Through the mirror (Beetlejuice x Reader)

Part 4 - Strange and unusual

You are both sitting on the couch. 

- "So, we've got here 'bitter wine red' and..." You look closely. "'Sad coal black', who names this things?" Beetlejuice laughs.

- "Then its between 'Tuesday's afternoon red' and 'Emo black'." He lays his eyes on you." "Look at me girl, pass the black." You nod and leave the other nail polish on the table. Sitting across from each other, you take his hand.

- "Wow." You say, holding his hand gently. 

- "What?" He asks. You hardly notice how his body tenses a bit, as if he thought you had regretted proposing this moment of closeness.

- "Nothing, it's just... It's colder than I expected." He relaxes again.

- "Ya know, that's part of 'the whole being dead thing'." He explains, mockingly.

You start painting his nails, slowly. Firstly, because you wanted them to look good. And secondly, because the chilliness of Beetlejuice's hand was somewhat soothing. You won't mind to extend the moment if necessary. It didn't burn like when you pick up an ice cube with your bare hand. It felt more like when you put on one of those anti-inflammatory cold sprays. 

You were done with the thumb and, against all odds, Beetlejuice hadn't cracked a joke. No comments. He was silent, focused on how you worked. Shifting his gaze from your hands to your face. Full of curiosity, and maybe some confusion as to how you had come to that picture.

- "So." You break the silence. "New to the neighborhood?" 

- "You could say that." He answers, disguising his coming out of a little daydream.

- "May I ask how does that work? This is the first time this place has been haunted, so how did you end here?" You ask, your eyes on your labor.

- "Easy, I came throught your bedroom's mirror."

- "The other side and our mirrors are conected? So all ghosts can use them as portals? Neat."

- "More or less, yeah." A few seconds later, he adds. "And we call it the 'Neitherworld'." You look at him. "So you can speak properly."

- "Neitherworld..." You almost finished the first hand. "Deep." You allow yourself to ask another question. "Hey, and how's the moving thing going? Do you have total freedom? I mean, could you walk down the street right now or..?" 

- "It depend's. I've already tried to get out on the street. The only successful attempt to get out of this apartment was when I almost introduced myself to the granddaddy as his new tenant." You rolled your eyes. Then he adds, meditative with his rough voice. "There's a couple of things I still need to figure out." 

- "Alright." You add. You have moved on to the next hand. Silence spreads through the room, which you don't find uncomfortable at all. However, he decides to speak:

- "Com'on, no more questions?" He says, slightly baffled.

- "No." You answer sincerely.

- "So you pull this 'girls' night' out of your sleeve as if you wanted me to confess my crush's name." You look up. "And you only ask vaguely  'HOw dID I GEt hERe?' and 'HoW dO I MoVE'?" He makes a pause. "That's insulting!" 

Despite the fact that he seems annoyed in an absurd way, his hands remain motionless in yours. He tries not to interfere with the process in spite of everything.

- "Well, it's clear that you like to talk." You start explaying. "And it's your lucky day: I'm not a bad listener. I just want you to talk about whatever you feel comfy." You conclude. He turns his head, like a dog trying to understand what's going on. "Also, if you really want to be my roommate, that means I will see you often. So we've got plenty time left." You finally add.

A short moment of silence precedes his next comment.

- "You are strange and unusual as fuck."

- "Thank you?" You question, not knowing if that was a good or a bad thing. Beetlejuice continues, irritated.

- "I'm a pain in the ass, to be honest. You already checked that out. And still treat me like this?" He looks around, to emphasize the implausible situation. You try to look at him as he talks, while still painting his nails.

Suddenly his expression changes, as if he had come to a conclusion.

- "Do you feel sorry for me, that's why? 'Cause I am dead? If so, give me the chance to prove you that I'm not some grubby little pig in need of help and-" You interrupt him, your voice showing how tired you were of his foolish verbiage..

-"O shut up." He definitely shuts up. Still with some anger inside, he awaits your continuation. You take a breath. "This is also new to me. My father liked these 'paranormal thingy'. He taught me not to judge. How to be patient. How to stay calm."You pause. "I guess he brainwashed me well." You chuckle quietly. "But no, I don't feel sorry for you." Now you are looking him in the eye. "It sucks when people do that." He keeps looking at you, without fury. As if analyzing something.  

- "Of course." You add, more menacing. "I won't hesitate to take actions. You can be a ghost, a demon, or Satan himself cosplaying a zebra, but if you mess it the time you stay around here, you'll regret it." With raised eyebrows, Beetlejuice stares at you. "Did I made myself clear?" Silence. Beetlejuice smiles.

- "You've guts. It's a deal then." He concludes. You finish painting his nails.

- "Therefore, what's their name?" You ask him, mischievously. He averts his gaze.

- "Adam." And adds. "But that's in the past, I'm free for you." He winks at the end of the sentence. You ignore it.

- "Ya know, I am actually impressed." You exclaim. Beetlejuice contemplates his freshly painted nails. "You remained... peaceful." 

- "Sure." Looking at the same place. "I didn't want you to ruin my nails. I know that my charisma can be dazzling." 

- "Of course, an entirely selfish reason." You start picking the things.

- "However." He changes the subject. "As stated, you're strange and unusual as hell. That explains why." Now he's cheking the nails against the light. That last remark surprises you.

- "What exactly?" You ask, not knowing what did he mean.

- "O, well." He realizes, and begins to explain. "Only the strange and unusual living can see the dead. Our friend the dried fruit there  is the most common and bland thing I've seen. That's why he didn't even know I was around." You can't help but laugh. He looks at you.

- "I supossed it. I'm strange and unusual then." You look at him, a smile on your face.

That's when you realize that the tips of what was once a short green mane are now pink. It's quite subtle, but you notice it. Still, you decide not to comment on it.

- "I... I'd better go to bed. Tomorrow I have to work."

- "Yeah." The small pink tufts are green again. "I'll stay here." He asserts.

- "Ok. Well, 'Night then!" You say. Beetlejuice waves a hand at you.

You go to sleep. 

You knew that from then on, your life would never be the same.

And you were pretty enthusiastic about it.