Trudging into their chemistry room Velma slumped down onto he stool, resting her forehead on the desk. Perching on her own stool at the desk in front of Velma, Daphne sighed and turned to face her small friend, "Velms, you okay?"

"Hmm..." Velma murmured, raising her head slowly, "It's just...Well Red can't really get to you any more, you know, 'cause of Jonathan...So, I think he's taking it out on me and Shaggy."

Tossing her hair to one side, Daphne scowled, "Well, he's always been a coward, won't pick on anyone his own size."

"Tell me about it." Velma muttered, watching Fred stroll into the class and take his seat at the desk behind hers, "Hey Fred." She greeted, noticing how Daphne started looking at the displays in the room as Fred turned to smile at them.

"Hey Velma," He paused, scratching the back of his head, "Uhh, hi Daph..."

Glancing at him, she smiled weakly, "Hello Fred." She said quickly before diverting her attention once again.

Trying his best to shrug it off, he smiled at Velma again, "So Velms, you still okay to come down to the harbour tonight?"

"Of Course!" Velma beamed, "We'll have this mystery wrapped up in no time!"

Rolling her eyes, Daphne turned to the front of he class, resting her head on her hand as she watched the clock, 'I wonder where Jonathan and Shaggy are?' she thought to herself as she tapped her pen on the desk. She could still hear Fred and Velma's consistent ramblings about the sea monster down by the docks, although she couldn't help the twinge on curiosity from taking it's effect on her. Biting her lip, she listened intently to the things they had already found out, the things they found out without her. Sighing inwardly, she didn't notice Jonathan enter the room until his arm was around her waist.

Gasping, she jumped away from him, almost falling off her stool. "O-Oh God Jonathan you scared me then." She breathed.

"S-Sorry Daphne..." He apologised, "I know how jumpy you can get." She said softly, picking up her hand.

Smiling warmly at him, her breath now steadying itself, she pulled her stool closer to his, "It's not your fault..." She said quietly.

"No, no, I should know by now." He sighed.

Leaning in closer to him, Daphne smiled at him again, her nose brushing his, "And I should have calmed down by now..." She said gently before pressing her lips to his.

Pulling away, she looked through her lashed at Jonathan and covered her mouth to stop herself from gasping. She looked at his gradually bruising cheekbone and let her mouth hang open, wondering how she'd missed it moments ago. Reaching out to touch it, she felt Jonathan grip her wrist as he shook his head, "Daph don't, it's still sore." He said, blushing slightly as he let her go.

"W-What happened?" She asked, oblivious to the fact that Fred and Velma were now staring at them, Fred smiling smugly. Her eyes scanned his bare arms for any other signs of injury, coming to rest on a few red marks, but nothing more.

Glancing at Velma, he sat back a little, "Well, I found Shaggy," He paused, lowering his gaze, "and Red."

Eyes wide, Velma leaned forward, "Jinkies! Is he okay!"

Rubbing the back of his neck nervously, Jonathan sighed, "He's with the nurse, Red's friends were there too, three against two isn't really fair."

"Just the way Red likes it." Daphne hissed, crossing her arms over her chest.

Fred sat back, watching the scene unfold before him. He felt the sickness rising in his stomach as he watched Daphne hold Joanthan's hand as he told her and Velma about what had happened. He was being pushed out, he was sure of it. Jonathan was replacing him, even if he didn't mean to, he was. All of the gang loved him, and even if he wasn't solving mysteries with them, he was still turning into one of Shaggy and Velma's good friends. Honestly, it scared him. After already losing Daphne to the dark haired boy, he felt hollow inside and just wanted to make her feel the same way, but she obviously didn't, and now, it looked like he might be losing the rest of the gang too.

Not wanting to seem bothered by suddenly being cut out of the conversation, Fred pulled out his phone and lightly ran his fingers along the buttons as if he were sending a message to someone. "Oh Johnny, you're so brave." he heard Daphne coo and looked up. Sighing, he put his phone away as the teacher walked into the room, mumbling apologies about being late.

For Fred, the lesson seemed to drag on from this point; Velma was too busy taking notes to talk and Daphne, well, she was too busy with Jonathan. He had tried to speak to her, a number of times actually, but Daphne was the type of girl to hold a grudge and at the moment, she really had a problem with him. It wasn't that she hated him, she was still unsure of her feelings for Fred, but after what he said to her, how he treated her, she couldn't let him get away with it unscathed.

Around half way through the lesson, Shaggy crept into the room, immediately silencing the room as everyone stared at him. After having a quiet word with the teacher he quickly made his way over to his seat next to Velma, bowing his head. Quiet murmurs filled the room as Shaggy kept his head down, hiding his red, swollen eye and busted lip. "Like Velms," He said softly, "can I borrow a pen?"

"Sure." She replied, "A-Are you okay?"

Sighing heavily, he took the pen in his hand and started doodling on his notebook, "I-I just don't want to talk about it right now, okay Velma."

Daphne, Jonathan and Fred all watched as Shaggy continued to scribble in his notebook as Velma frowned worriedly at him, "Okay Shaggy..." She said gently before returning to her own work.

"Two weeks detention!" Red bellowed, "It's just not fair, I was only messing around!" The two thugs followed him through the hall, dragging their feet as they watched him slam his fist against a locker and come to a sudden halt. "It's all that damn Jonathan's fault!"

Leaning against a locker, Andy, one of Red's brutes, cracked his knuckles, "I say we get him after school."

The other boy, Pete, nodded in agreement, "Yeah Red, he's gotta stay behind too, he'll be a sitting duck!"

Grinning, Red turned and began to walk again, the two boys following, "You know, that's a pretty god idea..." his voice trailed off as he turned a corner, "...and is face will be so messed Daphne won't give him a second look."

"I don't know why you're still bothering about her," Andy mumbled, "I mean is she really worth it?"

Spinning around to face Andy, Red pointed a finger at him, "It's not about her being worth it, she should be mine." He paused, slowly lowering is finger, "She's a trophy... A prize... A sign of status."

"Daph I'm sorry, but I have to stay behind." Jonathan groaned as he let go of Daphne's hand.

Sighing, Daphne rolled her eyes, "I don't see why you have to stay behind, you only defended Shaggy."

"Yeah well, I still got into a fight, and according to the school I have to be punished." Joanthan muttered.

Looking at the floor, Daphne sniffed, "Fine, I'll wait in the library until you get out."

"Okay the, but just try and forget about it for now, we still have the rest of the day to go." e smiled suddenly at her, "Cheer up."

Daphne turned on her heel and wandered over to the bench, "I'm not in a very cheerful mood today." She mumbled.

Laughing, he gripped her around the waist before she had chance to sit down and pulled her into him, "Hey, if anyone should be in a bad mood it should be me." He nuzzled her neck and heard her giggle softly.

The rest of the day went by far too quickly and before they knew it, it was the end of the school day and time for Jonathan to go to detention. Daphne headed for the library and Mystery Inc. headed for the harbour.

Jonathan dragged himself into the class room and slumped in his seat, propping his head up on his hand. He watched the room fill up, and finally, Red and his two friends swaggered inside. They sat right at the back, and Jonathan was relieved that he'd chosen a seat near the front. Soon enough, the door was closed and the room was silent as the tall, muscular physical education teacher stood, his watchful eyes scanning the teenagers. Fixing his eyes on the clock, Jonathan watched the seconds pass by, convinced that time had suddenly slowed down. A minute seemed like an eternity as his eyes began to water a little.

He jumped as the shrill sound of the bell echoed through the corridors outside and leaped out of his seat. He was out of the door as soon as possible and practically running towards the library to meet Daphne.

Bursting through the door, he spotted Daphne at a table in the corner, reading a Sherlock Holmes book. Strolling over to her, he watched as she didn't seem to notice anyone was there and continued to read. The light shone through the frosted glass of the window, giving her a glowing complexion and making her hair seem to be a more vibrant shade of red; it was a picture worthy of being framed and placed in a gallery. Once he reached her, her tapped her gently on the shoulder, causing her to let out a small cry and drop her book, "Hey Daph."

Steadying her breathing, she picked up the book with a shaky hand, "You really need to stop doing that."

"Sorry." He apologised and pulled the book from her slender fingers, placing it back on the shelf.

Smiling at him,she stood up and pulled her bag over her shoulder, "It's fine, come on lets go."

Walking out of the school hand in hand, the couple laughed together as they headed for Jonathan's car. At the car, Jonathan fished in his pocket for his keys when a rock scarcely missed his head and hit the car door. "What the-"

"Uh, Jonathan..." Daphne interrupted, "Open the car...Now."

He looked up at her, confused. "What...Why?" He saw Daphne's wide eyes and an uneasy feeling crept up on him as he realised that she was looking at something behind him.

Author's Note: Okay, so I'm really sorry about the wait, but I have been extremely busy lately; it seems I underestimated how much work college would be, especially now that I'm thinking about Cambridge Uni, which will basically crush any chance of writing fiction on a regular basis x.x

So I do apologise for the inconsistent updates, I have no idea how long it will take me to upload any more, but I'll write a bit every now and again when I get chance :)

And as always, please review if you get the chance :)