Disclaimer: Beetlejuice and Co belong to Geffen. Alas that he did not choose to make further use of them.

Chapter 20: Aurora

Many different types of energy exist in the world. Human energy registers as heat, and spectral energy manifests as electricity. By the time Lydia realized that the meat sauce was burning, she was awash in a vibrant, tingling glow. "Oh!" She broke away from him and ran to the stove to push the pot onto the backburner, and then waved her hands ineffectually at the smoke. Beetlejuice came up behind her, grinning, and flicked it away. She chuckled. "Useful, that."

"Look, Lydia," he murmured, and tugged the buttons open on his shirt, while she flushed, as interested as she was embarrassed. His skin was a beautiful pearly iridescence, with flashes of blues and greens in the curves and hollows. But where she had rested her hands, she could clearly see the outline of her fingers in a flush of pink. She stared, amazed, as the color faded slowly away. Unable to resist, she pressed her hand against the curve of his ribs, underneath where his heart would be, and he shivered, his hands flexing helplessly by his sides. "Um, we should eat. I, um, I… dinner, an' all." She lifted her hand to see a perfect imprint emblazoned there like a burn.

"Does it hurt?" she whispered.

"No. Oh, no, not hurt. But if you don't stop that, we're never going to enjoy the meal you cooked." His rumbling purr raced through her, and she had to work to take control of her rebellious body.

"Right. Food." She shook herself, and closed his shirtfront like curtains, and tore herself away.

Dinner was wonderful, if a little more done than she had intended. They sat at the tiny table that doubled as a homework desk and mail drop, and Beetlejuice told her stories of his capers as they ate. And she was very hungry. At one point, as he was relishing a large chunk of garlic bread, she asked, "So what happens to the food, B? I'm not going to find a big pile of spaghetti on your chair when you leave, am I?" She flashed him a cheeky grin, and he choked on a giggle, and swallowed carefully.

"Internal combustion, babes. It all turns into energy, and just radiates. Here, I'll show you." He snapped his fingers, and the entire room was immediately engulfed by a vibrant aurora-like glow. Lydia gasped, astonished. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Brilliant rainbow flashes undulated like fiery ribbons, whipping and swirling in fascinating, kaleidoscopic patterns. She stood up, and ran her hands through the vivid wash of light, feeling it eddy and swirl against her fingertips.

"This is your glow?"

"Yep!" he beamed with obvious pride.

She got a suspicious look in her eyes. "It's gigantic."

He smiled nervously, suddenly realizing what he had betrayed. "Um."

"Much, much larger than I had thought." He gave her an attempt at an innocent look, and she shook her head at him, her eyes narrowing. "And here I thought I had to be pressed up against you to be inside it."

He grimaced comically, a little boy stripped of his guilty secret. "Well, it's better that I hang on to you, just in case, you know?"

But she was laughing. "You sneak!" But there was too much admiration in her voice for him to miss, and he gave her his most charming grin. Shaking her head, she began clearing away the plates. But he preempted her, and she had to duck as the dishes raced into the kitchen and set to washing themselves in the sink. "I like that, B!" she grinned.

"Is that all you like?" His voice was throaty and dark, and she shivered.

"Not even remotely all," she affirmed, and tucked herself comfortably into his lap.

"Good. Now…" He settled in to what she realized was just a current of air, with her comfortably sprawled against him. "Let's talk Halloween." And that feral grin prickled across her shoulders again, and she wondered briefly what she had gotten herself into.