Knowing Me, Knowing You

By Mlle. Dinkley

Disclaimer: Scooby-Doo and all related characters and elements are trademarks of Hanna-Barbera and/or Warner Bros. All rights retained by the original copyright holders. This is an amateur, not-for-profit work and is not intended to infringe upon the rights of the original copyright holders.

Lyrics from "Knowing Me, Knowing You," by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaesse (aka "ABBA") copyright 1977.

A/N: I wrote this one last year after seeing both the "Scooby-Doo" movie and the play "Mamma Mia!" in the same day.

No more carefree laughter,

Silence ever after.

Walking through an empty house

Tears in my eyes

Here is where the story ends

This is goodbye.

Jinkies, I just can't believe what has transpired in the last few hours. What should have been a simple case for us has ended in the worst—maybe I should say only—fight I have ever had with my friends. And the worst part of it all, is, it's all my fault; whether or not I intended to, I instigated this break up.

Well, perhaps I should clarify a bit; no body intentionally sets out to break up their own, closely knit group of friends, and I certainly did not consciously do it, but for better or worse, it was something I said that started it.

I wish I could convey just how painful it was to stand in the background and watch as Fred boastfully told the group of reporters that he had come up with the plan and that he had put together the clues to solve the case. The worst part of it was, they were just eating it up; I guess I can't blame them, though. What looks better on the ten o'clock news—a tall, handsome, sexy blond or a plain-looking, petite, bespectacled brunette? I suffered in silence back there. I really wanted to cry, but I knew I had to restrain myself. Once the cameras were out of the way, though, I snapped.

I hadn't really intended to quit; all I wanted to do was to see how the gang would react if I said that I was leaving. Take away the brain, and the rest of the organism no longer functions, or so I had erroneously thought. I made a bad judgement call; I naievely believed that my friends would cry and beg me not to leave, but how wrong I was. In all my years with Mystery Inc, my reasoning skills had never failed me; and now, when it was most crucial, they did, and it proved fatal.

I stood for the longest time outside that factory, watching, as my friends went their separate ways; we didn't even acknowledge each others' presence. As I watched them leave, my mind drifted back through the years and I found myself thinking about our past. Those afternoons we used to spend in the treehouse when we were children; the Friday nights at the beach when we got older; the countless haunted houses we had investigated; and of course, the way we would playfully tease Fred and Daphne about what they really did when they split up. All that was just gone, vanished, like an evanescent spirit in the night. I felt something wet grace the side of my face, and slowly came to realize that I was crying. Normally, I am very introverted and can keep my feelings hid behind a perfected mask of impassivity; but the events of tonight were unlike anything I have ever experienced, and for the first time that I know of, I just broke down and cried. What an undignified epitaph for Mystery Inc.

Knowing me, knowing you,

There is nothing we can do,

Knowing me, knowing you,

We just have to face it,

This time, we're through.

Breaking up is never easy, I know,

But I have to go,

Knowing me, knowing you,

It's the best I can do.

Zoinks! Like, how could this possibly happen? Mystery Inc., broken up permanently? I thought that we were going to be together forever, but it looks like Fred, Vel and Daph had other ideas.

It's rather weird, because tonight, I was, like, sort of on the outside looking in. Scoob and me, we were in our own little world; we were so focused on our fear and on running away from that "ghost" that we had almost no idea what was happening. To tell you the truth, I wasn't involved in the fight between Fred, Vel and Daph; I actually tried to stop it. As much as they have teased me and Scooby over the years, they're still my friends, and I felt that it was my duty to keep them from hurting each other.

Some people look at me and think that I am so simple, that all I ever think about is food and eating. Okay, so maybe they have a point. Like, I'm not smart like Velma, or pretty like Daphne or athletic like Fred; but if there's anything I've learned from hanging out with Scooby, it's that loyalty is a virtue. And, like, friends are supposed to be loyal to each other. I meant what I said, man—'friends don't quit.' And it may take awhile, but I have this weird vibe that Fred, Vel and Daph will realize that too.

Memories, good days, bad days,

They'll be with me always.

These old familiar rooms

Children would play in

Now there's only emptiness

Nothing to say.

I am not ditzy, and I am not danger prone, but somehow, everyone seems to see me that way. Is it because I am pretty that everyone thinks I don't have a brain? Perhaps. I guess tonight, I just couldn't hold it in any longer, and I snapped. I have long resented being seen as a "damsel in distress," but I never imagined that my disgust would lead me to break up with my oldest and closest friends.

Sometimes, I wonder; maybe this break up was my fault. What if I hadn't gotten so mad at Fred for telling me that I 'always get kidnapped,' or at Velma for telling me that I 'come with my own ransom note?' Ever since we were little, we have teased one another about our little, personal idiosyncracies, but these were always good hearted teasings, playful teasings. Who could ever have thought that these words that we have heard so many times would lead to the break up of Mystery Inc?

I had always thought that the four of us—myself, Fred, Velma and Shaggy—would be together forever. We had always hoped that one day, we would watch our children grow up together and that they would share the same good times that we all have shared; but now, I guess that will never happen.

Am I angry? Sort of, but I think my anger is slowly turning to sadness and regret. When I think back on all the good times we had shared—whether all of us together, or just me and Fred or me and Velma—I feel sadder than ever, because I know that I may never know such happy times again.

We had sworn that we would be friends forever; how ironic that we could get so sick of each other. And now, who knows if we will ever see eachother ever again?

Knowing me, knowing you,

There is nothing we can do,

Knowing me, knowing you,

We just have to face it,

This time, we're through.

Breaking up is never easy, I know,

But I have to go,

Knowing me, knowing you,

It's the best I can do.

Well, I guess we've split up—for the last time. I really don't know how I feel right now; everything happened so quickly that I didn't even have time to process the events. Well, I certainly have a lot of time on my hands now, why don't I start?

Okay, so, the Velmster came up with the plan, and Shag, Scoob and I put it into action. Then my fans stormed through the door, followed by the reporters. Just like on all our past cases, but am I missing something here?

No, I get it, it's jealousy—sheer jealousy.. Vel and Daph are so jealous of me that they can't see straight. Can I help that I'm so popular that my legions of fans follow me to every single mystery? What can I say, I've got charisma. Yet, somehow, deep in my heart, I can't help but feel that this whole break up is my fault.

Knowing me, knowing you,

There is nothing we can do,

Knowing me, knowing you,

We just have to face it,

This time, we're through.

Breaking up is never easy, I know,

But I have to go,

Knowing me, knowing you,

It's the best I can do.