BJ floated near Lydia's bed. The girl was sound asleep, but he still couldn't stop thinking about what she had said earlier.
"Beetlejuice, I don't care what happens when I grow up. I'll still be here. I'll still be calling for you all the time. Age isn't going to stop us from being friends. Jeez, what a worrywart! You're ages older than me!" she laughed.
You don't know how you met me,
You don't know why,
You can't turn around and say good-bye
All you know is when I'm with you,
I make you free,
And swim through your veins
Like a fish in the sea
He had stopped there, looking at her with a skeptic face.
"Lyds, how do you know what's going to happen when you get older? What if you forget about me? What you find another…" Here he stopped, not even wanting to think about it.
"I dunno, Beej. I have no idea what's going to happen when I grow up. But no one will be able to replace you. You're my best friend. When I'm around you…it's like I'm always home, more 'home' than when I'm in my room, in my house."
She had turned towards him then, looking straight into his eyes. Sparkling spheres of dark water staring into abandoned pools of clouded infinity.
I'm singing....
Follow me
Everything is alright
I'll be the one tuck you in at night
And if you want to leave
I can guarantee
You won't find nobody else like me
"When I'm with you, I can't find anything wrong with myself. I'm always laughing when we talk, and when I'm not laughing, I remember the times when I was. That means a lot to me, Beetlejuice. How could you think that I'd just forget?"
He had been embarrassed there. Looking at the floor and blushing, he kicked at a stray dust ball and shrugged.
"What about…him? It seems like you spend all your time with that guy…"
Lydia looked shocked.
"Beetlejuice, do you mean Patrick?"
He had nodded.
And I worry 'bout the ring you wear
Cause as long as no one knows
That nobody can care
Your feeling guilty
And I'm well aware
But you don't look ashamed
And baby I'm not scared
"You spend all your time with him, Lyds! You barely call me anymore! You're growing up too fast, and I fell like…like…"
"Like you're getting left behind with all my old stuff from when I was in that phase?" Lydia finished softly. BJ nodded again.
"Oh, Beej." She had tried to give him a hug there, but the time had made him transparent. She could no more touch him than see the air around her.
I'm singing...
Follow me
Everything is alright
I'll be the one to tuck you in at night
And if you want to leave
I can guarantee
You won't find nobody else like me
"Beetlejuice, why can't I touch you?" She had sounded worried.
"I dunno, Lyds. Maybe it's cause we haven't hung out for so long…we haven't really talked." But BJ knew exactly why they weren't on the same plane of reality anymore. He couldn't feel the floorboards below him, nor feel the sunlight streaming through the window or anything else on this side. What he really felt was the drafty air and cold metal of the Roadhouse.
It had been so long between visits that they had started to drift apart, and so the bond between them was broken. BJ remembered Juno mentioning it, way back when he worked with her. Soon the link would dissipate completely, and none of the living, including Lydia, could ever be able to call him again.
Won't give you money
I can't give you the sky
It's better off if you don't ask why
I'm not the reason that you go astray
We'll be alright if you don't ask me to stay
"Can't you fix it, BJ?" She sounded really worried. But he had no idea how it could be fixed. Soon they'd never see each other again. The Maitland, probably the only source of hope he'd had left to bring him and Lydia back together, had been called forth to move on and return permanently to the Neitherworld. Once Beetlejuice couldn't make contact with Lydia's room again, it would be over.
"Listen Lyds, just in case anything happens…" he started.
Follow me
Everything is alright
I'll be the one to tuck you in at night
And if you want to leave
I can guarantee
You won't find nobody else like me
"I just want you to know that I always really liked you. You were a great friend and…and…" He was starting to get choked up.
"What are you talking about, Beej? You aren't leaving, are you? You can't! I won't let you!" Lydia tried to grab ahold of his jacket, but as before, her hands passed right through him.
You don't know how you met me,
You don't know why,
You can't turn around and say good-bye
All you know is when I'm with you,
I make you free,
And swim through your veins
Like a fish in the sea
"No! Please, BJ, don't go! You can't leave me alone! Who am I going to joke with? Talk with? Escape with? Who's going to make me laugh whenever I feel sad? Who's gonna scare the living daylights out of me as an entrance?"
Beetlejuice was thinking along the same lines. Who was he going to talk to? Who was going to make him fell better after he had made a huge mistake? And who would be the only person to always forgive him afterwards?
She kept trying to get ahold of him, but the dimensions weren't kind. Finally, she sank onto her knees on the floor.
I'm singing....
Follow me
Everything is alright
I'll be the one to tuck you in at night
And if you want to leave
I can guarantee
You won't find nobody else like me
"It's…not…fair…"
She started to sigh deeply, and he knew tears were on the way. Beetlejuice wanted to comfort her, but he couldn't touch her either.
Tears started to fall. He watched them stream down her cheeks in a torrential amount, but only a single drop fell from her chin.
Strange…
The drop seemed to take forever to hit the floor. But it didn't.
It fell to the spot where Beetlejuice's transparent foot was. The tear bounced off of something…his shoe! The spot where the tear fell was now fully visible! And the spot kept growing!
"Lyds…look!"
She looked up to see a rush of color slide up BJ, encasing him and bringing him back to her world. Finally, he was completely visible!
Gasping in joy, Lydia stood and collapsed into his arms, sobbing and thanking whatever god would listen for his return to her.
In his heart, Beetlejuice was thanking the gods too.
Follow me
Everything is alright
I'll be the one to tuck you in at night
And if you want to leave
I can guarantee
You won't find nobody else like me
So here he was. Floating next to Lydia's bed at eleven o'clock at night, watching the comforter over her chest area rise and fall with her breaths. Thinking to himself, he remembered another of Juno's comments.
"Should a ghost be called back to the Living World by a mortal, it could only be by the sacrifice of part of the human's physical soul. The beating heart or living brain can be accepted, but most of the humans opt for tears. They're less painful and easier to get at."
Beetlejuice smiled softly and adjusted the covers over Lydia's sleeping body. Drifting backward, he gave a small sigh and faded back to the Neitherworld.
Follow me
Everything is alright
I'll be the one to tuck you in at night
And if you want to leave
I can guarantee
You won't find nobody else like me