"One is the loneliest numbeeeeeer…"

As the last note was held, it was accompanied by a clattering chorus from a can as it tumbled across the pavement. The rest of the lines had been forgotten, so the note was just delayed. Another light kick sent the can rolling yet again, metal clanging against the cement. Wisps of air became visible as it was exhaled; showing sign that winter was on its way. Blowing on his hands for warmth, Shaggy wandered here and there, with no definite place to go.

Scooby had been off visiting relatives, Daphne kidnapped Fred and the Van for a shopping run for before holiday sales. And Velma seemed to have vanished, being the smart one and avoiding being dragged along as well for fittings and such that she found… Not the kind of way she wanted to be spending her evening. So this left the beatnik lots of free time and not an idea in the world what to do with it.

So, he went for a walk.

The air was cool; not to cold, but not to hot. Though most people would find him crazy; as his solution to combat against the chill was an added scarf to his normal apparel of pants and a loose t-shirt.

It was kind of funny though, on days like this there was a clear difference between kids to adult ratio in the park. Because on days like these, the kids were more optimistic about the end result of the cold that was on its way, hoping for the first signs on snow.

"Come on you loser..."

Came the sound of a voice from off to Shaggy's right. Cautiously, he slid behind a thick tree to gain some cover to watch what was going on.

"You going to cry? Aww… The poor baby is going to go crying for his momma."

Sneered another boy, it seems that two kids had come across a gang of young teens who had nothing better to do but to pick on the younger kids.

Three against two, now that isn't fair odds. Though Shaggy as he watched. Though it seemed like there was nothing but badgering going on… Until one of the bullies moved to go after something that the littlest kid seemed to be holding on to. In an act of protection, the older looking kid being bullied moved to get in the way, only to me pushed down.

"Stay down or I'll…"
"…Or you'll do what?"

As the older boy tried to threaten the young kids, Shaggy had seen enough to make him move into action. Now Shaggy wasn't exactly the meanest, imposing, or scariest looking guy, but he had one thing in his favor… Height.

Standing over a foot or two over the Bullies, he took long steps to reach them quickly. He tried his best not to slouch, seeming even taller compared to when he was relaxed and not worrying about posture. The surprise of what seemed to be an adult made the three boys move more together. But once they took in his apparel and over all none aggressive look they seemed to gain more confidence.

"What's it to you old man?" The leader sneered. Making hand gestures as if it would make him seem more impressive, waving his hands around in jerky motions. It seemed the teen had watched to many gangster or rap video's and thought it was the thing to do to seem all impressive my waving his arms in front of himself. Shaggy fought hard to not laugh, since he had seen documentaries on the ways that some animals intimidated others. Like a kitten puffing up to seem bigger. Also the fact that he was being called old man was hard not to chuckle at. Though then it would ruin his imposing figure.

"I think it's to me, for you to like' leave these kids alone."

Shaggy said plainly, not being fooled but the leader just puffing smoke. Had it been him in the younger kid's shoes, he would be shaking. But even if it's three teens against him, it can't compare to being run down by ghosts, goblins and the occasional saber-toothed Jaguaro. Monsters were his job, kids he can handle.

"And what if we don't want too?" One of the lackeys moved forward a bit to jeer at Shaggy. Gaining confidence at the fact Shaggy had not moved to do anything else, besides stand there.

"Yeah! What you going to do?" Added the last bully; having to get something in or look scared compared to the other two. "There is three of us, and only one of you."

"Oh, there is only one of me? I didn't know that." Shaggy said, with his voice not wavering in his confidence. Not that he was overly stressing it, but he wasn't squeaking like on a mystery. This though, threw off the bullies. Though he thought to add to it, not letting them comment.

"Well then shall I introduce you to my dog?" Shaggy continued to talk confidently, not batting an eyelash at his little white lie. He had a dog, though Scooby wasn't with him. He is used to dressing up like everything under the sun to confuse monsters chasing him, fibbing to a bunch of kids was, well… a walk in the park.

"Dog? What dog?" The leader growled, trying to not sound as scared at the idea as he was. A lot of dogs around town seemed to be more big then small, so it was a good change, if he actually had a dog; it wasn't going to be small. But the bully had to try to save face if the guy was lying. "I don't see no dog."

GRRRR… BARK!

Growls and a dog bark came, from what seemed to be where Shaggy himself had appeared from. The tree growled some more, and Shaggy just seemed to be grinning. With their confidence broken, the three bullies broke rank to trip over each other running away. Though, the dog bark also scared the two younger boys into a huddled mass.

"Don't hurt us mister doggy." The littler kid whined, clinging to the seemingly older boy. He in turn covered the younger boy as much as he could to protect him in the huddle. Shaggy felt bad and came over to them.

"Like' it's ok little guys. There is no dog."

The two boys looked up, confused. Since they had heard the sound of the dog barking and growling with their own ears. Shaggy crouched down to not seem so tall, and covered his mouth. They looked at him, wondering what this adult was doing. Taking his hands away to put them at the side of his mouth, Shaggy let out a small bark, moving his mouth to show them it was him. One boy opened his mouth to say something, when Shaggy used that opportunity to throw his voice at him so it sounded like the older boy had meowed. Hand clapped over the boy's mouth as his eyes grew wide, a finger pointing accusingly at Shaggy. The younger boy seemed brighten up, like seeing a magician do a trick. The younger boy got up, and ran to the bush, item still clutched in his hand.

"No doggie! No doggie!" He chanted happily. The older one went over and corralled the younger kid back to where Shaggy was still sitting crouched on the ground. He gave Shaggy a look, trying to figure him out. The younger kid went over and gave Shaggy a hug, almost knocking him over. The older kid moved to pull the younger kid off of Shaggy, who had fallen backward to land butt first on the ground. Thankfully he was already crouching so it was not far to fall.

"I… I'm sorry for my brother. He's just happy you scared away the mean bullies." The older boy apologized for the two of them. "Thank you. My name is Thomas and this is my brother Daniel."

"Your really brave mister!" Daniel chirped at Shaggy. Shaggy bowed his head a bit and rubbed under his nose with a finger, slightly embarrassed. It's not often Shaggy was called brave.

"Well, some people might argue against that." Shaggy tried to argue, giving the back of his scruffy head a scratch.

"But you stood up to those three bullies. They were more then you." Thomas agreed with his brother. It seemed impressive to him. And Shaggy had even tricked the older kids to run away. It was amazing to him.

"There is a difference…Sometimes." Shaggy wasn't exactly sure where to begin. He was not used to people calling him brave.

"But your so courageous! You had no fear and scared away the bullies!" Daniel pouted. Not understanding why Shaggy wasn't agreeing with him. Shaggy smiled and patted him on the head.

"There is more to fear then one might think. I have to admit I am scared a lot. Enough that I am often and I will admit being a scaredy cat." He paused to silence the kids before they argued. "But in my experience, it is what you do with your fear is the important part. Most brave people are more foolish. While the fearful are more cautious and tend to make less mistakes. But when it comes to protecting something important to you, then even fear won't stop you from doing something right. Things will always work out."

While Daniel looked in awe at Shaggy, Thomas seemed to turn away, and find more interest in the ground then looking back at Shaggy. Daniel didn't stay enamored for long, as he looked to his brother being all silent nearby.

"What's wrong big brother?" He tugged on a sleeve to get his attention.

"I… I was scared. I didn't want to get you hurt." Thomas bit his lip as he didn't look at his brother and admitted what he thought as failure.

"But you protected me." Daniel whined a bit at his other brother, tugging more at the sleeve he was attached to.

"I didn't. We got saved by this… Well what is you name?" Thomas turned to Shaggy, forgetting his argument for a second to ask his name.

"Norville Rogers, but you guys can call me Shaggy. And your brother is right. You did protect him. I was watching when the bullies try to get something from you brother, you moved in the way. Also, when you though the dog was going to attack, you moved instinctually to protect your brother by shielding him. I say that is pretty brave." Shaggy admitted, the grin never left his face. Daniel shared a similar one, since the nice old man had the same opinion he did of his brother.

As the boy blushed, Shaggy noticed that the time was getting late. Standing up, he pats Daniel on the head and shot a thumb up at Thomas.

"It's getting late, and your mom must be getting worried."

"Yeah," Agreed Thomas, hugging his brother affectionately close. "We better go. Thank you Shaggy."

"Don't mention it. My pleasure. Have a safe trip home guys." He waved, moving back to head himself back home. He stopped though, feeling a tug on the end of his scarf that trailed down his back. Turning, he saw Daniel at the end of it. Shaggy looked curiously at the young boy, and he made mention to come closer. He moved closer and then boy continued to urge him closer. When he was close enough, the young boy jumped at Shaggy and gave him another hug. Thankfully this time he didn't fall over. As the boy jumped off, he grabbed Shaggy's open hand and pressed something into it before dashing off to his brother's side. Daniel then tugged Thomas in the direction it seemed his parents were.

"There you are." A soft voice, though with some bits of worry in the voice. Shaggy watched as what seemed to be the parent's come over and claim the two boys, to his relief. He didn't want them to have to walk all the way home, less they run into those bullies again.

"What did you find?" The father asked, voice getting softer as Shaggy moved on his way back home as well.

"We found…." Daniels voice faded as Shaggy moved out of hearing range.

It was a short trip, since the park wasn't to far from home. The whole time he could not wipe the grin off his face form the encounter. He came out lonely and was coming back in a good mood. Feeling touched by the boy and his brother. Rounding the bend to the house, a rustle came from the bushes which scared Shaggy to the point of jumping into the open trash can they had on their lawn. Poking her head out, Velma darted a glance to and fro.

"Are they back yet?" Velma said worried, they meaning Fred and Daphne. She seemed worried that Daphne might have second thoughts on returning to find something, and would take her for round two.

"Phew, Velma you like', scared me there." Shaggy said emerging out from the can.

"Sorry Shag… Oh… you dropped this." Velma reached over and took the dropped item he let go of as he jumped into the can. Squinting through her glasses, she looked at the item.

"A little kid gave it to me. I met him at the park."

"Oh, well here you go." Velma said, pressing the small object into Shaggys hand. "It's actually in good shape, so it might be worth something."

Shaggy took the small item and looked at it for the first time, the small coke bottle cap sat neatly in the palm of his hand. A reminder of what had happened that day.

"More worth then you know. Come on Velms, let's go inside for a nice cup of something hot. I'll make." Shaggy offered. Velma Grinned.

"Race ya!"