Somehow this is worse.

Daphne was emotionally prepared for Shaggy dropping all one-on-one interaction with her.

And for awhile that was what she got.

Blatant avoiding of eye contact, getting up to do literally anything else the moment she entered the room. That clear tension in the air between them felt so loud and obvious to Daph, yet Fred and Velma never seemed to sense any sort of discomfort there.

But the memories still raced through her head a mile a minute; it didn't take much to bring them into her mind.

Fred had mentioned in passing one time that it would be nice if Crystal Cove got some snow for Christmas.

And Daph spent the rest of the day thinking about snowstorms and libraries.

Every time Daphne found herself near the side of the house where everything had gone wrong, that burning fire exploded in her chest. Sometimes she'd wake up in the middle of the night with one thought, 'I want to kiss him again...'

Being close to Fred seemed to calm that raging inferno to an obnoxious heat, replacing it with that dull ache in her stomach.

But that ache was something she understood, it didn't scare her the way that fire did.

So Daphne found that she'd be better off with Shag avoiding her.

But that didn't seem to be a long lasting norm because here they were, alone, in the back of the Mystery Machine with Shaggy offering her a stick of red licorice.

Taken aback, Daphne stared into Shag's brown eyes.

Somber yet determined.

This was his invitation to talk.

And Daph found that you could offer her all the money in the world to not take the sweet from his fingers and she would simply ignore the opportunity and accept the treat.

This was something that Daphne wanted, more than anything else.

He licks his lips and looks downwards, into the bag of rope candies, she's thankful for that because had they continued that stare-down Daph wouldn't have been able to muster a single syllable.

"I don't understand this Daph..." His voice is tired, but he maintains a steady tone.

"It's never been you and me, you know? Fred is like your whole purpose in life, whether that makes you happy or not is none of my business but..." Every word he utters acts like a blade pushing into her skin.

"Like, what happened at the library wasn't something that we can brush off as the start of us 'falling in love' or something. We aren't in love Daphne." Steady and pained - as cruel as his words are, she knows that they are hard for him to say.

"All that stuff that happened, all the stuff I can remember, it's not comforting to me. It's confusing and just makes me sweaty and freaked." She smiles sadly and that seems to bring his gaze back in her direction. Now she's getting stage fright.

"But I could deal with it because I knew that we weren't really in any sort of good decision making state. I can look back on those memories and say, "That's not us." But you kissed me in the bathroom. Not some girl freaked out by hallucinogenic firewood, you. Daphne Blake, sober as a sunrise or whatever."

All the words he said bounced around her skull, finding every hidden message in between those lines. Eventually she was able to suck in a deep breath as the true question emerged.

'Why?'

And for the first time since the whole kissing fiasco had happened, Daphne had an actual answer.

Scooching forward a few inches, Daph looked down into his eyes and prayed that she could hold onto her composure long enough to get it all out.

"You called me an angel."

He raises his eyebrows in confusion, that's to be expected.

"When I first asked Fred if he was proposing to me his response was, "Uhhhhh." And God I was grasping at any loose thread I could find so I could tie them all together into a perfect bow. When I had finally gotten everything I wanted, It felt like my life was stuck standing still."

Shag nodded, understanding the situation because he was right there from the beginning.

"Kissing him felt like I might as well have just high-fived him or something." It was his turn to grin.

"I mean, I know passion isn't one of Freddie's strong suits but I figured that didn't matter because we were in love. I could deal with it."

Now she was getting to the scary part of her explanation, "And then that night in the library happened... and once the whole shocked and embarrassed aura dropped you said I had the lips of an absolute angel."

His eyes lit up in recognition, cheeks turning red.

"You showed me a different type of affection than I am used to..."

The fire was so intense Daph was surprised she hadn't spontaneously combusted yet.

"And that feeling mixed with the fact that I'm trying to give Freddie another chance. It drove me crazy because deep down I know that I want you. I want to give the idea of you a chance, not the one I know is gonna hurt me."

Now his eyes are wide and she wonders if she's a red as he is.

The shock in his eyes and the fidgeting of his hands is drowning out the vortex in her gut completely. Leaving fire and sparks all over her body, and that feeling is what pushes this final line passed her lips.

"The idea of you scares me. Wanting you scares me. Freddie's same old routine is something I know. Something I understand. A-And... maybe- ...I don't want to understand my feelings anymore. Maybe... I want to be scared..."

Her voice is barely above a whisper but she knows her heard it all.

And all of that hangs over their heads while she's forced to feel her heard pound against her chest. Focusing on the stick residue left on her hands from squeezing the licorice too tightly.

Then she is pulled in by his hands resting on her shoulders and the sweet treat is abandoned so she can wrap her arms around his neck and better reciprocate the kiss he's giving her.

All of that lightening and fire have evolved in fireworks sounding in her ears and she can barely breathe because of how terrified she is.

All of the explosions and gasping for breath build up into a perfect silence as she rests her head on his shoulder and relishes in the fact that the fire has died completely and all that is left is Shag nuzzling into her hair.

"Scared?"

She just manages to breathe out.

"Terrified."

He whispers against her neck.