Sponge: Here's chapter 8! This will be a long one, so let's get the show on the road. Warning: language and some graphic Fraphne romance. Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Scooby Doo characters. They belong to Cartoon Network, Warner Brothers, and Hanna-Barbera. All lyrics to the songs "Make Up Your Mind/Catch Me I'm Falling," and "I Dreamed a Dance" belong to Brian Yorkey. Any dialogue in bold comes directly from the Next to Normal script.


Chapter 8: I Dreamed a Dance

Tony was right. The first thing Holden did before rehearsal the following afternoon was gather the cast on the stage to apologize. Mr. Atwood hadn't arrived yet, and the tech crew were all backstage completing various tasks.

"What I did yesterday was really uncool," he said with a shrug. "I don't know, I guess I'm just feeling overwhelmed with everything and yesterday was really bad and I took it out on you."

Tony raised an eyebrow at Velma, as if to say, See, what'd I tell ya? Shaggy noticed, and gritted his teeth.

"I'm really sorry for everything I said. Especially to you, Daphne." Holden glanced at her apologetically but Daphne, kindhearted as she was, appeared to have already forgiven him. She waved her hand in an easygoing manner.

"All water under the bridge," she told him with a winning smile. He grinned back at her. Fred bristled. Shaggy noticed this as well.

"We accept your apology too," Tony said, clapping Holden genially on the shoulder. It seemed that everything was back to normal – apart from Shaggy and Velma. They had opted not to go to the practice room again this afternoon, which Scooby found rather suspicious. He ruminated on this as he headed upstairs to the wood loft, where he had been tasked by Leesa to inventory how many six-foot-long beams there were. Since the drama students had already begun the process of building the set, Mr. Atwood had decided to just go ahead and get started. Scooby remembered that he'd seen several beams leaning up against the wall the day the cast list went up, and Daphne had showed them around.

The woody smell invaded his sensitive nose as soon as he opened the door to the loft. As he approached the beams of wood on the far side of the room, Scooby noticed another smell mixed in with the wood. He stood still and tried to figure out what it was. There was a synthetic scent to it, so he knew it wasn't something natural. Maybe it was the fake flowers Shaggy needed for "Make Up Your Mind," though Scooby couldn't imagine why they'd be up here. It seemed as though the smell, whatever it was, came from behind the beams of wood. He nudged aside the beams to look behind them…and gasped.

Stacked neatly behind the beams were not only Shaggy's flowers, but all the missing props. The backpack, the pill bottles, the textbooks…everything. It was all there. Scooby backed away from the hiding place and looked around. On the other side of the room was the entryway to the catwalk, where Scooby had seen the Phantom last week. Was Leesa right? Was the Phantom stealing the props to make trouble? Was she nearby right now?

Scooby bolted from the room.

Back in the auditorium, Mr. Atwood had just arrived. "All right everybody, shut the –"

But he was interrupted by Scooby barreling down the stairs and across the stage. He bounded down to the apron where the cast was still gathered.

"Rye round rhe rops!" Scooby barked.

Mr. Atwood turned to Shaggy. "What's he blathering about?"

"Like, you found the props?" Shaggy asked, bewildered.

"Ruh-huh! Ruh-huh!" Scooby nodded.

"Where were they?" asked Daphne.

"Rin rhe rood roft."

Leesa furrowed her brow. "The wood loft? How the hell did they get up there?"

"Maybe it was the Phantom…wooooooo," Holden teased, making a spooky ghost sound.

Scooby didn't think it was very funny – it was exactly what he'd thought.

"Show us where they are, Scoob," Fred said, beckoning for the rest of the gang to accompany him.

Everyone followed Scooby up the stairs to the wood loft. Tony, Holden, and Leesa came along too. At the last minute, Mr. Atwood sent Corinne Faulkner and a few members of her team to help collect and return the props.

"Be quick," he called after them. "We need to get started – we have a lot to make up for from yesterday."

When the students arrived in the wood loft, they all stared in confusion at the hiding place for the props.

"They're all here," Leesa murmured. "What the hell?"

Fred turned to Corinne. "Do you know anything about this?"

The props mistress shook her head. "Nothing. I have no idea how this happened."

"Whoever took the props must be a drama student, or otherwise involved in the production somehow," Velma pointed out. "How else would they know to hide the things up here, where no one would find them until set construction began?"

"What, are you saying one of us did it?" asked a stagehand.

"Did you?" asked Velma bluntly.

"Of course not!" the stagehand replied. The rest of the props crew spoke up to defend themselves as well.

"Then the next question," Daphne interrupted. "Is how did none of us see these when we were here yesterday during class, gathering wood for the set?"

"Well, no one was looking for these beams," Leesa pointed out, gesturing towards the wood that Scooby had been tasked to count. "They would have been easy to overlook. And like you said, no one's been in here till yesterday afternoon. Someone could have snuck them in at any time without us seeing."

"Maybe someone like…the Phantom?" Holden laughed again.

Leesa whirled around to face him. "What if it was her?" she cried. "It wasn't me, it wasn't Scooby, it wasn't Corinne, it wasn't the drama class, and I assume it wasn't you or anyone else in the cast. So who else could it have been?"

Holden said nothing.

x.X.x

Throughout the rest of the week, the cast continued to work on "Make Up Your Mind/Catch Me I'm Falling" so that by Friday, it was almost decent. Even though they weren't there yet, everyone recognized the need to move on. They hadn't even touched Act II yet. Thankfully, the props stayed where they were meant to stay, but Fred spent a lot of time during rehearsal that week trying to figure out who could have a motive to hide them. It unsurprisingly did not help with his line memorization.

When everyone returned the following Monday, the cast gathered on stage and sat around to talk while waiting for Mr. Atwood to arrive. Shaggy and Velma ignored each other. They still hadn't spoken directly since the previous week, when they'd argued in the practice room, and their onstage chemistry was suffering for it – as was their offstage friendship.

"Buy your tickets to homecoming yet?" Tony asked them, dropping down cross-legged next to Velma. Shaggy clenched his jaw and looked away.

"Yep!" Daphne answered from her other side. "Fred and I bought ours last week. Velma and I went dress shopping over the weekend."

Shaggy glanced up. He hadn't known that.

"Cool," Holden said. "Let me guess." He pointed at Daphne. "Purple, and…" he pointed to Velma, "orange."

"How'd you guess?" Velma asked dryly.

Holden and Tony both chuckled.

"I bought my tickets at lunch today," Velma told Tony. Shaggy tried to seem casual, but he was reeling inside. He hadn't noticed Velma buying tickets. It must have happened while he'd been in the lunch line, avoiding her gaze as usual.

"Neat!" Tony clapped her on the back. "So I'll see you there, then?"

Velma nodded. "Yep."

Tony jerked his chin at Shaggy. "How about you, Rogers? You gonna go to homecoming this year?"

"Re rhould ro," Scooby piped up. "Rit rounds run!"

Shaggy glanced out of the corner of his eye at Velma. She wasn't looking at him, and seemed coolly disinterested. Shaggy narrowed his eyes. Two could play at this game.

"Like yeah," he said, to Tony, but for Velma's benefit. "We should go, Scooby Doo. We'll buy tickets tomorrow." Velma cut her eyes at him, and Shaggy felt smug.

When Mr. Atwood arrived a moment later, he announced that they would pick up at the end of "Make Up Your Mind" for the lead up to "I Dreamed a Dance," a song that featured Daphne and Holden as Diana and Gabe.

Everyone set the scene. Tony, Daphne, and Holden sat in the section of the stage meant to be Dr. Madden's office. Fred, Shaggy and Velma walked to the piano, where Natalie has her disastrous recital. Scooby and Leesa sat in the front row of the house, ready to give line cues if necessary. None of the stagehands were needed at rehearsal today, and all the other crew members were working on costumes or lights. The pit orchestra listened intently as Mr. Atwood and Mr. Harrison gave them notes.

Shaggy and Velma waited near the piano and avoided eye contact. He knew the right thing to do was to apologize to her. He knew he'd hurt her feelings last week. But acknowledging that meant that they'd have to talk about what this meant for them. Shaggy knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he felt something for Velma, but he was far too chicken to admit to himself – or to her – what it was. So, they just didn't speak.

"Dinkley, Rogers, get set," Mr. Atwood called. Shaggy and Velma glanced at each other. The script called for Natalie to be sitting at the piano bench with Henry, who eventually leads her away after the recital goes wrong. Without looking at him in the eye, Velma sat down on the bench. Shaggy followed suit. Since the bench was so small, there wasn't much space for the two of them to spread out, so they were quite near each other. He tried to ignore the electricity between them.

The worst thing about this wasn't just the fact that there was tension between them. To their credit, Fred and Daphne were too wrapped up in the mystery and the play to notice. The worst part wasn't even the fact that Shaggy had gone so long without a "bonding" session with Velma that he could hardly think of anything else. Though, it was extremely inconvenient. He was all too aware of how close they were to each other right now, and lack of physical contact with her was making him crave her touch more than normal. But it wasn't even all of this that was the worst part.

The worst part was…he missed her.

Before anything else, Velma was his friend. He enjoyed her company, and the fact that they weren't talking to each other right now was killing him. But he just couldn't get up the nerve to extend the olive branch.

"All right everyone," Mr. Atwood said. "We'll pick up from the end of 'Make Up Your Mind,' with the quartet between Diana, Dan, Gabe, and Natalie, while Dr. Madden has dialogue. Moretti, you know the place I mean?"

Tony nodded.

"Action!" Mr. Atwood cried. The pit band played the music.

"Catch me I'm falling," sang Daphne, Fred, Velma, and Holden.

"Unresolved loss can lead to depression," Tony, as Dr. Madden, said. Daphne/Diana sat on a chair in front of him, in the middle of a hypnotherapy session.

"Catch me I'm falling."

"Fear of loss, to anxiety."

"Flying headfirst into fate.

Catch me, I'm falling…"

Shaggy/Henry, who didn't sing during this part, gently took Velma/Natalie's arm to help her up from the piano. She resisted at first, so well that Shaggy couldn't tell if she was in character or not.

"The more you hold on to something you lost…" Tony/Dr. Madden said.

"Please hear me calling," the others sang.

"…the more you fear losing it," he continued.

"Catch me before it's too late," sang the rest.

At this point, Velma/Natalie let Shaggy/Henry help her up from the bench and held onto him to keep herself steady. Shaggy gripped her gently, trying not to breathe her scent too deeply or think about how her closeness made him feel.

"Catch me before it's too late," they sang again.

Tony/Dr. Madden: "Depression, anxiety."

Others: "Catch me before it's too late."

Tony/Dr. Madden: "Depression, anxiety….one gives rise to the other."

Others: "Catch me I'm falling.

Catch me I'm falling.

Catch me I'm falling…"

Tony/Dr. Madden looked seriously at Daphne/Diana as the music cut out. "Wouldn't you like to be free from all that? Finally? Wouldn't you like to go home, clear out his room…maybe spend some time with your daughter? And let your son go, at last?"

Shaggy/Henry cleared his throat. "Uh. Should we go?" he said to Velma/Natalie.

Velma/Natalie took a breath, then nodded. "Yes."

"Yes," Daphne/Diana echoed.

Holden/Gabe looked horrorstruck. "Mom," he murmured.

"Yes," Daphne/Diana repeated. "I would."

This was their cue to exit. Shaggy and Velma broke apart and fled for the stage-right wings, with Tony and Holden close behind. Only Fred and Daphne remained onstage.

Fred carried a large box to Daphne, full of things from Dan and Diana's son's room.

"This is good, Di," Fred/Dan told her. "It's a good start."

"It's a good step," Leesa corrected him from the front of the house.

Fred gritted his teeth and rolled his eyes. "It's a good step," he repeated.

Then he, too, exited.

Everyone but Holden descended the stairs from the stage to the house and took seats in the audience to watch as the pit orchestra started up. Daphne looked at the box, reached in, and pulled out a music box. She gazed at it tenderly and began to sing in her sweet voice.

"I saw you light the ballroom

With your sparkling eyes of blue

Graceful as an angel's wing,

I dreamed a dance with you."

Holden had disappeared into the boy's dressing room after the end of the previous scene, and re-emerged now. As the script called for, he was dressed in a tuxedo. Everyone gawked at him. He looked absolutely stunning.

"Geez, Harmony's been working overtime," Tony muttered. They weren't supposed to start work with costumes till the following week.

Daphne seemed taken aback by Holden's transformation, but recovered quickly.

"You whispered slyly, softly," she sang.

"You told me you would be true

We spun around a thousand stars

I dreamed a dance with you."

They began a lovely dance that they had somehow, clearly, been practicing. Shaggy had to admit, they looked incredible.

"I hate this," Fred murmured to Shaggy. He turned to face his blonde friend, who was gazing sullenly at Daphne and Holden as they danced.

"Relax, man," Shaggy whispered back. "They're like, playing mother and son."

"That's true," Fred replied. "And he's gay."

"He is?" Shaggy asked.

Fred shrugged. "That's what Daphne told me. Apparently he's got a boyfriend at Coolsville U."

But Fred sounded unsure of himself. Shaggy turned back to watch Holden more closely.

"I know the night is dying, dear," Daphne sang now.

"I know the day will dawn."

She and Holden sang together.

"The dancers may disappear

Still the dance goes on."

Holden, alone now.

"And on…"

He kissed Daphne's hand and stepped away. Shaggy noticed Fred stiffen.

But Daphne had disappeared entirely. Only Diana remained now. She looked at Gabe wistfully, a mother who missed her son.

"I'll wake alone tomorrow," she sang.

"The dream of our dances through.

But now until forever, love

I'll live to dance with you.

I'll dream, my love…

I'll live, my love…

And I'll die to dance with…"

As the song ended, Shaggy felt his throat tighten. All other thoughts had left his brain. Inexplicably, he found himself thinking of his own mother. His own family.

I knew this play was gonna be a bad idea, he thought to himself.

"I'll like, be right back," he murmured to Fred, squeezing by him. "Bathroom." He didn't notice Scooby watching him from the front row with a sympathetic expression on his face. Scooby knew why Shaggy was upset. He just hoped no one else noticed Shaggy leaving.

But, of course, Velma did.

x.X.x

They had nearly finished blocking all of Act I by Friday, and everyone felt relieved. Even though they'd all have to come back to school on Sunday for a catch-up rehearsal, Daphne, in particular, felt as though she was on cloud nine. She was really getting into her character, she got along well with everyone in the cast (especially now that Holden had apologized), and on Saturday, she was going to have a romantic date to the homecoming dance with the love of her life. And, as she'd told Velma the previous weekend when they bought their dresses, this was the night she was finally going to tell him she loved him.

On Saturday evening, Velma came over so they could get ready together. Admittedly, Daphne was more excited about this particular aspect than Velma was. The boys weren't going to pick them up for another hour, but Velma was already in her orange halter dress (something Daphne had helped her pick out last weekend) sitting stiffly on Daphne's desk chair while the other girl sat at the vanity and combed a brush through her red hair for the millionth time.

"Velm at least put some mascara on or something," Daphne said over her shoulder. She was wearing shorts and a button-down shirt while she got ready – her strapless purple cocktail dress hung on the back of the door to her walk-in closet.

"I did!" Velma replied, rolling her eyes. "Madelyn helped me. You should have seen her and my parents – they made such a big deal about all this. We FaceTimed with Dottie and Bill too, and even they were gushing over me like I was some pageant contestant." Velma plucked at the shimmery orange fabric of the dress. It was a lot more form-fitting than what she would normally wear. She had to wear a similar dress for the play too, and she was dreading it a little. Velma's curves were still relatively new to her, and she was rather self conscious about them. She wore that baggy turtleneck every day for a reason.

"You're a pretty girl, Velm," Daphne said as she began putting on mascara herself. "And you've got a nice figure if you'd show it off once in a while." She considered herself thoughtfully in the mirror. "Kinda sad that your twelve-year-old sister knows more about applying makeup than you do, though."

Velma rolled her eyes. "She's still annoyed that my mom won't let her wear makeup till she's in high school."

"My parents had that rule with me and my sisters, too," Daphne said. "Maybe it's a parent thing."

"Speaking of parents," Velma said in a low voice. "How are things with yours?"

Daphne pursed her lips. "Not great," she admitted. "My dad didn't even come home for dinner tonight. He arrived just before you came over and as soon as he came home, Mom immediately went to lie down." She shook her head. "It's like they can't even stand to be in the same room with each other."

Velma frowned sympathetically. "I'm so sorry, Daph. I wish I knew how to help."

"You can help by distracting me." Daphne turned away from the vanity to face Velma. "Tell me about your niece! Was she there when you FaceTimed Dottie?"

Velma grinned, glad to talk about happier things. "Yes, and she's still adorable as ever. She'll be three months in a few weeks – I can't believe it!"

Velma and Daphne talked about Lorelei for a long time until Daphne peeked at her phone for the time.

"Jeepers!" she exclaimed. "The boys will be here any minute. Hang on." Daphne grabbed the dress off the back of the door and disappeared into the walk-in closet. "Can you zip me up?" She came back into the room and held her dress in place while Velma fastened it for her. Once the dress was on, Daphne looked at herself in the full-length mirror.

"What do you think?" she asked, turning to face Velma.

"You look great, Daph," Velma replied.

"I hope Fred thinks so too," Daphne sighed. They looked in the mirror.

"Are you ready?" Velma asked. "For tonight?"

"Yes," Daphne said, though she still felt nervous. She forced herself to think positive. "Tonight's going to be perfect, Velma. I just know it is."

x.X.x

The boys arrived to pick up the girls in the Mystery Machine and of course, Fred found Daphne gorgeous. He looked pretty stunning himself in a tailored navy suit. Shaggy wore a brown suit with a green tie, and even Scooby had dressed for the occasion, with a little blue bowtie affixed to his collar.

Velma tried not to notice how handsome Shaggy looked in his suit – it even appeared he'd combed his hair slightly for the occasion. Shaggy, in turn, tried desperately not to stare at Velma, and the way the fabric of the dress clung to her body.

Fred and Daphne held hands the entire drive to the school, too enamored with each other and excited for the night to pay much attention to their friends. If they'd been more observant, they might have noticed that Shaggy and Velma sat on opposite sides of the van with Scooby between them, neither looking at the other.

As it was, Scooby noticed.

He'd been noticing Shaggy and Velma acting strangely around each other for weeks now, ever since the day Holden got mad at everyone in the parking lot. Scooby was always too busy at rehearsals, and then too tired at home to talk to Shaggy about it. But now the tension in the air was thick enough to slice, and it was making Scooby uncomfortable.

Once they arrived at the dance, it got a little better. In the gym, they mingled with their fellow classmates and danced a bit. Shaggy and Scooby kept going back and forth to the snack table for chips and punch. Velma, out of the corner of her eye, noticed their nemesis Maureen Fischer skulking nearby with her cronies, Rachael Amora and Phoebe Albion. The three girls ignored the gang as they walked past. Velma was thankful that they hadn't given the gang any trouble since the previous year, when they'd spread a rumor that Daphne and Fred had had sex at a party.

"Mystery Inc!" came the recognizable New York accent of Tony Moretti. Everyone waved as he approached, smiling. He looked handsome in his dark suit.

"Good lookin' bunch here," he said, nodding his approval. "I especially like your tie, Scooby."

"Rank rou!" Scooby barked.

"Dinks, you look nice," Tony said to Velma. Shaggy grabbed a handful of chips from his plate and stuffed them in his mouth to distract himself.

"Thanks, Tony," Velma murmured, glancing surreptitiously at Shaggy. She had noticed his odd behavior, even if Tony hadn't. Scooby noticed, too.

A slow song started up. Daphne and Fred gave each other a simple look, and glided off to the dance floor.

"You wanna dance?" Tony said to Velma.

Shaggy very nearly punched him in the face.

Velma glanced over at Shaggy again and saw that his face was contorted in frustration, though he kept looking away as if by avoiding her gaze, she wouldn't realize. She bit her lip thoughtfully, the wheels in her mind turning. Shaggy seemed very averse to the idea of Velma dancing with Tony, even though he had no reason to be. Velma could confront him about it.

Or she could have some fun of her own.

"Sure, Tony," she said with a smile. "Let's go." She took his arm and let him lead her out to the dance floor. She noticed, with satisfaction, that Shaggy seemed to be seething.

Indeed, he was. Shaggy watched them go and felt pain and jealousy well up in the pit of his stomach. He wanted so badly to be the one out there with her, swaying with her to the music. Holding her close. Maybe bringing her face up to his for a gentle kiss.

He shook his head to rid his mind of the image and plopped down on the bleachers. Scooby followed. He couldn't avoid this any longer – he had to talk to him.

"Raggy," he said. "Rut's wrong?"

Shaggy sighed and didn't look at Scooby. "Like nothing's wrong, buddy."

"Rome on," Scooby chided him. "Rye'm rot roopid."

Shaggy still avoided the dog's gaze, but Scooby moved directly in front of him so they were eye to eye. He needed to get to the bottom of this awkwardness between his friends.

He inclined his head out towards the dance floor. "Rut's roing on retween rou rand Relma?"

Shaggy froze.

"Like nothing's going on between us, Scooby Doo, that's ridiculous," he said much too quickly. He shot to his feet. "I'm gonna like, go get some more punch, I'll be right back."

And with that, he left Scooby staring confusedly after him.

When Shaggy reached the punch bowl, he took a few deep breaths to calm himself. It had been so much easier to sneak around with Velma than to be mad at her – Scooby hadn't caught wind of anything they did in the practice room, but the minute they stopped talking, he was suddenly like an FBI agent. Well, we like, are detectives, Shaggy reminded himself as he scooped some punch into a cup. But still.

"You clean up nicely."

Shaggy turned his head at the voice, and found Holden Walsh striding towards him.

"Dude," Shaggy said. "Isn't that like, your costume for the play?"

Holden shot him a charming grin. "Don't tell Harmony." He glanced down at his tuxedo. "You think maybe I'm overdressed?"

Shaggy looked around. "Well, I think you are the only one here who's like, wearing a tux."

Holden chuckled. "So Moretti's dancing with your girl, huh?" He indicated the direction he meant with his chin, and Shaggy followed his gaze to where Tony and Velma swayed together.

Shaggy tensed. "She's not my girl, man," he muttered. He felt a stone form in his stomach as he said it. Wow, he didn't know he'd have such a negative reaction to the truth.

Holden shrugged. "You two have chemistry, onstage at least. Or, you used to, at any rate. Maybe she should be your girl." He glanced back over at them. Then, almost to himself, he said, "She's like a different person in that dress. Even I have half a mind to hit that."

Shaggy felt his blood boil as he whirled around to face Holden. But surprisingly, Holden was grinning amicably, as though he'd just delivered the punchline to a joke.

"Kidding," he said. "Wow, you should see your face."

With that, he jerked his chin up by way of farewell and walked off, leaving Shaggy feeling more confused and flustered than he had been before.

x.X.x

Once on the dance floor, Velma's guilt caught up with her.

Yes, Shaggy should admit his feelings for her, but she wasn't being very mature about this either. Hadn't she just been thinking to herself the other week that Shaggy's friendship was more important to her than any of the other stuff that had been going on between them? (Though Velma would be the first to admit that the practice room perks had been pretty damn amazing). Regardless, she couldn't deny that she missed him like crazy, even without the "bonding" they'd been doing. He was one of her best friends. Not talking to him had been torture.

Her mind was made up. She would swallow her feelings for him and apologize so they could go back to being friends.

But first, she had to set Tony straight. Even if nothing was going to happen with Shaggy, Velma didn't want to lead Tony on.

"Listen, Tony," Velma said. They swayed together in the middle of the dance floor, though their embrace wasn't nearly as intimate as, say, Daphne and Fred's. "I hope...I hope you're okay with us just remaining friends."

Tony furrowed his brows at her in puzzlement. "As opposed to what?"

Velma felt herself blush. Had she been totally misreading things? "You know...as opposed to...getting back together?" She bit her lip in embarrassment.

Tony stopped dancing and looked at her seriously. "Dinks," he said. "I don't want to get back together. I swear, the thought had never even crossed my mind. I mean, it was nice when we were together like that, but I think we both know it wasn't right."

Velma's face burned and she looked down. "I'm so sorry, Tony. I feel like an idiot."

He chuckled and started dancing again. "Don't worry about it, Dinks. Ever since Holden brought it up that one time, I figured we'd have to talk about it eventually." He grinned at her. "I promise, all I've ever wanted was to be your friend. And Shaggy's and Daphne's and Fred's." It was the first time Velma had ever heard Tony refer to anyone by their first name. "Plus," he continued. "If you don't mind me sayin', it looks to me like you've got it pretty bad for him." He jerked his head towards Shaggy, who was standing by the punch bowl, staring into space.

Velma groaned. "Is it that obvious?"

Tony laughed out loud. "Only to me, 'cause I've known you for so long. Also, I'm pretty good at reading people. And to be honest, I think maybe he feels the same way about you."

"I wish he would figure that out," Velma grumbled.

Tony chuckled again. "Don't worry, Dinks. He'll tell you when he's ready."

Several couples away, totally oblivious to Tony and Velma's conversation, Daphne and Fred were having one of their own.

"This is so romantic, Freddie," Daphne said. She rested her cheek on his chest and sighed blissfully.

"I know," Fred murmured into her hair. He held one of her hands, his other arm wrapped around her waist. He had to admit, feeling her body on his like this was making it difficult for him to think properly.

Daphne, too, was having trouble keeping her mind from wandering. She was so nervous about telling him she loved him, even though she was ready and she wanted to tell him. Not here, on the dance floor. But definitely here, at the dance.

In an effort to distract herself from her nerves, she glanced around the room. She saw Shaggy walking from the punch bowl to the bleachers. Did he seem glum? He was too far away for Daphne to tell his facial expression.

A few couples away she saw Velma dancing with someone. A moment later, she realized it was Tony Moretti. She blinked in surprise. Why was Velma dancing with her ex-boyfriend? Was she over Shaggy? Was she trying to get back together with Tony?

"What are you thinking about?" Fred asked.

Daphne blinked and looked up at him. She didn't want to tell him that she was suspicious about Velma dancing with Tony. Fred didn't know about Velma's feelings for Shaggy, and Daphne knew it had to stay that way.

"I'm thinking about you," Daphne said, standing on her toes to kiss him.

He kissed her back fervently and Daphne felt her heart catch fire. All other thoughts evaporated from her brain.

"Freddie," she whispered, her mouth very close to his ear. If she was going to tell him she loved him, she'd better do it now while she had the nerve. "Can we go out into the hallway? Just for a minute?"

Fred nodded, and the two of them slipped away. They found themselves in the hall near the locker rooms.

"What's up, babe?" Fred asked, leaning against a wall.

Daphne shook her head and stood close to him. "I just wanted to go somewhere private." So I can tell you that I'm madly in love with you, she didn't say.

Fred grinned devilishly at her. "Well..." he looked around the hall. "It appears we're the only ones here." He placed a hand on the small of her back and brought her flush against him. "Can't get much more private than that."

Daphne was astounded to notice a slight firmness under his pants as she pressed against him. She grinned seductively up at him. "And it appears you're pretty eager for something," she murmured into his ear. Fred shivered and clutched her tighter.

"I've been eager since we picked you up and I saw you in that dress," he growled, leeching his mouth onto her neck.

Daphne's eyes fluttered shut. "Freddie, are you trying to seduce me?" she whispered, feeling his fingers ghost over her chest.

"Is it working?" he asked in return.

Aflame with passion, they came together, lips opening against each other. Daphne's heart thumped with adrenaline as she clutched the back of Fred's neck. With a gasp, she felt his face move down her neck and shoulder all the way to her chest, where he carefully pushed down her strapless dress and kissed her now exposed breast.

A thrill of pleasure jolted down Daphne's spine as she felt his mouth open against her. Heat converged on her center and she pressed herself closer to him.

"Freddie..." she sighed, unbuttoning his pants to slip her hand inside.

Fred gasped at the contact, and sucked on her perfect breast in response to her soft touch on him. Neither of them were thinking properly. All they knew was that they wanted each other. Daphne's skin was aflame, her brain fuzzy with want and need and love. The sentence was on the tip of her tongue as Fred caressed her.

"Freddie…" she gasped. "I…"

Just then, they heard footsteps down the hallway.

Hurriedly they broke apart and fixed themselves – Daphne pulled her dress back up and Fred buttoned his pants. They had just finished when they heard a voice.

"Mr. Jones? Ms. Blake?"

It was Mr. Aiken, their homeroom teacher.

"What are you doing out in the hallway?" he asked, puzzled.

"Just…talking," Daphne said evasively. "The music was a little loud in there. But we're on our way back now."

He looked at them sternly. "Yes, please. You know students aren't supposed to be anywhere but the gym during the dance."

Fred and Daphne nodded quickly, and rushed back into the gym. So much for my plan, Daphne thought to herself.

Once they'd arrived, they were greeted by a worried Shaggy.

"Like have you guys seen Scooby Doo?" he asked. "The last time I saw him he was on the bleachers and now he's like, gone."

Velma and Tony approached them. "What's the trouble?" asked Tony.

Shaggy said nothing, stone-faced.

"No Shag, we haven't seen Scooby," Fred replied.

"Scooby's missing?" Velma sounded alarmed.

"Well, there aren't many places he could have gone," Daphne replied. "He'll turn up eventually."

"Like shouldn't we go look for him?" asked Shaggy.

Fred shook his head. "We can't. Mr. Aiken is out patrolling the halls, and we'll get in trouble if he finds us out there again."

"Again?" asked Velma suspiciously.

Daphne felt her face turn red. "If Scooby's out in the hall, a teacher will find him and bring him back," she said, ignoring Velma's stare.

x.X.x

Scooby, indeed, was walking the halls. He needed some time – and some quiet – to figure out why Shaggy was acting so strangely. It seemed like Shaggy and Velma were fighting about something. But what? And why wouldn't he tell Scooby about it?

His aimless wanderings had led him to the auditorium. He knew it would be quiet in there – he could still hear music from the gym wafting down the hall. He tried the door, expecting to need to pick the lock with his nail, but was surprised to find that it was already unlocked. Shrugging, he headed inside.

And immediately wished he hadn't.

The theater was absolutely dark, except for a lone lamp standing on the apron of the stage. Daphne had told them about this lamp. It was called the ghost light. It served several purposes – the main was to illuminate the theater when no one was in there so it wouldn't be completely dark. That way, when the time came for people to use it, they could at least see where they were going to turn on the house lights. Another use, Scooby remembered, was a superstitious one. It was meant to appease the Phantom of the Auditorium.

Scooby was about to turn tail and leave the theater when he noticed something wispy moving about behind the ghost light on the darkened stage. Fear coursed through him as he realized it was the Phantom.

He bolted from the theater.

Back in the gym, the others waited by the bleachers when Scooby came racing in through the door.

"Like, Scoob!" Shaggy exclaimed, rushing to greet him. "Where were you, buddy?"

"Rye raw rhe Rhantom ragain!" he cried.

Daphne furrowed her brow. "The Phantom? Were you in the auditorium just now?"

"Ruh-huh!" Scooby nodded.

"Let's go investigate," said Fred.

"Like, are you out of your mind?" Shaggy hissed. "There's a ghost in there! And like, didn't you just say that Mr. Aiken was out in the hall?"

"I have Dinks' number," Tony piped up. "I'll keep an eye out and text you guys if I see a teacher going that way."

"Thanks, Tony," said Velma. Shaggy clenched his jaw.

The gang left the gym and snuck down the hall towards the auditorium. They paused at every corner to make sure Mr. Aiken wasn't nearby. Every small noise made them freeze. At last they arrived at the auditorium, breathing sighs of relief that they'd made it unscathed. But just as Fred was about to reach for the door, it opened from the other side.

Everyone screamed.

"Geez, you guys scared me," said the person who was coming out of the theater. It was Holden, wearing street clothes.

"Re rared roo?" Scooby asked, trying to slow his beating heart.

"What are you doing in here?" asked Daphne.

"Returning my tux," Holden replied. "I borrowed it for the dance, but wanted to put it back before rehearsal tomorrow. Can you believe we have to come in on a Sunday just to play catch up?"

"Did you notice anything odd in there?" Fred asked.

Holden furrowed his brow. "What do you mean 'odd'?"

"Scooby saw the Phantom again," Velma said.

Holden laughed out loud. "Right. Listen, I know I was cavalier about all of this last week, and I am sorry about that. I don't know what kind of bullshit Leesa and the other seniors have been feeding you, but there's no Phantom here." He opened the door wider. "The ghost light keeps her away, see?"

Everyone peered in to look behind him. Indeed, the ghost light illuminated the otherwise empty stage.

"Maybe you're just stressed, and you're seeing things?" Holden suggested.

Scooby glared at him. "Rye roe rhat Rye raw," he stated.

Holden held his hands up. "All right, whatever." He waved. "See you kids at rehearsal tomorrow." With that, he left out the main door of the school.

Velma crossed her arms over her chest thoughtfully. "It's kind of suspicious that Holden just happened to be in the last place Scooby saw the ghost."

"I agree," said Fred. "Let's go look around."

Bzzt bzzt.

"Rut ruz rat?" asked Scooby.

"My phone," Velma replied, reaching into the pocket of her dress. "It's a text from Tony. He says Mr. Aiken's coming!"

But before they could do anything, they heard the sound of footsteps fast approaching. It was Mr. Aiken, and he was frowning.

"Mr. Jones, Ms. Blake," he said. "Didn't I just tell you that you needed to be back in the gym? I'm disappointed in you both." He turned to Shaggy and Velma. "You too, Mr. Rogers and Ms. Dinkley. I'll give you kids a choice. You can either go back to the dance, or you can go home. But you can't hang out in the hall."

Daphne put a hand on Fred's arm. "It's okay, babe," she whispered. "We'll get a chance to look around tomorrow." To Mr. Aiken, she said, "Sorry, Mr. Aiken. We were just leaving."

He folded his arms. "All right. Have a nice rest of your long weekend," he said. He waited until they had left the building before he headed back down the hall.

With a sigh, the gang headed for the Mystery Machine, defeated, but determined to do better tomorrow.


Sponge: I know this was a super long chapter. Thanks for reading it. Review if you please!