A/N. You guys must be pretty happy. I can see from your reviews! Shocked that I'm updating according to schedule? Me too. :3 Anyways, read read read and review review review and I'll write write write and update update update. :D

Now, to reply to the anonymous reviewers...

To Cat: I didn't mean for Wendell to be a jerk. He's not. :3 He just wanted to put it out there and to imply to Daphne that it was a date. Also 'Wendell' really isn't such a sucky name. I know a guy named Dick House. I'm serious. So...that's a sucky name. Oh, gosh, that sounds perverted (that's what she said). Umm, sorry. :33333 One more thing, if I had put a love triangle, Wendell's heart would've been crushed anyways, and I don't want to make him too sad. He's going to be a lonely character for most of the story, but most likely end up with Bella or Red. :3 But thanks for the review!

To squirrel101: Sorry it seemed short. This chapter will make up for it, hopefully. :D To answer your question...

His last name isn't Goodfellow because a) there are some Shakespeare freaks (like Daniel from chapter...3? 3) who could possibly know the last name and b) that would be too easy for Daphne to figure out who he was.

I picked Mattheis because it sounds...what's the word...'old school'? Like 19th century and stuff? And Michael, Mark, and just calling his plain Mustardseed didn't seem to fit him. Mattheis sounded cool to me. :D I mean, Puck get's Robin, so Mustardseed should be able to have a cool name, too, you know? :)

So, as always, enjoy your chapter (and have a Merry Christmas Eve)!

Chapter 17: The Subaru Outback Mishap

"You know it's illegal...right?"

I looked up from my dinner at Wendell, who was frowning at me. I raised an eyebrow.

"Do I look stupid?"

Wendell smirked. "Do you really want me to answer that?"

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. "I know it's illegal, Wendell. Just because I like-"

"Love."

"-Like," I repeated forcefully, "him, that doesn't me I'll be romantically involved with him."

"You've already admitted you love him!"

"It's something I will never repeat again, Wendell," I told him, looking back down at my food and picking up a piece of steak and putting it in my mouth.

"Even when you confess?" he responded, sounding confused.

I nearly choked on the steak. I swallowed and looked at Wendell, my eyes wide. "I'm not going to confess to him!"

Wendell looked at me, bewildered. "Why?"

"Because," I started, chewing on my lip.

"Because why?"

"It's illegal, Wendell," I told him, looking at my lap. "Not only is it illegal, but people also think it's disgusting. Even just talking about it, people get these disgusted looks on their faces."

"That's why? You won't confess because people will think you are disgusting?"

I looked back up at Wendell, surprised by his angry tone. He stared at me, his mouth twisted into a small scowl.

"It's not only that," I responded, casting my eyes down again. "He could lost his job. And I'd be in trouble too."

He scoffed. "So what?"

I stared at Wendell in surprise. Wasn't he the one who said in the beginning that it was creepy for a student to like a teacher?

"If you really love someone, Daphne, you wouldn't care about any of those things," he informed me, his mouth pressed into a firm, straight line. "There's nothing wrong with two people being in love! In a year, you won't even be a student anymore. And there isn't even that big of an age difference between the two of you."

My mouth was slightly open now. Wendell clicked his tongue impatiently.

"Why do you care?" I managed to ask, still in slight shock by his outburst.

"Because, Daphne," Wendell started with a sigh. "You're my best friend. I care about you a lot, in a friend way," he added quickly.

I laughed. "Yeah, we've been over that."

"Anyways, I want you to be happy. And if being with that teacher is what will make you happy, I'm going to support it. Even if I don't like it. And if you say you can't be with him, I'm going to force you to be with him because I know that's what you want. I want you happy, Daphne."

I suddenly felt like crying. This was almost as bad as Briar's death, but in the positive sense. My eyes were beginning to water, so I blinked rapidly to keep any tears from spilling over. I swallowed a lump in my throat too.

Wendell was too sweet. He may have sounded kind of like a jerk saying he would force me, but he really wasn't. He cared about me far too much more than I deserved from him. I wasn't nearly as kind to him.

All the times he was trying to tell me that he might've had feelings for me, I had been oblivious. And when he came with Red to check up on me when he was worried I had kind of blown him off. And now, taking me on a date when I thought of it as friend's going out.

I was the hugest olivehole ever.

"Whoa. Daphne, what's wrong?" Wendell asked, leaning forward. "Why are you crying?"

I shook my head. "I'm not..."

How could Wendell have figured out so many of my fears about liking Mr. Firay so quickly? I hadn't even mentioned anything about Mr. Firay at all, and yet he managed to figure out my deepest secret. Well, besides being a descendant of the Brothers Grimm. He already knew that.

Even after all that I had done to him...he still wanted to help me.

I rubbed my eyes and then reached my hand across the table, grabbing Wendell's. I squeezed it and he returned the gesture,

I swallowed the lump in my throat again and looked up at Wendell. "Thank you, Wendell."

"You're welcome," he responded, a warm smile on his face.

"You're the best friend anyone could ever have," I told him, giving him a watery smile. "And I'm sorry for ignoring your feelings, and kind of blowing you off when you called because you were worried. And-"

Wendell laughed, cutting me off. "Daphne, we're best friends. Not lovers. You're making me feel like we're a couple that's making up after a huge fight."

I chuckled, pulling my hand away. "I guess you're right."

Wendell nodded. "And since we're speaking of couples again, good luck with that teacher."

"He has a name, you know," I responded, frowning slightly.

"I don't like him taking you away from me, so I won't call him by his name," Wendell responded, rolling his eyes.

"Taking you from me?" I echoed.

"You know. If you two start dating or something, I'm sure you won't have time for poor, old Wendell."

I shook my head frantically. "I'll always make time for you! And Ariana and Red!"

"You promise?"

"Promise!"

Wendell laughed. "Good. And while you're at it, you can help me with something."

"Anything," I told him.

"You have to help me find a girlfriend," he said with a wink. It was weird, I never imagined, chubby, thick headed Wendell Piper with no experience with girls to turn into a charming best friend who was asking for girlfriend help. He might seem jerk-ish now, but that's probably because he was growing up...

I grinned. "Sounds good."

Wendell returned the grin. I suddenly felt at ease. As if all my worries about liking Mr. Firay went away.

I could actually say I love him and nothing in my mind made me want to deny it. I could say it!

"I love Mr. Firay," I said aloud.

Wendell raised an eyebrow. "I know..."

"I love him!" I repeated, smiling. "I actually love him. Out of all people!"

Wendell pursed his lips "Are you okay?"

I laughed and nodded. "I'm fine! After talking to you, it feels like a weight has been lifted off me. It feels Pucktastic."

"Hmm, maybe I should become a counselor then..."

I froze, staring at Wendell. Him? A counselor? I could imagine the poor person he was counseling now. Wendell would ask what was wrong, and the person would reply about something in their life that was bad, and he would go, "Oh...Sucks to be you."

I snickered. It was so him. Well, present him. His past person would probably be crying along with the person he was counseling. Wendell raised an eyebrow.

"I hope you aren't imagining me as a counselor right now," he said in a slightly offended voice.

"Nah," I lied, smiling again.

We finished our dinners and had a quick dessert. The waiter brought the check and, due to Wendell's pestering, I ended up paying for the dinner. He paid for the drinks.

"I thought this was supposed to be a date," I muttered as we exited the diner.

"It was supposed to be, but you didn't think that at first, so it turned into a regular dinner among friends," Wendell responded.

"I would've preferred it to be a date if I knew I would have to pay for dinner if it wasn't," I told him.

Wendell laughed. "Sucks for you."

We rounded the corner to where the car was parked. Wendell suddenly stopped and I ran into his back. I rubbed my nose and looked around him to see what the problem was.

"Wendell...where's the car?"

He looked at me, shock on his face. "We parked here, didn't we?"

I nodded. "Yeah, but where's the car?"

"I don't know! Holy shit. Did it get stolen?" Wendell asked, his voice panicky. "Crap, my mom is going to kill me!"

"How could it have been stolen? There are tons of people around!" I reasoned rationally. "Someone would've noticed. You have the keys, right?"

"Yeah, I-"

"Hey!" a loud, disgruntled voice, shouted from behind us.

I jumped, twisting around quickly to see who it was.

An old man in a black suit was walking towards us. Wendell stepped in front of me in a protective manner. I stared at him curiously.

"Yeah?" Wendell called to the man.

"Are you the owner of the Subaru Outback?"

Wendell nodded.

"Take a look at that sign behind you," the man ordered.

I turned to see the sign he was pointing to. In large, red letters were the words: "No parking. Violators will be towed."

I heard Wendell groan. I rolled my eyes. It was so like Wendell to park in a no parking spot.

"Lucky for you and your girl, the towing place is only down the block," the man told us, smirking slightly.

"Yeah," Wendell muttered. "Let's go get it then."

I sighed, and started following behind Wendell. We left the parking lot of the diner and got onto the brightly lit street.

"Smart move," I commented, pulling my shirt tighter around me.

"Oh be quiet," he responded, rolling his eyes. "You didn't see it either, smart ass."

"Hey, no cursing!" I scowled at him, and slapped his arm. "And I wasn't even the one driving."

"Only adds to my point," Wendell said with a smirk.

I sighed, letting the subject drop. We were close enough to the towing station. If it had been a few miles, I would've been angry. I might've unleashed some Bad Apples Attack on Wendell. But it was a nice night for a walk anyways.

As we left the main street, it became considerably darker. Now the only light we had were the streetlights that were spread very far apart. There were patches of dark in between each set of lights. I moved close to Wendell, gripping the back of his shirt.

"What's the matter? Scared?" he asked in a joking tone. I knew he was just trying to lighten the mood but...

I scowled at him. "No."

"Sure."

We continued down the street in silence. I kept my eyes peeled. Mr. Firay's warning was back in my head again. I clutched Wendell's shirt tighter. We were almost at the station now.

A movement to my left caught my eye and I froze, staring at the place where I had seen the motion. Wendell stopped, looking over his shoulder at me curiously.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Did you see something move other there?" I whispered, pointing.

Wendell scrunched his face up and watched the area for a few moments before shrugging. "Nothing."

"You sure?"

"Paranoid much?" Wendell laughed. "Come on, let's go."

He grabbed the collar of my shirt and pulled me in front of him. He began to push me down the street in a forceful manner. I had to stay focused on my feet in order to not lose my balance.

When I looked up again I realized we were at the towing station. Relief swept through me. Mr. Firay was just being silly. No one was going to attack me in the middle of town.

Wendell and I entered the towing station. There were only three people in there. A man at the counter, who was on the phone, and two men in the corner, their backs to us as they read papers posted on the billboard.

"You can wait here," Wendell said, pointing to a chair by the door. "I'll get my car issue settled."

I nodded and took a seat at the chair as Wendell went to talk to the man at the counter. The man held up a finger, signaling Wendell to stay quiet while he was on the phone. After a few moments, he hung up the phone and began talking to Wendell.

My gaze wandered to the two men in the corner. They both looked pretty young, and buff. I smirked slightly. Was every guy buff these days? I glanced back at Wendell. Believe it or not, but he was average muscled, like Mr. Firay. But both men were still very strong.

Wendell turned to me with a frown. "Daphne!"

I was still focused on the two men and didn't realize he was calling me.

"Oh look, it's Mr. Firay!"

My head snapped in the direction of Wendell. He grinned at me and I felt myself blush.

"Do you have any money on you? I'm a few dollars short of-"

The rest of what he said, I didn't catch. I was too busy staring at the two men who had now turned around and were looking at me.

My mouth went dry as I saw one of them smirk. He said something to the other guy, and a flash of realization spread across his face. I quickly stood up, walking towards Wendell. "Here," I said, quickly pulling a ten out of my pocket and giving it to the man. "Keep the change."

"Alright, you're free to go then," the man at the counter said, taking the ten. "Your car is in the back of the lot, by the dumpster."

I grabbed Wendell's arm and began to quickly drag him out of the store. I felt like I was going to be sick. My heart was pumping furiously and my hands were sweaty and shaking. I pulled on Wendell with urgency, trying to make him go faster.

"What's the matter?" he asked, laughing slightly. "That guy wasn't that scary."

It wasn't the guy at the counter I was worried about. I looked over my shoulder and saw the other two guys exiting the building, and heading towards us.

I pulled out my phone, starting a new text message. I quickly tapped away at my phone, my hands shaking, making it hard to click on the right letters. When I finished, I closed my phone, sticking it in my pocket.

I looked over my shoulder again. The two men were still there.

The same two guys that Mr. Firay had beat up at the fair.

A/N. Dun dun dun...gosh, I didn't know if I would post this in time because it's Christmas Eve. Have a good one and a one-shot shall be posted up tomorrow! Thanks for the enjoyable reviews!

~Lara