The rain drummed softly on the windowpane outside of her bedroom. Thunder rumbled gently across the weeping sky, as the tears streamed from her eyes. Daphne Ann Blake was lying on her bed, her face buried deep in her pillows. Everything was supposed to have been so perfect. Her sweet-sixteenth birthday, coupled together with her school's homecoming dance, both with the perfect guy.
Daphne's parents had held a wonderful surprise party for her, with many of her friends attending, on the night prior to the dance. Her boyfriend, William Bradshaw, had been present at the party, but he seemed to be distracted over something. When Daphne asked him what the matter was, he simply smiled and told her not to worry. She was left wondering what was up with him, but she decided to not let it bother her.
One person who wasn't present at the party, though, was Norville 'Shaggy' Rogers. He was one of Daphne's oldest and dearest friends. Norville's nickname stemmed from his disheveled appearance, and the fact that he rarely combed his hair. He also had a voracious appetite and could be scared very easily. Despite all this, Daphne genuinely liked him all the same.
Daphne had known him since childhood, and whenever she felt sad, hurt, scared, lonely, or depressed, Shaggy never failed to cheer her up. His smile and his heart of gold were always able to shine through, whenever rainclouds were threatening her happiness. Daphne had grown quite close to him over the years, yet she saw him primarily as a brother. She vividly remembered when she first met Shaggy.
When Daphne was only eight years old, she finally worked up the nerve to tell a certain young boy that she really liked him. Unfortunately, the boy was incredibly cruel, and told Daphne that she was the ugliest girl he had ever seen. His harsh words completely crushed her! Daphne had run away with tears cascading down her cheeks, while the boy wickedly laughed at her.
She ran for as long as she could, then just stopped and fell to her knees in dismay. The tears continued to flow down her face in a steady stream as she buried her face in her hands. Daphne was so consumed in her grief, she didn't even notice the scruffy young boy approaching her.
"Why are you crying?" he gently asked her.
Daphne looked up at him hesitantly. "I-I just told a boy that I really liked him, and he said I was the ugliest girl he had ever seen!" she cried, unable to keep herself calm. The tears kept coming and she hid her face again.
"Don't believe anything that guy tells you," the disheveled boy softly told her. "You are the prettiest girl I have ever met!"
Daphne slowly lifted her head to look at him a second time. There was nothing but sympathy in his eyes, and Daphne felt she could trust this somewhat strange-looking boy. He held out his hand to her, and she placed her own hand in his. She blushed a bit at his touch. He gently helped Daphne to her feet and lead her over to where some daisies were growing. He reached down with his free hand and picked one. The boy softly placed it in Daphne's hair, and he smiled warmly at her. Daphne blushed even more a second time, then slowly returned his smile. Daphne never forgot that first meeting.
Oh, and then, there was also Shaggy's lovable Great Dane, the very warm-hearted Scooby-Doo! Oh, how she loved that dog! Scooby was virtually a canine clone of Shaggy, with the same levels of hunger and cowardice that Shaggy possessed! Somehow, Scooby always seemed to be able to sense when Daphne was distressed, and he always did what he could to comfort her and make her smile!
Scooby-Doo helped to fill a void Daphne contained within her heart since the death of her first dog, a Shetland sheepdog, or Sheltie, named Penelope. Penelope had been lost in an accident when Daphne was merely seven years old, almost a year prior to her first meeting with Shaggy. That loss had been enormously painful for Daphne, so painful in fact she flat out refused to talk, or even think about it. Daphne even blamed herself for what had happened, and she never forgave herself, even after all these years. She kept the pain buried deep, but even then, occasionally, it would rear its ugly head and leave her crying in the middle of the night.
So, Daphne was more than a little upset over Shaggy and Scooby's absence, but calmed down somewhat, when her parents informed her that they had gone camping with Shaggy's family over the weekend, and therefore, were unable to attend. Still, she really wished that the two of them were around to wish her a happy birthday. Daphne was surprised at how much she missed not having them there.
The following night Daphne arrived at the dance, looking quite stunning. She wore a two-tone, sleeveless lavender dress that went down to her knees, with matching shoes. She wanted to look her best for William. After all, she had been looking forward to this night for weeks.
She was a little puzzled when she could not find him among the other attendees. "Well, maybe he's just running late," Daphne muttered to herself.
She moved off to mingle with some of her girlfriends, but the redhead paused when she noticed that every single one of them had dates. Everyone but her. Daphne started to feel a little out of place, but she wasn't too worried. William would be there soon. He wouldn't let her down. She hoped.
Some time passed, but he was nowhere to be found. Now Daphne was really starting to worry. Did something happen? Where was he?! What was going on?! She felt little knots of loneliness, and even longing, rising within her, as she watched the other couples out on the dance floor. Those unwanted feelings continued to grow as the time passed on later into the evening. She should be out there, with her sweetheart!
Another hour went by, and still William was a no-show. Daphne pulled out her cell phone to check for any messages, missed calls, or texts. Nothing. A swirling storm of worry and loneliness continued to ebb and flow within her heart. She could feel tears begin to well up, and try as she might, she couldn't keep them down.
At that moment, Kimberly, one of Daphne's best friends, just happened to glance over in the redhead's direction, while she was dancing with her own date, named Howard. Kimberly noticed, with some alarm, that Daphne was incredibly upset, so she mentioned it to her boyfriend.
"Howard, can you excuse me for a minute? Daphne looks like she really needs someone to talk to."
Howard looked towards Daphne and concurred immediately with Kim. "Sure thing, honey. I certainly hope she's alright," he said with a bit of concern in his voice.
Kim hurried over to where Daphne was standing all by herself. "Hey, Daphne, are you alright? What's going on?"
"William hasn't arrived yet!" Daphne exclaimed, burying her head in her hands. "He hasn't called or texted me! I don't know where he is!"
Kimberly guided Daphne over to a nearby chair, where the redhead sat down as Kimberly tried to console her. But it was to no avail. Tears continued to stream down Daphne's face, completely ruining her facial makeup.
"Oh my, your makeup is in tatters," Kimberly observed. "Come on, let's go to the ladies' room and fix that up."
Daphne slowly stood up and followed her friend in the direction of the women's room. However, on their way there, Daphne noticed something out of the corner of her eye.
"William?" she wondered aloud and turned toward that direction.
Daphne thought she saw him turn around a corner and head off down a different hallway. Relief started to flow through her, but she also wanted to know why William didn't come and find her earlier if he had already been at the dance for a while.
"What's up?" Kimberly asked as she turned towards Daphne.
"I could have sworn I just saw William head off down that hallway over there," Daphne replied. "Where could he possibly be going?"
Daphne and Kimberly continued to head in the direction they thought William had taken. After making several more turns, they lost him.
"What gives?" Kimberly asked. "Where the heck did he go?"
"He's got to be around here somewhere," Daphne replied.
Then, just faintly, they heard a door gently close. Both girls crept towards the shut portal and peered through the doorglass. What they saw made Daphne sink to her knees as a huge black pit opened inside of her. Tears began flowing anew, as she felt her heart being torn asunder inside her chest! William had his arms around Jennifer Halloway, the most popular girl in school, and they were kissing each other ever so passionately!
Kimberly decided to take a more proactive approach. She kicked open the door and stormed inside, completely startling the pair.
"What the hell do you think you are doing?!" William shouted angrily at Kimberly when he finally recovered.
He glared at her with a heavy intensity, and Kimberly matched his with an equal fervor. Then William's eyesight was slowly drawn to the emotional wreck that was slumped on the floor outside the doorway, and immediately his face turned stark white.
"We could ask the very same of you," Kimberly coldly retorted, as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"Why, William?! Why did you do this to me?!" Daphne demanded in between sobs, as she slowly rose to her feet. "I thought you loved me!"
At this point, Jennifer had gathered her wits enough to also glare accusingly at William. "What is going on here, William?!" she screamed at him. "What is she talking about?! You love her?!"
By now, William was cowering under the combined death-glares of all three girls. He looked as if he just wanted to just sink into the floor, anything to get away from these enraged young women.
"We quite clearly have a case of Mr. Bradshaw here being caught red-handed in a little two-timing scheme, ladies," Kimberly finally reasoned.
"D-D-Daphne. J-J-Jenny," William stammered, only to be cut off by Kimberly.
"Just leave," she told him. "Nobody wants to hear your lame excuses. Nobody is going to even consider dating you once they hear of this little stunt you pulled."
With that, William turned and fled out the door, but nobody paid him any heed. Kimberly turned and addressed the other two girls after they calmed down a bit.
"Did either of you have any inkling of what William was up to here?" she asked.
Both girls shook their heads, then turned to regard each other.
"I am extremely heartbroken right now," Daphne sighed, "but if you really didn't have any idea William was two-timing us both, how can I hold anything against you?"
"Same to you," Jennifer replied. "Well, I don't know about you two, but I have had all the drama I can stomach for one night. Time to call a cab and go home." With that she headed out the door way and down the halls toward the nearest exit.
"Are you going to be alright, Daphne?" Kimberly gently asked her friend as she placed a comforting hand on Daphne's shoulder.
"I, I don't know," Daphne slowly replied. "How can I be?! This was supposed to be the perfect night for me, and now it's completely ruined!" She paused for a moment. "I just want to go home!"
A short while later, Daphne's parents arrived at the school to drive her home. Before she left, Kimberly gave Daphne a big hug, and told her everything would work out.
"Call me if you need anything, ok?"
"Sure thing," Daphne replied, the emotional strain clearly evident in her voice. "Thank you for everything, Kimberly."
"What are friends for?" Kimberly gave Daphne a reassuring smile and headed back into the school.
On the ride home, a light thunderstorm began to blow into the area. Daphne related the entire evening's events to her parents during the drive, and she found that it helped relieve a bit of the heartache she was feeling, but not entirely.
When they finally arrived back at the Blake family manor and went inside, both of Daphne's parents gave her huge hugs, trying to be as reassuring as they could. Daphne thanked them both before excusing herself to start getting ready for bed.
When she was finished, she just collapsed onto her bed. Unfortunately, the image of William kissing Jennifer would not go away. It just kept replaying in her mind. Daphne had felt so happy and lucky that homecoming had fallen on her birthday this year. But now her grief and heartache over her boyfriend's betrayal threatened to completely consume her. Could she ever be alright again?