𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗜𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 ✘ 𝘉𝘌𝘌𝘛𝘓𝘌𝘑𝘜𝘐𝘊𝘌

Ꮯhᥲρtꫀɾ 𝟟: Away to the Unknown

       "I'm sorry," the nineteen year-old girl remorsefully apologized to her family. "I'm... I don't want to die. I don't want to..." She quietly exhaled, looking down towards the floor. "Guys, I have my whole future ahead of me. I'm supposed to be in my apartment in New York right now, starting college soon. This was the last thing I wanted. I didn't want to summon him. I hate him. I don't want him here. I just... I need him... I don't want to die... not anymore." Hate was a very strong word, and it was one which she wouldn't have used to describe her relationship with Beetlejuice prior to this whole affair. After his generally rude behavior upon his return, though, her views on him were quickly changing and not in a positive manner.

          "Lydia, no one is upset with you," her father comforted her, seated on the couch by her side with her hand gently resting in his own. "You did what you thought you had to do. You have to stay alive. We understand. ... You want him here as much as we do." He commented, "I wish you'd told us ahead of time, though..."

        "I know. I'm sorry. I was just too scared of telling you... of what you'd think of me." She knew, for sure, that one person in the room wasn't judging: Delia, who had advised her to reconsider in the first place and assess the situation from a long-term standpoint. Because she was ashamed of herself, though, she had a hard time believing that anyone else was truly okay with her choice.

          "Just... do me a favor, Lydia," Barbara softly told her, concerned by the demon's return. "Stay safe. He's dangerously unstable and isn't afraid of hurting people to get what he wants. You remember how he nearly killed me for a second time because he needed you. Be careful with him."

           The teen slowly nodded, closing her eyes. She just hoped that he wasn't going to pull something hostile again. But she now had something up her sleeve that she hadn't before: if she said his name another three times, he'd be sent back to the Netherworld. She hadn't known that last time, and she'd use it to her advantage. If he did something manipulative, he'd be gone in an instant.

          Suddenly, Beetlejuice appeared in the center of the room from thin air, visibly startling nearly everyone in the room save for Lydia. The blonde was beginning to adjust to his surprise appearances, having been startled by them several times before. "Lydia, how much longer do I have to wait in the basement? It's boring down there. I hate being bored," he whined.

        Her brown eyes glared up at him as she stood from the couch. "You have the patience of a toddler," she remarked with a hint of anger towards him still audible in her voice.

             "And the sex drive of a teenage boy," the demon added, not sounding offended in the least by her dig at his patience. He couldn't care less if that was a taboo thing to discuss or if it made anyone in the room uncomfortable. He pried, "So, have you broken the news?"

             Lydia nodded, remaining ashamed, despite the fact that she was really left no choice.

           "Oh, you have? Great. Okay. Let me start over and have a more dramatic entry." BJ then disappeared. Everyone in the room silently wished that he was gone forever, but in two seconds, he had re-appeared in a puff of gray smoke atop the kitchen table, striking a pose with jazz hands and a smirk plastered across his face. "It's showtime," he announced, alluding to the last time he was summoned in front of everyone present in the room. Then, he erupted into cheerful laughter, doubling over. It was almost cute. Almost.

          "This isn't a game," Charles growled, not amused by how the green-haired demon was enjoying himself.

          "Oh, come on, Chuuck. That's all life is: it's just a game of survival that everyone acts like they can win. Spoiler alert: they never do." He hopped down from the table with a thud.

             "Are you going to help my daughter or not?" The brunet man demanded.

             " 'Course! That's the whole reason why I'm here. Why else would I have done the whole, 'It's showtime,' thing? You really gotta start paying attention."

             "I've enough paid attention to know that you're not the most trustworthy, so forgive me for having my doubts," Charles replied.

             ...

              "No."

             "What?"

             "No, you're not forgiven."

             The brunet man, of course, had not actually been looking for Beetlejuice's forgiveness. "I-" he began to explain before being cut off.

             "Now, you all may be wondering how, exactly, I'm going to help Lydia," BJ spoke, beginning to pace around the center of the room while the Maitlands' and Deetzes' eyes followed him like hawks.

             "Yeah. You haven't even specified," Lydia interjected with narrowed eyes at him.

             "Well, I'm going to clear you from as much danger as I can." The obvious answer. "I can see... plenty of the future. Yup. Lots and lots of future." He sounded as if he had something to prove. "I can... see into Lydia's death. Which, for the record, is in four days. It's — heheh— it's not pretty!" Something about his tone sounded... off, but Lydia couldn't pinpoint what exactly. "So, I'm removing her from everything dangerous, starting with the location of her death: this house."

             Adam asked with a twinge of pain in his voice, "You want to... take her away from our house?"

             "Bingo," the demon said, pointing finger guns at the flannel-clad man.

            "But can we come with her?" Asked Delia, concerned. "In a time like this, Lydia needs her family..."

             " 'Fraid not. You'll just make it more risky, so the best thing you can to is stay the hell away." Beetlejuice obviously, in his voice, had no sympathy for the family. He gradually stopped pacing, standing back in the room's center.

             A heavy silence fell over the room. Just yesterday, they'd prepared for Lydia to leave the house for college. Not... to leave with a dangerous demon off to god-knows-where.

             Lydia, knowing her family needed something to believe in, said with faux confidence, "I'll be fine." She stood from the couch, reluctantly walking to Beetlejuice's side. He was just as malodorous as he was four years ago, so standing in such a close proximity with him killed the girl on the inside and she resisted scrunching up her face in disgust. "I have a backup plan this time around." She was referring to how she now knew that, upon his name being said another three times, he could be returned to the Netherworld, back into his cage, if he displayed any indicators of malevolence. It certainly gave her some sense of comfort — just not as much as she let her family believe.

             "Damn right you will," Beetlejuice agreed about her safety, relieved by her lack of argument about going with him but simultaneously uneasy at the fact that she had a 'backup plan'. His calloused hand grabbed her comparatively small and soft one, saying with a wave, "And we'll be on our way, now. I'll bring her back soon enough, safe n' sound. You have my word. See you, suckers!"

             Lydia, wanting you say goodbye to her family before leaving and potentially meeting her demise, tried to yank her hand away from him and protested, "Wait. Hold on, BJ, wai—"

             She was cut off by the snap of Beetlejuice's fingers. In the blink of an eye, the pair had vanished into thin air and were whisked away into the unknown.

A/N
4/19/20
If someone makes a Frozen 2 reference at the last paragraph, I'm going to c r y. This chapter would've just been titled "Into the Unknown" if not for that god-forsaken song.

This chapter gave me major vibes of Will Blum's portrayal of Beetlejuice with how childish he was in the former half, hence the cover photo that I chose for this chapter. We stan Beetleblum in this household.

Q.O.T.D.
What's your favorite quote from the show?

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Thanks so much for reading!