EDIT: This had been uploaded earlier, but I guess something was wrong with FF so I'm uploading it again. :3

A/N. Whoa. Yesterday, 98 -98- people visited my stories. That's...that's amazing. I think this is the highest amount of visitors to my stories in one day. 0.0 Whoa. I want to take the time to thank all of you again for being...just amazing -really, you all made my day. Mahal kita! In the sisterly way, of course. I don't know if there are any boy readers here, haha. :3

Oh, and I'm trying line breaks to separate the A/N. from the chapter besides bolding the words 'A/N.', just because it looks better to me. :)

I'm sorry most of you disliked last chapter because Daphne was either a) acting daft or b) too much of a damsel in distress. Just...don't be too hard on me today, okay? Last night at the birthday party I went to...I came home kind of depressed, and seeing most of the complaints didn't help my mood at all. I'm not mad, but I'm going to try to sort out my feelings so I don't take out my anger at you. I don't mind the negative feedback, so you can review with those, but I just had a rough night, and I'm not taking it very well.

Um, 'sides that, I am not updating Monday -project reasons. So the updates for the 'six weeks updates' are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday -and do not tell me that's not six. You guys had Saturday's and today's updates -that makes six days of updates.

By the way, please read my author's notes. It kind of peeves me when people ask when I'm updating, and I say so in an A/N. I get the feel the people just skip the Authors Note's and go to the chapter. So...I'm going to see if you actually DO read them. If you're reading this, put a };] sign anywhere in your review (lol, yeah, Curlscat -I'm bringing back the winking Grinch XD). But make it discreet! I don't want the people who do not read my note's to figure out the pattern. :) That's why this A/N. isn't bolded -some reviewers skip the not bolded or italicized text in my note's and read only the ones that are. So...do you truly read my author's notes? I just want to see if people are going to follow this. I won't be mad if you forget -though, I might mistake you as a person who does not read my notes, haha. :3

Sorry this A/N. isn't so smiley faced. I'm having...emotional problems. XD Haha, hopefully writing this chapter will cheer me up.

*finished writing* Yep. Suuureee dddiidd! ^^

Um, um, um...Oh yes! THIS IS ALREADY THE SIX WEEK UPDATE. I AM UPDATING WITH THIS, THEN TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, and FRIDAY. Please no more questions on when I update -please. :)

QotD: Who's your favorite animal character? (Example: Winnie the Pooh, Tom from Tom and Jerry, Scooby-Doo, Bambi, Stitch from Lilo and Stich, etc. [by the way, I just named some of the stuffed animals in my room -that's not even a sixth of what I have XD]) And why? If you don't have one, what's your favorite cartoon or TV show that features a stuffed animal?

Last thing, I recommend listening to "Falling For You" by Colbie Calliat while reading this chapter. I think I said to read a chapter with this song before, but I think this chapter works...well, this chapter's supposed to be tension-y and the song's happy and all...maybe not. But the lyrics fit. ^^'

Chapter 41: Revelation

The drive to Mr. Firay's apartment was silent. I stared out the window, watching the street lights pass by. Mr. Firay kept his eyes on the road, not sparing me once glance. The radio was off, making it more awkward. When we arrived, still no words were spoken as we made our way into his apartment.

Mr. Firay disappeared into his room for a few minutes and then returned with a pair of sweatpants and a long sleeve shirt. He handed them to me. "Go change or you'll get sick."

"I'm fine," I responded stiffly, crossing my arms over my chest. "You better start talking."

"Daphne, just change out of your clothing."

"I said I'm fine."

"You're changing whether you like it or not," Mr. Firay said, narrowing his eyes at me. "It'd save us both trouble and embarrassment if I didn't have to force you to change."

With a hot face and a scowl, I nodded, taking the clothing and going to the bathroom. I quickly stripped out of my damp clothing and pulled on Mr. Firay's warm clothes. I inhaled deeply, taking in the scent. He smelled so nice… I shook my head, a blush appearing on my face. What was I doing?

I checked my reflection in the mirror and nearly gasped in horror. I looked like a mess! My hair was curly and knotted, and I looked like I had been drowned by the not-so-Little Mermaid. As quickly as I could, I did my best to clean my face up with warm water and use a brush to comb my hair. When most of the knots were gone, I dried my hair and face, and then returned to the living room.

Mr. Firay was standing in the middle of it, wearing a black v-neck and grey pajama pants. For a moment I was taken in by his handsomeness, but I pulled my gaze away before he caught me looking. When he did notice me, he gestured me towards him. I stopped a few feet away from him, chewing my lip nervously.

"Are you going to lie to me again?" I asked quietly, looking into Mr. Firay's eyes.

"I promised I wouldn't lie to you anymore," he said.

"You broke that promise."

"I never lied to you, Daphne," he responded, frowning at me. "I just didn't tell you everything you needed to know."

"Don't you think telling me I look exactly like your old girlfriend is something I need to know?" I asked angrily.

"I was going to tell you," Mr. Firay told me, his blue eyes piercing into mine.

"When? Why didn't you just tell me that night when you told me about her?"

"Daphne, I don't think you understand how hard it was just to reveal my past to you," he replied, shaking his head slightly. "My past is not something I'm proud of, and at the time I was worried you'd be scared off after hearing it. When you weren't, I didn't want to take the chance of what happened tonight to happen then by telling you about the other Daphne."

"I would've reacted better if you just told me! What was I supposed to do after what had happened? This type of thing isn't very common, Mr. Firay. She looks exactly like me, except older! How can I not feel as though I'm the replacement?"

Mr. Firay sighed, running a hand through his still wet hair. "Daphne, you were the replacement."

I stared at Mr. Firay incredulously. Was he kidding? I actually was a replacement? He looked back at me with a serious face. A small laugh escaped my mouth. "I knew it," I said, feeling my throat constrict. "I'm the replacement. This is great!"

"Daphne, I said you were the replacement."

I gave him a flat look. "What exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"When I first saw you at school, I wanted to get as close to you as possible because you reminded me so much of the other Daphne. Your hair color, your eyes; even some of your personality."

That was what Bryant had said. A small frown appeared on my face. Were the other Daphne and I that much alike? It was a little nerve-wracking. At first, I thought she could've been a future me, but wouldn't the tears in time mess up the present? So that thought was crossed off. How could two people be so much alike?

"So you used me as a replacement for her?" I demanded. "Didn't you care about the person who I actually was? Did you even think a little of my feelings?"

"I was too caught up in your looks," Mr. Firay responded honestly. "I was too distracted by your appearance to think about your feelings."

"That's horrible!"

Mr. Firay nodded his head in agreement. "It is."

"So then, everything you said to me… was it all a lie?"

"No, I meant every word I said to you. Not to the other Daphne, but to you."

"But I thought—"

Mr. Firay held up his hand. "Yes, at first you were a replacement. But as I started getting closer to you, I began to realize how different you were from her."

"But you just said we were a lot alike," I pointed out.

"Appearance wise, yes," Mr. Firay responded. "Personality wise and everything else, no. You're both stubborn, but that's the only thing you have in common. But everything else is different."

"I don't understand…"

"Should I list a few things?" Mr. Firay asked, a smirk appearing on his face. "You blush easily, you cry easily, you get embarrassed easily, you're too innocent for your own good, you're extremely clumsy, you're too honest… should I continue?"

I felt my face heat up and I looked at the floor. "I d-don't…"

Mr. Firay laughed. "See? You're blushing."

"I'm not," I responded stubbornly.

"I'll continue then. You're horrible with eye contact, you get jealous easily, you're easily riled up, and, perhaps the most important of all, you're understanding; you don't judge people by what they've done." When Mr. Firay said the last words, his expression softened considerably as he looked at me.

Once more, I had to look away. That look was to… intimate. "What about me being the replacement? I thought—"

"Daphne, you stopped being the replacement that day when I was driving you home and we were talking about our parents! That's when I realized you were different than the other Daphne. You cried for me, something the other Daphne probably would have never done. From that moment on, I viewed you as Daphne Grimm instead of Daphne Pierce. I haven't thought of you as a replacement since. You could never be a replacement. I'm ashamed to think at first I used you, and I'm incredibly sorry about that."

"Why couldn't you have just told me all of this earlier?"

Mr. Firay raised an eyebrow. "You mean before you ran away from me in the hospital without letting me explain? There was hardly enough time…"

"I really thought you were just using me as a replacement…" I told him, lowering my eyes and clenching my fist. "I thought everything that happened between us was just a lie. I thought I had been used. It… hurt."

"Daphne, do you really think I'm that kind of man?"

I looked up back into Mr. Firay's grey eyes. Did I…? Immediately my eyes filled with tears and I shook my head. "No! I don't think that at all," I responded, my voice cracking. "I'm sorry, Mr. Firay. I'm sorry. I was so stupid. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. I…"

"Daphne," Mr. Firay said with a sigh, grabbing my arm and dragging me closer to him. He put his arms around me and held in me a tight embrace. "See what I mean? You cry too easily."

"I'm sorry," I apologized, grasping his shirt in my hands.

"I'm sorry too, I must have made you cry," Mr. Firay responded. "I seem to do that a lot."

"It's not your fault."

"It is my fault."

"No it's not," I argued. "I'm the one who cried."

"But I'm the one who made you cry," Mr. Firay insisted.

"Technically you can't make me cry…"

"Daphne, you know what I mean," Mr. Firay responded and I imagined him rolling his eyes.

"But—"

"Daphne, just shut up and enjoy my comforting hug."

I smiled, rolling my eyes. I did as he said, and did enjoy his embrace. The tension between us immediately ceased and I let out a small sigh. Mr. Firay pulled away eventually though, and I resisted the urge to frown.

"Daphne, how exactly did you manage to get to your house? Did you walk?" Mr. Firay asked, furrowing his eyebrows. "That's a long way."

"Oh, no, my sister –you know how she's an undercover cop, right?- drove me home in her police car."

Mr. Firay's eyes widened in surprise. "What? Why?"

"No reason, I just happened to… fall into her way," I responded honestly. I did fall into her way. Well, Bryant pushed me, but technically it's the same thing.

Mr. Firay narrowed his eyes. "You're lying. Something happened."

I looked at him in disbelief. "How do you know?"

"I can just tell with you."

"Well stop, it's annoying," I complained making him laugh.

"Maybe if you stopped lying to me, I wouldn't have to. I tell you the truth, Daphne. Don't you think it's fair to return the favor?"

Sure. Play the guilt card. I cleared my throat nervously. "Well… You know how Bryant was at the park?"

"Yes."

"Well before I knew he was there, he called me using Wendell's cell phone, and we talked for a bit—"

"About what?"

"Stuff…"

"Like what?" Mr. Firay said, rolling his eyes. "Don't beat around the bush."

"He, um, said now that you have the other Daphne, that I should get with him… He thought I'd want to get back at you by doing that."

"He what?" Mr. Firay said, sounding angry. "He just wants to use you as a replacement!"

"I know that. But at least he had the decency to tell me right away." Immediately I regretted letting those words slip out of my mouth. Mr. Firay's eyes flashed with sorrow. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean—"

"Daphne, I don't mind," Mr. Firay cut me off. "I did use you as a replacement at first. I deserve every word."

"No you don't," I said, shaking my head. "I'd probably do the same if I was in your shoes. If the person I loved left me, I'd try to find a replacement too... Well maybe not, but you know…"

Mr. Firay smiled. One of his rare, genuine smile, not a smirk. I couldn't help but smile back.

"What did you say to Bryant?"

"Oh, I said…" As I remembered the words I said to him, a blush made it's way onto my face again. Mr. Firay raised an eyebrow.

"Well?"

"I just said I wouldn't go with him," I responded, editing out the whole part about how I would make Mr. Firay fall more in love with me.

"That's obvious," Mr. Firay said with a laugh. "Smart move."

"He said he'd take me by force. He hung up then, saying he was coming to get me. That's when I tried to leave, but Bryant was waiting by the entrance—"

"What?" Mr. Firay said, his eyes widening. "Daphne! Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?"

"Earlier we were arguing…"

"But this is more important! Are you okay? What happened?"

I lowered my gaze again to the floor and cleared my throat once more before continuing. "In the simplest words, he tried to kidnap me. He said Dan was bringing up the car, but the car that came down the street turned out to be a police car –Sabrina- so he shoved me away, and that's how I ended up being taken home by her."

"He tried to kidnap you?" Mr. Firay repeated, narrowing his eyes. "Are you telling the truth?"

"I wouldn't lie about this!"

"We have to tell the police," Mr. Firay said suddenly, looking around the living room. "Where's the phone? This is too serious now."

"What? No!" I cried, grabbing onto his arm. "If you're involved, won't you go back to jail?"

"Daphne, you're safety is more important than whether I go to jail or not!"

"No! If you go to jail I'll feel like it's my fault!"

"This is all my fault," Mr. Firay told me flatly. "Don't think for one second that any of this is your fault."

"It is my fault for running away in the middle of the night when I know there are gangsters after me!"

"It's my fault for getting you involved in the first place!"

"Don't call the police!"

"But Daphne—"

"If you go to jail then I won't be able to see you!" I cried, grasping onto his arm tighter. "I don't want that!"

Mr. Firay tensed up, looking at me with an unreadable expression. After a moment he put a hand to his head and sighed deeply. "Why?"

"Why?" I repeated in confusion. "Why what?"

"Why would you put me not going to jail over you being harmed?" Mr. Firay demanded.

"It's not fair that you have to go to jail for nothing, just like the first time! I don't want to see you going back. If you go back, we won't be able to see each other and the school would be losing everyone's favorite teacher," I told him, squeezing his arm. "I understand you want to help me, but I'm going to be extra cautious! So please don't call the cops!"

"You don't understand, Daphne," Mr. Firay responded. "You're in danger!"

"I don't care!" I responded, narrowing my eyes slightly.

"You don't care?"

"No!"

"Are you stupid, Daphne?" Mr. Firay asked, suddenly sounding angry. "I worry every day about your safety when you aren't around me. I'm always scared that something's going to happen to you when I'm not around to save you."

I blushed slightly, clearing my throat. "But I—"

"Hearing you say you don't care just makes me more troubled," Mr. Firay continued, cutting me off. "I don't want you putting yourself in danger to help me! I don't want anything to happen to you because of me, which you don't seem to understand."

"I do understand, though!"

"Then let me call the cops!"

"No!" I cried, glaring at Mr. Firay. "You're not calling the cops!"

"Daphne—"

"Please," I begged, holding onto his arm even tighter than before. "I don't want you going to jail! I promise I'll be careful, so please!"

Mr. Firay didn't say anything for a moment. Finally he sighed, gently pulling his arm free from his grasp. "Why, Daphne?"

"Because I'm in love with you!"

As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I gasped, my face growing ten times hotter. Mr. Firay's eyes widened slightly in surprise and either my eyes were betraying me, or he was blushing. I quickly adverted my gaze, my heart pounding a mile a minute. My whole body felt hot, and my hands were shaking.

I had just confessed… by accident. That wasn't what I was going to say! I didn't want to confess like that! I was too afraid to look at Mr. Firay. He probably felt really uncomfortable now. Tears were prickling at my eyes again, but this time from embarrassment. I had messed up the most important thing I wanted to say to Mr. Firay. I wanted it to be like one of the moments in a movie! Like how my sister had confessed to Puck! But no, I had to be my stupid self and ruin it. I quickly rubbed the back of my hand against my eyes.

"Daphne," Mr. Firay groaned in exasperation. "What are you doing?"

I knew it. He thought it was ridiculous confession too. "I'm sorry," I apologized, rubbing my eyes again. "I didn't mean to say that. It just slipped out."

"Not that," Mr. Firay told me. "Why are you crying again? Where do you even get all these tears from?"

"Huh?" What about my confession? Wasn't he going to say anything? I stared at him with a frown.

He brought a hand up to my face and wiped away a few stray tears. "That's better."

"Um… what about… what I said…?"

"What you said?"

"You know," I responded, my face heating up again. "What I just said."

"I don't remember…"

I stared at him in disbelief. He was kidding. He had to be kidding. He returned my look with a serious one, tilting his head to the side questioningly. He wasn't kidding. Unbelievable. I couldn't repeat myself after that! That was too embarrassing!

Mr. Firay suddenly snickered, but he quickly covered it up with his hand. I gave him a flat look. He grinned, shaking his head. "Just kidding, I heard you Daphne."

"I take it back. I actually hate you."

Mr. Firay laughed once, but soon after he sighed. "I didn't want you to say it yet, Daphne," he told me, shaking his head slightly.

I looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I knew how you felt about me, but I didn't really expect you to actually say it. I didn't want you to say it."

Wait, what? Why didn't he want me to say I loved him? Suddenly I felt like I was going to be sick. My chest clenched uncomfortably. What was that supposed to mean? He didn't want me to love him? But didn't he hint that he loved me too? Why…?

"Oh," I said in realization. "It's the other Daphne, isn't it?"

Mr. Firay furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "What is?"

"You don't want me saying that because you're with her, right?

"What are you talking about?"

"Aren't you back together with the other Daphne?" I asked him, now furrowing my eyebrows in confusion.

"What? No," Mr. Firay responded, staring at me like I was crazy. "Where would you even get that idea from?"

"You're not together? But you had dates—"

"Daphne, I already told you they weren't dates. I was just visiting her because she stopped in town for a while," Mr. Firay told me, frowning slightly.

"But you love her right? That's why you said you never stop loving someone," I prodded.

Mr. Firay smiled. "There's a difference between loving someone and being in love with someone."

I blinked in realization. So he loved the other Daphne, but wasn't in love with her. Another blush forced its way into my face. I had said I was in love with him… Had he caught that?

"She's already engaged."

"What?" I said in shock, looking up at Mr. Firay. "She's engaged?"

He nodded. "I don't know the guy, but the reason she's back in town is because she's personally handing out wedding invitations. She gave one to me, as well."

"Then why is she in the hospital?" I had assumed she had some kind of illness.

"Oh, she was mugged the other night and she cracked a few of her ribs," Mr. Firay responded. "At first I thought it was Bryant, but she says she didn't recognize her assailants…"

Bryant's words echoed in my head; "the right Daphne." I stared at Mr. Firay with my mouth open. He returned my look with a questioning one. I quickly debated in my head whether or not to tell him. If I did tell him, what would he do? Biting my lip, I lowered my gaze. I wouldn't tell him for now.

"Daphne, don't get me wrong," Mr. Firay said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting to hear what you said. But the thing is, you're seventeen, Daphne. I'm twenty-two."

"But I don't care about that—" I started with my eyes wide.

"But I do," Mr. Firay told me with a frown. "You're too young for me right now."

"My birthday's next week though!" I protested suddenly becoming anxious. "Then I'll be a legal adult! Four years and a couple months in appearance isn't that much of age difference!" Boy, I sounded desperate.

"Hence why I said 'yet'," Mr. Firay responded with a smirk.

I blinked at him. Mr. Firay waited a moment, his smirk slowing growing. That's when I got what he said. He wanted to wait until I was eighteen?

"I won't respond to your confession right now," Mr. Firay told me, shaking his head. "I can't. It's not right. I can handle that student teacher thing, but our age difference is another thing completely. Right now it's illegal, because it says that I'm 22, and I'm trying to take the law seriously right now. So I'm going to forget about your confession for now, until you're older."

"So when I'm eighteen…?"

"Tell me again," Mr. Firay said, his eyes piercing into mine.

Another blush made its way onto my face and I looked away, clearing my throat. "But since you already know, doesn't that ruin it?"

"Know what?" Mr. Firay asked, innocently giving me a confused look.

"My feelings," I responded slowly, returning his confused look. What else could I be talking about?

"You're feelings about what?" Mr. Firay asked. "Sushi? I don't like it but I guess everyone has their own preferences."

"I'm not talking about—"

"I wonder if the game is on…"

I stared at Mr. Firay in bewilderment as he searched for the remote. That was it? Wasn't he going to say something else about my confession? Did he really mean he was going to forget about it until I was eighteen? That didn't help me much though. Another confession would feel pointless…

Mr. Firay turned on his television, putting it on the game, which indeed was one. He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye and smirked. "Go make me a cup of coffee."

"But it's almost two o'clock in the morning," I protested, glancing at the clock on the T.V stand.

"Who are you, my mom?"

"No," I responded in an irritated voice. "I'm just saying—"

"Coffee," he ordered. "Now."

"But it's your house!"

"Daphne."

"Fine," I muttered, pushing myself off the couch. "You know, you're so—"

"Amazing, I know, thank you," Mr. Firay finished for me with a wide grin.

I rolled my eyes, but a grin made its way onto my face as well. Everything was still normal. Even after everything we had been through, after how much stress tonight had caused me, it was normal. Mr. Firay hadn't picked on me once about how I over-reacted. He hadn't even mentioned it, even though I had caused him so much worry.

But the tough part was still ahead. A frown slowly appeared on my face.

How was I going to confess a second time to Mr. Firay?

A/N. Um, I don't really like how this played out. If you can tell, this wasn't planned out well because I had to keep remembering that MSeed is only physically 22 in this story, not actually 22. And some of that doesn't make sense, I guess. I won't tell you what I know is wrong because I might spoil something, and I don't want that. I want your honest opinions on this chapter because I'm debating on rewriting this –not the whole thing, but if I rewrite Daphne's confession, it'll go like this, okay? :3

But are you all cleared up on that Daphne Grimm and Daphne Pierce thing now? MSeed loves Daphne Pierce, but is IN LOVE with Daphne Grimm. You know how you love your relatives like your grandparents or siblings or whatever? That's how MSeed loves D. Pierce. And I wrote that she's engaged so she has no chances with him anymore –yay for DxM fans!

Also, I have a poll up on my profile: Sequel? Which story? The choices are FTFT, Daphne's Distraction, and THFAR. Oh, and "No Sequels". Someone actually chose that one, lol. XD So, vote? So far, FTFT is winning.

So... (wags eyebrows) The confession was the (wags eyebrows). Wahaha! I'm evil aren't I? You were expecting the (wags eyebrows) weren't you? One at a time, people. You guys are spoiled enough with this six day update –I don't need to pamper you more with a (wags eyebrows).

I'm not replying to any anon. reviews this chapter –just because I need to focus on my newspaper again –I only have about six days left, but I'm almost done. I just need to do the pictures and write a few more things down. That's why there's no update tomorrow because I have to work on that, okay?

Oh, and this story offically has the same number of chapters as NMW by Ayns and Sky. XD THAT'S EPICAL! I miss those two...read their story if you haven't? It's really good. :)

Until Tuesday!

~Lara