A/N: Hello good people of the internet! Welcome to my first attempt at a Daphne x Velma fanfic. I absolutely love this pairing so I decided to write for them. Hope you enjoy ~

Chapter 1

Daphne's Concern

It was a Tuesday afternoon when Mystery Inc. received notice of a new mystery needing to be solved. It had been awhile since their services had been needed and the gang was happy to get back out there and solve a mystery...well, everyone but Shaggy and Scooby.

"No way man! The guy said ghost, and ghosts mean creepy castles with paintings that look at you and armored guys that follow you. No way," Shaggy explained as he reached for a sandwich out of the refrigerator.

"Shaggy, how many times do I have to tell you? There are no such things as ghosts. How many times have we been told that there is a ghost and it's just some guy in a suit or a projection? Every time Shag, every time," Fred said.

Fred was in the kitchen with Shaggy and Scooby, trying to hurry them up so they could leave. It would take them at least 10 hours to drive there and he had promised the man he had spoken to over the phone that they would be there by noon tomorrow.

They kept arguing and eventually Daphne stomped into the kitchen, a bag by her side, and a dangerous look rested upon her face.

"We go through this every time guys. Get in the van and you guys get two scooby snacks each. Got it?" she asked rhetorically. She knew they would get in the van and then they could finally leave.

Shaggy and Scooby turned to look at each other then raced to the van.

"Fred, would you take my bag out to the van? I'm just going to grab Velma and then we can head out," she told him. He nodded and proceeded to pick up the bag and then unceremoniously dropped it.

"Damn Daph, what are you bringing? Bricks?" he asked sarcastically.

She didn't answer and instead left the kitchen to search for her book loving friend.

"Velma?" she called out softly. Daphne knocked on the doors and then opened them when she didn't get a response. Finally she reached Velma's room but she wasn't there either. This left Daphne looking confused and a tad concerned. Where could she be?

A thought entered Daphne's mind and she headed out into the backyard. There she found Velma, sitting underneath a large tree, book in hand, and glasses placed firmly on her face. Daphne had to smile a little when she saw this. It was so typical of Velma that it made Daphne feel calm and relaxed. She slowly walked over to Velma until she stood right in front of her.

Velma didn't look up, in fact it was as if she had no idea Daphne was standing in front of her.

Daphne bent down and picked the book out of her friend's hands.

"Time to go Velms," Daphne said, still smiling.

They arrived in Trall Town around 9 am Wednesday morning. After driving for eight hours the previous day, Fred decided that they would stay at a motel and leave in the morning for the 2 remaining hours.

"Like, what are we gonna do? We've got three hours to spare man," Shaggy asked from the back seat.

"Rood!" Scooby said excitingly, wagging his tail very fast.

Fred nodded his head.

"Sure, I could go for a bite to eat," he agreed.

"Oh, and some shopping!" Daphne said, looking at Fred expectantly. He nodded his head again, which made Daphne squeal a little.

Usually at this point Velma would try to say that they should stop in at the local book store, but she stayed silent as she looked out the window. Velma hadn't spoken much at all actually. Yesterday she had only spoken when there was a direct question, and even then she gave short answers. The only one in the gang who seemed to have noticed was Daphne. She didn't want to ask Velma what was up because she knew that Velma was a carefully guarded person and may completely retreat in her head, but was still getting worried.

Fred put his right arm around Daphne and he began searching for a place to eat.

Daphne flinched a little when Fred had put his arm around her. They had kissed a couple of times but she didn't really feel a connection with him. But now was certainly not the time to tell him, so she just let his arm rest there until the car stopped in front of Zachary's Diner.

Shaggy and Scooby raced out of the car and into the diner, leaving Fred, Daphne, and Velma in the van. Fred just laughed and opened his door. Daphne was going to go out of Velma's door but Velma hadn't moved.

"Hey Velms, are you planning on leaving the car?" Daphne asked jokingly. Velma's head snapped to attention and she quickly scanned her surroundings. The look of realization finally kicked in and she got out of the car, shutting it after Daphne had exited.

Daphne smiled at her and linked their arms together, hoping to make Velma more comfortable. Velma looked at their arms then back up at Daphne, giving her the slightest smile before her feet began to move towards the door.

Once Shaggy and Scooby had eaten all the food that the diner had, the gang paid their share and left for the castle.

"It's not fair. We don't get to do any shopping because the pigs back there had to eat everything," Daphne pouted.

"Once we solve the mystery we can go shopping okay? I promise you we will," Fred said. He hoped that would suffice for now and it did. Daphne didn't say another word but gave Shaggy and Scooby one last glare.

By now even Fred had noticed that Velma seemed out of it and he decided to confront her about it.

"What's up Velms? You don't seem to be here. So where are you?" Fred asked. Daphne's eyes widened and elbowed him in the ribs which caused him to lose control of the van for a moment. Before he was about to ask what the hell that was for he saw the look on Daphne's face that said to shut up.

Velma looked over at the exchange between Daphne and Fred and shrugged.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm here. Actually we all are, look," she said as she pointed to the castle. The castle was beautiful, made out of stone and looked as if it had been there for hundreds of years.

Fred, Shaggy, and Scooby all looked at the castle with interest while Daphne was looking at Velma. She looked so tired. 'How did I not notice the bags under her eyes before? How long has she not been getting enough sleep for?' Daphne thought to herself. Daphne placed her right hand on Velma's knee and gave her a warm smile.

Velma blushed a little and bit her bottom lip. She knew she had to look at Daphne but didn't trust her hot cheeks. Luckily for her, a man was running towards the van so Fred had to slam on the breaks, making everyone jerk forward and then back. There were various ow's, but everyone was okay.

Fred got out of the van and then the others followed suit.

"Hello Mystery Inc.! Sorry if I scared you, I tend to do that a lot these days...Anyways I'm glad you're here. My name is Mr. Trall, yes yes just like the name of the town. My family founded this town you know, very touching story. It was 1857..." Mr. Trall began but Fred cut him off.

"So what's been happening here?" Mr. Trall blinked at him a few times before speaking again.

"Ah yes yes! We have a ghost and other things that are haunting my family's castle. The castle is also a hotel and because of all the paranormal stuff that's been happening people haven't been coming," he stated.

"Like, what kinds of other things man?" Shaggy asked.

During this conversation Velma hadn't looked up once, and Daphne had had enough of trying to be patient with finding out what was wrong, even though it had barely been a full day. So she took Velma by the hand and led her behind the van.

"Okay so do you want to tell me what's going on or do I have to guess?" Daphne asked.

Velma leaned onto the van and looked down at her red shoes.

"Daph, I don't really want to talk about it," she whispered.

"How about if I tell you something about me? Like a secret for a secret. How does that sound?" Daphne offered. Velma looked up and saw genuine concern in her friend's eyes, so she nodded.

Daphne thought for a moment of what she could tell Velma. They had been together so long that she wondered if Velma didn't already know everything about her. Then she thought of something.

"So you know how Fred and I've kissed and how he really likes me and stuff?" Velma nodded. "Well, I don't think I like him. I mean I like him, just not that way. You know?" Velma's eyes widened in surprise.

"Have you told him?" Velma asked.

Daphne shook her head.

"Not yet. I haven't found the right moment to do it. Now you. Tell me something that's bugging you."

Velma contemplated on what she was going to say but again she was lucky and they were interrupted by Fred.

"Come on girls, we're heading to the castle. Mr. Trall said we have to leave the van here, so we'll have to walk. Don't worry Daphne, I'll carry your bag for you," Fred said and gave her a wide smile. She just nodded and turned back to Velma once he left.

"We are not done talking okay? I'm really worried about you and you need to talk to someone about whatever it is that's going on. Oh and next time, I'll make sure no one can interrupt us like that," Daphne promised. Again, she hooked her arm with Velma's and guided Velma towards the castle.

'This feels nice. Being with Velma. And I think with a little prodding that she'll open up to me.' Daphne thought to herself as she watched Scooby and Shaggy walk in front of them. Fred had tried to take Daphne away from Velma so that they could walk together but Daphne held onto Velma. Refusing to leave her side. Fred had a hurt look on his face but Daphne didn't care. All that mattered to her right now was Velma, and she wasn't going to let Fred get in the way.

A/N: There you go, first chapter :) Until next time and remember, reviews are my scooby snacks ~