Chapter 37 Shaggy comforts Velma
After Velma broke up with Johnny he tried to call to apologize but she wouldn't return his calls. Velma moped around and the only one of her friends who knew what happened was Daphne because Velma made her promise not to say anything. One night as Velma was taking a walk all alone she sat down on a bench and looked at the star lit sky. She remembered looking at the stars with Johnny as they held each other in their arms before they began kissing. "I did the right thing" Velma thought to herself as tears began to fill her eyes. Sure she missed Johnny but at the same time Velma believed she did the right thing because there was something she was feeling deep down that she couldn't explain or figure out right away. Plus Velma believed that she and Johnny were drifting apart after he graduated and started working a lot. As time continued on Shaggy began to see the deep sadness in Velma's face. She wasn't as enthusiastic about the normal activities she enjoyed doing such as getting a high mark on a test or doing science experiments. "Hi Velma do you want to go get something to eat?" Shaggy asked. "No thank you" answered Velma and before she walked away to drown her sorrows Shaggy took her by the hand and told her, "Look I don't know what has been going with you but I've noticed that you haven't been yourself for a while now and as your friend I want to make you feel better but I can only do that if you tell me what's wrong if or when you're ready so please Velma I beg of you because I hate seeing you like this."
What Shaggy just told Velma made her think about her break up with Johnny and as much as she wanted to tell Shaggy what happened Velma pointed out before she ran off crying, "I don't want to talk about it!" Velma ran as fast as she could but Shaggy managed to catch up to her and hold her in his arms as tight as he could. "Please let me go!" Velma demanded. "Like not until you tell me what is the matter. If you want I can call Johnny and asked him to come to campus. I know how close you and your boyfriend are" Shaggy said unknowing that Velma and Johnny broke up. Velma started crying even harder and realized that keeping her break up a secret from one of her best friends wasn't the best idea so Velma began speaking, "Johnny and I broke up a little while ago because we had a horrible fight." "What was the fight about?" asked Shaggy. Before Velma began speaking again Shaggy wiped away her tears with some tissues he always carried in his pocket. Then Velma said, "The reason why I'm no longer Johnny's girlfriend is because that brainless dummy was becoming super jealous of how close we are. I told him that you and I are really good friends and I just wanted to be there for you since you and Scooby were having a hard time getting over Crystal and Amber. He also brought up the time we were talking about that kiss we shared when you told me that you loved me. I thought that he was over it but I was wrong. Then he wanted me to stop hanging out with you. There was no way I was going to give up our friendship and he wondered why you and I were friends in the first place because I told him that the reason why you dumped me was because of Scooby Doo. I got so mad at him that I'm the one who broke up with Johnny. He's been trying to get in contact with me but I refuse to answer his calls because I don't ever want to see or speak to him again!"
When Velma was done telling Shaggy why she has been so upset she began crying all over again. Shaggy hated to see Velma so upset so he said, "I'm sorry to hear that Velma. Johnny is a jerk for not understanding that you and I are good friends. If you want you can come with me to my dorm to relax and calm down. Freddy has plans tonight with Daphne and Scooby is hanging out with the other dogs in the neighborhood" Shaggy offered which Velma accepted without hesitation. Shaggy escorted Velma back to his dorm and just like he said nobody was there. "I don't recall ever seeing your dorm room" Velma pointed out. "Yeah sorry about the mess. I've been so busy with my school work that I haven't had a lot of time to clean up" Shaggy told her. "It's ok and to be honest I don't think it's that messy" Velma said. Shaggy smiled and offered Velma a seat on the couch. After Velma sat down Shaggy sat right next to her. "Like why in the world am I starting to become nervous?" Shaggy thought to himself. Velma didn't notice it which eased Shaggy's mind but only a little bit. "Do you think you'll ever give Johnny a second chance?" asked Shaggy. Velma looked at him and said, "I don't think so. He made me so upset at what he told me. Plus deep down I believed that Johnny and I were drifting apart because sometimes in the magazines that he is featured in he is with these really beautiful women and I'm wondering why he is with a plain Jane like me when he can any woman he wants." "Velma Dinkley you're not a plain Jane. You're beautiful just the way you are. Somehow Johnny saw that in you and made the horrible mistake of thinking that you would ever cheat on him. Don't ever think you're not beautiful because I know for a fact that you're a beautiful girl who happens to be really smart" Shaggy pointed out.
Velma blushed because she was touched at what Shaggy said. "You think I'm beautiful?" Velma asked out of nowhere. "Like of course I do. Why do you think I wanted to you to be my girl back home?" answered Shaggy. As soon as Shaggy said that both and Velma started blushing a deep shade of red. "Thanks for saying that Shaggy. It means a lot to me" said Velma. "Like you're welcome" answered Shaggy as he and Velma moved a little bit closer together. All of a sudden Velma wrapped her arms around Shaggy and started hugging him. Shaggy didn't know what else to do because it came out of nowhere so he decides to hug Velma back. While Velma and Shaggy were hugging they looked at each other's faces and moved in closer. Before anything else could happen Velma's cellphone went off because she received a text message from Johnny for the 100th time but to Velma it felt like a million. Velma looked at her phone and read the message to herself from Johnny which was written in all caps and had a bunch of frowny faces which said, "PLEASE VELMA I BEG OF YOU ANSWER. I'M SORRY ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED. I WAS STUPID AND WRONG. PLEASE MEET ME LATER SO WE CAN TALK. IF YOU WON'T TAKE ME BACK I'LL UNDERSTAND. I JUST WANT TO SEE YOU SO WE CAN TALK ABOUT THIS. AFTER THAT WHATEVER YOU DECIDE I'LL RESPECT IT ." "I know it's none of my business who texted you?" Shaggy asked. Velma showed Shaggy the text from Johnny and said, "Do you want to go see him?" "No not really but at the same time I'll think I'll just get it over with that way maybe Johnny will quit bugging me and move on with his life especially after I put him in his place" Velma answered as she got up. Before she left Velma said, "I'm glad that I told you what was going on with me. I'm sorry for not saying anything sooner and I'm grateful to you. In other words thanks for catching me when I tried to run away." "You're welcome Velma and if you ever need a person to talk to I'm here for you" Shaggy said which made Velma smile as she left to meet up with Johnny.