I hope everyone is doing well. This is a half-chapter update the rest of it will come in the next few days.
I am seriously enjoying writing this story and I love that people are excited about it. As always if you want to make my Millennium then please review.

Lydia busied herself with hauling the gear from the living (dead) room and into the awaiting truck. It would have been better if she had more help but she was not letting Beetlejuice out again, not after he had spent the night in her bed doing god knows what to her. However, she had to admit she could use his inhuman strength and magic mojo. She knew he could get things sorted with a simple click of his red-stained fingertips. But considering that it was just her doing all the heavy lifting she still made good time and made it on set early enough to set and stag everything they needed. She was just adding a little bit of fake blood to the sculpted organs to refresh them a little bit as some of it had dried down overnight.

It wasn't long till the models arrived and the shoot was underway Lydia tried her hardest to concentrate on her work yet her mind was elsewhere. She couldn't get her mind to stop lingering on a certain ghost locked away in the mirror. However, Lydia hoped that her work stood for itself despite the distractions. She was eventually called out once they took a well-needed break.

"Girl, what's up with you today?" Raven muttered as the woman flicked the hair from the chocolate brown wig over her shoulder. She was currently wearing it in a half up half down style and she had different coloured dreadlocks sewed into it. The woman sported white face makeup which blended beautifully into her already pale skin and she sported a deep coffee-coloured lipstick. She was sipping on a cup of tea as she addressed Lydia quizzically. Her lipstick left a deep stain against the white porcelain mug.

"You've been distracted all day, don't tell me it's that guy again?" she asked concern wavering in her blue eyes as she watched her friend closely.

"What guy?" she asked slowly careful about what information she gave out. Though Raven and Lydia were in fact best friends yet Lydia had never introduced Raven to the world of the dead. It's not that she hadn't tried. Raven had been around the Maitlands enough that she should be well versed in all the things this side of the neitherworld. Though, unfortunately, Raven wasn't one of the few humans who could see ghosts. She had even walked through Barbara on one occasion when they had been hanging out after school. Which proved to be an unpleasant experience for everyone that was involved. So she didn't know how to tell her trusted friend about Beetlejuice in anything but the barest bones of detail.

"The guy, you know that dude that used to stalk you and tried to marry you whose name you outright refuse to say even to me. You know...THE GUY!" Raven said dramatically fixing her friend with a strange look as if she was waiting for her friend to crumble any second.

Lydia tried her hardest to find a way to explain everything that she had experienced over the last few days in a plain and concise way. A way that glossed over the fact ghosts existed and the follies of being tricked into a blood ritual. She remembered to conveniently leave out the fact that she had voluntarily entered into a blood pact with a certain ghost whom she had more than confusing feelings about. Lydia quickly realised that she would have to make up a totally new person in order to try and explain some of the things that she had been doing lately. She couldn't just omit the information and not tell her friend as Raven was like a truffle pig when it came to drama and gossip. Sooner or later she would find it who behold anyone that stood in her way. So Lydia always liked to inform her friend when it came to her non-existent love life it was just easier in the end.

"God, no not him. It's someone else" She said cryptically before she began to explain.

"There is this guy I knew back in New York that at the time I absolutely couldn't stand. I hated the dude but I was young and I had a lot going on at the time. You remember everything I told you about what happened back in New York?" She tried her hardest to keep her story coherent as she embellished little details here and there.

Her friend nodded "Oh yes vividly so"before Lydia continued.

"Well, guess who looked me up after all this time? He said he was going to be in town for a few days and asked me to meet him. I did and I don't know if it's just now I'm older and I'm not the petulant child I used to be. Yet, something has changed about him. I don't know, he seems different in the most pleasant way. I mean he's still a bit obnoxious and the ego on this dude could kill a man at a thousand paces. But, he seems so different now. He seems like a genuinely decent guy when we're not trading barbs with each other. Even when we are I still enjoy spending time with him. He makes me laugh too, he had a sick and twisted sense of humour but I dig it, you know" Lydia said more to herself than to her friend and Lydia didn't realise that she was grinning until she was called out on it.

"So he came over and just talked or did you kiss him? Come on Lyds I know something happened between you too. You're grinning like a maniac just talking about him and your head is in the clouds. You can't tell me that you just talked." Raven insisted as she took sips of her very much neglected cup of tea. Lydia screwed up her face up in response and tried to act disgusted at the idea of kissing Beetlejuice. Even though she had greatly enjoyed the kiss with him and she would be more than happy if they just happened to kiss again.

"You did kiss him, didn't you? AH, I knew it I can see it written all over your face!" Raven announced with a little squeal of excitement.

"Okay tell me everything. What's his name? What's he like? Is he a good kisser? Did you sleep with him? Is he your boyfriend?"

"Hey hey, calm down, dude. It's not that serious it's just a kiss" Lydia muttered ignoring the fact that she did desperately wanted to kiss him again. She also couldn't tell Raven about the very realistic sex dream she had experienced.

"If you must know his nickname is Beej, his real name is Ben Johnson, like that dude we went to college with. But, he prefers going by Beej," Lydia said with a small smile as she said the little nickname out loud.

"Yes he is a good kisser and No he is NOT my boyfriend. It was just a kiss Raves that's all".

"Yeah, but you like him and I know you want to kiss him again. I can feel it" the woman announced before adding in a mock sing-song voice "Yooou like him". Raven teased knowing that it would get under Lydia's skin more than just a little.

"What are you like 9?" Lydia chastised with a smile at her friend's childishness. She shoved Raven's shoulder playfully in the hopes that it would shut her up.

"Alright fine, yes I like him. I shouldn't but I do. I don't know why but he really seems to have changed and now I'm really attracted to him. But..." She trailed off as she tried to gather her scattered thoughts.

"But what?" Raven demanded practically on the edge of her seat.

"I worry that whatever is going on between us, this attraction it could be I don't know manufactured somehow. He really was not a good dude back in New York. He was into some seriously dodgy shit and he was not a man that anyone in their right mind would willingly mess with. He used to be rather manipulative as well, He always got his way" Lydia lamented.

"But now, there is something about him that calls to me, you know. It's like when I am close to him the world just shuts off and it's just me and him. When those moments happen it's like magic and all I want to do is kiss him and never stop" She admitted though she hadn't even talked to herself about the pull she felt towards Beej and how she positively ached to kiss him again. She knew the idea of the kiss weight distractingly on her mind.

"Lydia that's so sweet. You clearly have something really good going with Beej. He might have been a despicable guy before, but like you said he's changed. You owe it to yourself to see this through. Because, I've never heard you be this excited about well anyone, like ever. Hell, I was wondering if you really were Bisexual after all with the sheer amount of guys you've rejected over the years. It's nice to finally see you excited about someone" Raven said with a toothy grin that Lydia flashed back.

"Rejecting Delia's 'Suitors' doesn't count" Lydia shot back playfully her use of air quotes just showed her disdain for the previous dates that had been forced on her by her stepmother. Both women were acutely aware that Delia's taste in men was as awful if not worse than her taste in decor.

"Girl you need to go and snog his brains out. You know you'll enjoy yourself" Raven said with a giggle.

"Did I mention that he might also be currently crashing at mine...?" Lydia said hesitantly only to hear an excited squeak coming from her friend who was just barely holding back from exploding in joy.

"No...what didn't you..."

"Before you say anything it's really not what you think" Lydia interrupted.

She remembered that the local hotel next to the Winter River had flooded when the river burst its banks. Flooding the majority of the hotel's lower floors and making the whole place a hazard to one's health thanks to the mould that quickly sprung up in the water's wake. It was currently under renovation so she decided to use this piece of info to throw her friend off the scent.

"His hotel room flooded and for some reason, they didn't tell him the hotel was closed until after he got here. Apparently, there is some sort of business convention in town so the rest of the hotels are booked" Lydia explained in the hopes that her friend would buy the bullshit just this once.

"He needed a place to stay so I said he could crash at mine for a few days, just until the place is habitable again"

"So not only are you interested in this dude but you are cohabiting with him?" Raven said with surprise. The grin on her face looked now permanently plastered there.

"Last night though he kind of climbed into bed with me while I was asleep. Apparently, I had a fever and he kind of stayed with me during the night to make sure I was alright. He kind of just held me while I was asleep and waited for the fever to break apparently I had been shouting in my sleep because of the fever" Lydia said realising how strange the whole event sounded even to her.

"Awww That's so sweet of him. He nursed you back to health" Raven obviously enjoyed the mental image of Lydia lying platonically in bed with Beej. If only she understood that it might have been a platonic gesture but underneath it lay a river of lust that washed back and forth between Lydia and Beetlejuice.

"Is it sweet or is it just creepy? I was asleep and he snuck into my bed and then snuck back out before I woke up." She explained. Though, she was still unsure of how she felt about the whole thing. She had initially been angry but now she could see things in a slightly different light thanks to Raven. She realised that it was actually a sweet gesture on Beej's part. He had been worried about her and she never thought that Beetlejuice could feel genuine concern about anyone let alone someone who was Pre-deceased like herself. She hadn't been hurt nor did she wake up to find him molesting her or doing anything sinister. She wished she had been able to see what had happened between them, however, it would forever be a mystery. Still, perhaps it had been an innocent and sweet gesture after all. If Beej cared about her, really cared and not just because of that damned blood pact or the ritual binding them together; then this was huge. Lydia was brought back from her thoughts as her friend continued chatting away.

"Lyds when it comes to you anything and everything is both creepy and cute as fuck at the same time. There is no distinction with you. Anyway, how did you find out he was in your bed if he snuck out before morning? Do you have camera's in there or something? You naughty minx" Raven cackled at the idea.

"No, of course, I don't have cameras Who even does that?" Lydia remarked quizically. She was amused and disturbed at the same time.

"You would be surprised" Raven said adding with a wink before Lydia continued.

"I know he was in my bed because the bed smelt like him when I woke up. He has a very distinctive smell I would know him anywhere".

"Oh, so you know how he smells now... Right, I've got you. So there just happens to be a mysterious dude from your past who had turned up in town. Who has changed for the good and looked after you when you were sick and you want to know what...If it's okay to kiss him again?" Raven asked genuinely concerned why she was even having this conversation with Lydia when it seemed so obvious that the dark-haired beauty had a spark with Beej. Perhaps they were even falling for one another, she couldn't quite tell without seeing the pair interact. Admittedly, she hoped that he liked Lydia back just as much. She would hate for Lydia's first spark with anyone in years to go down like a lead balloon.

"Does he know about you know...?" Raven whispered as she gestured to Lydia's back as she tried to tiptoe around a subject she knew Lydia liked to keep very private. She knew better than to touch that piece of Lydia's body.

"What that I'm physically fucked up? That I'm broken? No, he doesn't I haven't found a way to broach the subject yet. He knows there is something up because he touched in just the wrong place when we kissed. It kind of broke the magic and everything came crashing down" Lydia explained with a sigh she still regretted simply not getting back into things and redirecting his touch away from the offending area. Raven knew about her pain issues and how the whole area was affected but Lydia really didn't like to even speak about the over-sensitive, fucked up area of her body or exactly why it happened.

"I know he has to find out at some point but I hate the way people look at me after I tell them what happened. I really don't want that from him of all people". Lydia knew there was an inevitable talk there especially if she was to kiss Beej again. She needed to tell him what had happened to her and why he couldn't touch certain parts of her. However, that meant digging up the past and some things were better left buried and dead. Although it would seem that of late the dead had been especially active around dear Lydia. Dead and buried wasn't exactly the end of things like it had once been. Dead and Buried was only a small stop on the whistle-stop tour of all things dead. So perhaps it was for the best that she confessed this particular secret to Beej and if he didn't understand then she could just imprison him in the mirror until he changed his mind and saw things the way she did. Yes, she rather liked the thought of that. It was a cruel and unusual punishment that she wished she could dole out more often. Though she hoped Beej would ultimately be cool with it there was an irrational sense of doubt in the back of her mind.

"I'm sure he will understand when you explain everything," Raven said with a grin before adding,

"Now, hon you need to go and kiss him and never stop. You never know unless you try and right now you haven't even tried with him have you?" Raven finished in the hopes her friend would indeed take her advice.

Lydia mumbled a non-committal "No, I haven't" in reply. She really didn't know how to explain everything to Raven. It would be so much different if Raven could also see the dead, then Lydia could spill her guts to her oldest and best friend. Not leaving out a single insignificant detail in the whole bizarre charade.

Yet, she had to admit that talking about things even if somewhat cryptically had been an incredibly cathartic experience for her. It really had cleared things up in her mind which was no longer a swirling fog of confusion. She had more of an idea of where she stood when it came to Beetlejuice. They were more or less on an even playing field now. She was still acutely aware that he needed her alive and well so that his own magic didn't go kaputt. Though, she also knew that she was maddeningly attracted to him and she could only hope that the feeling was mutual. She had two choices in front of her. She could keep on trying to ignore her mounting feelings for the Ghost with the Most. Or, she could embrace them and try to see where these newfound feelings went. Hell, it could end up going someplace quite wonderful if they both let themselves be honest about this scary new attraction.

The pair got back to work shortly after that and the rest of the photo shoot went well now that Lydia's mind was more on the subjects at hand. She managed to capture a moment of real chemistry between Raven's Graverobber and the model, Lucy who was playing Shilo for the day. It seemed like a genuine moment and it gave Lydia hope that she would have her own similar moment pretty soon.

The shoot came to a close and luckily Raven helped tidy and pack everything back into the truck before the two slightly tired women made their way back to Lydia's house.

Lydia was happy she didn't get stopped on the way home as the plastic poncho she had used as a blood shield had been rather ineffective today as there had been quite a bit of High-velocity splatter. The blood had sprayed all over her face and hands and it had beaded up in her hair leaving her with a dripping crown of blood, which rolled down her neck whenever she moved. The blood was a corn syrup and coffee-based concoction that was supposed to be more eco-friendly than the usual most brands of fake blood. Though Lydia didn't think she would use it again. The best way she knew to rid herself of the bloody slip was to take a very much-needed shower. The vicious droplets had seeped down past the protective poncho and seeped into the black top she was wearing leaving it with a bloody sheen that she hoped would come out in the wash. Raven still had telltale signs of the blood mainly on her hands and face as she had pretended to eat one of the faux organs at the end of the shoot just to spice things up a bit. So it was a minor miracle that the pair didn't get pulled over. It would have been quite the story to explain the coffin and what looked like a rather decomposed dead body in the back of the truck. Luckily the pair got home okay. Lydia told Raven that she could go and shower in the guest bedroom as she knew Beej wouldn't be there to spy on her.

"Are you sure your friend won't mind me taking a shower in his bathroom?" Raven enquired.

"Nah, he texted me that he is out in a meeting. He won't be back until late, so you might as well enjoy the hot water while it's there". Lydia said before disappearing into her own bedroom and shutting the door behind her.

"Babe's you're back and looking more beautiful than ever" He said with a charming smile that made Lydia feel a little weak at the knees.

"Who did you kill?!" Beetlejuice asked, his ghostly form appearing on the other side of the mirror as Lydia walked past. His emerald green eyes bore into her as she stopped where she was and she fixed the ghost with a grin. By the gods did he love the look of spattered blood on her. She still looked gorgeous as ever but now there was a dangerous heir to her and the colour of the blood really popped against her skin. He rather liked it on her and he wished he could see Lydia bathe in blood like the goddess that she was but he doubted that would ever happen.

"Oh you know, Graverobbers and the like. Who can really remember names after it's all over and done with" Lydia quipped back playfully as she chucked a large towel over her shoulder.

"So, about letting me out.." he floated the idea as he fixed Lydia with a grin.

"Not going to happen" Lydia sang as she opened her bedroom curtains, letting the fading natural light filter into the room. She leaned in towards the mirror as if she was about to say something particularly poignant and Beej found himself also leaning in towards the glass despite the fact that it would burn him if he got too close.

"I'll see you later" Lydia whispered before pressing her lips against the mirror in a chaste kiss. Before Beetlejuice had time to react Lydia had flicked the thick velvet curtains over the mirror, plunging the ghost back into pitch-black darkness. Little did she know there was a little gap where the curtains met where he could still see out into the room. Though unfortunately for him the plush curtains muffled his shouts till they were hardly audible to the human ear.

"Babe you tease...Let me out!" He bellowed but his muffled cries fell on dead ears as Lydia had already left the room and was happily testing the water temperature for her shower.