Breaking Away

-Beth C

Summary: I've always been a Velma/Shaggy supporter, so after watching the first movie, this just popped into my mind. Somehow I think they belong together.

Rating: PG-13 for adult themes, but nothing really explicit. Teenagers sometimes go too far, ya know?

Feedback: Sure. If ya want a Scooby Snack in return. Trekie386aol.com

Disclaimer: Based on the movie Scooby-Doo, not the cartoon. Characters are not mine, never will be – However if anyone would like to sell me Matthew Lillard, I'm interested ;)

Norville "Shaggy" Rogers stood in front of the Mystery Machine, his 17-year-old face crestfallen at the scene he had just witnessed. He had been only trying to help, and now it seemed like his help had made the situation even worse. He had been trying to explain to each member of Mystery Inc just how much he or she was needed.

As usual, he screwed it up. He had called Fred the 'banana' in a banana split. Well Freddie Jones, even at 16 was the leader of the group. He had called Daphne Blake, also 16, the 'bubblegum' ice cream. That had been pushing it right there. However, he had been on a roll and what had sealed the argument into a permanent rift was when he called Velma, 16 as well, the 'sweet and sour' topping.

Velma had taken offense and quit the group. Daphne chimed up seconds later stating that she was the one who wanted to quit first, whining how now everyone would think she copied off the 'smart girl' while glaring at Velma.

Freddie had looked at the arguing girls and just decided that it would be better if he was the one that quit. In a few short minutes, Mystery Inc was no more. Fred steamed off to his BMW, muttering all the while about how he didn't need anyone to help him solve mysteries. He was the star of Mystery Inc after all. It was him the press went to first, his blond hair and blue eyes being the first thing reporters flocked to.

Daphne headed to her lavender Cadillac, stomping her knee-high orchid boots in the puddles on the ground, practically yelling about how she was not defenseless and at the mercy of every ghost, ghoul and villain they could find. She tossed her long red-hair over her shoulder as she entered her car.

Velma turned from the scene, her face screwed up behind her coke-bottle glasses, trying to fight back tears. She knew she was the youngest one of the group, Shaggy would be 18 in a few months; both Fred and Daphne would turn 17 shortly thereafter. She had just turned 16, and now she tried not to cry like a child. She needed to see in order to drive her small undescript sedan out of here, crying would only cloud her vision. She passed Shaggy and Scooby without another look.

Shaggy watched them go. "No! Wait!" He called out uselessly to their passing cars. "Don't go! Please don't go!"

They all left him. Fred and Daphne didn't even glance his way, both were trying to be the first off the scene. Shaggy shook his head, momentarily worried for his friends' safety behind the wheel. Fred backed off a bit to let Daphne out and Shaggy relaxed. At least they weren't out to actually kill each other.

Velma passed him after the other two had gone. Shaggy could make out that she was crying, wiping away tears with one hand while clutching the wheel with her other, doing her best to drive. She did glance his way once, but then steadfastly turned her head back to the front and drove off.

Scooby, the Great Dane and final member of Mystery Inc, took that moment to speak up. It wasn't every day that you heard a dog talk, but Scooby did that and more. He had been talking as long as Shaggy could remember. His brown coat glistened in the light from a parking lamp, showing off the big black spots that flanked his back and hindquarters. "Raggy? Ro I rit roo?" His voice was quiet, and very confused.

Shaggy turned from the fleeing cars and laid one hand atop Scooby's head. "No, Scoob. You don't quit. Friends don't quit." He explained as he scratched the dog behind one ear. "Friends stick together." He wasn't sure who he was trying to convince more, himself or Scooby.

The mystery had gone well, he was genuinely surprised to see that it had fallen apart so quickly after that. They had solved it with their usual flair for messing up the plan, yet this time the outcome had been too much for them all. Velma had fumed as Fred stole the credit for the plan, her plan, that had been used. Daphne had been captured yet again, and had fumed about that. Shaggy was the only one who thought things had gone about normal for the gang.

Yet now they were gone and this time it appeared to be for good. They had never argued like this before, no one had ever threatened to quit and now tonight it seemed like they all had. He sighed. "Well, I guess it's just me and you now Scoob." He opened the side door to the van and Scooby obediently climbed in.

"Rat ru we ru now, Raggy?" Scooby questioned as he made himself comfortable on one of the beanbag chairs leaning against the far wall.

Shaggy closed the doors and walked around to the front of the van. He opened up the door and climbed in. "I guess we do what we always do. We go on." He started up the van after turning the key a couple of times. The van desperately needed a tune up, yet Fred had continued to put it off. He shifted into drive but before pulling out he turned back to Scooby once more. "Like, are you okay back there, Scoob?"

The answer was immediate. "R'm Rokay." Which either translated into 'I've found food' or 'I'm going to take a nap now' to Shaggy. Shaggy shook his mop of uncombed brown hair. He better concentrate on driving.

The Mystery Machine was a rather large vehicle to begin with. With it's recent problems Shaggy much preferred it when Fred did the driving. Tonight the mystery had come down pretty quickly and each member had shown up in their own car, leaving Shaggy to bring the van over. He had shown up, just in time to get Velma's plan in action. Now all he had left to do was leave.

Normally the gang would have gone to Coolsville's best pizza parlor for celebration afterwards. They would have shared sodas, and pizza and laughed over how stupid the case had really been and who had been scared and who hadn't. None of that was on the menu for tonight.

He wasn't even hungry, which for Shaggy was like a dehydrated man refusing water. He was busy thinking of ways to bring the group back together, of trying to find ways to apologize and smooth over the rough spots. He wasn't the smartest one in the group, but he wasn't the stupidest one either. All he had to do was figure out what to say.

He was planning on heading home, to rest and think this through. Maybe once everyone had some sleep, things would seem better and they could all sit down to talk. Yeah, that might work. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear Scooby bring his head up and rest it on the seatback.

When the dog yelped, Shaggy was forced back to reality with a start. "Raggy! Rats Relma's rar!"

In a blink he had passed the smaller sedan. He stomped on the brakes and the Mystery Machine slid to a stop. This stretch of road was unlit for miles, and very little traffic was ever seen on it. Shaggy rolled down his window and stuck his head out. He could barely make out the shape of her car's darkened headlights. She had pulled off the main road onto the grass.

Why would Velma stop here, miles away from civilization? Was she having car trouble? He immediately shifted the van into reverse and backed up the road until he could pull off the road and behind her car.

"Like, Scoob, stay here," he told the worried canine. Scooby had started to whine upon seeing the car. "I'm gonna go make sure she's alright." He turned the van off, but left the running lights on, as the road they were on was completely dark and forlorn.

He climbed down from the driver's seat, scared that something was seriously wrong. He could feel his knees wanting to knock together, but he forced himself to be calm. Velma needed help.

The closer he got to her car, the more he could make out. She was slumped over the steering wheel. Fresh waves of fear washed over Shaggy and for a second he forgot to breathe. Then she made a slight movement and he relaxed some. He tried to regain his former bravado and stepped up to the window. With one skinny finger he tapped the glass to get her attention.

"Velma?" he croaked out. "Are you alright?" He could see his reflection in the glass, the image of himself superimposed over her huddled form. It was bizarre to say the least. He tapped again. "Velma?"

She lifted her head at the second tapping. He could see that she had been crying, her face was tear-streaked and her eyes were puffy. She rolled down the window but didn't say anything at all, just sniffed loudly and bit her lip to keep a fresh wave of tears away.

He had never seen her cry before. He had seen Daphne cry plenty of times, but never Velma. Velma being the most sensible member of the gang had never really let her emotions get out of control. The sight of her face tugged at his heartstrings. She had been his friend since her family had moved close to his when she was only three. He had found her fun even then, no matter that she had the glasses and had trouble keeping up with him. He had always found reasons to go to her house. It helped that her mother was a good cook.

He reached one hand in the window. "Velma? Want to talk about it?"

It seemed as if she was going to refuse, but Shaggy saw something slip past the tight control she was trying to hold over her emotions. Finally she nodded and got out of her car. "It's all my fault!" She began to cry openly now.

Shaggy took the smaller girl into his arms, bringing her into a protective embrace. The top of her head came to just below his chin. He could feel her wet tears soaking the front of his lime green t-shirt. "Shh." He soothed, not sure exactly what to do. He tried to remember what he saw Fred doing when Daphne had gotten upset. "It's not your fault."

She nodded, her small face still buried into his chest. "I was the one that quit first!" Her arms had gone around him and she was clinging to him like a drowning person. "Oh Shaggy, I've messed everything up!"

Shaggy thought about what he had said that had prompted the breakup. "No, Velma. Like, that was me." His voice cracked on the words. "I was the one that said those stupid things."

She stopped her sobbing to look up at him. "But what you said was true."

He shrugged. "I was just trying to say how much we need each other. I guess I didn't do it so well." He could see her eyes through the glasses, watching his expectantly. "I'm sorry for upsetting you. Like, I had no idea it would set you off."

Velma removed her glasses for a moment to wipe her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater. When she put them back on, she saw Shaggy watching her expectantly. He really believed it was his fault. She let out a shuddering sigh. "Thanks, Shaggy. I needed to hear that."

He took her hand and let her to the back of her car. "Like, can we sit down for a bit? My legs are killing me from that skateboarding we did earlier."

She opened the door to the backseat and they both climbed inside. Shaggy closed the door behind him and let out a relieved sigh. "These stunts just have to stop someday before I break something, man."

They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes. Finally Shaggy held out his arm and Velma scooted closer for a hug. She had always been attracted to the tall, skinny kid sitting next to her. He had grown to love his mother's collection of 60's music and had been fascinated with the stories of the hippies of her time. He had quickly adopted the slang and mannerisms even though his mother had tried to discourage it. Now he acted like he should have been born to that era and not this one. It was just this very uniqueness that had drawn Velma to him like a moth to a flame. All the other boys at her high school were pretty uninteresting when compared to Shaggy.

He was speaking to her now. "Velma, I really didn't mean to say anything to get you mad at me." He squeezed her arm gently. "I think you are much more important to the group than Daphne myself."

The words made her blush, knowing that he thought that much of her. "Gee, thanks, I think." She could feel the backseat filling with tension, both hers and Shag's. It was much later than she had expected to be out tonight, but she hadn't wanted to chance driving while upset. Without much thought for anything else, she looked up to him as he looked down to her. She put her one free hand up and brought his face close to hers and kissed him gently on the lips.

He surprised her and returned the kiss, tasting the salty sweetness that had been her tears. Something in him screamed 'stop now' but he shoved that little voice aside. He had been wanting to kiss Velma for years, ever since he had been thirteen or fourteen. When she had started filling out, she had suddenly started taking to wearing the bulky sweaters and red skirts to try to hide her figure from the guys. She never dated to his knowledge and rarely saw anyone outside of the gang.

She was a mystery herself. A very deep enigma that had Shaggy entranced. He finally broke the kiss and realized that they were fogging up the windows. He was too breathless to say anything. Kissing her had been even better than in his dreams.

Velma pushed her glasses up on her nose, they had started to slide down. The next few minutes were filled with awkward silence as Shaggy shifted slightly in his place on the seat. She took a minute to really look him over, from his scraggly brown hair, to his skinny body and finally to his eyes that were locked on her. She could see a glimpse of fear in them. What was he afraid of? "Shaggy, what's wrong?"

A thought flew through her mind, what if Shaggy hadn't wanted to kiss her? What if she had just made the wrong choice right now? She watched him lick his lips and break his gaze on her to look around the car, as if looking for an escape route.

"Umm, Velma, umm…" he started to say, while reaching for the car door. When things got frightening for him, he usually ran first and asked questions later. This situation was rapidly becoming very scary, and very out of control.

Velma sighed, knowing she had just pushed a boundary of friendship that really shouldn't have been crossed. She put her head in her hands and tried to hide her growing embarrassment. How could she have thought for even a minute that Shaggy might have been interested in her? Was this night going to get any worse? She had broken up Mystery Inc and now she had scared off Shaggy.

He saw her drop her head into her hands and saw her shoulders begin to shake. "Velma, no, like, don't cry again." He stopped reaching for the door and put one hand on her leg.

"I've screwed everything up now!" her voice cracked with impending tears. "Mystery Inc, first and now you." Her shoulders began to shake and she moved away from Shaggy to give him his freedom to escape the confines of her car.

"Me?" The word was spoken with surprise. "Velma, don't think that. We are friends. Like, I've been wanting to kiss you for the longest time."

That simple statement brought her head up sharply. "You- you have?"

He nodded slowly as if admitting something really serious to himself. "I've found you attractive for years now." This time he was the one who initiated the kiss, bringing his lips close to hers and placing a gentle kiss first, then opening his mouth and claiming hers as his own. She felt his tongue enter her mouth and dance around inside.

She had very little experience in kissing, and never like this before. The whole sensation made her heart beat faster. She let her tongue brush against his, causing him to pull her ever closer. Acting only on instinct now, she fumbled her way into his lap, wanting to minimize the distance between them. When she broke the kiss, she found herself crosswise in his lap, and one of his hands draped across her legs. "Jinkies." She breathed into his face, noticing he was panting and was it true? Yes it was, he was trembling.

"Zoinks." He whispered, knowing that if Velma got up now, she would have proof that he desired her. He had to keep her put for the moment until the situation could calm down, until he could calm down. He had very little experience with girls, a few had kissed him before, but nothing like this. He was battling his own urges now, and a very talkative conscience.

"Now what?" Velma said quietly. "Shaggy, you're shaking!"

"It's just that…" he started to say, then changed his mind. "I want to…" No that wasn't right either. His emotions were warring with his conscience and his hormones. He'd better get out of there now. "Velma, I have to go. Will you be alright?"

"Don't go, Shaggy."

"I have to, Velma. Before this goes too far." She could see a look of pleading in his eyes, and was that a trace of desire she read? She had never seen him this way before. The only things he had desired up until now had been edible.

That thought slammed into her mind like a runaway freight train. He desired her! Her, Velma Dinkley! The boring, dull, unattractive kid. He wanted her! The whole experience was enough to make her head spin. With her new found information, she tossed her own sensibilities out the window. Right now she wanted to be needed, wanted to be desired, wanted to feel close to someone. Less than an hour ago she had felt unwanted to anyone.

"Maybe I want it to go far." She said as she kissed him again, this time she shifted in place until she was straddling him. His lips were soft to kiss, warm and tasty too. She didn't know where she found her bravado, yet something was urging her forward, urging her to push this new boundary as far as she could. No other guy had ever, ever touched her before and she needed to be touched. She continued to kiss him and reached down with one hand to bring his up to place it on her back under her sweater.

"Velma," he tried again to stop her, but it was as if she was possessed with something. She was determined to get her way this night. He knew what was going to happen next, god he wanted it to happen so badly now He owed it to her to at least try to stop her, before she did something she might regret later.

"Touch me, Shaggy." Her voice was husky with want and need. "Touch me like a man should touch a woman."

He slid his hand up and down her back, her skin was soft and smooth. He could feel her relax into his arms, feel her body press ever more tightly against his. She had to know what she was doing to him, right? Then he felt her hand drop between them and under his shirt. "Vel-ma!" he moaned at her touch.

"Do you want me to stop, Shaggy?" She finally asked him after another round of kissing. He was on the verge of losing his mind, her touch was driving him wild.

"No. Yes. No." He answered, not sure anymore. He wanted her. God he wanted her. Those brown eyes looked at him with love. "Velma we really need to stop." It was his last chance, he threw it down in front of her. "If you continue, I don't know of I can hold myself back any longer." He brought one hand up to caress her soft cheek. "I love you, Velma, and have for years."

In response to those words, Velma brought her hands down and grabbed the hem of his shirt. She pulled up quickly and the whole thing came off before he knew it. Now her hands were free to roam his adolescent chest. He wasn't particularly hairy yet neither was he bare. She tweaked at one of his nipples, then buried her lips into his neck. "I love you too, Shaggy."

That did it for him. The scent of her, her touches and caresses, her kisses and now those words. Shaggy had been resisting all along, but now he threw caution to the wind. He undressed her while she undressed him. The patch of road was still unoccupied by anyone other than the two of them. His hands found her sensitive spots almost as fast as hers found his.

Within minutes, they were bare, or as bare as they could get in the back seat of her car. His pants were pushed down to his ankles and her skirt was lying on the seat next to her panties. She couldn't believe she was doing this, but right now she didn't care. She wanted Shaggy to show her how much she meant to him. She wanted him.

He was beyond stopping now, as he kissed her hungrily. Her body was bathed in a light sweat, and he caressed it eagerly. He still hadn't done anything that couldn't be forgiven. That is until she sat on his lap fully and then that final line had been crossed. He felt her softness envelop him.

Nature took over where reality and logic stopped. Right there in the back seat of her car, they made love. The windows were completely fogged up, and they followed their instincts. It was a mind blowing experience and they both needed and wanted it.

It wasn't until later that they realized just what they had done.

-To Be Continued