Chapter Thirty-One: Fake Girlfriend
Lydia eyed the stage, in awe, as the other girls joined Trixy, who fell down in the splits on the center stage as the others twirled around on shiny polls, glitter, big hair, and even bigger boobs proving to be quite the spectacle. It was almost enough to distract her from the fact that she was sitting on a cold, generally disgruntled, mostly malicious dead guy who'd rather push her into a woodchipper than actually do what he was in the current moment with her. It wasn't a very pleasant thought. She eyed her beer, realizing she had nothing else to numb her anxiety in the moment.
"That's pretty impressive, BJ. No wonder you come here." she spoke in his ear, amidst the blaring music and cheering of the drunken, boisterous crowd. Maybe a little more small talk would make things less weird. Then again, it could just give him another reason to bitch at her.
He turned to her, looking none too happy. "Eh, she may be all hot an' sparkly up there, but she's one helluva bitch..." he griped, his thumb involuntarily rubbing her side as he pondered in his normal, festering despair. She quickly glanced at the offending, cold appendage as quickly as possible, so he'd not say anything smartassed in the process. It was a bit different, but she simply shrugged it off, knowing that he wasn't really paying attention anyway.
"Was she always that way?" Lydia felt her forehead wrinkle as she pondered on the matter. Surely there was a reason that they got together in the first place.
Quite predictably, however, he snapped at her. "Let me dig up her biography. That'll tell ya all those little details you like to scrounge around for like a fuckin' raccoon in a garbage dump."
God, when was he going to be amicable for once? This was getting a little old, and somehow, that was a very new thing to her. Just why had she been so patient with him? Oh yeah, she was a highly unstable, neurotic mess. Or maybe she was. She wasn't so sure anymore. "C'mon, BJ. Open up a little. I won't bite." she teased, trying to find a way to get him to talk in a way that didn't require a slew of insults.
The briefly blank look on his face was pretty telling. That caught him off guard. "Fine, Deetz! If it'll get ya off mah back!" he growled, though his hand seemed to slightly tighten around her waist. He obviously didn't like thinking about it. "She wasn't. Trixy was kinda tolerable back then. At least I thought she was, ya know?" he looked at her a brief moment, and there was something in his green eyes akin to...dare she say...pain? "As soon as she had me wrapped around her finger, she did what all women do. She turned on my ass!"
"So, you were more than a glorified agreement, after all?" Lydia raised a brow, as his lip turned upward in what seemed to be hostility.
"Yeah..." he growled bitterly, chugging the rest of his booze and snapping his finger, making both empty bottles disappear. Lydia eyed her now empty hand, hoping that maybe she'd get another beer placed into it soon enough. "She said I fucked it up. Gettin' arrested one too many times an' shit. Gettin' too chummy with broads, even though she did the same kinda' shit. Said I wasn't takin' care of her. THEN we had the agreement. THEN she said I fucked THAT up!"
Lydia swallowed, losing once more to her natural curiosity. "Well...did you?"
"What the fuck, Deetz?! Whose side are you on, here?" he huffed at her, his glaring eyes moving from where they were resting on his ex to Lydia herself.
It was such a genuine reaction that she couldn't help but snigger at his offense. Who knew it was actually a little fun to piss him off? "I'm on the side of reality. Did you do something, or did she?"
"That dead people beer make you grow a little set, Deetz?" Beetle continued to glare at her, though she noticed the tiniest upward curl of his grimy lips.
"I'm just curious." she shrugged.
"Well, if you MUST know, I didn't! We BOTH did!" he remarked smugly.
"So, you did." Lydia continued gently badgering him a bit.
"Well, so did Trixy! Look, she was cheatin' on my ass, so I kept doin' mah thing, which includes gettin' shitfaced and doin' dumb stuff! Gotta' problem with that?" he growled, obviously feeling super defensive. She didn't need to push him any farther, she reasoned.
"No. Do your thing, BJ. I'm just your fake girlfriend." she teased, attempting to lighten the mood a bit and keep her curiosity from causing him to spiral like he was apt to do.
"Yeah, well it's a damned good thing." he muttered unhappily. "We'd be in the same fuckin' spot." he continued, before glancing awkwardly to her and clearing his throat. "Not that I'd want that shit in the first place."
"I know." she nodded, knowing not to prod him anymore. Maybe one more question, though. "So, did you love her?" she asked again, against her better judgement.
"Eh...Love is a strong word. I mean, kinda'. Maybe. Probably." he spoke, watching Trixy finish her act and step back behind the curtain. At that moment, the whole place went completely dark for a matter of seconds. "I don't think I could keep a chick like that, anyway. Too wild. Too crazy. Lookin' fer the next rush an' shit." he continued, as the lights came back on. "Too much like me." he shrugged, as the light hit his undead features again. Something was entirely off about him. If just for a brief moment, she could see that it wasn't all hostility inside of him. It was loneliness and disappointment.
"Yeah. I felt that way a few times before. It gets easier." Lydia smiled, patting him on the back sympathetically in an attempt to try and show a little compassion. "How about another beer? I'll get us a couple at the bar if you want me to." she suggested, hoping his mood wouldn't lead to some sort of tantrum or bitchfest. She also didn't know how to take him in that moment, so it was a nice, quick escape.
"Huh?" he asked, pulled from some bout of rumination he was experiencing. "Oh. Yeah. Knock yerself out, Deetz." he waved her away, as she slid off of him and made her way past the crowd of gyrating women and rowdy males.
She stood at the bar, waiting for a rough looking guy with an eyepatch to wait on her. "Heya, Beautiful. Mind if I buy you a drink?"
Lydia whipped around, feeling her stomach knot up when she locked eyes with Bill. This wasn't good. "Uh, would you get two? One for me and one for my, uh, boyfriend?" she quickly asked, hoping to keep his creepy ass as far away as possible.
"Oh. Sure." he shrugged, appearing a bit off-put by her answer, which was just what she'd wanted. She backed away from him a couple of steps as he ordered three beers, giving two to her. "Are you really with Juice?"
Okay, that was unexpected. "Of course! Why wouldn't I be?" she asked, trying her best to sound indignant.
"You could do better, you know." he spoke blatantly, his creepy face grinning from ear to ear. "Trixy says he's not a very good guy. He's kind of an asshole, if you ask me."
"Aren't you WITH Trixy?" Lydia asked, beginning to back further away from him.
"Yeah, but I see other people. I don't limit myself." he stepped up closer to her, as she instinctively backed up another step. She looked over her shoulder, her mouth gaping slightly as she spotted BJ chatting it up with Trixy. What the hell was going on? Why was BJ smiling? Was it an act, or...?
"What about her? What does SHE think about that?" Lydia pointed her beer toward Trixy, as Bill began to chuckle.
"She tells me we're exclusive, but we're not. She just wants me to be. She's seeing all kinds of men." he shrugged, nonchalantly.
"Okay, well I'm NOT into all kinds of men. Thanks, but no thanks." Lydia finally spat, before making her way away from a dude that was about a thousand times creepier than BJ, if that was even possible.
"BJ! AH, THERE YOU ARE!" Lydia spoke very enthusiastically, as both he and Trixy turned their heads toward her. She held up his beer. "For you, dear!"
"Oh, uh, thanks, Babe." he said, taking it, though he wasn't sounding too thrilled about her arrival. As a matter of fact, he sort of looked like he was holding back a bout of rage that was bubbling just under the surface. He then reluctantly grabbed her hand and yanked her into him.
"Aw, does he always get you to fetch him things like a little puppy dog?" Trixy sniggered at her, and Lydia could practically feel the woman's anger in the air.
"No." Lydia shrugged nonchalantly, trying her best not to show that she felt the crazy energy they were both putting out. "I wanted to." she replied, putting on her best sweet smile, and looking up to BJ, who seemed to force a grin on his own face.
"What can I say? She's crazy about me! Ain'tchya, Babe?" he asked, though she felt his grip tighten a bit, as if to signal her to be really affectionate or something. Who knew at that point? Those two were just plain confusing.
"He's a really sweet guy. He treats me like a queen." she blatantly lied, pressing herself against his side.
"Yeah, that's how it always starts." Trixy's devious grin faded. "First, he'll sweet talk you to death. Tell you how hot you are...Getchya shitty little presents 'cause he's a cheap fucker. The more ass he gets, the less he'll give a shit, right Juice?" she hissed in his direction.
"Not a problem fer us, Toots." he replied defiantly, taking a drink of his beer as if to swallow down the massive untruth he was spewing.
"Give it time. Wait until he gets too drunk to get it up. You got a lot to look forward to, Bessy. Look, I'm goin' to find Bill now." she shrugged, before turning to Beetle one final time. "You two get comfortable. It's gonna be a wild night, and we're just getting started!"
"We ain't goin' nowhere, Toots." he growled at her, as she blew him a kiss and winked sarcastically, before disappearing into the crowd.
"What the hell was that, Deetz?" BJ snapped at her, catching her off guard.
"What was what?" she asked, baffled.
"You know WHAT. BILL, that's what! What was that fuckface wantin'?" he grabbed her by the wrist, leading her over to a dark corner of the club. "I told ya he was a creep!"
"Believe me. I know. I got away from him as soon as I could." she replied, feeling a bit unsettled by BJ's strange attitude concerning her. Maybe he was afraid she'd blow their cover.
"Don't tell me. That bastard tried to get in yer pants, didn't he?" he grouched, shaking his head.
"Unfortunately." she sighed, feeling more uncomfortable by the second.
"Well? What'd ya tell him?" he grunted, nearly getting in her face.
"I told him I'm with you. HAPPILY with you. Don't worry. I didn't slip up." she tried reassuring BJ, only to somehow make him worse.
"Slip up? Why would ya slip up? You like that bastard or somethin'? Don't tell me it's the monstrous dong thing." he began to rub his forehead in exasperation, as she nearly snorted from his strange behavior.
"Really, BJ? You can't be serious!" she began to chuckle, unable to hold in how she felt about such a ridiculous suggestion. Immediately, she felt his grip loosen.
"Yeah, well Trixy sure jumped on it the first chance she had." he grunted, taking another long drink, appearing to drown his sorrows.
"True, but I'm not Trixy." Lydia smirked, shrugging playfully. "I have standards."
"Pffft! Yeah, whatever! If standards mean draggin' some desperate, drunk punk to yer apartment and havin'a trashed, sloppy bang fest. Then by all means, keep those standards, Deetz. If it makes ya sleep better at night, who am I to say anything?" he roasted her hard, though there seemed to be a bit of real anger seething underneath his usual insults. It was just so damned confusing. As a matter of fact, it was confusing enough to make her open her mouth about it.
"Why does it matter to you, anyway? You have a good time when you see fit. Why can't I?" she retaliated, though making sure to keep a light demeanor while doing so as not to poke the proverbial bear.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Girl power an' all that shit. Go feminism." he scoffed, though that wasn't really what she'd meant.
"No, I mean-" she began, only for him to cut her off.
"I know what ya meant, Deetz. I don't care, okay?" he muttered, before his eyes locked onto a stripper from across the club. She was topless, gyrating on a man who was stuffing dollar bills in her thong. Immediately, there was a strange shift in his features. It was as if something wild and feral overcame him, and it made Lydia feel a bit uneasy. "C'mon." he began to stomp off, pulling her along behind him.
