Almost a week had gone by and things were relatively calm. Clark hadn't realized how stressed he was until things had become peaceful. It gave him plenty of time to think about life and what he was going to do with himself. He still felt out of the loop, but he'd been occupying himself with other things around the house. He helped his mother garden when she was home, he started rearranging the furniture in his room, and he even finished reading that self-defense book Nakota had assigned him. All things considered, having a killer stalker after him had made Clark quite productive. By Thursday, he'd run out of tasks to do.

He thought about calling Ruby, but that situation was still on thin ice. They'd talked and she'd apologized for ditching him at the party, but he could tell she was holding back. There was something under the surface that she kept under wraps. That had to be the most annoying part about her. She never really opened up about things that truly bothered her. Best friends were supposed to tell each other everything, not keep secrets from one another. Rather than ringing her up, he checked his Twitter notifications. Plenty of people wanted him to finish the mail box video he'd promised, and his eyes lit up. He knew what he was going to do today. All he had to do was convince Stacy that it was a good idea.

He ran across the hall and knocked on the door. Stacy looked up from her bed, a small nail polish brush in her hand. "Hey handsome," she said pleasantly.

"Hey. Uh – can I ask you something?" A look of suspicion crossed her face. Clark knew he was about to be rejected.

"What do you want?"

"Just... I wanted to know if it'd be okay for me to film a video. I know Dad and you said I shouldn't be letting people know where I am, but I'm already inside the house. We have Leon, and Nakota, and you got those new security cameras installed. It won't even be a long video. I just really want to make it, everyone keeps asking for it and I'm getting anxious not being able to make it."

Stacy resumed painting her nails. Her lips were pressed in a thin line as she swiped the brush over her big toenail. "Ask Nakota," she said finally.

"Huh?" Clark was certain Nakota wasn't his parent, nor was he the boss of him.

"He'll know what's safe and what isn't. I know your father will say no, so you're lucky I'm telling you to ask him instead." She looked at her son pointedly. Clark chewed his lip, unsure if he wanted to beg his bodyguard for permission to make the video. He sighed dramatically.

"Fine."

Stacy smiled and watched him head back down the hall. Clark searched all over the house until he located Nakota. The man was in the backyard, overlooking the workers setting up a fence around the perimeter. He wore a tight Henley tee that accentuated the muscles in his arm. He looked over once he heard Clark come outside.

"Morning," he said cheerfully. Clark made a mental note that he sounded happy. That was good. He found that his mother was more likely to say yes to something when she was in a great mood. Clark stood next to him and watched the men in the yard.

"Good morning. What're you doing?"

"Just making sure they're doing a good job. I don't want any mistakes that this guy can use to get in." Clark looked to the left at the men setting up one side of the fence. They laid out the bricks like an assembly line, one guy applying the cement, another placing it down, and the final one making sure the lines were straight. Clark's eyebrows went up watching one man break a brick to the proper size with only a few taps.

"How long do you think this will take?" he asked.

"We've got about fifteen guys right now, and I've got about ten more coming tomorrow. Shouldn't take more than a week." Nakota reached for his cup of coffee on the patio table and took a slow drink. He gave Clark a sideways glance. "I didn't think you were so interested in building."

"I make DIY videos, dude," he said. "Which reminds me... Can I ask you something?"

"No," Nakota smirked.

"I know that you agree with my parents about live streaming, but I wanted to know if I could make one more video. It'll be short, straight to the point, I promise."

"Why are you asking me? I'm not your dad."

Exactly, Clark thought.

"Mom said you'd know if it was safe enough. Personally, I think it's safe today."

"Of course you do."

"I'm serious," Clark insisted. "You're here, Leon's awake, Mom's here, and we have fifteen guys out here working on a fence. He'd have to be an idiot to try something today. That is, if he's even still out there."

"You think he's gone?" he asked, skepticism in his voice.

"I don't know... Maybe he got bored? It's been a week and nothing's happened. It's been just you and me here plenty of times and he's left me alone."

"Don't be dumb," he said. Nakota shook his head at the idea. Clark made a face and bit his tongue. He reminded himself that he was asking Nakota for a favor.

"Well, whatever, he's not here now. And I really want to film something. I have all these packages in my room that I need to open. So what do you say?"

"I say that I need to open the packages first."

"What?" Clark thought he'd misheard the man. The point of the video was to open things on camera so the audience could get a genuine reaction. If all the letters and boxes were already opened, they'd feel cheated out of the unboxing.

"You heard me. This guy didn't suddenly develop an obsession with you overnight. He's probably an avid viewer. What if he sent you something?" Clark set his jaw.

"That defeats the point of making the video, then."

"Then there's no need to film, right?" Nakota shrugged and finished his cup of coffee, well aware of the fiery glare Clark gave him. He glanced at him and shrugged again. "Right?"

"I know you're trying to look out for me, but if you think he sent me a bomb in the mail, you're nuts."

"Clark, he literally stabbed your maid to death. You didn't even know she was dead until you found her body, that's how good he is. If you think it's out of the realm of possibility that he sent you something fucked up in the mail, you're nuts. At the end of the day, I'm either opening those boxes before you film or they're not getting opened at all."

Clark imagined knocking the mug out of his hands and storming away. The look on Nakota's face would be enough to make him feel better. He took a deep breath, held in the childish side that wanted to whine, and said, "Fine. Open the fucking packages – but do it out here. I don't want to know what's inside of them." He walked up to his room and placed his mail in an empty laundry bag. When he returned outside, he dropped the sack at Nakota's feet.

"Thank you," he said. His tone didn't sound appreciative. Seeing his huffiness made Nakota chuckle. He took a seat and waited until Clark was gone before he began opening the letters. Clark was on his way back to his room to set up the camera when the doorbell rang. Stacy came down the stairs, walking in a way that kept her toes spread apart. She opened the door and smiled at the Korean woman at the door.

"Jennifer, how are you doing?" Stacy asked. She invited the woman inside and pointed at her feet. "I'm so sorry, I completely spaced today. Clark, will you show our new housekeeper around the house? I need to let the nails dry." Clark nodded and waited until Stacy left before he smiled at the stranger.

"Hi, I'm Clark."

"Jennifer Seung," she nodded. "You have a lovely home."

"Oh, thank you," Clark said. He showed her to the kitchen and began the tour. Jennifer absorbed everything like a sponge, nodding and repeating Clark's instructions to make herself remember them. She smiled with relief when Clark told her Leon's messes were his responsibility. She wasn't that big of a dog person. The tour concluded thirty minutes later.

"If you don't mind me asking, why was I accepted so quickly?" Jennifer asked in a hushed tone. "I don't think an entire day passed before Stacy called me back and scheduled an interview. It's never happened to me that fast before."

Clark swallowed hard and tried thinking quick on his feet. He couldn't tell her that their last housekeeper had been brutally murdered. "Our last maid left us unexpectedly, and we're in a rush to have her replaced." She nodded and pursed her lips together.

"What happened to her?" Clark heard footsteps and watched Nakota approach with the bag of letters.

"Um... I guess it was just her time to go. Very sad. She'd been with us for a long, long time. But we've got open arms and we're looking to accept someone else into our family." He put on a smile which eased Jennifer's nerves. She nodded thoroughly.

"I can't wait to start! Monday at eight, yes?"

"That's perfect," he said. He showed Jennifer to the door and watched her get into her car. He started to close the door when he noticed two strange men out front. "What are they doing?" he asked to no one in particular.

"Your mother wanted two more bodyguards stationed outside at all times," Nakota said, close enough to make the hair on Clark's arms rise. He turned to look at the man, his eyes meeting the other's Adam's apple. "You're a good liar, you know that?"

"I didn't lie. I left out some details," Clark said. It wasn't much justification at all, and he knew that.

"Omission is still lying."

"Well, she's safe here. Two guards out front. Huge fence in the back. It's a private fortress." Clark wished he could believe his own words. He took a deep breath and looked at Nakota. "So, did you find any severed heads or explosive devises in the mail?"

"You laugh, but it's a possibility," Nakota said.

"I take that as a 'no,' then?"

"No," the man said, handing him the bag, "You can make your little video now. Everything is safe." Clark took the bag and slung it over his shoulder, a satisfied smirk on his face. He'd have to explain why every letter and package was already opened, but he doubted his viewers would mind all that much. They tended to be very understanding, especially in this situation.

"You're more than welcome to guest star in my video," he teased, heading upstairs. He stopped at the top and looked down at Nakota. "Maybe you can explain why you had to snoop through it all."

Nakota locked the front door and put his hands on his hips. He met Clark's snarky gaze. "Go film your video before I decide to really enforce the No Camera rule."

"Ooh, I'm shaking, how scary." Clark smiled and headed to his bedroom, glad to be able to record something after all this time. Nakota stared up at the spot where the boy once stood, shaking his head and smiling.

"Brat," he said to himself.

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