Sponge: I'm back! Thanks for reading. The previous chapter title, "Some Enchanted Evening," comes from the musical South Pacific! I think that's the last chapter title for this story with a musical song title. Enjoy chapter 5! Also, just to be clear: this fic is NOT a lemon. I can't in good conscience write about high school students having sex, even if they are "of age," so don't worry! Like I said in my announcement for this story though, it might be a little limey, so always be sure to check the author's notes at the start of the chapter for appropriate warnings. That being said, there's language, and some graphic Fraphne and Shelma romance in this chapter. Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Scooby Doo characters. They belong to Cartoon Network, Warner Brothers, and Hanna Barbera.
Chapter 5: I Wanna Hold Your Hand
It was a short drive to Moretti's, but Fred and Daphne talked the whole time and as they walked into the restaurant. They didn't stop until the hostess at Moretti's led them to a small table for two near the window. When the weather was warm, Fred and Daphne usually sat at a table near the street, out on the patio. But since it was mid-February, outdoor seating wasn't really an option. Regardless, the setting was gorgeous. The restaurant was decked out in white linen tablecloths with single long-stemmed red roses as the centerpieces, and soft string music played over the sound system. The lights were low, setting the mood for romance. Daphne took it all in as she and Fred sat down across from each other.
"Hey, hey!" said their waiter as he approached. It was Tony Moretti, dazzling them with his signature lopsided smile. He looked pretty spiffy in his work uniform – a dark purple vest over a clean white button-down. "Can I start you two off with something to drink? There's a champagne special for V-Day, but we substitute sparkling cider for all the underage couples." This last statement was accompanied by a wink.
Fred grinned. "Sparkling cider sounds great, Tony. Thanks!" Daphne nodded in agreement.
"I'll be right back with those," Tony smiled, and headed away.
"I'm really glad his brother's band is gonna play prom," Fred said. "Seriously. I thought for sure I'd messed up and that the whole class was gonna hate me."
"No one could hate you, Fred," Daphne assured him, reaching across the table to cover his hand with hers.
"Maureen Fischer could," Fred replied wryly. "I can't believe she was expecting me to mess this up."
"Maureen doesn't hate you, Fred," Daphne told him. "She hates me. Because she thinks you picked me over her."
Fred furrowed his brow in confusion. "What are you talking about? She was never even in the running. It's been you from the start, Daphne."
Daphne couldn't stop the blush or the butterflies that overtook her when he said that.
"Two sparkling ciders," Tony interrupted politely, arriving with flutes of light, bubbling liquid. "Are you ready to order, or do you need more time?"
"I'm ready," Fred said, smiling at Daphne. She nodded in response.
"Let me see if I can guess," Tony said with a grin. He pointed to Daphne. "Vegetarian lasagna, and..." he pointed to Fred. "...beef ravioli?"
"You know us well, Tony," Daphne laughed.
Tony chuckled response and gathered their menus. "I'll be right back with some bread for you while you wait."
The meal was lovely. Fred and Daphne spent the evening discussing a few of their favorite memories since they'd begun dating, a few of the favorite mysteries they'd solved, and of course, a few of Fred's favorite traps. At the end of the meal, neither were quite ready to go home yet, so Fred suggested they take a drive. He was still reminiscing about traps, and Daphne let him, smiling to herself. Honestly, she sort of loved when Fred got like this. She loved the way his face lit up as he explained clove hitch knots and the tensile strength of various types of nets. It mostly went in one ear and out the other for her, but she loved that he was so passionate.
It occurred to her that she didn't know how this obsession had begun. She couldn't believe she'd never asked him about it before. "How did you get so interested in traps, anyway?" Daphne asked when he'd reached an organic stopping point.
Fred looked at her a little sheepishly. "I was in danger of failing science in eighth grade," he admitted. They had driven into the high school, and Fred had parked in the student lot.
Daphne furrowed her brow in confusion. Fred was good at science – it was his best subject.
"It wasn't that I didn't understand the material," Fred continued, as though he'd had an idea about Daphne's confusion. "I just wasn't trying very hard to participate in class. But Mr. Vaughn, the science teacher, told me that if I entered the science fair that year, I could bring up my participation grade. I'd read about Rube Goldberg and his wacky inventions, and I thought I could use him as an inspiration to build a better mousetrap." He shrugged. "And the rest was history."
"I had no idea about any of that," Daphne told him. "How did you do in the science fair?"
"Honorable mention," Fred admitted. "I couldn't compete with Velma or Hot Dog Water even then." His eyes widened as he realized what he'd said. "Oops."
Daphne clicked her tongue and shook her head at the use of Marcie Fleach's old nickname. "You shouldn't call her that, you know."
"I know," Fred sighed. "I hate that I'm still trying to break that habit – I have to really watch myself around Velma. I'm always afraid I'll slip up in front of her." He sighed again. "It's a holdover from when I was on the football team. They all still call Marcie...that."
"My old friends called her that too," Daphne admitted. "I'm so glad we're with the gang now. They're much nicer."
"You've always been nice," Fred said.
"But my old friends weren't," Daphne reminded him. "You remember how Maureen Fischer and I were super close in middle school?" She shuddered. "I can't believe we used to be friends."
"That's what I'm talking about," Fred replied. "The fact that once we got to high school you saw her for who she was...you're a nice girl, and you couldn't be friends with someone who didn't share those values. It was the first thing that really attracted me to you."
Daphne smiled at him and rested her head on his shoulder. "When was that?" she asked him.
Fred wrapped his arm around her and thought. "Ninth grade, maybe? But I couldn't do anything about it because you were going out with Red Herring." Fred made a face and Daphne giggled.
"Red was a lunkhead," Daphne told him. "He only cared that I was pretty."
"You are pretty," said Fred. "But you're so much more than that. You're brilliant, and funny, and like I said before, you're one of the kindest people I've ever met. I'm so lucky you gave me a chance."
Daphne kissed his cheek. "I'm the lucky one," she told him. "No one's ever wanted to date me for me, you know? Everyone else just cared about my looks, like Red. But you...you really see me. You really know me. You really...love me."
Fred reached over to stroke Daphne's cheek gently with his thumb. "I've never loved anyone as much as I love you, Daphne," he whispered.
Without even thinking about it, their heads moved together and their lips met in a soft, sweet kiss. Daphne's entire body sunk against him as his arms encircled her waist and pulled her closer. She climbed over the gearshift to straddle his lap, but hit the steering wheel on her way over.
HONK
The brief, but loud, beep startled both of them, and they looked at each other and giggled.
"Why don't we move back there?" said Fred, inclining his head towards the back of the van where Shaggy and Scooby usually sat.
Daphne nodded, and they both climbed over the seats into the open area behind them. Fred laid Daphne down gently beneath him before lowering his lips back to hers.
They kissed heatedly, hands automatically removing various articles of clothing. Daphne' scarf and Fred's ascot were both tossed aside, shoes were kicked off, and Daphne's dress was unzipped and discarded. Fred pulled off his sweater and Daphne removed her pink tights. Momentarily they were left in just their underwear.
"I love you, Freddie," Daphne sighed. She glanced over and vaguely noticed the windows had fogged up.
"I love you too," Fred replied in a whisper, his mouth on her neck, one hand on her chest. Daphne's breath hitched as his fingers moved down her body. Like the windows, her entire brain fogged at his touch. She clutched him to her, trembling beneath him, mind filled only with the cloudy haze of love and passion.
"You know," she murmured as she felt his soft touch move along her skin. "I've been thinking…about…"
"Yeah?" Fred whispered. He, too, was feeling the effects of their nearly naked bodies pressed so close together, of Daphne's smooth skin beneath his.
"About…us." Somehow, Daphne found she was unable to look Fred in the eye as she said this, so she simply buried her lips into his neck as she murmured, "Making love."
Fred felt his entire body grow rigid with want.
"Like…right now?" he replied, drawing back from her slightly so he could look into her eyes.
"Well…I mean, not right now," she told him, her face slightly warm. The backseat of the Mystery Machine was not her first choice of place to lose her virginity to her greatest love. "But…sometime."
"Because I have a condom," Fred whispered.
Daphne was taken aback. "What?" she said, blinking in surprise. Why was she so shocked to know that Fred had been thinking about having sex too?
"So we…we could do it now," Fred continued.
Daphne felt her mouth fall open in surprise, but found she couldn't shut it. This was all wrong. She wanted to make love with Fred, she really did. But she'd been telling Velma the truth earlier – she didn't want to do it tonight. Especially not in the back of the Mystery Machine. Where was the romance in that?
"Uh..." she stammered.
Fred read her face and sat up. "Oh," he said. His face turned red.
"No!" she exclaimed, reaching for him. She wasn't about to have Fred thinking she didn't want him. "Freddie, I want this, I do, but... I just want it to be perfect." She looked up at him. "It shouldn't be just a spur-of-the-moment thing, right? It should be…I don't know. Intentional."
"So you're saying we should…make a plan?" Fred replied.
Daphne nodded. "I want it to be perfect," she said again.
"Like, flowers and candles and champagne?" asked Fred with a slight grin.
Daphne giggled. "Or sparkling cider," she joked, pleased to see that Fred's feelings weren't hurt.
"Is Tony catering this?" Fred said with a barely contained chuckle.
Daphne laughed and shook her head, cringing slightly at the thought.
Fred nodded slowly as their laughter died down. "I guess it does make more sense for us to talk about it before actually doing it."
Daphne nodded in response. "Would it help if we…set a date?"
"Do you have one in mind?"
Daphne shook her head. "Not necessarily."
"Well, we have time," Fred told her, bringing her closer and kissing her hair. "Maybe over the summer before we start college? Maybe at college? We'd have our own dorm rooms, so we won't have to worry about parents or anything. Just roommates, and I'm sure I can convince Shaggy to leave for a couple hours."
"Well, I don't know if I want to wait that long," Daphne replied with a smile.
"Honestly, I'm not sure if I do either," Fred admitted. "So…maybe prom night? We can get a hotel room?"
Daphne snuggled closer to him. "Perfect," she said. She grinned up at him. "So is this you officially asking me if I'll go to prom with you?"
Fred chuckled. "Oh, your prom-posal is coming, and it's gonna blow your mind."
"Is it a trap?" she asked, her eyes twinkling as she remembered an anniversary gift she'd received from him once.
Fred simply cleared his throat, which made Daphne chuckle.
"I love you," she told him again. Every time she said the phrase, the absolute truth in it rung through her ears, filling her entire heart with certainty about Fred.
"I love you too," he replied, leaning in to kiss her again.
x.X.x
Meanwhile, Velma's own Valentine's Day was finally underway. It turned out that Shaggy had cooked a five-course meal completely from scratch. It was delicious, of course, and Velma had a great time. Her only complaint was that Scooby had been there through the whole meal. Normally Velma didn't mind Scooby's presence, but it was Valentine's Day. She was entitled to some alone time with her boyfriend. Right?
That part did arrive, but not till much later, after Shaggy's parents had gone up to bed (they believed that Shaggy and Velma were just friends, and suspected nothing), and Scooby had fallen asleep next to them on the couch as they watched TV. As soon as they realized the dog was asleep, the two of them quietly crept towards the stairs to the basement, and barely made it to the bottom step before Shaggy pressed Velma up against the wall and kissed her deeply.
"Eager, are we?" she whispered, grinning.
Shaggy grinned back and kissed her again. "You like, have no idea," he growled, gripping her waist. "I've been watching Scoob like a hawk, wondering when he'd fall asleep." He dipped his head down and gently kissed behind her ears. "I like the earrings by the way," he murmured, sending pleasant chills down Velma's neck.
"I was thinking about wearing them more often," she murmured, pulling herself closer to him. "They're magnetic, you know."
"Like how practical of you," Shaggy whispered, pushing down the collar of her turtleneck to kiss the tender skin of her throat.
Her breath came in heavy as her fingers snuck up the back of Shaggy's shirt. "Couch?" she managed to gasp.
Shaggy quickly led Velma over to the basement sofa. Once she was laying down he scrambled over top of her and the two quickly removed their shirts.
They kissed as Velma's hands ran up and down Shaggy's bare back and one of his hands wiggled between her and the couch cushion to undo her bra.
"Velm," Shaggy sighed as she shrugged off the straps and tossed her bra to the side.
This was certainly not the first time they'd done this, but Velma still felt a thrill go through her every time they got this far. Her skin felt electric with every caress, every kiss. Shaggy's hands traveled up her legs and Velma arched her back as pleasure coursed through her. One of his hands came back up to her breast as he moved his head down, kissing her neck, her collarbone, her stomach. Velma let out an involuntary whimper.
Her mind went hazy with the heat. The parts of her body where Shaggy's fingers or lips touched felt as though they were on fire.
I love him, she thought as she felt his mouth back on hers. I love him.
This was also not the first time she'd had the thought, that she loved Shaggy. The first time she'd thought it had been last year, near the end of the rehearsal process for the musical. She had recently learned that Shaggy had lost his baby sister when he was ten, and he and his family never really talked about her. Since then, Shaggy and his family had been able to have conversations about the baby, but after seeing his vulnerability, Velma's feelings for him had started to change. Throughout the rest of the year, that feeling had been growing stronger and stronger, and she'd realized some time ago that it was love.
She wasn't ready to tell him yet, not when their relationship was still a secret. Maybe after he told Scooby about them, and they could go on a real date. For now though, she was content to simply lie here with him, kissing and touching and holding each other until it was time for her to go home.
x.X.x
However, Velma felt quite differently in the morning.
The day started out okay – she had decided to wear Dottie's earrings again, and Fred and Daphne noticed them immediately when they picked her up. Or, Daphne did, at any rate.
"I thought you didn't have pierced ears," she said when Velma slid into the van.
"I don't," Velma replied, reaching up to check that the earrings were still attached. "They're magnets. I found them in a box of my sister's old things and I thought I might wear them."
"Well they're really pretty," Daphne told her.
"Yeah," Fred agreed. "They look great."
"Thanks," said Velma, feeling pleased. She wasn't used to being noticed in this way, or called "pretty" in any regard.
But her mood changed when they picked up Scooby and Shaggy. She knew from the moment they stepped into the Mystery Machine that it was going to be one of those days. Shaggy barely looked at Velma as he and Scooby slid in next to her.
"Morning Shag and Scoob. Did you notice Velma's earrings?" asked Fred.
Scooby studied Velma. "Rey rook nice!" he barked sincerely.
Velma grinned. "Thanks, Scooby."
But Shaggy merely gave a small nod of agreement before immediately turning to Scooby and saying, "So like, what should we have for lunch today?"
Velma sighed under her breath. She hated when he did this. Every now and then, after they'd spent an evening fooling around, Shaggy would completely ignore her in favor of Scooby the next day. She understood that he wanted to throw Scooby off the scent, and that he felt guilty about lying to him, but she absolutely hated days like this.
Her mood wasn't helped by the note in her locker that morning.
Dear Velma, it read.
I hope you had a great weekend, and that your Valentine's Day was as amazing as you are. I wish I could have celebrated with you.
From, Your Secret Admirer.
Velma stuffed the note into her messenger bag and sighed, wishing that Shaggy was as verbal with his affections as the secret admirer. She was annoyed all morning, through homeroom and AP Calc. It didn't help that she had to listen to Daphne's account of her perfect date with Fred during AP Government. Velma tried to arrange her face into a pleased and excited expression as Daphne described her conversation with Fred about consummating their relationship, but inside she was reeling with jealousy. Daphne and Fred could flaunt their relationship all they wanted. They were so in love, and they were so perfect together. It seemed to Velma that Fred did all the right things in his relationship with Daphne – taking her to nice dinners, buying her flowers, telling her he loved her, making sure she (and the world) knew how much she meant to him…hell, even getting a hotel room for them on prom night. He was ticking all the boxes.
It occurred to Velma, as she left AP Government and headed for AP Spanish, that she had no idea where she stood with Shaggy. Did Shaggy even like her at all, or was he just happy to have someone to hook up with? He'd told her at the end of the musical last year that he had romantic feelings for her, and he'd told her how much he hated sneaking around. But deep down, Velma had a feeling that he hated sneaking around more so because he didn't like lying to Scooby Doo.
They sat next to each other in Spanish class, with Scooby laying beneath Shaggy's desk, as he did in all his classes. Velma continually glanced at Shaggy out of the corner of her eye throughout Sra. Rodriguez's lecture, but Shaggy adamantly stared straight ahead and avoided looking at Velma at all.
At lunch, Daphne and Fred talked about the prom, holding hands all the while. Their first meeting with Heavy Meddle was that evening, and everyone was eager to get started. Velma had made a list of everything they'd need from the band, as well as a few ideas about what they thought they might like the band to play. It was a good deterrent from Velma's bad mood, but she sunk right back into it after study hall was over. Fred and Daphne quickly kissed goodbye outside of the library and Daphne left for her trigonometry class. Shaggy barely even looked at Velma before he and Scooby headed off down the hall for government. With a sigh, Velma turned and began walking to AP Bio with Fred.
"Hey, Dinks! Jonesy! Wait up!" Tony Moretti called out from behind them and jogged to catch up. As they waited for him, Velma reached up to check that her earrings were still attached. They were. Once Tony arrived, he, Fred, and Velma all climbed the stairs to the second floor, where the science classrooms were.
"You guys ready for our meeting tonight?" he asked.
"Yep!" Fred grinned. "Velma's got a list ready for everything we want to talk about."
"'Course she does," Tony grinned at her.
Velma ducked her head and shrugged. "I like to be organized."
"I'm glad one of us does," Fred told her. "If I'd mentioned it sooner, I might not have been scrambling."
As they entered the classroom, Velma noticed Maureen Fischer watching them from her lab table. "I have another meeting tomorrow with her," Fred whispered to Velma and Tony. "I have to stop by her table during lunch to let her and the prom committee know about what we decide tonight."
Tony nodded sagely and waved politely to Maureen, who nodded once in return.
Velma also noticed Marcie Fleach sitting at her lab table flipping through her textbook. When she looked up, Velma waved. Marcie grinned and waved back.
Biology snailed by. Velma tried to concentrate on their assignment, but she was still annoyed by how Shaggy had been acting all day. Would he at least talk to her tonight, while they were at Tony's house for the meeting? She hated that she had to keep asking these questions, and that she felt so uncertain.
"See you later, Velm!" Fred called when the bell rang at the end of the period. "Tony," Fred said as he left the room. "See you tonight!"
"Great!" Tony grinned. "Seven p.m. sharp. I'll order some pizzas."
Fred smiled. "Shaggy and Scooby will be happy to hear that." He waved once more at Velma, who hurriedly finished writing the homework assignment in her planner before standing up to wave bye to Fred.
"Hey Dinks," Tony said. "Let's walk downstairs together." Velma nodded and left the classroom with him.
"So I saw Jonesy and Blake at the restaurant last night," he told her nonchalantly once they were in the hall.
Velma scowled before she could help herself. "Yeah," she replied, rearranging her face into a more pleasant expression. "Daphne told me how nice the restaurant looked. She said they had a good time."
Tony furrowed his brow. "Did ah...did you do anything with...you know?" Tony inclined his head to the side, as though gesturing.
This was a bit strange. They'd had conversations about it in the past, but Tony had never outright asked Velma about her relationship with Shaggy, especially while they were at school. But Velma didn't dwell on it – simply lifted her shoulder in a half-shrug.
"I'm fine. And we did hang out on Valentine's Day. He cooked me dinner," she told him.
Tony's face lit up. "Hey, that's great!" he said sincerely. "He's a good cook, isn't he? That must have been fun." Then he noticed Velma's frown and his face fell. "Uh…right?"
Velma sighed and motioned for Tony to stop walking. They ducked into an empty hallway and spoke in an undertone as other students walked by.
"Scooby was there the whole time," she told him with a roll of her eyes.
"Ah," Tony replied. "That sounds...less fun."
Velma sighed again. "I don't want to sound like I'm ungrateful," she said. "I loved the dinner. It was so thoughtful. And you're right – Shaggy's an excellent chef. But...it wasn't romantic. Not like at the restaurant. No candles or flowers or fancy tablecloths or soft music. And I mean...we didn't get any time to ourselves until after Scooby fell asleep." She shook her head. "I don't mean to complain. I just...I can't help feeling resentful that I have to keep my Valentine's Day a secret, and that I can't kiss my boyfriend goodbye in the hallway, or even hold his hand in public!"
Tony looked at her sympathetically for a moment, before all the color drained from his face. His eyes widened in shock as he stared at something just behind Velma. She whirled around and found herself face to face with Marcie Fleach, who had evidently just turned down the hall. Marcie's eyes were wide behind her glasses, and Velma knew immediately that Marcie had heard everything she'd just said.
SHIT! Velma felt all the air go out of her lungs. She had never been this careless with her secret. She was just so frustrated with Shaggy. She and Tony stared at Marcie in disbelief.
"I'm sorry," said Marcie after a few minutes. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop."
"It's fine," said Tony in a somewhat strained voice. Velma said nothing. She was still kicking herself.
"I uh...I didn't know you had a boyfriend," said Marcie, who was clearly trying to sidestep the awkwardness.
"Well uh...it's kind of a secret," Velma whispered.
Marcie nodded. "I won't tell anybody," she promised.
Velma didn't know what to say. She and Marcie were friends, but they weren't close. Certainly not as close as she was with the gang. Velma didn't know if she could trust Marcie with a secret of this magnitude. But what choice did she have?
Tony surprised Velma by approaching Marcie and taking her shoulders, much as Velma had done to Tony when he'd first learned about her relationship with Shaggy.
"Listen," he told her. "You and me? We're the only people who know. Nobody else. We gotta keep it between us, okay? Shaggy's gonna tell Scooby and once he's done that, then we're in the clear. But seriously – it's super important that this stays between us for now, okay?"
Marcie nodded, looking a bit frightened at Tony's intensity.
"I promise, I won't say anything," she said again as Tony let go of her.
"Thank you," said Velma.
After a small amount of silence, Marcie spoke again.
"How long have you been seeing each other?"
"Since fall of junior year," Velma admitted. "After the musical."
Marcie's eyebrows show up. "Whoa. You've been keeping it a secret for that long?"
"Yep."
"And...he still hasn't said anything to his dog?"
Velma rolled her eyes. "Don't get me started on that. It's the only thing we fight about."
Marcie looked at her sympathetically. "That must be frustrating."
Velma blinked. "It is," she murmured. "You have no idea."
"And none of your other friends know, huh?"
"Well, no one but Tony," Velma said, gesturing towards him. He grinned cheerlessly at Marcie.
Marcie nodded. "Well..." She seemed to be deciding on what to say. After several moments, she spoke again. "If you need a...you know. Someone to talk to. A friend. That is, a friend who's...female." Marcie turned slightly pink. She seemed to be unsure of herself, but she continued on. "You can always use me as a...you know. A sounding board."
Velma couldn't explain it, but hearing Marcie say this made her feel as though a huge weight was lifted from her chest. Marcie was a little awkward, and they weren't close friends, but…maybe they could be. Hadn't Velma just been wishing she could talk to Daphne about her relationship with Shaggy? Well, she if she couldn't talk to Daphne...maybe she could talk to Marcie. This was exactly what Velma needed. She felt considerably lighter with Marcie's offer of friendship.
"Do you want to eat lunch with us tomorrow?" Velma heard herself ask. She had no idea what Marcie did for lunch, whether she had other people she sat with, but the invitation came out before she could stop herself.
Marcie looked shocked for a moment, before a grin slowly overtook her face.
"Um," she said. "Really?"
"Really," Velma replied. She returned the grin.
"Sure. Yeah. Okay." Marcie's face was still a little pink, but she grinned wider at Velma.
Three quick beeps sounded over the PA system, indicating three minutes until the final class period started.
Velma gasped. "Jinkies! We're going to be late." Hurriedly, the three teens waved to each other and headed off in opposite directions. But Velma was surprised to discover that she was feeling a lot better than she had been even five minutes ago.
Sponge: Thanks for reading. Review if you please and don't forget to guess where the chapter title comes from!