Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Night Life

"Are you ready, BJ?" Lydia called out, eyeing the night sky from her enormous window, before stepping back over to her busted vanity mirror and eyeing herself while adjusting her spiderweb like veil as it hung over her face. It was a good thing she had some of those old eighties' goth costumes from her youth. She didn't tell him, but she never really did the whole dress up thing, though she'd known about it for years. She'd been so unafraid to stand out when she was just a girl, yet somehow as a grown woman, it seemed a bit much for some reason. Maybe she just needed to cut loose again, for old time's sake.

"Yeah, Deetz. Not like I had to try hard, if ya get muh drift." he grouched as per usual, stepping into the room, where he paused a moment, eyeing her with a peculiar look on his features. After a brief, but somehow very awkward moment of silence, he snorted. "You mean to tell me yer ass still has that Poe's daughter getup? How'd ya manage that, Deetz? Savin' it fer someone's funeral?"

Lydia grinned. At least he wasn't being too mean, though he was Beetlejuice, so her expectations were pretty abysmal. "Maybe. So, what do you think?" she chuckled, spinning about in an attempt to lighten him up.

"Eh, don't do that. It ruins the whole creepy depression look ya got goin' on." he sniggered. "So, uh...That mean we're ready, er...?" he asked, that strange awkwardness coming in again. If she hadn't known any better, Lydia could have sworn he was actually a little nervous. She reasoned that it was probably the whole being out in the world again without having to hide thing. Maybe.

"Yep." she grinned widely, actually feeling a bit excited for once. Despite everything, she knew Beetle loved the night life. He'd probably be good company, if he could actually resist being a prick to her, that was. Lydia stepped up to him, holding out her hand mostly to see if he'd actually take it, to which he, of course, did not.

"Don't push it, Deetz." he grunted, stepping back away from her like she had the plague.

"Okay. Suit yourself." she shrugged, trying not to appear bothered, though it was really frustrating to be treated like that. "Well, here goes nothing." she inhaled deeply, hoping tonight wouldn't end up in flames, which was an actual possibility. Still, even that wasn't enough to wash away her happiness.

...

"We almost there er what?" Lydia heard BJ bark from beside her, apparently growing impatient. Luckily, they were almost there, or she'd be a little worried about it.

"Yeah, this way, BJ." she replied, her eyes catching the sharp turn down a back alley.

"Down there?" Beetle stopped in his tracks beside her, causing a few people behind him to have to stumble around him. "What're ya takin' me to? A crack house?"

Lydia chuckled, finding herself amused by his reaction. "I take it you don't have underground clubs in the Neitherworld?"

"Nah, we pretty much air our dirty business in the open down there. Ya wanna see tits? There're ten strip clubs just in my neck of the woods. Ya wanna get high? Twice as many weed shops. Triple the liquor stores. Get real fucked up? Hell, I gotta dealer on every street corner." he replied with an air of smugness as he proudly sucked on his cigarette.

"What about the cops?" Lydia asked, puzzled as to why there was a legal system at all down there.

"What about 'em?" Beetle shrugged, answering vaguely.

"Okay, this way then." Lydia nearly rolled her eyes, as she led them to their destination. The closer they came to the door, the more groups of people seemed to be on their way to the same location, all dressed in crazy outfits of various sorts.

She stepped up to the line at the door, motioning an all but reluctant Beetle over to her. He was currently staring at the ass of a young woman dressed as a slutty nurse, his lips curling up in a devilish smirk. "Eh, what the hell? I'll give it a chance." he finally shrugged, much to her relief. He finally tore his eyes away, strutting over to her, one hand in his pocket and the other loosely holding his smoke. "So how long are we gonna stand here like we're at the DMV?"

"Don't worry." Lydia stood on her tiptoes, seeing a shadow behind the window of the club door. "They're getting ready to open."

"It look this shitty on the inside?" Beetle raised a brow, side-eyeing another young woman in a mini skirt and kitten ears. "There's a dumpster like right beside the door..." he scoffed, licking his grimy teeth.

Lydia's brow furrowed, as she adjusted her long, black lace gown. Why was he so concerned about cleanliness? His house back in the Neitherworld WAS a literal dumpster. "No, BJ. It gets better. I promise." she replied, trying not to let him bring her mood down. It was to be expected, she reminded herself. She briefly eyed him, as he was eyeing the massive line that was forming behind them.

"Eh...All these fuckers gonna fit in here?" he asked, flicking the ashes from his smoke and acting nonchalant, though she could tell that he was genuinely curious. The strip club Trixy worked at was rather large, but this was New York, after all.

"Yeah. They will." Lydia smirked under her veil, eyeing the crowd. At that moment, just on time, the large, intimidating bouncer unlocked the metal, graffiti-clad door. "Okay, BJ! Now's our chance!" she quickly gripped his arm, tugging him along.

"Fuck! Okay, okay!" he said, flicking his cigarette away as she pulled him in, the excited clubgoers bumping and jogging past her, some whooping and screaming already. She quickly led him by the arm over to a rail. "Alright, you can let my ass go now!" Beetle griped, yanking his arm out of her grasp. "Why the hell's it so dark in here? Where's the music? What the fuck is this?" he continued to spew complaints, as Lydia's eyes trailed the glowsticks and blinking necklaces making their way down to the floor.

"Just wait." she replied flatly, hoping he'd just shut his mouth for five seconds. Luckily, however, the DJ came over the loudspeakers.

"OKAY WEIRDOS! EVERYONE READY TO PARTY?!" his voice boomed, as the club began to roar with shouts and screams.

Beetle leaned in next to her, making sure to prematurely bitch into her ear one more time, probably for good measure. "This better be good, Deetz."

This time Lydia didn't bother with trying to tell him anything. She simply waited, as she watched him through her veil in the super dim lighting. He did look rather scary in the dark, and though she hadn't noticed that often, she had now. His green eyes were almost glowing, and for a moment something inside her shivered with a twinge of fear. He was a ghost, after all. Suddenly, some low techno music began to blare from around them, as the neon rails under her hands turned on, glowing bright green. Floor after floor began to glow bright green, as flickering strobe lights and lamps began to light up. She watched BJ's expression fall slack as he eyed the humongous area.

"There are four levels in this bitch?" he said, looking down to the bottom floor.

"Yeah." Lydia smiled in satisfaction. "Do you like it?"

"We'll see. It's sure as hell big enough. Now, where's the bar?" he asked, his eyes skimming the lively crowd, as a guy dressed up as a shirtless vampire walked by him, eyeing his suit.

"Nice costume, bro." he nudged Beetlejuice's arm, beer in hand.

"Thanks, pal." he smirked, looking back to Lydia, his discomfort fading away before her eyes. "Guess yer lil' idea worked, huh?"

"I'd like to think so." Lydia smiled, glad to see the much-needed change. "C'mon. Let's get some drinks."

...

Lydia pulled her veil back, adjusting her long hair as she sipped on a martini, watching Beetlejuice knock back a beer, eyeing a woman dressed up as Cleopatra as she danced in the crowd. He grinned lecherously, licking his teeth as she winked at him.

"Looks like you have an admirer." Lydia teased him, apparently yanking him from his more than likely dirty thoughts.

"That chick's been eyein' me like a prime rib." he looked back in the woman's direction, rubbing his stubbly chin.

"Maybe you should go talk to her." Lydia suggested, watching his eyes sharply dart back over to her. His expression was a bit baffling. He almost seemed to glare at her. Why, at that particular moment, she had no clue.

"That how all that love stuff works, Deetz? Ya sit back and let me do whatever I want? Grind on chicks? Bang broads?" he seemed to try and taunt her for some reason.

Oh, no. She wasn't playing that little argument game of his. She was too ready to have some fun for once to let him intervene with his weird affection-slash-hatred for her. She simply decided to take control again. She reached over and placed her hand on his shoulder, causing him to instantly frown. "I mean, if you want me to get you off her radar, I can. Just tell me." she raised a brow, taunting him in return.

She watched as he eyed her hand like it was made of toxic radiation. He then picked it up like it was a dirty Kleenex, dropping it away from him. "Don't think so, Deetz."

"Then go have fun, BJ. I want you to." she smiled, patting his shoulder just to antagonize him a little more. Now she saw why he did that so much to her. It was kind of fun to watch him squirm. "It's not like we're actually together. Unless that's what you wanted..." she purposely shot him a sly look.

"Fuck..." Beetle began to shake his head as he quickly finished the bottle, standing up. "Could yer ass get any weirder?" he muttered, stepping away from her and into the crowd, where she watched him approach the woman, obviously trying to smooth talk her.

"Lydia? I thought that was you!" a familiar voice came out of the blue, as she turned to see Darren, Delia's former whipping boy and former co-slave alongside Lydia herself.

"Oh. Yeah, Hey!" Lydia politely smiled. "How's the new internship going?" she asked, noting that he was wearing three glowing necklaces and had different colors of body paint literally splashed all over his bare chest.

"Let's see...No getting screamed at constantly, no having my ideas and opinions shoved to the side, no more being a glorified janitor. MUCH, much better!" he beamed, seating himself beside her and taking a drink from the shot glass he was holding. "I couldn't do your job. I wasn't even going to try to fill in. It wasn't worth my sanity. Delia's an absolute nightmare. I don't know how you did it as long as you did. I think I'd be wearing a straitjacket if I was in your spot."

"Oh, I nearly was. Believe me." Lydia shook her head, deciding this was a good time to just chug the rest of her alcohol. "I'm sure you haven't forgotten the great fall of Statue del Betel."

"No. Everyone knows about that." he winced. "Nice costume by the way. Bringing back old school Lydia, I see? Some Winter Rivers, angsty goth sheek, perhaps? Circa nineteen eighty-eight?" he teased her, as she chuckled with a bit of embarrassment.

"God, did Delia have to show everyone in the office those old photos? That's one more thing to add to the list of reasons to strangle her." Lydia laughed sheepishly. "So, what are you supposed to be?"

"What else? A Monet, of course." he said, holding out his paint splotched arms and eyeing them proudly.

"Yeah, but aren't you supposed to be able to tell what a Monet actually is?" she snarked playfully.

"Maybe a Picasso then?" Darren shrugged, grinning ear-to-ear, as he signaled for the bartender to bring him another shot.

"I'd probably stick with that." Lydia chuckled, holding her hand up for another drink as well. "So, how's Milly liking your new position?"

"Oh, she's thrilled that I'm not coming home pissed off every night from interning under an egotistical tyrant." Darren spoke bluntly, though seemed to back off a bit. "Sorry, Lydia. Sometimes I forget she's your stepmother."

"Don't worry. I feel the same. I kind of have to love her, but hey, take your free pass to hate her on my behalf!" Lydia laughed. "So how is Milly?"

"Oh, she's great. She's actually over there waiting for me." he pointed to Milly, who was currently in a lounging area dressed as if she were from France, talking amidst a bunch of other scantily clad ladies. "She wanted me to tell you the next time I saw you to watch out for Rob. A friend of a friend of her's knows Candice pretty well. He's not with her anymore. She heard he was trying to get back in touch with you." Darren warned her, his expression showing disgust.

"Thanks. I'll make sure to keep a blow dart gun in my pocket." she smirked, as Darren nodded, patting her on the shoulder.

"Yeah, do that." Darren nodded, standing up. "I don't know who you're with now, but he's probably better than that lazy mooch."

"I'm just here with a friend. I think I'm putting a hiatus on the dating thing until I get my life back together." she explained, feeling a bit wary about anyone from her actual life seeing him.

"Oh? Where is your friend?" Darren inquired, making her bristle inside just a little more.

Lydia scanned the crowd, her eyes finally locking onto Beetle, who was currently in the throes of some very dirty dancing with his queen of the Nile. "Hm... Don't see him. He's probably in there somewhere." she blatantly lied. Yeah, that was probably for the best, she reasoned. Nobody else needed to be subjected to Beetle's special brand of abuse-slash-friendship.

"Oh. Well, you take care of yourself." Darren nodded, as she smiled, awkwardly waving at him as he went off to rejoin his fiancé.

Lydia's eyes fixated on the two lovers reuniting just a bit longer than they probably should have. Maybe one day she'd have that, too. She didn't miss Rob one iota, but she did miss having someone to keep her warm at night - someone to throw a little love back her way for once, though that never seemed to happen. Her eyes drifted back to Beetle, who was currently dancing with two other girls, apparently living it up. For one brief and unexpected moment, he turned his head, and their eyes locked. His wide grin ever so slightly faded, and the most peculiar expression fell upon his features. Lydia swallowed, still watching the dead man as if he was the only person on earth at that moment, without a clue as to why she was so fixated.

"Hey cutie. Wanna dance?" Another voice tore her away from him. She looked up to see a tall, handsome man in a Santa suit extending a gloved hand to her. Well, that was certainly different.

"Uh, sure. Of course." Lydia quickly pulled herself back together as she took his hand, following the man through the foggy, strobe-lit crowd. Involuntarily, her eyes moved up to him one more time, and it was at that moment that she realized he was still looking.