Hometown Horror
Chapter 4: Just another Day
A/N: Okay, so this took a lot longer than I thought it would take. A big I'm sorry to all my readers. I get distracted way too easily and I've been getting tired a lot lately. But finally, here is chapter four.
Dedication: To AudreyMetalMouth for being my first review for chapter three. I was starting to think that no one was interested in this story anymore. AudreyMetalMouth's review gave me the extra push to finish this chapter.
Friday morning found the gang gathered around a large box of donuts in the kitchen. Velma, Daphne and Fred had to be quick in making their selections before the contents of the box were inhaled by Scooby and Shaggy. Velma giggled at the powdered sugar that covered Scooby's snout. It had been a very eventful week for all of them and they were all looking forward to the weekend. But between them and the weekend was one long, busy day.
"We'll meet outside the fashion show at eight," Fred recounted the plan that they'd been going over since Daphne had announced her big news to her friends.
Daphne nodded as she nibbled around the edges of her second donut "I'll meet up with you afterwards," she recited "Then we'll celebrate my modeling debut."
"Yes," Velma replied "We know the plan you two. Do you think that we'd miss this for anything?" she inquired.
"Like, yeah," Shaggy said enthusiastically around a mouthful of jelly donut "Not even an army of creeps in masks could keep us away."
Daphne grinned at her friends "Thanks you guys. To be honest, I'm a little nervous," she confided.
"What do you have to be nervous about?" Fred asked, smiling broadly at her "You're gonna be sensational."
Daphne wished she could have the confidence in herself that Fred seemed to have in her. She smiled gratefully at her boyfriend but didn't say anything.
After breakfast the group dispersed to gather their things together for the day. Daphne stood in the bathroom touching up her makeup. She wanted to look perfect, not too much makeup but not too little either. She had just finished applying what she had decided was the proper amount of lipstick when a face appeared beside her in the mirror.
"You alright?" the blond young man asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"I don't know if I'll last until tonight," she admitted "My nerves are shot and it's only eight thirty."
Fred pulled her into a hug and began rubbing her back "You'll be great Daph," he reassured her.
"How can you be so sure?" she countered.
"Because I know you," Fred replied, placing a finger under her chin and guiding her face so their eyes locked. "You can't help but be incredible."
Daphne smiled softly "I wish I believed that."
"You don't have to," Fred leaned in and kissed her "I have enough faith in you for the both of us. Now let's go."
Daphne laughed as he pulled her towards the bathroom door "Hold on Fred," she protested, noticing a fatal error in his plan.
"What is it?" he questioned turning to face her.
"I grabbed the wrong lipstick," she explained, pointing to the mirror "I meant to grab the smudge proof one…" she giggled, grabbing a tissue and wetting it before wiping the bright red lipstick from Fred's mouth. She removed the smudged lipstick and replaced it with the one that she had initially intended to use.
"Now we can go," she smiled, taking Fred's hand.
XXX
Velma was about to disembark from the Mystery Machine when Shaggy stopped her "So," he began "Do you like have any plans for lunch today?"
Velma turned and looked at him inquisitively "Just the usual, grabbing a sandwich at the museum's cafeteria. Why…?"
"Like, would it be okay if I took you out to lunch?" Shaggy asked, sounding a bit sheepish.
Velma smiled "Why do you look so nervous?" she asked.
In the front seat Daphne and Fred were watching this interaction in the rearview mirror with broad grins on their faces. They stayed completely silent, hoping that they wouldn't be reprimanded for eves dropping.
A slight pink tinge crept onto Shaggy's cheeks. He took a deep breath, hoping that Velma wouldn't notice that he had stowed his guitar case behind him in the Mystery Machine "Like, I was afraid that you might like have other plans," he mumbled.
Velma leaned in, grabbing his hand with hers "I'll meet you out in front of the museum at noon," she told him before giving him a quick kiss.
Shaggy watched as she left "Like that's a woman," he murmured.
Fred and Daphne laughed in unison "That was just too cute!" Daphne squealed.
Shaggy's attention snapped to the front seat "Like, somehow I always forget that you two have no respect for me," he said only half jokingly.
"That's not true Shaggy," Fred defended.
"We just want things to work out between you and Velma," Daphne told him.
"And one of us has no qualms about listening in," Fred half muttered, glancing sidelong at Daphne.
"Me?" Daphne asked, affronted "You were watching them just as intently as I was!"
"And who told me to be quiet in the first place so that we could hear what they were saying?" Fred questioned.
"Guys, guys," Shaggy interrupted "Like, cool it. All is like forgiven."
A few minutes later Fred pulled up in front of the zoo. Shaggy reached behind him and pulled out his guitar case as Scooby jumped down from the van. Daphne's eyes widened when she saw the instrument.
"Are you going to be doing music therapy with the animals?" Daphne questioned.
Shaggy shook his head "Daphne," he replied, slinging the case over his shoulder "This is like one of those times that I'd like appreciated it if you didn't pry."
Daphne frowned but nodded "Okay Shaggy, have a good day. See you guys tonight."
Shaggy and Scooby waved to Fred and Daphne from the curb as the Mystery Machine pulled away. As soon as they had turned the corner Daphne turned to Fred "Did Shaggy seem a little off to you?"
"Nah," Fred replied "He's probably just nervous about something."
"Yeah," Daphne replied "Something having to do with Velma and his guitar… I wonder what it is."
"Let's try to give them some privacy Daph?" Fred suggested "I think Shaggy had a point about us."
Daphne raised an eyebrow up at Fred's statement "That we don't respect him?" she asked indignantly "But that's simply not true."
"We didn't exactly respect his and Velma's privacy back there," Fred pointed out.
"I know," Daphne sighed "I just want them to be happy."
Fred nodded "So do I but us listening in on their conversations and making comments like 'that was so cute' aren't going to help."
Daphne groaned at his impression of her "I can't help myself Freddy," she whined "Do you think Shaggy's upset about what I said?"
"Maybe a little," Fred replied "But he'll get over it. His attitude probably had more to do with what's on his mind than what you said. I wouldn't worry about it Daph," he stopped in front of Daphne's office building and wrapped an arm around her "It'll take more than a little spat like that to break us up."
Daphne smiled softly at Fred "That's true," she remarked "We've been through so much together. I'll apologize to him tonight."
"That a girl," Fred leaned in and kissed her "Now make sure to knock em' dead tonight."
Daphne took a deep breath "I'll try my best," she got out of the Mystery Machine "See you tonight Freddy!" she waved as Fred pulled away.
Fred waved goodbye as he drove off. Now that he was by himself in the van he had nothing else to think about but the prospect of another day of working for Victor Stone. The man seemed to have zero confidence in Fred. Fred Jones never liked to think ill of people but he had to admit to himself that his boss was a jerk.
Fred arrived in the warehouse district and drove to the place where he had been parking the Mystery Machine. He walked the three blocks to the warehouse to see Mr. Stone waiting out front. Fred sighed, noticing the extremely displeased look on his boss's face.
"Jones!" Stone bellowed "You're five minutes late!"
"I'm not," Fred defended, looking at his watch.
"You are," Stone pointed to the clock on the wall just inside the door of the warehouse "See, five minutes late."
"Sorry sir," Fred apologized, utterly confused. He was sure that his watch and the clock in the warehouse had been syncing up all week.
"Get to work!" Stone commanded.
Fred headed to the loading dock where he met up with Danny and Pete, two other full time employees of Stone's.
"Hey Fred," Danny waved before picking up a box and hefting it into the back of a truck.
"Why so glum?" Pete asked, walking over to Fred.
"I was five minutes late today," Fred replied "And I don't understand how that could have happened."
"Didn't you warn him Pete?" Danny asked, coming over to join the others.
Pete slapped his palm to his forehead "Oh damn, I knew I forgot something. Sorry Fred."
"What about?" Fred asked, completely bewildered.
"Stone likes to make our lives miserable by setting the clock five minutes fast on Fridays," Danny explained "We've been working here so long that it's like second nature to us. We should have warned you."
"It's alright," Fred shrugged "At least we'll get to leave five minutes early."
Danny and Pete looked at one another "That's not gonna make up for the day you're in for," Pete told him "Today's the day when Joe works here."
"Joe Dinkley?" Fred asked.
"Yeah," Danny nodded "You know him?"
"Yeah," Fred replied "He's the one who got me this job."
Pete looked to Danny before staring at Fred "Well you certainly don't strike me as the kind of guy Joe would hang around with."
"Oh, I don't hang around with him," Fred explained "His sister and I have been friends for years."
"Oh…" Danny remarked "And you actually went to Joe for help finding a job. Didn't his sister tell you about-" but Danny was cut off by a very angry yell from Victor Stone.
"Get to work you lazy bums!" he screamed at the top of his lungs "If that shipment of TVs isn't ready to go in ten minutes, you'll all be working double shifts for the next month!"
XXX
"Okay Scoob," Shaggy turned to his companion after the tour group they had been leading departed "I'm gonna like head over to the museum to pick Velma up for lunch. You gonna be okay if I leave you here for an hour?"
Scooby grinned at Shaggy "Rof rourse, ro ret her," the canine nudged Shaggy playfully.
Shaggy laughed nervously "Thanks pal," he grabbed his guitar case and headed out "I just hope she doesn't like laugh at me."
He began walking in the direction of the museum. With every step that he took the uneasy feeling he had in the pit of his stomach grew. He'd finished the song for Velma the previous night while she'd been on her computer and he and Scooby had been by themselves in the room. He had been quite proud of it but now he wasn't so sure. He wondered if she would like it.
From the distance Shaggy could see Velma waiting for him as he approached the museum. She smiled when she saw him and he quickened his pace to meet her.
"Hey," she greeted when he stood before her. She eyed his guitar case but said nothing about it "So what should we do for lunch?" she asked.
Shaggy shifted from one foot to the other "Like, I was thinking that we could get some sandwiches to go at the bakery on the corner and then we could like go eat them in the park. You know, like a picnic."
"Sounds great," Velma reached out and took his hand "Let's go."
XXX
It was just before lunch time when Portia dropped by Daphne's desk "How're you doing?" the older woman asked in an understanding tone.
Daphne looked up and smiled softly at her boss "Fine," she answered in a somewhat shaky tone that belied the meaning of her words.
Portia patted Daphne's shoulder comfortingly "Butterflies in your stomach?" she asked.
"Big ones," Daphne admitted.
Portia laughed "That's natural honey," she assured "Trust me, you aren't the first and you won't be the last."
Daphne nodded "Thanks," she replied gratefully "But knowing that isn't gonna make them go away or even settle down."
"It'll be fine," Portia told her "You'll survive this experience and then once the butterflies see that you can do it they'll go away. Just do me one favor."
"What's that?" Daphne asked curiously.
"Remember to eat," Portia told her "The only thing worse than butterflies are hungry butterflies."
Daphne giggled a bit "I will," she promised.
"Good," Portia patted Daphne's shoulder once again "Come on, I'll buy you a salad."
Daphne smiled and stood up "Okay,"
XXX
The bakery had surprisingly not been all that crowded considering that it was lunch time. Velma and Shaggy walked hand in hand in the direction of the park. Though it was hot out, there was a cooling breeze that made the heat bearable. Velma sighed contentedly. Things seemed perfect at that moment. But an uninterrupted bliss was not in the cards.
"Hello Velma," Velma groaned at the familiar voice that grated on her very last nerve every time she heard it.
Gibby Norton appeared on the sidewalk in front of them. He looked the couple up and down. He didn't look pleased to see Shaggy accompanying the object of his misplaced affections.
"Like, where did you come from?" Shaggy questioned, none to pleased at the sight of Gibby.
"Simply taking a mid day constitutional," Gibby explained "That means walk," he added disdainfully.
"I know what it means," Shaggy countered, his voice holding an equal amount of contempt.
The two young men stared down one another for several long seconds. There were many things in life that Shaggy was afraid of, Gibby Norton was most definitely not one of them.
Velma stepped in front of Shaggy "Okay, that's enough, Gibby, just leave us alone."
Gibby reluctantly backed down from the staring match. He shook his head "I'll be on my way then," he said without even putting up a fight.
Velma shook her head in confusion. Gibby not putting up a fight did not bode well. She decided to push the thought away as she and Shaggy continued on their way towards the park.
"Oh Velma," Gibby called over his shoulder.
Velma groaned, she knew it had been too good to be true "What?" she snapped without turning around.
"Have fun trying to have an intelligent conversation with that troglodyte of yours," Gibby smirked as he hastened to get around the corner before Velma decided to come after him for his remarks.
"I swear sometimes I just want to…" Velma muttered bitterly. She started to walk forward again but found that Shaggy was not following her. She turned to him "Shaggy…?" she asked.
"Velma," he began "Like, do you ever wish that you were involved with someone like more intellectual then me?"
"Don't let Gibby get to you," Velma told him. When her words failed to erase the worried look on his face she closed the small distance between them and lifted her lips to meet his "Never doubt that I love you Shaggy," she told him firmly "You're plenty intellectual. Sometimes I think you don't realize how smart you really are."
Shaggy smiled softly and shrugged "You think so?" he asked.
"Of course I do," Velma wrapped her arms around his neck "You're creative and you're absolutely down right brilliant sometimes."
Shaggy's smile broadened and he lowered his lips to meet hers once again. He was overwhelmed by her words and somehow they gave him the confidence to do what he'd been planning to do, what had been making him so nervous all day.
"I've got a surprise for you," he told her as he scooped her up in his arms and practically sprinted the final half a block to the park.
"Shaggy," Velma giggled as he set her down at one of the picnic tables and dropped to his knees in front of her. He removed the guitar from its case and began playing.
"Don't you want to eat first?" Velma inquired, indicating the bag of food that she had set on the table.
"Like, I've got to do this first," he told her as he continued to play the guitar. "Let me know what you think." He began to sing.
"Her name is Velma
And she's my girl
We travel together
All over the world"
Velma smiled as she looked down at Shaggy. She was absolutely loving the song he had written for her. She found herself getting lost in the melody and lost in Shaggy's eyes as he gazed at her. In that moment it was just the two of them.
"Solving mysteries
Is what we do
Always together
Just me and you"
Velma grinned widely as the tempo of the tune quickened and Shaggy's voice raised slightly in pitch. This was quickly becoming her favorite song.
"When I wanna make tracks
She gives me Scooby Snacks
She's always there for me
That's why I always wanna be
With Velma
Oh… Velma
You're my girl
I'll follow you
All over the world
Oh… Velma
You're always there for me
And so I'll always be
With you
Oh your favorite color's orange
Annd nothing rhymes with orange
But I don't care"
Velma giggled then. She loved this. She wished this moment could last forever. Sitting in the park and being serenaded by the man she loved was quite possibly the high point of her life.
"It's what makes you you
And that's why I love you
From your toes to your short brown hair
Oh… Velma
You're my girl
Yeah… Velma
You're my girl"
Shaggy stopped playing then and laid his guitar carefully in its case before looking back up at Velma "So, like, did you like it?"
Velma smiled probably the brightest smile that Shaggy had ever seen her smile. She jumped off the bench and wrapped her arms around him "I loved it!" she squealed "I absolutely loved it Shaggy!" She kissed him deeply. When their lips separated she added "That's the sweetest thing that anyone has ever done for me!"
Shaggy grinned "I'm glad," he told her as he picked himself up off the ground "Now let's eat."
Velma found herself giggling. Shaggy was still Shaggy. She sat back down and removed her sandwich from the paper bag as she admitted to herself that she wouldn't want him to be any other way.
XXX
"Uh-oh," Danny murmured to Pete and Fred around one that afternoon "Here comes trouble," he indicated the entrance to the loading dock.
Fred turned to see Joe Dinkley making his way towards them. Fred smiled at Joe "Hey Joe," he greeted "What's up?"
Joe groaned and nodded briefly in Fred's direction before walking right past him. He walked over to Danny and shoved him "Hey little Danny," he laughed "I see you haven't grown in the last week."
"Sure haven't Joe," Danny groaned, turning away and picking up a box so that he had an excuse not to talk to Joe.
Joe knocked the box out of Danny's hands "Danny, Danny, Danny, you don't want to chat with your old pal Joe?"
"Lay off him," Pete told him, picking the box up and handing it to Danny again "He's not bothering you."
"Here comes Pete to the rescue," Joe mocked "Still can't fight your own battles Danny boy."
"Dinkley!" Mr. Stone called out, walking over.
Joe grinned as he turned to his boss "Hey Mr. Stone. Just saying hi to my buddies here."
"I see that," Stone observed "But you're not here to chit chat Dinkley. Get to work!"
"Yes sir," Joe replied before saluting.
Stone walked off grumbling to himself.
It was an hour and a half later, during which time Fred had seen Joe give poor Danny more than his fair share of trouble, that Joe finally seemed to acknowledge Fred's existence.
"What is the deal with my sister?" Joe asked out of the blue as he heaved the last box into the back of a truck bound for the computer store downtown.
"What do you mean?" Fred questioned, curiously.
"Mom won't stop bugging me," Joe complained "'Where's Velma? 'Have you seen?' 'Velma? Have you heard from Velma?' Its exhausting."
"I'm sorry," Fred replied "But I can't make her get in touch with your mom."
"Sure you can," Joe smirked, pinning Fred in a headlock like he had when they'd been younger "Tomorrow Mom is expecting all of us for dinner. That means that you and all your friends, including my sister, should be at my parents house at six."
"I'll see what I can do," Fred replied, trying to pull out of the headlock.
"You'll do better than try," Joe told him "If Velma isn't there tomorrow at six o'clock then you and me are gonna have a problem Freddy."
Fred laughed a little nervously "Like I said, I'll see what I can do."
Joe released the headlock "I know you will Freddy," he smiled menacingly "You wouldn't want to break my mother's heart. I'm not gonna beat up my sister Freddy but I've got no problem beating you up."
"We'll be there," Fred gulped.
"Good boy," Joe smirked as he walked off.
"You alright?" Danny asked, walking over to Fred a few seconds later.
"Yeah," Fred sighed "I'm fine."
"What was that all about?" Danny inquired "Joe gets pissed off real easy but he's never put me or Pete in a headlock like that."
Fred rubbed his neck "Oh, we were just fooling around," He laughed "But he wants to make sure that his sister shows up to dinner tomorrow night."
"Dinner?" Danny asked "That was all just about dinner?"
"Yeah," Fred replied with a shrug.
"I'm not surprised Joe would resort to bullying you into getting her to come to dinner," Pete remarked as he joined the conversation.
"Your not?" Fred questioned, for his part, he'd been pretty surprised.
"No," Pete nodded "I used to work at a bar a little while back. I quit because I couldn't deal with drunks anymore, drunks like Joe Dinkley."
Fred stared at Pete, baffled. He'd never heard anything about Joe that suggested that he might be an alcoholic. "He couldn't have been that heavy a drinker," Fred managed to say.
Pete laughed "Yeah, sure, he was a peach," he turned his head to see that Joe was in fact out of earshot before he continued "You're delusional Fred if you think that there's not something wrong with that guy. He's a nasty drunk. He started fights all the time. That wasn't the worst part though. Whenever I'd have to take his keys away from him he'd call poor Velma to pick him up."
Fred thought back, there had been several occasions over the past three years that Velma had departed inexplicably in the middle of the night with the keys to the Mystery Machine and the next morning the interior of the van had smelled of commercial vomit cleaner. Only now did Fred finally put two and two together.
Pete noticed that Fred had gone silent "I can't tell you the number of times I helped her load her slurring, swaying brother into the back of that van of yours. And let me tell you, he was just plain cruel to her, every time."
"He must have stopped drinking so heavily though," Fred realized "She hasn't needed to borrow the Mystery Machine in the middle of the night for months."
"Because she finally wised up and refused to deal with him anymore," Pete explained "It was back in April that she showed up and he screamed in her face like he must have done a million times before. Then he pushed her and she went head over heals into a row of barstools. She told him she wasn't gonna deal with him anymore as long as he was drunk. After that I decided I wasn't gonna deal with him anymore either and so I quit."
April, Fred thought. He remembered the last time Velma had borrowed the Mystery Machine and suddenly he realized what had been different about that particular day… it had been her birthday. They had all been celebrating late into the night. Velma hadn't stopped smiling the entire night until her cell phone rang. Fred shook his head, realizing that his friend had been bearing an extremely heavy cross all by herself.
XXX
"Hey Fred," Shaggy called as the Mystery Machine pulled up in front of the hall where the fashion show was being held.
Fred waved as he parked and stepped out of the van. He walked over to join his friends "Hey guys," he greeted, resting a hand on Scooby's head as he spoke.
"Fred?" Velma greeted with suspicion permeating her tone "What's going on?" if there was one thing that Velma prided herself on, it was that she knew her friends and she could tell when something was going on with one of them.
Fred eyed Velma. He marveled at how perceptive she was. In stark contrast he was the bonehead of the group, oblivious to anything and everything that happened in the lives of his friends. He sighed, knowing that he would have to provide her with an answer or she would persist in her questioning and the focus of the evening would shift from Daphne's debut to his problems. "I saw Joe today," he began.
Velma's expression morphed from concern to an emotion that was all but unreadable to Fred, in mere nanoseconds. Shaggy instinctively took a step closer to Velma as she took a deep breath "What did he want?" she asked reluctantly.
Fred paused as he wondered just how much of his conversation with Joe he should relate "Uh…" he began "He said that your Mom invited us all to dinner tomorrow night," he deliberately left out that if she didn't show up Joe would take it out on him.
To Fred's delight Velma didn't outright refuse. She first turned to Shaggy who shrugged under her scrutiny "Your Mom is like a really good cook," he remarked, sounding as if he had been reluctant to offer his opinion.
Velma smiled in spite of herself "Alright then," she agreed "I'll call my Mom tomorrow and let her know that we'll be there."
Fred waited for Shaggy, Velma and Scooby to head inside before breathing a sigh of relief. He had to admit that Joe was intimidating and that was when the larger man was sober. Fred shuttered to think of what Joe Dinkley was like drunk. His heart broke thinking of the number of times that Velma had gone to deal with her inebriated brother by herself and the years that she had carried the burden alone. He hoped that she had at least opened up to Shaggy about it.
XXX
Daphne adjusted her dress yet again. The butterflies in her stomach were working overtime as the big moment was fast approaching. She checked herself in the mirror yet again. "Do you think I have enough makeup on?" she questioned the other model in the dressing room with her "Or do you think that it's too much makeup?"
Darcy Carter, the model who had been showing Daphne the ropes and offering the young woman the benefit of her experience, grinned at the redhead "You're fine," she assured "Don't worry about it," she giggled.
"Are you sure?" Daphne asked, looking back in the mirror again.
"Yes!" Darcy reassured boisterously "Now stop fishing for compliments already," she laughed.
Daphne nodded and finally was able to pull herself away from her place in front of the mirror. She turned to Darcy and noticed something sitting on the table beside her fellow model. She took a step closer to better examine the object. Her eyes turned up to meet Darcy's "What a lovely necklace," she remarked.
Darcy grabbed the trinket off the table and hid it from Daphne's view deep within her purse "Yes," she said with a bit of a smile on her face "It was a gift from my father."
"It looks Egyptian," Daphne observed.
"It is," Darcy told her "My father brought it back from a souvenir stand there after his last expedition."
Darcy's behavior made Daphne a little suspicious but before she could ask any further questions the door to the dressing room burst open "Girls!" Portia called "It's time! Hurry, hurry! The show's about to begin!"
XXX
"You were fantastic!" Fred clapped his hands together before scooping Daphne up in his arms and spinning her around "You blew everyone away in there!"
Daphne giggled as Fred continued to spin her "Thanks Freddy," she managed between giggles "Now stop spinning me, I'm getting dizzy."
Fred placed her on the ground and planted a kiss on her lips "You're just incredible Daph," he told her.
"You certainly were amazing up there," Velma said as she and Shaggy followed Daphne and Fred to the Mystery Machine.
"Yeah," Shaggy agreed "Like you were the star of the show."
"Rantastic," Scooby added.
Daphne smiled at her friends "Thanks you guys but I don't think I would have been able to do it without the help I got from Darcy."
"Darcy Carter?" Velma questioned.
"Yeah," Daphne nodded "You've heard of her?"
"Well, sort of," Velma replied "She's Professor Carter's daughter. He talks about her quite a lot. He said that she was an up and coming model."
Daphne noded "I would have been lost without her tonight."
The van fell silent for a few seconds before Fred cleared his throat to speak, to inform Daphne of their plans for the following day. "Ah, Daph," he began hesitantly.
"Yeah Freddy?" Daphne asked "What is it?"
"Well," Fred began "Tomorrow we're going to…" he trailed off. He knew Daphne wouldn't be bothered by their plans the way he was but then again, Daphne didn't know what he did.
"What about tomorrow Fred?" Daphne questioned, raising an eyebrow in suspicion.
Velma, fed up with Fred's stuttering attitude, abruptly spoke up "We're having dinner with my parents and brother tomorrow night," she explained with an irritated huff.
"Oh," Daphne smiled at Fred "Well that'll be fun," she turned to Velma "It's about time. What made you decide on tomorrow?"
"I didn't," Velma replied gruffly.
Something in Velma's tone made Daphne drop the subject. The conversation in the van turned back to Daphne's modeling debut and other such lighthearted topics.
When they arrived back at the house Fred parked the Mystery Machine while the others piled out. Shaggy and Scooby headed straight for the kitchen to prepare the late night celebratory feast that they'd been planning for Daphne. Daphne, laughing at the two of them, followed. She was listening to Scooby rattle off the list of foods that they were going to have.
Velma waited by the front door for Fred. He had been acting strange all evening and she was going to call him on it. Fred didn't really notice her standing in the shadows beside the door as he approached. She stepped forward and grabbed his arm, startling the young man.
"Oh, Velma," he said a bit breathlessly as he steadied himself "Don't do that to me."
Velma resisted the impulse to laugh at how Fred could at times be almost as big of a chicken as Shaggy and Scooby. "What's going on with you?" she asked.
"What are you talking about?" Fred countered defensively.
"You know what I mean," Velma whispered harshly "You've been acting weird all evening and I think it has something to do with my brother."
"What?" Fred looked as if he'd been caught in a lie when so far he was only guilty of omission "No, it has nothing to do with that at all," now he was lying.
Velma groaned "I can't tell if I'm an incredibly perceptive person or if all of my friends are just really terrible liars." She took a step closer to the door and appeared to be headed inside when Fred's voice stopped her.
"Have you told Shaggy?" he asked in a strained voice "You know, about Joe's… problem…?"
She turned to Fred "It's no one's business but mine," she told him firmly "How did you find out?"
"Pete Miller," Fred replied simply with a shrug "He works at the same warehouse as me."
"Oh," Velma nodded "So when Pete saw Joe "ask" you to make sure I came to dinner tomorrow…"
"Yeah," Fred shrugged again. He turned his gaze towards the sky "Have you told anyone?"
Velma dropped into a sitting position on a bench on the front stoop "It's really no one's business," she replied.
"You said that already," Fred told her, dropping into a seat beside her "And I don't buy it, not after what Pete told me."
"Pete should really keep his mouth shut," Velma mumbled.
"So you've been keeping all of this to yourself for all this time?" Fred questioned "Velma, Joe needs help."
"Stay out of it Fred," she snapped at him "This is between me and my brother. No one else in my family wants to believe that Joe is anything less than an angel and he isn't interested in helping himself so that's it."
"Why didn't you ever tell any of us?" he asked "We're your friends, we could have helped you."
"It's not something I want to be broadcasting," she explained "You all have such perfect families in comparison to mine. Besides, I don't answer Joe's drunk calls anymore, so it's no big deal."
Fred was about to say something when Daphne poked her head out of the front door "Come on you two," she called to them, holding a bowl of ice cream in her hands "We're waiting for you."
"Be right there Daph," Fred grinned as he stood up.
As soon as Daphne was out of earshot, Velma tugged on Fred's arm. He turned to look at her "Don't tell anyone about this okay Fred?" she pleaded.
Against his better judgment Fred nodded "Alright Velma," he promised "I won't say anything for now. But if things get out of hand, promise you'll let me know."
"I promise nothing," Velma told him as she pushed past him into the house.
Fred shook his head sadly as he followed her. He desperately hoped that things with Joe wouldn't get any worse.
A/N: So now we know a little more about Joe. I'm not sure when I'll be able to update again but just because you are all so wonderful, I'm gonna give you a little spoiler. Chapter 5 will be entitled "Dinner With The Dinkley's" Velma will tell her parents about her and Shaggy. How will they react and what else will happen? Stay tuned to find out.