Power Play (A Beetlejuice: the Musical Fanfiction)

Fourteen

Inside her room, the teenager thought quietly to herself. She wasn't sure if she could allow Adam to apologize to her. Even after what had happened earlier. She was still upset with him.

She heard a noise outside her bedroom door followed by the sound of a voice. "Lydia?!"

She knew it was Adam. Turning and making her way over towards her bedroom door, Lydia angrily slammed her fist against it. "Go away, Adam!"

As she heard him leave, she slumped against her bedroom door, her back turned to it, and started to cry softly to herself. Now she was less upset with her surrogate ghost father. Should she go downstairs and allow him to apologize.

She looked at her alarm clock. It was almost dinner time.

She was hungry.

It was a quarter after six when Lydia emerged from her bedroom and made her way downstairs, clearly drawn to the smell of pasta being made that night.

As she sat herself down at the kitchen counter and rested her hands on top of it, Delia and Barbara turned to her, surprised smiles on their faces. They were elated to see her. Considering she'd spent the entire afternoon locked in her bedroom.

Barbara moved to sit next to the teenager and Delia refocused her attention back towards the stove. Next to Lydia, Barbara rested one hand on her shoulder and the other in her short, Black hair. Lydia leaned her head against Barbara's chest as the latter began to gently run her hand through her hair.

"It's about time you came out of your room, Lydia," Barbara commented with a chuckle, pulling the teenager into a hug. Which Lydia immediately accepted. "Do you feel ready to let Adam apologize to you?"

"Not quite yet," came Lydia's response. "I think I'm gonna wait until dinner is ready and on the table. That's a much better time to have him apologize to me."

"Oh, alright then."

Dinner that night was silent. Nobody really said anything. Lydia sat as far away from Adam as she could. Looking away every time Adam looked in her direction. He gave up after a while. It was clear that Lydia still didn't want to talk to him or even allow him to apologize to her.

This worried Barbara. She remembered the conversation she had with the teenager earlier. Lydia had told her that she was going to allow Adam to apologize to her during dinner. Why was she still upset with him? This was something that Barbara didn't get. Turning to look over towards Lydia, the female ghost shifted a little in her seat and coughed loudly to grab her attention.

"Did you need something, Barb?" Lydia asked confusedly, turning to face her surrogate ghost mother.

"Yes," came Barbara's response. "You told me that you were going to allow Adam to apologize to you when dinner was ready. Dinner is almost done and you still haven't accepted an apology from him. What on Earth happened?"

"I just don't feel like it. That's all."

"Come on Lydia," Adam pleaded with his surrogate daughter. "Please just let me apologize to you."

"Perhaps after dinner is completely done," Lydia responded with a sigh.

"Thank you, Lydia," Adam said with a smile.

As Barbara, Delia, and Charles cleaned up the dinner table and cleared away the dishes, Lydia sat with Adam in the living room. Looking unsure of how she was going to apologize to him. Seeing this, Adam reached over and rested a hand under her chin lifting her head up so that she was looking in his direction.

"Lydia," he said with a smile. "It's okay. I just want to make it up to you. I've been coming up with ways to make it up to you. Why don't you want me to apologize to you?

"I...i..." was all Lydia said.

"Go on," Adam urged his surrogate daughter.

She did not want to continue speaking, instead reaching over and pulling the male ghost into a hug. Adam was surprised at first, but eventually accepted the hug his surrogate daughter was giving him.

"I take it this means I'm forgiven?" Adam asked.

"Yes," was all Lydia said.

Barbara had turned to look over into the living room, a smile crossing her face as she watched Lydia's and Adam's hug. Just seeing the two interact after everything that had happened earlier made her happy.

She made her way over towards the living room and sat herself down in between her husband and Lydia the same moment they pulled away from each other. Barbara rested her arms around both of their shoulders and they focused their attention on her.

"I'm guessing everything's okay for now?" Barbara asked the two of them.

"Yes." Adam rested a hand on Barbara's shoulder. The ghostly couple looked to Lydia, who nodded quietly in response.

"Good." Barbara breathed a sigh of relief.