Beetlejuice doesn't belong to me. If you want to split hairs, I don't know exactly who he belongs to… Tim Burton, The Geffen Film Company, whoever wrote the myriad of scripts… (Probably not that last.) It's all legal techno-babble to me, and I don't know much about that stuff. I do know enough not to claim he's mine, or try to make money off him, or I'm screwed. Which sucks. I mean, who wouldn't want to make a living doing what they love? But I guess I should just be grateful I can do it at all… Where would I be, if I couldn't? …Probably doing it anyway, but if anyone asks, I'll deny it. You'll vouch for me, right?

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Nnnn... This is longer than I've written for a while. Nnn... But keep in mind, I'm totally evil. :) So I'll probably leave off just as you're wondering what the hell happens next... Nnnn... That being said, I'm going to gnaw my fingers to nubs until I know what you think of it, because despite how many people have been so kind to me, and they really have, I'm still totally insecure whenever I post something new, so you might want to review, before said gnawing makes any more typing impossible. Yes, yes I will resort of extortion... Or is that blackmail? Yes, I will accept criticism, though I will procceed to defend my viewpoint to the point of insanity, even though I'll probably accept good advice while pretending to hate it. Anyway, it might work well. Heck, I don't know... Nnn... You know, some people DO sleep...

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Well, that had gone brilliantly. Now, not only was she eating herself apart over that last look Vincent had given her, and the horribly understanding way he'd been about the breakup, not even putting up a fuss… No, now she was practically tearing her hair out about what had just happened back there with Beetlejuice.

Kiss me, Beej… She mocked herself, her lips twisted into a little scowl. Forget that it had been a damn good kiss, and one she was currently having trouble pushing to the side of her mind… What had she been thinking? She knew damn well the kind of guy he was, and that he'd never let something like that go, now that she'd 'opened the door,' so to speak. Not to mention that he was pretty much the friend she hung around with the most, certainly the one she had the most fun with, even if that did mean getting in the most trouble. She couldn't exactly just brush him to the side now, if he started coming on strong…

God, she hoped he didn't do that. And what the hell was with him just now suddenly noticing she wasn't twelve? And everything after that? Sure, he'd gotten a eyeful of bra, but what, now that suddenly changed all the rules? No qualms, no hesitation, just sort of going from the kid he hung around with, to the chick whose pants he wanted in? Sure, she couldn't see something like friendship or past getting in Beetlejuice's way for long, when he saw something he wanted… But what about her?

What about me? Easy, I give him a full view of my under-stuff, and then I give him permission to stick his tongue down my throat. No mixed signals there. Clearly, I want things to stay exactly the same.

She bit her lips, eyes still fixed out at the trees they were passing, and gave a sort of inner sigh. She couldn't have just stayed twelve, no. She had to get her head all fouled up by teenage shit, and turn from a skinny twig of a kid, into… Well, someone that the guy next to her would ask out! She didn't take him as real interested in her 'personality…'

"Awful quiet, Deetz." He noted out of the blue, using her last name like it was some sort of term of affection. She pointedly didn't look at him, biting her knuckle, her mind going back to the look on Beej's face, right before he kissed her. That moment when he realized that this was her he was about to come onto, just before he pushed the thought away with about as much effort as shooing a fly. "Am I making you nervous?"

Nervous? She turned from the window to cast him the most fleeting glance possible, her dark eyes practically scathing as they skimmed over him in the darkness. He of course, couldn't see that, and just grinned like an idiot, all full of himself for, 'making her nervous.' Like it made him just such a man. It was only about this time that she realized that, again, they were surrounded by trees passing on either side. They should not be surrounded by trees passing on either side.

"Where the hell are we going?" She snapped, angry from the surge of panic suddenly welling up in her gut. They should be in town by now… Hell, they should be at the movie theater!

The guy, damn him, she still couldn't remember his name, looked surprised, then try to pass off one of those confident grins that the girls around town seemed to love. "Turns out, that movie's got a little delay tonight…" He lied through his teeth, "Something about a broken projector. I thought we could kill some time down at The Lake."

Lydia's stomach sank, as she stared at him with as much venom as she could summon into her gaze at such short notice. "Forget it," She denied flatly, "Take me home, we'll go another night." Like hell they would… Once she got away from this guy, she was never giving him the time of day again! He was so not the kind of trouble she was into…

Again he looked surprised, as if in all his times in using this lie, no one had ever come up with that response before. "Hey," He pressed, sounding genuinely soothing, "I just want to get to know you a little better, Deetz! We don't gotta do nothing… Just talk a little, enjoy the view…"

"And you can brag to all your friends about some shit that didn't go down?" Lydia glowered at him, which made him look a little uneasy, and shift, avoiding her gaze.

"Hey, I just thought you wanted to have a little fun…" He protested, "Hell, I'm a guy, you gotta know what I think's fun!"

"Do you know what I think's fun?" She countered, her voice low and angry. He didn't seem to know how to respond to this, just looking uncomfortable. "Well? I mean, you expect me to know what you think's fun, so how about the other way around? Because see, I think going to a movie's fun… Not being hijacked out to some make-out spot for all the horny guys in Winter River."

He looked a little more tense now, but smiled through it, pulling the car to a stop. "Well, there's no point making a big deal about it now," He noted quietly, his voice just a little bitter, "Since we're already here and all. Just look out at the water, enjoy the stars… We'll leave in a few minutes."

Lydia seriously considered what kind of walk it would be like back to town, through who knew how many miles of trees, along deserted roads, and closed her eyes, silently muttering one of the curses she'd learned from Beetlejuice. She sat stiff as anything, staring straight forward, her lips pressed into a thin line, and positively radiated, 'don't you dare touch me, you fucking pig.'

There was a long moment, where the silence was uncomfortable enough that Lydia thought he just might get the hint, and take her home, but then he reached out, with a little shrug, and turned on the radio. Some cliché make-out crap drifted over the speakers, and Lydia rolled her eyes. This guy was not going to give up, was he?

"I'm gonna get some air." She muttered, shoving the door open, and stepped away from the mind numbing swill he was playing, as well as to get away from the wall of cologne that still managed to likewise numb her nose.

She stepped out into the cool night, just on its way into mid-spring, and took a deep breath of clean air… Only for her eyes to fall on the occupants of about another dozen cars, most with steamed windows, some, as the phrase went, 'rocking.' Lydia felt a surreal moment of, 'hell, they realize people know what they're doing in there, right?'

This was followed quickly by a need to get away from the sight of her date's intentions for the evening, and before she could think twice about it, she was walking to the shore of the black water, and pointedly not looking behind again.

When she just looked out at it though, the idiot was right… It was beautiful. More stars than she could count above, a heavy half moon, the water that stretched out of sight in the darkness… The sound of it, gently washing against the thin strip of dirt. She shook her head, determined not to enjoy a minute of it, but slowly found herself, entirely against her will, losing some of the anger that had driven her out into the rather sharp night wind.

"Pretty, isn't it?" It came pretty much out of nowhere, even if it shouldn't have, making her jump a little. His voice was all silk, husky and murmuring, as he came up behind her. He didn't move to touch her, which was a rather impressive effort on his part… But most likely he was just still trying to get her to lower her guard.

"Yeah, pretty." She echoed sourly, any pleasantness that the night might have held, however momentarily, now gone. She should have brought pepper spray or a whistle… God, something! Now she was already wondering if she'd actually have to let him get somewhere with her, even if it was only a kiss, if she wanted a ride home. She suddenly didn't feel like kissing Beej had been such a bad idea anymore, if only so this guy wouldn't be her first…

Beej. A completely unbidden smile came to her lips at the thought of calling him, and letting him deal with the hormone driven creep. Hell, he'd said he'd always come to her rescue… This counted, right? Maybe he'd drown the son-of-a-bitch. Then they could enjoy the view together, and if Beetlejuice went out of line, she'd kick him in the shins. Come to think of it, maybe she should try that with no-name… But for all she knew, that was exactly what it would take for him to leave her there. And she did not want to walk home alone.

At this point, she was weighing her, 'never should have gotten out of the car,' argument, with her, 'yeah, because being in close quarters with a guy who just brought me to The Lake against my will would have been such a better idea,' argument, when said guy suddenly sighed, and took a few paces away from her, looking skyward.

Lydia regarded him warily, wondering at the sudden change of tactics. "You know," He said suddenly, sort of regretfully, "If you didn't like me Deetz, why the hell did you agree to go out with me? I mean," His eyes traveled downward slowly, and a little, embarrassed smile crossed his lips, "Obviously I like you, right? You're pretty, you're smart… You do your own thing. I think that's pretty cool."

Waiting for the other shoe to fall, Lydia regarded him with a wary eye, wondering how much of this he'd said to a hundred other girls before her. The whole bit about her doing her own thing was pretty good… She preened over it a bit more than she liked to admit, especially knowing it was probably a line. Still, she figured she might as well answer him honestly. She wouldn't be blamed if things went bad again. "I just got out of a long-term relationship," She said simply, turning back to the water, "A guy I've dated since I was twelve. I just wanted to think about something else for a while. Get my mind off it."

A pause, and then a soft laugh. "So I'm the rebound guy, I get it." He sounded hurt, and that made her flinch, albeit unintentionally. She was just so fresh from breaking one guy's heart… The last thing she wanted was to go through something like that again. "Fine. Whatever. I mean, I understand. It's not the first time it's happened. But just because you just went through a bad break-up… Don't let it mean you're not even gonna give me a chance, okay?"

That, sounded suspiciously like logic. Damn, he would have to be acting reasonable now… It was so much easier to despise him when he was being a jerk. The truth was, she'd never intended for it to be a real date. Despite what she'd said to Vincent about, 'dating other people,' she wasn't really up to it yet. The dust still had to settle from everything that had happened with him… More than three years together, that couldn't just be, brushed aside.

So the truth was, she'd just been using this guy as a diversion. More or less toying with him. God, now I feel like an ass all over again… She closed her eyes, rubbed the bridge of her nose, which suddenly felt tight, and wondered what the hell she was supposed to say now. "Yeah, all right." She heard herself agreeing, though even she didn't really believe she meant it. This had just been a bad idea from start to finish… But that wasn't entirely his doing. Not that she'd exactly gone out of her way to lead him on…

Maybe she was overreacting. Maybe… Damn, was this what all teenaged boys acted like? She had wanted a change from Vincent, but this was like asking for a glass of water, and being dumped in the ocean! And she didn't want a drop of that, of course…

It's salty, she smirked, amused by her own stupid comparison.

"A smile, that's better." He sounded relieved, clearly oblivious. "Come on, why don't we walk down by the water for a while? You can tell me what a presumptuous ass I've been, thinking you'd just want to make-out on the first date, and all that." He added with a grin, holding his hands up defensively, "I swear, that's all I had in mind. I figured you for, you know, not being the kind of girl…" And here he just sort of let it trail.

Was that a compliment? She bit her lip, wondering if all he'd had in mind was really a few kisses. Maybe she'd hung out with Beetlejuice for too long, figuring all guys… Oh shit, she'd thought about Beetlejuice again. Her face suddenly flushed, she ducked her head, and ran her fingers through the long bangs that were already working their way loose.

She forgot about the guy at her side, wondering instead what she'd say to the poltergeist when she saw him again. Nothing was going to change, she was determined of that. Beej was Beej, he was a horn-dog, a smooth talker, and a good friend… And she didn't mistake any of these. She just didn't want them to suddenly start overlapping.

"Hey," A tug at her hand, as the guy, damn, she still couldn't remember his name, slid his grasp into hers, and pointed skyward, "Check it out. See those three really bright stars up there? All close together? That's Orion's Belt. The Hunter." He sounded pretty smug about knowing this, surely not aware how well she already knew. "They're just about gone, this time of year."

"You can see them better in fall." She agreed, her lips twisting in a smile, as she instinctively looked to find the brightest star of the constellation. "That's one of the reasons it's my favorite time of year."

"Because of some stars?" He looked like this was funny or something, grinning as he gave her hand a little squeeze. "You are weird. Not that I don't like that," He added hastily, as she fixed him with a sideways glance. "I mean, doing your own thing… Cool. Right?" A sort of silence fell between them, and at this point, it was no longer as awkward. Lydia was a little concerned in fact, to find that she was actually enjoying herself. With a boy. At 'The Lake.'

"Hey," He said again, tugging her to a stop, and making her meet his gaze, "I really like you Deetz. I've always wanted to ask you out… But everyone said you had this boyfriend, and…" He gave a sheepish little smile. "Guess I figured, I didn't have a chance. This guy was supposed to be a real charmer, or something. Everyone just called him, 'The Prince.' Why would you want to go out with someone like me, when you had someone like him?"

"A prince," Lydia echoed softly, unable to prevent just a hint of regret seeping into her voice. "Yeah. He was. I mean," Damn, that was stupid, "He was a great guy. It's just, I'm not sure he was the right guy, you know?"

A small pause, and then seriously, "If you want to talk about it…"

"Nah." Lydia pushed her hair back, starting to turn back to the water. "Wouldn't change anything. Besides, there's no way in hell you want to hear me whine on about my ex… No guy's that nice."

He laughed, a moment later, his fingertips brushing the hair away from the back of her neck. "Guess you're right," He murmured, as a chill graced her spine, "I mean, if it were up to me, I'd much rather be kissing you."

The barest edge of Lydia's former unease reared its head, but the goth girl stubbornly pushed it away, giving a little shrug. "I dunno," She murmured, surprised at herself to realize she was actually teasing him, "I don't want to lead you on or anything…" Which with her current tone of voice, might be exactly what she could be accused of doing…

"Yeah, okay, I can respect that." He agreed, sounding serious, but in the way that meant he might be teasing. "But I mean, I kind of think you owe me at least one kiss, for making me think I had a chance with you in the first place." He moved beside her, fingers still tracing the creamy skin of her neck, a slow grin falling into place. It was, a little disturbing. "Do I have a chance with you, Deetz?"

But again, she pushed that away. "Probably not." She smiled, turning to face the guy, who currently couldn't seem to take his eyes off her. "But if I do owe you a kiss… You would have to earn it." Secretly, she was wondering just how much of Beetlejuice's bragging was just that… He couldn't really be that exceptional a kisser. This was a way to find out, and then the guy would probably agreed to take her home, and…

"Screw earning it," The guy muttered, suddenly grabbing her by the arm like he was done playing patient, pulling her hard against him, and meeting her gaze with his own, suddenly intense one, "I said you owe me." And with that, even as her mind shifted in uneasiness at his sudden shift in mood, he pressed his lips against hers, hard, his tongue already pressing in a persistent way against her mouth.

Lydia balked, trying to pull free, all her previous unease suddenly returning full force, as he did his best to cram his tongue in her mouth, despite her refusal. She was just starting to get angry enough to consider letting him, just so she could bite it, hard, when she was suddenly aware of the progress his free hand was trying to make at her blouse, tugging it free from her jeans.

What the hell? Suddenly she was dealing with 'spider-hands,' one grasping her with the intent of not letting her pull away, the other now, somehow, having managed to make its way inside her blouse before she could stop it, groping at her with dogged single-mindedness.

Abruptly, even as she was doing her best to fight him off, or even get a breath of air, his fingers suddenly closed into a fist against her with a sound of surprise, and she felt his hiss of anger against her lips, "What the hell?"

The next thing she knew, he was shoving her, hard enough to throw her to the ground, as his eyes, formerly so full of humor, now glinted fanatically. The change had come so quick… She was aware of a brief, tearing pain at her neck, as well as the sound of something snapping, and for one instant, thought her shirt had torn open. Quickly covering herself, or grasping herself so he couldn't, she found that wasn't the case, but…

He stood over her, a glint of gold hanging from his hand in the moonlight, his features contorted in what could only be called jealousy. "What the hell?" He repeated, almost a roar. "You're still wearing his fucking ring around your neck? God damn it, Deetz, I'm getting sick of you stringing me along!"

It was so out of the blue, his sudden shift in personality, that it should have stunned her, but at the moment Lydia didn't even care that it made no sense. "Give me that!" It surprised her, the note of panic that touched her voice at the ring being out of her grasp, but he just sneered, even as she jumped to her feet, and made a grab for it. "Give it to me, that's mine!" As he held it just out of reach, smirking, Lydia decided she'd suddenly had enough of this whole damn night, and psycho guys who shifted from one mood to another without notice, like it was some kind of game… And she hauled off and kicked him, hard.

Unfortunately she missed her target, which wasn't his shin, only managing to clip him pretty good in the knee as he moved to block her kick. But it did have the satisfying effect of making him howl in rage. "You asshole!" She yelled at him, advancing, ready to give him another if she saw an opening, "So what, the whole nice guy thing is just some stupid act to get me to trust you? What the hell kind of sick…?"

"Bitch!" He hit her, easily as hard as she'd kicked him, and she went flying back again at the blow against her shoulder, even as he pulled his arm back, and with a swing she could only watch in horror, flung her ring somewhere out into the depths of the freezing lake. "You want it! Go get it!" And even as she scrambled back to her feet, he was already limping away, leaving her there alone in the dark.

She had no intentions of following, forget if he was her only ride home. Her mind was spinning in confusion, frustration, and lingering panic… She was furious with herself. All her instincts had been screaming at her that she couldn't trust the bastard, and she'd ignored them, and let her guard down anyway, and it had cost her the ring she hadn't taken off in years. Beetlejuice's ring.

Lydia made a sound, more like an utterance of rage than a sob, and kicked her shoes of, suddenly gripped with the insane idea of going into the chilling lake to find what had been taken from her. The cold was a shock as she stepped into the shallow water, but she was braced for that… What she hadn't been expecting was the thick black ooze that her foot then proceeded to sink into beneath the surface, dropping her further than she'd expected to go, and making her lose her balance… Which then left her on her hands and knees in the nasty stuff.

Pushing away any further cries of unhappiness, she struggled to her feet, and began wading deeper into the dark waters, determined to take back what was hers. She couldn't stand being helpless. She needed things back in her control. In the insanity of the night, in the violations she'd endured, the betrayal, the only way to make everything right again, in her mind, was to get that ring back…

Somehow, somehow, then everything would be okay again…

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Damn it, damn it, damn it! Beetlejuice had, over the course of the last forty minutes or so, completely lost his patience, ripped everything out of Lydia's dresser, wardrobe, and desk, and sent up a blizzard worthy of winter's best… Only to turn around, tucking everything back exactly where it had been before his tantrum. Not so that Lydia wouldn't be mad at him, but so that she wouldn't know how out of his mind he was going, while she was out playing around with some… breathing prick!

What the hell was with this anyway? He'd left a kid three days ago, she hadn't grown so much as an inch in his time away! Hell, she hadn't grown more than a handful of inches in the time he'd known her! She was still a sprite, a wisp… He could pick her up with one hand! Definitely not more than five feet… If that. Could he be blamed for thinking of her still as a kid? Was he supposed to notice everything?

Still, that was a damn stupid thing not to notice… And of course, completely unlike him. Could the girl have squirmed under his skin that much, that she wasn't just some breather to kill time with, or a way in and out, but…?

But what? She'd always called him her friend, he hadn't thought twice about that in years. But at what point had he started thinking of her that way? He'd never seen anyone for anything but what he could get out of them… That hadn't changed since he'd been alive. An easy mark. A cheap floozy. A scapegoat. Even just a favor he could call in later.

And Lydia? She was a way in and out of the neitherworld. Someone amusing to pass time with. Sure, he went out of his way to save her ass a time or two, when she got in over her head. Liked spending time with her more than pretty much anyone he could name, and that being her as too young to have his usual sort of fun with. Didn't plan on giving her up any time soon…

But that was all for selfish purposes, right? Just a kid that was useful to him. Only now she was all grown-like, with… With perky little breasts…. And this round little ass… And these sexy brown eyes… Lydia! Little no higher than his chest Lydia!

Shit-shit-shit-shit-shit! He was gripped with the odd need to punch something, to scream, and then was hit, quite out of nowhere, with the thought, Hell, I just kissed Lydia. Lyds! It shouldn't bother him. He'd kissed hundreds, maybe thousands of women. It shouldn't-

Well, yes, it should. And it didn't. All he could think was, hell, if she was fun before…! Breathers grew. It was what they did. He was an idiot for not noticing it sooner, but he'd watched lots of people go from kids to grown, in the neitherworld, and the real world. It wasn't just breathers, everyone did it. Hell, when he was alive, he'd done it! You didn't go back, you just moved forward… She was grown now. She was damn sexy. That was fine.

And it didn't bother him, and he was sure it should. Sure that some nagging sense of something should be kicking in any minute now, saying, that's Lyds, she's off limits… Only it didn't. Instead he was already thinking of ways, when he wasn't tearing his hair out, that he could turn this little unexpected surprise to his benefit.

Back when he'd first met her, before their little deal, he'd still been fixated on there being just one way out… Finding a living woman, and marrying her. It had even occurred to him, that seeming forever ago, to hang out with her until she was old enough… and then of course, he'd dropped that idea, because who wanted to hang out with some kid for three or four years?

Only he had. And any plans to get something out of it had vanished long before. But hell, that didn't mean they were bad plans… The girl already liked him, right? Most broads despised him on sight, and he could still usually get what he wanted from them. This girl, Lyds, she already actually liked him. Theoretically, it should be a piece of cake. The girl was as inexperienced as anything, thanks to the royal idiot… He could blow her socks off, throw her for a loop, and…

Okay. Now that tinge of, you can't do that, that's Lyds, was kicking in. A conscience? Hell, he wouldn't have believed he had one. He tried to take the line of thought again, and again, felt a sort of sick feeling rise in his stomach, at the thought of playing with the girl's head, as she'd never hesitated to play with his. But that was all in good fun, and this… Well, this was a low blow.

So, Lyds as a good time. He could do that. Lyds as damn sexy. Fine. As long as he didn't do anything to screw her over. They always had fun together, so why not now? Why not like this? But using the girl as a way out, messing with her feelings? That he couldn't do. Strange, but good to know. He'd worked with limitations since the day he'd died, he could work his way around this one too.

He pushed the chair back from her dresser, sat down, and propped his feet up on one of the bats she took such pains to keep nice. He might have sneered a little as he did it, a petty little revenge for leaving him in the lurch like this. Okay. Babes grew up. No problem. Still just her, right? The girl was crazy about him. Thought he could do no fucking wrong. Funny, that he wanted her to keep feeling that way, but…

Beetlejuice drew out a cigarette, and with a moment's afterthought, flicked his fingers, and slid the window across the room open, easy as thought. Then he lit up, took a deep drag of smoke, and furrowed his brow. All right, he was a little calmer now, just had to think this through. Lyds, hell, she might be inexperienced, but she wasn't an idiot. No way she'd let the little punk get anywhere with her. And if she got into trouble? The guy couldn't take no for an answer? Then hell, she'd just call him.

Yeah, he was worried for nothing. At least that's what he told himself, a little more relaxed with the fragrant smoke filling his lungs, even though any actual effect it could have was only in his head. Still, it gave him something to do, helped him think.

Lydia… They'd be playing by a new set of rules now. Hell, she'd pretty much demanded that he kiss her, not even an hour ago. That was something twelve-year-old Lyds never would have done. Of course, that was something he never would have agreed too, if twelve-year-old Lyds had… But the point was, she had, and he had. And it was fucking good, too.

Maybe… "Friends with benefits?" He muttered under his breath, following this with a grimace, as he dismissed the idea almost as quickly. Shit, the best he'd get was probably a few more kisses. Lydia was a classy girl, the kind he didn't usually even try to set his sights on. She'd only go in for something like that for the long haul… And despite his many attempts to get his ring on various breather's fingers, he was not much of one for commitment.

Still, his lips twisted into something of a smirk, as he reflected that Lydia had been wearing said ring for the better part of, what had she said? Shit, had to be almost four years… Placated, if only temporarily, he put out the cigarette on his boot, and decided to spend his time alone in her room doing a little snooping. No way in hell he was going anywhere, until she got back from her 'date…'

But of course, there was really nothing in her room that he hadn't seen before. Including a bull-shit diary. Okay, maybe he hadn't browsed her underwear drawer before, but at this point, doing that would just make him feel crazier, not better. He already had that one image of her recent bareness fixed firmly in his mind, thank-you-very-much…

In the end, he settled for one of her recent photo albums. She was always trying to get him to look at the damn things, no matter how many times he'd pointed out that he was with her when she'd taken the damn pictures… So hell, he'd look at them now.

That'll show her, he thought dryly, flipping open the cover, and brooding on the sight on the first page, of the collection of neitherworld street signs she'd captured, where they folded across pretty much forever, some sort of bending space thing, and crossed back over themselves. In the biggest, center photo, Grim-sum Ave, and Grim-sum Ave. He wondered why that was so fucking important, snorted, and turned the page.

After a few more pages, he was, despite himself, grudgingly impressed. The girl had a skill for bringing the truly macabre out of everyday things… And when it came to the truly macabre, she had a way of making it almost demonic. It made his lips twist a little, when she took something simple and tame, like her cat, and with a few shadows, and an odd angle, made it look like something positively haunting.

Of course, she couldn't take pictures of the residents of the neitherworld, not well, but as he discovered with a few more pages, that didn't stop her from making said pictures of the dead, truly spectacular. Arrays of colors, lights, blurs and patterns, shapes that shouldn't technically be seen with the naked eye, captured perfectly each time, regardless. Odd displays of movement, interactions with a dead world around them…

But of course what was truly spectacular, were the pictures of him, brilliant as anything, and he recognized those every time. Even if he wasn't entirely sure how. Chin resting on his fist, he examined trees that clearly weren't from this world, glimpses of creatures corporeal enough to photograph, but again, clearly not from Winter River, and buildings… Damn, the girl had a thing for architecture pictures, didn't she? From both sides of the looking glass.

Just as quickly as he'd been drawn into it though, he grew bored again, and shoved the album back, drumming his fingers on the desk. Hell. How long was she going to be gone? He looked at the clock, and saw that it hadn't even been an hour. This was going to drive him crazy. He'd just check in on her, real quick, make sure she wasn't bound and gagged somewhere, or something…

"Hold on, I'm just going to check to see if her window's open again." A click of the doorknob, a voice clearly not Lyds, and Beetlejuice went completely invisible, scowling at the sight of Barbara Maitland sneaking into the girl's room when she wasn't there. He fanned his fingers across his lips in irritation, as she went to the window, made a clucking sound with her tongue, and slid it closed.

Then though, that done, she still didn't immediately retreat, looking around the room slowly. Clearly with the intention of using Lydia's absence to do exactly what he'd been doing a moment before, snooping. She paused at the sight of the photo album, and moved to open it, even as Beetlejuice slid silently out of the way, over to the now shut window, with just a faint chill left from its previous breeze.

"Barbara?" Adam peeked in, saw her about to open the album, and frowned. "You know, we really should respect Lydia's privacy." He noted, coming into the room anyway, and not objecting further when his wife swung the book open to a random page.

"Please Adam, they're just pictures…" Her voice caught in her throat though, with a jagged little sound, as she saw what lay inside. "My god…" Her voice, just a whisper. "Adam, look at these! They're incredible!"

Grudgingly, her husband came over to take a look too, while Beetlejuice practically sat on his hands to keep from juicing them both out of the room so fast that their afterlives would flash before their eyes. This was none of their damn business! Never mind that it wasn't his either… They just didn't belong there, looking through pictures of him and Lyds!

Adam's eyebrows flew up in surprise. "I didn't know she was using photo-shop so well! I knew she was taking classes at the school…" He reached out, about to flip a page as well, when he paused, and made a show of sniffing the air. "Do you smell that Barbara?"

Barbara, to his eyes always the less tolerable of the two, also took a deep 'breath' through her nose, and her lips twisted in a frown. "Smoke?"

"Cigarette smoke." Adam corrected grimly. "Damn it…" He did not look pleased.

"I thought she stopped experimenting with that years ago…" Babs sighed, looking disappointed. "God, tell me she hasn't actually been smoking since she was twelve! I only didn't mention it to her back then, because it seemed like a one time thing… Maybe we should-"

Beetlejuice. It shivered down the nape of his neck like a ghostly chill, but the ghost with the most didn't smile. She'd only be calling him if something was wrong. In addition to this, her voice… It didn't feel right. It felt weak, somehow. Beetlejuice. The hair on the nape of his neck stood on end. He didn't want to wait until she said it again, he wanted to go to her now… If only he fucking knew where she was!

Beetlejuice.

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