See the end for author's notes.
Chapter 2: Stay Calm
Nora woke when she heard bird song outside. She whined softly, having been taken out of a dreamless sleep. Her eyes were barely open as a thought in the back of her mind told her that light was shining into her bedroom at an odd angle. With a jolt, she sat up and whipped her head from side-to-side in a panic. It wasn't long before she remembered, Oh, right...I'm in Uncle Shaggy's attic.
Her sigh of relief was more a yawn than anything. Nora indulged in a long, lazy stretch to crack her back and elbows before relaxing back into her pillows. She rolled over and turned the clock on the bedside table to see that it was 8:23 a.m. She whined morosely, mourning all the sleep she could be getting rather than be awake. She considered closing her eyes once more for another hour (or three) when she noticed the plate, fork and glass also on the bedside table.
I never took those back to the kitchen last night, she thought. Nora wasn't much for leaving her dishes about but since boyfriend #7 was such a stickler for immediately washing dishes after use—to the point that he would talk down to Sugie and treat her like a child in front of her own kid—Nora would go out of her way to leave her dishes everywhere out of spite. I really need to kick this habit now that rule left with him, she thought.
Nora looked back at the clock and resisted the urge to snuggle back into her pillows. It would be less embarrassing if I took these downstairs before Uncle Shaggy got up. She sighed, silently wishing that she would be able to get back to sleep as soon as she returned to bed. However, when she opened the door that separated the end of the attic stairs and the second floor, the strong aroma of breakfast hit her. Nora blinked sleepily. She inhaled and followed her nose to the kitchen, much as she had the night before.
There was her Uncle, standing at the stove cheerfully sending some flapjacks into outer space before they landed back on the grill. They sizzled softly, while a pair of steaming hot ones lay on a plate.
Scooby-Doo was reading the paper.
No, that couldn't be right—he was looking at the paper—studiously, almost as if he was trying too. There was no way the dog was reading the paper instead of fetching it. Even that was hardly believable, that mutt wasn't really the poster dog for the Canine Good Citizenship Award, was he? But then he noticed she was in the room and the moment was gone.
"Rora!" His ears perked up, his tail banged against the chair as he got up and pushed off the table. He fell into a little prance, heading her way as Shaggy turned with a grin to greet her.
Nora's sharp intake of breath sounds like a hiss as she presses herself into the threshold of the kitchen. However, her sudden movements cause her to nearly drop the glass that had been balancing on her plate. "Oh no!" In a panic, she yelped and grabbed the glass in one smooth-ish motion.
Scooby was fast for a big dog, or maybe he was fast because he was big. Either way, he was there by the time she startled like that. He jumped too, wondering where the monster was, but stuck his nose under the other end of her plate anyway, steadying both plate and her little hand. Scooby's tail wagged a little, glancing up at her hopefully, his muzzle half hidden by the plate he supporting.
"Like, good save Norry-you okay?" That little jump wasn't really like her. Getting scared was more his and Scooby's area of expertise.
Nora felt her heart hammering in her chest as she felt Scooby's wet nose on her knuckles. She looked a little more than frazzled as she turned her gaze to Shaggy and hummed a tense little, "Mhm." Looking back at Scooby she asked her Uncle, "Help? Before I drop something?"
Shaggy was about to turn and come over, but a quick glance at the griddle showed some pancakes in serious danger of burning if he didn't remove them pronto. So, to Nora's growing horror, Shaggy said,
"Scooby, like, don't just stand there. Give her a paw!"
"R'okay Raggy!" It was like a switch had been hit. The dog's nose shoved, and the plate and its contents went up-and then down.
Scooby-Doo caught the plate, waited, then got the glass right side up in the middle of it. The fork plinked in a second later, and the dog made a satisfied noise, muffled since he was holding the plate with one side of his maw.
He turned and walked the stuff over to the sink, snuffling happily at the fruity remains of the peach cobbler.
It all happened so fast that Nora could only blink after him. Wha...what just happened here?
She shook her head and muttered a quick, "Thanks," before excusing herself to the little half-bathroom nearby to wash her hands. Upon returning, Nora tried her greeting once more, "Um, good morning?"
"Like, morning kiddo. Hope yer hungry, it's pancake-day at Casa De Shaggy!" He ushered her into a seat as Scooby shoved the chair out for her with his shoulder.
The newest pancakes were sitting in a spot, covered in syrup that formed a smiley face, with a buttery nose that was melting fast.
"You want any juice? Milk or water or something?" Her Uncle asked as he wandered back to the griddle to check on the latest batch.
"Um, do you have orange juice?" All the attention was more than a little overwhelming. Not that she would reject food any day but still, "Or cranberry if you don't have that?"
Nora swallowed any protests she had when Scooby sat across from her at the table once more. She was still feeling hurt about Sugie's departure but perhaps now wasn't the time to bring it up again. She tried concentrating on the melting smile of the pancake instead. Belatedly she said, "Please and thank you."
Shaggy's smile widened at her little statement at the end. He remembered the little kid with a gap in her two front teeth, sitting on a phone book and trying to hold on to Scooby and a mixing spoon covered in cookie dough all at the same time-while saying loudly 'please and thanks you' in hopes for a warm cookie.
He got her a big glass of orange juice, and set it down on the table next to her.
"Dig in, Norry, before they get cold." He informed easily, "Yours are coming up, Scoobo."
Nora nodded and began to eat her breakfast quietly as Shaggy went about whistling as he cooked. The pancakes were just as fluffy and light as she remembered when she bit into a sweet surprised. Nora lifted her pancake with her fork to peek underneath and found that she indeed had blueberry pancakes. She swallowed, and before she could stop herself, she smiled. Blueberry pancakes were probably her favorite kind.
It wasn't long before both beatnik and dog's plate were piled with about seven pancakes each, and they were a mess with syrup and butter. Aside from that, there were still half a dozen pancakes sitting on the serving plate waiting to be eaten.
"So what's yer plan for today, kiddo? Ya got all summer to do some cool stuff, don't forget."
Nora shrugged in response and was planning on leaving it at that but a little annoying voice in the back of her mind reminded her that she poor attitude last night wasn't the best option. She shrugged again and cleared her throat before using her fork to spear a few more pancakes to eat. "I didn't really think about it. But, don't you need to job hunt? I mean, I guess I could help with that?" Truthfully, she wanted to sleep, but she wasn't half-bad at job searching with all the help she was used to giving Sugie.
"Sure, like, I need to. If you want to give us a hand, that'd be great-but there's way more fun stuff you could do if you wanted, Norry." Shaggy said before he took a long gulp of water.
"Hey like-there's the park, the bowling alley, the playground..." He suggested, hoping to be helpful.
Nora just shrugged again as she added a overly-generous amount of syrup to her pancakes. "I'll figure something out." She took a few bites of her second helping of breakfast before speaking again, "Can I ask for something?"
"Course." Shaggy nodded, and swallowed his food. "Like, what'dya need?" He pointedly shooed Scooby's wandering fork away, a playful glint in his eye as he shot a look at his best friend. Scooby grinned wolfishly right back, his halo sliding into place. On the next attempt, Shaggy let Scooby swipe a pancake, but he took some of Scooby's grapefruit in retaliation.
"Do you have a fan or something I could keep up in the attic for the season?" Nora emphasized her point but fanning herself with her free hand. "It got uncomfortably warm up there last night and summer has only just begun. I don't think it'll be bearable much longer if it's going to get as hot as they say it will this summer." Nora, kind of unsubtly, pulled her plate closer to her, which meant further away from Scooby. Welp, at least she hadn't found any dog fur in her meals yet.
Her words made Shaggy pause, and his eyes widened in realization and a touch of horror and worry.
"Like-jinkies! I forgot how hot it gets up there-you sure can kiddo, I'm sorry! There's a big box fan down in the basement-it's all yours. You can keep it on long as you need, okay? Oh and like, check for an extension cord down there too-I'm not sure you've got an outlet close enough to the bed that isn't filled by the lamp and yanno, the alarm clock."
Nora's eyebrows were hidden under her messy bangs as they found new heights. Why in the world does he care so much? What, is he trying to make up for things or-? Nora raised her hands in an attempt to ease her Uncle's sudden worry. "I got it! Thanks. I'll go looking for those after breakfast is over," she answered. She picked up her juice and sipped it thinking, Really now. Forgetting to bring up an old boxfan isn't exactly the worst thing you could do. Or have done.
Shaggy was oblivious to her thoughts, and he didn't notice her expression because he was protecting his last piece of pancake.
By the time the breakfast war was over, Shaggy had to head out to fill the van with gas before he even attempted searching for a fill-in position. He noticed Scooby, who had finished already anyway and wasn't doing anything much important. He gave Scooby the job to wash the dishes. Scooby-Doo, sitting on the mat in front of the fridge and scratching behind his ear, had one eyes knit shut from the effort as he said,
"R'i will!" in a cheerful-not-quite-doggy like noise.
Shaggy ruffled the spot between the dog's ears in response, thanking him before he turned to his baby niece.
Before she could stop herself, Nora's first thought blurted out with, "You're not taking him with you?" It wasn't that she thought it was at all normal or professional to take one's dog with them to their potential interviews or places of work, it was just the Shaggy seldom went anywhere without his canine companion. And Nora hoped she wouldn't be left home alone with him.
"Hm? Nah, not unless I can snag another interview for a customs-dog. But like, me getting that job back is about as slim as getting back into racing again, right Scoob?" He laughed as he pulled on his jacket, and Scooby did too.
"There's gotta be easier, safer and more food related jobs I can sniff out."
Nora bites back a whine as she wishes Shaggy the best of luck in finding a new job. Once he's gone, she thinks about locking herself upstairs and trying to sleep the remainder of morning and the afternoon away. And if it weren't for the warmth of the day that was already starting to increase, she probably would have done so.
I just need that darned fan and cord. Nora fought the urge to tip-toe across the old linoleum of the kitchen. Scooby had his back to her as he washed dishes—really?—and made her way towards the basement door.
The basement door creaked open, showing a straight shot down into the bowels of the old house. It was an open, semi-finished basement and the wood steps were surprisingly quiet compared to the racket the stairs up to the second floor made. Which meant these stairs were used less-or Shaggy used the stairs that went up into the yard on the side of the house more often-which was reasonable. They were huge after all, and allowed for more maneuvering than the ones Nora was heading down.
If she thought the guest bedroom was cluttered, then the basement took the hoarder's cake and ate it, too.
From the light that filtered through the dirty little windows, Nora could see the dust floating in lazily in the air. She scrunched her nose. The only thing she hated more than dust was actually dusting.
She flipped the light switch to better light up her way. Yeah, just what I need. To be left home alone with a Great Dane who I can't run away from on behalf of my broken leg. The old, yellow light caused a lot of shadows to be cast from all the junk but that didn't stop the fourteen year old. She wasn't afraid of the dark.
Once down the stairs, she stepped carefully around boxes and old junk. Jeez! What even is all this, Uncle Shaggy? Nora wondered. It was then that she heard the drawn out whining eeek of the wooden basement door and she turned at the sound of it. Another shadow was being cast from the light upstairs; a Scooby Doo shaped shadow, to be precise.
Nora swallowed. She considered just being quiet and maybe he would walk away if he couldn't see her but she remembered how keen his nose was. At his first step down the stairs she yelped, "Yes, stop looking! I'm here!"
"Rind the ran?" He asked politely, putting another paw down the step. He looked around eagerly, hoping to spot it from an aerial view. This was easier said than done, so he lifted another paw to descend some more steps.
"N-no, but I can manage," she said weakly. She began looking frantically from side-to-side, hoping to find it, as well as any reason for Scooby to stop coming down the rest of the steps. "Hey-what about the dishes? Your paws are getting dusty on these steps a-and, you'll get the plates and silverware dirty!" Nora was grasping at straws.
He blinked, ears perking. A quick look down at his paws made her right, and his tail swished quietly.
"Ruh-oh!" If she needed help, he assumed she'd call him-Scooby-Doo, where are youuu?-so the Great Dane turned in the small space and trotted back upstairs.
Nora found herself left alone in the basement once more. She began searching the room which left her face-to-face with a massive trophy that had a skull on it.
The Award of Physical...
goes to
The Grim... S..ool Girls
said the dust covered trophy, its shine long gone from where it sat on the shelf.
Why would he have a...? Nora lifted up the corner of her over-sized shirt and began dusting the trinket. She hated dusting but sometimes curiosity was a stronger force. She blew the last bit of dust away and held the trophy up to the light, coughing just a touch. She squinted and read aloud, "Why in the world does he have a trophy for 'Miss Grimwood's Finishing School for Girls'?"
She received no answers in the basement. The box that the large award had come from was filled with some smaller ones. Those were even filthier, it was like only the one Nora was holding received any attention at all. These awards were for track and one that looked suspiciously like gymnastics.
Nora put the trophy carefully back where she found it, patting her hands on her shirt. Her Uncle sure did keep some weird crap. Like this, she thought, bending over and found a box labeled, 'Lester's,' in black marker. Inside were old painting of what looked like UFOs. Nora shook her head. "Need to find this thing before-" she yelped as she tripped and fell to the ground.
"Ooooow," she angrily moaned, rubbing her scrapped elbow. Nora looked up to find that what she caught her foot on. It was an old-looking chest. The pile of old blankets covering it slipped to the floor and Nora was intrigued. She leaned forward and squinted once more to read in the poor lighting. "The Chest of...Demons?"
From under the blanket half a face was visible. A red eye set into a gargoyle's grinning face gleamed too brightly in the dim light. It was spooky enough she wasn't sure she cared to see the other eye. For some reason, the box was warm, too. Warmer than it should have been in this dank, cool basement.
Nora found that she felt just a little unnerved by the chest but she tried to shrugged it off. "Pffft, right," she faked her own confidence, "just some lousy light-up Halloween decoration with batteries that haven't died yet...eight months later..." Nora's laugh came out as a nervous chuckle. To prove to herself that there was nothing to be scared of, she took it upon herself to check and see that there was nothing to be frightened of. Like how when Uncle Shaggy wasn't around to check for monsters under my bed so I did it myself... Her mood went from nervous to sour quickly as she reached out to open the chest. However, she hadn't even touched the lid when she realized too late the sound of a large dog barreling down the stairs with his howl of, "Rora ro!"
He took the turn around the stairs poorly, and ended up sliding the rest of the way. With an almighty crash, Scooby hip-checked her into an old mattress and he collided with that chest dead-on.
He took one look at the front, its gaze seemed to get sharper as it registered one of its Openers, and with several loud aypes Scooby shoved off it, covered it in every blanket he could find and set three boxes and a lamp on it.
Nora landed with an "OOF!" and bounced as the old spring creaked under her weight. Nora rolled over until she was on her hands and knees and facing the Great Dane, who was currently redecorating.
"Scooby!" She snapped
The dog blanched at her tone and sank down to all fours, watching her. His tail tried wagging as he lowered his head and trotted over to her. "Rorry." And he sounded like he meant it at least. He reached out to nose her shoulder.
Nora flinched when his cold nose touched. "It's fine!" When he sank further, she gave an exasperated sigh. "It's fine," she repeated in a calmer tone. "I'm not hurt, but geez! It's just an old trunk."
Scooby-Doo whimpered at her words, and shook himself all over as if something unpleasant crawled up his spine. He obviously disagreed with her, but didn't go into details and instead started sniffing around, searching for that old fan. He redecorating had unearthed a box of magnets and an old video game.
Nora stood up, feeling grimy. Landing on the mattress had kicked up a lot of dust and dirt. "I'm going to need a shower...I'm never getting back to sleep before noon at least," she sighed. She watched the canine carefully. Even when she couldn't see his big body, his tail usually gave away his position from between boxes and all the other stuff Shaggy kept around, like an old tiki-looking mask. And a tiny blue collar. "Scrappy?" She read on the little tag
Scooby's tail wagged when she held it up.
"Raby collar." He supplied happily as he moved around a giant wax figure of himself that Shaggy had kept after that one case. Let's see...where was that fan?
"...,right," she answered, ignoring the weird statue and tossed the collar onto the mattress. She looked back and-AHA! "There!" She pointed excitedly. The fan was just behind the stairs, she could see it through the space between the steps. Nora quickly, and carefully, weaved between boxes and old furniture to the fan. "Oh, great! The cord's here, too!" She really wanted to be clean and cool and away from this dog.
Scooby spotted the fan just after she did and trotted over to help her maneuver it out. It came up to her hip after all, and he knew it wasn't the lightest of models.
Nora's thin arms would be shaking by the time she got to the attic but she was pretty sure she could manage. That was, until she saw her Uncle's dog running in and out of the shadows toward her and she nearly dropped the big, metal machine on her bare toes. She jumped back, fortunately short enough that her head missed the wooden stairs. Unfortunately, that meant the dog had her cornered under the stairs.
Scooby jumped at the loud noise the fan made, but shook it off. He took a moment to nose a rolled up carpet out of the way, knowing Shaggy didn't like it lying around where it could just...take off on its own. It had done that once and once was enough!
"Rou okay?" Scooby asked in mild concern as he grabbed the fan's handle in his maw and began dragging it out of her way.
"Yes," she answered, obviously tense. She let Scooby take the fan for her. Instead, she picked up the forgotten cord and followed Scooby up the stairs, far behind. Once upstairs, she sighed, seeing just how much dust there was to clean off the fan, let alone herself. "This is going to take forever," she whined. She would have to take it apart to clean off the blades and everything!"
"Rhat's wrong?" The dog grunted gently as he sat by the fan, itching a cobweb off his shoulder with a hind leg. "Rusty?" He wondered, sticking his nose close to it and sneezing from the dust that greeted his sensitive nostrils.
"It needs cleaning or else it'll just be blowing dust in my face," she answered tiredly. "And I need a screw driver to open it up." She must have been tired to be holding a conversation with the dog.
"Rarden hose!" said Scooby plainly as he stood up and stretched happily. His next move was to turn off the basement light and close the door. He was never crazy about going down there, something both he and Shaggy had in common. He wandered back over to the wilting Nora and sat on his rump beside her.
"A—It's metal. It will rust a lot sooner if I do that. B—Won't water ruin in?" Nora didn't particularly care for the fact that when sitting, Scooby was almost at eye level with her.
"Rair dry!" Was Scooby's answer as he looked outside to the hot, hot sun shiny day. That thing would be ready to go in a few hours tops if left outside to dry.
Nora sighed. "It already looks older than dirt, how much worse can it get?" She cracked her back before picking up the old device and lugging it to the back door. "Get the door?" She asked, trying not to sound unkind as she did so.
Scooby's ears perked up. "R'okay!" He called, trotting for the door to do as she asked.
Nora shuffled awkwardly (and quickly) out the door passed Scooby and set the fan down more loudly than she meant. She wiped her brow as she turned and found the old garden hose attached to the house.
"Huh..." The old sprinkler she used to jumped through and play with was still attached to the end of the hose. Nora removed it and turned the old spicket on.
Scooby had wandered out behind her, pausing only to get a drink from his bowl of water that was by the stove. Now he sat by the side door, head cocking curiously as he watched Nora set to work on cleaning the fan.
Nora sprayed down the fan, trying to get all the nooks and crannies so as not to miss any part of it. Though she wasn't looking at him, Nora could feel Scooby's eyes on her; his big, brown eyes that were so focused it was borderline unnerving to her. She remembered there was a time she used to have staring contests with those eyes...
Nora stole a glance, then a quick second. He had also gotten covered in his share of dirt and dust while in the basement. Then, a terribly devilish plan took hold and Nora barely succeeded in suppressing her smile.
"Hey Scooooby, what's that behind you?" She called.
Some could call it playfulness, some might call it a nasty little trick, but as soon as the Great Dane turned to follow were she pointed, she hosed him with the chilly water of the garden hose.
Scooby-Doo yelped like he'd been set on fire, his massive body leaping onto all four paws while he staggered under the cool spray and became thoroughly soaked. His cry turned into a bought of laughter, though, as he turned and tried holding up a paw. Hmm, but this nice water would hit the spot for his itchy, dust covered shoulder! So he turned, eyes closing in delight and letting a content "Raah..." as he took an imaginary loofa from nowhere and began scrubbing his fur, humming a jaunty tune.
Nora barely stifled a laugh at his yelp but was surprised to see him enjoying her mean little prank. Still. Eh, better than having to be the one to bathe him up close and in a tub...if he would even fit. So, she adjusted her grip on the hose and placed her thumb just so over the opening of the metal nozzle and she sprayed down Scooby's shoulders and back.
The Great Dane wiggled happily, making the strong stream get those hard to reach spots Shaggy normally scratched for him. After a moment he decided he had enough, because the usually clumsy dog twisted back down onto all fours-and his hind paw came down with all his weight on the hose. He swung his head over his shoulder and grinned.
The water sputtered, died, and Scooby's look was suddenly just as playful as Nora's had been.
"Rora's rusty too." She didn't even have to think about his sentence to know he meant 'dust' and not 'rust.'
His weight was too much and too sudden for the unprepared Nora. Her eyes went wide at the dog's words. Oh, she knew she had this coming but that didn't mean she wanted it to come! That water was chilly!
"Scooby Doo, no-no-no," she said, already backing away.
Scooby's grinned deepened as he adjusted his stance-legs spread and head down. And all one hundred and eight pounds of the soaking wet dog shook-and shook hard. Water went flying everywhere.
"Ack!" Nora's thin arms raised to shield her round face but to no avail. She turned away from the mini-shower Scooby Doo had sent her way, quite effectively soaking her. She whined, "Now I'm smell like wet dog," she shook out her hands and arms in disgust, "great, now all my dreams have come true."
"Ree too." Scooby sympathized pleasantly, halting in his shaking and sitting down to shimmy the last of the heavy water off him.
"Rake a shower?" He suggested helpfully as he considered the cool breeze blowing every once in a while.
"I'm going to have to." she replied, though not unpleasantly. Nora made her way to the spicket and turned off the water, deciding that putting away the hose could wait for later. She turned toward the side door to enter the house, not having to look to know that Scooby wasn't far behind. Then, without thinking, she turned and told him, "Wait, don't go in yet—I'll, I'll get you a towel," She muttered as her mind brought up a memory in which her and Scooby had slipped and gotten hurt after running inside while still soaking wet. One of their poor misadventures, if she recalled. She had gotten a bruise on her shoulder but Scooby had gotten a little more banged up, having made the table topple onto him, instead of her.
Scooby halted obediently—he only skidded a little, and he backed up a pace to keep his wet paws off the kitchen floor. Standing on the rug outside Shaggy's back door, Scooby waited patiently for Nora to return, his tail wagging.
Nora padded her way upstairs to the full bathroom and dug around in the linen closet. Wonder how long these have been sitting in here, she wondered absently, taking out a couple towels for herself and one that was far larger on for Scooby. She placed her towels on the sink counter and walked back down stairs, reassuring herself, I don't care, but I'm not getting in trouble if he ruins a piece of furniture or something.
Nora was surprised to find Scooby still waiting for her, quite patiently, just outside the door. She dropped the larger, blue towel over his head. "Close the door when you come in," she instructed, having already turned on her heel and headed for the bathroom.
"Ri know." said Scooby cheerfully as he edged in, getting cozy and warm in the big comfy towel. His tail took hold of the knob, and solved the door-closing problem for them. Realizing Nora was headed to take a shower like he suggested, Scooby felt his spirits lift as he finished drying himself off. He dropped the towel off in the basket that was sitting outside the laundry room, and then to the bathroom, finding the door closed. Not that he blamed her. But he didn't feel like taking a nap, so lying in front of it was out of the question.
Scooby's tail flicked absentmindedly, and he let his nose lead him around the house, taking him to the attic.
Nora hummed, singing bits and piece of lyrics to mismatching melodies as she scrubbed herself of all dirt, dust, sweat, and dog fur. She thought she might have heard the clicking of nails going down the hall, then again her hair needed most of her focus, having gotten as long as it has. She spent a good quarter of an hour washing and combing her hair alone. After all but using up the hot water, Nora turned off the shower and began the tedious task of wringing out her hair and wrapping it in a towel.
After wrapping the rest of herself in the other towel, she opened the door, being careful to look for Scooby and not trip over him as she recalled that he liked to sleep outside the door when she bathed. Not seeing him, she padded her way up stairs and to the attic.
There was Scooby in the attic, his big nose snuffling over the woodwork as he half buried himself beneath the bed, sniffing harder. In his haste he had knocked over her book bag, its contents spilling out as her suitcase tipped over like some mortally wounded animal. Clothes, a gameboy, some books and her sneakers made a desperate bid for freedom as Scooby pushed further under the bed, starting to bark and growl from beneath the box spring.
Nora bristled, her shower-induced calm evaporating more quickly that the droplets of water from her skin. "Scooby!" She half-whined, half-scolded, "get out from under there! Look at all my stuff! It's everywhere!" Okay, everywhere was a bit of an exaggeration but things were far more scattered about than when she had last been up here.
For once, the big dog didn't leap to attention. In fact, his struggling increased, his noises becoming more frantic and bothered as he caused an even bigger ruckus.
Finally, with a little blur of brown, a wide-eyed, terrified mouse shot out from under her bed. Clearly running for its little life, the rodent scurried out of her room with Scooby hot on its heels, growling and barking to keep it moving. Despite his vocalizations, he wasn't snapping his teeth at it. The mouse took no small comfort in this, however, and was soon gone from sight.
Now, it wasn't that Nora was afraid of mice; quite the opposite actually. She thought some rodents were quite precious! But when that mouse darted out from under her bed, followed but Scooby scaring it (and her) with his vicious sounding barks and growls? Heck no! All of this was happening too quickly to fully comprehend it, and she gave a small cry in surprise. Clutching her towel, Nora jumped out of her skin, ran and leapt up onto her bed.
"Ran stay out!" Scooby threatened with as much force as he could muster. He stood at the base of the attic ladder, and turned to trot proudly back up it, tail up and chest out. His tags swung as he pranced up into the attic area, waiting happily for his praise. He would have to wait a little longer.
Nora was red in the face and she glared at the poor, unsuspecting dog. "You dumb dog!" She yelled, "Look at this mess! All that over a little mouse? Give me a break!" She cried, clutching her towel and stamping her little foot. She looked furious, and it was adorable.
"What was it going to hurt? Get out of this attic I swear!" She hopped down from the bed and marched in his direction and pointed angrily down. "Go! Go down to the kitchen and stay there!"
The Great Dane jumped and bolted back at her accusing finger, sinking to the ground pitifully when she raised her voice.
"R-rut..." He tried, big doe eyes gazing up at her, his tail curling between his legs. He glanced around the room and, oh. He had made a mess, hadn't he? Whimpering gently, Scooby turned and grabbed the nearest thing with his mouth. This turned out to be a library book, which he inched forward and held out for her, as a sort of peace offering.
She snatched it from him, "Don't drool or get your teeth marks on this! Last thing I need is a..fine. Waitaminute..." Anger temporarily put on hold, Nora flipped open the book and checked when this book was due. "Crap," she moaned.
Scooby was busy trying to pick up the second book without his mouth—his paws were only sort of aiding him in his task. At Nora's exclamation, his ears perked and looked to her in concern.
"Rora?" He asked.
She huffed, "Well, I was going to walk seven miles here last night. Why not make it fourteen today?" Nora turned her glare on Scooby, but it hardly held any heat. If anything, she just looked tired, "Shoo, I need to get dressed then walk to the library."
She said the wrong—or magic—word:
"Rwlk!? RAWLK!?" Scooby asked in delight.
The Great Dane leaped to attention-which meant the floor creaked ominously from his bouncing as he turned to bolt eagerly down the stairs. They could be heard squeaking in feeble protest the entire way down, a horror buff's ambient dreams sound clip.
Nora sighed at this obnoxious dog's antics. "Dumb dog," she muttered half-heartedly, closing the door and then going through her drawers for something to wear. Less than ten minutes later, having decided on an old tang top and short-styled leggings, she had returned to the bathroom and was combing out her long locks.
She heard the clicking of Scooby's nails on the hard wood floor in the hall and she called, "Go get your leash," as she began the tedious task of braiding her hair.
The noise halted.
"Rhy what?" Came an innocent, if slightly ponderous call from the massive dog as he craned his neck round the doorway.
Nora tied off her braid and reached for her tooth brush, "Your leash," she repeated. "What I need to put on you if you're really planning on leaving through the front door."
"..." After a serious moment of consideration, Scooby sat back on his rump. He drooped his ears and whined in the back of his throat.
"Rhy hate rhat rhing..." He complained quietly, tail curled around his legs.
Nora paused for a minute when she heard his pitiful noise. She paused in squeezing the tooth paste onto her toothbrush. He looked crestfallen and miserable and Nora thought that she might feel kind of bad for the pooch. Well, okay. Nevermind that weak thought. In an attempt to not let Scooby sense her weakness, she turned back to the mirror and spoke with a bit less commanding tone,
"Hey, it's only for a little bit. There are consequences to not following leash laws." She informed with an arched eyebrow. "And it's not like a choke collar or anything, right?"
"A rhawt?" That answered her question. Right, considering how much Uncle Shaggy loved this giant disaster of a dog, he probably wouldn't use a choke collar.
"Ri'll get it." He moans and turns, ambling around and heading into the spare room.
Well, as much as she feared and disliked dogs, it's not like she condoned abuse for them. Kind of glad he didn't even know what a choke collar was. She continued to brush her teeth, gurgle and rinse and spit all by the time that Scooby came shuffling back to her.
Nora wiped her chin, "Oh, buck up wouldja? I'm not doing this to hurt you," she sighed, holding out her hand, palm up, for the leash.
He gave her a mildly corrective look, one she thought she'd seen in her mom's eyes. But that was impossible.
The tangled up leash and the large bundle of cloth was dropped obediently into her hand.
For some reason, it smelled like cheese.
Nora wrinkled her nose as she unfolded the smelly, bright red cloth. "'Customs'?" she read aloud.
Oh yeah, her mother did say something about her uncle holding a temporary security job at some point awhile back, before his current job at the restaurant of course. Nora was not surprised to hear that they were fired. Scooby is no working dog. Never mind a job as hard as customs. He's too...Scooby.
Nora draped the red article over the side of the tube and turned back to Scooby as she untangled the leash. Finding success, she hooked the strap of leather onto his collar, "There. Not so bad, is it?"
"Rhy guess rot." The dog grumbled, then promptly stood there and waited hopefully for her to hand the leash over. What? It counted if he was walking himself!
Nora slipped her hand through the loop of the leash and cocked an eyebrow at the dog. "Yeah. Right."
Hey, couldn't blame a pooch for trying.
His ears sank...but he lowered his head and trotted at her hip anyway, tail swinging nonetheless.
"Ron't forget rour rook."
Nora took a half step away from Scooby before reaching for the book she very nearly left on the counter. "Just need my backpack and few water bottles and a bowl and I'm set," she listed out loud, more to herself than to him.
She scooped up her backpack that was slumped against the wall just outside the bathroom where she left it and headed to the kitchen to collect the waters and bowl.
Scooby waited by her side, content for the most part to amble at her hip, since she hadn't put down the leash once. He paused only a second, itching at his shoulder happily as he waited for Nora to be ready for The Walk.
Nora zipped up her bag but spared Scooby a glance. "I feel like you've been scratching a lot. Do you have flees or something?"
"Ri don't rink so." He said mildly. "Rit's rummer. Rosquito rites—blhreah!" He made an annoyed face, and pushed himself onto all fours.
"Ready Rora?!"
He had a point, as well as short fur.
"Don't you pull or run off with me-I'll sooner let you run before I let you drag me down the concrete," she warned him as she double checked that she grabbed the spare key before opening the front door.
"Ri won't!" Scooby promised happily. And as eager as he was, he kept to his word and the leash wasn't pulled on her wrist once. Scooby gazed around happily, tongue lolling between his teeth and starting to pant.
Boy, this was a great day! The sun was shining, there was a cool breeze in the air, and he was walking with his little niece. Such were Scooby-Doo's thoughts.
Boy was this day going to be long. Nora thought, trying to ignore the chip on her shoulder.
Nora used the back of her hand to wipe the sweat from her brow. Four miles really didn't sound like a lot but when the breeze died down some and the sun was shining relentlessly on your back? Not to mention, with what little shade to hide under, well, she honestly considered turning around and paying the late fee. She huffed, fanning herself with her hand as she adjusted her backpack, which was digging into her shoulder blade. It was uncomfortable with her sweat.
She tried to make some room between her and Scooby for the umpteenth time as she sighed, "We've gotta be, what, a mile at most from it?" The hotter she got the slower her pace was getting and she fought a whimper. What she wouldn't give for that old fan right now!
"Ruh..." He paused, looking around, but by his expression it was clear he already knew the answer.
"Ro." He admitted with a sheepish tail wag, slowing his pace to match hers. Her legs were so much shorter than Shaggy's!
Nora groaned. She hadn't been at the stable in this much heat since the end of last summer. She would have to work up tolerance to it again. "Okay, let's take a break." She made her way to the feeble shade of a small bush and sat in the dirt. She dug in her backpack and took out a bottle of water and the pink plastic bowl. She filled the bowl about half way and then drank the other half of the bottle herself.
Scooby took two long droughts, but no more.
"Rou can have the rest." He offered cheerfully, resting back on his rump and sniffing around in the grass as much as the leash would allow.
"Uh, thanks, but no thanks," she replied with a look of disgust that could make Lucy proud.
"Ruit rourself." The big dog shrugged, flopping happily down into the cool grass and rolling a bit, in pure doggy bliss.
Nora rolled her eyes, draining the last bit of the bottle and sat back with sigh. She didn't mind the rest and she wasn't about to get the blame for her letting her uncle's dumb dog getting heat stroke. It's not that I'm enjoying being here with him; it's that I can't relax. And I haven't returned the library book yet. And I'm going to be really concerned about my sanity if that bugs me more than my safety. She covered a yawn when a familiar sound caught her attention. She looked up to see the bus turning the corner and making its slow pace in their direction. "That could have been a nice alternative."
Scooby lifted his head to track what she was looking at.
"Rou wanna take the rus?" He asked politely, starting to get to his giant paws. He gave himself a quick shake, grass and leaf litter flying everywhere before he started heading for the sidewalk.
"We can't—wait!" She grabbed the bowl, pouring out the water, and her backpack.
"What did I say about pulling?" She asked, though he wasn't really pulling that bad. "We can't take the bus, Scooby Doo."
"Rure we ran!" Scooby said, before giving several booming barks in the direction of the blue travel bus. Nora had to lower her shoulders after the noise. Right. Big dog. Big lungs.
"Rit goes right ry the ribairy." He explained as, miraculously, the bus began to slow down. The driver was waving.
His continued barking made her fight the urge to jump again and make a complete fool of herself. "Scooby!" She snapped, pulling back on his leash. She looked up to see the driver waving, to which Nora looked left, right and behind herself. There was no one else in sight that the bus driver could be waving to. She watched in amazement as the bus pulled over. When the door opened, she gave the leash another tug as Scooby stepped forward toward the vehicle.
He was big though, and while he didn't exactly pull she certainly wasn't about to win any tug of war battles against Scooby-Doo anytime soon.
"Why hello Scooby!" said a portly, middle-aged man sitting in the driver seat.
"Rello!" said Scooby brightly, tail wagging.
"I haven't seen you in a few weeks. Where can I can take you today, you big fella?" As he said this he was reaching a stubby hand down his left side. A moment later a dog biscuit was tossed gently Scooby's way. The dog snapped it out of the air and was licking his lips before he answered.
"Ree need to ret to the ribairy." The dog said before Nora could think to speak.
"That's my next stop! Come on in, bus is nearly empty today anyway. Everyone got off at the pool."
Nora stood in stunned silence. When she found her voice she was already following Scooby on board. "But I—I don't have a pass or money...and he's Scooby Doo," she said in favor of the 'D' word, not wanting to get into another "Rhog? Rhere?" argument with Scooby.
"You really don't care that we're on board, sir?" She asked politely, if a bit blunt.
"Care? Hey, no—it's a pleasure anytime when this big pooch rides, isn't it boy?" The driver took a few moments to rub the dog's head—Scooby closed his eyes in lazily, that dopey smile on his face at the petting as he leaned into the man's hand.
"Haven't taken the big fella on a bus have you? Don't worry; around here a friend of Mister Shaggy's is a friend of mine. You and Scooby-Doo take a seat where ever. The library's a good ten minutes away."
"Uh, thank you, sir," Nora nodded, going to sit in the first empty seat she saw, closest to the door. She slumped in the seat, grateful for the air conditioning and letting the cool wind brush her face. Nora's eyelids were growing heavy but she shook her head. She felt the seat dip and looked incredulously at the human-like way Scooby was sitting. One of these days I might get used to that. But I'm too tired today, she thought, inching closer to the window.
The bus rocked and swayed as it navigated the streets, as buses were apt to do. Even with traffic, the trip was a little under ten minutes as promised. The next thing Nora knew the bus was slowing down, and the driver was shouting their spot for them and any other passengers, few as there were.
Nora waited for Scooby to get off the seat before sliding out. Before exiting the bus she turned to the driver, "Thank you very much, mister. I appreciate your generosity," before steeping back out into the heat.
She stopped just outside the door of the library as she began to talk, "Okay, I'll be in and out pretty quick I think. Luckily, the overhang will provide you some shade," she said as she began to remove her backpack and knelled beside the bike rack. "I'll leave you water but you got to stay out here."
"Ri'm allowed rin!" Scooby protested as he followed at her hip, whining in the back of his throat gently.
Nora pointed at a sign that was bolted into the outside brick of the building. "No Dogs Allowed," she read. "Now, just wait a minute," she said, trying to tie his leash to the bike rack, "I'll just be a sec."
Scooby's ears sank, and so did the rest of him to the ground. He gave a muted whine, but since it didn't seem to matter, the dog watched her tie the leash to the rake and pour out the water for him. He laid his head on his paws and stared upward pitifully.
"I might have learned that from you but I perfected it over the years and trust me, it doesn't work on me," she replied in response to his puppy eyes.
As soon as she was out of sight, he yawned and turned his head to rest it better on his paws. He shot a sleepy gaze over the town square, eyes passing over the tall black clock that stood proudly in the middle of sleepy little Coolsville.
Scooby did a double take, and went from zero to 60 in about three seconds, giving a panicked look toward the door. Without another thought, Scooby had his leash undone—because he couldn't unclip it and lose the blasted thing, he supposed—and was up and through the two sets of doors heading into the library.
"Rora!"
Nora jumped at the sound of Scooby's distinct voice and wanted to hide in the bookshelf. If she didn't think he'd sniff her out in about five seconds flat anyway. She leaned out into the aisle that she was in and spotted Scooby with a horrified look on her face, then looked to the main desk. PLEASE don't kick me out! This is one of the only places I have that's mine! She mentally begged Ms. Joanna.
The woman's eyes moved without her head, rising over the frames over her glasses. And some strange happened when she caught sight of the giant dog trotting through her doors. Her forehead relaxed, the creases smoothing around her eyes, while her lips smoothed from that little purse they always seemed to be in. And her eyes brightened and she stood up straight to better see the dog.
"Scooby-Doo! You sweet boy, how have you been? We haven't gotten that DVD of Dino Mutt you and Shaggy wanted, but I'm sure it will be here next week." She chimed down at him.
"Rat's rokay! Rone moment rease." said Scooby conversationally as he headed straight for his tiny niece. "Rora, rou gotta rall Raggy."
When Nora had finally picked her jaw up from the floor, she muttered in disbelief, "You've gotta be kidding me!"
"I tied you to the bike rack," she said, turning her attention pointedly away from Scooby and towards the shelves, "Go back outside, Scooby Doo," she told him.
He leaned over, taking the edge of her shirt in his teeth and tugging gently.
"Rorraaa." Stressed the big dog, whimpers leaking out from the back of his throat. It was late. Shaggy usually called around his lunch break. They hadn't left a note, just up and gone. This would scare Shaggy—this would scare anyone!
Nora's head whirled around to look at the dog as he took her shirt into his teeth. Immediately, he raised her knee into his chin. Not enough to hurt him but enough to get her point across. Her heard his lower and upper teeth CLICK! together. Her heart thudded loudly in her chest, the noise rushing in her ears as Scooby's actions replayed. Having been too preoccupied with his actions to have heard his words, she pointed towards the door, "Go. Out. SIDE."
Scooby reeled back as it she had outright struck him. Picking up on the fact he'd stepped over some sort of line, one he couldn't remember ever existing before, the Great Dane backed away but hesitated. His head hung low and his expression was apologetic and mildly fearful.
"Rora..."
Her heart began to settle and she processed what she had done so automatically. And, for the first time, she really felt more than just a small pang of guilt.
"Yeah, right...call Shaggy," she said absently. Nora stepped carefully around Scooby and approached the main desk. The librarian smiled at her and Nora tried to return the gesture.
"Ms. Joanna, can I borrow the landline?"
Ms. Joanna smiled and handed Nora the receiver. Dialing the old number she had memorized with much practice without thinking, Nora held the phone to her ear when she looked down that Scooby had followed her. "Wait, does he still have the same num-" she began to ask when she heard her uncle's answer on the other line.
"Rah-huh." said Scooby, who was sitting back on his hind legs so he could use his front paws to rub his muzzle and massage the ache out.
"Uh...like, yello?" Shaggy probably didn't recognize the number on that came up on his old cell phone screen. Where ever he was, his voice came with a bunch of static, making his voice echo slightly.
"H-hi, Uncle Shaggy! I'm calling from the library," she answered back, a little louder than she would have if the static weren't there. Ms. Joanna gave her a small look and motioned for her to lower her voice. "I'm at the library," she repeated, a little more quietly, "I thought I should call so you wouldn't get worried."
"Oh—Norry! Well gee kiddo. Great minds think alike I guess, cause I was just about to call you. At the house though-glad you got to me before, kiddo." He said happily. The static began to overpower the man's voice. "I'm pulling into another—kszzt—. It's that old bzzzt—on Fore—sshtt. Like, sorry about the static Norry—don't know what's—sshht—gotten into this phone."
Nora cringed as the sound of the static made her cringe. "Yeah, okay Uncle Shaggy," she tried to sound cheerful, and was positive she was talking over him as well as the static. "Good luck and tell me how it goes tonight, okay?" When she was met with more static than anything that could be considered human speech, she mumbled goodbye into the harsh sounds and handed the phone back to Joanna to return to the cradle.
"Well, I guess things are alright," she mumbled, partially to herself and partially to her canine companion, whom she found currently accepting a dog treat (very carefully) from one of the part-time student workers.
"Rure they rare." Scooby agreed around his mouthful of Scooby-Snack. His tail was up and wagging, which was a good sign that he had probably forgotten her little...reaction already.
Dogs had awful attention spans anyway, didn't they?
Nora looked back to the middle-aged librarian once more and said in a hushed-tone, "I'm really sorry for," she gestured to Scooby, "Can he stay inside though? If not, I can take him back out if you prefer..."
"Take who—why, Scooby? Oh don't send the poor thing out in this heat, Nora. What's gotten into you? Scooby-Doo's always welcome in here—aren't you, you handsome man?" Her last words were complete with the saccharine sweet tone everyone seemed to use on dogs. And Scooby didn't seem offended; he just broke into that big, dopey smile and wagged his tail harder, tongue lolling.
The small reprimand in the librarian's tone irked Nora more than it probably should be but it does. Nora smiles tightly, "Thank you, Ms. Joanna," she says before making her way back to the aisle she was in only a few moments before. She didn't call Scooby to follow because she didn't care if he did or not. Maybe he would stay up at the desk with Ms. Joanna and bask in the glory of being pet. And stay there. Nora thought with a angry huff.
But, hey, since when is Nora that lucky?
All too soon there's the tinkle of that collar, the only noise giving away the dog's position as he follows her. The floor was carpeted after all. He wandered after her like a puppy, letting his nose take him a few paces away from her as he put it to the ground and snuffled around some curious scent. Scooby didn't seem inclined to follow his nose any farther than a few meters though, and all too soon he was back by her side, reading the book titles.
No. No. Looking at the book titles—dogs couldn't read.
Nora made a sound that was somewhere between a scoff and a sigh as he followed much too closely.
Had she not had her spotted companion following her everywhere she went, Nora surely would have spent much longer at the library. I need to leave before I start associating this place with angry feelings and this dog. She thought to herself. Nora checked out one book, something she grabbed quick but knew she liked, Frankenstein, before heading out the door and gathering up what Scooby left behind just outside the doors of the building.
Scooby wasted no time following her, keeping pace with the short girl easily. He wasn't focused on much of anything at all until they got to bus stop just outside of town, right in front of the park.
He halted mid step, and stared at the little rabbit he had made eye contact with. Scooby stared. The rabbit stared back.
When he stilled, so did Nora. She followed his line of sight and immediately, grabbed his collar, though she didn't pull on it. "Don't even," she warned.
Not taking his eyes off the bunny's, he whined in the back of his throat and agonizingly began to tear his gaze from the other animal. His expression was clear and said it all:
'Wasn't gonna.'
"Scooby," she said with such a tone it was more a threat than a warning. "Just because you're bigger and you can doesn't mean you should. How would you like it if that rabbit was three times your size and came after you, huh?"
With only a little glance over his shoulder, the dog followed Nora into the bus stop to await their ride home.
And as for the rabbit, it vanished through the underbrush in a single hop.
The mugginess of the day that made the heat feel so heavy was easing little-by-little as the sun began to sink into the horizon. Nora had all of the windows open and was currently sitting in front of her borrowed box fan as she read from her latest acquisition from the Coolsville Public Library.
Scooby-Doo lay on the floor in front of her chair, still in the same position as he had been hours ago when he'd wandered over and flopped carelessly onto his side in front of the fan. His eyes were closed, his breathing slow and even, and anyway the fan was droning on enough that he didn't hear a vehicle pull up. Or the engine turn off. Or the front door creak as it was pushed open.
"Like, I'm home!"
But he did hear that, and the dog was up in a shot.
Nora jumped and dropped her book in the process. Annoyed that she would have to find her place, she set it aside and onto the coffee table. She got up, much more slowly than Scooby Doo, and greeted her Uncle, "Hi-oh! Pizza tonight?" Yup, she was definitely her Uncle's niece.
Shaggy noticed that little interested voice, and his face split into a grin.
"Uh-huh." He held the boxes high up over his head, giving Scooby-Doo a withering stare. The dog chuckled and loped into the kitchen, Shaggy following.
"You know, I didn't think I'd get so lucky. I thought like, if push came to shove, I'd have to go back to my job as a gym teacher. Thankfully, it didn't come to that."
"Uhm, well, that's good." Nora tried.
Her Uncle nodded. "I sure lucked out, right? It's not exactly outta my limited skill set, and the pays not fantastic. But Scoob and I start tomorrow, okay buddy?"
"R'okay Raggy!"
"...you're taking your dog with you into a restaurante?" Do you know how many health code violations that must break? She thought. But then again, he was going to be busting his ass in a new kitchen, for much less money, it sounded, and it was only for her. So instead she said, "Yep, so lucky."
"In any case, like, this job's better than nothing." Shaggy's grin was wide as he walked into the little kitchen.
"Hence the celebratory pizza. Got it from the joint, in fact."
"Oh?" said Nora, trying to look over her shoulder as she poured a glass of soda, but he Uncle had opened the box before she could read the name on the top of the cardboard.
"Roy boy—rizza!" Came a happy bark from the giant Great Dane as he snuffled the box on the table. Nora wrinkled her nose, but Shaggy patted the dog's head absentmindedly.
"Yep." Shaggy popped the 'p.' "It's an old restaurant, but, like, I hear it's moved a couple times. Used to be one when your mom and I were kids."
"Oh, well, that's cool. So I guess that place won't be in danger of getting shut down if they've been around so long, right?" That was a big relief, in all honesty.
"With any luck. Here, Scoob." He tossed the dog a piece of pepperoni and looked at his niece, "Can you get the plates Norry?"
"Sure, Uncle Shaggy." She began hauling the biggest plates out of cabinet, and had to go back and get another when she only got two. A plate for the dog, seriously? She got he was a part of the family, or whatever, but really?
They all sat at the table (something that still boggled Nora's mind, that a dog could do. She wasn't sure she'd ever get used to it.) And Nora spent the majority of the meal staring out the big windows on her right. The sun was setting behind a crop of pine trees in the back yard that made them nearly black, but the sky was a pretty shade of royal purples and rich oranges. The window was open a crack, letting a breeze blow softly in as a cricket chirped, though it was lazy and he didn't seem to put much heart into it. For some reason that made it nice, and Nora leaned a little bit to see if any stars were out. She imagined the moon was already hanging in the sky, and she wondered if it had gotten full yet. The milky purples were covered by deep blue by the time Nora remembered she hadn't asked where he'd gotten the new job, or even the position.
"Oh, uhm—" She covered her folly by trying to suave and taking a gulp of soda, and nearly choked. Shaggy reached over and patted her back worriedly.
"S-sorry, I'm okay." Nora grabbed a napkin and swiped at her mouth. She felt her face heat up, but was relieved when Shaggy leaned back into his seat. "So, uhm, what's the job? Are you gonna be a cook?"
"Oh, nah." Shaggy shrugged breezily and grabbed the pizza box, flipping it closed. Nora winced at the lame cover art of a vectorized image of a bear, but read the cover.
"Freddy Fazbear's pizzeria?" She read out loud in a dubious voice.
"I've like, got the job as the night guard."
Honey: Funny story, when Charlie and I were typing out the basement scene and making as many references as we could to Scooby and Shaggy's past (mis)adventures, I typed out the part when Nora found Scrappy's old baby collar. Which immediately was followed by the message in all caps, "HE AIN'T DEAD HE JUST GREW UP!"
Charlie: Some clean up I forgot last time. All the chapter titles are based of songs. This one, Stay Calm, is by Mike Schmidt and the Fazbears. (It's also my favorite song for the FNAF fandom.) You know I debated putting this story into the crossovers right away—but decided against it for fear of giving the story away. Also, we don't actually SEE the FNAF gang until the NEXT chapter. So stay tuned—for danger!