Through her watery eyes Fran watched Mr. Sheffield, his broad shoulders moving towards her. She looked into his warm eyes, captivated by them. A sob escaped her and suddenly she felt herself drawn into his embrace. His strong arms pulled in her trembling body for a tight hug. She buried her face in his chest smelling the soft scent of spring rain from his shirt.

"Ohh Miss Fine," he murmured, his chin nesting above her dark hair.

She cried quietly into his shirt, the tears salting her eyes and rolling down her cheeks onto his shirt. Mr. Sheffield pulled away to look into her face, his hands smoothing her hair. He held her at arms length.

"What is it Miss Fine?" He asked huskily, his voice thick.

Fran shook her head, "Ohh Mr. Sh..Shh…Shefffffield, I've made a mess of things again…" Her eyes began to swell with fresh tears as she spoke. "I just never learn…to…to…"

"What?" He asked softly.

"To leave well enough alooone…" she sobbed.

"How's that?" He put a hand to her face rubbing his thumb over her cheek as he watched her, his dark green eyes piercing her.

She bit her lip, afraid to spill out the truth that was ready to pour out from her, gushing, any moment now. She was tired of the charade. Tired of putting up a false face and inadvertently hurting those she loved. She finally breathed in a deep shuddering breath and her thoughts became somewhat clearer. His eyes were boring into her and she felt like he could probably already read her mind. But she had to come clean anyway. Confession was good for the soul. The truth was to come out…NOW.

"Hmm?" He gently pried at her.

She had to get this over with…now or never…maybe never was a better option? She could just turn around and walk out the door?…Yeah…and move to Boca with her parents, sure….nah that won't do. DARNIT.

"Umm…Mr. Sheffield, I have to be honest with you. I…." She found herself unable to look into his entrancing gaze any longer. "I've been lying to you. I cooked up a scheme, well you know me…" She laughed bitterly, "…and of course, it blew up in my face."

"A scheme?" He questioned his hands withdrawing from her face and suddenly Fran felt very cold all over.

"Um yeah…um…I got it in my head that I needed to make you jealous so I dragged Niles into my scheme…it was all my fault," she stressed trying to make sure he wouldn't blame poor Niles for her stunt, "And um…I wanted to get you jealous by making it seem like Niles and I were together." She stopped, wincing at what he might say.

"The whole time? So you two really aren't…" He asked.

"NO!" She answered quickly.

"We-ll," he sighed deeply, rubbing the bridge of his nose tiredly, "All of this…to make ME jealous?"

Fran glanced at him for a moment and looked away again. "Yes," she said in an almost whisper. "I'm so sorry Mr. Sheffield, I--"

He held up a hand to stop her. "Well I must say Miss Fine, to be honest with you, your 'plan' worked. Worked quite well actually…quite well indeed," he finished quietly.

"Wait…so…"

"Ohh Miss Fine," he sad cupping her chin in his hands, "you had me going out of my mind for you."

Fran paused, taken aback greatly. She hadn't expected this at all. Screaming, shouting, maybe objects flying through the air but certainly not the tenderhearted confession Mr. Sheffield was giving to her. She had him going out of his mind, huh? Maybe this plan hadn't been such a bad idea…but then there was Niles…

"Well then, you're not mad at me?" She asked timidly.

"Maybe irked slightly," he said with a soft smile. "Truly your real 'intentions', those being to get me to notice you more and all—were not dishonorable."

Fran smiled broadly at him, "Then you—forgive me?" She asked sweetly, the grip on her heart beginning to release its clench somewhat.

Mr. Sheffield looked at her intently, all serious now. He put his hands on her shoulders, his eyes staring into hers. "Yes, I do," he murmured in his gorgeous British accent that made Fran melt. He pulled her close to him and Fran held her breath unsure of what was to happen. Without any hesitations, suddenly his mouth was on hers. Warm and soft. Fran dissolved into his arms and felt herself slipping through his grasp as he kissed her tenderly. She reached her hands up to run them through his thick curly hair. Oh how that felt good. She tasted the faintness of wine on his breath and wondered if he'd been drinking because of her.

Maxwell drunk her in, exploring her mouth with his tongue. She certainly had a spell over him. He was completely in awe of her. His hands went up to hold the sides of her face and he gently pulled his mouth away from hers. He kept her face close to his however and said quietly, "Miss Fine,…Fran," he grinned handsomely at her, "I'm not going to drag my heels this time. I'm not going to be a…a…schmegeggie?" He offered.

Fran nodded.

"…and take it back this time."

Fran gasped unable to believe what he was leading up to.

"I love you Fran," he said firmly, "And I mean it."

"No…no taking back?" Fran asked meekly.

"No," he replied.

"Oh…Mr….I mean Maxwell!" She threw her arms around his neck, almost throwing him off balance. "I love you too," she whispered in his ear and suddenly a picture of Niles formed in her mind. He was to thank of course for his dedication in helping her…but she had been misleading him. Unawares of course and she had to apologize to him and in fact, she just couldn't get him out of her mind. She had to talk to him. NOW. She gave Maxwell a lingering kiss and then pulled away. "Excuse me for a moment. There's someone I need to talk to."

Maxwell nodded, "Of course. I'm sure he'll be very happy to hear it."

Fran nodded but not reassuringly. Somehow she doubted the "very happy" part.

"And your mother?"

"OH!" Fran gasped, "Ma!…I'll call her right after." She started heading up the stairs and looked back at Maxwell who was making his way towards the kitchen. He turned around, feeling her eyes on him and gave her a comforting smile. She smiled back and continued going up the stairs. She inhaled a deep breath planning out what she was going to say to Niles.

Wow. This was going to be hard. If it had happened under different circumstances-her and Mr. Sheffield, she would have been running up these stairs. Instead she was grudgingly lifting her feet, stair by stair. An unconscious part of her mind surfaced the memory of her and Niles—hatching the plot, kissing in front of Mr. Sheffield, them kissing in the kitchen, Niles kissing her face at Rockefeller Center…suddenly her heart felt very tight and painful. Fond memories—they'd had some good times this past week. But that's all it was, right? Just some fun, a trick on Mr. Sheffield. And Niles had just gotten overly caught up in the game. That's all. He didn't REALLY fall for her. She had just gotten him all confused. And now she could help set him straight. Right. So what was this knot in her stomach for? She was fearful that now she couldn't talk to her best friend in the same way. Well she would make every effort to make it up to him and be the best friend she could to him. Starting now.

She timidly knocked on his door.