I paced back and forth, wringing my hands and trying to take deep breaths to calm my racing heart. So far, that wasn't working. Beetlejuice floated a ways over my head, staring at me quizzically.

"I don't get why you're freaking out so much. So what if your friend knows that you're best friend is the sexiest demon in the Netherworld? Just relax, if she's really your friend, she'll.... understand, more or less. Or at least try to, for your sake."

I looked up at him. "Yeah, I know, Beej, I just..... what if she flips out? I mean, she kinda freaks out about certain stuff... so I wouldn't put it past her to freak out after I tell her, or to even try to stuff me in her trunk and rush me to a mental hospital or something."

"Dang. Your friend sounds like she could kinda use a psyche evaluation," Beetlejuice responded.

I sighed and waved my hand distractedly. "I'm exaggerating, Beej. She wouldn't actually try to stuff me into her trunk."

"......But she'd still try to get you to a psyche ward."

"She'd still try to get me to a psyche ward."

We sat in silence for a couple of minutes, the only noise the slightly ominous humming of my mini fridge. As much as I didn't know how I was going to explain this, I was also wanting to just get it over with. The dread and suspense of waiting was wearing on my nerves.

Just then I heard my Australian Shepherd, Abbigail, came bounding down the stairs. She spotted Beetlejuice floating up above us and immediately went nuts. She started barking and wagging her tail as fast as it could go.

My mom called down to me.

"What in the world is she barking at??"

"Oh, I'm just playing with her!" I responded.

"Well, stop. You're dad's on a conference call."

"Okay!"

I tried to stop her from barking, but it was to no avail.

"Beej! Get down here and pet her before my parents kill me!"

"Um yeah, I'd rather not get my hand bitten clean off, but thanks for the offer."

I sighed. "She's not mean, I swear. She loves new people and just gets super hyper when she first meets them."

He arched an eyebrow at me.

"Beej, I swear she's not gonna bite you."

He finally gave in, floating hesitantly down to the floor to be greeted by my dog's many whimpers of excitement and affection. Her tail was going a million miles a minute. I could tell she had instantly won a place in the demon's heart, because he was grinning from ear to pointed ear.

He looked up at me after a minute.

"So, um, just so you know, Abby is mine now."

I laughed at how serious he said it. He grinned at me.

"Seriously, though, she's super sweet and I WUVHERSOMUCH! Yes I do! Who's a good girl?" he said, his voice taking on a baby-ish manner. I laughed again as he started to give her a belly rub.

Abby flopped upright, and her ears perked up. She raced to the door and immediately started barking again.

"What's up with her, now?" Beetlejuice asked, coming to stand beside me.

"I think my friend just arrived," I explained.

I went up and peeked out the window, and sure enough, my friend Maddison was waiting there.

She checked her phone, waiting on me to let her into the house. I let out a shaky breath. Here went nothing.

I flicked a gaze at Beej, signaling for him to become invisible, and he obliged. I then opened the door, a smile plastered to my face.

"Hey, Maddi!" I greeted cheerily.

"Wassup?" she responded, giving me an enveloping hug. I mean, she was like a solid foot taller than me. She gave Abby an affectionate pat on the head as she stepped over the threshold into the house.

We made our way to the living room and sat down. She picked up my Apple TV remote and turned it on along with my flat screen TV. I fidgeted with my hands, and saw Beetlejuice give me a nudging motion out of the corner of my eye. I sighed.

"Look, before we start the show, I need to tell you something."

She turned to look at me, an eyebrow arched in confusion. "Is everything okay?"

"Well.... sort of."

Her facial expression only became more confused. "Sort of??"

"Okay, look. You know I'm bad with words in stressful situations, so just bear with me."

She just nodded, lost as to what I was talking about.

"Okay, look. So, this is gonna sound super crazy, and you're probably not gonna believe me at first, but, just promise me you won't freak out, okay?"

I could tell she was uneasy, but she nodded anyway.

"I have a ghost friend. He's been staying with me for like a couple of months, now."

Maddi stared at me like I had just told her that I had a pet unicorn named Bubbles. Which, in fairness, was just as believable as what I had told her.

I sighed. "If I show him to you, you have to promise you won't like.... attack him or whatever, okay?"

I could see Beej's expression go from encouraging to scared in like 0.2 seconds.

"Attack me?? What the heck???"

Maddi was staring at me, obviously trying to tell if I was joking or not.

"Just, promise me. Please."

She sighed, the smallest hint of a smile forming on her face. "Okay. I promise."

I breathed a breath of relief. "Okay. Beej, come on out."

He gave me an uneasy glance before appearing on the couch next to me, arms folded and legs crossed sassily.

"S'up."

Maddi screamed and threw the tv remote at his face. It hit his nose with an audible "crunch".

We were off to a great start.