1: New Arrival

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The young man once again examined the paper he'd ripped from the store's billboard, then he looked at the building again. It almost looked like a cottage, but he knew a pool house when he saw one. Likely, most of the first floor was dedicated to the care of said pool and the hot tub nearby. As he stared, a bubbly redhead poked her head out and bounced to the gate. A towel covered her shoulders and most of her bikini top. A green wrap skirt hung around her hips, and a very dark pair of shades hid her eyes from the twilight.

"Hey! Are you here for CPA?" she asked excitedly.

"Y-yeah. Are we, uh, early?"

"We? Oh!"

A great dane plodded out from behind the brick wall and sat dutifully next to his companion. The redhead's smile quickly resurfaced.

"He can s-s-stay, right?" the man stammered.

"Of course!" the host said. "Is he a service dog?"

"He's everything. Like, I'd be dead without him."

"Well, come on in! You must be hot in all that."

She opened the gate and started to reach for him. The dane growled as his human flinched. The lady drew back quickly.

"S-sorry. I… Just… Don't touch me."

The host nodded in understanding and asked, "Is that a personal thing, or a power thing?"

"Yeah. B-both," the man said, visibly trembling as he wiped his face with a gloved hand.

"Hey. It'll be okay," she assured him. "You're safe here. We're going to help you."

"Pr-promise?"

"I promise. You're a lot stronger than the rest of us, but we're all here for you. What's your name?"

"I- They call me 'Shaggy.' An-and this is Scooby."

A pair of concerned aqua eyes peeked over the sunglasses.

"I'm Daphne. You have a lot of repressed emotion, Shaggy. You've been alone for so long…"

"The wh-whole t-t-time! T-te-en years."

Daphne's lip quivered as Shaggy sobbed. The anger and rejection and isolation seemed to hit him all at once, a trio of punches to his gut that made him want to vomit. He clung to Scooby's neck for comfort and scratched his head to try calming himself. The dog nuzzled back with a whimper. A huff of frustration broke them apart.

A new girl with dark skin crossed her arms and stared disappointedly at Daphne.

"You owe me five bucks. Again," she said.

"I need to stop gambling with you," retorted Daphne, waving her away. "Head inside. We'll be right there."

"You remembered vegetarian snacks, right? Just in case he showed up today?" the new girl asked.

Shaggy lifted his head inquisitively. "Snacks?"

The black girl smirked and pushed her glasses up. "Yeah, you don't do meat, right? It messes with your head or something?"

"Y-yeah… How did-?"

Daphne cleared her throat. "Shaggy, this is Velma, our group's precog. She knew you were coming, but wasn't sure when. And, yes, of course I remembered. Just like last time, green plates are vegetarian food."

"I like food."

Velma brushed a lock of brown hair behind an ear, revealing several silver hoops around the top of the lobe. She tilted her head with a grin, ushering Shaggy past the gate, and he hesitantly obeyed. Scooby stayed close to his hip as the girls followed.

"So," Velma piped, "what is your power, anyway?"

Shaggy shrugged. He heard Velma wince softly behind him and assumed that Daphne had elbowed her.

"You don't have to answer that, Shaggy," Daphne said. "Not 'til you're ready, anyway."

He nodded and stopped at the door. He pulled his oversized coat closer and adjusted his headphones before removing them. He sighed and turned to the girls.

"You have ghosts."

Velma's eyes widened behind her glasses. Daphne nodded slowly.

"Freddie does, yeah. His mother," she said.

"Oh. Family's fine," Shaggy said. "Does the, uh, h-house have, like, a history or anything?"

"No, it's brand new. And if the land had history, I would have seen it," Daphne assured him.

Despite her words, Shaggy braced himself for an unpleasant sight as he grabbed the doorknob. When nothing came, he sighed in relief and opened the door.

As promised, a table of snacks greeted them, accompanied by a circle of beanbags to the side. A muscular, tan man laid across one as if it were just a giant pillow. His natural brown showed at the roots of bleach-blonde hair. Behind him, his doppleganger chatted in fast Spanish with an older woman. His shape warped and twisted, like an old television that hadn't been tuned quite right. When he saw Shaggy staring, he flashed a quick smile before resuming his conversation.

Shaggy instantly flopped into the nearest beanbag. There were things he knew and things he didn't. He didn't know if anyone noticed his reaction, for one, or what hardships Freddie had endured in his life. He knew he didn't want to know. But he also knew he wanted the other man to press him into the wall and ravage him. He kept his head down as Velma sat next to him and Daphne shook Freddie gently.

The ghostly double faded, and Freddie opened his eyes and sat up. He smiled at Shaggy again.

"You could see me?" he asked in accentless English.

Shaggy fiddled with his headphones and nodded.

"Do you guys want me to start today?" asked Daphne, claiming the last seat as this was affirmed. "Okay. Hi, I'm Daphne, and I'm an empath."

"Hi, Daphne," said Freddie and Velma. Shaggy also stuttered out the greeting, suddenly worried she could sense his dirty thoughts.

"Today, we have a new person in our group, so I guess I'll start at the beginning. I think I was about twelve when I noticed the change. My parents told me it was puberty, but that didn't sit right with me. It wasn't hormones. My feelings weren't mine. I got bad headaches and started seeing things that other people couldn't. I tried to ignore them and act 'normal.' Everyone seemed convinced. Except Velma.

"Velma knew I was fake. She told me I might as well admit it, just to her, because she already knew what I'd say. She taught me what I am and helped me make our little club. Instead of hiding, I'm embracing my powers now. I can close myself off to the feelings of others without shutting down like I used to. The sunglasses help, too," she said as she removed them. "I can block out what isn't in our world and function mostly normally until I'm ready to be myself again."

She raised a hand at Shaggy and put them back on, laughing. "Though that might change now. You're a beacon, Shaggy. It's like staring at the sun."

"Sorry."

"It's not your fault. Just how it is," Daphne assured him. "It's not going to hurt me. Anyway. That's me. Now I'm living in my parents' pool house to 'learn to be independent,' so I get to do this and have my own space. It's not so bad for me right now. And I have you guys to thank. So thank you."

Shaggy slowly joined the other two clapping. Daphne giggled and waved them off.

"Who else wants to share?"

Freddie raised a hand eagerly. "Pick me!"

"Fred, you don't need to raise your hand," Velma said flatly. "Just talk."

"Hi, I'm Fredrico, and I'm a spirit walker."

"Hi, Freddie," Shaggy said in time with the girls.

"When I was ten, my father blocked a pipe off while my mama and I were home sleeping. The doctors said I died twice for about six minutes altogether. Mama wasn't so lucky. She never came back. Not in this world, anyway."

He shivered gently as the ghostly woman laid her hands on his shoulders. He smiled softly.

"They took Father away, and I was sent to live with my auntie and uncle and cousins. I thought I was safe, that everything was fine, but my cousins were scared. They said I would pass out and not wake up. I could see my mama when it happened, and other family I thought was dead, so I didn't mind. My auntie took me to a doctor, and he gave me medicine that kept me awake, but I felt terrible. I didn't have a choice, though. If I didn't take it, I would pass out and see Mama, and Uncle would punish me. I kind of gave up on myself.

"But then I started college here. Daphne saw I had a power inside and brought me here. She and Velma helped me find out what triggered my episodes and how to avoid them. I was able to get off my meds about a month ago. Now I'm learning how to travel to the other side when I want to so I can see Mama. And I feel so much better, too."

"You're happier," Daphne said, touching his arm. "You're in control."

"What's that like?" Shaggy asked.

Freddie thought a moment and said, "It's like… you're not the victim anymore. You know what happens next, so there's no worry. Not so much anyway."

Velma snorted. "'No worry?' Hi, Velma, precognitive here."

"Hi, Velma."

"Knowing what happens next isn't always awesome. I didn't have issues until my powers developed. I have diagnosed anxiety, and that's never going away. I spend so much time waiting for a vision, then I feel on edge about whatever bad thing is coming or anxious about good news. It's not control, for me. It's just waiting for the other shoe to drop. I'll probably never have control, not like you guys. But I'm getting better at hiding it from the normals and accepting what I see. That's the only comfort I have."

A moment of silence hung over the group. Then Daphne spoke.

"You have us."

Velma nodded slowly. "True. But how long? When will I see that you've gotten tired of me? Or is it a self-fulfilling prophecy? Do people leave me because they grow away from me, or am I pushing them away with my personal problems? I'm trying, but it's hard. It's hard to stay friends with someone when you know that any day you'll hear that they can't keep spending time with you. To you, they've already said it. They don't even know it, though. And to make it worse, I'm scared all the time that the vision is coming, the confirmation that I'll be alone again soon.

"Maybe that's why I spend so much time reading and studying. Books can't leave me. Words don't betray me from one page to the next. Not that you will, I just… I'm afraid of it." She chuckled, saying, "Sorry. I can get carried away here. Keeping everything locked up during the day… It can be strange what comes out at night."

"It was a good share," Freddie said, and Daphne nodded.

"I'm so glad you found me, Vel," the redhead said. "We've been able to put this together just because you reached out."

"It was your idea to do the posters," Freddie added, "so you brought Shaggy to us, too."

Velma removed her glasses and wiped her eyes. "Thanks, guys. I might have been selfish when we started this, but it's worth it, if it's helping you, too."

"Everyone gets to be selfish sometimes. It's part of taking care of yourself," Daphne assured her.

Velma laughed but agreed. "Just being able to talk is a big relief. Makes it more real. Easier to process."

Daphne squeezed Velma's hand, and she put her glasses back on. She smiled weakly at Shaggy.

"You don't have to share if you don't want to," the spectacled girl said. "Or, if you do, we can take a break first."

Shaggy drew his knees up to his chin and peeled his headphones off.

"Hi," he said, "I'm Shaggy. That's Scooby. I'm… I'm a mess."