Shaggy the Vampire

Chapter 7 – Now What?

Shaggy didn't return until a couple hours later and made his way into the apartment. His apartment. It was still his home – and Scooby's, of course. He'd been surprised to learn that Daphne was staying there but pleased, nonetheless, that Scooby hadn't been alone and wondered where the others were. Fred and Velma. What were they doing?

However, his first concern was for those who were with him right now. Daphne and Scooby had fallen asleep some time ago on the couch, where they'd been waiting up for him. He could hear the blood running through their veins and their vulnerability as they slept only seemed to increase his bloodlust. Quickly shaking his head, he shook them both awake, knowing it would be easier to resist if they were talking to him.

Daphne blinked sleepily. "Oh…hello, Shaggy." She sat up, more awake now. "You're back. Did you find those guys?"

"Like, yeah." Shaggy sat on a chair near them. "I modified their memories and they have, like, no idea what happened. No doubt, it'll be put down to a street fight or something."

"Are rou back for rood now?" asked Scooby. (Translation: Are you back for good now?)

"Yes, I think we should talk about that," spoke up Daphne, sitting up straight. "What were you planning on doing? I mean, I'm sure we'd love you to stay, but-" She looked at Scooby, who nodded in agreement, "-but I'm not sure how you would fit in with…the world at large."

"I know. Like, why do you think I've been hiding these past few weeks? I thought you would reject me."

They went to argue but he held up his hand. "I know, I know but, back then, I was terrified of your reaction. I'm still scared of Fred and Velma's, if I see them."

"Would you like to?"

"Of course! But I'm scared of what they'll think. And what will I do? I mean, I can't blend in so I can't, like, go to work or go shopping or anything."

"Re'll rink of something." (Translation: We'll think of something.)

"How are Fred and Velma?"

"Well, Velma's still busy with her science work. She's working on something important right now and is soon to take a three month trip offshore to do research. I don't understand any of it but she seems really excited! And Fred… Fred is working on a new book, I believe. They come over here when they can to keep Scooby company but, obviously, they live further away so it's a bit more difficult." She paused for a minute, before adding, "They really miss you."

"Re all do," said Scooby.

"Well, like, maybe if you can arrange something…we could meet up again? The whole gang together?"

"Reah!"

They discussed when they could meet and figured it might be better if they re-introduced Shaggy separately to Velma and Fred to get their individual reactions before trying to get everyone together. Velma's trip was in a week's time so they needed to act sooner rather than later. It was arranged that they would meet them that weekend as Velma had planned to come see Daphne for one last visit before her long journey. As for Fred, Daph would call him in the morning and ask him to come on Sunday to 'look after Scooby as she needed to go out'. She'd done this before so he wouldn't think anything of it.

"Now what?" asked Shaggy. "I mean, what do I-we do in the meantime? I can't really go out, except at night to hunt, but I can't stay in here all day."

"Reak it rown," suggested Scooby. (Translation: Break it down.)

"What do you mean?"

"You mean, like, look at my problems individually?"

"Reah! Rike appearance! Rhat makes rou stand out?"

"Oh, okay," said Daphne, examining Shaggy closely. "Well, your red eyes are the biggest thing but we could get some contact lenses so no-one would see. I wonder what colour would dim bright red? Er, you skin is quite pale and you have purple bags under your eyes but it's not that big a deal. Still, if it bothers you, we could use some foundation or something to add some colour to your skin-"

"Like, no way! I ain't wearing make-up!"

"Well, we can discuss that later. But, you know Shaggy, you don't look that bad. I can understand you being self-conscious and worried of standing out but it's not that bad."

"Really? I don't, like, stand out?"

"Reah. Rou rook fine." (Translation: You look fine.) "Rhat about when rou're hungry?"

"Well, as long as I feed at night, I should be okay. I am getting better at controlling my bloodlust."

"Good," smiled Daphne. "Now, like you said, you can't stay in here all day. You'll go crazy from boredom. Maybe we could find some kind of quiet job, where you don't have to deal with people – you know, until you feel more comfortable being back."

Though they talked for some time, they were struggling to think of a job that Shaggy would enjoy and yet meant he didn't need to deal with too many people. Of course, Shaggy wanted to follow his love of food but working in a kitchen usually meant being near people.

It wasn't until it was almost dawn and Scooby was fast asleep that they stopped talking. Daph herself was suffering from noddy-dog, starting to nod off before her head jerked back and she was alert again. Seeing this, Shaggy smiled. "Like, I think you'd better get some sleep."

"Yeah, good idea. I'm not working tomorrow, anyway. Oh, no, wait…today, rather. It's after midnight, isn't it? Good night-er, morning."

She headed to the spare room that had become her own. Pulling a blanket over Scooby, Shaggy went into his room and found it was exactly the same as how he'd left it. Lying on the bed, he thought about what had happened. For the past three weeks, he'd been very scared: scared of what he'd become, scared of how his friends would react, scared he might lose control and hurt someone he loved…

But the reunion with Daphne and Scooby gave him hope. They'd taken it so well and seemed more than willing to accept him back. He'd been expecting horror and rejection. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad meeting Velma and Fred. After all, they'd been friends for so long, surely they would be okay with this…?