Previously:
"Does that camp of yours have a phone, Fred," asked Velma, watching the cheerful hippie and his Great Dane do comical cheerleading moves, while Daphne stomped over to them indignantly, scolding them for doing disgraceful cheers in her opinion, "I think we should probably stay in contact with Shaggy this summer."
"Like, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you guys didn't trust us," said Shaggy, walking along the sidewalk beside Scooby, picking at a greasy stain on his green and white striped shirt. Velma was ahead of him, messing around with some handheld contraption. For the life of him, Shaggy could not understand how Velma could stand the heat in her orange turtleneck. He was sweating in his t-shirt and blue jean shorts, imagine walking outside in that.
"We do trust you, Shag," said Fred from the front of the group, Daphne at his right hand side. They both stopped and crossed the street, the two others and Scooby following along. His clothes made a lot more sense than Velma's. Dressed in a white t-shirt and blue short, he was just as dressed up as Shaggy.
Daphne looked over her shoulder and said, "We're just making sure you're both ready. Are you sure you're up for this for the entire summer?" She pulled down her purple sundress and adjusted her matching beret on her head; if ever the fashion fanatic, Daphne was definitely one.
Shaggy rolled his eyes down at Scooby, who nodded in agreement, "Like, yeah, we're sure, Daph."
"Well, we've already told you how to get into contact with us it you need to, so just remember those numbers," said Velma seriously, looking up from her device.
"What I'd like to know is when we're actually gonna buy a car. I hate walking home," complained Shaggy.
"I'm working on it," said Daphne confidently, "For some reason, Daddy's a little adamant of buying one for us. Don't worry, though, I'll bet we have a nice, cool car before school starts up again next year."
"Well, we'll talk more about this tomorrow," said Velma, finishing up on her machine she was holding. The five of them stopped suddenly in front of a modern, split level home. In one of the front window, they were able to see an older woman that resembled Velma with her black glasses and short brown hair similar to her daughter's.
Velma adjusted her backpack and then said, "See you tomorrow at the old tree house."
"Bright and early," confirmed Fred as they parted ways. Daphne started to pick some flowers and leaves from passing trees and bushes, fiddling with them in her hands. Fred fell back into step with Shaggy after the latter had let go of Scooby's leash and allowed the Great Dane to skip on ahead.
"Shag, how'd you do one your P.E. final?" asked Fred.
Shaggy shrugged his shoulders, "Like, sports just aren't my thing, man," he answered vaguely.
Fred nodded, clapping the scrawnier teen's shoulder sympathetically, "You got the lunch subject down in any case," he said with a wry smile which Shaggy returned slowly.
At that moment, a few school boys showed up next to them on their bikes. Mostly they looked to be around twelve or thirteen. One of them with fiery red hair and too many freckles to count smiled and said in an attempted suave voice to Daphne, who was holding a few daisies and lilacs in her hands, "Hey gorgeous."
Daphne looked up from her flowers slowly and turned with an eyebrow raised to look the kid up and down. She blinked and said in a strained polite voice, "Excuse me?" Fred and Shaggy exchanged looks, becoming very interested in all this.
"How about you and me go to the movies tonight?" the kid asked, his voice an octave or two lower now. His friends were watching the exchange, snickering. Daphne glanced over her shoulder to Fred and Shaggy, silently wondering if this kid was for real, or if he was pulling her leg. Because Daphne hadn't answered the red head's question yet, he boy glanced to his buddy on his right and said loudly so everyone could hear, "Too stunned to speak." He turned back to Daphne and said, "That's alright, we probably won't be watching the movie anyway."
Daphne snapped her head around, hearing that remark, and said sharply, "In your dreams, small fry."
The kid's friends all started to snicker louder. Fred's face brightened suddenly with recognition and he said, "Hey, hasn't my sister babysat you before?"
The boy's face turned as red as his hair suddenly, his eyes practically bulging out of their sockets. Trying to play it cool, he scoffed at the older, muscular boy, "Yeah right. I haven't had a babysitter since I was six." His friends laughed supportively.
Amidst their laughs, Fred's face broke out into a wide smirk and he stepped towards them, stating with a chuckle in his tone, "No, I'm sure it was you. Just last week, too. You were the brat going through my room, weren't you?"
Everyone became silent. The boy's friends looked at him as though they'd never actually seen him before, Daphne and Shaggy were watching with extreme satisfaction and amusement, respectively. Suddenly, Shaggy's eyes widened considerably and he walked forward as well, saying incredulously, "My mom babysat you last Saturday, man! Like, groovy, what was you name again?" Shaggy thought it over. Scooby spoke up and exclaimed, "Rackenzie!" A dawning look overcame Shaggy's features and he cried out, "Like, that was it! Mackenzie Carlson!"
"Mackenzie?" his friends exclaimed simultaneously. A brown hair kid said, "I thought it was Scott."
"It is!" objected the boy, a large scowl on his face, "It's just my middle name; I hate Mackenzie."
Daphne gave a gasp as she rushed to Freddie's side, her flowers lay forgotten on the sidewalk. "I remember where I've seen you from. I went along with Velma when she babysat you a while ago! Little Macky Carlson!" She was grinning widely, her eyes sparkling with delight.
"Velma Dinkley?! You're friends with Velma Dinkley?"" exclaimed Mackenzie, who had turned white when he heard that name. He turned back to his friends and shouted out, "Let's get out of here!" The rest of the children confusedly followed the redheaded boy, exchanging befuddled looks. Some were even occasionally glancing longingly back at Daphne; to which she simply rolled her eyes to.
"Velma has quite a way with children," explained Daphne vaguely when she saw the curious looks Fred and Shaggy were both sending to her. "Come on, let's go." She walked back onto the sidewalk and stooped down to pick up her fallen flowers.
A few minutes later, the three teens and Scooby Doo came to another home, this time a Victorian styled one. "Like, see you guys tomorrow!" Shaggy waved, walking up the sidewalk to his house.
"Reah, ree you rater!" echoed Scooby, following his master faithfully into the house.
Daphne and Fred started walking again in a comfortable silence. Daphne continued to fiddle with the flowers in her hand, trying in vain to create a crown of daisies. They crossed a couple of neighborhood streets, walked passed the Milk Shake Shop where they exchanged greetings and goodbyes to some of their acquaintances from school. Being head cheerleader and the captain of the football team, though clichéd and almost too perfect, did have its perks. They were popular. But that didn't mean they let it go to their heads.
Continuing their journey to each of their homes, Fred started a conversation, "So, France, huh?"
Daphne looked up from her mess of flowers and smiled serenely, "Yeah, my family's been anxious to go back." With a sigh, she let the flowers finally drop to the sidewalk for good. Turning back to Fred, she said, mimicking his tone, "So, camp, huh?"
Fred chuckled and nodded his head, "Yep. I guess it'll be my sixth time going there."
Daphne thoughtfully looked off, thinking back to past summers. He was right. "I'm guessing you have a good time there, then."
Fred grinned, thinking of the peaceful lake, all his old friends, the good-natured sporting competitions… "Oh yeah, it's great. There's this beautiful lake you can swim in," Daphne wrinkled her nose, thinking of the murky water people voluntarily jumped into, "The cabin supervisors don't let you sleep past nine, so you've got to get up early, that's about the only downside of this camp. You can take all sorts of classes: creative writing, clay, drawing…yep, you can't get bored there." He paused then went on, "But you already know that."
Daphne smiled, "Just because my grandfather owns the camp doesn't mean I've ever been there."
Suddenly, they found themselves at the Blake's mansion. Daphne stepped up to the black Iron Gate, grasping the large 'B' in the middle of it with one of her hands. She adjusted her backpack then her hat with her other hand, turning to look at Fred.
"Do you think Shaggy and Scooby can handle all that?" she asked suddenly, "Honestly, I mean. Their past experiences with those old kooks in masks haven't been the best and brightest."
Fred sighed, looking thoughtfully down the road. Finally, he said, "I don't know…I guess I trust them enough to call one of us if they need help…but…" he broke off and shrugged at her. Grinning suddenly, he said, "The worst that could happen is they loose Mystery Inc. some business."
Daphne smiled too and turned to look at her home. She turned back around, her face optimistic as she asked brightly, "Write me?"
Fred's grin widened, "Every week," he confirmed, "Write me back?"
"Every week," Daphne echoed, laughingly, pushing a button to the side of the gate.
Seconds later, a snooty male voice replied from the speaker next to the button, "Blake's residence. What is your business here?"
"It's Daphne; could you open the gate, Jenkins?" Daphne spoke confidently.
"Yes, Ms. Blake," the voice replied with a kinder tone.
The black gate opened and Daphne stepped in, turning back one more time to wave at Fred, "Walk safe," she ordered softly.
Fred waved back, "See you tomorrow at the tree house," he said before walking off.
A/N- the chapters will get longer as I go along, don't worry. I forgot to tell you last time that they may be out of character in this story, so sorry about that. Thanks to:
Dreamdog- I hope I got into a bit more detail. In future chapters, detail will get a lot more specific. Thanks so much! You were my first reviewer. You ROCK!
Eternity15- Lol, well, I think we can safely say that they may need a bit of help this summer ;). Anyhoo, I updated soon, just like you said! Thanks for reviewing!
firestarter444- Same comment from Eternity. Thanks for the review! You know, it's becoming clearer to me that Harry Potter stories are a lot easier to write than Scooby Doo ones, lol. I just hope it gets easier as I go along.
Seal Pup- Thanks for the warm welcome! I agree, this will be a fun story, but it'll probably be more on the romantic side (It is a Daphne/Fred story, after all :D) Thanks so much for reviewing!!!