Multifandom one-shots/drabbles

Crystal Cove, the crappiest place on earth. From the masked weirdos who pretended to be supernatural to the fact that the town seemed to be cursed. You're born and you die here, some might say that plenty of people have escaped before, but where do they inevitably end up? Here.

This is the same situation you found yourself in, sitting in the backseat of your dad’s beat-up old pickup. The silence between you two is palpable, and the weight of the past few weeks is heavy on both of you. The place you swore you'd never see again appearing in the distance.

So yes everyone always ends up back in Crystal Cove, whether you like it or not.

-

The old house on the edge of town came into view, exactly how you left it all those years ago. Your eyes close as you feel a rush of memories come onto you. Those nights spent in the attic, two bodies huddled under a blanket, soft lips brushing against yours.

“We're here.” Your dad’s gruff voice breaks you from your reprieve. He gets out of the truck swiftly, the door slamming behind him.

You sigh unbuckling yourself and slipping out of the car, following his long strides toward the house. The rest of the day is spent unpacking and growing re-familiar with the house. The only time your dad talks to you again is when he tells you dinner is ready.

The next few days are basically the same, you both finish unpacking. Your dad’s silence and standoffish demeanor add to the heartbreak that has been the last few weeks. So after days of being in the house, the silence finally suffocates you and you venture towards the town.

Even after all these years, crystal cove is still the same, the quiet near emptyness of the streets is similar to how it was before you left, but there are a few noticeable differences. The old general store was replaced with a tasteful cafe, and now in the center of town, there's a museum of mysteries. Faintly you remember a conversation you heard before your family left town, but you shake the thought away.

You go into the cafe, the bell ringing to announce your arrival. A boy around your age stands behind the counter, a friendly customer service smile planted on his face.

“Hello, what can I get you?” you look through the various drinks and pastries they have before inevitably settling on a hot chocolate. “Great I'll bring that to you soon, have a seat anywhere.” He gestures towards the empty cafe.

You sit in a booth in the back, giving you a full view of the street outside. The boy brings you your drink and you thank him with a small smile. You spend most of your time drinking your hot chocolate and watching the people through the cafe window.

One thing catches your eyes causing you to sit up, a van. A multicolored cyan and moss green van, with orange flowers painted around the words ‘the mystery machine’, to be exact. The van itself isn't the most interesting part (surprisingly) it's the person in the passenger seat.

You only see her for a split second, but that's all you need to know it's her. The subject of all your dreams, the plague of your thoughts, the reason you dreaded coming back to Crystal Cove.

Velma Dinkley.

-

Eight years ago

“Slow down,” a breathless voice called out behind you. You paused letting her catch up to you, although you couldn't stop from bouncing on the balls of your feet excitedly.

“The movie starts soon, hurry up slowpoke.” she caught up to you panting harshly with her hands on her knees. Her long hair a curtain around her face. She was always complaining about it, and you would always suggest she just cut it shorter, and she would always act like what you said was blasphemous.

She stands back up straight, fixing her wayward glasses, and pushing her hair back “I'm trying, I swear you run like a maniac is chasing you.” You grin, grabbing her hand. Not noticing the small blush on her face from the contact.

She's right, every day after school you would run as fast as you can towards yours or her house, whether it was for a movie marathon, or just because you didn't like walking when it was faster to run.

“Yeah but we can't miss this movie V, you need to move it.” you pull her along with you, at a slightly slower pace than earlier. She rolls her eyes but lets herself be pulled, used to your antics by now.

As you both approach your house you can hear yelling inside from the porch. Both of you pause unsure of what to do before inevitably walking inside. You both walk closer towards the commotion, your hand tightening around hers.

You both peer around the corner to see your parents screaming at eachother. A piercing cry cuts through the house but that doesn't stop them. You both run up the stairs to find your little brother wailing in his crib, obviously disturbed by his parent's yelling match.

You let go of Velma’s hand, picking him up and rocking him the same way you saw your mom do it.

“Shh it's okay,” you whisper, holding onto the back of his head. Velma shuts the door, muffling the sounds of yelling but not by much. We spend the next hour in the attic trying to ignore the screaming match that is still going on.

“I can go home if you want,” you shake your head gently grasping her hand.

“No, don't leave me please.” She nods snuggling closer to you, her head on your shoulder.

Little did you know, it would be the other way around.

-

Present day

No matter where you are, whether it's in the countryside, or a bustling city, there's one universally true thing: school sucks. Crystal Cove High was no exception, it was like stepping into a bad teen movie, the cliques, the sorry attempt at fashion, and worst of all the ghosts from your past.

The first few periods were alright, nothing special, until lunchtime. You sat in the back next to no one in particular, some people you recognized from middle school, but didn't acknowledge them. Until you saw her again, she looked so different but then again it had been almost ten years.

She still wore the same orange turtle-neck that used to be too big for her, and her signature red skirt. She looked happier, well at least happier than the last time you saw her. You couldn't help but be slightly envious of the friends around her. They seemed so familiar with each other, and it made the guilt you felt worse.

She looked up, your eyes connecting for a moment, you could see her eyes widen for a moment. A flash of emotions went through her face, shock, confusion, anger, until she settled on a neutral face. You waved awkwardly, she stared for a few more seconds before turning back to her friends. Did she not remember you? Or was she still angry?

It was last period when you finally had a class with her, English. The teacher droned on and on about how much of a great school year it will be. In your boredom, you felt your eyes being drawn to Velma. The mousy girl sat directly in front of you, twiddling with a pen. She did that all the time when you were younger, but then again she did a lot of things back then that she probably wouldn't do now.

“Alright now I'm putting you in random pairs, you have ten minutes to learn five fun facts about the person closest to you,” you looked around to see most people already had partners, so you steeled yourself and tapped on Velma’s shoulder.

She turned around slowly, with a neutral expression, “Hey uh need a partner.” You inwardly cursed yourself for stumbling over your words.

She looked around the classroom and sighed, “Not like I have a choice,” you winced slightly at her words but hid it behind a small smile.

The two of you sat in silence unsure of what to do. The sounds of your classmates breaking the ice around you filled the silent void around you both. You both opened your mouth at the same time, closing them when you realized the other person was about to start talking.

“You go first,”

“Oh sorry, you can go,”

You both looked away slightly flustered, by our words spoken at the same time. You took advantage of the fact she was looking away from you to get a closer look at her face. Her face had become more rounded out, and her freckles more prevalent. All in all, she was essentially how she was eight years ago, physically at least.

“When did you get back?” You look away quickly as she turns back towards you.

Why did you have the feeling that no matter what answer you gave her, she would still be angry? Frustrated? Sad? You didn't know.

“Last week,” her expression remains neutral as she nods.

“How is Gabe doing? He should be about nine now.” You wince at the mention of your younger brother, the wound still fresh for you. She notices your expression, her own now quizzical.

“He's uh, he's not here anymore,” you look down feeling that same overwhelming feeling when you had been told the news. The feeling of despair, that a piece of your heart was gone.

Gabe was the best kid a person could ask for, sure he was loud at times, but there was never a dull moment or frown when he was around. He never let the splitting of your parents get him down, even when he had to keep moving around because your dad couldn't keep a job.

Velma’s face falls, and you can tell she's feeling the same feeling of despair you felt when you heard the news. “There was an accident, and he um, he didn't make it.” You continue your throat bobbing as you try and fail not to let your emotions overtake you.

She gasps covering her mouth, her eyes filling with tears. It makes sense considering Gabe was like a brother to her, before you had to leave all three of you would sit in the attic watching movies, even if Gabe didn't understand it being a one-year-old at the time.

Talking about it, and thinking about it brought you back to that night. You had just gotten home when you noticed the red and blue lights of cop cars, and the abrasive sound of the hose as firefighters blasted water at the mountain of fire you once called a home. Your dad was on his knees being held back by an officer from running into the house, that was the first time you ever saw your dad cry, and the last time he expressed any emotion besides sadness, for which he drowned himself in the bottom of a bottle.

Velma must have known something was wrong so she called the teacher, “Ms Burke’s Y/n’s feeling a little pale, I'll take her to the nurse's office.” she didn’t wait for an answer as she led you out of the classroom, you were too lost in your head to even think about putting up a fight. The hallways were empty, your footsteps echoing through the halls.

You barely even registered her hand on the small of your back as you walked towards the nurse's office, a little plaque laid in the glass, ‘Nurse is out.’ that didn’t stop Velma from opening the door and leading you in. You sank into the closest chair, putting your head in your hands as you tried to forget that tragic night. Velma stood in front of you quietly, leaning against the nearby counter, as she watched you slowly compose yourself.

You didn’t want to do this, not in front of her. It was too embarrassing to get this emotional in front of a girl you haven’t seen in eight years, especially since you aren’t being emotional because of your separation from her. After a few minutes of calming your nerves you look up to see her watching you, her face neutral but with an undertone of worry.

“Great reunion right?” You mentally kick yourself for saying something so stupid, but it gets a chuckle out of her

“I think I would prefer to be reunited under better circumstances,”

“I'm sorry by the way, I know it's probably too late but I am sorry,” she sighs at your words, looking down at the floor.

“I've gotten over it.” her body language shows she's anything but.

What do you say to the girl who was your best friend, that you left for eight years without saying goodbye? Do you say you didn't have a choice, that you woke up to your dad with your bags packed in the truck? Do you say hey sorry I didn't call I was too busy trying to distract my little brother from our parents screaming at each other every day. Eventually, you just settled on saying sorry, even if she didn't forgive you, but right now you wanted to change the subject.

“So who are those people you sat with at lunch? You looked close.” Her face looked grateful for the change of subject.

“Yeah we're close, we uh we solve mysteries.” She looked slightly embarrassed by her revelation.

You raise a quizzical brow, “you solve mysteries?” You repeat.

She nods, playing with the bottom of her sweater, “Yeah mysteries, there's a lot of people who dress up as the supernatural, like those stories we used to read.” Do those still happen?

Years ago you and Velma would spend hours pouring over old news articles that talked about how a group of teens would stop masked weirdos. At the time you would either laugh or idolize those teens, either because they seemed cool, or you liked looking at them. Velma was especially into Cassidy Williams, she even had a picture of her on her wall.

“Oh is that why you were in that van?” Her eyes widen in shock for a moment before she nods.

“Yeah the mystery machine, it's how we get around.” She seemed even more embarrassed now that you saw her in the van, whether it was because she was ashamed of it or because she thought you were going to judge her, you didn't know.

“So like junior detectives, that's interesting,” you didn't really know what else to say, no one said catching up with your old friend would be easy.

The room descended into awkward silence, the tension so thick you could cut it with a knife. She refused to look at you and you couldn't look away with her. Would you ever be able to make up for all the years you've been gone? Would she even let you?

Before you can open your mouth to apologize again she pushed herself off of the counter, “We should hear back to class.” Not even giving you time to reply she swiftly leaves.

You don't know what else you expected, of course, she wouldn't care about an apology from a person she probably didn't think about anymore. To her you were probably just a ghost from the past, your history didn't matter when she had new friends, friends who probably wouldn't leave her without a word.

-

Fall was here which meant the obligatory small town fair, Jack-o'-lantern’s strewn all about, fake cobwebs littered the tops of every building, and the streets were bustling with locals and tourists alike. Though you couldn't bring yourself to enjoy it, not when Velma was avoiding you.

You understood of course, that she would want nothing to do with you, but it didn't make it hurt any less. In school she would simply pretend you didn't exist, and whenever you would see her in town she was surrounded by her friends or walked right past you.

The Crystal Cove fall fair was in full effect, with tents and booths strewn all about, selling things that varied from deep-fried food that your stomach would be paying for later, or small knick-knacks that fit the fall season. Small fair games were all around, the town had even splurged on a Ferris wheel, for which the line was a mile long.

You walked through the streets, your dad having split from you the moment he saw that one booth was selling beer for half off. You thought the fair was charming, but it would be better if you had someone to walk around with. Since your return to Crystal Cove, you haven't exactly made any real friendships.

Sure there were a few people you talked to, your lab partners, Jen and Micah, but you rarely ever talked to them outside of school. Sure you could always go find them since they told you they would be at the fair, but you didn't really feel like being a third wheel. So you walked around alone. You ate a funnel cake and played a game or two, but eventually, you found yourself sitting on a bench, people-watching.

You did that for about an hour before you heard footsteps approaching from behind, “Hey do you mind if we sit with you?” You quickly turned around immediately recognizing Fred and Daphne, two of the friends Velma was always with.

You didn't really know them that well besides the fact that Fred liked traps, or like is putting it mildly considering when you sit next to him in pre-calc he's always drawing them in his notebook. As for Daphne, you knew her family was rich, your dad worked in one of her dad's factories, and that was the extent of your knowledge of her.

“Yeah go ahead.” They smile gratefully happy to have found a seat. They sit across from you, Fred sitting down the giant bag of things he brought from the fair.

You curiously watch their dynamics, they seemed to have a friendly relationship that teetered onto romance, you didn't know them that well but you had eyes and could see that Daphne obviously had a crush on him, and he was too dense to realize. It was kind of funny the more you watched, as Daphne lovingly stared at him while he rambled on about traps.

“You know, you look like an older version of the girl that Velma keeps a picture of in her wallet.” Your eyes widen at Fred's words.

If it was the picture you thought it was then you remembered that day like it was yesterday. It was her tenth birthday and you had saved up your allowance for months, to surprise her with a trip to the arcade. If you tried hard enough you could still smell the grease from the pizza you had, or feel the warmth of her body next to yours as you sat in the photo booth. That was the day you first kissed her cheek, and the day you both realized you liked having each other close.

“I probably just have one of those faces, you know.” You clear your throat, hoping that your face isn't too flustered from the memory.

He opens his mouth but is cut off by a dog running up towards the table. “Rome on rhaggy,” your eyes widen as the dog talks to a tall lanky guy behind him.

Fred and Daphne chuckle at your expression, “Yeah that's what people usually look like when they first see Scooby talk.” So they're used to this?

The dog and lanky guy who you know as Shaggy dump a bunch of food onto the table. Various fair foods such as funnel cakes, corn dogs, candied apples, and candy corn litter the table. You also notice some chocolate bars.

“Isn't chocolate poisonous to dogs?” Everyone turns to you, which makes you cringe in your seat from the attention.

“Never mind,” they finally take their eyes off of you, and you let out a sigh of relief, happy to just let them talk amongst themselves. Shaggy sits to the left of you, he and Scooby chomping down the pile of food they bought.

“Hey guys there you are,” your head whipped around at the sound of Velma's voice. The girl paused mid-step when she noticed you sitting there. Her expression is irritatingly neutral.

You give her a small wave, which she ignores turning to her friends. “The line for the Ferris wheel is thinning,” they scramble up, shaggy and Scooby scooping their food up. You watch slightly amused at how excited they are for the Ferris wheel.

“You wanna come with us?” Your eyes widen at Daphne’s question.

“I don't want to intrude,” you say at the same time Velma says, “I don't think that's a good idea.” You both blush and look away at accidentally talking over each other, missing when Daphne raises a brow.

“Why wouldn't it be a good idea Velm’s,” Daphne teases, causing Velma’s blush to deepen.

“Because she probably has better things to do,” Velma defends weakly. Daphne chuckles quietly not buying.

“You wouldn't impose if you came with us,” Daphne turns to you again. You debate ongoing, on the one hand, you were going to go to the Ferris wheel soon, but on the other, you wouldn't want to make Velma uncomfortable. To be fair you don't have to get in the same car as her.

You nod, “Alright why not.” Daphne smiles and for some reason it makes you regret your choice. She links your arms pulling you to lead the group towards the Ferris wheel line.

While in line you listen quietly to their conversation, seeing how comfortable they are with each other. You would be lying if you said it didn't make you sort of envious. Seeing them joke and tease each other just reminds you that you could've had something like this if you hadn't moved away.

You feel eyes on you, looking up you see Velma staring at you. When she notices you she immediately looks away, a small blush on her cheeks. That mixed with the light from the setting sun takes your breath away, you would also be lying if you said your feelings had dwindled over the years. If anything, the time apart has strengthened your feelings. You missed everything about her, and your heart constricted at the thought of your relationship never being the same again.

When we got closer to the front of the line Daphne turned to us, “All alright split up into pairs, I'm with Freddy, and Shaggy is obviously with Scooby, we have an odd number, hmm I wonder what could we do.” So that was her plan all along. You had to admit it was smart.

Velma seemed to catch onto what she was saying because she immediately took a step back, “You know what I don't have to go, I'll just go play ring toss or something.” Daphne tutted, grabbing Velma’s Hand.

She pulled her closer whispering something into Velma’s ear that you couldn't hear, which caused her entire face to go beet red. “F-fine, I'll go.” she stammers.

Daphne nods with a satisfied grin, “Good you're with Velma.” She leads you to stand next to Velma. The rest of the queue in-line is spent in silence as Velma avoids looking at you.

You both step into the Ferris wheel car, the car jostling as the ride starts up slowly. You look out of the small window unsure of what to say, or if you should even say something. As the ride ascends you get a view of the arcade from all those years ago which gives you a burst of confidence.

“Do you remember your tenth birthday?” She looks up at your abrupt question.

“Yeah, yeah I remember it.” She follows your gaze out of the window, to the old arcade.

“Do you remember what I said to you in the photo booth?” Her brows furrow as she tries to remember. “I said that no matter what we'd always have each other.”

She looks down playing with her sweater so you continue, “and I realize I haven't been able to keep that promise, but I want to be able to. You have every right to hate me, but just know I am so sorry.”

She breathes in deeply, closing her eyes tightly, “I could never hate you.” She speaks so quietly you have to strain to hear her. Your heart flutters at her words. A feeling of hope blooms in your chest.

“Really?” She nods looking up to look in your eyes.

“Yes really. No matter how mad I am with you, I could never hate you.” Your face splits into a grin.

“So I can make it up to you?” You ask hopefully.

She shrugs looking out of the window, “Maybe,” that didn't stop you from feeling excited about the thought of being her friend again.

The silence this time wasn't tense but it wasn't exactly friendly, it just was, and that was alright with you. This time she was the one to break it.

“How is your dad taking the whole Gabe situation?” That made your mood go down.

Your dad was not taking it well at all, from the divorce to the funeral he just became a shell of himself. Finding solace in the bottom of a bottle, and ignoring your existence, but you couldn't exactly tell her that.

“He's fine,” she stares at you for a moment, a curious expression on her face, she notices the look on your face and drops it.

“What did Daphne say to you before we got on the Ferris wheel?” she blushes again.

“Nothing,” your brows raise and you lean forward slightly.

“Come on don't lie to me,” she rolls her eyes, leaning back against the seat.

“I'm not lying, what she said doesn't matter,”

You narrow your eyes but drop it. How couldn't it matter when she blushed and agreed to come in here with you?

The car jostles as it comes to a stop, and both of you reach for the door handle at the same time. Her hand on top of yours, your eyes lock and you realize how close her face is to yours. She swallows thickly, her eyes drawn to your lips. The door to the car opens and you both jump apart. Velma scrambles quickly out of the car, and you sigh climbing out after her.

You walk over to where the group has congregated to wait for you and Velma, the sun almost all the way down. Velma and Daphne stand a ways off from the rest of the group whispering to each other, her back to you so you can't see her face.

“It's getting late, we should head out soon, do you need a lift?” Fred looks at the sky.

You contemplate his offer, your dad is probably too inebriated to drive, and he'll probably stay with his drinking buddies, but you live thirty minutes away.

“I'll just walk, I don't want you going out of your way for me when I live pretty far out.” He shakes his head.

“It'll be fine, I mean Daph lives up the mountain it'll take longer to go up there than to your house.”

“If you're sure.” You follow behind the group towards their multicolored van, jumping in the back with Shaggy and Scooby.

During the ride, your mind replays what happened on the Ferris wheel, and one thought is the loudest. Was she leaning in?

-

The next few weeks are different, not bad, just different. Your relationship with Velma is better, at least you think it is. She doesn't pretend you don't exist anymore or avoid being alone in the same vicinity as you. You two talk more, and you even hang out, but it's always with Daphne or the whole group.

It's not all great, when it feels like you're finally getting somewhere with her she pulls back. As if she's scared of getting too close in case you'll up and leave again. It hurts but you’d rather have her like this than not at all.

At lunch, you sat quietly as Daphne rambled on excitedly about the upcoming sleepover at Velma’s house. “And Maybe Velma will finally let me paint her nails,” Velma rolls her eyes

“I’ll let you paint my nails the day you let me choose your outfit,” Daphne’s eyes widen, and she clutches her metaphorical pearls.

“You dress like a grandma, I refuse to leave the house like that,” You snort, accidentally choking on your drink. You cough not able to stop yourself from laughing.

Velma shoots you a withering glare, crossing her arms. “I do not dress like a grandma.” you laugh even harder at how adorable she looks when she’s pouty.

“Sorry V but you have an old soul, don’t worry since it’s you I think it’s endearing,” she rolls her eyes again but she can’t hide the blush creeping up her neck.

Later that day you lay in Velma’s bed on your stomach, flipping through an old book from her shelf, as Velma called Daphne again for the fifth time in thirty minutes. You know the redhead probably bailed in some attempt to make you and Velma closer, just like with the Ferris wheel, but you weren’t complaining.

“I swear when I get my hands on her,” she exclaims sitting next to you on the bed, her phone clutched tightly in her hand.

“What were you really looking forward to getting your nails painted?” you tease causing her to glare at you, grabbing a nearby pillow and hitting you gently on the cheek.

“No, but she was so excited about this, and she can’t even be bothered to answer the phone and tell us she isn’t coming.” You knew she wasn’t mad about that, she just didn’t want to be alone with you. You understood because being alone with her had the same effect on you.

Though things didn’t feel like they did eight years ago, you could feel the underlying tension between you two. The lingering touches, the blushes when one of you would say something remotely flirty, and the almost kiss that happened on the Ferris wheel, that neither of you brought up.

Speaking of the Ferris wheel, “You know you never told me what Daphne whispered to you before we got on the Ferris wheel.” she raises at the change of subject.

“That was weeks ago does it matter?”

You sit up, sitting crisscross. “Of course it matters, you blushed, it had to have been something.” she looks down staring at her phone, almost as if she’s trying to will it to ring.

“She said she wanted us to talk because she was tired of me sulking over…you” Your heart beats faster. Does that mean?

“Sulking how?” you subconsciously lean closer. She shrinks back hiding her face from me.

“She said that I was sulking because I missed you, which was a lie I was not sulking.” She defends, and you grin at how cute she is when she’s being defensive.

“You know you haven’t denied that you missed me,” she scoffs crossing her arms.

After a few seconds she says, “I guess you could say I kinda missed you,”

You grin uncrossing her arms and lacing your fingers together, “I missed you too V, more than you know.”