Chapter Text
It was only the two of them in the Mystery Van this afternoon. They had parked by the pier, and Shaggy, Scooby, Velma, and Daphne all decided to head out and take a look around while Fred stayed back with Jaylen, who didn’t feel like going out until the sun's rays lessened. (It was probably for the better; the last time Jaylen stayed out in the heat for too long, he had gone from a docile, go-with-the-flow kid to a moody child who would sneer at anything in sight.)
Fred had been fixing some of his traps that had failed to work in the previous mystery—he was really sulky about that—with the youngest of their meddling crew in the back of the Mystery Machine. He had just received a text from Shaggy filled with spelling errors. (Fred bet the hipster's hand was likely messy with whatever food he ate while they were away.) Still, it was readable and basically asked if he and Jaylen wanted some food or drinks.
“Hey,Freddie,DaphnewantedtoaskifyouandJay—lynney!, are you hungry? Shaggy's asking if you wa—" He paused when he turned around. The kid was wearing both earbuds and drawing in his notebook while muttering something about “hypothetical workings.” Looking like he was in his own little world, Jaylen pushed the net off his lap. Fred climbed over the two rows of seats and shuffled over to the black-haired tween (are thirteen-year-olds tweens?—author, who’s about to be fourteen) and tapped his knee. Jaylen jolted and sucked in a breath as he whipped his head up, pushing one of the earbuds behind his ear. He gave a little questioning “Mhhm?” as Fred handed him his phone to read the message.
“...Freddie, I can’t understand this…”
“He’s asking if we want any food or drinks.”
“Oh.” Putting down his notebook and pencil, Jaylen held the phone properly and typed in his food request (cheese fries and apple-flavored soda) while adding Fred’s request (a slice of shepherd's pie and water). He maybe occupied the phone a bit longer since Shaggy wanted to chat. While he was doing that, Fred patiently waited for him to finish, looking around. His gaze landed on Jaylen’s open notebook, and he squinted at the half-finished drawing of stick figures and random scribbles that could pass as structures, with little notes and arrows around them. One of the notes read, “Would probably work. The force needed for the trap would be an issue. Remember to research how much weight a van can pull.” Of course, the word “trap” caught Fred’s attention.
“Jay, what’s this?” he asked, reaching for the notebook just as Jaylen hummed, perking up to see Fred reading through his drawings. “Oh—just little ideas. I thought of them during our last mystery when you set up that net-chasing trap with the crane. I actually thought of coming to ask if they’d work since you know about these things better than I do, and—Fred? You okay over there?” He paused, brows furrowing at the sight of Fred sitting still while still holding the notebook.
Putting the blond's phone down, Jaylen reached over and shook the ascot-wearing male—even pulling a small strand of his hair, which surprisingly didn’t work. It wasn’t until Jaylen backed off that Fred finally moved. Placing the notebook down, he softly grabbed the teen by the shoulders. “Jaylen…” he started, and Jaylen could practically feel him vibrating in his seat (lack thereof, but you know what I mean). “These ideas are… GENIUS!—I MEAN, I DON’T EVEN KNOW HOW I NEVER THOUGHT OF HALF OF THE—” As Fred continued to rant with stars in his eyes, Jaylen blinked, processing what was happening and only nodding along to whatever the older teen was saying.
Soon enough, the two of them were sitting right next to each other, going through every single idea Jay had scribbled down in his little notebook, with Fred pointing out details and figuring out ways for them to work. They had a silent agreement that the next time they went on a shopping run during a free day, they’d definitely hit up an appliance store and get in touch with some people Fred and Jaylen’s dad knew who might let the four teens, one tween, and a talking dog have a germanium-fibered net and mechanic wires. The phone was long forgotten.
Eventually, the rest of the gang returned to the van, carrying plastic bags filled with food (or in Daphne’s case, mini plushies she won; she was particularly happy about winning a little shark plushie, given Jaylen’s affinity for sea life).
“Freddie! Jay Jay! We’re back!” Daphne called out, opening the back door of the van and being the first to witness the sight of the two huddled next to each other, lost in their own little world and rambling about machines and nets. An amused smile curled on her face as Scooby poked his head in and jumped inside first, breaking Jaylen out of the bubble by biting the hem of his shirt to get their attention. “Scooby—what?”
“We brought food!” That made both of them whip their heads up to see the rest of the gang waving at them (and Shaggy climbing in after his companion). “Oh, hi guys,” Fred blurted out, his tone slightly sheepish as Jay only waved at them, closing the notebook and placing it on Fred’s lap to pay attention to Scooby and Shaggy.
Soon enough the two girls followed in suit, Velma closing the door behind her as sitting by Fred who began to ask her about the components of certain mettaloids and ‘what would last against a bb ray’..Velma learned to never question Fred whenever he asked about stuff like this the second time she was unwittingly dragged into a long winded rant by the guy who described the trap he was planning on building a few years ago..anyways—so they stayed there for a bit, the suns afternoon calming down just a bit for Jay to decide he wanted to play ball by the beach and naturally. The older kids followed in suit, carrying food beach towels and a ball they played volleyball for approximately four hours before Velma got a notification that they were needed by some old guy that said he had his scarecrow disappearing every night along with the secret stash of money he hid under his barn
And if the next mystery a few weeks later included a giant cat monster, a mechanical mouse the size of a Barbie jeep and a large 90 x 90 germanium trap net that resulted in Fred and Jay whooping and high-fiving each other when it worked, they didn’t question it. They’re just happy to see the kid come out of his shell more.