Disclaimer: Beetlejuice and all related characters belong to Warner Bros. I wouldn't take responsibility for BJ if you paid me. No way, baby.

Chapter 5: Conversation

Lydia came home and told Delia that she had a headache, and Delia sent her up to bed with a cup of coffee and a few aspirin. Lydia closed the door and locked it, placed the coffee on her desk, and then tucked her hands into her pockets and pulled out the sheet of notebook paper. She sat comfortably on the bed with her feet tucked under her, cleared her throat, and said, "Will you tell me your name?"

Beetlejuice was startled by this direct approach. He knew that she couldn't hear him while he was bound. He drifted down to settle next to her; kinda cozy up a bit. She shivered, and he smiled toothily at her. But she held still, which he admired, a little. "Babe, how much more of a clue do ya need?"

"Why are you here?" Her voice was soft, and a bit rough around the edges. He liked that. But she was talking to herself, which was kinda nuts. He shrugged. What the hell—it had been a boring week.

"I'm stuck. What's your excuse?"

"Why can't you leave?" Her tone was the same, but her question was curiously appropriate. He studied her for a moment, and decided it was just luck.

"I'm waitin' for you to use that pretty head of yours and figure it out, sweet cheeks."

"Is there anything you want to say to me?" Yep—she was just shooting in the dark. He stroked his long fingers against her cheek, and she pulled slightly away. Humans. He scowled. Always pulling away.

"Sure babe. Say my name three times. Three. Got it? And then I'll have lots to say to ya." Lydia was silent for a moment, and then she whispered a gentle thanks. She stood up, and he felt her go as well as seeing it. He pondered for a moment that he might be getting a little too fond. He watched her as she pulled something out of her pocket and opened it. A little tape recorder. She smiled a secret smile as she rewound it.

"Lets see if you are more vocal on tape, shall we?" And she pressed play.

White noise. Then her voice. Will you tell me your name? White noise. She rewound it, and readjusted the equalizer. Static. Beetlejuice rolled his eyes and collapsed back on her bed, making himself comfortable. He inhaled deeply and could smell her peculiar scent of patchouli and photo chemicals. Her voice again. Why are you here? A low snarl followed, and she rewound it quickly. --are you here? And then, faintly, m'stuck. Beetlejuicestartled up from his reverie. Rewind. –here?

m'stuck. Rewind. m'stuck.

Beetlejuice gaped, for once in his long afterlife truly stunned. The little minx had gotten him on tape! Her eyes were shining. She let the tape play, and he heard her voice again. Why can't you leave? Static. Nothing. He sighed in relief. Just a fluke. And had he called her sweet cheeks? He struggled to remember. She checked back over it a few times, but came up empty. And then, Is there anything you want to say to me?

Beetlejuice was listening as intently as she, and he heard it before she did. A wicked smile bloomed on his lips. This could definitely work to his advantage. She rewound. --say to me? White noise… and then, name three times… three. Rewind. –to me? --name three times… three. As clear as a bell. Lydia listened to the tape several more times. Finally, she looked up, like a blind woman searching for the source of a sound.

"So you're stuck, and I have to figure out your name, and then say it three times?" She chewed on a fingernail. "And you're male. So I guess I should stop calling you 'it.'" Beetlejuice bristled, and zinged his nickel at the wall. She jumped at the sharp snick of metal traveling 200 mph smashing against plaster, and then smiled hesitantly. "I never really thought you were an it. I kinda thought you were a man, the way you got so close. You feel like a man…" He raised his eyebrows at her, and she blushed, but in response to her own thoughts rather than his reaction to them.

"Lydia, Lydia, what are you thinking?" He brushed his fingertips against her cheek, and she turned, but towards him this time. He noticed how dark her eyes were, and how her pale skin reflected the dim light. Not that that sort of thing mattered to him. At all.

Her soft voice interrupted his contemplation. "I can feel you here, right next to me." She took a deep breath. "I don't think you're dangerous, but I've heard stories. I'll do what I can to set you free. But I have to make that decision in the end. Because I have to protect my family, and we aren't moving out, my ghostly friend." She said this last with such a firm determination that he flinched slightly. Oh really?

Long after she had fallen asleep, Beetlejuice sat on her bed, watching her quiet breathing. She had outsmarted him soundly this time. Lydia two, BJ zip. He was beginning to feel like he was the amateur. It was time to step things up. Once he was out, she wouldn't find him so easy to outmaneuver.