A/N. Before I forget, big shout-out to yellow.r0se -she actually said she's rooting for FTFT instead of her story. :3 Should I feel guilty or happy? Eh, a little bit of both. :3

Um, I don't think you'll be fairly satisfied with this chapter. SO! Two updates this week. No more. Do not guilt me into updating! Your six day update starts on the 18th of February! (Now that I think of it, you're being spoiled. XD) Why the long wait? I only have three weeks (less) to make some newspaper for Johnny Tremain. Not sure how I'm going to do that (my teacher doesn't want me to use white paper because it will look like a flyer), but with no distractions, I can do it. But the wait will be worth it. :3

And I'm really, really, really sorry if you're frustrated with the secrets in this story. I'm sorry it's at a slow pace. :3 It's just, you know how my other stories flow awkwardly? And I usually forget to add something in the story, and I say in an A/N., "Oh, I forgot to add this is the story, so remember that..." bla bla bla, or something like that? Well, I don't want that for this story. I don't want to say, "Oh, remember that Sage said to Daphne, 'If you ever get the chance, look at his phone.' because it's important, but I just forgot to add a scene for it!" because...it disrupts the story, you know? I don't really know how to explain it. If I find I good example from my old stories, I'll tell you all. But yeah, I'm sorry if you're ticked that it's slow. And you might be angrier if you find that you think the secret's lame (I think it's a little lame too. :3 But the secret I'm thinking about is being saved for later, so you won't find out about that one in five chapters or so), so sorry in advance. :) You can forget this paragraph –I just confused myself. :3

Also, sorry for last chapter, when I used His name in vain. I really didn't mean to. I'm Christian, but…I'm sorry. I don't know what I was doing while writing that. And Cat –sorry for all the cursing in this story. I'll keep it to a minimum for now. By the way, I never ever say these words in real life. It's kind of like an outlet to my frustrations. Sorry again. Oh, and -I'm in a sorry mode- sorry that this isn't magic-packed (action-packed, magic-packed, you get it? XD). At least once will Daphne get to use a wand. ^^

Now that I'm done being guilty, big applause to Epiphany on Toast for being the first to say that I won the BSGS2011! I woke up at nine today, and I opened up my emails, not expecting the results to pop up today. I was feeling tired, but then when I saw EoT's review, my eyes shot wide open, and I totally had a Daphne moment -I bit my palm! I was like, "OOHHHHH MMYYY PUCCCKKIINNN GOOSSSHHH!" :O...:I...:X...:0...:)...:D...XD...XDDD...YESS!"

Thank you all so much for being amazingly Pucktastic friends. Not readers and reviewers, but friends. Yeah, we all haven't actually met, but I consider all of you friends because, well, we all know something about each other. I know Cat enjoys somewhat violent things (;D) I know EoT is an amazing artist, I know Curlscat was two hours away from where I was this weekend, I know that yellow.r0se's first name is Anastacia, I know that TCMRed shares a lot of the same traits as me, I know that ANannyMouse does have a FF account, I know that twilightfunatic is somewhat of a SagexDaphne shipper (heehee), I know that...I could go on and on. :3 Sorry if I didn't talk about you -I did not forget you, but you want to go to the chapter, right? ;D Again, thank you for helping me win my very first Sisters Grimm contest! It only took me about two years and almost half a year to accomplish that. ^^' But, I'm happy. I remember being an anon. reviewer, like Cat and TheyCallMeRed, and now you can call me a full-fledged SG writer! Yay!

Okay, Mr. Firay says I should stop being emotional and give you the friggin chapter. I demanded him to give of Sage shirtless. We both win. Too bad he drew me a picture of a stick figure instead. T_T Wahh.

Lesson Learned: Mr. Firay is mean and can't draw.

Chapter 35: Tell Me!

Rain ran down my face in small streams as I hurried down the dark street that led to Mr. Firay's apartment. The forest that surrounded the road was creeping me out, but I put my best foot forward and continued, trying my best to ignore the unnerving woods. It really wasn't working.

A shudder passed over me when I imagined what could be in there watching me. I really had to stop watching so many horror movies. Pulling my jacket tighter, I kept my head straight, and my eyes on the ground. Only a little further until I'd be on a main road, and then Mr. Firay's apartment would only be about three blocks away.

I frequently checked my phone to see if Anna, Ariana, or Sage had decided to contact me. There had been no contact from any of them for the past twenty minutes. I was surprised my phone even still worked, seeing as how I was soaked to the bone and it had been in my hand the whole time, only slightly shielded from the precipitation.

A cracking noise from my left made me jump violently. I twisted towards it and stayed stock still, eyeing the area apprehensively. When a squirrel came barreling out of the black a small chuckle escaped my lips. It was just my stupid imagination again…

This time there was the sound of gravel crackling behind me and I whipped around to see a car approaching. I relaxed again, cursing my timid persona. The car continued to grow closer, and as I heard it slow down, my heart started speeding up again.

I kept walking, pretending a car wasn't following me. Wait, I didn't even know if it was following me. Maybe someone needed to ask for directions… I highly doubted that. Picking up my pace, I moved closer to the forest and away from the road. Whoever was on the car switched to high beams, and kept them on me.

By this time, I was slightly terrified. Bryant's words echoed in my mind. "I have different plans for you." I glanced back at the car quickly, but couldn't make out the driver. Suddenly it pulled ahead of me and came to a stop. I stopped too, staring at it warily.

When the door opened, I decided my best bet was to flee. Turning on my heel, I started sprinting towards the forest. The person in the car honked, scaring the crap out of me, and only making me run faster. I heard the opening and closing of a door and someone shouting after me.

I clutched my phone in a panic. Why now? Why couldn't have Bryant waited? I had to talk to Mr. Firay! And no one knew where I was going besides Anna, who didn't know anyone but my mom! I stumbled over a bush as I fought my way through the over-growth and trees. Someone was still shouting after me.

A wet tree branch slapped my face as I tried to duck under it, temporarily blinding me. Whoever was chasing me was growing closer, fast. Suddenly my foot gave out from under me and I opened my mouth in surprise but no noise came out as I fell face first. I was sliding before I had a chance to pick myself up off the ground. When I reached the bottom of the hill, I got a face full of sand.

Without moving I held down the "4" button on my phone, slowly bringing it to my head. It rang once, twice, and on the third ring I heard the sound of someone picking up.

"Mr. Firay?" I whispered, staying as silent as possible.

"Daphne," he responded, sounding both amused and frustrated for some reason. "What—"

"Help me, I don't know where I am, but someone's after me," I whispered in a rush, squeezing my eyes shut. "I know I'm always in these situations and I'm sorry, but I'm scared. So please—"

Suddenly there was a loud cry of surprise behind me, and my words were cut off as something heavy fell onto my back. I dropped my phone in surprise, a rush of air escaping my mouth, leaving me winded. The weight was gone almost as soon as it appeared, but I was still gasping for breath.

"Shoot! Sorry, Daphne."

My eyes widened and I forced myself to roll onto my back. Mr. Firay was staring down at me with an apologetic look on his face. I gasped in air, trying to regain my breath so I could speak to him. He bent down and pulled me to my feet and began to brush the dirt and sand off my body.

"I didn't think I'd slip," he told me, turning me around so he could brush off my back. "But you're the one who went down first…"

"That was you in the car?" I managed to say, stepping away from him, and turning to face him. "Why didn't you say so? I was terrified!"

"Daphne, I tried telling you that when you began to run but apparently you didn't hear me," he responded with a frown. "Do you usually run away from cars? That's a bad habit you know."

I ignored his jibe and glared at him. "That's not funny! Do you have any idea how scared I was? I thought it was Bryant coming to get me! I thought I was going to be killed or something, since apparently your stupid gangster friends don't have a problem with killing Wendell!"

"Wait," Mr. Firay interrupted, his voice growing hard. "What do you mean by 'killing Wendell'?"

I was shaking in anger now, not quite positive where it had all came from. Probably the aftershock of being scared. "They shot him, Mr. Firay! Twice!"

"Daphne, this isn't time to be joking—"

"I'm not!" I screamed, breaking the unnatural silence in the forest. "Go to the hospital and see for yourself!"

Mr. Firay seemed taken aback for a moment and watched me with wide eyes. I glared at him, brushing a strand of my drenched hair out of my face. A breeze went by, making me uncomfortable cold. I quickly folded my arms over my chest and pressed my legs together.

"When did this happen?" Mr. Firay demanded, narrowing his eyes. "Is he okay?"

I shook my head, wiping rain from my face so I could see him clearer. "I don't know. It must have happened recently because he was still in the ICU when I left the hospital. His mom's there and I texted her and told her to keep me updated on his condition."

"How do you know it was them?"

By them, he meant the gangsters. I flipped open my phone and scrolled down to the text message I had received earlier. "They have Wendell's phone. Bryant called me earlier."

"What did he say?" Mr. Firay asked, grabbing the phone away from me and looking at it with a scowl.

"He asked how Wendell was, told me he was still after you, and he said he had 'plans for me'," I quoted, staring down at the ground. "He said he didn't care whether Wendell lives or dies… but he was only going to rough him up." I looked back at Mr. Firay who was glaring at the trees. "When I asked why Wendell, he said because he was with you the most…"

"I tutor him," Mr. Firay responded simply.

"You what?"

"Tutor, you know… give him extra help? Help him learn the material more?" Mr. Firay responded, raising an eyebrow. "Surely you know—"

"I know," I snapped, scowling. "How long has this been happening for? And aren't you only the Home EC teacher?"

"Jealous?" Mr. Firay asked, a smirk appearing on his face.

I gave him a flat look. He sighed, running a hand through his now-drenched hair.

"Just for the past few weeks. His mother asked me to give him extra help after school, you know, because I skipped two grades. Apparently, the school board found out about that," he told me. "Though I didn't expect I was being spied on… Dang it. They'd even go so low as to go after a student I tutor?"

"Well he was also there with the accident near the towing place."

"But that's not the point," Mr. Firay said. "They're going after people who aren't even related to the problem! Pretty soon they might as well attack the mailman, right? I need to put an end to this."

"What? Not by yourself!" I cried, my eyes widening. "Bryant said… Even you can't take on twenty people!"

"What else am I supposed to do, Daphne?" Mr. Firay demanded with annoyance etched across his face. "Wait for them to attack another student?"

"They wouldn't attack regular students," I told him, though not entirely positive. "They'd get in trouble with the cops."

"Whoever shot Wendell is already in deep shit."

"But you can't—"

"Daphne, I'm not going to sit around while they pick of people close to me!" Mr. Firay cried, his voice raising a notch.

I stared at him in shock. Since when did Mr. Firay raise his voice? For some reason, I felt like I wanted to cry again.

"You can't do it alone," I whispered, staring at him.

"Daphne, what if you're next?" He responded, his voice back to his normal tone. "If it's you then…"

"They won't do anything to me! I'll make sure of that," I cut him off, shaking my head.

Mr. Firay shook his head. "You said early Bryant told you he had plans for you."

"I lied," I said quickly.

"Daphne," Mr. Firay started with a sigh. "How many times do I have to tell you that you can't lie to me?"

"They want you dead though," I breathed, blinking repeatedly to keep any tears from spilling. "Did you hear me? Dead!"

"Yeah, I can't say I'm surprised."

"What did you do?"

Mr. Firay's expression went blank for a moment, but then it quickly became hard. He narrowed his eyes at me.

"I told you it wasn't any of your business."

"Well now it is!" I responded, clenching my fists. "And Wendell's too! You have to tell me!"

"No!"

"Mr. Firay!"

"Drop it," he snapped, scowling.

"No! I won't!"

"Daphne, please," Mr. Firay said, running a hand through his hair. "Drop it."

"No," I stated stubbornly, growing angrier. "Wendell was shot, Mr. Firay! That's taking it too far! You can't keep whatever you did a secret anymore! It's my business now!"

"Daphne, just stop. It's not—"

Without warning, I punched Mr. Firay in the chest as hard as I could. He didn't budge, but shock flashed across his face. I hit him again, trying to put as much force into it as I could. He let me hit him a few more times until his hand captured my wrist and stopped me.

I scowled, bringing up my other fist, but was caught by Mr. Firay immediately. Now I attempted to kick his shin. Mr. Firay let out a small groan of frustration.

"Is it my fault you're so violent?" he muttered. "Just like a child…"

I stopped struggling at once, a little hurt by his comment. Time for a different approach.

"Please," I begged, putting my head against his chest, and keeping my eyes on the ground. "Please. I'm begging you now! Just tell me. Please, Matt!"

"Daphne, your hand is cold."

I pulled away from him, yanking my hand out of his grasp. The tears were now spilling out of my eyes. I glared at Mr. Firay, taking a step away from him. Now he was going to change the subject? "I hate you. I hate you!"

Mr. Firay sighed, closing his eyes. I shook my head in disbelief, taking another step away from him. I turned to walk away, but a hand enclosed on my wrist and yanked me back. Something warm enveloped me and I looked down to see Mr. Firay's jacket over my shoulders. I tried to shrug out of it, but Mr. Firay held it on by force.

"Let go of me."

"Daphne, you have to promise me you won't think any differently after I tell you."

I looked up at Mr. Firay in shock. His eyes pierced into mine with seriousness, complimented by Mr. Firay's somber face. I slowly nodded, clenching his jacket tighter to my body. He reached out and brushed a few stray tears from my face.

"And please stop crying," he said putting his forehead against mine. "I'm sorry. I'll tell you, just don't hate me."

"I couldn't hate you," I responded, too embarrassed to look at him while he was this close.

Hate him? How could he even think that I meant that? Couldn't he see how much I cared about him? A sudden feeling of excitement ran over me. I swallowed nervously as I formed my next words in my mind. This was the perfect chance to let Mr. Firay know. We were in the middle of nowhere, and alone. It was the perfect timing.

"Mr. Firay," I started, now looking at him, our foreheads now pressed together. "I… I, uh…"

"Hmm?" Mr. Firay's gaze landed on mine, and he blinked, staring at me for a second. Then he pulled away quickly, clearing his throat. "You're really cold, let's go get you warmed up."

I blushed, a frown slipping onto my face. Not yet. I was going to confess now whether or not I was cold. A shiver ran through me as a gust of wind blew through Mr. Firay's coat, reminding me that I was cold.

Mr. Firay chuckled, grabbing my hand and tugging me forwards.

"Come on, you're shivering," he commented, squeezing my hand.

"Wait, I have something to say," I protested, trying to take my hand back.

"You can tell me later," Mr. Firay responded, rolling his eyes.

"But I—"

"Don't argue with me Daphne."

I scowled, growing irritated. Why couldn't he just let me confess? Of course he didn't know I was going to, but he could at least think about the situation for a moment!

"Why didn't you call me?" Mr. Firay asked.

I sighed in resignation. I guess I wasn't confessing now. "I tried. Your phone was off."

"It wasn't off. I must not have had service," Mr. Firay responded, ducking under a tree branch and holding it up for me, and pushing me in front of him.

"Where were you?" I asked, looking back at him. "How come you were on this road?"

"I was coming back from…" he trailed off, looking away from me with a frown.

"A date?"

"Yeah," Mr. Firay muttered, looking guilty for some reason.

"Oh," I responded, turning back in front of me, my stomach twisting. I had thought Wendell was his date… but I guess not. Well, maybe some of his 'dates' were with Wendell, but not all of them…

"Is she a nice girl?" I asked casually.

"Very nice."

"Is she smart?"

Mr. Firay chuckled. "Sometimes."

I hesitated before asking the next question. "Is she pretty?"

"Beautiful," Mr. Firay murmured from behind me.

I bit my lip, staring at the ground in front of me as I walked. Who was this girl? Mr. Firay seemed to like her a lot… Did that mean I had no chance? My chest constricted uncomfortably. Probably not. After all this person was probably a woman, and I was a high school girl. The affection Mr. Firay showed was probably just something he did to entertain himself.

Suddenly something hit my face hard, making me gasp in surprise. Mr. Firay chuckled behind me.

"Pay attention."

I scowled, keeping my head up. "You know, you could care a little more."

Suddenly my wrist yanked me to a stop. I turned to scold Mr. Firay, but before I could make a word his hands were at my face, holding it in place. I blinked at him as he brought his head closer. My heart began to pound as I watched him with wide eyes. What was he planning to do?

My thoughts were interrupted when he roughly turned my head to one side, then the other, examining my face with a frown. I felt myself flushing, and I struggled to get out of his grasp.

"What are you doing?" I mumbled through my tightly pressed together lips.

"You said I should care a little more, so I'm making sure you're alright," Mr. Firay stated as it if was the most obvious thing in the world.

I finally managed to break free from his grasp, and I frowned at him. "Since when do you listen to me?"

"I don't."

"So you're sucking up?"

A smirk played across his features. "Perhaps."

I narrowed my eyes. "You're still going to tell me…"

Mr. Firay sighed. "Yes, I will…"

I kind of felt bad for practically forcing him to tell me his secret, but I had to know. And it wasn't like I was going to tell anyone. There was no one else to tell. And it didn't matter to me what he did, it wasn't like I was going to stop loving him because of it. Upon that thought my face heated up.

"Thinking of me?" Mr. Firay teased.

"No, of Sage," I responded in a more serious tone. "He's been helping me out a lot lately. I'm trying to decide what I can do to make it up to him. He tried to make a move on me today, so I might take him on a date…"

"He what?"

I kept my back towards Mr. Firay and shrugged. "You know. He pinned me to the bed and tried to kiss me."

"That brat," I heard Mr. Firay mutter and a smirk slipped onto my face.

"What do you think I should do?" I asked, my smirk growing wider.

"I don't care what you do," Mr. Firay responded in an off-tone voice. "You can date him if you want."

I turned to Mr. Firay in shock, not expecting his answer. He tilted his head to one side and studied me. I looked at him in disbelief. Was he kidding? He didn't care? A frown quickly replaced my smirk. So he didn't care… well that was right. He still had a girlfriend…

Mr. Firay started snickering and I immediately narrowed my eyes. He shook his head, trying to keep the laughter in. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I should have been expecting this.

"Sorry, Daphne," Mr. Firay apologized, a smirk still on his face. "You know, you're reactions—"

"Are too cute, I know," I finished for him, rolling my eyes. "Except one of these days I'm really going to mean what I ask you."

"I don't want you to date Sage."

Once more, I was shocked by his words. Since when did he say such things so bluntly? This time I didn't turn to look at him. Instead, I shrugged.

"Then I won't."

"Good."

If there wasn't a blush on my face before, I was sure there was one now. I hated it, but I felt that by what Mr. Firay had just said that I might have a chance with him. Maybe he did like me. Maybe he could return my feelings. But that meant I'd have to confess, and there was no way I could do that right now. He'd probably change the topic again as soon as I opened my mouth.

But I wanted to. I wanted to so badly. I clenched my fists, now coming up to the road. Why did he have to be my teacher? And why couldn't I be eighteen already? My feelings were already too much for me to handle. Suddenly my thoughts turned sour as realization set in. I couldn't say it. I couldn't tell him my feelings and have a chance of being rejected, or being accepted and making Mr. Firay lose his job. But what if we kept it a secret?

"Okay," Mr. Firay started, breaking me out of my reverie. "We're going back to my house and you're going to take a shower and change before I tell you anything."

"I-I don't need a shower," I muttered in embarrassment.

"Yes you do, a hot one. I don't want to take a chance of you getting sick," Mr. Firay responded. "But then again, they do say only idiots get sick. And you are an idiot for walking out in the rain for as long as you did… Where were you going anyway?"

"Your house," I muttered, feeling my embarrassment grow.

Mr. Firay chuckled, opening up the passenger door for me. "I should have guessed."

I climbed into the seat and Mr. Firay closed the door for me. I snapped my seat buckle in and Mr. Firay slid into the driver's seat. He started the car and put the heat on full blast. He glanced at me to make sure I was buckled before starting down the street.

We stayed silent. We'd have a lot to talk about when we got to Mr. Firay's apartment.

A/N. I told you this chapter wasn't filling! D: Wait four or so days. I'm going to update either Thursday or Friday, so try to wait that long, please!

Warisha: I sent an email to that email address you gave me. Is that your email? I wanted to make sure before I told you your spoiler. Oh but you have to ask me what you want me to tell you. Only one thing though. Use your question wisely. XD

Oh, I forgot to mention, Curlscat says there are a lot of 'Lara Dee's' on Facebook, so look for the one that has the picture that somewhat looks like my FF profile picture. My profile picture looks the same, but it doesn't have my eyes looking at the computer. :3 It shows the Shugo Chara Chan and the Sisters Grimm Books, so just look for that person on FB. Also, before you ask to friend me, message me saying who you are from FF, okay? Oh, and you can also look for the state. I'm from Florida, okay? And I think it says I either work at Wattpad or FanFiction or Seiyo Academy…something like that. Sorry if I'm confusing you. Umm…

Ahh! I KNOW I KNOW! Okay, type in facebook dot com slash LaraDFanFiction. There we go! But you know, change the dot to '.' and the slash to '/'. I'm so smart. ^^

So…yes. I feel bad. This is a great 'pre-gift' for winning Elli's SGS2011, isn't it? D: I'm sorry –but at least you guys will get that six and seven day update things soon! ^^

Now, I must go! But before I do, please go check out every single story that was put into the second to the last round. They worked really hard, even if they didn't win. I'm sure they'd love it if you check their stories out with positive feedback! ^^

~Lara