Lydia dragged herself up the stairs and into her room after a long and stressful week of school. Five days a week she struggled with the majority of the school harassing her because of the way she dressed or the things she liked. No matter how hard she tried to make friends, it was a constant battle and an unvarying hurt. She placed her book bag on the ground next to her door and exhaustedly plopped down onto her bed, eyes gazing the ceiling. "Thank goodness it's Friday," she said in a whispered breath.
Not ten seconds later, she heard a familiar knocking come from across her room. She grinned and lifted her head up to see her best friend in her dresser mirror, waving happily. He was always there when she'd arrive home from school and knowing he would always be there was a treat after a hard day.
"Well come on Lyds!" Beetlejuice shouted. "Ya gonna let me in or are you just gonna stare at me?"
"Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice." Lydia said with a smile and just as soon as she had said his name for the third time he was right beside her on the bed, digging fervently through his pockets.
"I got somethin' for ya, Babes. I found it in one of the Neitherworld's dumpsters. Gotta love dumpster diving, Lyds. You never know what you'll find."
Lydia giggled, "I'm not sure if I should be excited or terrified."
"Why not a little of both?" Beetlejuice said, pulling out a small and wooden box. He then placed the box into Lydia's opened hands as he smiled, proud of himself.
"What is it?" She asked.
Beetlejuice raised a brow, "I ain't gonna just tell ya, Babes. Open it and see!"
She smiled up at him and then very cautiously opened the box causing it to squeak from weary and old hinges. When the box was completely opened a small figure popped up and began twirling in a figure-eight motion. The figure wore a black and lacey ballerina outfit, adorned with a small tiara atop her head. As the figure continued to twirl, Lydia's eyes sparkled as a slew of small bats began to fly around the dancer's head and a tune she could not place began to play.
"Well, do you like it?"
"Oh, Beej. I love it!" She set the small music box on her nightstand and then took Beetlejuice with both arms, encasing him in a hug. "That was very thoughtful of you."
"Eh..you know me! If I find somethin' worthwhile in the trash, I just gotta nab it!" As Lydia let go of him, Beetlejuice appeared next to the doors of her balcony and leaned against them. "So, what's on the agenda today, Lyds? Spookin' neighbors? Collectin' bugs? Comin' up with a new routine that'll scare my fellow Neitherworldians to bits and pieces?"
She stood up from the bed tiredly, and walked over to her movie cabinet, "Why don't we just relax and watch a movie, BJ?"
He shrugged, "I guess. Bug catchin' sounds like more fun, but whatever ya want, Babes."
Lydia picked a classic Vincent Price horror movie, "How about, The Tingler?!" She asked, wiggling her fingers spookily at Beetlejuice.
"Oh, that's a good one! It's the cheesiest movie I've ever seen!"
After she put the movie in and it began playing, she turned around to see Beetlejuice sprawled across her bed, leaving little to nothing in terms of room for her. "Move over you big lug." She laughed.
"Hey…I was here first, Lyds. By about six hundred years at that."
Lydia jumped onto the bed at that point, accepting that if he wasn't going to move then she would simply have to make him move by squirming in. There was laughing and giggling as they fought for a space on the bed until ultimately they found a spot on their stomachs next to one another. As the giggles subsided, they calmed down and began to enjoy the movie.
As time passed and the movie was about halfway through, Lydia heard the faint sound of Beetlejuice's lumbering snores. She wasn't surprised though, he usually got bored of watching movies, especially when she knew he'd seen many of them multiple times and habitually just ends up falling asleep through the majority of them. She looked over at him and suddenly felt thankful that he was around.
Not that she had never felt thankful for his friendship before, but after so many weeks of the same abuse from the 'good' children of her school, it was nice to know that she would always have Beetlejuice. He never judged her for the way she dressed, or the things she liked. He was absolutely bonkers over her love for creepy crawly things in the night, and he didn't care that she was pale in appearance or…he didn't care about anything that other kids or adults seemed to make important. He liked her for who she was one hundred percent.
The thought of him not being there crossed her mind and she frowned just a tad at that. Ever since they met, life's been always for the better. He made her see just how good life, living, was. When the thought of ending it all was in her mind and seemingly no one in the world could change her desire, he came into her life and everything changed.
Lydia's eyes welled up. What if she hadn't met him before she did the now unthinkable? What if she had taken her life? The Neitherworld had a special place for those kinds of people. One that wasn't necessarily enjoyable looking after Beetlejuice had shown her that part of the Neitherworld. He saved her.
Ignoring the movie, Lydia curled against Beetlejuice's chest as he slept. Tears dripped from her eyes as she buried her face into his purple dress shirt. The constant badgering at school had gotten to her and now imagining where she could have ended up if he hadn't been there for her, if he hadn't been her friend, was too much to handle.
As hard as she tried to keep quiet, one hiccup escaped as she cried. Beetlejuice, feeling the movement against his chest, opened one eye and looked down at Lydia. "Babes, are you crying?"
Lydia gripped his lapels with her hands and pushed further into his chest, "I'm sorry, Beetlejuice."
"What do you mean?" he asked perplexed. "What's goin' on, Lyds?"
"Beetlejuice?" she said pulling her face away just enough to look up at him, "Beetleju-"
He threw his hand over her mouth and widened his eyes, "Babes! Careful, kid. That was almost three times! You're gonna end up sending me back and you know there's a grace period for entry back into the Overworld. Now what's goin' on? What's with all the tears, Babes?"
Her lip trembled, "You're my best friend, Beej."
"I know that!"
Lydia wiped away a few stray tears on her cheek, "I don't know what I'd do without you. Until you came into my life, I was miserable."
Beetlejuice sat her up on the bed and followed suit himself, "I know that too. I was there." He concentrated on the tears that slicked her cheeks. Not having any bodily fluids himself, it was odd to see the random tear fall victim of sadness.
"You won't ever leave will you?"
"What?!" He waived a hand dismissingly at her, "I'd never, Babes! You're my best friend, best bud! We're like those two fat twins from Alice in Wonderland…though you know…you're Dum and I'm Dee."
That made her laugh and she flew herself into his embrace whether he wanted to give it to her or not, "I love you, BJ."
Beetlejuice looked down into her wet eyes as she looked up into his. He stared for just a moment before resting his chin atop her head, "Love you too, Babes."
Author's Note:
For those of you that are readers of my Joker x Harley Quinn fics...I hope you are surprised that I actually have another fictional couple I'm interested in. Don't worry though, as much as I love Beetlejuice x Lydia, Joker and Harley will always have a special place in my heart and I will most likely be writing future fictions for both pairings. I hope you enjoyed this little oneshot I wrote! As always, reviews are much appreciated!