Something inside Daphne always feels numb when she watches the police drive away.
The flashing red and blue lights slowly shrinking down the road - the paramedics giving them all a once over before suggesting they call their parents and get a decent night's rest.
The four of them would exchange a knowing glance, they'd probably all just sleep in Daph's house tonight.
Fred and Velma had been debating for the past few minutes whether to order Chinese or pizza, and sending Shaggy a glare when he proposed they just get both.
Daphne had just decided to stay out of it altogether.
It was a very rare occurrence, the man in the mask getting his hands on her. She had always been on the offence side of the line - kicking teeth in and planting the perfect seed for a nasty black eye. Never hesitating to charge forward to protect her friends when they found themselves frozen in place. Mainly Velma who, even though she was the smartest out of the gang, was somehow the only one stupid enough to freeze to the ground.
She had always been the fight to Shaggy's flight.
Fred used to say that, mostly as a way to brag about the many facets of their team.
So long as Daph had the fight in her, she wasn't afraid of losing her friends. Of losing herself.
But every once in a blue moon, a sweaty palm will throw her against the wall and then press rough fingers into her waist. They'd lean in and force her to look at the dead eyes of a soul-less mask.
And if she hadn't already sent a rough kick in between their legs, that meant they were stronger than her by a lot.
By too much.
She could never tell if the intentions were perverse or they just wanted to scare her.
Either way, it left a strong impression on her - a reminder that she wasn't some sort of Adonis. She was a teenage girl that knew how to throw a couple fancy kicks, of course there were gonna people out there tougher than her.
And that was enough to make her freeze up.
"Like, Daph maybe you should drive so that we can actually leave this parking lot." Shaggy was standing in front of her, looking down at her as she sat on the bumper of the Mystery Machine. Daphne nodded but couldn't bring herself to say anything.
The boy noted her silence and how she was staring down at his feet instead of up at his eyes.
"We all know that it takes like until the wee hours of the morning for Fred and Velms to reach any sort of compromise." She saw him shove his hands in his pockets, she nodded again.
"I think they both don't wanna have to pay, they're just waiting for us to jump in say we'll buy both." Again she said nothing, feeling something step down on her chest as he kept talking, for her sake.
"If you can't stand being here anymore I ca-"
"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you..."
She heard him let out a soft gasp and he began to rock back and forth on the balls of his feet.
"Daph... Daphne..."
She looked up at him, mad at the lump that was forming in her throat.
His brown eyes were just barely shining under the parking lot's lights, a soft smile on his face. He looked radiant in the dead of night, putting on such a relaxed face that she didn't understand.
As he began to bend down, resting his hands on his knees and squatting down in front of her, she found herself needing to look away.
His face was just too much for her.
"I'm pretty sure I've owed my life to you over a hundred times at this point, my grandkids are gonna be paying off how much I owe you Daphne Blake."
"That won't mean anything if I'm too late to save you, just once I-..."
She didn't know what else to say, where she was going.
Usually his voice was the one that was quivering and her steady tone would draw him out. Roles can be reversed quite easily, she found.
He had seen her being pressed against the wall, barely any breathing room left for her. And after a fun few moments of second guessing, he had charged in after her. It was all a blur, a rough kick to the back of the knee, his grip on her hand before she was even able to process who he was. As they ran together through the halls, Daphne stayed quiet - just staring down at their intertwined fingers.
She was brought back to reality as his hands were rested over her own.
"Y-You could have gotten hurt..."
She brought her right hand up to his cheek, surprised that is was shaking.
"But I didn't..."
He leaned into her touch, closing his eyes and letting her feel his warmth.
"And what if you did?"
Daphne was leaning forward now, hardly registering the tears dripping down her cheeks.
"Jesus Daph, how do you expect to get through this life thinking like that?"
Shaggy didn't waste any time pressing his forehead to hers.
"Because what good is Daphne Blake if she can't protect Shaggy Rogers?"
She felt him wipe the tears from her cheeks as she began to nestle her face into the crook of his neck.
"She means everything to me, and that alone makes up for all the bad things in the world."
