the chains of Layla. He tore at his shirt and Stacey reached up to help him get it off. He bent down and took one of her breasts in his mouth.

Stacey arched her back and let out a moan. She'd been with her old boyfriend, but this, this was something new all together.

"God Beej, this is great." She said and ran her fingers in his hair.

"You know it always is Layla." He said and stopped. Stacey pushed him off of her and he sat back on his heels.

"Layla's the girl isn't she?" Stacey asked. Beetlejuice looked at her, the fog of alcohol disappearing.

"No, she's not the girl." He said.

"Yes she is." Stacey said and reached for her bra.

"She is not a fucking girl Stacey. She's a fucking ghost." He spat out.

"Ghost?"

"Yes, a ghost that turned my world upside down." He said and was disgusted with himself.

"Do you love her?" Stacey asked. Beetlejuice looked at her as she put her clothes back on. He knew he was shirtless and didn't care.

"No, I don't love her and that's what got me into this fucking mess in the first place. She told me she loved me and I don't love her."

"You just called me her name."

"You're a good kid, but that doesn't mean I love her."

"It's something more than sex." Stacey said.

Jordan waited for Chloe and Riley in the corner of the playground, away from everyone else. He paced back and forth while he waited and finally saw them running up to him.

"Sorry, but I had to wait for Riley." Chloe said. "I asked Samantha and called her mom at lunch. She said it was okay cause our aunt and uncle are having problems." Chloe said, a big grin on her face.

"Great, Mark said we could come over too." He talked to his mom and she said it was okay that we come over. She'll pick Riley and I up after school cause I said we had to tell Aunt Layla."

"Good that's what I told Samantha. We can go home, place the flower on there and leave." Chloe said.

"Great, so should we call him?" Jordan asked. Chloe and Riley looked around to see if anyone was watching and nodded.

"Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice." He said and Beetlejuice appeared in between them.

"Uncle Beej!" They said and threw their arms around him. Beetlejuice looked around and wanted to be angry, he'd been drinking ever since last night, but seeing the kids as they hugged him made him smile.

"Hey kids, long time no see." He said and gave a little hiccup.

"Are you okay Uncle Beej?" Riley asked.

"Sure Kiddo. Never better, now what's up?" He asked.

"We did a few things that Aunt Layla thinks you did." Jordan said. Beetlejuice frowned at him.

"Like what?" He slurred.

"Like we sent her a note saying that you miss her." Chloe said. Beetlejuice nodded and looked at her, weaving a little bit.

"I do miss her." He said. "I miss you guys too, and your mom and Sloane. How are they? Does Layla miss me?"

"She's been crying a whole lot since you left. She sings sad songs and cries." Chloe said. Beetlejuice wanted to jump for joy hearing that. She did miss him, she was just being stubborn.

"Mom and Sloane went on a business trip. They'll be gone all week." Riley said. Beetlejuice looked at him. Layla managed to pull it off, the little minx, he knew she could do it.

"We're putting a flower on her bed today after school and she'll think it's from you then we're leaving. We are hoping that she'll call you back." Jordan explained.

"You guys are so smart." He said and wrapped his arms around them and gave them a giant hug.

"Thanks Uncle Beej, we just want you and Aunt Layla to be happy again." Jordan said hugging him back hard. The bell rang and all three of them looked at him.

"We gotta go Uncle Beej, how do we send you back?" Jordan asked.

"Just say my name three more times kids and pray that your aunt wants me back enough." He said.

"Beetlejuice," Jordan said.

"Beetlejuice," Chloe said.

"Beetlejuice." Riley said and they waved good bye, their fingers crossed as he disappeared.

Layla sat in the living room, her legs tucked underneath her as she read her book when Jordan and Riley walked in.

"Hi guys, where's your sister?" She asked and set down the copy of American Ghost Stories.

"She's talking with one of her friends, she'll be up in a minute." Jordan said.

"I see." Layla said and smiled as they sat down next to her.

"So how was your day Aunt Layla?" Jordan asked.

"It was fine…relaxing." She said.

"Whatcha reading'?"

"Ghost stories, it's rather funny actually." She said picking up the book.

"Are you in it?"

"Sadly no, but let's see, where's a good one." She said and flipped through the pages. Jordan saw Chloe sneak in through the kitchen out of the corner of his eye and had to keep a smile to himself as she dashed up the stairs as quietly as possible. Chloe held onto the rose as lightly as possible and gently set it down on Layla's pillow. She looked at it and smiled, it was pretty sitting there and she hoped it would work. She went back downstairs and peaked around the corner to make sure that Riley and Jordan were still distracting Aunt Layla before she slipped back outside to walk around and come through the front door.

"There you are Chloe. I was beginning to wonder." Layla said.

"Hi Aunt Layla, just talking with someone." She said and sat down next to Jordan.

"Aunt Layla is showing us some ghost stories." Jordan said. Chloe smiled and Layla continued to read.

Beetlejuice felt the flutters in his stomach as he waited and prayed that the kids were right and that Layla would bring him back. Stacey had gone to her classes and hadn't said a word to him last night. He didn't remember much, but what he did remember was that she was angry and hurt, even though she didn't show it to him. He was pacing back and forth when Stacey walked in.

"Oh, thought you'd be gone by now." She said dully.

"Listen Stace, you were right, I am different." He started. Stacey just continued to stare at him. "Okay, when I was here before I wanted to marry you so I could get free. That's true, hell, you're a goddamned beautiful woman. I met Layla after that and well, things changed."

"I know."

"Don't sound so down Stace. You deserve a good guy. What about that guy at the bar." He said, remembering a flash of a face.

"Brian? The bartender?" Stacey asked.

"Yeah, he likes you I could tell. You should go out with that kid." He said.

"So why are you still here?" Stacey asked.

"I need Layla to call me to her. I can't go to her." He explained. Stacey looked into his face. She saw something there that wasn't there before and he couldn't function without this girl, Layla. He'd proven that by his actions. She sighed and nodded. He put his arms around her and gave her a squeeze.

"Now it's just a waiting game to see if she calls me."

"Well I hope she does call you Beej, you deserve to have someone too and it sounds like this Layla person is it." She said. He said that he didn't love her, but Stacey had a strong feeling that he just didn't realize it yet. Beetlejuice just nodded, agreeing with Stacey. He hoped like hell that she would call him and call him soon.

"Aunt Layla, where's your other ghost book?" Chloe asked, anxious for Layla to find the rose.

"It's in my bedroom I think." Layla said, furrowing her brow, trying to remember.

"Can you get it. I like the stories out of there." Chloe said batting her lashes. Layla looked at the little girl and smiled. She got up and stretched before walking up the stairs.

"Good thinking Chloe, it's getting close to when we're supposed to be picked up." Jordan whispered.

"I know that's why I had to say something." Chloe whispered back.

Layla opened up her room and spotted the rose immediately. She stood rooted to her spot seeing the dark red of the rose against the crisp white of her sheets. Did Beetlejuice do that? There was no other explanation for it. She smiled and picked up the delicate flower, laying the bloom against her lips and breathed the perfumed petals in. Red, it meant something, but she figured he thought she'd like the red instead of any other color. She ignored the fact that it meant 'I love you'. She turned to dash down the steps, the book forgotten to show the kids when she heard the a car horn.

"What's that?" She asked. Jordan, Chloe and Riley turned to look at her, their backpacks in their hands.

"We're staying over at some friends Aunt Layla." Jordan said. "We were gonna tell you, but we got so interested in the stories." He explained and hoped she bought it.

"That's pretty Aunt Layla." Chloe said pointing to the flower. Layla forgot her thoughts of confusion and smiled.

"I think Beetlejuice gave it to me." She said, saying his full name. The kids just smiled and turned to walk out the door.

"Bye Aunt Layla, we'll see you tomorrow." Chloe said and closed the door. Layla tapped the rose against her mouth. She'd already said his name once, two more times and he'd be there. He missed her, the note and the flower showed her that, but did she really want him to know that she missed him so much? She sighed and went to sit down at the couch, tucking her skirt underneath her and stared out the window, watching the kids leave to head off to their friends house. She had a sneaking suspicion that they had a hand in this as well, a heavy hand at that, but she couldn't blame them. They just wanted her to be happy and she was happy with Beetlejuice. She wondered if he realized he loved her, but she had to shove that thought out of her mind. If he didn't then she'd be crushed. Could she accept that? She sighed and didn't know. She supposed the only way to really know was to call him up and see what he says to her. Only then would she know how he felt. Love or not, if he felt strongly about her then it would show. Wouldn't it? She'd never been loved before and didn't know what it looked like, but surely a person should know if the other cares about them.

Layla took in a deep breath, let it out slowly and closed her eyes.

"Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice." She finished. Beetlejuice appeared and wanted to throw himself on her he was so happy. She was sitting on the couch, her eyes closed and looking even paler than usual.

"Thank God you called Babes." He said and she snapped open her eyes. He loved the shock in those deep purple eyes of hers.

"Beej, it's been…" She started, but felt her throat close up on her and she shook her head.

"I know Babes, listen I don't ever want to go away again." He said and ran his hand through his hair making it stand on end. Layla looked at him and felt the tears rising up and filling her eyes. "Don't do that Babes please." He said.

"I'm sorry, I'm trying really hard." She said and sniffed.

"You gotta know right now Layla." He said and she snapped to attention hearing her real name from him.

"What is it Beej?" She asked and braced herself. Beetlejuice watched as Layla prepared for the worst and he hated it. He hated the fact that he couldn't tell her what she wanted to her, but he hated it more that he couldn't seem to function without her. He ran his hand through his hair again.

"Fuck it."

"What is it Beej?" She asked again. "You're scaring me here. You hate my guts now or what?" She asked, the tears shining in her eyes, ready to fall at a moments notice.

"Fuck no, that's the last thing on my mind. Shit, okay here it goes." He said and took a deep breath. "I don't love you Layla and it's not you it's me." He said quickly before she could run out. Layla took the blow, but tried to not let it show.

"Go on." She whispered and he heard the hurt in her voice.

"Fuck," He said and looked up. "Fine, when you sent me away I went to this other chick I'd been working on before I met you." He started and to his horror, watched as the tears broke the barrier and slipped down her face. "NO Layla don't think that. Don't even come near thinking that." He said and wanted to run toward her, but she didn't say anything and he could tell she was struggling with keeping her composure together. "I realized that, fuck this is hard." He said, but the look on her face was enough. "I need you Layla, I can't seem to function without you." He finished and looked at her, waiting for her response.

Layla wished that she could dash the tears away, but she didn't dare touch her face. She let them slid down her face. She looked at him, he'd been struggling with the words and she could tell. He was fidgeting and waiting for her to say something. She saw it then, a flicker through the tears. His emerald green eyes softened when he looked at her and then it was gone. She didn't know what it meant, but it was something. She'd take something over nothing with him and she let out a long, quivering sigh.

"I need you too Beej." She said and he was over to her in a second, pulling her up into his arms and crushing her mouth with his, tasting the salty tears and taking in her essence that he'd missed so much.

"God I need you Babes." He said against her mouth. Layla broke the kiss and looked at him. His eyes were wild now and covered in a haze of lust that she fed on.

"I need you too. I need you right now Beej." She said her own passion taking her over.

"God Layla, don't tease." He said. She reached up and bit his ear.

"No teasing, I need to feel you inside of me right now." She said and he lost himself. He wrapped his arms around her legs and lifted her up. She wrapped her legs around him as he carried her and slammed her against the wall. She moaned and kissed him, hard not caring that her lips would be bruised in the morning.

"I've missed you so much." She said and he tore at his zipper while he kept her against the wall.

"I need you too Babes, you have no idea how much I need you." He said. He finally unzipped his pants and without any warning drove himself into her, filling her all the way. Layla moaned and felt him stretch her.

"God Beej, it feels like it's been so long." She said in a hoarse whisper. Beetlejuice didn't say anything, but rammed into her, deeper and deeper until he could feel her womb and felt her shudder. He stayed there for a second and kissed her hard on the mouth, slamming her head against the wall. Layla could only moan from deep in her throat as he pushed deeper into her, thrusting as hard as he could to reach her, the deepest part of her that was only reserved for him. She felt him pushing and she welcomed it. Anything to have his touch and she didn't want loving and tender, she wanted the heat and the passion from him. She wanted to know that he had been starving without her and now he was going mad with hunger and she felt the pressure building up inside her as he let out everything he had and she took it. She wasn't sure where she ended and he began and she wanted to feel that way forever. It wasn't long before she felt herself freeze and she let out a scream so powerful the walls shake and the front window shatter from the force. Beetlejuice heard that sound and he fed on it. Only Layla could move him so much to make him forget about everything else and wait for her to scream before he had his own orgasm. He let her shudder in her after shocks and gave one last shove until he felt himself freeze up and shouted to the ceiling, letting her take everything he had to give her.

Layla felt the pressure lessening in her and she held on letting her breathing come back to normal, the pleasure waves still coursing through her body.

"God I missed you." She said and loved the feeling of him inside her. He looked at her and smiled giving her a kiss on her bruised lips that were already swelling.

"You have no idea how much I missed you Babes." He said and held her there. He didn't want to leave her body, but his own strength was giving out on him and he held onto her as he slumped down to the floor. Layla laughed gently and went down with him, her skirt hiked up around her waist and underwear torn to shreds.

"It's a good thing the kids left for the night." She said and sighed against his chest.

"The kids are gone?" He asked, they hadn't entered his mind until now. Layla just nodded and smiled, closing her eyes.

"Thank you for the rose and message Beej. It was so sweet." She said. Beetlejuice smiled and kissed the top of her head with his own swollen lips.

"Had to show you that I wanted ya." He said and looked up to see the rose where Layla had been sitting. Fuck, it was a red rose. Did she know what that meant? She hadn't said anything about it, so maybe she didn't know that a red rose meant love. She just said thank you and accepted him back into her arms.

"It was thoughtful Beej and I needed that." She murmured and he heard the sleep in her voice.

"I'm just a thoughtful kinda guy Babes." He said.

"Hmm, speaking of which, you said you were with another girl while you were gone?" She said, her eyes still closed.

"Yeah, I could've done it Babes, but I couldn't make myself. Like I said before, that's what happened." He said.

"Said what before?" She asked, opening one eye to look at him. He looked down at her and smiled.

"Don't make me say it again." He said and winced at the thought.

"Say what?" She asked, her smile broadening.

"You little hell raiser." He said and smiled at her. She just kept smiling and he laid her down on her back and felt himself growing harder again at the touch of her. He slowly unbuttoned her shirt, wanting to see all of her and she let him. "I said that I needed you." He said and bent down to take her breast in his mouth. Layla moaned and arched her back, running her hands through his hair.

"I need you too." She said in her moan.

Just as a side note: There are a few lyrics in here. The quote in italics is from the song "The Difference" by Matchbox Twenty and the line: "One drink to remember and another to forget." That Beetlejuice says is a line from "Grace is Gone" By the Dave Matthews Band. Both songs are awesome and fit extrordinarily well with this story if you want to listen to them or look at the lyrics. Not to mention they are some of my favorite songs as well ;)