"Daphne and Darian already left on their date." He doesn't deserve her. No one does… "And I'll be searching every book shop in Paris to find the book I need…" Velma started, heading towards the door.

"Won't it be in French?" I asked, not looking up from the game of chess Lucien and I were playing. Lucien was beating me soundly. By a lot.

"Um, yes…" she said, as if she was trying to think of an excuse.

I rose a fair brow at the four-eyed brunette, skeptical and now very suspicious.

"Velma Dinkley, what are you…?"

"Bye, Freddie! Au revoir, Lucien!" she said quickly, rushing out as Scooby and Shaggy came in.

What is she up to…?

"Checkmate," Lucien said with a wide grin.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I grumbled, leaning back, arms crossed behind my head. "You two wouldn't happen to know what Velma's really doing would you?"

They looked at each other, freezing in their steps. They knew all right.

"Like, uh, didn't she say she was going to the library? Yup. Library, man, to get a book. Cuz Darian didn't have it and the library…"

"Funny, I thought she was checking out book stores."

"Like, that's what I said! Meant, er, book stores. That's how you say it in French."

"Ra, Rench."

"No it's not…" Lucien interrupted, being silenced by a look from Shaggy. The fearless French boy ignored him, turning to me.

Now, what would Velma hide from me and tell Shaggy and Scoob? Daphne, I knew instantly. But she's with Duval…

"She's meeting Daphne at Notre Dame with Daphne," Lucien said, French accent thick. "She's going to try to trap the vampire. I wanted to go but the girls said it was too dangerous. But they're the girls…!"

Shaggy and Scooby were waving their hands, and paws, around frantically, trying to get him to stop.

"WHAT?" I yelled, rising and turning on the guys.

"Like, we wanted to tell you, man, but Velma said we shouldn't cause you wouldn't want Daph to be the bait because you…"

"WHAT? DAPH'S BAIT?"

Shaggy blinked as though he had just realized something that seemed to stun him and make him wonder why he hadn't seen the obvious before.

"Like, you really do like her, don't you, man? Velm was right…"

"Rou didn't row dat, Raggy?" Scooby asked in surprise.

"I-I-I don't like her," I stammered, blushing for the first time in years.

"Oui. He does not like her. He loves 'er," Lucien stated casually as if this were the most common thing in the world, looking over the chess pieces.

"Maybe a little…" I grumbled, kicking at the floor.

"A rittle?" Scooby asked skeptically, as he and Lucien both sent me looks.

"All right, a lot! More than any other person on the planet! Irrevocably and unconditionally and ardently and passionately! There, I said it! Happy now?" I demanded, yelling at them, face red with anger and passion. Shaggy's jaw dropped as Lucien half-smiled smugly. "This is not the time, guys! We have to stop the girls! They're going to get themselves killed!"

"Like, they're using your trap, man."

"What? Has Velma lost all common sense? Now I know they're going to get themselves killed! Since when have my traps worked?" I cried, storming for the door.

"They only didn't work cause we always messed them up…" Shag said helpfully, as if that was supposed to comfort me.

"You guys stay with Lucien," I ordered, evoking a long, bemoaning groan from him.

The sky looked like a thousand diamonds on black velvet. Wrapping my arms around myself, I admired it as I stood between Notre Dame's two towers, waiting. Suddenly, I was freezing, but no wind blew, the only noise was a quiet, quick rustling coming from behind me…

I spun around as I saw the source. The vampire's cloak. I gasped in horror, surprise, and fear and in less than a second the dark figure was out of the shadows. Well, Velma's trap obviously didn't work. His snow white face was an inch from mine, black hair slicked back, eyes glowing red in the darkness of night, his hand clamped over my mouth, cold and hard as stone. I screamed, but only a muffled sound broke free from the rock covering my lips. He flashed his whiter than white fangs at me, lunging for my throat…

"DAPHNE!" an unmistakable voice screamed at the top of his lungs, desperate, terrified and stricken beyond words. It was a heartbreaking and wrenching sound. I hated to hear him in so much desperate, frantic pain and panic.

Freddie… I thought as I tried to yell against the hand that held me again. He stood twenty feet away, face white, horrified, and stricken. I knew the instant I saw those bright, blazing, soul piercing, knowing, understanding, brilliant, smoldering, bluer than blue, endless topaz pools that I could never stop loving him and could never love Darian. Oh Freddie, oh Freddie, Freddie, Freddie, Freddie…

The vampire threw me over his shoulder, darting for a tower and beginning to climb it. Fred followed.

"Are you insane?" I yelled down to him. "Go and get help…!"

"And leave him alone to suck your blood? Are you in…?" he cut himself off because I had managed to free myself from the vampire's grasp, and was now falling off the tower.

"DAPHNE!" I screamed desperately, at the top of my lungs as rain began to fall and lightning flashed.

She landed on a gargoyle and I rushed to her as the vampire leapt down, cape open and landing effortlessly on his feet as though he'd fallen only one foot.

"Daph, please…" I begged as I pulled her off the gargoyle, holding her in my arms, her head leaned against my shoulder, the rain hiding the tears running down my face.

Her long, thick, perfect eyelashes fluttered open and pure, raw joy flooded me so overwhelmingly that I wanted to weep.

"Freddie…" she managed to say, no sound in the world was more beautiful than her saying my name, it was the reason ears were made. "I'm in love with you… I have been for years…"

"Sh… sh…" I hushed her calmly, holding her cheek in my hand and stroking it, tucking a wet, ruby curl behind her ear.

Could it be true? Was her love for me a fraction of my love for her? Dare I even dream it? How could it be so? She deserved so much more than me… Me, poor, dull, simple, stumbling, bumbling, gullible, blushing Freddie that constantly messed up and put her in danger…

And despite how foolish it was to even think it, I was flooded with joy and hope…

I was suddenly thrown backwards. Ignoring the shooting pain, I leapt up to see that the vampire had leapt onto Daph's gargoyle. She had leapt onto another before he could grab her and stood on it now.

The vampire began to whisper to her in French, eyes glowing red, beckoning, arms outstretched. I knew that voice… DUVAL! But how was that possible?

In his trance, her eyes began to glow crimson as well. She turned to him, reaching for him…

"NO!" a voice screamed, momentarily snapping me out of it.

Freddie…? And then his voice whispered to me again, in French, the voice of the only other man that I had never been able to get out of my head. Darian… his voice was so smooth, clear, velvet, alluring, intoxicating, irresistible, mesmerizing, almost hypnotic…

"STAY AWAY FROM HER, YOU…!" a distant, familiar voice yelled, making me realize that there were other things besides Darian and me...

I know that voice. I know that…

And suddenly the ache, the need, the desire to be with Darian was so strong, so desperate, and so powerful that I fell on my knees, shaking and clinging to the gargoyle. I moaned and groaned, begging him to come for me, to take me in his arms, to never let me go, to quench this thirst, put out this painful fire, to fill this hole tearing me apart…

His eyes were red, glowing, luminescent, so beautiful… He was so beautiful, the most breathtaking thing ever to…

He was being shoved back by a blur of white and… blonde?

"Daphne!" I yelled, spinning around after slamming into Duval. Her eyes were glowing red, like his. He was hypnotizing her, or whatever it was called, but she believed that she was in love with him. A vampire's trance was so powerful that, according to every old vampire movie I'd ever seen and according to Velma, only one thing could stop it…

"F-Freddie?" she stammered, eyes not glowing for a moment, shaking her head, squinting at me in the darkness.

Duval's face snarled as he chanted something, focusing on Daph and nothing else. She cried out in pain, moaning as she held her beautiful head, the sound ripping my heart in two as her fiery red curls stuck to her face, making me realize it was still raining.

"NO! Daphne, I love you!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, over the rain, thunder, and Duval, desperate to break his control on her. It had to work, it just had to. But it wouldn't if she didn't really love me, but how could she? I didn't deserve her, I was…

There was no sound more beautiful, more wonderful in the entire world than Freddie saying my name, and those three beautiful, precious, perfect words. Those three words that filled me with more hope, joy, peace, passion, bliss, love, and fire than I had ever experienced in my entire life. I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream. I wanted to sing. I had never been so happy in my entire life. As for Darian? What vampire could possibly control me when my Fred was right there? None could touch my heart or make me feel a thing with him by my side.

"I have been since the day I met you," my love rushed, babbling, blue eyes brighter than anything, endless, clear, soul piercing, loving, understanding, gentle, passionate, fiery, smoldering… "I just didn't realize it until I was sixteen and, and…" he stammered, looking at me, joy filling his eyes as he realized that I was freed the moment he said he loved me.

I rose, ready to run into the arms of the love of my life, but Darian Duval bared his fangs, lunging for Freddie.

Daphne screamed, running towards us as we wrestled, Duval trying to bit me as I struggled to keep him from doing just that.

"She. is. mine," he hissed, eyes still red, lighting his paler than snow face as he tried to bite me again. Both of my hands on his neck, I tried to shove him away, able to keep his fangs away from me but unable to get him off, even his neck was like marble and he had enough strength and power to snap my neck in two.

My mind was racing, trying to figure out how to get Duval off Fred, and how on Earth it was possible for Duval to be a vampire…

Out of nowhere, I heard a fierce growl and bark, along with two familiar "zoinks!" and "jinkies!"

Scooby suddenly leapt onto Duval's back. The vampire rose, falling backwards on the Great Dane. He yelped but did not let go, digging his teeth into the cape. We rushed over as they tumbled towards the edge of the building.

"Scooby!" I yelled as the tangle of black and brown started to roll off Notre Dame.

Fred grabbed Scooby by his collar at the last possible second as Darian fell, yelling and then suddenly silent after thunder echoed.

We looked over the edge, but there was nothing, not a trace of the vampire. My very heart sighed with relief and I felt like crying.

I had to be the biggest idiot on the face of the Earth not to realize what a monster Darian was, and not to realize that Freddie, my dear, dear Freddie, my beloved quarterback…

"Daph, are you okay?" he asked, turning me to him, hands on my arms, blue eyes full of concern. Oh those eyes, those blazing, bright, beautiful, smoldering, soul piercing eyes…

"I love you, Freddie," I said, taking his face in my hands and kissing him. "I always have and always will and please forgive me even though I don't deserve it or you or…"

"There's nothing to forgive," he interrupted, hand on my cheek, forehead against mine.

"I'm the biggest idiot…" I started, eyes closed, drinking in the feel of his cool, smooth, soft, perfect skin…

His lips cut me off. I threw my arms around his neck, he wrapping his around my waist, as we kissed. My heart melted, blazed, stopped beating, and leapt into my throat as love, joy, and pure, raw bliss pumped through every vein in my body, soaking every cell, making it impossible for me to think, blink, or move anything but my lips against his.

I lifted her off the ground as we kissed in the rain, spinning her around but careful to never let my lips leave hers. I couldn't think, I couldn't speak, I couldn't even open my eyes. My heart was beating so fast it pounded in my ears and leapt into my throat, but it was melted and flaming at the same time and I thought I might fall over. From my lips, lightning shot through to my entire body, pure raw joy, hope, peace, ecstasy, and bliss soaking every organ, muscle, and cell. There was nothing in the world greater than this, the happiest, best moment of my life. What I wouldn't give to hold Daph in my arms forever, for this beyond beautiful, indescribable moment to never end…

Just one more chapter left, explaining how in the world Darian could be the vampire.