Timeless (Beetlejuice x Reader)*COMPLETED*

Chapter 18

"Hey! I'm here to help, so what can I do?"

Riley pointed to a banner over one of the windows outside of Bernie's. "Well, if you don't mind finishing taping that up, that'd be great!"

It was the day before Halloween, and everyone was getting ready for the big celebration, including Bernie's. When I heard from Riley about how much they had to do to prepare, I made myself available to help.

"Sure thing!"

I pulled my hoodie a little tighter around me and climbed up the ladder to the top rung.

I'm short, okay? It runs in the family.

"Careful!" Riley warned.

"Okay, dad," I mocked, rolling my eyes and sticking my tongue out at him playfully.

He grinned and shook his head. "Real mature, (Y/N). Oh, I gotta run inside and grab something, real quick, but I'll be right back."

"Alright, dude. No sweat."

I hummed show tunes to myself as I attempted to straighten the banner.

If I could just reach.... a little.... farther....

I stretched, then over-corrected, and lost my balance, falling backwards off of the ladder. I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the painful landing that would knock the breath out of me and more than likely break quite a few bones.

Instead, I felt something catch me.

Startled, I opened my eyes to see that a man had caught me.

"Oh my gosh are you okay?"

He had on sunglasses, so I could barely see his eyes, but from what I could see, they looked concerned.

"Um.... yes, yes, I'm fine, now. Thank you!"

He gingerly let me down to my feet.

"Gosh, I didn't expect you to fall for me that quickly." He chuckled and I blushed slightly at his flirtatious manner.

I looked at him, realizing I had seen this man before. He was the guy in the picture.

"Wait a minute, you wouldn't happen to be a Larry Deetz, by any chance, would you?"

He flashed me a toothy grin, and I was, again, perplexed by his razor-sharp canines. "The one and only, babes."

I was a little taken aback by his nickname for me, but I brushed it off.

"I'm (Y/N) (Y/L/N)," I introduced myself, extending a hand. "I'm Lydia's tutor."

Instead of shaking my hand like a normal person, Larry grabbed it and kissed it. I laughed awkwardly.

"Gentleman, huh?"

He shrugged. "I wouldn't go that far. Old habits die hard, I guess."

I didn't know what he meant by that, but I wasn't about to pry to find out.

"Say," he said, snapping his fingers suddenly, "you wanna grab a bite?"

He slid his glasses to perch on top of his head, and I found myself staring into a pair of extremely familiar electric green eyes, although I couldn't quite figure out where I had seen them before.

"Oh... um... well... I would love to, but I have to finish putting up this banner-"

I was cut off mid-sentence when I turned around and saw that the banner was hanging perfectly above the window. My mouth hung open slightly in shocked confusion.

"How did-"

"A magician never reveals his secrets, babes," Larry told me, wrapping a large arm around my shoulders and herding me towards a small coffee shop down the street.

As we came to the coffee shop, Larry stopped and started digging around in his pockets. A couple of seconds later, he pulled out his phone, which was rapidly vibrating. He looked at the caller ID and frowned.

"I'm so sorry, but I really need to take this," he told me apologetically.

"It's totally fine. Hey, if you tell me what you want, I can order for both of us and grab a table."

"I like my coffee black, thanks!" he said, answering his phone.

I stepped into the coffee shop, looking around. There weren't that many people there. I walked up to the counter.

"Hi, what can I get you?" the young man asked me, smiling shyly.

"Uh, one black coffee, and one hot mocha with oat milk, please."

While he was ringing me up, he asked me some questions.

"Are you new to town?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I've been here for a little over a week, now. How long have you lived here?"

"Oh, I've lived here my entire life. I used to deliver pizzas... but then I delivered my last pizza to the Deetz house. I quit right after."

My brow furrowed. "Why?"

"Um, the girl... she wears all black and stuff, she had this guy with her, looked like he just crawled out of a grave. They.... they threw snakes at me... and then I couldn't control my own body... I just sorta started tap dancing against my will."

I stared at him, deep in thought. Then the door opened and Larry stepped in. The barista turned white and his eyes widened as he broke out in a cold sweat.

"Oh god."

"What's wrong?" I asked him, thoroughly concerned by this point.

"It's him."

"Um... well, I'm just gonna grab my order, now...." I said, taking the two cups from the barista, who was frozen in terror, his wide eyes never leaving Larry.

I walked over to the table Larry had sat down at and sat his cup in front of him.

"Mm thanks, babes," he said gratefully, taking a sip.

"Um, if you could stop calling me that, I would appreciate it."

He arched a bushy eyebrow at me. "Why? Does it make you uncomfortable?"

"Frankly, yes."

"Well, what am I supposed to call you? Toots? Baby? Sugar? Doll face? Sweet cheeks?"

"Um, how about my name?"

"Awwww but that's boring!"

"Excuse me?"

"How about.... Shorty?"

"Absolutely not."

"Grumpy?"

I glared at him.

"You're not really helping your case, you know."

I sighed.

"How about.... Angel? I mean, you did fall from the sky the first time I met you."

"I fell off a ladder."

"Doesn't matter," he said, waving away my statement.

I sighed. "I suppose I don't hate it as much as the others."

Larry's features lit up so, that I couldn't help but smile in spite of myself.

"Angel it is, then!"

"So, does that make you my Lucifer?" I asked him playfully, smirking and taking a sip of my latte.

"Only if you want me to be, sweetheart. You'd be surprised at how devilish I can be between the sheets," he replied, winking and flicking his forked, stripe-tattooed tongue out at me.

I shot my mocha through my nose.