Velma wept in the mystery machine , 'why do I always go unnoticed ?' she thought to herself which only encouraged the tears fall even more. The only thing she could think of was Daphne and the hundreds of men who held on to her every movement. Velma knew she wasnt as pretty but knew that she was smarter...that had to count for something right ? As the tears began to stop she began to hear the distant sound of laughter and joy.

Shaggy sat down on the sand with his pal scooby doo. In their hands they held 4 plates of grilled food. " Shag" yelled someone from behind him.
Shaggy turned around to see Fred dancing wildly with Daphne. Shaggy raised his hand and waved , he'd always knew Fred and Daphne belonged together ever since the gang formed. Although Shaggy himself hadn't always been lucky in love. The one that made his heart hurt for a while was Crystal. He had fallen for her at first sight only to find out that she was an alien and that they're relationship would never work. Shaggy sighed and stared at the sea. The moon was hanging just above the sea level and he stared up at the glistening dots that scattered the sky.
" Maybe Crystal and Amber are out there somewhere ol' pal" he sighed. He didnt turn to face his bestfriend but he could sense that Scooby was full of sadness. Shaggy had finally managed to get over crystal but for Scooby getting over Amber had been much harder. However the stars also reminded him of Velma. She had always been the youngest of the group and had always been the smartest and she had a passion for stars. Her and Shaggy had grew close over the years as Daphne and Fred spent most of their time together, leaving her , Scooby and shaggy to bond more. He knew Velma inside out from her flaws to her good points , and she did his. He suddenly wondered where she had gotten too , the last time he had seen her she was sitting on a log near the camp fire trying to stay out of the way of the many drunken fools who danced around her. Shaggy laughed , She hadn't always been the most confident , but Shaggy had never understood why . She was an amazing person who you could hold an interesting converstation with. Guess not every one saw that . ' Where'd she get to?' he thought to himself. He got up and looked down at his dog " Stay here Scoob', i'll be back now" he said. The Great Dane looked at him and shrugged " Rine , rore rood ror re" he exclaimed and grabbed Shaggy's plate and laughed , this is why he loved scooby , he and Shaggy shared the same love for food. He started to walk towards the bonfire leaving the sound of scooby muching foood behind.

He scanned the many unfamilier faces dancing with eachother hoping to find that girl in the orange turtle neck jumper. For as long as Shaggy had known Velma she had always wore a turtle neck. Shaggy could see why she wore it mainly because she was insecure. He passed Freddie and Daphne as the danced.
" Hey guys , like you haven't happened to see where Velms went have you?"
The two highschool sweethearts looked at eachother and shrugged " Dunno sorry Shag' " said Fred .
" Oh i know , i think she went back to the Mystery Machine" said Daphne and she turned around and continued to dance. Shaggy turned too and walked towards their van.

Velma who was still sobbing , took her thick black frames off and threw the across the floor. She had always hated her glasses. She had even once got rejected by the boy that she longed for because of them, which made her hate for them grow even stronger. 'Daphne doesnt wear glasses 'she thought,her face screwing up with anger. However much she loved Daphne , she had always been jelous of her good looks. Daphne had the things that Velma lacked , such as tallness and great hair and a pretty face , Velma was the opposite, short and stumpy with short brown hair which was always in a bob. She grabbed her hair and tugged at it , 'Why Velma , why?" she sobbed loudly.

As Shaggy approached the mystery machine, he could hear the sobs. His curiousity took over him and without thinking he flung the doors of the van open. The sight he saw wasn't one he wished to have seen. Hunched over in the corner of the van sat Velma framless and crying feriously. Her head shot up " who's there?" she remarked.
" Like , it's just me Velma" Shaggy said . He clambered in to the van and shut the doors tightly. They sat there for a moment or two in silence , as he watched his friend try and hide the droplets of pain that seeped from her big brown eyes.

" Are you ok like?" Shaggy asked , obviously realising she wasn't.
Velma didn't answer for what seemed like an eternity to Shaggy , until suddenly she shook her head and broke down into tears again. Shaggy , who couldn't stand seeing her like this , instinctivly moved over to her and threw his long arms around her. He held her head to his chest and he felt her tears soak his green oversized shirt. " It's ok , it's ok " he said trying to comfort her . He hadn't always been the best person to express his feelings and show compassion towards someone , but he knew he had to try for once in his life.
" So are you going to tell me whats causing you to ruin my favourite t-shirt" he joked.
She didnt answer , but he could feel her body shaking as she laughed against his body. Shaggy smiled , thats what he did best , make people laugh. She picked her head up and stared blankley at floor and her smile vanished.
" Could you find my glasses for me please?" she asked him wusing her orange sweater to wipe away her tears. Shaggy scanned the space in which they were in until he saw her glasses, he picked them up and saw that the frames were smashed.
" Woah like what happened to your glasses ? " he said with shock.
" I got mad and threw them " she said ashamed of herself.
They now sat oppsite eachother, Velma stared blankly at floor , but she could feel Shaggys eyes on her , but she couldnt bear to look him in the face. 'How stupid was she ? if she told shaggy why she was crying , he would probably think she was an attention seeking little girl who needed to grow up for her own good.' she thought . She felt his arms bring her in for another hug , this time it was stronger. " So you going to tell me ?" he whispered as he rocked her .
" Ok." She sighed, " Just promise you won't think i'm stupid ok ?"
" i would never Velm'"
" Well for years now , i've watched Daphne be the pretty one , the one who has all the men swooning over her , the one who gets the most attention. But me ? I'm the one who doesn't get attention , the one who isn't pretty or tall or whatever." Her voice cracked .
Shaggy sat there befounded , what was this girl talking about ?
" Listen Velm , I do think your stupid if you think that ." He said almost angrily.
" wha-what ?" she exclamied. Shaggy looked down at the girl who lay against him and he could tell that she was broken , he longed to put those pieces back again. He looked away and saw the spare pair of glasses poking out of his kit bag. He reached over with his long arms and moved her so he could kneel in front of her. Her head was down , and he put his hand under her chin pushing it up and placed the thick black glasses on her face.
As everthing came into focus again , only one thing caught her eye, Shaggy's head was dropped inches away from her face. His hair brushed her face , as she looked at it she could see that his hair was un-neat , just the way she liked it . His fringe lightly fell against his smooth skin.
" I never knew you felt like that Velms , your umm ...beautiful." He said , not realising that the tone he had used made it sound as if he was desperate for something . He stopped breathing and looked up sharply to see her reacton. To his relief her eyes went down and her face turned cherry red.
" It's okay Shag , you dont have to lie to me , i can take the truth, im not Daphne ,i know." she sighed.
" No , your right , your not Daphne , your Velma and i'd take you anyday" he said. He smiled , sending shivers through Velma. His perfect white teeth were glowing .
" Shaggy..."
"Shh" he whispered, placing a finger over her lips.
Before she could reply to him , he removed his finger and put his hands on the side of her face . Shaggy had filled the gap between them and encased her mouth with his. He pulled back , and observed her , her eyes were shut and she touched her lips in disbelief . What just happened ? she thought to herself . Suddenly she felt his lips again , but this time they were stronger and as he pushed his body into hers they went tumbling on to the floor. Shaggy lay over Velma holding her in his arms. ' Stop shaggy, STOP' Shaggy commanded himself sternly. He knew what he was doing could come across in two ways, one that he was taking advantage of her or he was just using her as a way of getting something he longed for . But the real reason was that , tonight she had made him realise that it was Velma that had always been there for him , she was the one he ...liked. She pushed back at him and they rolled over , now she was ontop . He continued to kiss her , until he finally pushed her off .
" I'm so sorry Velms'" he crawled away from her and collapsed againt the side of the machine.
' Oh no ,' velma thought , ' He's regretting this .' She got to her feet and stormed towards the door , Shaggy who held his head in his hands didnt noticed her approaching the doors until he heard " How could i have been so STUPID?" and with that she flung the doors open and disappeard.
She stormed past the many people who were still dancing .

" Hey velms'" said Daphne . Velma ignored her and burst into tears . Daphne was about to go after her friend but Fred restrained her .
" Freddie let go !" she shouted. Fred pointed behind her , she turned around to see Shaggy frantically running after Velma.
" Oh" said Daphne.

Shaggy couldn't see Velma but he could hear the sound of her distant cries. He had to find her and fast to expain to her what he actually ment. He scanned the beach from left to right , until he saw he saw a black figure collapsed face down in the sand. Shaggy sprinted towards it , the black figure getting larger each time . Velma heard someone approach her who was short of breath. 'Great" she whipsered . " Daphne listen , i'm ok , you can go back to what ever you were doing , dont worry about me " she said , holding back the tears. But to her suprise , the voice that replied wasn't Daphne's , it was Shaggy's . She jumped and kept her head buried in the sand . Shaggy sat down next to her and stared straight infront of him out into the sea. " Listen , like when i said i'm sorry , i didn't mean it as if i regretted kissing you because i didn't ..it was somewhat ...groovy. I said it because I didn't want you to think i was , you know , taking advantage of you. I did it because i wanted to Velma , i have for like a long long time." She lifted her head slightly and looked through the corner of her eye , Shaggy was staring blankly at the sea , the salty sea air blowing his messy hair. 'How is he so irrisistable' she thought ?
" I'd never think that Shag' , your too nice of a person to do that " she said .
Shaggy raised one corner of his mouth up into a smile " Thanks Velm'. he replied. She sat up and stared in the same direction as Shaggy. Shaggy moved his hand over hers and intertwinded his fingers with hers . They sat silently for a while , until Shaggy broke the silence .
" You know , i ment what i said."
" What do you mean"
" You are truly breathtaking " he turned to look at her , but was pushed back into the sand by Velma, who began to kiss him passionatly as they lay there With the sounds of the waves rolling against the sandy beach.