A/N: ALRIGHT. So, this story doesn't have many chapters left in it, which is okay because this was my long first fanfiction here and it's not perfect BUT I have two new ideas, and I can't decide which one to do. SO WHAT I NEED YOU ALL TO DO is after you read this chapter in the author notes at the end will be the summaries for two stories! I need you all to vote! Every username gets 1 vote! And no, do NOT post your vote in the form of a review or in your review, please send me a message. The results will be secret until I reveal the first chapter of the new story. The voting is open until this story concludes! And don't worry, I am going to eventually write both, I just can't decide which to do first.

Also, slight note on fashion and time in the Neitherworld with this story: it's more of a… liquid kind of ball of time rather than a straight line. :D I can't just imagine the Neitherworld going through the same kind of timeline regular time does. Also remember Beej is younger here, so he doesn't have as much juice than you see him with when he's older.

Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit. It was all Beetlejuice had the capacity to think at that particular moment. There was only one thing worse than Hatchette coming back after almost six hundred years and that was Hatchette coming back after six hundred years and discovering he'd given her ring to a mortal girl. It did not help that he'd expected it to be anyone but her who'd kidnapped Lydia, either. It did not surprise him, however, that Hatchette had done it. She'd been his partner for a reason all those years ago, and for that reason right now he was on his guard. He remembered quite clearly the story she'd told him of how she had died. It had happened the night they'd first met…

"Come on, sweet cheeks! You haven't even given me a change here!"

"And I'm not going to." She replied tersly before pointedly ignoring him.

"Awwww, how can ya judge me when ya don't even know me?" Beetlejuice slid around to the other side of the barstool she was sitting in so he could be in her direct line of sight once more. She stared disdainfully down at him, studying him in his wrinkled, dirty striped suit. Fashions of the Neitherworld she would never understand. He still looked fairly human. His skin was pale in death but otherwise unchanged, his hair slightly matted, but thick and tied back loosely. She was the picture of perfection next to him. Her dress was a deep green, the bodice trimmed with black lace and the sleeves reaching mid-forearm and long laters of lace hanging down. The skirt of the dress layered out widely from her hips in a full skirt. Her long, blonde hair was curled in wide rings and pulled tightly to the left of her head to fall down in cascades of curls. Behinds her ear rested a deep blue flower that matched the dark, intense blue of her eyes. Her face was round, almost cherub-like with wide, doe-like eyes and a mouth that naturally pouted. Her hair was a light, cool blonde and her nose pert, and turned up.

"You know," she began slowly, "that there is a line where perseverance simply becomes stubbornness and denial." The words dripped from her lips with the liquid acidity of an insult but he merely grinned at her.

"That's me, Doll. Stubborn to a fault." He signed dramatically, "You might as well just say yet. You and I both know I ain't goin' anywhere." He mimicked a coquettish flutter of his eyelashes that just came off as looking like he had something in his eye.

"Oh, do go find someone else to bother, please! Can you not see I am waiting for someone?" Now she was annoyed, and an angry glint reflected that in her eyes. Now, lots of ghouls could look angry or even be angry, but what caught his attention was that this dame actually looked dangerous when she glared and god forbid he'd let something so intriguing go in this boring realm.

"All right, all right, I can see you're a lady who knows what she wants. I can respect that, ya know? You seem real smart, too. So how about I bet you in a little game of chance? One hand of cards, that's all I'm askin'."

She studied him, "You'll bet me what, exactly?"

"Well, if ya win I'll buy ya a drink and leave ya alone for the rest of the night, and if I win ya buy me a drink and ya owe me a dance. Whaddya say, Sweets?"

"And why would I bet with you when I could just as easily call the bouncer and have you thrown out?" she asked, idly spinning the stem of her glass in her hand.

He shrugged, "You got no reason not to do that, I just thought ya was different from the rest of the girls around here." He let that hang in the air for a moment before continuing, "I just thought you looked like a woman who don't take no shit from no one, and who could hold her own in a room full of men. I guess I was wrong, I apologize." He straightened from his position leaning against the bar beside her and proceeded to brush off his clothes. She stared at him, she knew it was a trap but it was just so infuriating—

"All right then, one hand." She glowered.

He grinned, whipping out a deck from one of his pockets and began a quick shuffle, "What's yer poison?" the cards seemed to move faster than she could watch, but she was staring only at him. "Five card poker, hold 'em, forty-fives, bridge?" he cackled. She stared at him hard.

"Five card poker it is then." He licked his lips and began flicking out the cards. He slammed the deck on the bar with a glance at her. She was watching him with disinterest so he made the first move.

"Deuces wild, three card draw, aces high and low." He offered her the terms. She nodded and watched as he picked up his cards and only then did she touch hers, picking them tentatively up to look at them. She scanned them and arranged them in the appropriate order, then looked up to find him staring at her.

"Yes?"

He held up the deck, "Need a card?"

She raised a brow and studied her hand before glancing at him. He was still grinning at her. She pulled two cards and placed them facedown. "Two."

He tossed her two more and she picked them up only to scrunch her nose in disgust. He took three himself, absorbed in his own hand. She took two more the next round, and watched as he also took two. She studied her cards for one brief moment and then placed one face down on the counter. He dealt her one last new card and took one for himself. Neither said a word as they contemplated their hands and then…

"Ladies first." He offered.

"No, this is your bet. You go first, I insist." She countered simply.

He shrugged, "I guess I shoulda warned ya: I'm lucky." He smirked and laid down his cards, "Four aces." He announced smugly.

"Well I don't know how exactly you could have done that seeing as I have four aces." She replied a little too smugly and laid down her had for his perusal. He stared slack-jawed at the hand.

"Ya cheated!" he accused, stepping back.

She slid from her seat and pointed one gloved hand at his chest, "Actually, I believe you cheated, Sir." They were staring each other down when a commotion came from the far side of the bar.

"HATCHETTE! Ya schemin', little, two-timin' tramp! Get yer frilly ass out 'ere and gimme back mah money!" Both heads snapped to stare across the room where a large Irish ghost with chains dangling from his limbs stood, towering a good head and shoulders over the rest of the congregated mass. Before she could react, however, he had spotted her and was crossing the bar to where she stood with three other ghouls in tow. Well, let it be known Hatchette was hardly a slow thinker on her feet. She looked to Beetlejuice next to her and smiled a slow, wicked smile that left the young poltergeist gaping as she dashed into the large man's arms.

"Romero, oh Romero thank goodness you found me!" She lifted her face to bat teary eyes at the large ghost, "It was awful! He was threatening me with exorcism! He is mad, despicable! He used me to get close to you, telling me he knew how to exorcise and that if I didn't get your money for him he—he'd—he'd send me to the lost souls room!" she buried her face in his chest. When he didn't respond immediately she looked up at him, tears streaming down her pretty face, "Romero?" she simpered.

He grunted, looking from her to the poltergeist she'd been with, "How d'I know yer tellin' tha truth?" It was never that easy, was it?

Hatchette pointed at Beetlejuice, "I saw him put the money in his pocket! The left one. I swear Romero, you can even check it!" her mouth pouted in fear, "You'll see I'm telling the truth!"

The larger ghost narrowed his eyes at Beetlejuice, who just grinned smugly. He didn't have any cash on him. He was looking forward to seeing the little lass get into the trouble she obviously had earned. That was, until two of Romero's friends stepped forward menacingly to check out Hatchette's claim. He held up his hands placatingly.

"Hey here, I ain't met this broad before tonight. She's lyin' through her pretty, white teeth. I ain't got none of yer money." The woman—Hatchette—had turned to look his way and the look in her eyes gave Beetlejuice a bad feeling deep in his rotting stomach, but still, he was confident. He'd picked enough pockets to know all the tricks.

"Then ye won't mind us takin' a little look-see." One of the henchmen who'd been advancing on him grabbed one arm and the other snatched his other arm before he could react. He struggled in their grip to no avail as they began to dig in his pockets.

"I told ya I ain't got yer money! What's a guy have to do around here to be believed by a complete stranger?" he grinned, at least he thought he was pretty funny.

"I got it!"

"Ya got wha—" Beetlejuice turned his gaze sideways to see on of the men holding him now holding a heavy bag of coin. How'd that get there? He looked to the woman but she was only looking at Romero, "You put it there!" he growled. She looked back at him with that wicked little gleam in her eye telling him everything he needed to know. Romero pushed the woman behind him and advanced on Beetlejuice, who became distracted from his plans for revenge by the mountain of bulk advancing on him. "Listen Romero, old pal, I didn't take that. Didn't even know it was there. You think I'd have been here with her if I had?"

Romero stopped and turned to looked at Hatchette, who's expression was absolutely devastated. She lunged forward to cling to his arm, "Romero, I would never! That little snake of a man is lying! I told you the truth, the money is where you found it, is it not?" But Romero just grabbed her by the arm and flung her to stand next to Beetlejuice. Meanwhile the whole bar had grown still as they watched the situation escalate.

"He couldna done it by himself, and you ain't no innocent pixie, lass." He growled, "I ain't believe you didna do this o'yer own free will. So I think I'll punish the both of ye just to make sure ye both get tha picture." He grabbed the chains attached to his wrists and began to lift them as if they were weapons; which they were.

"No way I'm stayin' fer this!" Beetlejuice snapped. He elbowed the man on his right in the face and stepped on the other's foot just as Romero threw down his chain-clad fist. Beetlejuice turned to look up at him and suddenly they were gone. Or rather, Beetlejuice was no longer there. It was dark around them now, with most of the light filtering in from the left.

"How—how'd you do that?" the gasping words came from next to him and he turned to see Hatchette staring at him with wide eyes.

"You ain't that old, are ya, kid?" he asked.

She frowned at him but didn't reply to his question, instead merely asked, "What do you want?"

He mulled over playing games with her, but decided that since they were still only just outside the bar that it would work better to make this quick. So he held up the bag of coin the men had taken off him. She gaped, "How did you get that? Give it back, it's mine!" she made to lunge for it and he danced it just out of her reach.

"You almost got the both of us killed in there, Hatchette. Tell me why I should be givin' this back to ya? Maybe I should take this as my payment for savin' yer ass?" she glowered at him but said nothing. "No, wait, I've got a better idea than that," here it came, "How's about we cut this fifty-fifty and you and I go into business? Ya obviously don't know how ta take care of yerself yet, and I could use a broad like you to pull off a few cons. There's always better stakes when ya got two." He grinned sleazily, but what he did not expect to find was himself pressed against a wall with a knife pressed to his throat.

"Let's get this straight, sweetie-poo," she offered mockingly, "I killed fifty-six fat, rich, stupid men in my life and got lynched for it. I ain't afraid of you, I don't even like you, so if you screw me over I will kill you. Again."

He grinned broadly at her, "I ain't never said I like ya, Sweets, but I'll admit ya got fire, and fire I like." They stared down each other for a moment longer before she released him.

"Fifty-fifty split." She agreed, "And you teach me all the little hocus-pocus magic tricks you know."

He held out his hand and after a moment of nothing, she took it. He shook her hand vigorously, "Done deal, Sweets, done deal." He let go, "First thing ya gotta know? When to juice and when to run." He heard the bar door slam open, "And now's tha time ta run." He turned and head further into the alley with Hatchette close on his heels.

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter! It really wasn't the easiest to write. . But anyway, below are the two ideas for new stories, please message me with your votes!

#1: Beej finally pushes the Neitherworld authorities as far as they will go, and they sentence him to reformation. They send him an angel to reform him, and this is how he meets Lydia. But is what he thinks is going to be a good little angel of God really going to turn out to be a good little angel?

#2: Beetlejuice has finally crossed the wrong person and has been punished by becoming the plaything of children—a doll, but before a careless child can find him and rip him apart a young teenage girl by the name of Lydia finds him. She takes him home where he becomes her confident, the witness to her life, and her friend. Can she set him free?

The-Fabulous-Person: Thank you so much! I'm so glad you're enjoying it so much!

Kimberly S: I am certainly trying to! Keep on reading! :D