Cat in Hell's Chance (a Beetlelands fanfic)

On Tight Corners

"Aw, c'mon." Betelgeuse pouted at the Maitlands, his hair becoming a clear shade of purple as he looked between Adam and Barbara. "Just one please."

Adam and Barbara turned to look over at one another, thinking things over for a brief few moments before seeming to come to a decision. Although they were still unsure about all of this, they both had a feeling that whatever was in their minds was going to work. Betelgeuse looked between the two ghosts again, a matching look flashing across his face.

"Please?" Betelgeuse repeated, his hair now going through a series of varying colors before settling back onto purple.

"Well, if you can prove to us and the Deetzes that you've fully changed... then we'll think about it. But, for now, our answer is still no."

Betelgeuse seemed to deflate at that, a streak of blue appearing in his hair, but seemed to be fine with what the Maitlands said. Next thing that the Maitlands both knew, Betelgeuse had wrapped his arms around them in a hug and was levitating both himself and the two of them into the air.

"Thanks, guys!" he said rather excitedly and exuberantly.

Despite being ghosts, Adam and Barbara couldn't help but feel as though they were a bit squished by Betelgeuse's hug. They didn't anticipate on him being that strong of a demon and that was saying something.

But after a while of Betelgeuse doing that, both Adam and Barbara started to feel a tad bit uncomfortable at the tight hug that the demon was giving them.

"Hey... uh, Betelgeuse," Barbara attempted in a soft, but panicked voice. "Don't you think is a little too much?"

"Nonsense," Betelgeuse responded, completely unaware of how the Maitlands felt about all of this affection towards them from him. "A little too much is not enough."

"What she means to say is," Adam clarified. "Beej, could you put us down please?"

Betelgeuse deflated at that, hair turning blue as a sad look crossed his face. In an instant, he floated himself and the Maitlands back down towards the living room floor before letting go of the Maitlands and stepping away from them.

"Thank you Betelgeuse," Barbara said, a little smile creeping its way onto her face.

Barbara closed her eyes and breathed out an unnecessary and an unneeded sigh of relief before opening them again.

"Now... do you mind if we just sit down and talk for a bit? Just the three of us? It's important."

"We've been talkin'," Betelgeuse said, slightly confused at what the female ghost meant.

Barbara groaned both silently and quietly to herself, trying to keep herself calm by resting her hand against her forehead. "Betelgeuse, no. I know that. But we need to set a limit on your hugs. And how tight they can get."

"How about ten hugs a day, all for you?" Betelgeuse asked, his hair becoming a cascade of colors. Pink, green, and yellow being the most frequent.

"What Barbara and I meant to say was that we didn't want you giving any tight hugs to the Deetzes," Adam deadpanned. "We're fine with you giving us hugs. But please just don't do it as often, okay?"

Betelgeuse's hair went straight back to being a mix between blue and purple in shade. "Okay I guess. I'll just be teleporting upstairs now. Most likely up to the attic or up to the roof. Since that's where I want to be right now."

Adam and Barbara turned and looked at one another, slightly concerned. They didn't have any time to tell Betelgeuse not too, as, when they turned their attention back over towards where he was, they found that he was nowhere in sight. Again, they looked at one another then teleported upstairs to the attic.

Even there, Betelgeuse was nowhere in sight. Leaving Adam and Barbara to make their way over towards the (now opened and not closed, for some reason) window that led out to the house's roof. One after the other, they climbed out onto the roof and Barbara snapped her fingers to (quietly) close the window. Then they spotted the demon and calmly and quietly made their way over towards him.

"Betelgeuse, you okay bud?" Adam asked as he and Barbara leaned against the railing on either side of the (still blue haired and sad) demon.

No answer. Just a depressed guttural noise from Betelgeuse.

"I'll... take that as a no," Adam continued, deciding to leave it at just that. However, he could not help but notice that there was still a certain thought that was tugging at the back of his mind. A thought he couldn't exactly get rid of.

He looked briefly down at the ground three stories below, then turned back to Betelgeuse.

"Hey, Beej. Do you mind if I ask you something?"

"You just did," was Betelgeuse's deadpan reply. That was a good start, right?

"Well, can I ask you something?" Barbara asked.

"You just did," Betelgeuse replied in a similar way to how he'd responded to Adam, using the same tone as before.

Even more concerned, Adam and Barbara looked at one another before looking back up at Betelgeuse. The sky above them was at its darkest. And, although they didn't exactly want to leave Betelgeuse out there all night, they still needed to head back inside. And that's exactly what they did.

Betelgeuse could just come back inside the house whenever he wanted to. The Maitlands didn't mind. They'd wait for him. They'd wait for him unless he didn't even want to come back inside.

Which was exactly the case come morning.