Sponge: Thanks for reading, and for your kind reviews! The title of the previous chapter, "Earth, Wind, Fire, and Air," is obviously by the one and only Hex Girls! Well done to the reviewers who guessed correctly: iamacliche and FredTrap! (Incidentally, if you like my stuff, definitely check out FredTrap's story The Lake Fiend – quintessential vintage Scooby vibes and excellent character and plot development). Enjoy chapter 4! Warning: language, and frank discussions about sex. Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Scooby Doo characters. They belong to Cartoon Network, Warner Brothers, and Hanna Barbera.

Chapter 4: Some Enchanted Evening

True to her word, Julie got back to Fred the following day and confirmed their availability for the prom. Fred was so relieved that he actually sought out Maureen Fischer on Monday to tell her the good news. She had seemed slightly taken aback that he'd succeeded in procuring a band, and approached the gang at lunch that afternoon to ask follow-up questions.

"So tell me more about this band," she asked in the cafeteria, flanked as usual by her two loyal cronies, Rachael Amora and Phoebe Albion.

"They're a local group," Fred told her. He had one arm around Daphne, who was ignoring Maureen by paying very close attention to her lunch. Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby were examining their lunch trays carefully as well. They knew it was best not to make direct eye-contact with Maureen or her friends. Fred, however, had no trouble talking to her. "The lead guitarist is actually Tony Moretti's older brother. They're all students at Coolsville U."

"College boys?" Phoebe perked up instantly and she shared a keen look with Rachael.

"And they opened for the Hex Girls at the Coolsville Concert Hall?" Maureen was still all business.

"Yep," Fred replied. "They were really good. They play covers."

"Do they take requests?"

"Probably," Fred said with a shrug. "We'll ask."

Fred stayed in contact with the band all week, passing along all of Maureen's questions and concerns. It wasn't unusual for Fred to sneak glances at his phone throughout the school day – even though he knew that if he was caught it with, it would be confiscated. It also became standard for Tony Moretti to find the gang in the middle of the day to pass along a message from Joey. Somehow the whole gang had become liaisons for the band, and the constant couriering was getting to be a bit much. Daphne was glad when Friday rolled around. After the last bell, she met up with Velma outside the band room. They often walked to their lockers together at the end of the day to wait for the boys, since both Daphne and Velma's final classes of the day were off the fine arts hallway – Daphne took drama, and Velma took band.

"Hey," Velma said as Daphne approached. "Fred got a text from Julie St. James halfway through AP Bio. The band thinks it'll make more sense to have weekly meetings, so Fred and Julie don't have to play phone tag all the time. They want to meet with us on Monday night. Does that work for you? Fred said he'd check with Shag and Scoob."

"I think so," Daphne said. "Where should we meet?"

"Tony offered his place," Velma told her. "He's in bio with us too."

"Where does he live?" They had just stopped by Daphne's locker to grab books she'd need for weekend homework, and were now on their way to Velma's locker.

"He lives in the Willow Springs development, kind of near me," Velma replied. "I went to his house a few times when we were dating. I'll give you guys directions on Monday."

"Blake!"

Both Daphne and Velma turned around. Mr. Atwood, the drama teacher, was hurrying towards them.

"Hi Mr. Atwood," Velma said politely. They'd gotten to know each other the previous year, when the gang had been in Next to Normal.

"Nice to see you, Dinkley," Mr. Atwood replied with a grin. He turned back to Daphne and his grin widened. "I hoped I would catch you before you left. I would have told you in class, but I just got confirmation. You're all set for spring break."

Daphne's brow creased for a moment, then her eyebrows shot up with understanding. "Jeepers. Seriously?"

"Seriously," Mr. Atwood replied. "Congratulations. Let me know if you want my help with anything."

"Of course, I'd love your advice" Daphne replied. "Thank you! Thank you, thank you! This is amazing!"

"You deserve it," Mr. Atwood said. "Talk to me on Monday and we can go over your plan. You'll do great, I know."

With another wave, he hurried away in the direction of the auditorium. Daphne's face was still alight with glee, but her smile drooped slightly at the confused look on Velma's face.

"What was that about?" asked Velma.

"What? Nothing." Daphne feigned ignorance and avoided Velma's gaze.

Velma shot Daphne an exasperated glare. "Daph. Come on. What's happening during spring break?"

Daphne bit her lip. "Can you keep a secret?"

Can I keep a secret? Velma thought ruefully. She'd been keeping her relationship with Shaggy secret for more than a year.

"Yes," was all she said.

Daphne looked back at Velma. "I got an audition at NYU."

Velma's eyes widened behind her glasses. "What?"

"Mr. Atwood helped me," Daphne told her. "He knows some people on the admissions board – I guess they were all classmates at Elon back in the day."

Velma blinked. "Jinkies. I...I didn't realize how seriously you were considering New York. Does this mean you're not going to Coolsville U?"

"No of course I'm going to Coolsville U," Daphne replied hurriedly. "It's my first choice. I don't want to split the gang up. I just...I Skyped with Holden last week, the night before we saw the Hex Girls. He told me how much he loves New York and he thought I had a good chance, and Mr. Atwood thinks I have a good chance, too. It doesn't mean I'm in for sure – I still have to get accepted to the academic program, and even if I am, I could completely botch the audition. I just…I want to see if I have what it takes."

Velma felt flabbergasted and said nothing. She simply stared at Daphne in astonishment.

Daphne gazed back. "Don't tell Fred."

Velma's eyebrows shot up. "Are you kidding?"

"Velma, please," Daphne begged quietly. "Listen, Coolsville U is still my first choice but if Fred knew about this audition...he might think I was considering it more than I'd let on. He'd feel betrayed. I couldn't do that to him."

Velma shook her head in disbelief. "You really think you can keep a secret like that from him?"

"It won't be a secret forever," Daphne insisted. "I'll tell him after the audition, I promise. I just...please Velma, I need you to keep this secret for me."

They had arrived at Velma's locker now, but Velma turned to look Daphne full in the face before turning the lock. Daphne's expression was imploring. Velma sighed.

"Okay fine," she grumbled. "I won't say anything to Fred."

"Or Shaggy or Scooby," Daphne stipulated.

Velma sighed again. "I won't say anything to them either," she promised. She gave her friend a rueful look as she twisted the combination lock. When the door opened, both girls noticed the large red envelope sitting on top of Velma's AP Calc textbook.

Daphne saw an opportunity to change the subject, so she squealed and made a grab for the envelope.

"Hey!" Velma exclaimed. "That's my card!"

Daphne blushed apologetically. "I'm sorry. I just think it's so exciting that you get secret admirer notes! It's so romantic and mysterious!" She handed the card over to Velma.

"I guess," Velma replied with a shrug, sliding her finger under the envelope flap to retrieve the card inside. The front was decorated with giant red hearts, with "Happy Valentine's Day" printed near the top in a fancy script. For Daphne's benefit, Velma opened the card and read the inscription aloud in an undertone.

"Dear Velma, I hope you don't mind this being a little early. Valentine's Day is on Sunday and since we don't have school, I wanted to make sure you got this. I think you're a really wonderful person. Happy Valentine's Day! From, Your Secret Admirer."

"That's so sweet!" Daphne sighed.

Velma shrugged again and slipped the card into her messenger bag, along with her books. She did appreciate the secret admirer notes, especially since her relationship with Shaggy wasn't public. The two of them did have Valentine's Day plans, but she knew they'd be spending it in Shaggy's basement. Velma liked making out and fooling around as much as the next girl, but it would be nice to go out on an actual date one of these days.

"Do you and Freddie have plans for Valentine's Day?" Velma asked, even though she already knew the answer.

Daphne nodded enthusiastically. "He's taking me to Moretti's for dinner."

Velma grinned. Moretti's, which was owned by Tony's family, was the nicest restaurant in town. Daphne and Fred had gone there on their first official date, and it was now a "special occasions" spot for the two of them.

"That'll be fun," Velma said. "What time?"

"I think our reservation's at seven," Daphne replied.

"Great," Velma said as she shut her locker door. "You want to come over on Sunday afternoon?"

"Yeah!" Daphne exclaimed happily. "We can give each other spa treatments! Face masks, manicures...the whole shebang! So I can be ready for my date with Fred later."

Velma laughed. "I was actually going to suggest studying. We have that AP Gov test next week you know."

Daphne fluttered her hand in the air carelessly. "Fine, we can do that too." She linked her arm through Velma's. "But beauty treatments first!"

Velma laughed again as they headed for the front of the school, where the boys stood waiting for them.

x.X.x

Daphne spent all of Sunday at Velma's house. They spent the better part of the afternoon on beauty regimens, per Daphne's request – an activity which didn't greatly interest Velma, but she put up with for Daphne's sake. Once their fingernails had dried, they had begun the odious task of studying for their AP Government exam, which took much longer and was infinitely less fun. Half an hour before Fred was due to pick up Daphne, they took a much-needed break from studying to discuss the prom.

"I'm relieved we found Heavy Meddle," Daphne admitted. She was swiveling on Velma's desk chair with her textbook open while Velma sat on her bed, her notes spread around her. "I know that it was really stressing Fred out."

"I can't believe he didn't realize that Maureen was setting out to humiliate him," Velma said. "If you ask me, she never got over him after tenth grade."

Daphne tutted unconcernedly. "I'm not worried about Maureen. I know that Fred would never want anything to do with her. Especially after she spread that awful rumor about us." Daphne cringed. She loved Fred, but it still made her skin crawl when she thought about how almost the entire school had believed the rumor that they'd had sex at a party.

"I still remember when we found you in that room," Velma said. She cocked her head thoughtfully. "You know...now that I think about it that was the first time of many. Do you and Fred just like making out in public places?"

Daphne laughed out loud. "Not on purpose! We just get carried away sometimes. And we have horrible luck..." She felt her face tinge pink as she remembered the interruption they'd had from her sister the night before the Hex Girls concert.

Velma noticed the blush. "What?"

Daphne sighed and explained.

Velma laughed out loud. "Oh my God. Delilah seriously caught you and Fred going at it in your own room? She doesn't even live there! Jinkies, you do have horrible luck."

Daphne groaned. "Yes. It was the most humiliated I've ever been."

"You've gotta start locking doors, Daph," Velma said, shaking her head wryly.

"I know," Daphne groaned again, swiveling the chair away. "It's my own fault. But at least it was my sister and not my mom."

Velma grimaced. "I don't think I'd want anyone walking in on me in a situation like that, regardless of who they were." She and Shaggy had had a few close calls of their own, including the incident that had led to Tony Moretti catching them, but obviously she couldn't tell that to Daphne, as much as she wished she could.

"She asked me if we were using protection," Daphne said, burying her head in her hands.

Velma furrowed her brow. "I thought you and Fred weren't having sex."

"We're not!" Daphne cried. She paused. "But…I think I might want to." She bit her lip and glanced over at her friend.

Velma's eyebrows shot up. This wasn't really a bombshell, but there was a certain shock factor to this statement. "Whoa, Daph. Jinkies. For real?"

Daphne nodded. "I'm ready. And I think he is too." She tilted her head. "I love him so much, Velma. I've never wanted anything like this before."

Velma sat back on her bed. "It's a big thing to want, Daph," she said. "Have you talked to him about it?"

"How do you talk to someone about something like that?" Daphne asked, swiveling in the chair again.

Velma chuckled. "I don't know, Daph. Open your mouth and use your words?"

"Har har," Daphne retorted. "Seriously. What do I say to him?"

Velma scoffed. "Hello. Like I have any experience in this department." Actually, Velma and Shaggy had come pretty close themselves plenty of times, but nothing had actually happened. Besides, she couldn't tell Daphne about it even if something had happened. Velma twisted her mouth, suddenly feeling annoyed that she had to keep all these secrets from her best friend. Was Shaggy ever going to tell Scooby about them? She would love to talk to Daphne about these things.

As Daphne swirled back around in the chair, she caught sight of a drawing on the bulletin board above Velma's desk. "I've always liked that picture," she said, changing the subject. "Shaggy drew that on his first day at Coolsville High, right?"

Velma looked up, though she didn't need to. She knew what Daphne was referring to – a colored pencil sketch that Shaggy had done on the day that he met the gang. The sketch was of Velma, enraptured in Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment.

She nodded. "Yep. He told me later that he didn't usually give away his art, but he wanted to thank me for everything I'd done to help him that day."

Daphne snorted. "We all helped him that day – he was brand new. Why didn't he make sketches of me or Freddie?" Daphne had said it as a joke, but Velma said nothing in response.

Daphne swiveled back around to study her friend, contemplating the conversation she'd had with Holden on Skype. Truthfully, she did suspect something was happening between Shaggy and Velma. She'd been suspecting it for a couple of months now, ever since Shaggy had suggested the Hex Girls concert for Velma's birthday. But though she'd asked Velma multiple times if there was anything going on, she vehemently denied it, and frankly, Daphne was tired of asking.

Suddenly, the bedroom door flew open and Velma's younger sister Madelyn stood in the threshold.

"Out," Velma said, pointing back into the hallway where Madelyn had come from.

Madelyn huffed and put her hands on her hips. "I'm just here to tell you," she said haughtily. "That the blond one is here."

Velma rolled her eyes. Madelyn was going through an annoying phase where she didn't refer to any of Velma's friends by their proper names. She knew Fred's, Daphne's, and Shaggy's names perfectly well, but still insisted on calling them "the blond one," "the ginger one," and "the scruffy one," respectively.

"Thanks, O Irritating One," Velma said with some bite to her tone. "Daphne will be right down. Now leave."

With another indignant scoff, Madelyn shut the door.

Daphne chuckled to herself. "What does she call you?" she wanted to know.

"The geeky one," Velma grumbled. "Which is stupid…it's not like she's not geeky too. We all are – it's a Dinkley family trait." This was true. Brains were the only trait all three Dinkley sisters shared. Technically all of them had taken piano lessons at the behest of their parents, but Velma didn't really count that as a trait. Madelyn had never continued to play beyond the third grade.

Daphne shrugged as she started to pack up her textbook and notes. "At least she's accurate."

"Yeah," Velma admitted with a sigh. She changed the subject. "So are you excited?"

"About dinner? Of course, I love Italian food. Moretti's has the best vegetarian lasagna," Daphne replied.

"I didn't mean about dinner. I mean...about tonight. Are you gonna...?" Velma didn't finish her question.

Daphne shook her head. "No. Not tonight. I definitely want to talk about it before we do anything. But maybe I'll bring it up during dinner, so he knows I'm leaning that way."

"You don't think he'll hear you say you want to have sex and immediately assume you want it tonight?"

Daphne chuckled. "I think we'll be okay." She stood up to leave. "What about you? Any big Valentine plans?"

Velma gave a half-laugh. "Yeah right." Actually, Velma did have plans with Shaggy that night, but again, she couldn't tell Daphne. She felt another pang of annoyance.

They had started down the stairs now and saw Fred standing in the front door holding a bouquet of purple tulips.

Daphne gasped delightedly when she saw them. "Freddie!"

"Happy Valentine's Day, babe," Fred said, pulling her in for a lingering kiss.

"Get a room," Velma quipped with a smile.

Fred and Daphne broke apart and grinned at her apologetically.

"That reminds me," Fred said, pulling out a small bouquet of geraniums. "This is for you, Velm."

"Fred, you didn't need to get me flowers," Velma said, embarrassed but pleased.

Daphne smiled proudly and kissed Fred on the cheek. He was so thoughtful and wonderful. She was unbelievably lucky. There was no way she could go to New York.

"Ready to go?" Fred asked her.

"Yep," Daphne replied with a grin.

"Have fun, you two!" Velma called out her door as Fred and Daphne headed for the street, where the Mystery Machine was parked.

After Daphne left, Velma returned to her room to text Shaggy.

What time should I come by? she asked.

His response was almost instantaneous.

Maybe like an hour? I'm almost done making dinner.

Velma grinned. Over the summer, Shaggy had really found his calling and had begun cooking in earnest. Everything he made was not only delicious but, due to his artist's eye, absolutely beautiful. Daphne had a theory that Shaggy could win every showstopper challenge on The Great British Bake Off, no matter the dish. He had the makings of a really promising chef – so much so that he had decided to apply to Coolsville University's culinary arts program. He'd applied to a few other schools as well, like Johnson and Wales in Rhode Island, the Culinary Institute of America in New York, and Roosevelt University in Chicago, but like all his friends, Coolsville U was his first choice.

What's on the menu? Velma texted back.

Like, a surprise, Shaggy responded, adding a wink-face emoji.

Velma chuckled. All right, see you in an hour.

She put her phone down and wondered if she should wear something special. Velma wasn't an accessories and jewelry kind of girl – indeed, the fact that she had painted her nails with Daphne earlier was something of an anomaly itself – but it was Valentine's Day. It might be nice if she put on a bracelet or something.

Do I even own any jewelry? she thought to herself. Madelyn certainly did, but Velma didn't want to raid her younger sister's room. Her eyes fell on her closet door, and an idea popped into her head. Maybe Dottie left some things behind, Velma thought.

Velma's older sister Dottie lived in Seattle with her husband Bill and one-year-old daughter Lorelei. Dottie and Bill had met at the University of Washington, where she'd gone despite her parents' pleas for her to attend college closer to home. After Dottie got pregnant during her senior year, she and Bill had taken their final semester off to come back to Coolsville so the Dinkley's could help her through the pregnancy. They had hoped that Dottie and Bill would get married and find a house in Coolsville, but due to a counterfeit scheme from a disgruntled local realtor (which, incidentally, was the first case that Mystery Incorporated had ever solved), they were unable to find housing, and had ended up moving back to Seattle.

Back when Dottie had lived in the house, she and Velma had shared a bedroom – and thus, a closet. Velma was pretty sure that Dottie had taken everything with her when she moved out, but it was possible that she'd left a few things behind. There was a shelf above the clothing rod that had a box of things that Velma didn't think she'd ever looked through, so that seemed like a good place to start.

Velma wasn't very tall, so she needed to use her desk chair in order to reach the box. Straining just slightly under the awkward angle of the box, she stepped down from the chair and maneuvered the box over to the desk so she could dig through it.

It was full of Dottie's things, but there wasn't a lot that was interesting to Velma. Her twelfth grade yearbook was inside, along with a few school assignments from that time. Dottie, like Velma and Madelyn, had a very high IQ, so Velma was unsurprised to see As and A+s marked at the top of every assignment in the box. As she continued to dig through the contents, Velma realized that these were all things that Dottie had kept in her locker when she was a senior in high school – she must have cleaned it all out when she graduated, then threw them into a box and forgotten about it.

Near the bottom was a small gray box, about three inches wide, with a post-it note attached. Velma studied it, but the cursive handwriting was atrocious – it was almost impossible for her to make out what it said.

D-

Thanks for all the help w/ [something ineligible was written here], please take these as a token of my [another ineligible word was written here, but Velma realized from context clues that it must be appreciation]. You're the greatest.

The note wasn't signed, and Velma didn't recognize the handwriting. With a shrug, she moved the note aside and opened the lid of the box. Inside was a pair of stud earrings, each in the shape of a small heart. Velma frowned. None of her sisters had their ears pierced – it wasn't that they weren't allowed, it was that the idea of needles kind of freaked them all out. It was the one thing all three of them had in common, apart from their intelligence and love of music. But closer inspection of the earrings revealed that they were actually magnets. Velma detached the back of the earring and held it up to her lobe. The magnet on the front of the earring snapped into place, sitting comfortably on her ear. She attached the other one and then glanced at herself in the mirror, astonished by the transformation these two small pieces of jewelry gave to her appearance. They made her look…older. More adult, somehow. More sophisticated, certainly.

Who had given these to Dottie? Velma wondered as she examined her reflection. The earrings must have been for Dottie – they'd been found in a box of her old stuff, and the note was addressed to "D." Maybe they were a gift from an old boyfriend? Dottie had had so many in high school, from what Velma remembered. Wherever they'd come from, they obviously hadn't meant enough for Dottie to take them back to Seattle with her. So Velma put the big cardboard box back up on the shelf in her closet and didn't give it another thought. The earrings were hers now.

And they were perfect for her evening with Shaggy.

Sponge: Thanks for reading. I know this story is off to a slow-ish start, so I appreciate your patience as the plot unfolds! Review if you please, and don't forget to guess where the chapter title comes from! I'll give you a hint: it's another musical. There's gonna be LOTS of Fraphne and Shelma in the next chapter so if you're missing your fix, don't worry – it's coming next week!