This is my first Scooby-Doo story. I just recently found my love for the couple Shaggy & Daphne. Who knew they had so much chemistry? I wanted to explore that further. This came to mind and wouldn't leave me alone until I got it out of my system. In my opinion, it isn't my best idea dealing with them, but I wanted to try this one first. Just a note: in this story, I have them in their first year of high school.

Judge me on my writing, my character descriptions, my plot development, my spelling even. I hope to be a better writer someday. I'll need all the help I can get. Criticism and praise are both welcome.

Disclaimer: I do not own Scooby-Doo. At all.

~Debutante Dramatics~

Chapter 1

There is a sharp contrast that hurts the eyes after stepping out of a dark theater into the bright light of the afternoon sun. Shaggy blinks several times in order to adjust to the harsh change.

"I thought it was a great movie," Fred says. "What do you think, Velma?"

Velma adjusts her glasses. "Although it was littered with historical inaccuracies, I believed it to be well done. The plot was intriguing, the effects were believable, and the ending, admittedly, had me at the edge of my seat."

"How about you, Shag?" Fred asks his second movie buddy.

"It was pretty good," Shaggy agrees before turning his attention back to his half-finished bag of popcorn. He reaches into the container of buttery, salty goodness when someone taps him on the shoulder. Glancing back, he sees no one there. Oh well. Shaggy gives his attention back to his snack only to find it gone. A snigger of laughter quickly solves the mystery. The bag is currently covering the snout of Shaggy's closest companion, the Great Dane himself, Scooby-Doo.

Shaggy snatches the bag back, but much to his dismay, it's too late. The bag is empty. Not even the old maids are left."

"Scoob! Like, I was going to finish that."

"Rorry, Raggy." By the dog's satisfied look it is clear he is anything but.

The teen sighs at the bottom of the bag. Even though it was his fourth bag of popcorn, added to his two drinks and three different kinds of candy, he was still hungry.

"It's too bad Daphne had to miss it," Velma comments. There is a moment of silence before Velma changes the subject, and she and Fred follow a different conversation. Shaggy only half listens to their chatter. His mind returns to the aforementioned friend.

The fifth member of the group, Daphne Blake, who usually joins them, was currently busy with "family matters" as she put it. It was the only thing she would say when questioned about her extremely busy schedule as of late. Usually, she is as inseparable to the gang as Scooby is to Shaggy.

Daphne has helped solve what mysteries come their way. The jobs are small, and they come infrequently, but it is fun when they happen. Many fond memories are associated with Fred Jones, Velma Dinkley, Daphne Blake, Norville (Shaggy) Rogers, and Scooby-Doo running from a ghoul, ghost, or monster. Shaggy's personal favorite was the time they saved the local ice cream shop from the Frightening Freezer. The owner was so happy he gave the kids free ice cream every day for a week.

When they were kids, they encountered a frequent number of mysteries, but upon entering their first year in high school, they have hit a lull (though Shaggy has the sinking feeling it's just a phase and more are to come). Less mysteries have come their way. They don't exactly go out looking for them, much to Shaggy's relief, but the lack of mysteries has not hindered the group's closeness. They remain tight by doing activities like the ones today.

And yet, Daphne isn't with them.

She has not suddenly taken to other people, leaving her childhood friends in the dust. Everyone who knows Daphne knows she would never do such a thing. Although Miss Blake can be danger-prone and a little airheaded occasionally, she is also strong-willed, talented, and very caring, especially when it comes to her companions.

The absence of her has left Shaggy slightly downtrodden. When they go to movies together, Daphne always orders a medium bag of popcorn with a box of gumdrops. She finishes the gumdrops but only half of her popcorn. That half a bag usually ends up in the hands of Shaggy. Not only that, but she is a quiet movie watcher. The only noise she ever makes is a gasp if frightened or if a plot twist occurs. And she never pays any mind to Shaggy and Scooby's chomping and slurping. That's Freddy's area of annoyance. He is the one to comment on their loud eating habits during the movie to which Daphne quiets him with a sharp "Shush!"

"Jinkies!" Velma's exclamation brings the young beatnik out of his thoughts. She points to something across the street. There in front of Harry's Dirt-be-Gone Dry-cleaning is Daphne. She has her cell phone glued to her ear and her foot taps impatiently. Since she is facing the dry-cleaners, she does not see them.

Shaggy can feel his mood lifting. He cups his mouth with his hands and prepares to shout to her, but someone else beats him to the punch.

"Hey, Daph!" Freddy shouts.

Daphne turns. When she finds the source of the noise her eyes grow wide. She snaps her phone shut and rushes to cross the street. She doesn't even look at the boys, attention solely on sweater-clad Velma.

"Where have you been?" Daphne asks. By her worried tone Shaggy begins to think something terrible has happened. "I have been trying to reach you for the last half an hour. I phoned Freddy and Shaggy and even your parents. I would have phoned Scooby-Doo if he had a cell phone."

Everyone is taken aback by Daphne's unexpected mood. The redhead is generally even tempered and cheerful. Anxiety seems to have taken their place. Because this is such a rare occurrence, Shaggy's previous fear grows stronger.

Velma shrinks away from her friend's harsh tone. "I was at the movies with Freddy, Shaggy and Scooby. We turned off our cell-phones so the movie wouldn't be interrupted."

As Velma explains, Daphne's panicked expression relaxes. "Oh. I see…Jeepers, I'm sorry, Velma. I didn't mean to snap at you." She puts a hand to her forehead in a dramatic gesture. "It's the stress. I'm going to get a zit, I know it. I really need to schedule a yoga session."

Scooby-Doo gently nudges her hand. "Rou Rokay, Raphne?"

Daphne smiles. And with that smile the old Daphne has returned, cheerful as ever. She bends down and scratches Scooby behind the ears. "Yes, I'm alright, Scooby-Doo. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you."

"What's got you stressed, Daphne?" Fred asks.

Daphne gives an exasperated sigh. "I'm in a hurry." She turns to Velma. "Can you come back to my place? I would really like your opinion on something."

"On what particularly?" Velma asks. A small bubble of prideful joy begins to form in the girl. Being particularly smart, Velma has taken the title as the "Brains" of the group. Whenever she is called upon for her expert opinion, she can't help but enjoy the feeling being useful gives her.

"What dress I should wear for—" Daphne stops. She fixes her hair in an attempt to hide her slip-up. "What dress looks best on me."

Velma's bubble pops. "But, Daphne, clothes are your area of expertise."

"Yeah, Daph," Shaggy intervenes. "What's so important that you gotta get a second opinion on an outfit?" Daphne has always been the one ahead of the curve for everything fashionable. Although she does not press her friends to change their looks, she usually keeps her style up-to-date, but still sticking to her signature colors of purple and green with the occasional pink thrown in. This is why Shaggy is surprised Daphne feels insecure enough to seek a second opinion on clothing.

"It's nothing. Just a family thing," Daphne says. She waves her hand, hoping to brush away the conversation. She takes Velma's hand. "So can you come?"

"Well, I—"

"Hold on a minute." Fred steps between the two girls, breaking their hand contact. Being a natural leader and taking on that role among the group, Freddy likes to be informed about the goings on in his friends' lives. Using his authority voice he says, "For the past month you have been ignoring, avoiding, and all around excluding yourself from us. We are your friends, and being your friends, we have a right to know what's taking you away from us."

Although Daphne follows Fred as loyally as the others, she is not pleased at the use of his "authority voice" on her. She crosses her arms and glares. "My business is my business, Freddy. I can keep it from you if I want to."

Freddy isn't backing down, though. "Since when does that matter? We have shared everything with each other before we could crawl. This is no different."

There are daggers in Daphne's eyes. Shaggy does not want a fight to break out between his friends. Staying true to the era his look is modeled after, he tries to make peace.

Shaggy puts a hand on Daphne's shoulder. She turns her anger in his direction, but once she sees who it is touching her, she calms down. Slightly. Shaggy takes this as a good sign and tries to calm her further. "We don't mean any harm, Daph. We're just worried. We haven't seen you in, like, forever, and we miss you."

It works. Daphne's shoulders droop. She shuffles her feet then immediately stops, not wanting to scuff her favorite pair of purple flats. The young teen scrunches her nose which tells Shaggy she is thinking very hard about something. Her nose always wrinkles when she concentrates. He picked up on that detail among many others over the years.

From thoughtfulness, to concern, to uncertainty, to determination, Daphne's latest emotion baffles them all. Her face brightens significantly. She grabs Shaggy's hand, surprising the poor boy, and begins dragging him down the street. "You all want to know what's been going on? I'll show you. Come with me." Daphne continues dragging Shaggy. Although his legs are rather long, adding to his lanky form, he has to rush to keep up with Daphne's quick pace. Freddy, Velma, and Scooby-Doo quickly catch up and follow Daphne as she leads them to her home.

At first glance, the Blake Mansion is rather intimidating. Although Shaggy has been a guest at Daphne's house countless times he never fails to feel somewhat daunted.

The doormen open the giant doors when Miss Blake comes forward. Inside the house is possibly bigger than the outside makes it to be. The marble pillars, the vast ceiling, the numerous stairs. Daphne doesn't blink an eye when the maids and butlers she passes by give her a small bow. Shaggy had once asked her if it ever stopped being cool. Daphne laughed and told him she got sick of it after her "princess phase" back when she was six. Now it has become so a part of her life she doesn't give it a thought anymore.

"Miss Blake," one of the butlers says, "your mother wishes to know if you have made a decision on—"

"Yes, I know," Daphne interrupts. "Thank you. That will be all, Jenkins."

"Yes, Miss Blake." Jenkins bows then walks away with his hands behind his back and his shoulders squared like every other butler here.

Daphne stops in front of two hand-carved, wooden doors. She gives her friends a nervous smile before opening them wide.

What's inside is not what anyone would have expected the girl to fret over. Papers strewn over several tabletops, paint color samples, doilies, and multiple types of flowers to name a few of the random items.

Party supplies.

"This is it," Daphne says, spreading her arm wide to gesture to the entire room.

"This?" Fred asks. He laughs as he picks up a doily. "You've been blowing us off for this?"

"Not just the doilies," Daphne says. "Everything that's in this room and then some. I've been planning a party."

"A party?" Shaggy asks, picking up a picture of an elaborately decorated white cake. Whatever party it is he wants to go just for a sample of this cake.

"What kind of party?" Velma asks.

Daphne heads over to an end table and opens the top drawer. She takes out several picture frames and sets them out. Each showcases one of Daphne's older sisters wearing a white dress, standing at the top of their grand staircase, smiling that winning Blake smile.

"My debutante ball!" Daphne exclaims excitedly.

"Ah, yes," Velma says. The confused look on the boys' faces makes Velma explain further. "Debutante is French for 'female beginner'. A debutante ball occurs when a young lady from an aristocratic or upper-class family reaches what is considered an adult age. The ball is to formally introduce them into society, allowing the girls to take the title of 'woman' and finally become eligible to marry."

"Rarry?" Scooby's ears perk up.

"Zoinks!" Shaggy exclaims.

"Relax, guys," Daphne laughs. "I'm not getting married. That's only a small part of it. It's more about my acceptance into adulthood than finding a husband."

Shaggy clutches his heart and breathes deeply. Marriage. They were barely fifteen. Marriage was not a top priority in Shaggy's mind. It wasn't even in the top ten. Dating on the other hand…

"Why didn't you want us finding out about this?" Fred asks. "It's not so bad. Definitely not worth ignoring us."

Daphne blows her bangs out of her face and gives a breathy laugh. "I'm sorry, you guys. I really am. I just…I was embarrassed."

"Embarrassed? Why would you be embarrassed? This is wonderful," Velma says. She places a friendly hand on Daphne's arm. Daphne gives her a weak smile.

"It's a huge deal in our family. I know none of you have ever really been to one or dealt with them, and I thought you would think it silly, especially the amount of time it takes up to plan. But I should have known better. You guys are my friends. You don't judge me. Or my family, thank goodness. Which makes it all the worse that I ignored you."

"It's no sweat, Daph," Fred says cheerily. He wraps an arm around her shoulder and squeezes her in a half-hug.

Daphne smiles at his reassurance. "It turns out it needed more attention than I thought. At first it was only little things keeping me away. But then it grew into who was I inviting, what type of cake did I want, and now what dress am I going to wear. It doesn't help that the four other girls who are doing this with me can't agree on their lipstick color, let alone anything to do with our party. They infuriate me, but I won't let those china dolls get in my way. This is the most important decision of my teenage life." Daphne grabs Velma's shoulders. "That's why I need your opinion, Velma. I'm stuck between three dresses, and it's killing me!"

Velma smiles. "I'd be happy to help you, Daphne. Eep!" The girl's oxygen supply is promptly cut off when her friend's arms wrap around her in a tight embrace.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!"

"Like, easy, Daph. You don't want to strangle her, do you?" Shaggy laughs.

Daphne pulls away. "Sorry, Velma. I don't want to crush you, especially before I get your input."

"Jinkies." Velma coughs lightly, restoring her full lung capacity.

The next instant, Daphne is dragging Velma away, much like she did with Shaggy earlier. She stopped at the door and turned around. Smiling, she says, "Of course, you are all invited. It's a formal event. Suit and ties. Including you, Scooby-Doo."

"Re? I ran rome?" Scooby's tail wagged excitedly.

"Yes, you can come. But you must be on your best behavior. That means leaving some food for the other guests. You too, Shaggy."

Shaggy ducked his head sheepishly. "Will do, Daphne."

Daphne smiled. "You guys are the best, you know that? You're formal invitations should be in the mail any day now. As soon as I convince Mother my choice of lace is better suited."

After Daphne exits the room with Velma in tow, Fred slaps Shaggy on the back. "Whelp, might as well head home. Knowing Daphne, she will have Velma going at this for hours."

"Yeah, no kidding. C'mon Scoob." Shaggy takes his dog's collar and pulls him away from the picture of cake he has been drooling over.

So...Chapter 1. Tell me what you think! Authors love feedback.

Thanks for reading!

-Adair