Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, sadly enough, only the story itself. And any original characters. This is purely for enjoyment and not for profit.

A/N: Okay, so I've finally decided to shoot for my own story, after reading many wonderful fanfictions here. I really hope you all enjoy it.

Lydia collapsed back on her bed, sighing. It had been another long day at school, and another long day of ridicule. Although the look on that girl's face when she'd squirted dissected frog juice her way during biology class had been near priceless. And that almost made up for her otherwise craptastic day. Almost. She let her head fall sideways to stare at her left hand where a thin gold band rested on her ring finger. She sighed again and the guilt assaulted her. It had been nearly four years ago—really that long? And was already graduated and in university, and still every day she came home from classes and thought about Him. And felt guilty about the whole thing. Of course, he had tried to marry her when she was only sixteen years old, but it had been a deal so her could be free, not a trap for her. And he had saved Adam and Barbara just like he'd promised. He'd been a little perverted… but it wasn't so bad, almost funny. And he was definitely weird, but hell, so was she. He'd been too fascinating to be scary. The way he'd spoken to her, the look he'd given her when she'd told him she wanted in… She'd never felt more like an actual person than when he'd spoken to her. He wasn't treating her like a child, he was treating he like she mattered. And he looked at her like she mattered, and like she wasn't poison to the touch.

In truth, she'd panicked when it came down to actually marrying him, but not because of how he looked, or how he acted. Really she'd panicked because she'd been so young.

And this was the same argument she had in her head every day upon arriving back in her dorm room. And as always, she followed it up with the exact same thing she'd done practically every night since that very horrendous night four years ago.

"Beetlejuice."

Four long years of saying his name and he'd never once come back.

"Beetlejuice."

Four long years and she still didn't even know if he was still alive. Orm rather, undead.

"Beetlejuice."

…

Nothing. As usual.

Lydia sighed, dragging herself from her bed as she stared at the ring. He'd gotten it on her finger that night, even if the priest had never finalized their marriage. And she remembered having to cut the red glove from her hand later that night because it wouldn't come off. She turned it on her finger. It moved smoothly across her skin without friction, but still would not come off when she pulled at it.

Four long years and he hadn't answered. Lydia knew nothing of what had happened to him. She had asked Barbara and Adam once. She still remembered how they looked at her like she was crazy before asking her why she would want to know anything about him. Lydia quickly glazed over it by asking Barbara if she didn't want to know if there was a chance he could ever come back. If possible, Barbara's pale, ghostly flesh paled even more as she thought about it and she looked to Adam for reassurance. Lydia knew they had gone to see Juno to find out, but when she asked them again later, Barbara just smiled in her own sweet way and hugged her tightly, telling her that she was sweet to worry but they wouldn't have to worry about Him ever again.

Lydia had been disappointed by such a vague answer, but didn't push it despite a burning need to know. She knew if she asked too many questions that Barbara and Adam would start to get suspicious themselves. The need to know if he was okay didn't stop burning, however, and she still felt guilt over breaking the deal. He'd held up his half, after all, and ended up eaten by a sandworm.

Lydia dumped her books on the floor; homework could wait, she was hungry.

Beetlejuice glared down at the paper in front of him. Stay away from Lydia Deetz. Stay away from her, indeed. She had gotten him eaten by a sandworm, you'd think he'd want nothing to do with the scrawny goth girl again. You'd be wrong. He couldn't let it slide, he'd been too close! He grinned a sleazy, dirty smile and turned onto the road that led to his home. He would find the girl's mirror… but first he needed to celebrate his newfound freedom. Four long years he'd been in that waiting room waiting for Juno to see him, and he'd be damned if he didn't live his first night of freedom up.

"Don't worry, Babes, I can't forget about you. You're just gonna have ta wait a day or two for your hubby. After four years and extra day or two ain't gonna hurt us none." His grin grew wild as he swaggered up to his Roadhouse. "I'm hooooome~" he singsonged as he stepped inside.

Lydia came flying into her room furiously. She let her heavy pack thud against the wall where she threw it, caring less about possibly damaging the wall. She kicked the foot of her bed and cursed loudly and vehemently as pain coursed up her foot. Lydia collapsed on the bed, breathing into her pillow with deep, shuddering breaths that eventually turned into sobs.

It had finally boiled over with a guy in her chemistry class who thought he was all that because he was also an all-star on their university's football team. Lydia had spurned her fair share of advances from Jeremy, and she probably should have taken his last warning more seriously. She thought back on the exchange; she hadn't even been that rude, just exasperated and tired of his relentlessness.

"How many times do I have to say no, Jeremy?"

"However many times it takes you to say yes."

"Damnit Jeremy! I'm not interested in you! Can't just take the hint and leave me alone?"

"Fuck, Lydia. You are a frigid bitch you know that? You've made me look bad in front of my friends, like some kind of whipped dog."

"I didn't ask you to keep pestering me to go out with you!" Lydia retorted.

"But you kept saying no, you little bitch!"

Lydia rolled her eyes, "That is the second time you've called me a bitch, and it's really getting you no wehere. I said no the first time, it isn't my fault if you make a fool of yourself chasing after a girl who isn't interested!"

Jeremy suddenly towered over her, leaning very close. He was built like a football player, and therefore he was intimidating, but Lydia refused to back down in front of him. If she did he wouldn't learn.

"Alright. I'll stop asking." His words surprised her, but his tone made her keep up her guard, and she was hardly disappointed. "But you are going to regret it, Lydia Deetz. You should have just said yes."

And he'd meant it, as Lydia found out today. Her car, the gift her father had given her for graduation two years ago, she had come to discover sitting in the campus parking lot simply covered in deep gouges and spray paint stains in scrawling and hurtful insults ending in a violently scratched and spray painted 'this is not the end' on the hood.

"Jesus fuck!" she sobbed loudly, glad that her roommate was not home. She could hardly bear to have the other girl try to sympathize with her. She was a nice girl, and she and Lydia were tentative friends, but they hung in different social circles and it would just be too awkward if she were to try and comfort Lydia.

No, there was only one thing she really wanted right now.

"Beetlejuice."

She sobbed his named out so quietly at first it was barely a whisper.

"Beetlejuice!"

This time with a little more force. She hated being here.

"BEETLEJUICE!"

This time it ripped from her throat.

Lydia waited for the customary nothing to happen and her sobs to calm, but she did not expect the jerking feel ripping through the pit of her stomach and she didn't even have time to flinch before everything went dark.

Beetlejuice was pressing himself heavily onto the most bleached-out babe he'd ever seen. And she would be, as she confessed to him she'd died when she'd been bleaching her hair blonde, over-estimated how much bleach to use, and had suffocated to death from the fumes with the window only three feet away. Beetlejuice didn't care if she was stupid, only that she would let him get a handful of that ass or—

The familiar jerk in his gut had him freeze where he stood. The moment of realization dawned slowly on him and the perverted grin curling his lips split into a full-blown grin of joy. Someone was calling his name. The second jerk, more insistent than the last, had him pushing away the bleached bimbo and heading for the door without a word to her protests. He wanted a good look at the two Neitherworld moons for one last time. If he was getting out tonight, he was never coming back.

Beetlejuice took a deep breath as he stared into their pale faces and waited with baited breath for the word that would trick the lock to his freedom. It was almost too easy, barely a day out of the waiting room and already someone calling his name?

"Babes… Here I come."

A tug, darkness, and… pain? Shouting, a weight colliding with his chest and he was tumbling backwards, shouting with surprise and he stumbled under the weight and finally collapsed onto his back.

There was a moment of quiet confusion before his gravely voice found itself. "What tha fuck?" he attempted to move, noting he was still on the street by the club, still could hear the rhythmic booming of the music from the other side of the wall, could see the two moons in the sky, could feel the shaking of the weight on his chest and the quick, shallow puffing of breath on his neck. Finally, he lifted his head to see a dark mop of hair and not much more.

Lydia tried to scream, but in the darkness nothing came out. She wasn't sure if it was the darkness or herself, but she made no sound. Her stomach revolted, twisting and turning until she couldn't take it anymore and then there was light again, and movement, and then she was falling and then colliding and her senses spun as pain filtered into other parts of her body beside her stomach.

Then it was all over, and she was lying on top of something slightly squishy, and she was breathing in quick, short gasps trying to catch her breath. Her stomach still spun in the aftermath, she winced, trying calm herself and didn't hear him speak, but she felt it when the mass beneath her moved, and that was all it took. She scrambled to the side just in time to empty her stomach on the ground. Somehow she still felt sick and slightly dizzy, so when she looked up to see Beetlejuice sitting not two feet from her and staring at her in disbelief, and she could do was smile weakly.

"Beetl—" but she never finished as she collapsed backwards into unconciousness.

It was a long time before Beetlejuice moved again. Interesting. This was interesting, and nowhere near what he really wanted, but now he had Lydia. Lydia Deetz. That was just one more step closer to his goal. He grinned maniacally and stood, casually brushing herself off and took in the form at his feet.

A/N: Please read & review!