Timeless *REWRITTEN* (Beetlejuice x Reader)

Chapter 9

I watched him as he inhaled and blew out another long puff of smoke. 

"But then, on a night not entirely unlike this one, your aunt told me that she had fallen in love with me." A small smile came to his face as he no doubt saw the scene in his mind's eye. 

I smiled over at him. "Did you know she was the one for you immediately?" 

He laughed a bit. "I knew Romelda was the one for me before we finally began seeing each other. Her kindness, the way she carried herself, and her boldness immediately endeared her to me." His attention turned back to me. "What are your thoughts on the man who you're going with?" 

I wasn't expecting that question. "Oh. Well, I like him a lot, actually. He's kind to me and makes me laugh." I felt a smile creeping onto my face. "I... I want this to go somewhere. I don't want it to be just some sort of... fling." 

"Then don't let it be." 

I considered my uncle, once more. "What?"

"Don't let it be some 'fling'. If you truly find yourself falling in love with him, don't let it go. Don't let fear draw you back into yourself. Be purposeful, and make the most of it." 

"Thanks, Uncle Vincenzo," I said gratefully. 

"Of course, (Y/N/N). Now, it's getting late; you should get some rest." 

I nodded in agreement, standing and picking up my purse next to me. "Good night."

My uncle blew out another smoke cloud. "Good night to you, as well." 

Dark clouds gathered in my periphery, my skirts dancing about my ankles in the tumultuous winds. A storm was coming. Something like lead settled in the pit of my stomach as an all-encompassing dread swept over me. As I stood at the edge of the bluff, I knew. 

I knew I wasn't alone. 

"I thought you'd finally forgotten about me," I said above the roar of the wind, not turning. 

I felt her cold, long fingers glide over my shoulders. "Forget about my favorite little Scarab? I could never." I could practically hear the smirk on her wine-red lips, her tone dripping with faux affection. 

Even after all these years she still managed to shoot ice into my heart. 

She moved to my side and I turned slightly toward her. I took in the tall, slim woman before me. She was exactly as I remembered her: long, white hair that trailed to the ground, dead, grey eyes, and slender figure wrapped in layers of flowing, slightly translucent black silk. Nothing had changed. 

She first appeared in my dreams when I was ten. 

I never knew much about her, only that she told me to call her "Lilith". It wasn't until I turned fourteen that Lilith told me why she had been infrequently visiting my dreams for the past four years. 

"Do you know, (Y/N), why I call you 'Scarab'?"

I had turned to her as we sat at the table in one of my parents' large, glass greenhouses. I had studied her in the low light filtering through the panes, the soft tap of raindrops on the glass ever-present. I had shaken my head in reply. 

She had rested her elbow on the table between us, considering me in that cold, curious way of hers. 

"The Egyptians viewed the Scarab as a symbol of regeneration, rebirth, and resurrection in connection to their sun god, Ra." 

My brow had furrowed. "What does that have to do with me?" I had asked in confusion. 

A dangerous smirk had tugged at the corners of her lips. "I know about your curse, child." 

Something icy had gripped my heart as I stared at her. 

"You've managed to cheat death, little Scarab. But I'm here to observe. To do everything in my power to make sure the Reaper catches up with you, in the end. To put your soul where it rightfully belongs." A pause. "With me." 

I was dragged back to the moment at hand when I felt her lift my chin. She searched my face. 

"What troubles you, child?" 

I wrenched myself from her touch, turning back to the choppy waves below the bluff. 

"What do you want, Lilith?" 

She made a disapproving noise as she once again considered me. "Come now! I just want what's best for my little Scarab." 

I felt myself frown at the honey-laced poison dripping from her words. "Since when have you cared for my wellbeing?" She opened her mouth to reply, but I continued before she could. "You and I both know you're only here to figure out a loophole in my immortality so I'll die." 

She seemed a bit taken aback by my blunt speech. She recovered, her matronly mask falling away to be replaced by an expression of cold neutrality. 

"One day, (Y/N), you will grow tired of this little game. And then you will stop running and beg me to end you."