Happy Halloween

Disclaimer: Scooby-Doo! is property of Hanna-Barbera, I cannot and will not make lucrative funds using their work, I only use their characters for mine and your entertainment.

Shaggy moved slightly one of the wig's black bangs…again. Uggh, it really was hard to see with it on. He knew this was on purpose, after all: the disguise was exclusively chosen to make him unrecognizable, but…it really was a hassle having to move away his ¨hair¨ only to be able to see for a few seconds before it fell back on positon. Oh yeah, and talking about the actual disguise: a dark green leather jacket with a red t-shirt under, gray skinny jeans, brown military boots, a red dog collar and a pair of ¨emotion match¨ programmed ears and tail…It was certainly not something he thought he would be wearing tonight.

(This brings me back memories…and not precisely pleasant ones)-thought Shaggy while looking again at the ¨werewolf¨ disguise that Daphne had chosen for him and then, he let out a sigh-(Like, remind me why are we doing this again?)-he asked himself tiredly.

His mind then reminded him that: one, they needed to investigate the suspect's house; two, since they were practically banned from getting near her, the only way they could even get a chance to do so was tonight, at her Halloween party; and three, since they could get in real trouble if someone recognized them at the party, they all needed to disguise themselves perfectly and act as different as they could so that nobody would suspect it was actually them. Hell, they even came to the party at different times so that nobody could place them as a group and left Scooby behind at the Mystery Machine because no matter what he wore he was still very easy to recognize! THAT'S how serious this operation was…and so they couldn't fail it, no matter what.

Shaggy couldn't help but sigh again.

(I guess I should like, get back to work then)-he said to himself before getting back into the ¨character¨ he was supposed to be playing at this party.

If someone asked him, his name was Casey Warren, a freelancer guitarist of 23 years old (being taller than his own actual age really helped him a lot for this).

He was supposed to be stupidly friendly, flirty and kind of airheaded, that way he could ask many things about the house and the owner herself without looking so suspicious (some may think he is a bit of a stalker, and some others may think he is just drunk, but hey! All that matters is that he's getting his job done!). Now that he had gathered some juicy information, he needed to find one of the gang to pass it and do the next move, and that was…a bit of a problem, sincehe didn't even know how they looked right now. Yeah-Yeah, he knows, that sounds so stupid and he must be joking…but NO. Believe him, he's not kidding: he actually doesn't know how his teammates look like right now. WHY? Pffft, don't look at him, it was Daphne's idea! It seems that, for the redheaded, it was way better having to look all over the place for one of them than ¨looking suspicious¨ by going directly to talk with them. Really annoying, honestly, …but that's nothing he can argue about at the moment.

Putting a hand over his real ear and making a face as if he was having a headache, Shaggy left his new group of ¨friends¨ behind and went to a ¨more quiet place¨ near the drinks' table.

-Agggh, I would kill for a painkiller right now-¨Casey¨ said out loud. It was his way of asking Scooby for some help.

-There's some medicine at the other end of the table-his friend answered him through the earplug. Again, all this ¨cryptid¨ dialogues seemed too much precaution in his opinion…but yet again, it was already too late to complain.

(Like, the next time we have to check a suspect's house…I hope we don't have to go all ¨James Bond¨ like again)-thought Shaggy tiredly and after a moment of still acting ¨sick¨, he then moved slowly to the table's end.

Luckily for him, there was only one person there (which meant he didn't need to do the ¨cryptid¨ questions to confirm it was actually one of the gang): it was a girl in a witch costume. She was leaning against the wall while slightly moving a glass of wine in her hands.

(Heh, looks like your typical ¨mysterious girl¨ scene in movies)-commented the tall teen in his mind.

Her costume was conformed of a big black witch hat, a pretty elaborated (and kind of sexy) witch dress, a simple black choker and some high stylish black boots. The dress was sleeves and it slightly accented her chest, but not so much that it made her look indecent. The dress' top was of a light orange and had a white heart decoration along the chest area. The dress' skirt was wide (it kind of remind him of a tutu) and its black color really looked great thanks to the little white ornaments on its end. On top of that, there was a big red ribbon tied on her hips, which, strangely, made all the combination look even better.

Due to her costume choice, blue eyes and long brown hair, he thought for a moment that he might have found Daphne…but when he noticed the ¨slight¨ heel on her boots, he quickly understood he was wrong.

(Like, DAMN! Good job Daphne!)-he immediately thought. She indeed had made a great job disguising them so that no one could recognize them, even himself was fooled for a moment! And oh god, how good it looked…how good she looked in that witch costume…

(IGGHH, LIKE, FOCUS MAN! FOCUS!)-he slightly slapped himself-(We're still in the middle of an important investigation! Don't be a creep!)-he reminded himself, angry with himself for being so easily distracted by her.

Now was certainly not the time to show her his feelings…and he still had a job to do. Getting back into character, Shaggy walked to the ¨witch¨ and said in a flirty way:

-Hey girl, how you doing~? –giving her an equally ¨seductive¨ look and hand gesture.

When she turned her head to him, she gave him a quick look od ¨Seriously? ¨ before showing a ¨mysterious smile¨ and saying:

-Hey-her tone sounded like ¨a little interested¨, but he knew she only was trying to keep up her role.

She then made a move like if she was trying to look behind him (which he found a bit strange and risky since it made her look kind of ¨suspicious¨ for a moment) and after a giggle, said:

-You look happy to see me.

-Huh? –he could only say, but then…his face quickly burst in flames at the realization: he was waving his tail.

Rapidly, Shaggy grabbed his tail to make it stop.

(Stupid emotion match system!)-he screamed on his mind, deeply embarrassed, but soon, he remembered that he had to stay in character.

-Y-Yeah, w-why I wouldn't I be? –he expressed, trying to recover his ¨confident¨ persona and failing slightly on the process.

Her new giggle was enough proof of that.

-I don't know-she simply said, sounding amused by all this situation.

Heck, he was supposed to be the ¨actor¨ master…and yet here he was: looking like an idiot compared to her.

(Come on dude! You know you can do this!)-he encouraged himself, he needed to get back on track before he made a fool out of himself…again.

-You know what I don't know: how do I not know your name? –he asked her, as corny and silly as ¨Casey¨ would ask.

She gave him another ¨mysterious smile¨ and slightly moved her drink (even though it was obvious she wasn't going to drink it), and after some long tortuous minutes of silence, she finally said:

-You can call me…Ruby. Ruby Atlas-her speech was slow yet charming, making her look like a real ¨cool beauty¨ who many guys would like to figure out…even at the cost of their own sanity.

(Pffft, like, this is so unlike us…But it's actually kind of fun!)-he thought while restraining a laugh-Ruby, huh? That's a nice name, but I didn't remember rubies are meant to be blue-he commented while looking directly at her eyes, with his face dangerously close to hers, because ¨Casey¨ wasn't the kind of guy to care about ¨personal space¨ and such things (yeah, it definitely wasn't because he wanted to get near her without having to worry about her reaction or looking like a creep).

-That's because they aren't-she remarked him with a curious glance.

-Oh yeah! You're right, hahaha! –he laughed soundly and got a little away from her, trying to look like if he was a bit drunk already-You know? I wasn't planning on meeting such a pretty girl like you in a place like this. I mean, just look at how huge this house is! Believe me, I even got lost trying to go to the bathroom…and ended up in the kitchen instead! –he told while laughing some more and making big gestures-And even if I did find one, most girls end up going upstairs looking for some BIG FUN-okay, maybe his way of doing things wasn't really subtle at all, but hey! This was exactly in character for a guy like ¨Casey¨.

-Oh, I see…-she simply responded like if he were just talking about the weather, but he knew that was her way of acknowledging the information and thinking about their next move.

He knew he still had to talk to her for some more minutes before ¨going to the bathroom¨ or ¨going to hit on some other girl¨ so that their exchange didn't seem suspicious to the other guests…And so he did. Honestly, he really was enjoying this little game of pretend, because not only he could be bolder and open about his attraction for her (without her actually noticing his intentions), …but also because…he didn't need to fear. While he was ¨Casey¨ he didn't fear to get too close to her. While he was ¨Casey¨ he didn't fear to touch her shoulders. While he was ¨Casey¨ he could even dare to…look at her lips in a way he never allowed himself to…

-Kiss me.

-W-WHAT!? –he nearly fell backwards cause of her sudden demand and his ears and tail were high in shock. D-D-Did he just hear what he thinks he heard?

-There's a hostile suspect at 9 o'clock. I think it might have spotted us-she quickly explained him with a serious tone and expression, never looking away from said ¨suspect¨ who was behind his back and dangerously walking near them.

-O-Oh-his expression quickly turned into panic and his shoulders tensed up, but still, he did his best to not turn around and see (that would doom their efforts for sure)-W-What do we do now…? –he asked, getting more and more nervous by the second.

-I told you: public displays of affection make people very uncomfortable-she reminded him, sounding a little angry for having to repeat herself.

(OH. So that's why she said that so suddenly)-he thought, starting to feel really stupid.

But still…his cheeks couldn't help but get red by the thought. T-This is okay, right? I mean, she is the one who told him to do it! So he wasn't acting like a pervert! He was just doing what he was told to and was best for the mission, b-but still…what if she gets mad at him for being so touchy while ¨fake kissing¨ her!? What if he sucks so much that she doesn't want to get near him ever again!? What if she notices his feelings for her and then things get all awkward!? What if this didn't work out and all their efforts become- MMMMNNNHHH!?

…Oh…Okay, nevermind. It seems his time for thinking was up now…

Normally, a kiss between them would be a bit difficult to do considering their height difference, but thanks to her boots' heels, she got no problem to grab him by the shirt and shut his train of thought with a kiss. And phew she just made it in time. One sec later and they probably would have been thrown away by that security guard…But the danger wasn't over yet, because said guard was still staring at them trying to confirm or deny his suspicions.

(Jinkies, what a pain of a guy!)-Velma angrily exclaimed on her mind…and then made Shaggy got more close to her.

They needed to cover each other more, so that he couldn't see their faces. In an attempt for that, Velma put her hands around his neck and pushed him more into the kiss. She hoped he would reaction soon, because being the only one involved in the kiss didn't exactly made them look less suspicious. Luckily for her, Shaggy soon did put his hands around her waist and reciprocated the kiss with…great passion. He pushed her even more against himself (almost lifting her from the floor) and started to kiss her with so much fervor that…well, that was…certainly something. Before she knew it, he had pushed her against the wall and…oh god, oh god, since when did he know how to do a French kiss!?

Velma didn't know what had gotten into him, but…it certainly was working, because now the guard was looking disgusted by their ¨public display¨ and walking away with a sour expression on his face. A minute after confirming that he was now gone, Velma slightly punched one of Shaggy's arms repeatedly. He broke the kiss, confused.

-…Coast clear, buddy-she said after getting some air.

-Huh? –he only said, looking even more confused.

-Am…the guard is gone, Shaggy-she simply mentioned, getting a bit confused by his reaction.

-Oh. OH! –as if his mind had just got back from the moon, the tall teen rapidly got away from her and exclaimed in panic-SORRY-SORRY-SORRY! I DIDN'T MEAN TO GET SO CARRIED AWAY! I WASN'T TRYING TO IMPOSE ANYTHING, I SWEAR! I JUST-!

-SHHHHHH, calm down Shaggy! We don't want to make a scene here! –she reminded him in the lowest tone she could muster, grabbing his face immediately to make it seem just like a little ¨couple argument¨.

-S-Sorry…-he whispered, feeling his face got red with embarrassment. UGGH, HOW HE COULD BE SO DUMB!? Not only he forgot that they were pretending while kissing, …but also almost made them get in trouble again by screaming like a crazy man-(Uggh, earth, just swallow me already…)-he cursed himself on his mind.

-It's okay. I'm sorry too for having to force you into a kiss.

-DON'T! –his sudden answer took her by surprise-I-I mean-…Y-You don't have to be sorry for that. Y-You only did what was necessary in…that situation. A-And…-oh god, someone please kill him already before he does more things he can't undone! -…P-Please don't get mad at me for saying this, but…-he really isn't going to say it, isn't he!? PLEASE SAY HE'S NOT GONNA SAY WHAT HE THINKS HE'S GONNA SAY! -…-t-that was…t-the best…k-kiss I had in…a very long time…

Oh shitHE ACTUALLY HAD SAID IT! OH SHIT, he actually had said it. QUICK! WHAT WAS HER REACTION!?

-Oh…ah…thanks-to say that she was shocked was an understatement, but at least she didn't seem disgusted or angry-Though…I really didn't do much? –she commented sheepishly.

If his face could get even redder, well, now it certainly did. He felt the impulse to hide his face behind his hand and apologize over and over again, but before he could, she took him by the hand and started to walk away from the table.

-W-Where are we going? –he asked a bit confused.

-Well, since our act was good enough to fool that guard, I guess that also makes us good enough to go upstairs without looking ¨suspicious¨-she explained him and then turned to him with a ¨mysterious¨ smile-This case might still be far from being solved, …but no one said we couldn't use their own trick against them-and just like that, she gave him a wink.

Shaggy looked at her dumbfounded…until his lips turned into an excited stupid smile and his tail started to move like crazy. Like a happy puppy, the reluctant werewolf followed the sexy witch through the crowded room. Final destiny? Upstairs, obviously!

-…Oh, guys? You know I can still hear you, right?

THE END

N.A: Okay, now is official: blackouts are the best way to make me write XD. Well, since this story was Halloween themed, I thought it would be perfect for said holiday…but since I just can't wait till so long, I decided to post it right away! (Though publishing a Halloween story in the middle of summer vacations does seem a bit out of place TT w TT). Anyway, I just wanted to clarify some points in this story. First: yes, Shaggy is the one who is romantically interested in here. Second: yes, he doesn't want to show his feelings because he doesn't want her to feel uncomfortable or make her think he is a weirdo. Three: yes, Daphne made Velma wear contact lens and hid her freckles with some makeup. Four: no, I didn't name the fic after seeing the Scooby Doo movie with said name on it (although I have to confess: it really amused me how I got the name just right XD…though, now that I think of it, it wasn't really all that hard O_O). And five: yes, I know Scooby talks different in the show and movies. BUT I CAN'T HELP IT! I can't even understand myself when I try to write like he actually talks like TT o TT. So, if it bothers you…just hear him talk like ¨normal¨ in your own head! Last but not least: I hope this fic wasn't too long read…and that the ehem, ¨hot¨ scene wasn't too muc Anyway, without anything left to say: hope to read you soon!