Somebody's on the Roof (Beetlejuice fanfic)

Out

It took a couple days, but the moment she'd been waiting for had finally come.
Her father, after a few days of awkward silence and disappearing whenever he could, finally came upstairs to her room. She had been doing homework on her bed, and she was surprised to finally see his face. He didn't say much, and his expression was unreadable. All he said was to come downstairs.
That's when she knew it was time.
It had just gotten dark, since her father had been staying at work later and later. Probably to get away from her. She took a deep breath and quietly summoned Beetlejuice, who gave her a wink before vanishing.
She tried to look as normal as possible going down the stairs, even with the sight of her father and Delia sitting together at the table. That never happened; it was never the three of them together. Her assumptions were correct.
"So, honey," her father began as Lydia pulled out a chair and sat down, "I mentioned this a couple days ago, but it's official now, and I wanted you to know. Delia and I are getting married."
Lydia sat stone-faced. She glanced down at Delia's hands, which were folded on the table, and had to force herself not to gag at the sight of the sparkly ring. She didn't speak.
Delia, noticing the tension, forced a smile onto her face. "It'll be so great. We can finally be a family! Lydia, the two of us will have such a great time."
Lydia frowned. "So you're just expecting me to be okay with it?"
Her father gave her a warning glance. "It's our decision to make. Not yours. It won't be as terrible as you think it'll be."
"It's just another step." She folded her arms. "It's just another step to completely erase Mom from existence."
"Do not start this right now. I'm trying to make both of you happy. This is what I want to do, because I love Delia." He took Delia's hand. "Not everything is about you."
"I know that, but I think changing our entire family dynamic might involve me. Just a little, maybe!"
"Lydia, calm down-"
"I'm sick of being quiet about this!"
As she shouted her response, she heard a loud crashing sound come from above as the ceiling lightbulbs exploded. The room was plunged into darkness, and she heard the sound of broken glass falling to the kitchen floor. Both of the adults jumped out of their seats.
"How on Earth did that happen?" Delia exclaimed, moving closer to Charles.
"I tried to get you to listen." Lydia stood. "Both of you just see right through me. Do you see me now?!" She held out her arms.
Her father looked furious. "What did you-"
A loud cackle echoed through the house, causing the adults to jump. Lydia smiled.
"You've both been pressuring me for so long to make friends!" She plastered fake sweetness into her voice. "So I finally did."
There was another pop as the living room chandelier fell out of the ceiling, hanging by its wires. Delia shrieked.
"Lydia, what is going on?!" Charles demanded, a small quiver in his voice.
"I'm making myself known."
She took off, running up the stairs and peering over the part of the railing where she could remain unseen. Delia jiggled the knob on the back door, whimpering when she found it locked.
"Lights," Lydia whispered, and any light that wasn't already smashed flickered off. She blinked, trying to get adjusted to the darkness.
She heard yelling and a thud as Beetlejuice pushed the adults against the wall. Charles called her name, but there was no way she was going to help him.
She heard a boom, and that was her cue. She held on as tightly as she could to the railing and squeezed her eyes shut. The house began to shake, as if they were in an earthquake. She heard more glass shatter.
As soon as it stopped, Lydia rushed back down the stairs and climbed onto the kitchen table. "This is what you get for not listening to me, Dad!" She knew she looked like a disaster; her hair was messy, her face was red, and she still had a healing bruise around her eye. It just added to the effect.
"Yeah, Dad." She heard a familiar rough voice from beside her, and Beetlejuice appeared to join her on the table. He crossed his arms, clearly amused. "This is what you get!"
Lydia couldn't see much in the dark, but she knew the adults were terrified. Their silhouettes cowered together, Delia still trying to open the back door.
"Lydia, who is that?" Charles took a step backwards.
"Just a new buddy of mine. He's here to show you your way out."
"It's a pleasure, Chuck." Beetlejuice nodded. "Now back to the job."
All of the furniture in the kitchen and living room began to lift off the ground, traveling a couple inches upward before slamming back down. The house rattled again, and the adults stumbled.
"I've got plenty more up my sleeve, if you're curious." He smiled maliciously, displaying his sharp teeth. "Or, you could run on outta here."
"Let us out!" Delia blurted before he could even finish, her voice shrill and desperate.
"Well, Bee, if they want out so bad, I guess we should give it to them," Lydia said, shrugging. "Throw 'em out. We'll save some tricks for later."
The door flew open, and there was the rushing of wind as the adults were pushed out of the house. "See ya later!" Beetlejuice called after them, waving as the door slammed loudly behind them. There was an eerie silence left behind, and Lydia stood in shock. She felt light-headed.
"Kid, that went perfectly! You become a different person, I swear." The demon's voice finally snapped her back into reality. Lydia turned to him in awe.
"They're..they're gone." The realization finally came.
"Oh, yeah. This house is all us, babes. No one's gonna bother you now!" He slung his arm around her. "How's it feel to be seen?"
Lydia laughed triumphantly, throwing her arms around him before she could stop herself. She felt him tense up, and he held his arms out awkwardly at her sides.
"That was awesome!" She replied. "You were right. That was so much better than last time."
"Uh..yeah. It totally was."
Lydia sensed a downward shift. "It's a hug, genius," she said, finally pulling back. He kept his arms out in the same position for a few seconds, then shoved his hands in his pockets.
"Right, right. I knew that. But look at you! You're a natural scarer, kid." In a blink, his uncomfortable air was gone. Lydia decided to drop it.
"Now that is living the dream," he continued. "They saw us! For real this time! We're not invisible anymore, no way."
Lydia watched her friend ramble on, his face beaming with excitement. He was so happy. She finally felt like she had accomplished something.
"No way," she repeated. "Not anymore."