A/N.Whoa. I just noticed we're like halfway through this story... T_T ! It's moving too fast! :'( But, let us not dwell on the past, but the present!

Oh, I forgot the QoD last chapter, but the winner is Curlscat! Hers was...VERY creative:

'QoD: I'd like to be able to shapeshift. Then I could hide and nobody would see me, and I could have any animal-related power like flying or breathing underwater or super speed. If I couldn't shapeshift, I'd be like rogue and reflect other people's powers.'

Congrats! ^^ ACI should give you a shout-out. ;D

My answer: (It's not as creative as last week's though) I'd like to read minds. There was this story I read -it was really good, but some people were hating on the AUTHOR, so she took it down T_T- called Inside Your Head! And this girl wished on a magical rock, not knowing it would actually grant her wish, and she was able to read people's minds...It was so funny. And, I will know if someone's truthful. Like, "Hey Lara," *thinks* Eww. What is she wearing? "I LOVE your shirt!"
*mimics* "Hey So and So! Eww! What are you wearing! I SO love your shoes!" XD Bipolarness! And it's a good tool to use if you have a boyfriend. If he's thinking, "Man, she's hot." instead of, "Wow, she beautiful." or something like that, reading minds can help pick out your relationships right?

Anyways, say Happy Birthday to yellow.r0se and my brother today, will you? Anastasia's turning 14, whilst my bro's turning 7...*sniffles* He's going to grow up to be a ladies man -I know it! XD

By the way, give a warm welcome to two new writers here in the SG Archive: Asian and Caucasian. :) I was like, "YES! ANOTHER ASIAN IN SG! Yaaaayy!" XD They both have a story out called, "The Case of the Hypocritical Killer", so check that out if you'd like. ^^ And I think TCMRed and Cat are making an account. I tried to look for it, "TheAfterShock", but I didn't see any results. :3 But I'm excited that they're making an account too…

Oh shoot, I just realized what I wanted in this chapter isn't supposed to appear this chapter. So, I have to move it to a later chapter…OH. Now I remember where it's supposed to go. :3 You guys don't know what I'm talking about, so I'll close my mouth for the time being. :]

Now, SECRETS ARE REVEALED!

By the way, no end A/N. today. It's a long chapter, so I don't think it's necessary. I will put up my usual "~Lara" thing, of course. :3

By the way, I think "Falling for You" by Colbie Calliat goes really well with Daphne's feelings. You should listen to it. ^^

Chapter 36: Questions and Answers

"Daphne?"

I jumped violently, nearly slipping on the wet bathroom floor. "Y-yeah?"

"Are you done?"

"Almost," I responded, grabbing Mr. Firay's shirt and throwing it over my head quickly.

The sleeves were about four inches too long, so I rolled them up. I then did the same to his sweatpants, rolling them up to the ankle. I pulled the waist strings as tight as I could to make sure they wouldn't fall off. Checking myself in the mirror one last time, I quickly ran a hand through my hair to make it a little more presentable before stepping out of the bathroom.

"Put this on," Mr. Firay ordered, throwing a sweatshirt at me.

"Okay," I responded, pulling the article of clothing over my head.

I took a deep breath, a small smile spreading across my face. It smelled just like Mr. Firay. I wondered what kind of laundry detergent he used… I grinned to myself when I realized how stalker-ish that sounded.

"Let's go in the living room," Mr. Firay suggested, putting a hand on my back and leading me into the room. "Sit."

I did as ordered, watching him curiously. "You aren't going to order me to make you coffee or something?"

Mr. Firay smirked. "Do you want me to?"

I shook my head, looking away from him. In a way, I actually kind of wanted to. It just seemed like an ordinary thing between us. But I wasn't about to let him know that.

"I made some hot chocolate."

I frowned at Mr. Firay. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Fine," he responded, raising an eyebrow. "Why?"

"You're being so… un-you."

A wry smile appeared on his face. "I can't be nice?"

"No! That's not it!" I said quickly, waving my hands in front of me. "It's just that—"

"Do you want to hear my story or not?"

I shut my mouth instantly, glaring at him. Well, he was still being as rude as usual. He took a seat on the chair across from me, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

"It's a long story…"

"I've got time," I pressed, a frown on my face. "You promised—"

"I'm going to tell it to you," Mr. Firay cut me off, rolling his eyes. "Don't whine."

"Sorry," I muttered, clenching my teeth together, and turning my attention to the floor.

"I guess I should start by saying that I lied to you."

My eyes snapped back to him, growing in surprise. He had lied to me? "When? About what?"

He sighed, running a hand through his messy, still damp hair. "Remember the time at the fair when you first followed me into the forest?"

I blushed slightly at the memory, at my stupidity at the time. "Yeah…"

"Everything I said on the Ferris wheel was a lie," Mr. Firay admitted, his eyes piercing into mine.

"Everything?" I echoed, a frown passing onto my face.

Mr. Firay nodded. "There was no friend I wanted to protect. After my mom died…I just snapped. You know how I got my split personality? That's why. I was so torn when she passed. I joined the gang out of my own free will. I liked fighting. I liked hurting people."

"But…" I slightly recalled the conversation. How I had cried because I thought I had the wrong opinion on him. "So I was right…"

"You were right?"

"Back then," I started, slowly lowering my gaze from Mr. Firay's. "I thought you were a conceited jerk. But that story about your friend made me change my views. But it was fake…"

"If I remember correctly you also cried," Mr. Firay commented in an amused voice.

I glared at him, seeing a smirk on his face. "It's not funny."

"I'm sorry about that," Mr. Firay apologized, the smirk disappearing. "I didn't know what else to say… I couldn't tell you the reason why they were after me. I didn't want to scare you away."

"You wouldn't have told me the truth no matter what then, huh?"

"Probably not," Mr. Firay responded with a smile. "The part about the lighters was the truth though. They did burn me at one point, so the scars were real."

"It would be that part that was the truth," I said, a frown slipping onto my face.

"Tell me what Sage told you about me."

My eyes widened and I stared at Mr. Firay. "H-he didn't tell me anything!"

Mr. Firay snorted. "Yeah? And I invented the punching bag."

"Well I wouldn't be surprised. You have lived for over four thousand years…"

"Daphne."

"He didn't tell me a lot," I told Mr. Firay, biting my lip. "Don't get mad at him! I basically forced him to tell me!"

"Just tell me," Mr. Firay responded, a new edge to his voice. "I don't want to hear you defending Sage. I just want to know what he told you."

"Don't hurt Sage," I warned.

"Daphne," Mr. Firay said in an annoyed tone.

I sighed, running a hand over my face, trying to remember everything he told me. "Well he told me you were gang leader, which was surprising. He also told me that you skipped two grades in middle school."

Mr. Firay urged me to go on when I had stopped.

"Um, he showed me a picture of your girlfriend."

"He what?"

I looked up at Mr. Firay, surprised by his suddenly livid tone. He scowled, clenching his fists, looking seriously angry.

"It was just a picture of you with her in the yearbook," I told him, trying to calm him down. "And it was a low quality picture."

"You don't know her name?" Mr. Firay questioned, looking more relaxed.

"No," I responded, narrowing my eyes in confusion. "Why?"

"No reason."

"What is her name?"

Mr. Firay pursed his lips at me for a second before reclining back on the chair with a sigh. "Diana Pierce."

"Oh." What an unusual last name… I repeated it in my head a few times trying to think if anyone I knew had that last name. I couldn't think of anyone.

"What else did Sage tell you?" Mr. Firay asked, changing the topic.

"Umm," I hesitated; glad to not be talking about Mr. Firay's girlfriend, or ex-girlfriend. "Oh, yeah! You graduated college at –physically- age twenty, right?"

"That's right."

"So how come you didn't get a job as a teacher right away? Why did you wait a full year?" I questioned.

"If I tell you that know, that will ruin the ending of my story," Mr. Firay responded, a smirk slipping onto his face. "Do you want me to ruin it?"

"No," I responded quickly, frowning at him. "I want you to start from the very beginning."

"From when I joined the gang?" Mr. Firay asked, looking over at me with a skeptical expression. "If I start from there, we'll be here all year."

"Fine, then start from where the reason Bryant wants to kill you comes from."

Mr. Firay chuckled. "Straight to the good part."

"I don't think it's good…"

"Well there are multiple reasons," Mr. Firay started, ignoring me. "I'm guessing one of them is the fact that I became gang leader even though I'm physically six years younger than him. He really wanted to become gang leader, and he would have if I hadn't accepted."

"But that's no reason to kill someone," I interrupted, my eyes widening in disbelief. "That's not even close! Why would someone—?"

"Daphne, I'm not even close to being done," Mr. Firay responded in an amused tone. "Shut up and listen."

I immediately shut my mouth, scowling at him. He could at least be a little more polite!

"Honestly, half of the reason why I accepted was just because Bryant wanted to be the leader," Mr. Firay continued, ignoring my glares. "I still remember the look on his face when it was announced. It was priceless."

"And that's why he wants you dead?"

Mr. Firay rolled his eyes. "Be real, Daphne."

I clenched my teeth together. "I am being real! From what I gather, someone from the gang could want you dead for looking at him the wrong way."

"That's true," Mr. Firay chuckled. "Probably not death though;you could be beaten up for it."

"What were your reasons for fighting people?" I asked, looking at Mr. Firay curiously.

"I was challenged," Mr. Firay responded simply. "I was never the one to start a fight. Provoking people is a different story though."

"But why?"

"Because I thought fighting was the best thing ever when I was younger," Mr. Firay explained, shaking his head. "It excited me, it made me feel alive, and there was no one that could stop me."

"What do you mean?"

"My mom wasn't around," Mr. Firay said, shrugging his shoulders. "And all the other fairies lived too far away to even know what I was doing. I also had isolated myself from Puck, so he had no idea."

His mom wasn't around? A twisting feeling crept into my stomach as I quickly did math in my head. Mr. Firay joined the gang at age sixteen, and he said his mom wasn't around…

"Mr. Firay…"

"Matt," Mr. Firay corrected me. "How many times—"

"Did you lie?" I said quietly, turning accusing eyes on him.

"About what?"

"About your mom."

Mr. Firay looked at me in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"You just said your mom wasn't around when you joined the gang. But the time you were giving me a ride home you said your mom died four or so years ago, not seven. Did you lie about that?"

"What?" Mr. Firay responded, his eyes growing wide. "No! Do you honestly think that I'd lie about something like that?"

"Then what did you mean?"

"I meant she was so busy in Faerie she was never home," Mr. Firay explained, a frown on his face. "Why would you think I'd lie when my mom died?"

"Well you did lie about that other thing…"

"Daphne, I'm sorry I lied to you," Mr. Firay apologized with a sigh.

"Do you promise not to lie to me again?" I blurted out suddenly.

Mr. Firay looked surprised by my request, and I blushed, looking away from him quickly. I had said that without thinking! Now he was going to think I was some desperate, serious girl!

"S-sorry, ignore me," I stuttered, clenching my fists. Stupid, stupid!

To my surprise, Mr. Firay started laughing. I looked up at him, not sure what expression to make. He smirked at me, his eyes lighting up mischievously.

"If I promise not to lie to you, you can't lie to me," he bargained.

"I don't lie to you…"

"Hypocrite," Mr. Firay sung in a quiet voice, the smirk growing bigger. "I always—"

"Know when I'm lying," I finished for him in a snippy tone. "But I've never lied to you because you catch me in the lie before I can get away with it."

"You're just easy to figure out."

I felt my face heat up again in embarrassment. "Whatever."

Mr. Firay chuckled. "Should we get back to my story?"

I nodded, drawing my knees up to my chest, and watching Mr. Firay. He shifted positions, making it easier for me to see his face. Slowly, I lowered my gaze lowered to the floor. It was hard to keep eye contact with Mr. Firay.

"It was my senior year when I met Diana," he started, drumming his fingers along the arm of the chair. "Did Sage show you the picture of us in the yearbook?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"We weren't dating then," he told me. "We were going to different colleges, so we thought it was best not to get into a relationship. But we still saw a lot of each other because of Sage."

"Because they're cousins, right?"

"How do you know?"

"Sage told me that," I admitted. "But nothing else!"

Mr. Firay rolled his eyes. "Calm down, I won't hurt Sage for telling you that."

"Okay."

"Anyway," Mr. Firay continued, stretching out his legs. "Diana ended up transferring to my college halfway through my third year at college."

"Is that when you started dating?"

"No," Mr. Firay responded slowly. "At the time she was dating someone else…"

"Who?"

"Bryant."

My eyes widened, and I stared at Mr. Firay in shock. "No way!"

Mr. Firay nodded. "I guess they started dating right after graduation. Which is probably one of her reasons for not wanting a relationship with me senior year."

"But if she was his girlfriend then how did you—?"

"Slow down," Mr. Firay commented, a smirk slipping onto his face. "I'm getting there."

I frowned at him, but relaxed back into the couch. "Please continue then."

"Diana was in just about every one of my classes, and she didn't really know anyone, so she basically only talked to me. I'm sure I don't have to say that I still had feelings for her from back in high school. But as I began to like her more and more, I began to notice things I hadn't noticed before."

"Like what?" I questioned.

"Like the bruises that would appear on her arms every time she had a fight with Bryant."

I gasped, bringing a hand up to my mouth, knowing immediately what Mr. Firay meant. "Bryant abused her? But how did you know?"

"Diana and I were best friends, she told me about the fights she got into with him. She didn't know about the gang thing," Mr. Firay explained. "So she didn't realize Bryant and I knew each other. She did tell me that he abused her though."

"So what did you do?"

"There was nothing I could do at first," Mr. Firay responded. "She was a proud person… I didn't want to injure her pride by bringing up the subject. But one day she came in with a broken wrist. That's when I demanded her to tell me what was happening."

"And did she?"

Mr. Firay nodded. "Everything. Bryant was basically forcing her to stay with him, and she didn't like him. She was scared of him. After awhile I convinced her to break up with Bryant…"

"How?"

Mr. Firay smiled wryly. "I told her I'd protect her."

I stayed silent, waiting for Mr. Firay to continue, but he didn't. He was staring off into space, a frown on his face. I let him be for a few minutes, occupying myself with my fingers.

"She came back to class after she broke up with him with more bruises than ever before," Mr. Firay suddenly said, interrupting the silence. "I couldn't protect her then, but I still promised her I'd protect her in the future. She believed me."

"And Bryant?" I asked.

"At this point, Bryant still didn't know I went to the same school as her, let alone knew her, so there was no connection between us. Diana didn't trust guys though, so it wasn't like I could start dating her right away. I spent a half a year having what I thought was an unrequited love."

"Half a year?" I repeated, my eyes widening. "Really?"

Mr. Firay smiled. "Daphne, have you ever been in love?"

Surprised by his question, it took me a moment to respond. My face flushed and I quickly avoided my gaze. Have I ever been in love? The man I was in love with was sitting in front of me!

"Have you?" Mr. Firay prodded.

I cleared my throat. "Y-yes," I muttered, focusing on my fingers.

"Okay, now picture the one you love not being able to love you back for some reason or another," Mr. Firay told me.

A wry smile made its way into my face. Was he purposely describing my situation?

"Okay."

"Would you give up on that person just because of that while they're still by your side?"

I shook my head vehemently. "No. Never."

"There you go. It just so happened I had to wait half a year, which is basically nothing. It could have been worse."

"Yeah, could have," I mumbled, glancing up at him. He smirked back.

"One day she randomly asked me out," Mr. Firay said, going back to his story, an amused tone to his voice. "Really, it was out of nowhere. But I accepted right away. Everything was great for about two months…"

"What happened?"

"I don't know how Bryant found out, but he did… and this is where the story gets to the climax."

"Already?"

"You sound disappointed," Mr. Firay commented, an amused smirk slipping onto his face.

"No, I'm not!" I responded quickly, waving my hand. "I'm just going to shut up…"

Mr. Firay chuckled. "Right. Should I continue now?"

"Yes," I mumbled, blushing lightly.

"Bryant first came to me. I have to admit, he put up quite a fight. I had to get stitches for one of the cuts on my back. However, there was a reason I was gang leader. Even he couldn't take me out. I didn't even use magic."

"So you beat him up?"

Mr. Firay rolled his eyes. "Of course I did."

I scowled at Mr. Firay's cockiness. "Is that why he wants you dead? You stole his girlfriend?"

"That's a large part, I believe," Mr. Firay responded. "But not the only part."

"What else? Did Bryant do something else?"

"Bryant went after Diana next."

"You're kidding!" I cried, my eyes widening. "What happened?"

Mr. Firay sighed, running his hands over his face. "It was really late at night when I received a text message from Diana, telling me she was downtown by herself and she was in some trouble. So I quickly went down town to go see what was wrong… I searched for her for about a good twenty minutes, since she never responded to anymore of the text messages I sent her."

"She wasn't actually there?"

Mr. Firay shook his head. "No she was. I eventually found her… along with Bryant and a few of his followers. She was on the ground."

My pulse started to increase and I swallowed nervously, waiting for Mr. Firay to continue. He was rubbing his forehead with a hand, shaking his head.

"This was the second time I had failed to protect her…"

"What happened?" I whispered.

Mr. Firay looked up at me, his mouth pressed in a tight line. "You can't figure it out?"

I stared at him in shock, surprised by his sudden hard tone. I opened my mouth to reply, but nothing came out. Mr. Firay continued to glare at me for a moment, until he snapped it out.

"Sorry," he muttered, looking away.

"It's okay," I told him quickly.

"I just can't stand it," Mr. Firay suddenly said in an angry voice. "I told her I'd protect her. When I didn't the first time, she still trusted me to. And I failed her twice."

"But that's not your fault—" I started, but was cut off.

"Yes it is," Mr. Firay snapped. "I should have known Bryant would be so low as to go after her! I should have known that!"

"But you didn't know, so it's not your fault!" I argued.

"Daphne, she almost died because of me! It is my fault!" Mr. Firay nearly shouted, making me jump.

"But—" I said in a quiet voice.

"Let me finish before you say anything else," Mr. Firay interrupted, his tone calm again. "You wanted to know what I did the year between college graduation and the job I have now, right?"

"Yeah," I responded, biting my lip.

"I was in jail."

I laughed, rolling my eyes at Mr. Firay. "Mr. Firay, please. Save the jokes for later. Jail? For a year?"

"I'm not joking, Daphne."

I immediately sobered up, staring at Mr. Firay with wide eyes. He gave me a flat look, his eyes slightly narrowed.

"Y-you're not?"

"No," Mr. Firay stated solemnly.

I was literally speechless. The only thing I could do, was to stare at Mr. Firay. I felt like such a jerk. I lowered my gaze, wishing I could take back what I'd said. Jail? Mr. Firay was in jail?

"I almost murdered three people that night," Mr. Firay suddenly said. "I was so close…"

I looked up at him, swallowing. "What happened?"

Mr. Firay closed his eyes, a sigh escaping his lips. "I didn't have a chance to speak before the three people who were with Bryant were after me. They probably had everything planned out. They all had knives, but I wasn't surprised. I was prepared this time too. I had brought a knife just in case. I didn't dare bring anything magical –it always had a price to pay. And it also reminded me too much of my mom."

I stayed silent, waiting for Mr. Firay to continue. It seemed like he was thinking about what to say next. I figured he wanted to spare me the details— and I wanted him to as well.

"His followers were a piece of cake," Mr. Firay finally continued. "I did more damage to them than I should have. But they deserved it. Bryant was the one that deserved the most though. I would have killed him. I was so close too, but the cops came. We both tried to run, but obviously we were caught." He laughed without humor. "I got eight months in prison for civil unrest, and for possession of an unauthorized weapon. Bryant got fourteen months for the same, but extra months because he was the instigator. It was just a warning though."

"What about Diana?"

"That bastard lied and got away with it," Mr. Firay said angrily. "He said he'd found her like this, and he blamed what happened on one of his followers, who's still in prison to this day. Bryant wasn't connected to her in anyway."

"He put the blame on a friend?" I asked in disbelief.

"Follower, not friend."

I frowned, taking all of what he said in. Realization hit me and I gasped. "But you know the truth! Is that why he wants you dead? Because you know the truth?"

"Yes, that's another part of the reason," Mr. Firay responded.

"So just tell the police!"

"It's not that simple," Mr. Firay told me, sighing again. "Daphne, I was in serious trouble after that night. As soon as I got out of jail, I was old if I got involved with a gang again, I'd be going back, and this time for longer than eight months. They dropped that case after Diana told them to, I can't bring it up again because of what's happening without getting Diana involved again, and getting myself back in prison."

"Hold up," I said slowly. "Diana dropped the case?"

Mr. Firay nodded. "She has kept quiet about the fact it was Bryant's fault, not that follower who got blamed, so once the follower was blamed, she dropped it. She didn't want anything to do with the gang anymore."

"But what about you?"

"Before I went to jail, she dumped me," Mr. Firay responded, a smile on his face.

My stomach clenched uncomfortably and I clenched my fists. Anger surged through me. "Stop smiling!"

Mr. Firay's eyes widened a fraction of an inch in surprise. "What?"

"What's to smile about?" I cried, glaring at Mr. Firay. "She broke up with you, after you went through all that to protect her? And what's worse is that you had to go to jail and she broke up with you before you were locked away? That's not something to smile about, Mr. Firay!"

"Daphne, hold on," Mr. Firay cut in, but I didn't stop.

"I don't even know who this person is, but I hate her! Why would she do something like that? It's not fair! And you loved her…"

I could feel tears welling up in my eyes. Cursing myself silently, I lowered my head so Mr. Firay couldn't see my face. I blinked rapidly, determined not to let any tears spill.

"Damn it, Daphne," I heard Mr. Firay curse.

I kept my head down as I heard him get off the chair and start walking towards me. His shoes appeared in my line vision, but I refuse to look up. I felt Mr. Firay's hand on my shoulder, and then his chest appeared in my sight. I looked up an inch and came face-to-face with him, literally.

"Stop crying," he ordered, tightening his grip on my shoulder. "Why do you always cry over me?"

"I'm not crying!" I returned, staring at him determinedly. "I'm just angry!"

"Obviously."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "I don't like Diana. She just dropped you like that! If you really love someone, I think you should be able to handle a gang problem like that!"

"Daphne, she was injured really severely, I can't blame her," Mr. Firay responded, straightening himself out. Instead of going back to his chair, he took a seat beside me on the couch.

"That's an excuse," I pointed out, frowning. "You're covering up for her."

"Tell me, Daphne," Mr. Firay started, his eyes piercing into mine. "Remember what happened at the beach? What if I hadn't come? And what happened, was the fault of the person you loved?"

"I wouldn't care," I stated boldly. "The person I love means so much to me that nothing could ever make me stop loving him."

Mr. Firay smiled. "He must be a lucky guy."

It's you, you idiot! My mind screamed, but I just managed a half-smile at him. "If he's lucky, then Diana is also lucky for having someone like you love her."

"Everyone I love gets dragged into my problems and hurt, so I don't think it's luck," Mr. Firay responded, his expression softening.

"Tell me, Mr. Firay…"

"Matt."

"Um, Matt," I started, lowering my gaze. "Do you still… love her?"

"Someone once told me you never stop loving someone."

I looked up at him, disappointment washing through me. What was that supposed to mean? He still loved her? Even though she broke up with him? Wait… that happened a year ago, I thought. So did that mean that…? My eyes widened in realization.

"Your dates… they're with her, aren't they?"

Mr. Firay sighed and nodded. A brick dropped into my gut and I caught my breath. They were dating? Mr. Firay was dating his ex-girlfriend that he was in love with? All those dates over the past weeks, he was with her?

My mouth was dry. So where did that leave me? He and Diana were probably going to get back together then. It was only a matter of time before they were a couple. Did that mean there was no chance Mr. Firay actually liked me? All those instances when I thought he might, I was wrong? Was he really just being nice? No ulterior motive.

I clenched my fists. No. I was wrong. Why was I having such discouraging thoughts? Is this what it was like to in love? Even if Mr. Firay was still in love with Diana, I would make him love me.

"Daphne, I have something to confess."

"What?" I asked, snapping myself out of my thoughts.

"They weren't dates," Mr. Firay admitted. "Not one of them. I just said that the first time to make you jealous because I wanted to see your reaction. But then when you started dating Sage, I kept lying to you because I didn't like you being with Sage and I wanted you to feel jealous."

Trying not to smile as his words registered was a hard task. I looked at him, keeping my mouth as straight as possible. "Were you jealous of Sage?"

"Yes," Mr. Firay admitted. "I said I wouldn't lie to you anymore, so I won't." Guilt flashed over his face, but I ignored it.

"It's fine," I told him, trying to be nonchalant. "I was jealous when you said you had dates."

"That was obvious," Mr. Firay commented, a smirk slipping onto his face.

I blushed, glaring at him angrily. "You're a jerk."

Mr. Firay laughed, and continued to laugh for a full five minutes. I frowned at him the whole time. When he finally sobered up, I raised an eyebrow at him.

"What?" he asked, giving me a questioning look.

"I didn't think I said was that funny," I told him.

"Oh, it wasn't."

I rolled my eyes, causing him to chuckle.

"Daphne, you don't realize how relieved I am to know you don't care that I was in jail for eight months, or that I lied to you, or that I fought people for fun, or that I nearly killed someone. I think most people would be running off in the other direction by now," he told me, brushing a strand of hair out of his face. His dropped his hand back onto the couch, and it brushed against mine, staying there.

"I'm a Grimm, aren't I? I'm not most people." I blushed again clearing my throat. "And I have my reasons…"

The main reason being I'm in love with you.

"Daphne…"

I looked up at Mr. Firay, tilting my head to the side. He returned my look with a guilty one, and immediately I began to frown. I didn't like that look.

"What?" I asked nervously.

Mr. Firay ran a hand threw his shaggy hair. "It's midnight… you should probably call your mom."

I frowned. That obviously wasn't what he was going to say—

I gasped, now realizing the time he just said. I pushed myself up off the couch, placing my hand on top of Mr. Firay's support. I yanked it back in surprise from the contact, making me collapse to the side and onto Mr. Firay instead. Blushing furiously I muttered my apologies, trying to pull myself off of him.

He chuckled, and I could feel it reverberate through his chest. I pushed myself up, so that I was hovering over him. Before I could pull away completely, he grabbed the front of my shirt and stopped me.

"Daphne, sometimes I wish you weren't my student," he said so quietly I almost didn't hear him.

My breath caught and I stared at him, his eyes penetrating mine with their usual intensity. This time however, I didn't look away immediately. I held his gaze as best as I could. To my amazement, he ended up looking away first. Then he gently pushed me away from him.

"I'll give you a ride home," he muttered, pushing off the couch as well.

I stared at him for a moment, not sure what to say. Did that mean what I think it meant? Did he have feelings for me a teacher shouldn't have for his student? A smile made its way across my face.

Maybe it wasn't a direct confession. But it was definitely a step.

A/N. ~Lara