A/N: "My Happy Ending" is copyright Avril Lavigne and BJ and such belongs to Tim Burton. Blah blah.
"Oh…" Lydia collapsed on her bed. "Jeez, I'm so tired! An entire day in the Neitherworld and I'm completely bushed!" She sighed and examined the ceiling.
"Yeah, and the fact that we spent most of it in the Slopping Mall has nothing to do with it," Beetlejuice returned, floating near the ceiling. "You know, we used to have a lot more stamina. Ten hours on the other side was like five minutes. Guess I'm just getting' old," he finished, jokingly.
"Tell me about it. My bones are aching in the marrow! I think I sprained my ankle once, but I just don't have the energy to care!" she commented.
"But it was worth it, right? What do you think?" Lydia inquired, pulling the new clothes from a slopping mall bag labeled "The Hexpress" and "Rot Toxic". She held them up against her and grinned at him.
"Lyds, they're just as good as they were three hours ago when you tried them on and modeled them in the dressing rooms. Trust me, I've seen them," he smirked.
She threw them back messily into the bags and lay back onto her pillows. "Hey, Beej?"
"What, babes?"
"…Forget it. Sorry."
"What?"
"Nothing."
He wasn't buying it. Hovering over her, he stared suspiciously into her face. She grinned and stared back. "Can I help you?" she asked.
"Yeah. You can drop the act and tell me what's bugging you," he declared, turning into an insect and dropping onto her stomach, buzzing angrily.
She snapped up and grabbed him. Flattening out the palm of her hand, she berated him. "You know that tickles."
"I know it makes you laugh. Now what's up?"
She yawned and laid back again. "Me. And I'd rather it not be. I'm really tired."
"Oh, fine. Be like that," he said, changing to a bumblebee to buzz in her face before disappearing.
Lydia closed her eyes and drifted off into sleep.
She awoke to the chirping of birds outside her window. Starting to get up, she noticed a dull pain in her joints and rubbed her elbows.
"Need more vitamins," was all she said before going down to breakfast. Realizing both her parents were out and it was still the weekend, she thought about visiting Beetlejuice.
Lydia poured a glass of orange juice and downed it in a single gulp. She poured another glass and sat down with it, taking her time with the juice and a cold bagel.
The food felt good in her stomach, but she felt full after just half the bagel. Finishing her drink, she deposited the dishes in the washer and went back upstairs to get dressed.
A dark blue skirt adorned with black lace from the Neitherworld matched with a black teeshirt made up her ensemble. She twirled around in front of the mirror for a moment before noticing an image of the Roadhouse in the glass.
Funny…Beej must have been there or something. But he's left the path open…I'll just surprise him!
She stepped through the mirror and into the Neitherworld. Her ears perked up when she heard scufflings from down the hall.
Walking out of the room, she searched the hallway for signs of life. Finding one by stepping on it, she retched and scraped the bug guts off her foot with a piece of wood lying nearby.
"B.J.?" she called. "Ginger? Jaqués? Is that you?"
Suddenly, a flash of black and white raced across her field of vision from a room on one side of the hall to another room on the opposite side.
"Beej! Are you ok?" Lydia inquired, walking down to the room. She found him in the room, standing opposite a torn-up, red armchair and muttering to himself.
"Beetlejuice!"
Her word startled him and he jumped a foot in the air. Turning, he got a good look at her.
"L-Lydia? What are you doing here?"
"I came to visit you. Surprised?"
"How are you on your feet after that insanity yesterday?" he asked wearily. "I just want to get off mine." His two feet detached themselves and ran around the room before coming back to under his ankles.
"I'm still a little tired, but friendship knows no boundaries. What's up for today?" Lydia asked.
"Oh, I don't know, babes. I'm just so…exhausted," he mused, walking past her and back into the hallway. She followed him back into the mirror room and tapped his shoulder.
"If you want me to leave you alone, I'll go back."
"Yeah…yeah, I think that's for the best. You should just…leave. For good."
Let's talk this over
It's not like we're dead
Was it something I did?
Was it something you said?
Don't leave me hanging
In a city so dead
Held up so high
On such a breakable thread
You were all the things I thought I knew
And I thought we could be
"What do you mean?" Lydia demanded. "Leave for good?"
"I mean you should…stop…coming here. Go home for good."
"But…but-…"
"Look, this isn't easy, alright? And you're not making it easier."
She stood, confused, opposite Beetlejuice. The mirror was across from them, standing against the wall. She realized she had never really looked at it, but now that she eyed it, she realized it looked like a wizened version of the one in her room.
Funny…
You were everything, everything that I wanted
We were meant to be, supposed to be, but we lost it
All of the memories, so close to me, just fade away
All this time you were pretending
So much for my happy ending
"There was never anything to explain for. I'm sorry, babes, but I can't do this anymore. People are starting to talk."
"Since when did you start to care what other people think about us? This is so not you, Beej!"
You've got your dumb friends
I know what they say
They tell you I'm difficult
But so are they
But they don't know me
Do they even know you?
All the things you hide from me
All the shit that you do
You were all the things I thought I knew
And I thought we could be
"I don't. But they started to make sense. This…isn't healthy for you. Visiting the Neitherworld and all."
"What?"
"I talked to some people. They say it's affecting you…"
"Nothing's affecting me!"
"Look at yourself, Lyds!" he spat, pointing at the mirror.
Lydia glanced into it and yes, she made a note of her slowly diminishing health. Her skin had gotten very, very pale, and bags under her eyes along with reddened skin around her nose and her weakening strength betrayed her sickness.
"So what? I'm going through a bad streak! Is that what all this is about?"
"Lydia, stop lying to yourself! I should have forced this to stop months ago! And no, this is not the only reason why!"
"Well, go on!" she yelled, stomping the floor with her foot and curling her palms into fists.
"It's not like we're joined at the hip! You just can't get the fact that you're not dead. You will be, and you're still stuck in some stupid school-kid fantasy that you want to be. Grow up!" he snarled, crossing his arms.
Lydia stood, stricken with anger and hurt. She couldn't speak, and finally choked out her words.
"So you're saying…I couldn't have changed? Do you really think I still want that?"
"Why else would you want to hang around with me? You need to get some live friends, Lydia."
She couldn't stop the tears. Sniffling, she tried to hide them as long as she could, but she didn't realize he didn't care if he saw her crying or not.
"Stop calling me. Stop trying to come to the Neitherworld. Go home and forget about everything; it'll make you life easier."
He advanced, and she tried to push him away. But even though her hands didn't connect with his chest this time, his hands pushed her towards the mirror. Stumbling and tripping on her skirt, Lydia realized she was falling through the glass surface.
Desperately trying to grasp the edges, she felt her two fingers catch the wooden frame just in time. She looked up at his face and widened her eyes at the image of him cruelly peeling her digits from the edge and pushing her back and through the mirror.
And she was through, thrown back onto her bed.
"No…" Lydia cried. "That's…it can't be…it's not true!"
She ran at her mirror with her fists in front, slamming into the fragile glass. It shattered, cutting her knuckles and falling in a shimmering shower around her. The silvery shards made a pool at her feet and were dampened with her tears.
"That's not true! You wouldn't care! You wouldn't stop until it was too late! Damn it, Beetlejuice!"
It's nice to know that you were there
Thanks for acting like you cared
And making me feel like I was the only one
It's nice to know we had it all
Thanks for watching as I fall
And letting me know we were done
"I can't just sit here while you pretend you're doing the right thing! Beetlejuice!" She bent down to pick up a few pieces of the mirror, searching them for a glimmer of his figure. Nothing. They only reflected her tear-streaked face and bleeding hands.
He was everything, everything that I wanted
We were meant to be, supposed to be, but we lost it
All of the memories, so close to me, just fade away
All this time you were pretending
So much for my happy ending
"And you know I don't do well with people on this side! I can't just make new friends…not now! Not…without knowing…you're…there…"
"Is it jealousy? Is it insecurity? GOD DAMN IT, BEETLEJUICE! Come back! This is so…much…shit!"
She collapsed to the ground and sat, hugging her knees, crying softly. "It's not true."
You were everything, everything that I wanted
We were meant to be, supposed to be, but we lost it
All of the memories, so close to me, just fade away
All this time you were pretending
So much for my happy ending