"Shut up," Clark muttered to his alarm. He grabbed his phone and turned it off. He'd set the alarm to wake him up in time to make a video, but consider what happened last night, that certainly wasn't going to happen. He sat up in bed, debating whether or not he was going to get out or not. After a minute of waiting, he climbed out of bed and dragged himself downstairs. Like every other morning, his mother was already at work.

He found Nakota in the library flipping through a large book. "What are you doing?" he asked, looking at the man skeptically. Nobody really used the library. It was mostly used for appearances.

"Reading. Do you know how?"

"Rude," Clark said, trying to keep his face straight. "What are you reading?" Wordlessly, Nakota turned the book so he could read the cover. Self-Defense for Morons. Clark made a face and took a seat on the table. "So, you're not actually qualified for this job?" he asked the man.

"This isn't for me, it's for you."

"Thanks, but I don't need it."

"Someone almost killed you last night – again. You need this."

"I didn't almost die, dude. You were here, you had the situation under control."

"And if I hadn't been here, what would you have done?" Nakota looked at him hard, waiting for the answer to his question. As much as Clark wanted to say that he'd have handled the situation the same way, he knew that he wouldn't have thought to go out the back. Just like last time, he'd have grabbed the gun and waited it out.

"Do you think he wouldn't come more prepared this time, Clark? Are you positive he hadn't already been in the house while we were out and emptied the gun? If this guy is hacking into your stream, banning hundreds of users, and freezing your security cameras, it's not that big of a stretch to assume he'd be able to get into that safe and take the gun."

"Then what am I supposed to do?" Clark cried. He hadn't meant to be so loud, but he was upset. Nakota was right, and he felt stupid for not being able to think the same way. He calmed himself down, trying to make up for his explosion. "What do I do? From the sound of things, I'm fucked if I stay in the house, I'm fucked if I leave, and I'm fucked if I try to pretend that just for a moment, someone isn't trying to murder me."

"You take things slow. You let me know where you are no matter what. And in the off chance that I'm not there to protect you, you learn how to protect yourself. You stay prepared, ready to defend yourself no matter what." Nakota slid the book across the table at him. "And you listen to me. Read that book." Clark rolled his eyes and picked the book up. It was definitely old, and if he had to guess, it was probably published back when Nixon was president.

"You couldn't find a more updated version?"

"Found it at the thrift store," Nakota shrugged. Clark lifted a brow.

"Oh, so you go thrift shopping? Those are some of the first kinds of videos I did."

"What's the deal with the videos thing, anyways? Do people actually watch you?" Nakota apologized when he realized how that had come out.

"Yeah, lots of people do. And I don't know what it is, but some people just find me interesting. I think I'm boring, but whatever."

"How many people watch you?"

"I've got just under three million subscribers," he admitted.

"Damn. Not surprising that one of those people is completely nuts." Clark was surprised that he'd only had one crazy person coming after him. Back before his parents had allowed him to make videos online, they were constantly warning him that everyone on the internet wanted to trap him in their basement and do horrible things to him. Sure, people were still like that, but he'd only run into a few of those. They were usually defeated with a quick press of the block button. This person, however... Not so much.

"What kind of videos do you make?"

"A variety of them. I like doing crafts and stuff, so I have a DIY series. Everyone and their dog has a gaming channel, so I play a bunch of different games. Most of my stuff is telling stories about weird or interesting things that have happened to me, some skits when I collab with people, and me just kind of discussing random topics." Clark could tell by the look on Nakota's face that he wasn't really into the idea. "It's boring, I know, but... it really makes me happy."

"I guess that's good. I just don't understand it."

"No, you're not old enough to give me that excuse. There are people on YouDoo that are in their mid-thirties and still doing videos."

"I feel bad for them," Nakota smirked. Clark scoffed at his comment.

"You wouldn't if you knew the made millions."

"Millions? Sitting in front of a camera and talking about themselves?"

"Millions. They put time and effort into their videos. Some of them are actual film students. Some of them are comedians. We've even got authors in the community, but that's kind of where I draw the line for myself. I don't plan on writing a book, it's not really my style."

"Maybe I need to abandon you and pick myself up a nice camera then."

"Hey, anyone can do it," Clark shrugged. He flipped through the book and raised an eyebrow. "Chapter eight, 'How To Escape,' hm? This sounds like a riveting read."

"I know it's not talking to yourself, but you might enjoy it."

"Shut up," Clark said, hopping off the table. He tucked the book under his arm and walked to the door. Before leaving, he said, "I'm gonna be heading out today. Ruby's house."

"Okay."

"I just didn't want it to be a surprise for you."

"I appreciate it," Nakota said, looking up at him. Clark nodded and left him to spend as much times as he wanted in the library. As he climbed the stairs, he turned back to chapter eight and began reading.

"'Our first lesson will be how to escape cable ties, and we'll soon work our way towards rope, and eventually, handcuffs,'" Clark quoted. He smiled and flopped down on his bed to read. There wasn't much else to do for the next few hours, and what could be better than knowing how to escape any situation?

"So, your parents banned you from the internet?" Ruby poured a glass of fruit juice for herself and slid the pitcher across the counter. Clark filled his as well.

"Basically. I mean, I can still be on Twitter, but I talked to my dad and he said that he wasn't comfortable with people knowing where I was and what I was doing. Which means no tweeting about something that's happening. No live streams. For all intents and purposes, I'm Amish." He rolled his eyes as he thought back to the conversation with Darin. The man had been adamant about him staying off the internet, at least until things cooled down a bit. Two attempted attacks in one week was too much for him. Clark hadn't argued that much because he knew his father felt helpless not being able to stop the intruder. He didn't need any more guilt added on.

"That sucks. But I mean, I guess I was right, then?" She smiled innocently at his glare. "You know I'm just teasing. I'm sorry you're unhappy, but I kind of agree with your parents. I don't want to lose you. Nobody does. So just... wait it out?"

"It doesn't look like I have any other options," he muttered. Clark knew he sounded like he didn't appreciate his life, but there was much more to that. Vlogging had been something he'd done for years now, and having that ripped away because of something someone else did made him upset. He placed his glass down and emptied the grocery bags onto the counter.

"So, what are we going to be making with these lovely ingredients?" he asked her. Ruby tied her apron around her waist and clapped her hands together.

"Your favorite. We're making beef stroganoff for dinner, pumpkin spice cupcakes for dessert, and we're watching your favorite movie."

"The Game Plan?"

"Mhm," she said, smiling. "Found it at a garage sale a few days ago and I knew I'd have to pick it up for you."

"This is why I love you," Clark said. He pulled her in for a one-armed hug. Together, the two unwrapped and prepared their meal, Clark cutting up the beef into small strips and Ruby tossing them onto the pan in batches. She called out to her voice-activated speakers and soon the house filled with her current musical obsession.

"Oh," Ruby said suddenly. Clark jumped and nearly sliced himself with the knife in his hand. "Haley's having this huge party this weekend, and I really think we should go. It's been like six months since we've gone to one together."

"I don't know." Clark's last experience at one of Haley's parties ended up with him sleeping on the trampoline outside, sporadically bending over the side to puke. It hadn't been a good night for him.

"You don't think your mom would let you go? What's up?" Ruby fished the last of the beef out of the pan then gave Clark her full attention.

"No, my mom probably won't have a problem. In fact, she'll probably want me to go. Gets me out of the house, surrounded by a ton of people. It's just that Haley's kind of rude to me. She always likes to point out that I must be making so much money and I must go to so many cool parties these days. It's like –"

"It's like she's jealous of you."

"Exactly," he said. "I've never once bragged about how much I make or what I do. I downplay it all the time because yeah, it's just making videos, and I understand that. I don't need someone I barely talk to anymore treating me like I used her as a ladder to get where I am now."

"People are always gonna be jealous of you, Clark," Ruby said. "What you need to remember is that your friends are always gonna be there. We'll support you, and encourage you. People like Haley, they'll just stay mad that you're winning. Don't you want to see her seethe because you're successful?" She nudged him, a smile on her face. She knew well enough that he liked proving people wrong, especially people he didn't like. Finally his straight face broke and he nudged her back.

"Yeah, whatever. I'll go to the party. You better be by my side though. I hate when you run off and I'm stuck standing along the walls."

"I know, I know," she sighed. Ruby tossed the noodles into the water and covered the pot with a lid. The meal was almost ready now. Clark busied himself preparing the cupcakes, tossing them into the oven just in time for dinner. They plated their meal and brought it to the dining room. Ruby's father was working late tonight, otherwise they'd have had three people at the table. Dana and Tyson Espinoza split when Ruby was sixteen, and for almost five years now, she'd lived with him in California. Every now and then she'd spend a few weeks in Vegas, but her heart was planted with her father. He took care of her, protected her fiercely, and it reminded Clark of his own parents.

Almost three hours passed and the two decided to climb into the pool. It would only be for a quick swim before bed. Clark changed into a pair of extra swimming trunks from the pool house before he walked outside cautiously. He knew it was only him and Ruby, but something told him to hurry back into the pool house and pull his shirt on. He chastised himself for falling back into his high school mentality.

"Who's that?" Ruby asked, looking past Clark. Almost one hundred meters away, Nakota sat in his car. Clark turned to see what she was pointing at.

"Oh, that's Nakota. I told you about him earlier."

"Does he follow you everywhere?"

"Pretty much. He's lowkey though. Hasn't caused any huge problems. He's cool." Ruby looked at him knowingly.

"Why don't you invite him over here?"

"Huh?"

"Don't play dumb," she said, flipping a strand of hair out of her face. "Tell him to come over, take off his clothes, and dive in. And I mean 'dive in' in every single way." Clark whipped his towel at her and she laughed, fleeing to the other side of the pool. "Aw, c'mon, you know you wanna see how he looks under all those layers!"

"I don't, actually," Clark said, rolling his eyes.

"Like I believe that. You spend all your time with him, all alone, just the two of you."

"It's been a week!" he exclaimed.

"Still counts," she shrugged. "At the end of the day, we all know what happens when the bodyguard catches the bad guy and saves the protagonist's life. Happily ever after." Ruby blew him a kiss and dove into the pool.

Clark glanced back at Nakota and for a moment, he wondered what would happen if he were to call the man over and ask him to join. Would he turn him down and become annoyed he'd walked all the way over? Would he strip down in front of the both of them? Clark shook his head to clear it. Thinking about water rolling down the abs of Nakota wasn't going to do anything good for him. Especially not in borrowed swimming trunks.

Rather than allow himself to question things one more time, Clark took a deep breath and threw himself into the pool after Ruby.