Disclaimer: Beetlejuice and Co belong to Geffen. Alas that he did not choose to make further use of them.
Author's Notes:
Spiderjuice-- :beams: i'm very glad you like it! This is my first Beetlejuice story, but in a way, it's my oldest too, not counting Labyrinth. It's been rolling around in my little brain for 15 years or so. And if you do catch typos, please let me know-- this is un-beta'd, and i'm highly caffinated. Thank you!
WitchyWanda-- Thank you thank you! I hope to be able to see PotC soon-- i can't seem to type fast enough-- feel like a ghostwriter! (ha ha ;)
Chapter 10: A Familiar Grin
Mirrors. She had never known how many mirrors there were in all the world. Hundreds. Every reflective surface stared back at her, and she knew that he was grinning at her out of all of them. It would have been frightening, except for that look in his eye, the cool graze of his lips and fingers. That made it terrifying. And her breath quickened at the thought that terror wasn't as close as perhaps, exhilaration.
Every time she closed her eyes she saw his charming, wicked grin. Every time the noise around her dropped off, she heard his gravelly, silken voice in her ear. Say my name, Lydia. Class went by in a sleep-deprived, distracted daze, and more than once she found herself staring at the windows, and her own pale and drawn reflection. After lunch, she gave up altogether, but didn't want to return to her room just yet. So she found herself at her favorite coffee shop, Uncommon Grounds, and found that particularly suitable. Although Unholy Grounds might be more appropriate. A large double shot in the dark Sumatra clutched in her hands, she retreated to a booth in the back.
Her feelings for him were a study in conflict, magnified a thousand times by the fact that he was dead. She had no trouble at all loving dead people—Barbara and Adam were dearly beloved and good friends, too. But this wasn't about that kind of love. Not remotely. She could still feel his long fingers stroking back her hair, and the solidity of his chest as she relaxed against him. Not breathing. Having a poltergeist as a lover... that was enough to make her dizzy. He could alter reality, for Pete's sake, even if only temporarily. Off the scale… She shivered to think of him ever getting angry at her; she knew that he wouldn't ever hurt her, but the terrible fright that he could cause; well, it was formidable. No wonder that Juno felt she needed to be warned. And Lydia was no slouch in the frightening business, but she still remembered her own stark terror at the snake. And that was, as he had proudly bragged as he scuffed his nails against his dusty lapels, nothin', babes.
Still, he would be a blast at Halloween. She grinned deviously. People would come for hundreds of miles to be frightened out of their wits. And he understood her. How rare was that? He might be the only one in the world who took her for who she was, without complaint. She thought of Billy the Squid, and the dozens of other reasons she had never dated seriously. Kissing boys was fun, but kissing someone who was scared of you was, well, irritating. Who more appropriate for her than a man… well, he at least was, at one time, anyway, who would never be frightened of her, who would always know the subtext of her jokes. Who couldn't be photographed except as an orb or mist-twister. Probably come out striped.
One question remained. Would he be able to love her? Juno didn't think so; in fact, Juno believed he wasn't capable, and surely she would know. But Lydia couldn't forget the events of the night before. How he had come, and then let her take the credit. So unlike him. And then being stunned that she would want him to stay. Brushing out her hair. Staying with her when he had the freedom to escape while she was sleeping. Telling her how he had died. It wasn't like the ghost that she had known, not at all. Something had changed. Or he was just a really good actor. But which?
She decided that she wanted to know. Halloween was only a few weeks away. She resolved to make a decision by then. And perhaps throw a party of her own. She grinned, and had she looked in the mirror, she would have not have recognized herself, but him.