Till Death Do We Part (ON HIATUS) |Lydia Deetz & Beetlejuice x Reader|

Chapter 4: Not Throwing Away My Shot

Previously:
I sat beside her and she rested her head on my shoulder.
"Are you two sure you're not a thing?" BJ questioned. "I mean, I'm kinda feeling left out here."
"Yes BJ," I chuckled and wrapped an arm around his shoulder.
"We're sure." Lydia eyed BJ and I could feel the tension they had throughout the entire movie.
Something was off.
~~~
    When I arrived back home, the world had gone quiet. There was no Lydia or Beetlejuice to keep me company and I was alone again. The house had seemed too big for my family even when we were all together, but now the ceilings were practically looming over me, taunting my mom and I for the amount of space we left unfilled.
     I called into the abyss, only to receive an echo in return. Right as I started up the stairs, I heard my mom's door creak. Out came a lady I barely recognized, with messy hair in serious need of brushing and a pale face lacking vitamin D.
"Hey (Y/N). Back from Lucy's?"
"Lydia, mom. Her name is Lydia."
Mom had a habit of forgetting things of importance. She'd forgotten Dad, and she had forgotten to pick me up a whopping three times in my first week of elementary school. I'd began to wonder whether she had a bad memory, or just didn't deem anything as worth remembering.
     "Oh, sorry about that. You know, if she's your girlfriend you can just tell me. I don't really judge." She shrugged and yawned.
       "No, she's not." Not to be rude, but even if she was, I probably wouldn't confide in Mom about it.
       "Yeah. Okay sure. Anyways, I came out to tell you something important." That was a first.
"Yes?"
"I think your school's having a play. I know how much you love those things. It's about that President Alexander Hamilton? Thought you might want to know."
I sighed, "Founding father Mom."
"Yeah..that. Anyways, I'm going to take a nap. Here's the paper."
She handed me a single orange sheet with the words Hamilton: An All American Musical!  Printed on it. The subtext read:
Attention all attendees of Blackbrooke Middle, I know several of you have been wanting a theatre program and I'm pleased to announce we have finally gathered the funds! The first musical we will be preforming will be Hamilton, written by Lin Manuel Miranda. If you'd like to join the club and potentially be in the musical, please stop by the auditorium at 4:30 after school on Monday for auditions. Roles and lines are posted on the back.
Signed, Principle Delany
      Mom waved a curt bye before retreating back into her room to faun over The Bachelor and fantasize about being casted. I waved back, knowing I probably wouldn't see her for a good while, or until the Froot Loops ran out. Never the less, she had given me the paper and I was grateful. I made a mental note to thank her later.
My mind was quickly taken elsewhere as I skimmed over the paper once more, grabbing a pen from the counter to mark down potential roles. After putting stars next to the Schuyler Sisters, I skipped up the stairs and into my room.
I had some rehearsing to do.
~~~
Monday came quicker than expected and it was difficult to function on nearly four hours of sleep. I walked dazedly and nearly passed Lydia and I's meet up spot, which had slowly become a tradition after we had become friends in third grade. I saw her silhouette along with that of someone else, probably Beetlejuice.
"Hey (Y/N)!"
"Hi Lyds, hey BJ!" I shouted back. He gave a cheeky grin and waved, BJ was a bit of a weird personality.
They gradually came into focus and eventually we were walking side by side.
"Did you hear about the musical the school's putting on?" I asked. Lydia was in love with theatre, and I knew she'd want to try out.
She gleamed, her warm smile distracting from the chill breeze of November.
"Yeah! I was thinking about going for Angelica or Peggy, how about you?"
"Eliza or Angelica probably. Guess I've got some competition." I eyed her playfully, she giggled.
BJ pouted, "Heyyy, what's all this talk about a musical? Are you guys really into that dorky stuff?"
"It's very much not dorky." Lydia argued. "But if you want to know, I guess you'll just have to see the performance..."
He faked a gag. "Me? See a musical at some crowded, vape-filled middle school? Yeah, no way."
     I found myself shockingly saddened. There was no doubt my mom wasn't going to go, and Lydia would probably be in it. Nobody in that crowd would've come to see me preform, so BJ was practically my last resort.
      "Please? Literally no one else is gonna cheer for me." I was about to chuckle, as if it was a joke, but taking a glance at Lydia's face made me jolt. She looked sorry, guilty even, for knowing that what I was saying was the truth.
       BJ sighed, then put an arm around my shoulder. "Alright, sure. I'll go. We're gonna be a team after all."
I kind of liked the sound of that, team. Bonnie and Clyde, Washington and his right hand man-it almost made me smile.
Until I realized his definition of team meant two,
and there would be no room for Lydia.

"Thanks." I said, almost forgetting to speak. The last comment had thrown me off guard, and by the look on her face, Lydia too. I sent a smile her way as a sort of reassurance I wasn't going to abandon her to be BFFs with BJ, and cued up a new conversation. It didn't last long though, and we parted ways once inside the gates of Blackbrooke.
I drifted through the halls unnoticed, as usual, and made it to my first period; one without Lydia to keep me company. The rest of the day had felt distant up until the end of 7th, where Lydia and I met up and began to walk towards the auditorium.
"Hey, where's BJ?" He was normally with us at all times, especially since he had to be. Because he'd chosen to "haunt" Lydia's house and not mine, he'd unintentionally tied himself with it and could only leave when she allowed him to. Lydia and I still found it hard to understand even though he had explained it multiple times.
"Off messing with some teacher I said gave you a bad grade. That ghost is pretty protective over you. He's probably trying to coax you into making that deal as soon as possible." Lydia shrugged as if what she just said wasn't a bullet to the heart.
BJ had saved me from dying and had been nice to both of us from the second we met him. The idea that he might not actually care about me hurt too much to accept. I did want to be friends with him and that whole deal thing really wasn't an issue. If it all worked out like he explained, I'd gain a teammate. But something told me if I gained BJ, I'd lose Lydia.
"Yeah." I concluded. If I'd aimed to say more, I might've told her all I'd been thinking. I decided if she could keep secrets about Logan Owens, I could keep mine.
We walked into the auditorium with an awkward silence between us. The last conversation had ruined my enthusiasm for auditions, but I still tried my best. We ended up singing lines from, "Helpless", "The Schuyler Sisters", and "Satisfied", along with some spoken lines we rehearsed beforehand. Having learned we could also go for the male roles, Lydia gave Hamilton, Lauren's, and Phillip a try before finally deciding she was auditioned-out. The new theatre teacher, Ms.Livingston, seemed impressed and sent us home with bubblegum flavored lollipops. I felt confident that I'd gotten at least one of the roles I auditioned for. I didn't know if I was the best actress, but it felt so right whenever I'd stepped on a stage that I figured I couldn't keep waiting in the wings for something to happen.
If I got into the musical, I'd be under shimmery lights and heavy makeup. I'd stand out amongst those I normally wouldn't because I would no longer be (Y/N). I'd be someone cooler, and more interesting. Someone who people aspire to be. I'd be a character that people finally saw.
I'd be visible.
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1425 words!! Woohoo!! Sorry for not updating in a while guys, school has been hectic. Thankfully, it's finally fall break so I'll try to update more. Thanks so much for reading!