Sponge: I'm back! The title of the last chapter, "Saturday Night's Alright" is a song by Elton John! Congrats to itsyagirlwithwritersblock for guessing correctly. Here's chapter 10! Warnings: language and some mild violence. Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Scooby Doo characters. They belong to Cartoon Network, Warner Brothers, and Hanna Barbera. Also, I have no idea how college acceptances work these days – everything that I mention in this chapter regarding college acceptances are based on things I've read in recent YA novels. I'm old...

Chapter 10: Every Breath You Take

The next morning, Velma woke up with a pounding in her ears. Leftover from the beer, she supposed. At least I didn't get so drunk that Shaggy and I snuck away again, she mused, blearily rising from her pillow. How'd I get home last night? Oh right, Marcie drove the Mystery Machine. I should thank her. She reached for her glasses and her phone, which were both on her bedside table next to her magnetic earrings. Once her glasses were on, she unlocked her phone and scrolled through to see if she'd missed any texts or calls from Marcie.

There wasn't anything from her, but there was a message from Shaggy.

Shaggy: like, good morning! how are you feeling? I've got like, a killer hangover.

Velma smiled bemusedly. She was still annoyed that he'd ignored her at the party all night, but this was a nice text to wake up to.

She responded. I feel fine. A little bit of a headache, but nothing too bad.

Shaggy: like wanna come over later?

Velma grinned. How much later? she texted.

Shaggy: like an hour? I'm making brunch for me and scoob. you should like, join us!

Velma sighed. She should have suspected it wouldn't just be her and Shaggy. Oh well. It was better than nothing.

Okay, she replied.

Shaggy sent back four thumbs-up emojis. Velma nearly put her phone down, when another message came in – this time from Fred.

Fred: how's daph? i've been texting her but she hasn't gotten back to me.

Velma's eyes widened. She'd totally forgotten about Daphne! She glanced across the room, at the small air mattress she'd set up last night. Daphne was atop it, fast asleep. Velma exhaled and responded to Fred.

Yeah, she's fine. Still here, still asleep.

At that moment, Daphne stirred in her sleep, gave a tremendous yawn, and sat up. She held her temples, groaning.

"Hey," Velma said to her.

"Mmmmph," Daphne mumbled. "Wow my head hurts."

"Are you all right?" Velma asked. It occurred to her that she didn't actually know why they'd left the party so suddenly last night – Fred had just seemed adamant to get Daphne home.

"Ugggghhh," was Daphne's reply. This groan wasn't due to a hangover though – Velma recognized it at something else. Embarrassment.

"Daph, what happened last night? Do you remember?" Velma asked gently, getting out of her bed and slowly approaching the air mattress.

Daphne ignored her and buried her face in the pillow. "Oh my God," she moaned, voice muffled by the pillow.

Velma crossed her arms, frowning. "Daphne, I swear to God if you don't tell me what's going on..."

With another muffled groan, Daphne dropped the pillow but didn't look at Velma. "I kind of threw myself at Fred last night."

Velma furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?"

"I was...really drunk," said Daphne, still deliberately staring at the floor. "And I was freaking out about tomorrow."

Velma was still confused. "Why were you freaking out about tomorrow?"

Finally, Daphne looked up at her friend. "Velma, tomorrow's the twenty-second. College acceptances start arriving."

Velma felt her stomach drop out from under her. How could she have forgotten? "Jinkies," she breathed.

"And I might be hearing from NYU," Daphne said.

"Is that why you were freaking out?" Velma asked.

Daphne nodded and slumped back into the pillow. "I'm so worried about it. And about how Fred will react if I get in. I just didn't want to think about it, and I figured the best way to distract myself was..." She trailed off.

But Velma understood her meaning. "So you tried to jump Fred to take your mind off your nerves about college?"

Daphne groaned and threw the pillow over her face again. "I know! In Caleb's older sister's old room! I'm so embarrassed."

This conversation was awfully similar to the one they'd had two years ago, after Daphne and Fred had kissed for the first time. "Did anything...happen?" Velma asked as delicately as she could.

Daphne shook her head. "No. Fred wouldn't let it – he could tell how drunk I was. I'm grateful for that. A lot of other guys in that situation wouldn't have hesitated to..." Daphne trailed off again.

"You're right," Velma told her. "He texted me, by the way. I think he was trying to check up on you."

Daphne reached for her phone, which sat on the windowsill nearby, and grimaced as she saw the amount of messages. "I should call him back," she said. "Thank him for being such a good boyfriend and apologize for my behavior."

"Do you need a ride home?" Velma asked. She didn't drive yet – she'd barely had her license for a month – but she could ask her mom.

Daphne shook her head. "No thanks, I can walk. It's supposed to be nice today, and besides, I think I want some privacy while I talk to him." She rose to her feet a little unsteadily and Velma stood up as well.

"Daphne?" asked Velma quietly. "Can I ask you a question?"

Daphne glanced at her. "Of course," she replied.

Velma paused. "If you do get into NYU…what are you going to do?"

There was a very pregnant silence.

"I don't know..." Daphne admitted. "I don't want to leave Fred. But...NYU could do so much for me, if I want to be an actor. More than Coolsville U could."

Velma deflated. She'd been afraid that Daphne would say that.

"But like I said," Daphne continued quickly. "I have to nail my audition, and I might not even get into NYU's academic program. I'm probably worrying about nothing – there's a lot of variables."

Velma exhaled. "Well...I suppose we'll find out at least one of them tomorrow."

x.X.x

The rest of Sunday passed pleasantly. Daphne visited Fred and apologized for her odd behavior at the party. Fred forgave her of course, and while she didn't tell him what brought it on, he felt like it wasn't necessarily important. She'd been drunk, and hadn't been entirely in control of her actions. Fred was glad that he hadn't taken advantage of that – not that he would have, of course. He respected her too much.

Velma went to Shaggy's house and spent the day sampling breakfast dishes that he and Scooby had concocted. Overall, it was a fun afternoon.

But Monday dawned bright and early and with it, the promise of college acceptances – or rejections.

The first thing Velma did when she woke up was check her email. There was nothing yet, but she had known there would have been a slim chance. Notifications, good or bad, probably wouldn't start rolling in till the afternoon.

When the Mystery Machine rolled up to her house, she was unsurprised to discover Daphne glued to her phone in the passenger seat.

"Anything yet?" asked Velma as she opened the door.

Daphne shook her head, still staring at her phone screen. She continued to refresh her email as they drove to Shaggy and Scooby's.

"Whatcha watchin?" Shaggy asked her when he and Scooby entered the van.

"College Acceptance TV," Velma quipped with a shrug.

Shaggy blanched. "Zoinks. Those like, come in this afternoon, don't they?" He dug his phone out as well.

"Well, not all of them," Velma replied. "I probably won't hear from the Ivies until sometime after spring break. But we'll probably hear from Coolsville U today." And a few others, she couldn't help thinking, glancing back at Daphne.

Fred alone seemed calm and unbothered. "Come on guys," he said cheerfully. "We probably won't get any emails till after lunch anyway. Why stress about it now?"

But Daphne continued to check her email throughout the morning, even though she'd have her phone confiscated if a teacher saw it. Thankfully, no teachers noticed, and anyway, it seemed like most of the seniors were in the same boat. Daphne wasn't the only one checking her phone between classes. It stressed Velma out.

By the time lunch rolled around, everyone in the gang was anxious. Velma gazed around the cafeteria, attempting to ignore Daphne and the phone of imminent doom, when she noticed someone familiar across the way.

"Hey! Marcie!" Velma waved, and momentarily, Marcie appeared beside their table. She had never responded to Velma's text on Sunday, thanking her for driving them home from Tony's party, so Velma was keen to thank her in person.

Fred grinned as Marcie approached and beat Velma to the punch. "Hey, thanks for driving us home on Saturday!"

Marcie ducked her head. "No problem, Fred," she replied. She had not taken a seat – she was still standing beside the table with her lunch tray.

"Yeah that was like, really cool of you," Shaggy agreed.

Velma just smiled at her friend, and Marcie grinned back. Then her face fell slightly.

"So um," she said. "I have some projects to take care of before break – and I'll be working on them during lunch – so I don't think I'll be able to join you this week."

"Oh," Velma replied, feeling slightly crestfallen. "Well...maybe we'll see you during spring break?"

Marcie shrugged noncommittally. "Yeah, that'd be nice." She continued to stand awkwardly with her lunch tray for a few moments. "Well…see you later," she mumbled, finally walking away.

Velma frowned after her. That was strange.

"Ris she rokay?" Scooby wondered.

"Yeah like, that was a little weird, right?" Shaggy replied.

Daphne said nothing, eyes still glued her her phone.

Fred glanced at her. "Are you still refreshing your email?"

"I should have opted for snail mail," Daphne groaned. "This is torture."

"Wouldn't it be worse torture to have to wait for the post office?" Velma pointed out, still gazing in the direction Marcie had gone.

Daphne didn't reply, just sighed and refreshed her email again.

She was still distracted during study hall. Everyone took a seat on a table in the library together, watching Daphne stare worriedly at her phone.

"Daph," Fred whispered. "You gotta put your phone away, babe. Mrs. Miller will write you up if she sees it out." He inclined his head towards the librarian, who sat behind a nearby desk.

Daphne gave an anguished whimper, but put her phone in her purse all the same.

The half hour seemed endless. More than once, Daphne had absentmindedly reached for her purse before Scooby gently swatted her hand with his tail.

"Would you like cut it out?" Shaggy whispered at one point. "You're making me nervous."

"I'm sorry!" Daphne hissed back.

"It's okay Daph," Fred murmured. "We know you're anxious."

"We're not supposed to be talking," Velma reminded them all.

"Shh!" shushed Mrs. Miller.

Everyone glanced back down at their books, and didn't look up again until the bell rang. As soon as they were out of the library, Daphne ducked around a corner and pulled out her phone.

"Daphne!" Fred exclaimed, glancing around.

"I know," Daphne hissed, opening her email. "I just have to check." She refreshed the page, gasped, and clapped her hand over her mouth.

The rest of the gang tensed. "Are they in?" Velma murmured.

"Yes," Daphne replied softly.

Simultaneously, everyone pulled their phones out. "Scoob like, stand guard," Shaggy said.

"Rokay," Scooby replied with a salute. Surreptitiously, everyone scrolled through their emails looking for notices from colleges.

"Nothing from any of the Ivies yet," Velma announced. "But I got into Stanford!" She couldn't help her excited tone. Her first college acceptance, from an incredibly prestigious school.

Daphne squeaked. "Jeepers, congratulations!"

"Way to go!" Fred added.

Shaggy simply smiled proudly at her.

Velma kept scrolling, and gasped. "And...there's something from Coolsville U here." Her heart pounded in her chest.

"I've got a note from there too," Fred replied, looking slightly green.

"Like same," Shaggy said. His hands were shaking.

"Me too," Daphne murmured. "Should we open them together?"

Everyone huddled closer together. Velma thought she could feel their hearts beating in time with hers. Subconsciously, Fred and Daphne reached for each other's hands.

"On the count of three?" Fred asked. The others nodded.

Velma gulped, nervous. Their futures were about to be decided, right now. She wished she could be holding Shaggy's hand too.

"One..." Fred began.

Velma had a sudden thought. What if none of them had gotten into Coolsville?

"Two..."

Or worse: what if some of them got in, but some didn't? What if Fred didn't get in? Coolsville was the only school where he'd applied!

"Three!"

Everyone opened the email.

"I'm in!" Fred exclaimed.

Velma was so relieved she felt as though a weight had been lifted from her chest. A breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding rushed out of her lungs.

"So am I," she replied, looking at the first sentence of the email. Dear Velma, On behalf of the admissions board at Coolsville University, we are pleased to announce that you have been accepted for the fall semester!

"I got in too!" Daphne cried, relief showing visibly on her face as well.

"Like me too!" shouted Shaggy.

With another triumphant sigh, the four of them gathered into a group hug. They had all gotten in to their first choice school.

"Ronratulations!" Scooby smiled, proud of his friends.

"Anything from anywhere else?" Velma asked Daphne and Shaggy.

Daphne glanced back at her phone. "Elon – accepted," she announced. "Carnegie Mellon – wait-listed." She shrugged. "That was a reach anyway." Her brow creased. "NYU..."

Velma waited with bated breath.

"...Accepted," Daphne whispered.

The girls shared a glance. Daphne exhaled, her expression a mixture of joy and confusion. Velma had no idea what her own face looked like. She felt proud of Daphne – she knew how much getting into NYU meant to her. But she also felt...afraid. Why did she feel afraid?

Fred apparently took no notice of any of the conflicting emotions that flashed through the girls' eyes, but whooped and hugged Daphne hard. "Babe, that's amazing! Congratulations!"

"Wait." Daphne blinked at him. "You're...happy for me?"

"Of course!" said Fred sincerely. "It's incredible. I'm really proud."

Slowly, Daphne's face broke into a smile. Velma grinned too, feeling a bit lighter, but still nervous. With Fred's blessing...would Daphne not go to Coolsville U with them after all?

In an attempt not to think about something so painful, she turned to Shaggy. "Did you get mail from anywhere else?" she asked him.

He nodded, looking back at his phone. "I didn't get into the Culinary Institute or Johnson and Wales," he said quietly.

Without meaning to, Velma reached out and touched his arm comfortingly.

"Shaggy, I'm sorry," said Daphne sympathetically.

Shaggy shrugged. "It's like, fine. I didn't really expect to get in there." He glanced back up at his friends, grinning. "But I like, did get into Roosevelt."

Velma smiled wider, but the pit in her stomach was back. It would be one thing if Daphne didn't go to Coolsville. It would be more awful for words if Shaggy wasn't there with her either.

"Way to go!" Fred exclaimed, bringing them all in for another embrace. "Honestly, I'm so proud of you guys."

"We're like, going to college!" Shaggy exclaimed.

"We're going to college together," Fred added with a smile.

Was it Velma's imagination, or did Daphne's face fall slightly?

x.X.x

That evening at their meeting with the band, the gang was surprised to see that Tony's kitchen had been decorated with a huge banner that read "Congratulations!"

"Jeepers!" Daphne exclaimed. "What's this for?"

"You guys, of course!" Tony grinned. Fred and Velma had told him and Marcie in biology that they'd gotten into Coolsville U. He must have been behind this.

"Jinkies," said Velma, looking at the banner appreciatively. "This is really nice."

"It was Julie's idea," Tony said. "When I told her your news, she said we should celebrate."

"Coolsville U's a great school," Julie told them. "You're gonna love it there."

The other members of Heavy Meddle offered the gang congratulations as well – except for Leon, who seemed surlier than usual today. He sat at the kitchen table with his arms crossed and scowled at nothing in particular.

"Did you apply?" Daphne asked Tony.

Tony shook his head. "Nah. I'm gonna take a year to figure out what I want to do – I think I'd like to take over the restaurant someday, but I haven't decided if restaurant management is right for me."

"Well there's like, definitely no rush," Shaggy told him.

"Ro rush!" Scooby agreed.

"You think you'll keep up your mystery-solving during college?" Tony asked the gang at large.

"You bet!" Fred exclaimed.

"And you're all fine with going to college in the same town where you grew up?" Leon asked, speaking for the first time.

Everyone glanced at him, feeling disquieted by his hostile tone.

"You did," Julie pointed out, rolling her eyes at him. "And so did Joey."

Leon shrugged. "Yeah, but we all know there are those stuck-up snobs who think that going to school down the street from their house is beneath them. They're too proud to stay in their hick towns and think they can only make something of themselves if they go to college out of state." He jerked his head at Velma. "I mean, I can guarantee Coolsville U's not your first choice, right?"

Velma eyed him frostily. "Actually, it is."

Leon raised a disbelieving eyebrow at her. "You really didn't apply anywhere else? Smart girl like you?" he challenged.

"Why are you picking on her?" Julie asked.

Leon shot a Julie a dark look. "I'm just asking questions," he said through his teeth.

Velma didn't need Julie coming to her rescue – she could take care of herself just fine. "It's not the only place I applied," she told him. "I got into Stanford, too. And I'm expecting to hear back from Ivy League schools in the next week or so."

Leon scoffed waspishly. "You're telling me that even if you get into some place like Harvard or Yale, where the best and the brightest go, you'll be fine with staying here in a podunk town like Coolsville?"

"Hey," Joey cut in, putting a hand on Leon's shoulder, but Leon shrugged it off roughly. "Calm down, dude. What's with you? You've been like this all afternoon."

"You mean with a stick up his ass?" Felix smirked.

"When doesn't he have a stick up his ass?" Julie muttered.

"Don't test me today, Jules," Leon replied with a growl.

"Since when it asking a question 'testing' you?" Julie demanded. "We don't have the time or patience for your dramatics. Get over yourself."

Leon suddenly rose from his seat, knocking the chair back so violently that it fell over. Everyone watched tensely as he lunged towards Julie, standing so close to her that they were almost nose to nose.

"Say that again," he growled.

Julie flinched just slightly, but her face remained stoic as she glowered at him, even though it looked as though Leon was about to hit her.

"Get. Over. Yourself," she snarled.

Leon shoved her up against the wall, and the others shouted in alarm.

"Whoa!" Joey and Felix both rose quickly. Joey made to stand in front of Julie, while Felix went to Leon and pulled him back. "What the hell's going on?" Joey glared at Leon.

Leon glanced around at the others, who were all staring at him with stricken expressions, and he relaxed slightly. "Nothing. I'm fine." He took a deep breath and sat back down. "Sorry," he muttered to Julie.

She didn't respond, just glared at him.

"Are you hurt?" Joey asked her.

"No," she replied, still glaring at Leon.

Tony and the gang all looked at each other uncomfortably. The tensions between Leon and the rest of the band seemed to be reaching new lengths every week, but this was the worst they'd seen it yet.

"Are you gonna behave yourself?" Joey asked Leon angrily.

Leon glanced up at him. "Yeah," he replied, sounding resigned. "It won't happen again."

"Should we begin?" Priya spoke up.

After a beat, Julie let out a deep sigh. "Yeah. Let's get started."

x.X.x

The rest of the meeting went smoothly. There were no more snipes or violent outbursts between Leon and Julie, but the gang worried. They were still talking about Leon's fit of temper on the way to school the following morning, and how the catalyst for had seemed to be Julie's suggestion that he get over himself.

"I just hope they'll be able to keep it together during prom," Fred sighed as they entered the school. "I don't want their fighting to ruin anything. Not now that Maureen's finally backed off." They had just walked past her in the hallway on their way to Velma's locker, and Shaggy distinctly noticed Maureen glare at them as they walked by. He shuddered under her icy look, and felt grateful that he and the gang never fought the way Julie and Leon seemed to.

"I'm sure it'll be okay," Daphne assured Fred, completely ignoring Maureen. "After all, the Hex Girls wouldn't have let Heavy Meddle be their opening act if they weren't professional at least during performances."

"I hope you're right," said Velma. "Leon seemed like he might really hurt Julie."

They had arrived at her locker, and she sighed when she opened it to find another white slip of paper inside.

"Jeepers," said Daphne, who also spied the note. "It's been a while since the secret admirer left something."

Velma didn't reply, just unfolded the note to see what it said. But the words inside made her blood run cold.

"Jinkies," she breathed.

"What is it?" asked Fred.

Velma said nothing, just handed the note off so the others could read it.

Daphne read it aloud quietly.

"Dear Velma,

I've been watching you for a long time, and now I'm ready for you to know who I am. You've gotten plenty of clues. Figure it out before the prom.

Love, your secret admirer."

The gang stared at each other, aghast.

"Zoinks," Shaggy whispered. "Like...that kind of sounds like a threat, right?"

"Reah," Scooby agreed, glancing around as though looking for the note-writer.

Velma breathed shallowly, not sure what to think or say. Up until Valentine's Day, the secret admirer had been so nice. But now it was as if they'd done a complete one-eighty. They'd never threatened her like this before.

"Why does he want you to figure it out before prom?" asked Fred.

"Probably because he wants to be her date," Daphne replied, glancing from Shaggy to Velma suspiciously. Neither of them noticed – they were both still simply staring dumbfounded at the note.

"But what's he going to do if you don't figure it out before then?" asked Fred.

Nobody responded.

Fred set his jaw. "All right gang," he said. "I think it's time to get serious about solving this mystery. For real."

Sponge: Thanks for reading! More next week. Review if you please, and don't forget to guess where the chapter title comes from! And keep sending in your predictions for who you think the secret admirer could be – thanks to everyone who has already sent in guesses. All will be revealed, I promise!