Somebody's on the Roof (Beetlejuice fanfic)

Stories

Hey, I'm putting a warning on this chapter for many mentions of death and suicide. If that upsets you, I would suggest you don't continue. The next chapter should be a lot lighter-this is mainly just backstory. Thanks
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Both of their heads swiveled to the side, staring at each other with their eyes wide in surprise.
"What?!" They shouted in unison. Beetlejuice was the first to act, shaking his head and leaning closer.
"Okay, you have to elaborate: did you stab her?" He asked, the words spilling out of his mouth so quickly that Lydia didn't know how to react. She laughed in surprise.
"What? No!"
His shoulders fell. "Less dramatic. But seriously, there's no way it's your fault. What did you even do?" It had begun to get dark outside, but the candles Lydia had lit earlier bathed both of them in yellow light.
Lydia wished she could ask all the questions that were stirring in her head, but it seemed to be her turn to answer first. "Well..okay. My mom was really, really sick. My dad never really specified with me, but I'm pretty sure it was cancer. He never liked talking about it.
"She took this medication that made her faint. And she fainted a lot, like, twice a day sometimes. She'd never be out for long, and she'd be fine afterwards. We wanted to do something about it, but the medicine was working so well, and we were scared to reverse that. So..it just kept happening." Lydia shrugged.
"But one night, I woke up after I heard this loud thud. My dad started shouting, so I ran downstairs..and there they were. She'd fainted again, and he was down on the ground holding her. When he saw me he started yelling, trying to get me to call someone. He said she needed help." She pulled her knees up to her chest. "But I didn't move."
"Kid-"
"I just stood there. I kept telling him that she'd be fine, because she always was. Mom always got back up after a couple minutes. I stood there for close to two minutes, I think. But he just kept yelling and yelling, and finally he told me that if I didn't get the hell out of the kitchen right then and call someone, I'd be in huge trouble. So I finally did."
"Lyds, how is that your fault?"
"Stuff like that is a matter of seconds, man!" Lydia exclaimed, her voice louder than she meant for it to be. She withdrew, averting her gaze. "I know for a fact that if I had called sooner, she'd be here. I dragged it out. She died because of me."
"Come on. You don't know that for sure."
"I do know, because my dad has treated me like dirt ever since! He won't talk about her. He keeps trying to move on without thinking of me. He won't.." She sighed. "He won't look at me."
Beetlejuice was silent, but Lydia felt his eyes on her as she tried to compose herself. She took in a shaky breath and blinked hard; she was sick of crying.
"Lydia, when did this happen?"
She sniffed. "Two years ago."
"So you've felt like this for two years?"
She nodded, unable to bring herself to look at him.
"There's no way that it's your fault, okay? I'm sure there's some sort of explanation for it. Hell, I hate to say it, but she could have already been gone." He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "You can't blame yourself for shit like that. You just can't."
"I couldn't live with it, Bee." She finally turned to look at him, furrowing her brow. "I didn't want to live with it anymore. I wanted to tell her that I was sorry."
Realization dawned on his face, and he surprised Lydia by wrapping an arm around her and pulling her close. She leaned her head against his chest, not caring how cold he was. They stayed silent for a while.
"I can almost promise you it's not your fault," he said, "so I want you to stop thinking that. Don't think about that day, because what the hell is it going to do for you? You've got plenty of other good days, behind you and ahead of you."
She nodded. "Okay. Yeah. You're right."
"I'm always right." He rustled her hair.
"Sure, and you're also not getting off that easy." She pulled away, playfully shoving his chest. "You were alive?! What the hell?"
"Hey, pretty quick change of pace there." He smiled.
"You said to get my mind off of it! Plus, you said that you were born in the Netherworld, so I'm pretty pissed that you lied."
"Okay." He sighed. "Okay. First of all, I didn't lie. I was born in the Netherworld, except it wasn't really a birth. More like a rebirth, I guess. That's how all demons come to be. Someone dies, and they're reborn as a demon to demon parents."
"So you were a person at one point?" She gasped jokingly. "You were a loser breather like me?"
"Briefly," he said, the corner of his mouth quirking up.
"So, if you don't mind me asking.."
"What happened?" He shifted uncomfortably. "I guess I should tell the whole truth. I don't know why, but every time a new demon is born...they come from suicide victims."
Lydia quickly felt the joking mood leave the room once again, and she felt a chill run down her arms. "Wait, what?" She asked softly, not wanting to tie the information together.
"Not all suicide victims become demons, but all demons are suicide victims, if that makes sense. So, yeah. I offed myself. Hung myself, to be precise."
"Bee.."
"I don't remember why. I don't remember my life at all. That's how it normally goes. But as a kid, I used to get these visions about my death, and it messed me up. All kid demons go through that, so they're little terrors to raise. It might be why my mom hated me so much." He began to bounce his leg anxiously. "I dunno."
"Oh, my God." Lydia shook her head. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Why didn't you tell me about your mom? We keep some things to ourselves." He shrugged. "I was gonna tell you. The night we met, actually. But I thought that it would make me look like a hypocrite. 'Hey, don't kill yourself, even though I did!'"
"Is that why you stopped me?"
"There were a lot of reasons, but yeah. I guess that was one of them." He reached over and took her hand. "When I used to get those visions, I would feel all this regret. It was like a literal weight on my chest. But the way it happened, I couldn't reverse the situation- I was doomed. That's what would have happened to you, and I don't want you feeling that regret."
Lydia was left speechless, unsure of how to respond. "I can't..I can't believe myself." She rubbed her temple. "I mean, you saved my whole fucking life, and what have I done to-"
"Lydia, I've already said this. If you think you've done nothing for me, you really don't have a damn clue."
She took in the sight of his expression, his jaw set and his eyes hard. Before she could construct what to say, he reached for his neck and began to untie his tie.
"Here," he said, handing it to her once it was off. She peered down at it, with its dirty and torn fabric, and clutched it tightly. He folded down his collar, exposing the skin on his neck. Lydia held back a gasp.
The base of his neck was covered with bruises of all colors, ranging from purple to yellow to blue. There were small red cuts on the sides and the front where his Adam's apple was, and a defined red line stretched all the way around his throat. He turned to look at her, showing no sign of pain despite the wounds.
"Are they bad?" He asked, embarrassed.
"..No. No, they're not-"
"I can tell what you're wanting to say, Lyds. You're my best friend, be honest."
"They're bad. They're pretty bad."
He grimaced. "Ma never let me see them, and since I don't appear in mirrors or pictures here, it's kinda hard to know."
"I'm sorry, Bee. I'm really sorry."
"I'm not telling you this so you can say sorry." Surprisingly, he smiled, pulling his collar back up. Lydia handed him the tie. "You deserve to know something about me. Plus, my life got cut short, so I'm trying to warn you. Don't do that to yourself, 'kay?"
"I won't." Lydia looked him in the face. "I promise, I won't."
"Good. No more deep bullshit." He quickly sprung up from the couch, walking over to her dark room setup. "Come show me how this works."
She observed him for a second, sympathy passing through her expression, but then she stood.
It was a welcome distraction.