[IC] Stranger Beetles

[Metronome]

Beetlejuice somehow managed to stay out of trouble for at least a couple days. The Maitlands kept him on a short leash, clearly not too trusting of the demon. Which was understandable.

When Adam brought up school, he was sure he would know how she would react.

"We just think it woule be a good opportunity to meet other kids your own age. Maybe make some friends. Wouldn't you like that, hun?"

[Beetlejuice96]

"Yeah, but I don't think it'll go over well when they find out about the literal demon on my shoulder." Lydia replied. That, and she didn't know what would happen if Beetlejuice got bored while at school with her. She could see the headline now: Local School Terrorized by Demon.

"What are you going to tell the principal about my school records? Don't they kinda need those?"

[Metronome]

"I think Beetlejuice could behave himself while you're gone. And we have a...friend who can help with the papers."

"Holy shit," Beetlejuice appeared. "You two have a forgery man?!" He grinned wildly. "I didn't think you had it in ya!"

Adam crossed his arms and looked defensive. "That's not why we know him, but it is a thing he's known to do."

[Beetlejuice96]

Lydia sighed softly, a little unsure about all this before looking at the Maitlands. Both had been so kind and caring to her that she knew it would hurt their feelings if she didn't go. "Fine. I'll give it a try." She said with a little brave smile.

___

"I can't do this."

Lydia had just been dropped off at the school, students swarming around like ants on an anthill. "There's no way I'm going to survive the day." She added. Things turned worse when she heard a familiar voice.

"Hey, Nate. Isn't that Psycho Girl from the mall?" Zach asked.

[Metronome]

BJ was highly offended that the Maitlands didn't let him tag along with Lydia to school (invisible of course).

"She's going there to learn, Beetlejuice. You'll be a distraction," Barbara explained patiently.

"Learn? What does she need to learn? She's fine!" Beetlejuice was pacing back and forth in the living room, clearly worried and experiencing some separation anxiety.

"Beetlejuice, she's a young girl. There's lots for her to learn still. I know you're going to miss her, but this is for her own good," Adam sounded incredibly patient from where he sat on the couch. For once, Beetlejuice hated it. How could they be so calm? What if someone from the lab saw her and he wasn't there? What if she got scared? Or had a panic attack? What if she needed him?!

"You...haven't been away from Lydia a lot, have you," Barbara said it as a statement, not so much a question. She was definitely picking up on some underlying issues that were bothering the demon.

"Of course not!" BJ snapped. "I couldn't leave her alone in that place they had us! She needed me..."

"Maybe you needed her to?" Barbara offered. BJ looked at her, slightly bewildered. "Do you want to talk about it?" The woman patted the spot on the couch next to her, and for some reason, Beetlejuice felt himself floating towards it. What black magic was this? Feelings?

__________________________

Nate smacked Zach on the arm for being too loud. The girl definitely heard him. "Shut up, dude, or she's gonna attack again," He said it just loud enough for her to hear, possibly intentionally.

[Beetlejuice96]

"I can hear you, dumbass." Lydia said flatly, glaring at them. She sighed softly before walking over to them, hating what she had to do next. "Look, I'm...sorry for attacking you. It's just that I have issues...a lot of issues." She said before holding out her hand to them. "I'm Delia. The Maitlands took me in."

[Metronome]

"We noticed," Nate snapped, still a little salty, clearly. But he seemed to get over, seeing as the girl was at least apologizing. "But, uh, don't worry about it. Besides, Zach hasn't had his ass kicked like that in a while!" He laughed and gave his friend a playful nudge.

[Beetlejuice96]

"Hey!" Zach exclaimed before grabbing Nate into a headlock and giving him a noogie with a giant grin on his face. Lydia rolled her eyes at them. What dweebs. She thought, shaking her head.

"Maybe you guys can help me to my classes since I'm new." She said with a little shrug. What way to make new friends, right?

[Metronome]

Nate squawked as he was grabbed, and eventually shoved Zach off. He jogged to catch up with the new girl. "Sure! I'm Nate, by the way. The nerd is Zach. What's your first class?"

[Beetlejuice96]

"Science. How riveting." She replied, not really that enthusiastic about it. What were they going to do exactly? Whatever it was, she was hesitant to know. "After that it's math, English, lunch, P.E., social studies, and finally art."

[Metronome]

"Hey, we have first period science," Nate said, looking back at Zach. "That's Mrs. Blanchard's room. It's right up here." He led the way to the room and went inside. The two boys both sat in the middle, by the window. Nate plopped down in his usual desk.

"So, Psycho girl, where'd you come from?"

[Beetlejuice96]

A facility where I was held captive for years with my best friend who's a demon. She thought. "An orphanage from another town. The Maitlands and I are testing the waters. They're a nice couple." She said, being only truthful in the last sentence.

"And I have a name." She added, a little annoyed.

[Metronome]

"Dang, that sucks," Nate said, picking at a hangnail. "Aren't they the couple that own that hardware store?" He paused when the teacher walked in, addressing the students. He glanced back at Lydia and made a face. "Sure thing, Delia."

[Beetlejuice96]

Oh how she really wanted to slap that look off his face but she controlled her temper. "Yeah, they are. Why do you care?" She asked him.

"Cause they're the only family here who's like, really white. No cursing, always nice. I mean my family's white, but even my parents say a few curses." Zach explained.

[Metronome]

"They're alright, I guess," Nate said. "They just seem kinda' lame." He shrugged. The teacher gave them a glare, and Nate clammed up. He certainly didn't want to incur the wrath of Mrs. Blanchard this early in the morning.

[Beetlejuice96]

"Shows what you know. They're not lame at all. If you knew what they're going through, you wouldn't be such a jerk to them." Lydia hissed softly. She knew it wasn't her place to say that they couldn't have children, but these two didn't know a thing about those labradoodles.

[Metronome]

The boys waited until after class to catch Lydia in the hall. "So, do they make you keep a swear jar, then? Did they flip out after that stunt in the mall?" Nate was teasing, but he also a little curious. Hawkins didn't get a lot of interesting people, and this girl was definitely interesting.

[Beetlejuice96]

Lydia looked over at Nate when he mentioned the swear jar, a little surprised. "How did you know about that?" She asked in reply. They had talked about an allowance- which completely baffled her upon hearing it and almost brought Barbara to tears again on how sheltered Lydia was- and she had been caught cursing a few times thus loosing a little bit of said allowance.

Zach's mouth opened in surprise. They actually had a swear jar for her? Okay, this girl was pretty cool, not that he'd admit it up front.

[Metronome]

Nate cackled, turning a few heads in the hall. "I was just kidding!" He said, "Wow, I bet they got their hands full, huh?" He snickered. "Hey, we got literature next. Catch us in the lunch room, okay?" He waved goodbye to her and began trudging up the hall for his next class.

[Beetlejuice96]

Lydia watched the two of them go, a little stunned but oddly smiled. Was this what making new friends was like? She reshouldered her backback before heading to math. Eventually lunch arrived and she followed the swarm to the cafeteria, looking around for the duo.

"Over here!" Zach called out, waving her over to a table. Upon arriving, Lydia was a little surprised to see a book that clearly wasn't school related. "Dungeons and Dragons? What's that?" She asked, causing Zach's mouth to open in shock.