"Have a good time, babes?"
Claudia fell onto her bed in a dreamlike state. Staring at the ceiling with a grin, she nodded. "Oh yeah. Guys reaching puberty is a good, good thing."
Beetlejuice was busy cleaning under his filthy nails as he was perched on a styrofoam tombstone. "Well, glad to hear it. You feelin' ok?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
She popped her head up with a suspicious look. "Why do you care?"
"Just makin' sure I still make you sick. It's Adam's and Barbara's job to make you feel better, after all."
"You…know they were here?"
"Heard the whole conversation. Thanks a lot, by the way; now I know the entire Neitherworld heard about you being sick."
"I don't owe you any apologies."
"Same here. So no worries; we're square."
"Fine."
"Fine."
They sat in stony silence for thirty seconds before Claudia groaned with exasperation. "Why are you like this? What did I ever do to you?" she demanded.
"You
re keeping me here. Say my name and I'll leave."
"When Hell freezes over. I remember last time, you know. It was only a month ago."
"Maybe if you played a little nicer, I'd return the favor. You get along fine with Ben," he said nonchalantly, stretching out on the faux grass of the model cemetery.
"How I get along with other people doesn't apply to you, you twisted little lech. And what do you know about it, anyway?"
"Enough to use it to my advantage. With what I know, I could really strike home on you," he grinned maliciously.
She laughed sarcastically. "What, you'll tell my mother? You'll try to spook him off with a miniature snake?"
"No, but I could spook you."
"Oh, yeah? Try me."
"Alright. I'm Ben. Spooked?"
Claudia sat, frozen and speechless. Her stomach fell and began to roil in her gut. She was going to be sick.
"W-what?" she managed, going pale and slightly green.
"I'm Ben. I'm the one who drives the Mustang and wears the shades and knows your dad died in a light blue '66 Mustang car accident." And for his coupe de grace, he morphed into a three-and-a-half-inch high Ben Jacobs.
"You…you…" she stammered.
"Had a real blast tonight. You know, out of all the girls I've been with over the centuries, you're definitely the best kisser. Makes me wonder what else you're good at," he suggested like the little pervert he was. Then he changed back to his normal appearance.
The adrenaline kicked in and Claudia began to rage.
"How could you!" You sick, twisted, insufferable-…!"
"Don't blame me, babes!" he pleased laughingly as he ducked under a toy truck. "I'm stuck with you for a year now and I've gotta stay close to you to prove I can play nice. If I don't, I lose all my powers; but if I do I'm off the hook!"
"Do you actually expect me to believe that?"
"Juno's orders, Clauds. But if I can play the part and get some action out of it, you won't see me complaining."
"Bastard!"
How could he? Play her for a complete idiot and take advantage of her like that? She had no idea! No idea at all! Everything – the dates and the family histories – all of it had been a lie. An elaborate hoax, playing with her emotions, just so he could run around life-size in her world.
"Why would you…" she began, but felt the hurt and angry tears start to flow. But she sniffled them back and tried to remain furious.
"I hate you and everything you are. I'd kill you myself if you weren't already dead. Just…go away. Stay away from me. And don't ever let me see you pretending to be Ben again."
"Pretending? Babes, I am Ben!"
"Shut up! I don't care! He doesn't exist! He's just you in a cleaned-up façade!" she spat, retching when she said the word "you".
And with that, she disassembled the model and put it back in the closet, ignoring Beetlejuice's protests. She shoved the dollhouse in the small enclosure as well, slammed the door and locked it tight.
