𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗜𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 ✘ 𝘉𝘌𝘌𝘛𝘓𝘌𝘑𝘜𝘐𝘊𝘌

Ꮯhᥲρtꫀɾ 𝟛: Tick, Tock, Babes

"No! No, Beetlejuice, it doesn't."

"Are you sure?" He questioned. "Ah, oh well. If you say so. Doesn't really matter. I'm not here for your forgiveness, anyway." He stood, proceeding to lean against the wall with his hands in the grimy pockets of his striped suit. "I'm just here to keep you alive. That's what you want, isn't it?"

A harsh glare was sent in the green-haired demon's direction. "Of course I want to live, you absolute jerk. I just don't want you to help me with it. I don't know what you're up to, but it isn't going to work."

"Again, babes," he began, putting his hands up defensively, "I ain't up to anything. Look, don't think of it as just me helping you. Instead, think of it as a fair exchange. You need my help, but I also need your help. Maybe ... we can help each other!"

Lydia growled, "First of all, don't call me 'babes'. Secondly, I don't WANT to help you. Not after everything you've done."

It prompted Beetlejuice to laugh, belittling the girl's concerns. "I can't believe you're still hung up on that. How many years was that ago? Three? No, four! Jesus, kid. Move on."

She clenched her jaw. "You almost killed Barbara for your own personal gain. It doesn't matter if it was four years ago or fourty years ago. Forgive me for being hesitant, but I think I'm justified."

A groan erupted from his throat. "Actually, you almost killed Barbara. Your fault for not bothering to double-check the spell. Don't see why it's such a big deal, anyway. It's just Barbara. Not like I almost killed you or something."

"How does that make it ANY better?!" She demanded, growing increasingly agitated.

"I just don't see why you care so much if it didn't directly hurt you. You humans are weird in that way." Beetlejuice had never truly loved everyone. Born into the numbness of death, he didn't even have that capability... not that anyone had ever been nice enough for him to genuinely love them, even if he was able to.

She bitterly laughed. "Of course you don't get it. You're a demon. Doubt you've even loved anyone before, have you?"

"Never met anyone worth loving."

"Or maybe you have. You just wouldn't know it because you're an insensitive asshole who doesn't care about anyone but himself."

"Harsh words, Lydia Deetz," he commented with an impressed whistle, examining his chipped black nail polish. He inquired nonchalantly, knowing full-well that the words about to roll off his tongue were awful, "Tell me, babes, do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" Then, he looked up from his nails, pretending unenthusiastically to gasp in realization that her beloved mommy was six feet underground. "Oh, wait..."

Lydia momentarily looked at him in disbelief. She could hardly wrap her head around the idea of anyone having the nerve to cross such a bold line by bringing Emily into it. Even for Beetlejuice, she was repulsed. As she processed his words, the demon could see the utter fury in her eyes, and a sick part of him was satisfied with himself. The girl, overcome with rage, stormed up to the taller and stronger demon, harshly shoving his shoulders back towards the wall. He was hardly knocked backwards due to their difference in size, but it did serve to prove her point, which was good enough for her. "You know what, Beetlejuice?" She growled, while he remained completely calm and unintimidated. "Fuck you." She looked up to him, and between them was a tense silence before she demanded, "Now, get the HELL OUT of my room!"

"Gladly," he agreed, adjusting the cuffs of his suit. "But, keep in mind, Lydia, your clock hasn't stopped. Your time is running out. Gotta make a move soon; otherwise, it might be too late for me to stop it. Tick, tock, babes..."

. . .

A/N
2/14/20

GUYS. That ending with Beetlejuice bringing up Emily was completely unexpected. I literally just added that in the editing stage. Hot damn, that was definitely an asshole move on his part.

I'm shocked that I've managed to update on a consistent basis. This is really the first.

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i'll beg, pls

Thanks so much for reading!