Out of Sight, Out of Mind//A Beetlejuice Fanfiction

||Chapter One|| I Wish of a Return

Lydia sat at her window, peering sadly out of it at the stormy summer sky outside. It was supposed to be sunny that day, as per what Delia had read from the weather app on her phone, the storm was unexpected. She was letting out sighs as she was thinking about all the fun times she had had with Betelgeuse that same week she, her dad, and Delia had moved into this house. But that was over a year ago and she was already starting to miss him.

But she still knew how her parents, her family, felt about all the demon had done and did not want him back in their lives/afterlives. He was deemed a bad influence on Lydia within a week of his departure back to the Netherworld and any and all mention or utterance of his name was strictly forbidden as a result of a series of house rules. In the year that followed everything that had happened, Lydia had remained depressed and no one in her family could do anything to help her out. All efforts proved useless. Charles and Delia tried taking her to a psychologist, that didn't work. Charles and Delia tried taking her to a psychiatrist, that didn't work. Delia tried to life coach Lydia again like she used to, that didn't work. They tried family group therapy sessions once a week, nada. The family was running out of options on how to help Lydia, they didn't know what else to do.

Maybe, just maybe, they would allow Betelgeuse back into their lives. But even that seemed unlikely in the near future.

Lydia let out her longest sigh and face planted into her window sill to take a much needed nap. It was all she could do now, since she was told repeatedly to behave anytime she would reenact all the chaos she and Betelgeuse did together. Her family didn't know this, but it was her way of remembering Betelgeuse. And they didn't need to know this, because she was keeping it secret from them for until Betelgeuse may show up again. But she still knew how bad it was to keep secrets from others. Everyone in her family had secrets they didn't want everyone else to know of, so she guessed she was fine.

"Lydia, wake up, it's almost dinnertime and we want to talk to you," came Barbara's voice from behind the teenage girl. Lydia woke up from her short, minute-long nap and rubbed at her hazel brown eyes before turning her head to look over at a smiling Barbara, who was currently phased halfway through her bedroom door and waiting for her. Lydia stood up from her seat at her window sill and began to walk over towards Barbara.

"What is it, Barb?" Lydia asked, coming to a stop in front of her ghost mother and allowing her to phase out of the door before opening it and joining Barbara outside. Together, they began to head downstairs. "Have you guys given up on trying to find ways to help cure me of the remnants of my depression?"

"No," teased Barbara sternly with a laugh as the two of them entered the kitchen and Lydia went to sit down at the kitchen table and waited for her dinner whilst Barbara went to help Delia finish making the dinner (which was only for Lydia, Charles, and Delia. Adam and Barbara could join in if they wanted to, but they usually didn't as they didn't need to eat anymore, which was fine with the Deetzes. The Maitlands often spent their times at the kitchen table having conversations with the Deetzes). Charles and Adam were in the living room and chatting away about guy stuff.

"Then what did you guys want to talk to me about?" asked Lydia, curiously.

Barbara carried three plates of spaghetti over to the kitchen table with her powers and set them down in front of the seats usually reserved for the Deetzes and went to sit in her usual seat (which was next to Adam. Charles and Delia sat across from them and Lydia took the seat at the end of the table, which was a perfect arrangement for the five of them) whilst Delia went to tell Charles and Adam that it was dinnertime.

"Delia looked online not too long ago and found a local therapist for you to try," explained Charles as he, Delia, and Adam joined Lydia and Barbara at the kitchen table.

"Ugh! Dad, are you freaking kidding me? Another appointment with another doctor!" grunted Lydia, looking annoyed at the sound of this. "You tried a psychologist, a psychiatrist, Delia tried to cure me of my depression by putting me through another one of her life coaching sessions, we have family group therapy sessions once a week, and now you're taking me to a therapist? Why?!"

"Lydia, listen to me," replied Charles. "We don't have to go to this therapist if you don't want to. Delia hasn't scheduled you an appointment yet."

"Yes, dad, that is exactly what I don't want," said Lydia in an even more annoyed tone than before.

"I don't appreciate your tone, young lady." Charles stood up and did not look happy, which was usually a bad sign.

Delia stood up as well and held a crystal out towards Charles. "Let's get rid of the tension that's rising and giving this room a sort-of bad, negative energy, hmmm?"

Charles calmed down and nodded, him and Delia sitting back down and the five of them continuing on with their dinner.

A little while later, when it was dark and a clear sky outside and the storm from earlier had cleared up, Lydia had gone back upstairs to her room to do some more secret sulking over missing Betelgeuse. There was supposed to be a meteor shower at some point that night according to Delia but Lydia had the feeling she would miss it as she had to go to sleep soon. But who knew, she could still see one.

She lifted her head up and glanced at the stars outside, her eyes widening as she saw a red shooting star. Now she knew she had to make a wish.

'I wish Betelgeuse would be back,' she said quietly in her mind.

She looked around her room in hopes that her wish would come true then frowned as she found no sign of Betelgeuse anywhere. Charles shouted up to her to get herself ready for bed and she went about it, putting on her black, ghost-patterned pajamas.

"Yeah, I was right," she said to herself as went to the bathroom to brush her teeth. "It really is nothing but a story. Wishes really don't come true. I should have known that when I wished he would return. It's not going to work."