Beetlejuice:
Back In The Game
(A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Since I can't be bothered to write out a disclaimer each and every time I write a chapter, so if you want one, look in the fourth chapter. And, for those who haven't, the story from here on might get confusing if you don't read my story: Beetlejuice: Origin, so if you haven't read it yet, read it before reading this chapter. Thanks!)
Lydia yawned and opened her eyes, she sat up, stretched her arms over her head and looked down at the empty spot next to her.
'Hm…he must be downstairs.' She mumbled to herself, getting up and pulling on a dressing gown. She pulled her hair back in a ponytail and walked downstairs. 'Max…?' She called out. No response. 'Max??' She called again; once more there was no answer. A piece of paper lay by the telephone in the living room, Lydia picked it up and read it.
Dear Lydia, I'm sorry I'm not there to wake up by your side, but, as usual, business calls. I'll come by later. Max.
Lydia smiled and laid it back down; she walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. She took out a carton of orange juice and poured some into a glass. She knew she should be bothered by Max's absence, but inexplicably, she wasn't. It seemed ok to her, it didn't matter, and she knew she'd see him again. Betelgeuse quickly came to mind, she did leave him hanging last night, and they were bonding…even if it was a little.
'Maybe I should go see him…' She said to herself, sipping her orange juice. 'Better get dressed first.' She finished, draining her glass, setting it down and running upstairs. She quickly got dressed into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt before hurrying back downstairs once more. After pulling on a pair of trainers she closed the curtains in all the rooms downstairs and began to chant. 'Though I know I should be wary, still I venture someplace scary. Ghostly haunting, I turn loose Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse!' With a loud clap of thunder and a flash of lightning, Lydia closed her eyes and, when she re-opened them, she was in the Neitherworld. She grinned and skipped down the twisted street towards Jacques' s house. She knocked on the door and waited. She didn't have too long to wait before a familiar face opened the door.
'Lydia! What brings you 'ere?' Jacques asked, stepping aside for Lydia to enter the house.
'I'm looking for Betelgeuse, is he here?' She asked, waving at Ginger, who was in the kitchen. Jacques closed the door and shrugged.
'I don't know where he is Lydia, he did not come back last night.' Lydia's face dropped slightly, she enjoyed her time with him yesterday and she was hoping to do the same today.
'Do you know where he went?' She asked, only for Jacques to shake his head in response. Lydia sighed and nodded. 'Okay…I'll go look for him.'
'Good luck.' Jacques replied, opening the door again. Lydia smiled and left the house.
'Thanks, I'll see you guys later.'
'Au revoir!' Jacques called out as Lydia walked down the street. She sighed and looked around. She saw the Monster Across The Street and waved, he waved back and walked over to her with Poopsie not far behind.
'Why hello there lil' missy, nice ta be seein' ya again.' He said cheerfully. Lydia petted Poopsie and smiled at him.
'Thanks; nice to see you again too…say, you haven't seen Betelgeuse around here have you? He didn't get back in last night.' Poopsie growled at the mere mention of Betelgeuse's name. The Monster shook his furry head.
'I aint seen the greaseball today, sorry.' He replied. Lydia sighed and glanced down the street, then back at The Monster.
'Do you know where he might be?' She asked, hopeful that The Monster would know. After a few seconds pause, The Monster answered, pointing towards a sudden turning in the street.
'Did ya check the swamps? That varmint might be there.' Lydia smiled and hugged The Monster.
'Thanks, just what I needed.' She said before pulling away. 'I'd better go find him, see you again.' The Monster waved as Lydia walked down the street, Poopsie just yapped, his own way of saying goodbye. Lydia hurried towards where The Monster pointed, all of a sudden a grey fog came from nowhere, covering Lydia in a hot and sticky atmosphere. She glanced around nervously, wondering what was going on, the fog just came from nowhere. She slowed her pace down to an unhurried saunter, suddenly a bug the size of a dinner plate buzzed past her face, causing her to scream in surprise. It disappeared into the haze as quickly as it had appeared. The leafless and twisted trees were no more than dark shapes, apart from the occasional buzz of insects and Lydia's footsteps timed with her breathing, there was no sound. It seemed a little too creepy, even for the Neitherworld.
She continued to walk, and as she got further and further down the pathway, the fog got thicker and more humid. It wasn't long before she found she was walking through tall, undisturbed grass instead of the beaten track. 'Betelgeuse?' She called out, hopeful that the ghoul was somewhere near her. No response. 'Betelgeuse??' Then, a rustling sound came from behind her, Lydia spun around to see a silhouette standing in the grass. 'Betelgeuse? Is that you??'
'Back already? Thought you'd be with your boyfriend…' Betelgeuse replied, cynical. Lydia took a step forward, so that she could see him. But he retreated, becoming more of a shadow.
'What? He's not my boyfriend, he's just…'
'Some guy you slept with…?' Betelgeuse spat. Lydia's eyes widened, her mouth dropped open. How did he know?
'Now hold on…how do you know that he and I…?'
'I saw…I always see.' He replied. Lydia glared at him and balled her hands into fists.
'How dare you spy on me!'
'How dare you leave me, how dare you make a fool of me!'
'I didn't make a fool of you, you've done that yourself!'
'I thought we had become friends! But you left me like I was nothing!' Lydia was seething with anger by now, as was Betelgeuse. Suddenly, Lydia snapped, losing all sense within her. A fire burned in her belly, her temples tensed with rage, she would not stand there and listen to this…freak yell at her about abandoning him, she wanted to go with Max, and right now she wanted to be with him more than she wanted to be around Betelgeuse. If she had paused for even a second, she would have realised that she wasn't acting like herself.
'You are nothing!!' She screamed. Betelgeuse roared, now he too had snapped, how dared a mere human defy him! The ground shook violently; cracks appeared underneath Lydia's feet. She jumped back and watched as several black tentacles shot up from the fissure in the ground. They wrapped themselves tightly around her arms, legs and torso before bringing her close to Betelgeuse's face. She gasped as she saw the transformation that had taken place, his face was drawn and his eyes were deep and black, showing no emotion at all. Veins were visible through his pale skin, making his visage all the more grotesque.
Before Lydia could say anything, the tentacles flung her into the swamp and retreated back into the ground. The crevice closed up and Betelgeuse floated to the waters edge, staring at Lydia, who was struggling to get out of the thick and murky water. 'What the hell was that for!?' She yelled, pulling herself up onto shore. Betelgeuse had no response; he just turned and started to float away, the fog following him as if he were its master. 'Get me home you jerk! I never want to see you again!!' Lydia shrieked, peeling a few weeds and algae off her clothes. Without turning around, Betelgeuse waved a hand and Lydia was gone in a flash of light.
Lydia appeared in her dining room, soaked from head to toe in swamp water and brimming with anger, she stormed up the stairs and into the bathroom. Running a shower, she undressed and stepped in.
'I can't believe he did that…' She muttered to herself, cursing Betelgeuse with every fibre of her being. 'Ugh, this crud stinks!' No matter how hard she scrubbed, the algae would not come off her skin; it was like it stained whatever it touched. After several minutes of scrubbing, the algae finally started coming off. She pulled weeds and all sorts of other crap out of her hair and half an hour later, she was done. Lydia stepped out of the shower, satisfied that she was clean, dried herself off and pulled on a bathrobe. She started to dry her hair and walked into the living room, that's when the doorbell went. She sighed and decided it would be best to answer it. Delia stood in front of her with Charles walking up from the car; Lydia smiled and continued drying her hair. 'Hi guys, what are you doing here?'
'Aren't we allowed to visit?' Delia asked.
'Unless you have company…' Charles cut in. Lydia knew what he meant about "company", she blushed slightly and stepped aside.
'No no, no company.' She replied, closing the door after her parents had entered the house. They walked into the living room and sat down, Lydia walked over to her drinks cabinet and opened it up. 'Drink, anyone?'
'Lydia, it's twelve in the afternoon…'
'I'll have a scotch.' Charles replied, cutting Delia off once again. Lydia poured him a shot of scotch whiskey and handed the glass to him. He took it and sipped the alcohol, savouring the flavour.
'So…' Lydia started, hoping to fire up conversation. Delia glanced around and noticed a couple of leaves left over from the first time Lydia recited the chant.
'Lydia dear, don't you clean?' She asked, pointing at the brown foliage on the floor. Lydia walked over and picked up the leaves before dumping them in the bin. Delia smiled and straightened herself in her seat. 'There, much better, don't you think?' Lydia nodded and sat down opposite her parents.
Betelgeuse stormed through the streets, letting his power loose, he was ripping up pavement, flipping cars and…well I wont say what he'd do to Poopsie if that mongrel tried anything. She called him nothing, he was nothing to her…always had been. She defied him, yelled at him, he knew she was angry…he was too, but he couldn't help but think there was some truth to what she said. He was nothing.
'So you guys just came to chat?' Lydia asked, hoping they would leave, she didn't want Delia to meet Max…wait, she had to rephrase that in her mind…she didn't want Max to meet Delia.
'Actually, there is another reason, we were wondering if you'd want to come over for the day, Barbara and Adam really miss you.'
'I can't…I'm supposed to wait for Max.' Lydia replied, Delia blinked and frowned a little.
'Who's Max?'
'Lydia's new boyfriend!' Charles chuckled, Lydia reddened.
'He's no my boyfriend…he's just…'
Someone you slept with…?
Betelgeuse's words hit her hard, now they wouldn't stop. Lydia growled lowly and rubbed her head, trying to force the voices out.
'Well he can come too.' Delia said, Lydia shook her head and looked at her stepmother.
'No, I have to wait for him here.'
'But hon…' Charles started.
Someone you slept with…'No! Get out! I have to wait for him here and you can't make me leave him!!' Lydia yelled, making Delia, Charles and even herself, jump. She got to her feet, fists clenched and her face as red as blood.
'Lydia! We're not trying to…' Delia tried to reason with herm but Lydia would have none of it.
'OUT!!' Again, Lydia hadn't paused, she hadn't hesitated, and she didn't notice how she wasn't acting like herself. Which was what Max had planned all along…
(A/N: Hope you enjoyed!)