Somebody's on the Roof (Beetlejuice fanfic)

Delia

Delia was gone for four days, supposedly staying with her guru and returning the box. Lydia felt a strange emptiness inside; two of her constants were now gone. Delia was always there, and so was Beetlejuice. Now she couldn't say that for either of them.
She and her father had gotten closer. He'd driven her to and from school, and they had frequent conversation. They talked about anything they wanted, her mother included.
She once asked him why she hadn't been punished for what she'd done. He'd just shrugged and asked, "What would that do?"
When Delia finally came back, she was as chipper as ever. Lydia's father had been prodding her, telling her that she should apologize to Delia and make things right. As much as she feared doing it, he was right. It was just a matter of when and where.
She got the perfect opportunity one night, two days after Delia returned. She had been tossing and turning in bed for an hour, and she eventually decided to go down and get some water from the kitchen. As she passed by the guest bedroom, she noticed that the door was cracked. Faint yellow lamplight spilled out into the hall. Lydia paused, then gave the door a light tap with her knuckles.
"In here," Delia called softly from the inside. Lydia pushed open the door to find her sorting through crystals on the carpet. She was dressed in sweats and a T-shirt, ginger hair piled on top of her head with a hair clip. It was a fun kind of messy; Lydia liked her that way. She looked up and smiled.
"Hi, darling," she said. "Just getting the colors in order. Couldn't sleep?"
"No. I've been having a lot of trouble since we moved." Lydia shrugged. "I guess you couldn't, either?"
"I've got a lot on my mind." Delia turned her attention back to sorting, and Lydia moved to sit beside her. For a moment, she just watched. They were pretty stones, all kinds of blues and purples with jagged edges and smooth lines.
"So," Delia began, "are you doing okay?"
"I've been better."
"..Your father told me about that night. How you met the demon."
Lydia felt herself go rigid. "Oh."
"I hate thinking about that. I hope it wasn't because of me." Delia furrowed her brow. "I'd never forgive myself."
"No, it wasn't you, I swear. I..I had a lot of guilt over things from a while ago. I thought I'd get to see Mom."
Delia nodded. "I'm just glad he saved you. That's one good thing that came out of him."
Lydia pulled her knees up to her chest. "I think a lot of good things came out of him."
Delia glanced over at her. "Then tell me about them. You have to appreciate the good moments, too, for what they were."
"Oh, man." Lydia smiled. "We watched a lot of movies and shows, and he was so surprised at the size of the TV. He loved it. And he'd laugh so hard at the jokes, he practically shook the house. He's like a bear. Big and loud and protective.
"He let me talk to him about anything. At first, he was a little wary when talking about my mom, but he came around. He was one of the first people I know to talk about her regularly and not make it weird. We would just talk for hours. You really get to talking when you're confined in a house with someone for ten days." It was true; he had loosened up about her mother. He no longer had that odd expression, the one that screamed at Lydia to change the subject.
"Well, death is obviously different for him. Very prevalent." Delia picked up a pastel green crystal and turned it around in her hands. "How did yours die? Killed himself, right?"
Surprised, Lydia nodded. "How do you know all this?"
"When I was younger, before I met your father, I spent a lot of time with my guru. He taught me a lot. Lessons on ghosts, crystals, healing..I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. Learning about demons was my least favorite." She frowned. "I can't imagine what it must be like. To end your own life and then re-emerge, given all this power. I've never seen one until yours. Most people don't see them until they're summoned."
"I still don't know why I could." Lydia sighed. "He hung himself. I saw the bruises and scratches on his neck."
"Goodness. That explains the raspy voice."
Lydia's eyes widened. His voice was rather rough, as if his vocal chords had been messed with. She'd never guessed that it was from pressure and choking. "Wow. That's..that makes a lot of sense. That's messed up."
"It's all messed up. I'll give him another point: demons have a very sad existence. I just don't understand him. Why was he in the living world to begin with?"
"His mother has a really important position in the Netherworld. She controls who goes in and out. She never wanted him, so when he grew up, she threw him out. He works with ghosts in the living world and helps them move on, but he said that he was never there when the door opened, or the ghosts wouldn't let him through since it would risk getting them in trouble." Lydia shook her head. "He's been here, like, twelve hundred years."
"Did you make a deal with him?"
Lydia nodded, embarrassed. "Yeah."
"What did he offer you? Power?"
She thought. "I don't know. He didn't really directly offer me anything. He told me that he knew how unhappy I was, and that I should call him if I wanted his help. We both agreed to be friends, and then we shook." She squeezed her eyes shut, remembering the electricity that had run through her and the smile that had spread across his face. "I think he genuinely wanted a friend."
Delia's expression hardened. "I remember learning that I'd probably never see a demon in my lifetime, but if I did, I needed to remember that they manipulate. They trick." She turned to look at Lydia in the eyes. "Did you trust yours?"
"Yes." Lydia didn't hesitate. "I did. I know that they trick people, but..we were so similar, from what I could gauge. We both wanted so badly for the same thing. Plus, you know, he saved my life without even knowing for sure if it would be worth it."
"Do you still trust him?"
"Well, he's gone now."
"Right," Delia answered quickly, "but would you now? After him threatening you?"
Would she? Probably, she admitted to herself.
"I mean, I got myself into it," Lydia said. "He was right, in some ways. I shouldn't have expected to just walk away and be fine."
"That doesn't mean that any of it is your fault, though. He shouldn't have expected it to last forever."
"Yeah. I told him that it wouldn't last forever. I think he just forgot."
"Are you angry with him?"
Lydia's brows snapped together. "I think I forget that he was a person. He still is. He's just a person with too much power."
Delia set the crystal down. "I hope you know that we weren't neglecting you. I wanted to get to you as soon as possible, but my guru still lives in New York. We had to get there, and then he had to teach me how to use it, and then he told us that we had to give you time. That, eventually, he'd wear you out."
"Yeah, I get it now. I guess I overthought it. I just..I felt abandoned, even before we met. He gave me a bit of hope."
"I understand." Delia placed a hand on her shoulder. "Just please don't be hard on yourself. Even through all of this, you've learned something."
"I don't know what I've learned. Don't summon demons?"
She chuckled. "What I've realized through learning about spirits is that you should appreciate the life you have. Appreciate the self. If anything, you've got that."
The corner of Lydia's mouth turned up. "Thanks, Delia."
"I'm here for you. I want us to have a better start."
"Look, I..I've been terrible to you. I know that. I know that, and I'm really sorry." Lydia took her hand. "You've been nothing but good to me, and I've been nothing but mean back. I'm really sorry."
"Let's just be better from here, okay? We can do it."
"Yeah. And..I want you to marry my dad. If it's what you want, and it'll make you happy, then I want it."
Delia's face lit up. "Really? You'd be okay with it?"
"Of course. I need someone positive like you."
"Yes!" Delia hugged her. "It'll be wonderful! Thank you, Lydia."
"Don't thank me." Lydia smirked. "I'm happy for you."
"It'll be great, I promise. Oh, don't move. I'll make some celebratory sleepy time tea. Maybe finally get us some rest." Delia stood, walking out of the bedroom.
Left alone in the silence, Lydia turned to look behind her. Delia had been storing her art pieces on the side, since there was nowhere else for them to go. Some of them were displayed on pedestals, while others were on the floor draped in white tarp. They were..interesting.
Lydia stood and went to turn off the lamp. Once she did, however, she noticed a green light emitting from under one of the tarps. Her heart fell to her stomach, and she quickly turned the light back on and rushed for the tarp. If this was what she thought it was...
She lifted the edge of the tarp and audibly gasped, covering her mouth immediately after.
The box was still there, sitting on the floor.
And, judging by the harsh glow, he was in there.