Current mood:	cheerful
Current music:	Incubus - Oil and Water

Title: Bug Juice
Rating: Mature for language so far
Summary:When someone is looking to take out some revenge on Lydia's ghost-friends, her world becomes more strange and unusual than it was before, and in a way Lydia isn't fond of. Movie-verse

Other Parts
Prologue
Chapter One




Chapter Two


"Lydia Deetz? Did she come today?"

"Here I am!" Came her reply as she was straightening her robe.

"You didn't sign up to walk with anyone." Mrs. Kleski told her, sounding irritated. "And you missed rehearsal."

"Oh no... I forgot..." Lydia tried to sound disappointed. So she chose a date over rehearsal for graduation, sue her.

"You'll just have to walk with a pair of girls. Walk with... Ocker and Kotes." She said, nudging Lydia in the direction of the friendly faces of Mandy Kotes and Kate Ocker.

Thank goodness, at least these two won't be unbearable to sit by.

"So I'll just do what you two do?" Lydia asked.

"Well, do what I do... Katy made rehearsal, but that doesn't mean she paid attention." Mandy informed her, Katy just shrugged and had a sheepish looking smirk on her face.

Soon enough, they were walking through the doors into the auditorium where the ceremony was taking place.

Lydia looked around at all the people watching them. Yes, there were her parents, both grinning and waving enthusiastically. Her dad was taping everything for Adam and Barbara. Poor them, probably thought they missed sitting through an hour of boring talks from little high school kids being as they can't leave the house and all.

Nah, knowing them they were the ones who put the recorder in Dad's hands. Silly geese... now where is... ah there he is.

Jack sent her a wink once she made eye contact with him and while she grinned back at him she ended up stumbling over her own feet. After catching her balance she decided it would be better to just watch where she was going. No staring at The Cute Boy while walking.

The ceremony would last well over an hour. A few students spoke to their class about the future and the past and college and what not. Lydia was only half paying attention as she kept sneaking glances over at Jack. She just wanted to go up there, get her diploma, and head on home for her Open House. Just thinking of all the things they would do when she got home - the games, the food, just being with her family, ghost friends, and boyfriend that her step mother didn't approve of...

The thought brought a smile to her face.

Of course, she would have to celebrate with Adam and Barbara separately, which was too bad, but she couldn't wait. They always had the best fun.

Shake, shake, shake Senora... She could hear their choice of music already.

Finally they were calling them up by name and mentioning how great their grades were before handing them their diploma.

"Lydia Deetz."

"Strange and unusual. At your service." She muttered to herself with a smirk before walking up to Mrs. Kleski and accepting her ticket out of high school.

It felt pretty damn nice holding it.

How great would it be if I just ran for it now? Just run out of here screaming "I'm free!" It's not like they can threaten to not let me graduate with my class anymore.

Every adult in my house would kill me...

I'll tell Jack to do it at his graduation. It's his fault I'm having such a weird impulse anyway.

He was a very bad influence on her. Lydia took a seat, she was supposed to watch the rest of her fellow classmates receive their diplomas, but she would rather get distracted by Jack.

Making eye contact with him, they both gave each other a big goofy grin. She rather liked having him as a bad influence.

---

"Why the hell did I save this?" Lydia asked herself out loud as she held up a dusty poster she found under her bed. It was a poster of a very embarrassing boy band from her Freshman year of High School. The band didn't fit how moody she had been that year, but they had been her secret shame.

Now they were just shameful. The poster was stuffed in a garbage bag that was packed more than her suitcase.

Reaching back under her bed, Lydia's fingers brushed against the edge of a small box but she was unable to reach any further. Before she could work under her bed more to get it, she was startled by something hitting her bedroom window, hard.

"What the --" Lydia sat up quickly in surprise and ended up hitting her head against her side table.

"Stupid birds." She muttered, rubbing her head. Pushing open her window, she leaned out and instead of seeing a mangled bird on the ground, she saw something much nicer.

"Are you trying to break my window Jack?" She asked. "Or my head? Jerk." That part was muttered under her breath.

It was the middle of the day, he didn't really have to be throwing rocks at her window like he was attempting to be sneaky. He was off his rocker if he expected her to climb down the drain pipe.

"Look, Lydia... I was hoping we could hang out today, if you aren't doing anything. I mean, you know, do you want to go on a... like a date or something? 'Cause I'm totally not busy and was just thinking of a spur of the moment kinda thing but if you say yes don't jump because I've never been good with catching things you know."

What is he talking about? We hang out all the time, and usually all he has to do is call me up and say "Hey, meet me here or there babe." What a dork...

Confused about why he was acting so strangely, she responded after trying to think over what exactly it was he was asking. "Jack, my parents know we're seeing each other, you could just use the front door. Like usual."

Jack sighed and looked frustrated, she wondered if it was because she was not answering the question, or if he just realized he was supposed to do this sneaking around stuff at night. Aww, he's so cute when he's fwustwated. "Shut up Lyds, I'm being romantic and shit."

Lydia smirked, "My bad, continue with what you were doing then."

"Just... come down here. I'm taking you on a date."

"Right away my dear Casanova." Lydia saluted him before going downstairs. Jack always managed to look cute, but he would have to deal with her grubby clothes. That's what he got for being so into surprises.

"I'll be back later!" She called out to who ever was near. Some one was bound to have heard her.

Jack was already waiting for her in his car. Sliding in, she gave him a kiss and Jack reached a hand up to rub her cheek. Smiling at him, Lydia thought he was just being sweet until he looked at his hand with a wrinkled nose.

"You had some dust on you," he said as he wiped his hand on his pants. "What the hell are you doin'?"

"Packing." Lydia told him and then added with a smirk, "You're just lucky I put deodorant on, Romeo."

"Ha ha." He responded sarcastically as he pulled out of her drive way.

"Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise."

"Really?" After the way he just executed the "Surprise Lydia by making her think birds are flying into her window and then be all sneaky in the middle of the day" plan, she worried about how this next plan might go.

"Yeah, just... relax or whatever. It's gonna be awesome."

They drove on for about ten minutes, the time passing quickly as they talked comfortably before Lydia mentioned the surprise.

"I hope it isn't too far away because I have to pack you know." She left in two days. Delia was probably going to have a fit when Lydia got home about how far behind she was in packing.

"I know." Was all he said. Lydia looked out the window and tried to figure out where they were going.

"Can you tell me how much longer?"

"Until what?"

"We get there, cornball."

"Five days."

Lydia stared at him, trying to tell if he was fibbing or not. Jack is a spontaneous kind of guy but... he wouldn't... nah he's only kidding. He always kids about everything and so yeah, yeah he's kidding... isn't he?

"Jack..."

"What?" He shouted. Lydia was surprised to be shouted at by him, but that didn't stop her from responding.

"Well you don't need to shout at me! I just can't tell whether you are joking or not but if you're going to shout at me, I guess that answers my question." She hissed at him and crossed her arms angrily. Turning her head, she stared out the window again.

Did that answer my question, no not really... but it sounded good to say at the moment... now it sounds dumb...

"I'm just trying to take my girlfriend out and surprise her, sorry if I get sick of answering questions every five seconds!"

Lydia didn't say anything, though she would have loved to turn around and smacked him upside the head for that. It wasn't her fault that he was the one doing such a poor job with surprises. Being curious didn't call for being shouted at, damn it.

This time the minutes ticked by in silence before Lydia broke it again. "I'm not really interested in going on a date if you're going to be moody."

It was odd being mad at Jack, the whole summer they had spent nearly every day together and today was the first time he'd shouted at her while seriously being angry with her, or whatever the hell was the matter with him.

"And if we really are going to be gone for five days, or more, I'm jumping out of the car." She repeated the same threat to him she had said to Delia months earlier.

Suddenly he was pulling the car over to the side of the road. Putting the car in park, Jack avoided looking at her while reaching across and opening her door.

"There, now you don't have to bruise your face." Lydia didn't budge but instead gaped at him in shock. Did he honestly expect her to walk back home? She didn't even know where they were. Of all the jerk things to do in a situation like this.

"You know I have to leave for college soon, I don't want us to be --"

"I know Lydia! I know!" He shouted at her, finally looking at her in the eye. Acting as if he didn't like what he saw, he looked away quickly with a grimace. Then he was opening his own door and began walking down the side of the dirt road leaving her in the car that was still running and now had two open doors.

Lydia tried to think over how exactly this had started but that only pissed her off even more.

Maybe he was just kidding about the five days and I shouldn't have taken him seriously... he could have just said he was joking though, he didn't have to be an asshole about all of this... I should drive home and leave him. Would serve him right for leaving the keys and for leaving me.

Lydia watched him walk for a minute or so before he turned and walked down into the woods.

"Shit. He's going to get lost."

Reaching over, she turned the car off and took the keys. Only after making sure everything was locked did Lydia go after him. She didn't want to seem too desperate after all.

Lydia had to walk for ten minutes before she saw him sitting on a rock. It looked dirty too, he must have been really troubled to not mind sitting on that.

Stopping once she was a few feet away, she looked at him in silence for a moment. What ever was going on in his head, she had a feeling it was similar to the things she had been thinking of the past few weeks.

"I'm sorry Jack. I didn't mean to make you angry." She said honestly. Seeing him there and realizing what must be eating him up inside put an end to her anger with him.

"I know."

Lydia took a step towards him, watching out for any sign of him becoming angry again.

Jack sat up straight but still did not turn to look her in the face. He didn't talk right away but Lydia didn't mind waiting for him.

"I... care... for you Lydia, very much."

"And I you." she responded quietly.

Now he was standing and began taking slow, hesitant steps towards her but still avoiding her gaze. "And you know it isn't you I'm angry with... but I can't make an excuse for how I've behaved today. I've just been so... it's bullshit Lydia! My college should have accepted your application, even if it was late. Now how are we ever going to see each other? And I probably screwed things up and damn it this is such a shitty way to end a wonderful summer. I just want to make things better but --"

Lydia silenced him by placing a finger over his lips and this finally made him look her in the eye.

"You can begin my apologizing."

"I'm sorry Lydia." He said obediently and honestly. His gaze was enough to break her, but she had to remain as level headed as possible.

"And you can show how sorry you are by listening to me. We both care very much for each other, and just because there are some obstacles in the way, like maybe a few towns, that doesn't mean that will change. You know that."

"I do know that, I just get so angry. Your application wasn't even that late."

"I know, it makes me angry too. But my college is fine, and yours will be good for you. We can still visit each other on the weekends and there will be no having to put up with each others parents."

"Yeah, I know."

Lydia gave him a small smile. She hoped her words comforted him, but now she was thinking about how much distance would be between them and she wanted to be comforted by him this time.

"Hold me?" She asked quietly and Jack was quick to please, wrapping his arms around her.

They would spend much of the day in the woods, talking and holding each other and sometimes just sitting in a comfortable silence.

It would be fine, they would just have to make up for lost time on the weekends. That was okay, they could do that.

Jack was finally walking Lydia to her door much later in the day. She hoped she wouldn't have too much explaining to do about where she had been, it's not like she had anything else to do. Anything else that was more important anyway.

Ah damn it, I still have to pack... but I know this was so worth being rushed a bit more.

"Good night Lyds." Jack said before kissing her. He pulled away and she pulled him back for another quick kiss.

"Good night Jack." She said when they were apart. Giving him one last smile, she reached for the doorknob and was about to go in when Jack slid a hand over her wrist. Stopping, Lydia looked up at him curiously.

The way Jack was staring at her made her feel as if he was searching her, looking for something in her gaze. She wasn't sure if he found what he was looking for or not but he soon dipped his head down to capture her lips once more in a deep kiss. Hands pulled each other closer and they stood stayed like that for awhile. Being so close to him felt so perfect, she felt safe in his arms and it was with a disappointed feeling that she pulled away.

"Let's not say goodbye." He said before she could say it.

"Just good night?"

"Yeah." He rested his forehead against hers.

"Good night Jack." Then she turned the doorknob and really did leave that time.

Taking a shower sounded like a good idea and so Lydia headed to her room to get her bathrobe, but was soon stopped in her tracks by a demon voice.

"Are you having sex with that boy?"

Smiling, but not the same way she had been when she was with Jack, it was more of a "Kill me now" smile, Lydia turned to face her nemesis.

"Good evening Delia, lovely as always I see. You always have the best ice breakers, don't you?"

"Are you having sex with that boy?" Delia repeated. She didn't sound like she was accusing Lydia, but more like she was merely curious.

Still, curious or accusing, the answer was the same: "No."

"Because you can tell me if you are."

"We aren't." Oh God, she really is curious. She's curious in my sex life... like some... I don't know, like some weird person!

"I won't get mad."

"We are not having sex." Lydia was getting irritated, she recognized that Delia was trying to be friendly in her own way but that still meant she would have to accept the truth.

"I promise it won't be like at the mall when I saw you two kissing."

Oh for crying out loud!

"I'm not having sex with him Delia, but I want to!"

There was a silence as Lydia stood frozen in the shock of not only realizing what she just admitted, but what she just admitted so loudly that probably the ghosts in the attic heard her.

Straightening, Lydia's face was turning red but she held on to her dignity as she said good night to Delia politely before going to her room.

---

"Let's go Geuse, move it."

He didn't need to be told twice. He had been waiting for this day for ten months. Before leaving, he sent his cell mate one last green toothed smile over his shoulder. There was a promise in that smile, one Kise would never forget.

"You have a hearing with Juno and the Board of Carnage, but she requested that first you take advantage of the showers and that you use this."

Betel Geuse eyed the bar of soap in the policy guards hand. How long had it been since he'd seen one of those? He could smell the flowery fragrance and it made his lip curl in disgust. Making no move to take it, the guard put it in his hand along with a towel and his maroon tuxedo that smelled as if it too had been Oh God washed with the same flowery type soap.

Looking back at the guard, he snarled at him, "You just made the list, fuck wad."

The guard faltered a bit, even without his powers Betel Geuse was someone you should know better than to screw with, but he drove on with what he was meant to do.

"That is an order, you are still in our custody for the next two hours and without powers for the next three. Juno has made her orders perfectly clear that she wants you washed and presentable, even if... Even if we have to wash you ourselves." The guard avoided all eye contact as he spoke and Betel Geuse had a grin back on his face.

Being feared always made him feel better.

Before he had a chance to respond, he was shoved into the showers where there were many more bars and tubes of soap that all had the same flowery scent. It was so strong that he felt he might puke right there.

This is a jail for men, couldn't they have at least provided them with less... feminine soaps?

This is all Juno' fault... and that Maitland woman... and the policy guard... my list gets longer every day. But that's what they get for being bitches and fuck heads.

Now Betel Geuse stood facing the shower knob, he stared at it for a full ten minutes before there was a bang on the door and a guard shouted at him to get going or they would be helping him and it wouldn't be gentle.

They're all always so brave when they can't look me in the face. He thought as he began to peel off his gray jumpsuit and smirked.

Soon it will be my old clothes, my old life... my old powers.

He stared at his hands as he stood naked on the cold tile. They had become so powerless. They still looked powerful, though. These were the hands of a worker, of a Bio-Exorcist.

But not an ex-Bio-Exorcist. He thought bitterly.

"I'm serious Geuse, we have been ordered to wash you if you refuse to cooperate."

Yet all you do is warn me and warn me. There will be no damn warning when I come back.

Staring at the knob on the shower, Betel Geuse couldn't think of what to do with it. There was no such thing as indoor plumbing before he died and never a need or want to shower in the after life.

Which would explain why it's so clean in here...

Reaching out, he tried to push forward on the knob and frowned when nothing happened. The thing had no damn directions or anything, how the hell was he supposed to function it properly?

Betel tried to pull and when he did, it moved and a trickle of water came out. Now he frowned, he was no expert on bathing but fuck that if they all thought he was showering with that little trickle of water.

Still, it had moved, but not in the direction he wanted it to. Looking down at where his hand was around the knob, he decided to twist it this time and before he could even realize the stream was bigger now he had jumped back instantly from the ice cold water that had just poured down his back.

"Mother fuck of a damn biscuit shitting face! FUCK!"

"Shut up in there and just get clean, damn it, I don't want to baby-sit you all day."

Betel Geuse pointed at the door. Ten months ago that would have caused the door to swing open and crush the policy guard. Now he just looked like a naked, shivering, and powerless idiot.

Fuck 'em all!

Avoiding the stream of water, Betel reached his hand around to the knob and turned it back the other way. He wanted to just turn it off but had twisted it too much, he almost thought he had broken it but then a bit of water was coming out and with a cry of triumph he realized the water was warm.

The shower was going to go in his original plans of blowing up this place, but warm water was nice. He may change his mind yet.

As the water soaked his greasy hair, he watched the dirty water hit the tiles at his feet. He hadn't even begun to use the soap yet.

Eyeing the soap, Betel let the water flow over his body for several minutes and he stood still, just preparing himself for what he was about to be forced to do.

It was all just the final step of erasing who he was as he picked up the bar of soap.

They may all be dead, but they will still suffer. And I'll be the one to make them suffer.

Eventually the water went cold and the soap did its job. What he could see anyway, he assumed his face was clean, he had scrubbed it numerous times along with his hair.

Wrapping the towel around his waist, he looked around at the mess he made with a satisfied grin. They would be remembering his presence there for a very long time.

Which served them right, because it would be hell trying to get back to the state he was before meeting the cursed shower that started out freezing, made you love it by getting warm and then becomes a back stabber by turning cold again.

Betel pulled at his hair, trying to make it stick out again, but as much as he tried, the grease was all washed away and there was nothing there anymore to make his hair stick up. He hadn't been able to shave the front for ten months now, and now he had a full head of hair just like he had when he died.

The green was off his skin, and his nails less grotesque looking. Of course he was still pale, but it looked more human and less monster now.

Damn them all. How was he supposed to scare people when he looked like such a pansy?

Betel was escorted to his hearing after he had put on his maroon tuxedo. When he had come out of the bathroom, the men seemed less frightened of him, which was probably something Juno had been counting on.

I'm gonna get her.

They forced him down into a steel chair and chained him to it, to which he rolled his eyes. No power and in a room with the Board of Carnage, even he knew not to fuck around.

Speak of the devil, there they all were. Sitting side by side and looking down at Betel Geuse with faces that looked to him like they too had to wake up that morning to a bathroom full of flowery soaps.

"Betel Geuse you are -- "

"That's once!" He said with a grin as he interrupted Juno who gave him a cold stare. "Ah, old habit.... continue."

Shit, shut up.

And so began a very long meeting of being asked questions that he couldn't very well recall the answers to.

"Betel Geuse you are sitting here because you have broken rule upon rule time and again and this time you were caught. You are lucky the sandworm spit you out or we would have allowed its stomach acid to digest you and you would spend the remainder of your afterlife as a flaming pile of... feces..."

That is crossing the line a little bit, even for me. For one thing I wouldn't be able to move, so what would the point be?

"It is perfectly legal for you to aid those who call you, however it is not legal to camp out near them and harass them or any mortals into calling you."

Betel Geuse hung his head, attempting to appear ashamed of himself. Maybe it would be believable in his new state of cleanliness.

"And further more." Juno went on, "If you had succeeded in marrying that mortal girl you know you would be facing much more than just four years in The Waiting Room, ten months of house arrest and then years upon years of probation. You would be facing an eternal bond. While she is only bound to you in her life you would have been forever bound to her. Even for you, it's hard to believe you acted so... stupidly."

Betel Geuse had not really thought of it that way. He knew he'd have a woman and have benefits, but that was all the thought process was giving him, she was just a way out and a hot way out too. There were so many bonuses in that little body he had not even begun to think of... being bonded to her for... eternity.

She was just supposed to be a way for him to be able to travel to the mortal world without being called, he was so sure there was a loophole in the whole bonded eternally thing somewhere!

His realization of his mistake must have shown on his face for Juno didn't ask an explanation to that, but he did have to tell them whether he had, in their words "harassed" anyone into calling his name before, and he had to respond honestly, "Yes."

When all was said and done he was put on probation until The Board of Carnage saw it fit to allow him off, and that meant that while he was free to do what he wanted while off the job, provided nothing illegal of course, all of his jobs would be handpicked for him and during the whole time he would be monitored closely. His powers were given back to him, but with a promise to be taken away and have him thrown back in jail if he tried to go do a job on his own.

In his opinion they were trusting him too much not to monitor him closely at all times, but he wasn't going to tell them. They were idiots to think that with a change of appearance came a change of a personality as well.

Betel Geuse was to report back to the Waiting Room the next day, but the rest of this day he was a free man.

Walking out on the street, he left to a place familiar to him with dark allies and red doors. This was where he had spent most of his time when not working on a job. This is where he had a house, before he went to work on the Maitlands.

What a waste of time that had been.

It was time to go house hunting again. Knocking on the door of a rather grotesque looking building, he waited patiently for an answer. A stout little man answered and sneered up at him.

"Aint ya goin' to invite me in pal?" He asked and with a smirk, the man was tossed high into the air and came down with a crash on the other side of town.

Now he stepped into the door and took a look around. With a satisfied grin he nodded, "Home sweet home. Works for me. Let's go say hi to the neighbors."

Walking down the cracked sidewalk he grinned up at the building a few doors down that had neon signs flashing all over advertising its special and just what kind of services the girls were offering.

I knew there was a good reason I picked this neighborhood.

---

Juno had watched Betel Geuse being escorted out of the hall with a feeling of dread. His punishment was very light in her opinion, but there wasn't much he had actually done wrong. He had been called, even by the mortal girl, and so they could only punish him for the actions he did before he was called. There would be no more camping out in the other world for him, he needed to be distanced away from the living for a bit longer.

She wondered, then, if she should tell the last couple he had been dealing with, The Maitlands, about his release. Or if they even knew he had survived... they were a dumb couple and would probably think the sandworm "killed" him.

Still, Barbara was the one to get Geuse eaten by the sandworm, he would be wanting revenge sooner or later... probably as soon as he was off of probation.

No, I haven't heard from them in a long time. It's been nice. Besides, it will be a very long time if I have anything to do with it before Geuse is let off probation.

---

"Hey you, baby doll. That's enough snoozin' babe." She knew that voice, and it was with a feeling of dread that she knew she had heard it speak those words before.

Lydia sat up and saw a large snake at the foot of her bed. The creature had the body of a snake anyway, but the head was unmistakably Betel Geuse.

Screaming, she jumped up to get away from the grotesque thing, but he slithered toward her with a leer on his face.

She grabbed a glass of orange juice from her dresser and threw it on the snake who began to scream in agony.

"I'm meltin'! Ah babe why'd you have to do a thing like that? I'm meltin'! I'm meltin'!"

The creature was dissolving right in front of her on her bedroom floor. But in its place were a hundred beetles that scattered all around her room. They crawled into her bed and up her legs. She screamed and stomped at them, but they were always crawling.

"Ah you're ruining your dress dancin' 'round like that." the same gravelly voice said behind her.

She turned around in surprise, and saw the Bio-Exorcist in his maroon wedding tuxedo standing in front of her, as if he had never been murdered by toxic orange juice.

"No, no you're dead. Barbara, she... and then I..." Lydia stammered.

"Oh I'm dead, but don't feel so special Princess. I was dead long before Barbara or you did anythin' to me... and so... 'til death do you part." He told her. She looked down at her hand and saw the ring he had forced onto her finger so many years ago.

He was coming closer to her with that leer on his face.

Lydia opened her eyes, she was breathing quickly and was now wide awake. It had been months since she had had the dream, and it scared her more than anything that she was having the same one again.

She hadn't even thought of him or those events from her High School Freshman days for a while now, and now she knew it would be difficult to think of anything else that day.

Her clock said 4:30 am and she didn't need to be awake for another four hours, it was her first Friday of college and she had no classes on Fridays which meant she was supposed to get an extra day to sleep in... but no.

Damn ghosts.

Speaking of ghosts, she would be seeing her favorite ones later that day because now she was planning on spending the weekend back home. A week ago she couldn't wait to get out of that place and her and Jack were looking forward to spending time with each other without either of their parents butting in, but she hadn't counted on being homesick.

Lydia pulled her covers up over her head and attempted to go back to sleep, she didn't want to be driving home tired as hell.

For the next few hours, Lydia slipped in and out of sleep and odd dreams of Jack being chased by a dog and her and Beetle Geuse going on a mission to find him but she had to make sure they had plane tickets and that they had enough ties.

When she woke up, feeling that going to sleep wasn't turning out to be very restful she tried to be quiet as she got ready to leave. She didn't want to disturb her roommate. Her roommate seemed nice, but she wasn't always there. Lydia hoped that she had been lucky in getting a nice roommate, but she had yet to find out.

Finally she was on the road heading home. It was an hour and a half drive home, and the time was passed by singing along loudly to the radio and thinking about seeing Jack again, seeing her dad and Adam and Barbara and of course putting her portfolio together.

She had made plans that when she got back home, she would be putting a High School portfolio together and then she would begin a new one with the work she began making in college. She hadn't taken a very good picture lately, but she knew that within time inspiration would strike again.

---

"Why not this one?"

"What, for the cover?"

"Yeah, I like it... it's really sick."

Lydia smiled up at Jack and missed the sheet she was trying to grab. "Thanks."

"No problem. What's it called again?"

"Bug Juice."

They were both silent for a while as Lydia worked and Jack watched her work and looked through her pictures. Lydia had been welcomed home by two sets of happy parents and she sat with them for hours, talking about her first week and how classes were boring as hell but then what did she expect.

Then Delia made them some supper and afterwards Lydia announced she would spend the rest of the evening working downstairs in the darkroom, which was where Jack had found her working on her portfolio.

He enjoyed watching her work, and enjoyed seeing the finished projects. She was amazingly talented and if he didn't like her so much he might have been insanely jealous.

"Why not Beetle Juice?" Jack asked.

The camera slipped out of Lydia's hands and fell to the floor. Had circumstances been different she may have sworn loudly and for a long time, but now she paid no attention to the camera.

I must have heard wrong, I had to. Damn it, I have been jumpy all day... that name is the last one I want to hear today or ever.

"What?" Attempting to sound casual, her voice betrayed her when it squeaked. She pretended to clear her throat.

Jack was picking up her camera for her, wondering why she wasn't so worried when it fell. Seems like she should have been crying and making sure everything still worked all right... looked fine to him. Maybe she had a sixth sense about those things.

Realizing she had asked him a question, he shrugged before answering.

"Beetle Juice. You squashed a beetle to get this, right? Why not just go straight to the punch or whatever and call it Beetle-"

"No!"

"-Juice..." They said at the same time. Jack gave her a strange look.

"No what?"

Lydia froze and looked around with only her eyes before meeting Jack's gaze again. No sign of him, she didn't hear him or... smell him.

Does that mean he's gone for good? Do Sandworms kill the dead a second time?

"Lyds?"

"Beetle Juice..." she said, trying it out.

Betel Geuse opened his eyes. Someone had called him. Sitting up, he wondered if he should get ready, if this was his first job and something Juno had maybe arranged for him. Would he be getting all of his calls like this?

He pushed the covers back and smirked, it had been a female who called him anyway.

The smirk soon turned into a frown. A mortal female. Who would --

"It doesn't feel right to call it that. But thanks for the uh... suggestion."

He could hear her, the connection was already so strong and she had only said his name once.

"I feel like I have a real connection with her... like she is someone who could really understand me..."

He couldn't see her, but he knew just which mortal would call him knowing full well what she was saying.

"Oh I get it. You don't take well to people suggesting changes to your art. You could have just said so instead of shouting at me." Jack said with a pout.

What the -- no that works, let's just go with that. Lydia thought, I won't have to come up with an excuse all on my own now. Score.

"Aw I'm sorry Jack, I'm just not used to people doing that..." Jack turned his back to her. Lydia rolled her eyes, God forbid she hurt his ego a tiny bit.

"I promise, calling it... Beetle... instead of Bug Juice was a good idea, it just wasn't what I wanted. I apologize and -- Jack! Just look at me!"

By this time she had glimpsed a bit of Jack's face while trying to walk around him during her apology and she had seen him try not to smile though go on with his little pout.

Damn it he was lucky he was so cute.

"Jack." she said sternly, trying not to laugh. "You better turn around this instant, come over to me all slow and sexy like and say 'It's okay baby, I forgive you.'" She made her voice go an octave lower than normal in an attempt to do a sexy man voice. Quickly, she added, "And then you have to just take me and you gotta kiss the heck out of me."

Aw my girl's cheatin' on me Betel Geuse thought, he was getting a little nauseated by the mushy apology but now it sounded like it might be getting good.

Jack had turned around and was smirking at her, how was it that even after months and months of dating, that look could still make her want to melt?

"If that's all it takes... It's okay baby, I forgive you."

But the kiss, though amazing as always, was not as long as Lydia would have liked. He soon was pulling away and Lydia stuck her bottom lip out at him.

"Stop it," he said before nipping at her lip. "You have to get your damn portfolio done, don't make me have to be the responsible one for a change."

He pulled away from her and began to walk over to where he had been sitting before, but not before giving her bottom a nice smack.

"Get busy and I'll pick up where we left off."

What the hell was that supposed to be? A soft core mushy pile of shit? Betel thought as he stood up out of bed.

He was getting annoyed that he could still hear the girl and her pansy boy... shit what was her name. Didn't really fucking matter.

Though he couldn't remember her name, he remembered clearly that she was always sheltered from him by that dumb bitch in the attic and her pansy ass husband.

He had to find a way to be able to see the girl, not just hear her. Then he could find out if she was still in the same house. It would be so much easier to find a way into the house if only he could see what she saw, if only he could make there be a way for her to say his name a second and third time. There was nothing against the rules if you responded to someone calling you. Even if you were on probation.

He paused in his pacing, the two were kissing again. The kid, he could start there. The lucky bastard who ended up with what was meant to be his.

"Jack."

So many ideas were forming in his head but they were interrupted by a soft moan behind him. Turning, he saw that the whore he'd left in the bed rolled over in her sleep and the sheets didn't move all the way with her. He could see the delicious curve of her ass in the dark.

Betel Geuse was through with plotting that night, right now he had a killer erection to take care of.