If they had known they never would have taken the case.
If they hadn't taken the case Fred and the girls might still be alive.
The feeling of foreboding dread coiled around his stomach from the moment they stepped inside. The barn was big, abandoned, and, rotted. It was nowhere up to code and should have been condemned and bulldozed. Still, they went inside despite his numerous protests. Scooby stayed outside as the lookout while he followed Velma, to protect her. Sadly, it didn't work out.
The sounds started in the hayloft. Creaking, moaning. He shared a look with Velma right before the building collapsed.
He woke up three months later. Scooby was all he had left.
…...
Waking in a world so bleak, so different. Shaggy never had the chance to catch his breath. As soon as he was out of the hospital it was goodbye Coolsville Ohio and hello Crystal Cove California. Currently, he sat in the very back of the family van, slouched really, with his fists balled at his sides. Sugie who was in the middle row had fallen asleep, a cross-stitch project on her lap while Scooby slept beside him.
"We're almost there," his mother said cheerily.
"Great" he mumbled softly, turning to the window.
Resting his head against the glass he tried not to cry. He wanted to cry so, so, so bad. He'd already cried so, so much. Wasn't it time to stop?
Why didn't I die? Why did this thing show up now? why?
He was a werewolf.
Being a werewolf meant he got to live while his friends died.
While his girlfriend died.
It just wasn't fair.
He shut his eyes so tight he saw colors, choking on the lump in his throat and only relaxing when the movement of the car lulled him to sleep.
…...
"Shaggy, we're here" His father woke him.
He blinked, staring questioningly at the large gothic-style mansion at the end of the winding driveway.
"It's charming," his mother gasped.
"Like, it's probably haunted and we're all going to die," he snapped.
Turning back to the window he saw there was a slightly smaller not as scary mansion next door. He only caught the briefest glance of it through the trees but he saw a girl.
Was that a wolf with her?
"Welcome home, Kiddos" his mother's voice caused him to look away.
When he looked back the girl and wolf were gone.
…...
once inside the house Shaggy found his room quickly. The last door in the right hall on the second floor. Opening it he discovered his furniture had already arrived and been put together. The only thing he had to do was unpack the boxes but he felt too tired to do so. Instead, he sank to the floor, looking around at his room. Hardwood floors, walls with a new coat of beige paint, there was a window seat. He hadn't noticed. He was right in front of it. How had he not noticed?
What did it matter?
Pushing himself to his feet he turned toward his sheetless bed intent on going back to sleep only for Scooby to trot inside.
Scooby was as quiet as he was sad, the Great Dane hadn't spoken more than five words since Shaggy had been awake.
"Hey, Scoob," Shaggy said weakly.
Scooby stood beside him but his eyes were on the window.
"What's out there?" Shaggy asked him.
When Scooby didn't respond he went to see for himself.
The window overlooked the neighbor's backyard, or part of it at least, a rose garden. What was so interesting to Scooby? Maybe he was just lost in thought. Whatever the reason, Scooby had turned from the window and was now sitting by the bed. Waiting for him to do something.
Balling his fists once more, Shaggy shuffled to the boxes at the foot of the bed expecting his bedding to be in one.
The only thing he saw were tears.
…...
August heat beat down as soon as he stepped through the front door. Recoiling from the sunlight he slunk to the driveway, to his truck. Wordlessly, he and Scooby climbed inside.
The ride to his new school was silent, there was a lump in his throat.
Why did he have to do this?
Why couldn't he have been home-schooled?
Don't cry! Don't cry!
"Look, Scoob, there it is"
Even though he lived in Crystal Cove he was going to Monster High.
"It will help you"
"You'll fit in better"
Yeah, right.
His first stop was the Headmistress's office.
"Come in"
He entered hesitantly, hands curled in his pockets. One gripping Velma's spare glasses as hard as he could without breaking them.
"Norville, I presume?" smiled the woman behind the desk, "I'm Ms. Bloodgood, please sit"
"Thanks but everyone like, calls me Shaggy, I'm only Norville when I'm like, in trouble" he explained quietly, sitting down in the offered chair.
"I understand," she slid a folder across the desk, "Here is your student handbook and class schedule"
There was a knock at the door.
"Come in, Clawdeen"
Shaggy watched as a werewolf around his age stepped into the office, followed by a reptile-boy.
"Shaggy," Miss Bloodgood smiled, "This is your student guide, Clawdeen and, that's Duncan"
"Hi,"
"I'll leave you in their hands but remember, my door is always open"
…..
The day passed in a surreal sad blur. His movements were robotic. Everything he could do to keep from falling apart. Lunch tray in hand he joined Clawdeen and Duncan at their lunch table. Even though their friends were polite he just couldn't bring himself to smile or say anything. He just kept his head down and picked at his food.
It was one of those rare times where he wasn't hungry.
"Sorry I'm late"
"It's okay, Christy," the perky pink vampire Draculaura replied, "I saved you some lunch"
"Great, thanks"
Shaggy finally looked up at the sound of a bag hitting the floor across from him.
He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting, the student body was diverse filled with all kinds of monsters but if you were to categorize them Christina would fall under hybrid. the girl across from him had the fangs and pale skin of a vampire but the glittering wings of a fairy. But, what kind of fairy had horns?
She noticed him staring and offered a small smile, "Hello"
Clawdeen face-palmed, "Christina, this is Shaggy, Shaggy this is Christina"
"My cousin," added Draculaura.
"Hi," he mumbled before returning to his food, happy to listen to the conversation.
When could he go home?
…..
"Chase? Chase, I'm home!" Christina called into the entryway, stepping inside, Jade behind her.
"Here, Jade will you take the milk to the kitchen, please?" she handed the bag to the black and silver wolf.
"Okay," Jade trotted off with the sack handles between her teeth.
Christina looked for her brother. Was he hiding? That wasn't like him.
"I can't get it!"
She stopped short of his bedroom door. Slowing her pace, she eased the door open finding her brother sprawled out on his bed, watching old family videos on his laptop. One of her learning the piano played now
At twelve Chase was small for his age, black hair cut unevenly, hanging in a fringe across his forehead. His wings much larger than the rest of him, laying flat but twitching with nerves.
"Keep trying, Butterfly, you're almost there" came their mother's voice from the video.
"Bad day, Chase?"
Chase turned to look at her revealing a black eye.
"Chase, what happened?"
"I didn't understand," Chase replied, leaping from the bed to hug her, "I didn't understand the game and one of the other kids got mad at me"
"Why didn't your teacher call me?"
"It was a sub and she said I was too dim-witted to really understand anything"
"That's a lie," Christina said, "You know that don't you?"
"Yes,"
"Let's see if I can fix this,"
Christina healed his eye before taking him by the hand, "How does an ice cream sandwich sound?"
"You said those were dessert"
"We'll make today an exception," she tapped his nose as they walked to the kitchen.
Chase hopped onto the stool in front of the island, "Here it is!"
Christina turned from the freezer, "You left it there this morning," she explained watching her brother flip through the beat paperback book, "You like, Sarah's story?"
"Did her father really die?"
"Yes"
"Will things get better?"
"You'll find out soon, Chase"
"Did you know they're making a Hocus Pocus sequel?"
"Really?"
"Can we watch the first movie after we finish"
"We can watch it now, just grab some napkins and I'll put it in"
"Okay, he scampered to the living room.
Christina couldn't help but smile at her brother. He bounced from one topic to another easily. Granted it was only a handful of topics. His favorites but she didn't mind. After putting the movie in Christina dropped next to her brother, taking a bite out of her ice cream sandwich.
"How's school?"
"Good, Chase"
"Did you see we have new neighbors?"
"Yes"
The movie was nearing its final act before Chase spoke again.
"Are we going to go over and introduce ourselves? Do we have to?"
"It would be the polite thing to do, Chase"
Chase started sucking on his shirt collar.
"I didn't say we were going to today, buddy"
he looked at her hopefully.
"We'll give them a few more days to settle in"
"But," he said, voice muffled by his collar, "What if they don't like me because of my differences?"
"Then that's their problem"
He dropped his collar, "I love you, Christy"
"Love you more, Chase"
…...
"How was school?" Stacy cheerfully asked when Shaggy dragged himself through the front door.
"It was school," he deadpanned, hand still holding tightly to Velma's spares.
"Make any friends?"
He didn't answer.
"There's a snack waiting in the kitchen"
"I'm tired"
He went to his room without another word.
Shaggy fell face-first onto his bed with a groan, ignoring the boxes which were still packed.
Scooby trotted inside, hopping onto the window seat.
A knock forced Shaggy to look up from the bed. Sugie stood at the door, her school bag still slung under her shoulder.
"Shaggy, our neighbor has a wolf," she declared plainly.
"How do you know that?"
"Look out the window"
Dragging himself from his bed he pressed his nose to the window, eyes searching.
There was a black and silver wolf, prowling the stone paths that ran around the roses. What caught his attention, however, was who accompanied the wolf. It was Christina, dressed in a ratty tee-shirt and faded leggings. She seemed to know she was being watched as her eyes found his and she offered a smile.
"You know her?" Sugie asked making him jump.
"Yes, she goes to my school"
"Why don't you go say hello?"
"I really don't want to"
"You and I both know Mom will make you go outside sooner or later so why not do it now?"
"Because I don't want to!" he snapped, eyes flashing red as he growled.
Sugie ran from the room, slamming the door after her.
His head dropped, his mother's voice finding him.
My child's cursed.
Clamping his hands over his ears, he fell from the window seat and laid, unmoving on the floor.
…...
Christina sat on the swing in the center of the garden. Jade rolled to the edge of the path, knowing better than to mess up the roses.
Taking a deep breath Christina opened her diary to a blank page and began writing.
The garden's waiting for them.
I've kept the house.
If only they'd come home. It's been a year. A long year.
I know Mom said I'd inherit the house. I know she said it would be mine but I'm not ready. I'm not ready for this to be just my house. I'm not ready to stop believing though everyone else seems to have moved on. I'm not ready to. I just know they're out there. I just know they're trying to come home.
Even Grandmother thinks so.
Pixie dust! She KNOWS so!
I'm waiting for you, Mom and Dad.
Please come home.
…...
A day later at school, his mother's words were still ringing in his ears. He was in no mood to argue with her because he was cursed. The abilities that had saved him had also cost him his friends, everything he'd ever known was turned on its head because of this werewolf half that he didn't even want!
Now in the emptied halls of Monster High, he wandered, trying to find a much-needed distraction from his loneliness.
Scooby froze in front of him, making him stop.
"Scoob?"
"Music," Scooby announced.
Now that he mentioned it, Shaggy did hear music. Curiosity piqued they both headed for the source.
The sign above the door they stopped at read Music Room. Peeking inside through the glass Shaggy spied various instruments of all shapes and sizes waiting neatly in one section while rows and rows of chairs were evenly spaced facing the door, or more accurately a chalkboard. There were stands and sheet music aplenty but the source of the music came from the piano on the back wall.
Christina was playing it and she was singing. Leaning on the door caused it to creak open but Christina was too absorbed to notice.
Now he heard her clearly.
"I follow you around
I always have
But you've gone to a place I cannot find
This grief has a gravity
It pulls me down
But a tiny voice whispers in my mind
"You are lost, hope is gone
But you must go on
And do the next right thing"
Can there be a day beyond this night?
I don't know anymore what is true
I can't find my direction, I'm all alone
The only star that guided me was you
How to rise from the floor
When it's not you I'm rising for?
Just do the next right thing
Take a step, step again
It is all that I can to do
The next right thing"
The lump in his throat was back and growing, sadness rearing its ugly head but he moved too quickly from the door causing it to creak louder this time, stopping Christina who turned to look.
"Hi, Shaggy," she beamed, waving him inside.
Entering cautiously, he sat in one of the empty chairs in the back.
"There's plenty of room here," Christina said patting the piano bench, "I don't bite,"
Despite not wanting to, Shaggy did so anyway, settling next to Christina.
"So, you're my new neighbors, huh?" she asked with a grin.
"It like, looks that way," he said quietly.
As if she knew he wasn't in the mood for conversation, Christina went back to playing. He watched her hands move, delicately swiftly across the keys how she played so effortlessly. Her every movement brought the smell of flowers, roses. For a while, it seemed he could be lost in that scent, in the song she played.
But he couldn't forget.
Wouldn't forget.
His last moments with Velma were still replaying in his mind. Sometimes in slow motion, as he looked for any details he might have missed.
Why couldn't they see the danger?
Why did the rest of the group have to be so hard-headed?
Why didn't he push harder?
The tears were coming now. Fast hot, endless.
He was falling, falling down the rabbit hole of what-ifs.
"Shaggy?"
Velma? Was that Velma?
"Shaggy,"
No, that wasn't Velma's voice. It was too soft. There was no blunt edge to it.
He cried harder.
…...
He's grieving Christina realized.
She knew all-too-well what grieving looked like.
Shaggy seemed a prisoner to his mind. Reliving whatever trauma he'd suffered through. Rather than run away as most would have done, Christina stayed put, trying to talk Shaggy back to the present. Words, however, had failed her. So, she let him cry for she could do nothing more than sit with him.
Wondering when he'd come out of it and worrying every moment it continued.
…...
I can't explain it but there's a pull. A strange pull in my chest whenever I'm close to Shaggy.
I know, crazy right.
Whatever it is I really don't mind it. I know Shaggy needs a friend. Oh, you should have seen him today. Reliving something I don't even want to imagine. Crying and muttering.
I wonder who Velma is?
He started calling for her before he finally snapped out of it. When he did snap out of it, he apologized quietly and left before I could reply,
grief does awful things to people.
I hope Shaggy's okay now
...
Another new story? Yes. Why? Because I HATE staring at unposted completed chapters! This story was suggested by my friend, DRAGONDAVE45 and I'm really excited about it though it's digging into some dark territory here.
Review!