Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It had been almost six months since the Deetzs moved into the Maitland house when the sort-of family faced their first big, potentially family-destroying, obstacle. Obviously not counting the time a demon from hell tried to marry Lydia in some kind of green-card thing by killing the already dead Barbara. Not counting that.

The day started like any other. Lydia was dragged out of bed by Charles just in time to grab a pop-tart and have Delia drive her to school. Barbara and Adam hugged her goodbye before retiring to the attic to do ghost-things. When Delia returned, Charles and her spent some "quality time" together before leaving for their respective jobs. A normal day. Nothing even sort of hinted toward the disaster that was to come when they all returned home.

Lydia had DnD Club after school, so she was picked up by Delia around 5pm instead of walking home like usual. Charles pulled up just as the girls were getting out of the car. On days when the Maitlands were feeling especially bored, they would begin fixing dinner for the Deetzs, even though they couldn't eat themselves. Today they had put the pasta on the stove and left the rest for Delia, who insisted that she should at least assist them, seeing as they were not actually going to eat. This was a pattern that happened quite often in the Maitland-Deetz household and as the sort-of family fell into a routine, everyone became more and more comfortable around each other, navigating everyday life without a hitch while accommodating for the extra people living in the house. Unfortunately, all of that was about to change.

-----

"So Lydia. How was school today? Did gym class go any better?" Barbara asked from the sink. Dinner had been eaten quickly, everyone invested in homework or other projects. As usual, the Maitlands had offered to do the dishes. As usual, the Deetzs had insisted that they should help. As usual, Barbara won the argument.

"Lame. And no. Gym sucks. But the semester is almost over and I have 1st period PE next year, so it should be better." Lydia had somehow convinced Barbara to let her help, so she was wiping off the table and counters.

"That's good. Not the lame part. The gym part. Gym class is awful." Adam said from the fridge.

"You're telling me. I am not athletic." Lydia sighed.

"Oh, dear. It's alright. Highschool will be over before you know it and gym class will be virtually unimportant." Barbara reassured the teen, smiling softly at her as she floated the rest of the dishes to their shelves.

"Not sure that's quite reassuring Barb. I think I'd rather gym to being an adult." Lydia muttered.

"It's not that bad." Adam laughed.

"You're dead. I don't think that's a good example of adult life." Lydia said, flopping into the couch.

"She has a point, honey. I was absolutely terrified when I graduated. You were too, remember?" Barbara joined Lydia on the sofa.

"Excuse me. The word 'graduation' is not allowed in this household until my daughter's Senior year. At least." Charles said sternly as he looked up from his newspaper.

"Sorry." Barbara muttered, slightly embarrassed.

"He's kidding you Barb. Don't do that to them Charles" Delia leaned over her husband's chair and looked pointedly at him. Charles has the sensibility to look apologetic, which made Delia laugh. Barbara's mood immediately lightened, joining in. The conversation changed, moving on to recent events in their lives (or deaths, in the Maitland's case) and it seemed that the evening would continue as usual. It didn't.

Chapter Text

It is not like anyone was surprised when Beetlejuice showed up. In fact, it was a miracle that it took so long for the demon to come back to the Maitland-Deetz house. And it wasn’t even that they didn’t want him there. It was just, well, they weren’t exactly prepared.

The evening was drawing to an end and everyone was preparing to go to bed. Ghosts didn’t need sleep, but the Maitlands still enjoyed the rest. Lydia was just finishing up her homework, after procrastinating diligently, and the Deetzs were having a quiet conversation in the corner. The Maitlands were wrapping up an intense game of chess at the dining room table. In fact, it was shortly after Barbara triumphantly checkmated Adam that everyone heard a deafening crash from upstairs. Every head turned quickly to the ceiling, but the Maitlands reacted first. With a short glance at each other, they floated through the ceiling together, emerging into the attic. What they found there made them freeze in shock.

“Babs! Adam! Long time, no see, huh? How’s it hangin’ guys?” Laying on the floor underneath a shattered window, was no one else but the infamous demon himself. Jumping straight up, Beetlejuice attempted to pull the ghost couple in for a hug, but they shifted away and glared at him, astonished.

“Beetlejuice. What are you doing here? How..? How did you even get here?” Barbara’s voice rose as she spoke. Adam rested a gentle hand on her shoulder, but did not tear his gaze from the demon. It was then that the Deetzs ran through the attic door, but they all stopped dead in their tracks at the sight of their demon fre-nemy.

“Beetlejuice?” Delia and Charles said, taking a step back as Lydia declared “Beetlejuice!” and ran forward, just stopping herself from hugging him, before looking awkwardly back at the adults.

“Lydia! Hey guys! Sorry about the window. I was in a bit of a rush to get here and my aim was off. It's fine though. I got it covered.” Beetlejuice pointed a finger at the shattered window and it repaired itself almost instantaneously.

“Beetlejuice, what are you doing here?” Charles finally found his voice.

“Oh yeah. Right. Long story short, I got banished from the Netherworld for killing my mom. So... I came here. Cool? Cool.” Beetlejuice nodded like they had all just made an agreement. All of the adults shook their heads at the exact same time as Lydia nodded.

“Heck yeah you can stay with us! Right, Dad? This is so cool!” Lydia bounced excitedly and wrapped her arms around the demon. Barbara immediately grabbed her shoulders and pulled the girl back.

“Not cool. Not cool at all. This will require a serious discussion, Lyd. We can't just adopt the demon who tried to marry you and kill the rest of us.” Charles grabbed his daughter’s hand.

“But he's better now. Right BJ?” The demon nodded, smiling widely at everyone. “He's a good guy. Character development and all that stuff. Come on guys, please?!” The girl begged, looking at all the adults. Delia sighed and gave Lydia a sympathetic look.

“Sorry dear. I'm just not comfortable with the man who tried to kill us all staying in our basement. Forgiveness doesn't happen that quickly.” The woman tried to brush Lydia’s hair from her face, but the teenager jerked back.

“Maybe not for you! I say BJ can stay. He can even stay in my room. He won't even be in the way.”

“Definitely not” chorused all four adults in unison. The room was silent for a moment, both Lydia and BJ sporting large puppy-dog eyes, looking pitifully at the adults. Sighing, Adam looked pointedly at Beetlejuice.

“You can stay in the attic with us until we figure this out. You are not permitted to leave this room or you will never be allowed back in this house until the end of time. Understand?” Adam was uncharacteristically stern. Beetlejuice looked slightly insulted, but nodded nevertheless, giving the ghost a little salute.

“Let's all go to bed. It's really late and you guys need to sleep. We can discuss this further tomorrow. Ok?” Barbara turned her attention away from the demon and back toward the still-living humans. Delia and Charles nodded in agreement but Lydia looked at her incredulously.

“What do you mean discuss this further?! Why do you guys need to discuss whether or not we can let someone who has nowhere else to go stay here? Are you just going to kick him out onto the streets? That's ridiculous!” The girl fumed, moving protectively in front of her friend. Charles looked like he was about to give in to his daughter’s pleas, but Delia grabbed his arm and gave him a pointed look.

“That's not what we are saying, Lydia, and you know it. We don't want anyone to get hurt.” The life-coach said gently. Lydia just scoffed and rolled her eyes.

“Lydia, hon, we are worried about you. We don't want to do anything rash without talking about it first. Like Delia said, we just don't want to see you hurt.” Barbara stepped forward and rested her hand on the girl's arm, but Lydia just shrugged her off and turned around quickly, staring down the ghost.

“Why do you care, huh? It's not like you're my mom! Maybe if you had your own kid, you could boss them around, but not me. My mom's dead and I don't need another one.”
The room was absolutely silent for a moment, everyone staring at Lydia in shock. The girl took a couple shaky breaths before storming off down the stairs. Barbara stood frozen, still staring at where the girl used to be. Adam reached out to his wife, but she didn't move. Charles cleared his throat awkwardly.

“I'm... I'm going to go talk to her.” He rushed out the door. Delia smiled tightly at the ghosts before following her husband.

“Well then. I think that went well. Huh, Babs?” Beetlejuice beamed at the couple, but Adam just glared at him.

“Go somewhere else Beetlejuice.” He said harshly.

“But I thought you said...”

“Go. Now. Don't talk to anyone.” Beetlejuice recoiled and slunk off down the stairs. Adam sighed and turned back to his wife. Barbara was still frozen in the center of the attic.

“Barb? You okay?” Adam took his wife’s shoulders and led her to the couch. Barbara shook her head and ran her hands through her hair.

“I'm fine. It just... she just shocked me. I know she didn't actually mean it. She's just mad.” Barbara took a deep breath and smiled weakly at her husband. Adam smiled back at her and nodded.

“I know. It's ok if it hurt you, though. I know your sensitive about that.” Adam grabbed her hands gently. Barbara looked down and squeezed his hands, but withdrew quickly.

“I'm fine. She's not wrong. I'm not her mother.” Barbara stood up stiffly. “I'm going to go take a walk.” She walked out the door and closed the door softly behind her. Adam sighed. He knew they Barbara just needed to be left alone when she was hurting, but he had a feeling that this situation was far from resolved. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about it now. Laying down on their bed, Adam fell into a restless sleep.

Chapter Text

When Lydia awoke, the house was eerily silent. Most mornings, especially on the weekend, she was woken by the smell of pancakes and the sound of dishes clanging. The Maitland's voices would usually waft up from the kitchen, the discussion unintelligible, but distinct. She could usually hear her father getting ready in the room next door, and then Delia rolling out of bed shortly after. Not today though. Today, it sounded as if she was the only one in the house.

Lydia fought the instinct to go back to sleep. Last night had been a disaster by all accounts, and going back to bed would not help anything. Rubbing her eyes, she climbed out of bed, dragging her blankets along with her. Just because she knew she had to face the rest of the family didn't mean she wasn't going to stall as long as possible. Recently, the teen had been trying out new styles of clothing, but today she reverted back to her standard look. All black. It just felt right.

Trying her best to ignore the pang of guilt in her chest, Lydia made her way downstairs. Just as when she woke, there was no signs of life as she walked through the hallways. She was surprised, then, when she found Delia in the kitchen, leaning over a bowl of cereal. The girl gave her a small smile before grabbing her own bowl and spoon. Situating herself across from her step-mother, Lydia began to eat in silence. Unfortunately, the quiet didn't last long.

"How are you doing?" Delia said, getting up to put her dishes in the sink.

"Fine. Is Dad up?" Lydia muttered. She prayed he wasn't. Their talk last night had gone nowhere and they both went to bed frustrated.

"Yeah. At least he was when I left. Wouldn't be surprised if he fell back asleep." Lydia rolled her eyes. That did sound like her father.

"So."

"So." Delia echoed.

"When are we going to talk about BJ? I still mean what I said. He should stay." Lydia put her dishes away as well and stood awkwardly by the sink.

"I know how you feel, sweetie. We will talk as soon as everyone is up. How about you go hurry up your father and I'll go check on our ghost friends, ok?" Delia laid a gently hand on the girl's shoulder. Lydia nodded slowly, leaning into her touch for a moment before taking a breath and making her way to her dad's room. Delia smiled sadly after her. She had the worst feeling that this talk would do nothing but make the matter worse.

-----

A knock on the attic door shook Adam from his trance. He had woken up a while ago, but had chosen to stay in bed and stare at the ceiling instead of getting up. Shaking his head slightly, he muttered a soft reply. At the sound of the door opening, the ghost sat up slowly and looked over to see Delia standing awkwardly in the doorway.

"Hi. Sorry, didn't mean to wake you guys. We just... we think it will be better if we talk about this sooner rather than later." Delia shifted nervously. Adam nodded tiredly and slipped out of bed, fixing the blankets haphazardly. It was then that Delia noticed something.

"Where's Barbara?" Adam sighed, running his hand through his hair.

"Honestly, I don't know. She took a walk last night and I guess she didn't come back." Delia furrowed her brow, worried.

"A walk? I thought you guys couldn't leave the house."

"We can't. I don't know where she goes when she disappears like this. I don't look for her. She needs time alone and then we talk about whatever it is when she decides to come back. She's never been gone this long though. This really must have gotten to her." Adam wrung his hands, flopping back down onto the bed.

"I'm sorry." Delia say across from him on the couch, a sympathetic smile playing across her face.

"Don't be. It's not your fault. It's not really anyone's fault. We've just been having a tough time recently and this whole... thing was pretty untimely. I just..." Adam trailed off, lost in thought. Delia gave him a moment before speaking again.

"Are you two alright?" Empathy and concern were evident in her voice.

"Oh yeah, yeah. It's just the anniversary of... Nevermind. It's not my place to tell you, I'm sorry. That's not the point anyway. That's a whole different topic." The ghost stood up in a huff and smiled politely at Delia. "I'm ready to have this talk, yeah?"

-----

Barbara could tell that it was morning because she could hear voices and footsteps above her. Nestled behind a stack of boxes, she was leaning against the make-shift bed she had made a few months ago. She had had her own hide-out even before they died, but she had to move it once the Deetz moved in. Now, she could float through the boxes to get their, so no live person could find her, and Adam would only try to find her if there was an emergency. The "room" was small, only large enough for a small cot and a chest. Having her own place to retreat to was something that she had ever since she was a child and she knew exaclty to put there. Her favorite books, and old stuffed animal, family photos, and extra supplies were in the chest. She could stay here for as long as she wanted, seeing as she didn't need to eat or go to the bathroom, but she rarely stayed for more than a few hours.

Today, however, was different. Barbara had barely slept last night. Instead, she lay awake, trying to fight back tears. She hated crying. Once she gave in to her emotions, she was just left with her thoughts. And once she started thinking, she couldn't stop. She would think about why she was upset and all the reasons that she shouldn't be upset and how it made her weak. It was much easier to waste all her energy on repressing the emotions instead of dealing with them rationally. Rationality was hard to balance with emotions. It just didn't work. So instead she just didn't. And usually it worked. Not today though. Once she finally fell asleep, she was plagued with nightmares and woke many times, near tears. It wasn't even just one thing. It was so, so many things that had all built up and BJ's arrival and Lydia's comment had just been the last straw.

Now, she sat in silence, avoiding thinking about anything. She knew that eventually she should find Adam and make sure he was ok. Eventually, she should join the rest of the family and talk about all of this. Eventually, she should deal with all these emotion. But not yet. Not now.

-----

Charles didn't want to get out of bed. Delia had left a while ago. It was an odd change of pattern. Usually, he was the first one awake. But not today. Last night was absolute havok. That demon that tried to kill them all had showed up out of nowhere and announced that he would be staying with them. His teenage daughter, who said demon had tried to marry, had begged him to let him stay. When he didn't agree, she stormed out. He had tried to talk to her, but the night ended in Lydia slamming the door in his face. All in all, he was not happy that Beetlejuice was back. If his daughter thought that throwing a tantrum was going to enhance her chances of getting BJ to stay, she was sorely mistaken. And yet, he knew that she was just a kid. A kid who needed a friend. He understood why she wanted him to stay, sure. He figured that the talk they were going to have today would solve a lot of the issues. At least he hoped so.

A knock on his door tore him out of his thoughts.

"Come in." He muttered. Through the door slipped Lydia, looking just as tired as he felt, Charles sat up slowly and smiled weakly at just daughter.

"Delia said to wake you up. Once she gets the Maitlands, we are going to talk. K?" Lydia leaned against the doorframe.

"Mhm." The two stared at each other for a moment before Lydia looked down awkwardly.

"Sorry for being so bratty last night." She whispered. Charles smiled.

"It's ok, dear. I understand, I really do. I think this chat will be good for all of us, don't you agree?" Lydia smiled back up at him, nodding.

"You go on downstairs and tell your step-mom that I'll be there in a second. Love you, kid." Charles stood up, stretching.

"Love you too, dad"

-----

BJ could hear everyone else from his hiding spot in the basement. He had hid in this house for a while before the Maitlands died and knew how to recognize the different sounds the house made. His demon-enhanced hearing enabled him to know that everyone was awake, even Barbara, who had yet to move from her hiding spot. BJ knew where that was, but had never actually went looking for it. Somehow, that made it onto his very short list of things that crossed a line.

Being in this house again was insane. After he died, he assumed he would spend the rest of his life confined to the Netherworld for his crimes. Little did he know that that was exactly the opposite of what would actually happen. Now, here he was, stuck in a house with people that probably hated him. Upstairs, they were preparing to discuss whether or not he was allowed to stay. The concept was weird all by itself, but the fact that the person who should hate him the most was the one advocating for him felt almost wrong. Beetlejuice wasn't one to often feel guilty. It just wasn't his thing. But something about this crazy kid and her wacky family did stuff to him that he couldn't explain. He wanted nothing more than to repair his relationship with these people. Besides, it wasn't like he had anywhere else to go. So, he decided, he might as well fight for this family while he still had a chance. Taking a deep breath, BJ stood up, dusted off his suit, and marched up the basement stairs.

Chapter Text

When Beetlejuice reached the top of the steps, he hesitated. Technically, he had never been invited to this conversation, but it was only fair that he was included in the discussion that decided his fate, right? Right. Still, he wasn’t exactly excited to discuss the fact that he was the cause for much of this family’s pain. That was a fact that he was vehemently ignoring and had no desire to face the facts before he had to. So, Beetlejuice remained at the top of the steps, right inside the dining room. He could hear people talking in the living room on the other side of the wall, but decided to remain where he was until he found a good time to interrupt.

-----

“Who are we still waiting for?” Delia was sitting stiffly in the armchair by the television, facing Adam and Lydia, who were situated next to each other on the couch. A very obvious space was left for Barbara next to Adam, but the ghost had yet to make an appearance.

“Charles and Barb,” responded the ghost. “Barbara might still be sleeping, wherever she is.” Delia nodded understandingly, smiling a little. Charles chose that moment to appear at the top of the stairs.

“What do you mean ‘wherever she is’?” The man made his way to an armchair across from his wife. “Is she ok?” Delia and Charles looked at Adam expectantly, but Lydia just glanced down at her hands, shifting awkwardly. Adam gave her a quick look before answering.

“She took some time to herself last night and hasn’t returned. I think she is ok, though. Just needed some time. She will come back when she is ready. I think we can start the talk without her.” Adam smiled weakly at the Deetzs. Charles nodded and cleared his throat.

“So. We need to talk about Beetlejuice. I understand, Lydia, that you want him to stay and that he is your friend. I get it, I do, but I think this needs to be discussed with the entire family.” Lydia scoffed, shaking her head slightly.

“Some family we are. You, me, my life-coach turned step-mom, and the ghosts that live in our attic. We can’t pretend that we are a normal family, dad. That’s what caused this problem in the first place. We never figured out what this dynamic is all about, and suddenly I have three more parents than I did before, and none of you want me to be happy.” The girl’s voice rose as she spoke, and when she finished, she blinked for a moment, realizing what she said. Breathing deeply, she looked down. It wasn’t like she didn’t mean it. Delia and Charles looked warily at each other, sighing. Adam shifted uncomfortably and wrung his hands.

“Ok then. Guess we can start there.” Delia said, forcing a smile. “You’re right, Lydia. We aren't your parents. But Charles is. And I hate to be the evil step-mother, but he does have the final decision on whether or not Beetlejuice gets to stay. It is his house.” Charles gave his wife a grateful look, but Lydia just glared at her.

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t get a say. You all claimed that you were trying to protect me. Well, I feel perfectly safe around Beetlejuice, so that part is solved. I’m more than old enough to take care of myself, don’t you think? I trust that he is not going to hurt me, so what other arguments do you have?” Lydia’s voice was level now. She stared at her dad, who blinked a couple times before looking questioningly at Delia. She shook her head and sighed, preparing to respond when Adam spoke up softly from beside the teenager.

“I mean, you are not the only one that he hurt, Lydia.” The girl turned on Adam suddenly, prepared to retort his comment, but the look on his face stopped her. “He tried to exorcise Barbara.” Adam met the teen’s eyes and tilted his head, almost pleading with her to understand. Lydia let out a breath and looked down.

“Technically I was the one that exorcised her.” she mumbled. Adam smiled slightly and shook his head.

“It was his fault in the end. Yeah, we are all worried for your safety, but Beetlejuice is more than capable of hurting the rest of us too. I’m not sure we are ready for another disaster in this house, especially not now.” Adam glanced at the two other adults in the room, who nodded along with him. Lydia looked considerate for a moment before responding.

“I understand that, but I also know that BJ is different now. I trust him. I think you should too. Please, guys. He just needs somewhere to stay.” Lydia was almost begging now. Delia felt her gut clench in sympathy, but was still distracted by something else.

“Adam, that is the second time you mentioned this being a bad time. Is there something you need to tell us about?” Adam shrunk back into the couch instantly, glancing at his lap. Lydia looked expectantly at the ghost, but Charles was still looking at his wife.

“Delia, if he hasn’t said anything, it is probably personal.” Charles glanced at Adam, who shifted nervously. Delia nodded understandingly, but was still watching the other man.

“It’s just not my place to talk about it. I’m sorry, but that is all I can say without Barbara here.” Adam looked up apologetically, but the Deetzs just nodded. Delia smiled comfortingly at him.

“Then consider the issue dropped. But on the same note, don’t you think she should be here for this? Barbara, I mean. I’m sure wherever she is, she has heard us talking by now.” Adam nodded in agreement.

“Yeah. She deserves to have a say in this.” Adam looked over his shoulder as if his wife would materialize from the wall, which was actually entirely possible, seeing as she was a ghost. Still, it was a useless gesture. No one was there, alive or dead.

“Adam?” Lydia said his name so quietly he almost didn’t hear it. He looked at her questioningly. “Is she gone because of what I said?” The girl was staring at her hands, still almost imperceptibly quiet. The ghost sighed sympathetically.

“Yeah, Lyd. I can’t lie to you, that really hurt her. She’s not in a good place right now and I know you didn’t mean to hurt her, but it did. She’s not mad at you, though, I promise. Barbara can’t be mad at anyone but herself for long.” Adam rested a hand on the girl’s shoulder and smiled at her. Lydia smiled weakly and nodded.

“I really didn’t mean to hurt her. I don’t even know if I meant it. I just...” she trailed off. Adam squeezed her arm and drew his hand back.

“I know, kid. Sometimes our tempers get the best of us, even Barbara. She may be unable to stay mad at a person for very long, but when she has a lot of emotions built up, it can get bad. And you aren't t wrong. She is not your mother and you have every right to feel the way you do. It makes sense that you were angry with her, but...” Adam was cut off by a loud crash, seemingly coming from the dining room. Everyone in the room jumped and looked at the door.

-----

Beetlejuice had been listening to their conversation intently when a sudden noise behind him caused him to turn around quickly in fright. There, at the top of the steps, was Barbara, standing over a broken flower pot, dirt and leaves strewn everywhere. The look on her face made it very evident that she had emerged from the basement just in time to hear the tail end of Adam’s comment. The two locked eyes for a moment before BJ opened his mouth to explain that her husband hadn’t meant it like that, but before he could say anything, the door to the living room swung open. Barbara shook her head frantically and quickly floated through the floor, disappearing from view. BJ turned around to find Lydia standing in the doorway.

“Beetlejuice? How come you keep breaking stuff, man?”

“Um, what?” BJ stepped away from the broken pottery and looked up at Lydia, who had since been joined by the rest of the Deetzs and Adam.

“The flower pot. You broke it, right?” Adam asked. BJ looked from the ghost to the mess on the floor before nodding quickly.

“Oh. Oh yeah, that was definitely me. Sorry, I was just coming upstairs and I must of ran into it. Didn’t mean to interrupt your conversation. I’ll just... go back downstairs.” The demon turned and made to go down the steps, intending to find Barbara and talk to her (about a multitude of things), but Lydia grabbed his arm and spun him around.

“What do you mean? This conversation is about you, isn’t it? You should be here for it. Right, dad?” Charles nodded, still watching Beetlejuice nervously, but agreeing nonetheless. “Speaking of, have you seen Barbara?” Lydia asked while pulling the demon into the living room and sitting down next to him on the couch, forcing Adam to smirk softly before finding a different spot to sit. Beetlejuice hesitated for a moment before answering.

“No. Sorry. Anway. Can I stay?” He looked expectantly from Charles to Delia, smiling wolfishly. The two shifted awkwardly, looking at each other.

“Well..” said Delia

“We haven’t exactly come to a consensus about that yet. But now that we are here, we can figure that out for certain. Personally, I am not comfortable allowing you to stay in this house after what you did to this family. I recognize that you are a better person now, and I trust that you will not attempt to murder and/or marry anyone anymore, but I’m not comfortable having a rogue demon running amuck in my home.” Charles was obviously uncomfortable speaking so calmly with the demon, but was doing a remarkable job of keeping his composure. Lydia, on the other hand, was infuriated.

“Dad! You can’t just give a speech and expect us all to suddenly agree with your opinion. You said BJ can be here for this conversation, let him fight for himself.” Beetlejuice rested a hand on the girl’s leg in a calming gesture, but Lydia just glared at him. “Come on, man. Don’t you want to stay?” Beetlejuice looked nervously from the girl to her father. He knew full well that the eventual decision would be up to Charles.

“Ok, kid, I understand. Of course I want to stay, but I really don’t think yelling at the big man is going to help anything.” BJ kept his voice low, only intending his comment for the teenager. Then, at his usual speaking volume, he said “Look, Chuck. I get your point, man, but I am a different person now. I promise to keep the chaos to a minimum and the murder at a zero. I won’t even leave the house. I’ll just stay here and hang with the kid. And maybe even help you guys. You never know when you might need a demon’s expertise.” Beetlejuice smiled widely again, smirking. Charles sighed and looked at Delia for help, but she just shrugged. Adam copied the gesture.

“I’m sorry, Lydia. I don’t know if we are ready for something this big. First Emily, then the ghost couple living in the attic, and then the wedding and all that nonsense. If I won’t let you get a dog, what makes you think I’m going to let you get a demon? Beetlejuice, I’m afraid we are going to have to ask you to find somewhere else to stay.” Charles stood, an obvious gesture that he thought the conversation was over. Lydia, however, stood in outrage.

“No! Come on, dad! It’s not that I want him to stay because I like him. Well, that too. But where else is he supposed to go? We are the only ones who can see him, you know that. We are the ones who caused his banishment. The best we can do is give him a place to stay.” The girl glared at her father, almost shaking. Beetlejuice stood next to her, looking torn between comforting his friend and fighting for his home. Eventually, he rested a comforting hand on Lydia’s shoulder and looked at Charles.

“I understand, I really do, but I need to stay somewhere. I’ll promise to stay in the attic or the basement or somewhere, but please just let me stay.” Beetlejuice never begged. Well, there was that one time he was on his knees pleading with Lydia to say his name, but that was different. This was important. He gave Charles his best puppy-dog eyes, which were not very good, but they seemed to work on Delia.

“Come on, Charles. Just let the man stay in the basement. I’ll even take charge of making sure he stays out of trouble. Please, honey? For me?” Delia, it turned out, was a lot better at puppy-dog eyes. Charles huffed in exasperation.

“You know what? Fine. Beetlejuice? You stay in the basement and do whatever Delia asks. Got it?” Beetlejuice nodded firmly, looking quite relieved. “Lydia, you are not allowed to have any unsupervised contact with him. Do you understand?” Charles looked pointedly at his daughter. She glared back at him for a moment before turning suddenly and stomping up the steps. Charles sighed and rubbed his temple.

“I better go talk to her. Delia, you got him?” Delia nodded, giving her husband a reassuring pat on the back before he ascended the steps. The woman gestured for Beetlejuice to follow her down the steps.

Adam remained where he was sitting, slumping back into his chair. Glancing at the clock, he saw that it was almost eleven. Barbara never slept past 9am and she definitely would have heard their shouts from wherever she was hiding. She would have come to try and help, however she could. That’s just the kind of person she was. The fact that she had yet to appear meant that something was very, very wrong.

Chapter Text

Sadly, I have decided to officially end this fic instead of putting it off for forever. My school's production of Beetlejuice (competitive play) was canceled the day before we were supposed to open back in March and it still makes me really sad to think about so I've moved on from the BJ fandom.

I did have some amazing readers and commenters and I appreciate you all very much. If there is any interest (it's been absolutely FOREVER so I wouldn't be surprised if no one cared), I can post one more chapter explaining what I planned for the rest of this story.

I'm currently writing A LOT of Six the Musical fanfic, so if that interests you, hop on over there and check it out! Thanks y'all!