Okay, I've been wanting to do this ever since I got the entire Beetlejuice cartoon collection and the old cartoon is just like how I remember it when I watched it on television when I was much younger. It's hard to find good cartoons like that anymore.
Beetlejuice belongs to Warner Brothers and Tim Burton. I own nothing.
A Ribbing Tickle Fest
Lydia groaned as she finally got home from school and instantly decided that she needed a break. She had just finished some big tests and the teacher had given them homework to read a few poems before Monday. That gave her the weekend to do that and she went into her room, setting her books down and closing the curtains of her room. "Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice!" She said.
Just a second later, she was outside her friend's home and found a note on his door. "Lyds, if I'm not here, make yourself at home, back later. B.J.," she read. Sighing, she entered his home. "Wonder what scam he's doing now?"
As she thought, her ghost friend wasn't home and she had a feeling she'd be hearing from someone sooner or later about Beetlejuice causing trouble. She loved him dearly as a friend, but sometimes he pushed the envelope a bit too much.
A familiar, French-accented voice interrupted that train of thought and she followed it to another door in the Roadhouse. Smiling, she knocked on the door. "Come in!" She heard Jacques call and she entered.
"Hi, Jacques!" She said cheerfully.
"Lydia! Bonjour, chere!" Jacques greeted her with a smile. "How are you?"
"Kinda bored, but alright otherwise," Lydia admitted. "Have you seen B.J. around?"
"Beetlejuice?" The skeleton asked. "Non, I have not. He is not home?"
"He just left a note saying he'd be back," the young girl said. "But I've got a feeling we'll be hearing from the neighbors or the mayor in a bit."
"When don't we?" Jacques asked. "Ah, Beetlejuice is mon ami, but sometimes, he…uh, how you say it?"
"Pushes his luck?" Lydia supplied helpfully.
"Oui, that is it," the health-loving skeleton said. "Well, if you'd like, you can visit with me, although I am about to begin my midday workout."
"That's okay," she said. "I've never seen you really workout before. Is it okay if I watch?"
"But of course," he said, politely pulling out a chair for her and handing her a glass of water.
"Merci, Jacques," she said with a smile. Her friend's good manners always impressed her and she now watched as he began his workout, lifting weights and bench pressing. How he could do that while he had no muscles amazed her, but she had learned that things weren't always logical in the Neitherworld, and had gotten mostly used to seeing the unusual, especially where she hung around Beetlejuice all the time.
Lydia now watched Jacques flex before the mirror and had to hold in her giggles. "Hmm, perhaps I'll add a bit more weight to the bench bar," he said, slipping on some larger weights after removing the current ones he had on there before getting ready to bench press again.
"Jacques, are you sure you can handle that?" Lydia asked worriedly. "I mean, I know you're strong, but…uh, well, I guess I don't want you to pull a…bone?"
"Merci for your thoughtfulness, Lydia," he said. "But do not worry. I used the Bone Bond earlier."
"Okay," she said, holding back another giggle as she remembered one of Beetlejuice's favorite pranks was to make the skeleton fall apart, literally.
Suddenly, she was reminded of something else she had learned from the ghost and she grinned, getting up and quietly sneaking over to Jacques, who completed another rep of bench pressing and set the bar back on its resting place and took a break to catch his breath. Small hands resting on his ribcage made him turn his head to see Lydia was standing beside him. "I'm alright, chere," he said reassuringly.
Lydia just smirked at him. "Hey, Jacques, how do you rib a skeleton?" She asked.
If the joke had come from Beetlejuice, the skeleton would have groaned, but he simply cocked his head to the side. "I don't know. How do you rib a skeleton?" He asked.
"Like this!" The young girl said and began tickling his ribs.
"HOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOO!" Jacques laughed. "LYDIA! HOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOO!"
She laughed, unable to help herself. Her friend's laughter was contagious. "Sorry, Jacques. But this is fun!" She said.
How many people could say they tickled a skeleton and that skeleton was ticklish? She doubted many at all, but while she was thinking about that, Jacques had noticed Lydia's hands were slowing down on his ribs and he sat up, catching her in his arms and completely catching her by surprise. "Ah, but you are about to admit defeat, Lydia," the skeleton said with a smirk as he first began tickling her feet.
"EEK! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! JACQUES! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" She laughed out before her friend decided to tickle her stomach. Now, it had been a while since she had been tickled and if Beetlejuice knew that, he'd no doubt tickle her into next month. At least Jacques would be more merciful about it and wouldn't, she prayed, tell the ghost about this.
"Looks like this is the way to 'rib' a human, oui?" The skeleton asked teasingly, tickling Lydia's stomach as she laughed before he paused the tickle torture, giving the human a chance to catch her breath. She giggled a bit and looked up at him.
"For a skeleton that works out, you're a good tickler," she admitted.
"Why, thank you," he said with a smile. "Tickling is good for your health, after all."
Lydia laughed again. "Yes, it is," she agreed with him.
What can I say? I love Jacques! He's my favorite Beetlejuice character and I honestly think he should have gotten a lot more screen time. :)
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GoldGuardian2418