More than

Disclaimer: I don't own Scooby Doo or any of the characters

Chapter 3

More than Anything

Velma worked diligently on creating the perfect look. One good thing about being so into science was that she was able to create her own makeup. Daphne's makeup was made up of stuff that had bat poop and fish scales in it. She was not about to put that on her face. It took a lot of trial and error, but she eventually found something that worked. She figured if this worked out that she might be able to create her own line of makeup.

This kept Velma busy in her lab for about a month. She pretty much ignored everyone. They didn't know what was going on or why she wasn't talking to them. She grew her hair out, but kept curling it under so that it looked like nothing changed. When she finally came out, she was satisfied with the results of her makeup and hair. She just had to figure out whether or not Shaggy asked her just because it was easier.

"Shaggy, I don't want to sound like a self-conscious girlfriend, but did you only ask me to be your date because it was easier than finding somebody that you'd actually want to go with?" she asked him shyly.

He started for a minute before he could answer. He was stuck at the word girlfriend before he could process what she had said. "Like no, I want to go with you. Zoinks, I asked you so early like before you had a chance to get asked by anyone else. Like, man, Velms, what brought this on?"

Velma started blushing, "I just heard some people talking that's all. I'm sorry. I won't bring it up again."

"Velma," Shaggy said taking her hands in his, "if I just asked you because it was easier and like didn't think it was possible for you to get another date, I'd like have asked you the day before the grand opening, not three months before it." Shaggy looked down at their joined hands and then up at Velma. Her face was flushed a pretty shade of pink. He started to panic and quickly dropped her hands, "I need a sandwich." he said and instantly went in the direction of the kitchen.

Velma wasn't sure what to make of that. He seemed sincere enough, and when he took her hands in his she couldn't help but blush more. He seemed to do it without even thinking about it, and then he seemed to realize what he was doing and dropped her hands like they were on fire. Of course he'd be thinking about his stomach. She looked at her hands. They weren't that repulsive, were they? She shrugged it off. When it came to Shaggy, you never knew what was really going on through his mind. She didn't know that he was having a panic attack in the kitchen.

Shaggy's hands were shaking so bad, he couldn't even do anything with them. He had taken Velma's hands, he hadn't even thought about it, just did it. Then he looked down and noticed their joined hands and looked up at Velma. She was blushing. He'd never seen her blush before and she looked beautiful. He had the sudden urge to pull her closer and hold her close which was why he dropped her hands so quickly. He decided he had to get out of there as fast as possible. Of course the first thing he'd think of was something to do with food. He was afraid that she thought he was a freak.

Finally the day of the grand opening came around. Daphne wore a purple ballgown with purple gloves. She had her hair up and wore purple dangly earrings. Of course she looked beautiful. Fred was naturally her date. He wore a suit and tie. His hair was gelled fashionably. He looked charming as her date.

Shaggy had shaved off his goatee for this special occasion and had grown his hair out long enough to fit into a ponytail at the base of his neck. He wore a suit and bow tie. He looked very handsome. All three of their mouths dropped open when they saw Velma.

She wore a form fitting royal blue evening dress that had a red sash around her middle and held up by two thin straps at the shoulders. It showed off her figure which was well hidden in her usual outfit. The top was low cut which she'd usually be very uncomfortable wearing. She still was, but she was making a point so it wasn't as much. She wore her hair down and straight so that it came to her shoulders. Her bangs were parted in the middle with two clips keeping them out of her eyes. She wore glasses the same size as her usual ones, but with thin frames instead of her usual thick ones. She also wore dangling pearl earrings with a matching necklace. Her makeup looked professionally done. Her sandals matched the color of her dress. They looked dressy, but weren't high heels. Her fingernails and toenails were painted blue with red tips to match the sash around her waist.

Velma expected a reaction from her friends, but whatever she was expecting, it wasn't this. Once Shaggy finally got his voice back he said, "Zoinks Velma, you look amazing."

"Thanks Shaggy. So do you. I like the ponytail."

"Shall we?" Shaggy asked while offering Velma her arm. Velma took it flashing a brilliant smile at him. He almost tripped because he was entranced by her smile. He caught himself just in time.

They got there and people had quite a reaction to the gang's being all dressed up especially Shaggy and Velma. Scooby was all dressed up too. His coat gleamed and he had a bow tie on instead of a collar. He was a big hit. The people in the restaurant were warned not to ask what was in the food just to tell the waiters if they were allergic to any foods. They assured them that that there wasn't anything wrong going on with the food, just that most of Shaggy's dishes contained ingredients that most people wouldn't think of putting together and your more likely to like it if you try first and ask what's in it later. Luckily for Shaggy, people were okay with that answer.

There was a live band that played while Shaggy was in the kitchen cooking up a storm. Velma could just imagine the looks on the cooks' faces when they heard what ingredients they were supposed to put together. It had to be priceless.

(A/N: Shaggy is going to be seriously out of character, but he's trying to sound sophisticated instead of like a hippie.)

Once dinner was served Shaggy came out. "I have an announcement to make. I thought since it was the grand opening I'd do something a little different. Usually I'd make sure to grab a plate for myself to make sure I got some food too. People believed in me and got me where I am today. So I thought I'd face all of my fears before I lost my nerve. I have written a song about somebody very special to me who happens to be here tonight and I'd like to play if for all of you. I apologize in advance if my song and/or voice isn't quite up to par." This time it was Velma's mouth that dropped open. She'd never heard him talk like that before.

Shaggy took up the guitar and in a sweet tenor voice began to sing. It was about somebody who he crushed on. Velma being the smart one immediately figured out it was about her. There were some distinctive things that pointed to her, but only to her. It mentioned pillow fights and popcorn fights. There were other things too, most of which could be Scooby Doo, but some things just weren't possible for a dog to do, even one as talented as him. The solidifying evidence that is was about Velma for Velma was the fact that for most of the song Shaggy was looking at his hands playing the chords, but the last two lines of the song he was looking right at Velma.

You may be thinking that he could be looking at anyone, but Velma was sitting on one side of the table while Fred and Daphne sat on the other. There was no doubt in Velma's mind that it was about her.

The most memorable parts of the song was the last half. It went like this:

(A/N: This is mine. I'm thinking about making it into an actual song.)

More Than Anything

Verse: I wanna hold you in my arms

And wipe away your tears

I wanna be yours

For all my years

Chorus: More than anything

I love to see your smile

You have your own style

I wanna kiss your lips

My heart's doing flips

Ending: I love to see your smile

I love the light in your eyes

I love you

More than anything

There was an amazed silence as the crowd just stared at him. Shaggy thought maybe he'd made a mistake in playing that song for them. He thought maybe it just plain sucked. He just about dropped his guitar when all of a sudden there was thunderous applause from everyone. He heard some shouts of 'Encore, Encore.' "I'll do one more if you really want me to." There were shouts of encouragement from the audience. "This is the last song I'll have time to play if you want your dessert that is. This song I wrote for my dog, Scooby Doo, when he was a puppy. It's supposed to chase away nightmares."

It was a beautiful song. Velma thought it sounded even better when she heard it in person. She looked over at Fred and Daphne to see their reactions. Their eyes were wide and they were both giving each other the 'did you know about this?' face. Velma almost felt like laughing, but she didn't. If it was possible, there was even louder applause for this song than the last. Afterward Shaggy went back into the kitchen to prepare the desserts.

Shaggy had brought his own car earlier in the day in order to make some last minute preparations and walked back to the house afterward. He rode with the gang in the mystery machine on the way to the restaurant later on that night.

The gang was still there when everyone else had left. They were just sitting around talking while Scooby was eating all of the leftovers. Shaggy usually would have joined him, but his stomach was still in knots. "Jeepers Shaggy, I didn't know you wrote songs." Daphne said.

"Or that you could sing like that." added Fred.

"It sounded great Shaggy. You're meal was delicious too." Velma said.

"Thanks guys. Man, that like means a lot."

"I'm gonna use the restroom. I'll just be a minute." Velma said and excused herself. She was rather quick, but she slowed down on her way back when she heard they were talking about her.

"Looks like you were wrong, Fred." Daphne said.

"What do you mean?" Fred answered.

"Velma can look pretty when she tries. Who would've thought that she could look like that?" Daphne said.

"Yeah, it's an amazing transformation. She doesn't even look like the same girl as she did this morning." Fred said and Daphne nodded.

"Like wait a minute!" Shaggy shouted, "what are you talking about?"

"Well Daphne and I were just having a conversation a couple months ago about how Velma isn't the prettiest person in the world." Fred said.

"Velma's not pretty," Shaggy said and Velma just about walked away, but then he continued, "She's beautiful."

"Yeah, she looks really great tonight." Daphne said.

"Velma's beautiful all the time. Like you don't see it because you're not looking for it." Shaggy said.

"Give us a for instance, Shaggy."

"Like Velma's got the prettiest smile. Just cuz she doesn't wear lipstick doesn't mean it's not pretty. Have you like ever looked close enough at her to like see that she has the prettiest eyes too? She's got bits of gold in her brown eyes. Zoinks, she doesn't even need makeup to look pretty." Shaggy said rather vehemently. Daphne and Fred looked at Shaggy in surprise. Velma thought that was a good time to make her appearance.

"I'm back." Velma said and all three of their heads turned to look at her, "what? I wasn't gone that long was I?"

"Like no." Shaggy said. Velma noticed Fred and Daphne looking at her oddly. They were trying to see what Shaggy saw – the pretty smile and gold in her eyes.

"Do I have something on my face?" Velma asked starting to get self-conscious.

"Not at all. We were just admiring your jewelry. You really know how to accessorize." Daphne said.

"Fred, you were admiring my jewelry too?" Velma asked.

"No, I was looking at your um... hairstyle. I really like it like that." Fred said.

"Um, okay."

"Velma, like I'm gonna take a walk outside. You wanna come with?" Shaggy asked.

"Sure." Velma said.

"Shall we?" He asked offering her his arm once again. She gladly took it.

They walked around for a little bit without saying anything. Shaggy had thrown over his shoulder at Fred and Daphne that they could go ahead and leave since his car was still there. "This is a great place Shaggy. It was a wonderful night."

"Yeah, thanks for being my date for this."

"Anytime. Those were some great songs you sang. I didn't know you felt quite that strongly about Scooby." Velma said.

"Yeah well it helps him sleep and if he can sleep, then it's like easier for me to sleep." Shaggy answered.

"I meant the first song you sang. I knew you loved Scooby, but I didn't know you loved him more than anything, or that you wanted to kiss his lips."

"What? Zoinks, that wasn't about him... Oh, you like got me. So did you figure out who it was about?" he asked.

"I think I've got a pretty good idea." she said, "that reminds me, thanks for defending me in front of Fred and Daphne. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I couldn't help it."

"Oh you like heard that? I meant every word." Shaggy said.

"Really? You think I'm pretty even when I'm dressed like usual?" Velma asked him.

"Of course." Shaggy said like it should have been obvious, "Velma," he said turning to face her and then taking both her hands in his, this time on purpose, "can I like kiss you?"

Velma answered, "I'd like that."

"You would?" Shaggy asked uncertainly.

"More than anything." she answered smiling.

So this is where the story ends with their first kiss, but the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

So what did you think. Leave a comment and let me know.