Evening friends, this is another updated chapter, i will be continuing to revise and update my chapters and this is just one of them. I hope you enjoy it. Any reviews for it will be greatly appreciated and thank you for sticking with me.
This is so strange, Lydia thought to herself as she walked back into the living dead room. A few days ago, she had been terrified about Beetlejuice's return. Then petrified about the fact that he basically owned her. Things got worse when she realised there wasn't anything she could do. Yet when she attempted to think back on it, it felt almost like a distant dream. It must be that blood bond thing She thought to herself. She shook her head a little in the hopes that it would cement her objections in deeper, so they would stay in her mind.
Is that why things feel so... She paused for a moment to try and dredge up the right words to describe what it was she was feeling exactly. The words frustratingly felt just an inch out of her reach, so in the end, she settled for the word Comfortable. It didn't fit quite right but it was the closest she knew she would get for a while. But the feeling that she couldn't quite sum up the situation, no matter how hard she tried. Left something of a bad taste in her mouth.
Things were definitely a stark contrast to how they had been a day ago. It felt incredibly surreal to Lydia. Just knowing that she had the dreaded Ghost with the Most in a way, living with her. But he wasn't as bad as she remembered. Yes, he was still a disgusting, loathsome and deeply perverted creature. But somehow he seemed a little less repugnant that she remembered. She was beginning to appreciate his unique charm that no doubt was thanks to his many years as a conman. She wasn't sure why she found him more appealing. But, a voice in her head, seemed to be under the impression that it was simply a result of the blood magic, altering her judgement. Yet, she wasn't really sure if that was the reason. Deep down she had a feeling that there was something else at play which was causing the truce and the almost friendly back and forth between the pair. She knew IT was the reason she felt compelled to talk to the ghost and it was motivated by much more than mere loneliness.
Cradling her laptop almost lovingly in her arms, Lydia quickly powered on the device as she strolled back into the room. She quickly turned the machine towards the ghost who had, for once been waiting patiently for her return. She couldn't help but smile at the look of the amusement and slight awe she found etched on Beetlejuice's face. He seemed more than a little uneasy about the new piece of tech.
"I thought you knew what the internet was?" Lydia asked with mock confusion.
"You know seeing that you're so well versed with netherworld chat sites and such" she continued with her little jibe.
"Well yeah I did, didn't I?" he flustered, stopping for a moment to glance at the screen. What he saw before him made no sense. The screen was so thin and the machine was so compact. He wondered where the rest of the thing was. The word 'wireless' popped into his head so he figured that must be the reason. Though he wasn't quite sure what wireless actually meant, realistically. To him, it was a buzzword he had seen being thrown around a few dozen times and he decided that it would explain the sleekness of Lydia's computer. He figured she had a normal big computer, just like he was used to. He figured she had liberated a part of it and through the magic of wireless-ness she was able to bring part of it to show him. It was certainly a stark contrast between the old, antiquated system he was used to. Hell, what he used was only a few dozen steps more advanced than a digital telegraph machine. The motto in the netherworld was along the lines of "Your dead, so quit complaining and make the best of things" He didn't even have a CRT screen just a hulking computer tower. It did the job he needed it to do, more or less. So he never expected for the experience to be so different in the human world.
"Well, it's very different on the other side. You just sit in front of a big computer and you kind of merge with it" he said punching his ghostly hand through Lydia's laptop screen.
"Don't do that again" Lydia scolded without missing a beat.
"Er sorry" Beej replied itching the back of his neck almost nervously before he continued.
"There isn't a screen or anything like that. But, the conversation is sort of projected in the air. You don't have to type or anything. You just think of what you want to say and it's added to the conversation. Some of the newer ghosts have taken to using an old typewriter keyboard. I know they also incorporate it into the session by merging with it too. Apparently, it gives you more of the sensation of physically typing without actually typing. I never really understood why until now". He explained, taking a step towards the laptop as he admired the screen. He had never really had the chance to admire a piece of modern machinery. It was a mystery to him, but he was interested to find out more about it.
"All we can really get is chat rooms, you can't play games or see any sort of video. So porn is kind of out of the question...well more or less, we have our ways, just not with a computer" he said sourly but with a hint of perverted mischief lightened his voice. He couldn't help but stare at the screen and wonder at all the delights he could look up.
Ignoring his last comment Lydia's curiosity was peaked.
"So what do you do for fun then?" It was asked as an innocent question but the moment the words left her mouth she regretted it.
"Well generally I go down to the red light district, Dante's girls are really good at…" Beej began to explain but Lydia quickly cut him off before he could explain the ins and out of otherworldly prostitution.
"I mean is that why you are so hung up on netherworld tv"? Lydia asked feeling a blush, bloom on her face at the thought of raunchy yet cold, ectoplasmic exchanges. Her thoughts lingered ever so slightly at the thought of Beej casually hanging out in the red light district.
She couldn't help but remember how she had first found him. All those years ago, when he was relaxed on the tiny balcony of the Dante's Inferno brothel, featured in Adam's model. With him wrapped up in a worn and mouldering black and grey checkered dressing gown as he lounged under a sun lamp. Why a ghost would need a sunlamp was beyond her. The only explanation she could come up with was that he might enjoy the warmth. It was a physical impossibility that he was working on his tan, despite the tanning goggles and the sun reflector.
From what she had heard Beej was quite the frequent flier when it came to whores. If the rumours were to be believed, Dante's girls were the only ones that would touch him and that was generally under duress. The boss of the place, a glorified pimp turned manager. Had once been a friend to the Ghost with the Most. Or, at least the closest thing the man could get to a friend. Their friendship was less of the friend variety and instead was more based off a mutual hatred of each other, with a financial incentive for one side of the pair.
"Pretty much" Beej replied with a shrug.
"You can sometimes get human tv on it if you hit it just right. Nothing special generally just movie reruns" He explained, sounding bored of this particular turn in the conversation.
"Is that why you have seen the exorcist so many times?" she asked almost giddily unable to keep the grin from her face.
She had heard about his rather animated, haunting portfolio from Adam and Barbara. She was quite eager to see if it was mere exaggerations or if he really did have a strange affinity with the film. After all, it was supposedly cursed.
Beej couldn't help but enjoy the way Lydia's eyes lit up now that they were talking. He would never admit it, but, he was actually enjoying their little chat. He would happily reveal insignificant little tidbits about himself, if it meant she would stay so enthusiastic.
No one living or dead had even tried to scratch the surface on what made up Beetlejuice. Not that he would let anyone close enough to try to scrape past his chilled and grimy exterior. Yet he felt almost happy throwing Lydia the useless piece of trivia. Admittedly it was quite nice having someone ask him about himself when they didn't have any ulterior motive to get information out of him. Oh, he had experienced women try the whole "I'm just interested in what makes you, you" thing before. Mainly when he sat in one of the many dive bars in the netherworld.
He could tell off the bat that they were either trying to get him to admit one of his myriad of crimes, or they were trying to find a way to steal his magic. Of course, he always saw through them straight away. They didn't call him the ghost with the most for nothing. If it meant he could eek it out with fallacies just enough to get him a good fuck he didn't have to pay for... (Financially at least) then things were good. It was true, he would always end up paying for the little tryst in one way or another. But, he was just happy that his lover of the night wasn't one of Dante's. All he cared about was the fact he managed to get his rocks off without spending a single dime. Yet with each sordid tryst, every con and every power play to keep his reputation he somehow managed to seep even deeper into the feted gutter of netherworld society.
"I guess the old pair of stiffs filled you in on my qualifications then" he Beej snorted in reply giving her a knowing smirk. That particular conversation had been one he was quite proud of. His little monologue about his qualifications never failed to scare the pants off any potential customers he had, sometimes literally.
"True story, the first time I saw the Exorcist I actually thought it was a documentary. But, it was so fucking funny though. I figured out it could only be a human fictionalisation on what they thought spirit and demon possession are like. I mean it's such a piss poor joke of a thing, it could only be a human re-creation."
"Well, I thought it was more like a demonic possession than spirit possession in the films" Lydia murmured. In her mind, there was a distinct difference between the two. Spiritual possession was something like the Day-O dinner party, orchestrated by the Maitlands. Demon possession, however, was a whole other ballpark that she never wished to personally experience.
With that Beej fixed Lydia with a wholly inhuman smile. He began to pick at the skin crusted underneath the crimson dyed fingernails on his left hand. With a flicking motion, little sparks of energy arched across the top of his fingertips dangerously. Lydia imagined that with one simple flick of his fingers that he could turn her world upside down, inside out and back to front all at the same time. It was a terrifying concept that made her freeze in place.
"If you want babes I can show you the difference," he said in a voice that was deep and smooth like liquid silk.
"All you have to do Babes is say my name three times, just three times. Then I can show you a world of endless delights and torments" He muttered sitting forward in his seat, closing the distance between him and Lydia.
She found that there was just something deeply intriguing about his tone of voice, which was both threatening and yet incredibly seductive at the same time. Pair that with the playful glint that shone in his eyes. It gave the ghost an unmistakable energy that poured off him in waves. It sat in the air between them like a silent promise, to show her so much and yet at the same time it threatened to do just as much harm. Lydia was astounded to find that she was actually intrigued by the notion.
"Then I can show you exactly what I can do underneath that pretty little skin of yours," He said in the same deliciously smooth and dark voice. She wasn't sure if it was just the sound of his voice or the actual words. But some long forgotten part of Lydia began to awaken as if a spell had been cast upon her. It was something that had always been there, dormant, biding its time and now whatever that things was. It was beginning to stir from its slumber. She wanted to say yes more than anything but a strange rumbling feeling deep within her stopped her in her tracks.
"You know what, as fun as that truly sounds. I think I'll pass on that one" Lydia found herself saying the words as if she was on autopilot. Her brain hadn't quite caught up yet but, she soon found herself able to move again. She realised now how he had managed to scam so many people, human and ghost alike. Especially women. With a voice like that she was surprised he wasn't surrounded by hoards of eager women. Then she remembered his disgusting, claggy exterior and it brought her back into reality. She didn't want to make that kind of deal with him, hell she would be lucky if she got out of this blood bond alive. The last thing she needed was yet another deal and an invite to a twisted play date with her soul.
"Alright if that's what you truly want," he said with an almost sweet, lopsided smile that she had to admit was kind of charming in a way.
"It is," Lydia said quickly and as if in reply Beetlejuice reclined back in his seat. With that simple move, all the tension in the move seemed to dissolve like sugar in the rain.
"So what did you want to show me?" he asked pointing at the laptop that Lydia was still clumsily hugged to her chest. She suddenly realised how heavy it was now that she had been holding it so long and she quickly put it down on the coffee table. As soon as she sat down she felt the oddest sensation. It was almost as if something clicked inside her. It felt as if some kind of mechanism has been just off centre and had finally clicked into place after years of being off-kilter. She tried her best to ignore the strange feeling as she logged into youtube and loaded up a video.
"I think you will enjoy this" Lydia said with a cocky smile. The video played and the same pink haired man from the tv was now sitting on a computer.
"Hello my name is Markiplier and welcome to amnesia," He said facing the camera before he selected a save file and began to play the game. Lydia skipped several parts of the video until it came to a piece that almost completely mirrored what they had seen on tv.
"Helloooo, baaaayby! How YOU doin'?" The guy said as his character addressed one of the models. His character turned into the corner and picked up a bottle of Laudanum before he turned around.
"No, oh no you don't, you sassy sue," he said as a rumbling noise filled the speakers. In one swift move, the Model known as Crustal killed the in-game character and the youtuber sat there with the sombre message on the screen that read YOU DIED.
"Ah fuck a duck…" He exclaimed angrily hammering his fist on the keyboard before taking a deep breath as he selected a save file.
"let's try that again shall we?" he said voice full of sarcasm and tiredness as he started this particular stretch of the game for the fourth time. He decided it wasn't worth dealing with the models as there were no keys in that particular room so he decided on going in through a different door. Lydia paused the video and couldn't keep the smirk away from her lips.
"So Beej what do you think?" she asked trying her best not to burst out in peals of laughter.
"It wasn't real?" Beej asked his eyebrows knitted together in confusion
"Nope it was a recording of a video game. Your girl Crustal didn't do anything other than a mild scare. So I win" she said with a cackle before a thought dawned on her. "Actually, if we are going to play fair then what i just showed you was just as real as you reality tv. It was the same in the fact that it was a recording of an event..." She paused for a second.
"An event from a video game but it's still something that transpired in real life and was recorded for some reason. I presume we can chalk it up to different perspective so, i guess.." She trailed off not wanting to say anymore. She already figured she had dug herself way too deep into a hole already. She doubted he would have just accepted her win without question. He was too savvy for that, but she hadn't exactly helped herself out by pointing out the little infractions on her win. He would have pointed it out sooner or later though but she felt she practically handed it to him on a silver platter.
"That means we're even Babes and I get to kiss you," He said in one fluid motion, moving across the couch to where Lydia was sitting. His arm stretched to an unnatural length and wrapped around Lydia like a boa constrictor. He leant in towards her, but she managed to wiggle an arm free from the breathtaking embrace. She quickly held it in front of her face like a shield, stopping the ghost from getting any closer. He had been about to give her the smooch of her life when she stopped him cold.
The reason? She had been hit by an overwhelming sense of nausea at the smell of pure rot and something that smelt like salty summer garbage at the peak of its foulness. She was hit with other scents she couldn't quite put her finger on. But, whatever this was she could practically taste it in the back of her throat. Her nose felt as if it was on fire, being assaulted by so many smells, most of which couldn't hope to identify. But that wasn't the only thing, being this close to him she could finally see all the little pieces of greenery that stuck to every tiny wrinkle in his skin. It gave his flesh and almost waxy yet clay-like quality in texture as there was something just caked onto him. She was baffled and disgusted at this mystery substance in particular. She figured it was probably bile or some similar substance. No doubt there from his time inside the sandworm. She didn't want to ask, she didn't want to speculate. But she knew she could never kiss him with all that funk going on.
"Actually, as we are even that means I won too and if you're thinking of kissing me you can forget it. You bet me that you lost you would go have a bath, so now it's time for you to go have a soak" Lydia said recoiling at the sight of the spattering of mould that had turned into a crusty mess around his lips. It had created a carpet of mottled greenery that stuck to the stubble of his beard. The beard moss looked oddly slick, almost as if it would squish if she touched it.
"There's no way in hell that I'm kissing you until you have a bath," Lydia said decisively. She felt the arms around her weaken a little as she heard what could only be described as a growl coming from the man next to her.
"Fine have it your way but since this is a draw there are penalties" Beej grumbled his voice low and gravelly.
"When I kiss you and I will kiss you. You have to kiss me back, no arguing or trying to get out of it. A deal is a deal!" he said in a deep growl of a voice his arms retracting to their normal size as he gave Lydia the literal cold shoulder.
"FINE" Lydia practically spat back.
"But, you have to brush your teeth as well as having the bath," she said getting up of the couch quickly. She ignored the ghost that was positively seething on the couch as she ducked out of the room.
"I hope you like scented bubbles," she said in a sing-song voice as she ascended the staircase. Even when she went up to the main bathroom she could feel the ghost's anger crackling through the air like electricity. She got the bath ready filling it with salts and a bath bomb which made the tiled room smell like a fresh garden mixed with a french tart's boudoir. She giggled at that fact as she got a spare toothbrush ready, the paste ready on the brush. She knew he would be standing there waiting for her. She could practically feel his eyes glaring at her through the door so she wasn't surprised to find him pacing the hall.
"Your bath's ready," Lydia said with a grin, pretending that she couldn't feel the anger emanating from the ghost. He took a breath seeming to steady himself before walking into the tiled room of watery hell. He stopped in the doorway his voice coming out as something of a snarl.
"You're going to pay for this babes. When you least expect it I WILL be there. When your guard is down its smooch city and guess what? You have to kiss me back." He said with a grin before he leant closer to her as if he was going to fulfil the fated kiss. She gasped at the sudden closeness as she could feel the cold radiating from his body and the feel his breath tickled the delicate skin on her neck. He chuckled darkly realizing what fun he could have with her. His mind raced with ideas, many of them turning into straight-up porn within a few nanoseconds.
"You know what babes. We both know you're going to enjoy it" he said kissing two of his fingers before caressing them along the nape of her neck. The was a moment of silence between the pair as Lydia held her breath and she unconsciously leant in towards him and the promise of the cold caress. He chuckled to himself as he removed his hand and saw that Lydia leaned in ever so slightly as if to capture his freezing touch again.
"Care to join me?" he asked, not waiting for a reply as he disappeared into the bathroom; the door closing with a definitive slam.
I can't keep letting him do that to me, Lydia said to herself peeling her body away from the wall. Her knees felt weak and her head swam at the thought of joining him in the bath. THINK OF SOMETHING ELSE her mind screamed. So instead she decided to focus on everything that was repulsive about the man. The bits of decaying debris that stuck to the mane of green-grey hair that looked almost as if it had once been blonde. The disgusting smell of his breath which she reckoned could be used as a very effective biological weapon. Then there was the subject of his personality: he was brash, repulsive, too cocky for his own good and positively slimy. She thought she could go on forever picking out just what made him so repugnant and it was a safe train of thought. She tried her best to cement this into her mind. For some reason the longer she stayed in contact with the ghost the harder it was to remember just how awful he actually was and just why she had been scared of him for so many years.