{Reader's POV}

"Sweetie... Are you alright?"

My mom's figure stepped into the living room and she spoke softly. I raised my head and let out a tired sigh.

"No, I'm fine. I got the job so that's great..!", I replied with a big grin and earned a tight hug from my mom.

"That's wonderful honey!" Her voice was ecstatic as she pulled me into her warm chest.

I wrapped my arms around her and rested my chin on her shoulder.

"Y..Yeah, sure is.." I stared out at the window behind me and let my gaze wonder to the sky. Jack hadn't returned and now I was beginning to worry.

Two days had passed since our argument and I still had no idea how Jack felt about it.

"Well! Now that that's been settled, how about we tell your father the good news after a delicious dinner!" My mom broke the hug and clutched my shoulders encouragingly as she beamed a bright smile. I nodded my head and realized what my mom had in mind.

"Yeah, I'll help cook dinner later. Just give me a sec... I need to check on something real quick." I returned her smile and took a few steps back. My mom nodded her head and I ran up the stairs.

As much as I loved my parents, I wasn't in such a good mood to be with them at the moment. I wanted to be alone and think about what had happened these past couple of days. The argument with Jack might be nothing to sweat about, but my encounter with Officer Stan is a different story..

Because of my clumsy hands, I let the music box slip from my purse and have possibly revealed Jack's identity to the officer. Ever since the beginning, I've always noticed his strong ambition to catch Jack.

From the first day he started asking questions, to the day he transferred me to a hotel, it was obvious that he would stop at nothing to bring the killer to his knees in handcuffs.

However, I never had much faith...

And I still don't.

Jack isn't human and he can easily handle a couple of cops without even lifting a finger. The only thing that worried me was how far Officer Stan was willing to go...

I shook my head and with a heavy sigh I opened the door to my room. The thoughts swirling in my head were making me restless and to be frank I only came to my room to ease my nerves. I looked over my dresser and bent down to pull something out of the drawer on the very bottom.

There in my hand I held Jack's music box. It twinkled under the light of my ceiling and the engravings on the side sparkled as usual. Once I touched this beautiful heirloom, I always felt a sense of wonder about it.

How could something so cute belong to someone like Jack, a serial killer, a supernatural being, and a psychopath? Odd.

"Where could he be..?", the words unconsciously slipped from my lips as I rose back to my full height. I let out a sigh and stared out the window in my room. The sun was beginning to set and the lovely orange hues that swirled in the sky couldn't even lift the frown off my face.

"Why the long face?"

My eyes widened and I gripped the music box in my hand. I swiftly turned around and to my surprise Jack stood behind me with a bored expression.

"You're back!" I said as I jumped in my spot. The monochrome clown rolled his eyes and stuck a lollipop into his mouth. He nonchalantly flopped down on my bed and crossed his arms behind his head.

"Unfortunately."

Jack's words sent a frown to my face. I cocked my head and stared at the clown confusingly.

"What?" My words hung in the air for a while before Jack turned around sluggishly to have his back facing me.

"I had to hurry up my kill today. Only met the kid that day before I killed him. To be honest, he was so utterly boring."

My breath hitch in my throat and I could feel my grip on the box tighten. I stayed in silence until Jack rolled over on the bed and groaned.

"But he was more interesting than you." His cold words hit me hard and I almost forgot about the breath I was holding back. I let it out as a sigh and turned to look at the window again.

"Maybe it's better if you're not here." I mumbled under my breath and caught the clown's attention. He rose from the bed and stared at me with a grin.

"That might be the smartest thing I've heard you say so far! Now hand over the box and let's call this quits!", he chanted happily and reached out for the box in my hand. I instinctively backed away and gripped it tighter to my chest.

"That's not what I meant. Look, there's security cameras outside and if they catch me talking to no one in my room, it'll make them suspicious!"

Jack stared at me for a while before frowning.

"Suspicious? Why the hell are you so worried all of a sudden? Did something happen when I wasn't here?" Jack towered over me and stared straight into my eyes. His question suddenly brought me back to our argument and a thought quickly crossed my mind.

"I feel bad for what I said the last time we were together. So I'm trying to make up for it", I said half-lying. Jack kept his sharp gaze on me and barely moved an inch.

"You caught me by surprise. I left because I wasn't in the mood to hear your mom screaming like an idiot if she saw me. Get over it."

"So you don't care?" Jack let out a sigh and finally broke the distance between us. He walked over to the window and stared back at me over his shoulder.

"Heh... A penny for a spool of thread, A penny for a needle..", Jack began to sing a strange song as he turned his attention to the cameras outside.

As his claw rested on the window, his grin widened as the multiple cameras turned to my house suddenly exploded.

"That's the way the monkey goes!", he chuckled after singing and stared satisfyingly as the ashes of the cameras struck the ground. His other hand touched the window and he let out a terrifying laugh.

I let out a mental sigh and smiled to myself as I noticed the pitch in his laugh. It was definitely one of his normal laughs and, even if it did send a shiver down my spine, at least it meant he was alright now.

Then as I stared at the cameras on fire, Officer Stan's face suddenly flashed in my mind. My pulse quickened and I realized the intensity of Jack's actions.

"Hehe..Hahaha!! Once those annoying cops show up and ask what happened to their cameras... I'll be ready to give them a warm welcoming..! Ahahah!!"

My jaw dropped open and I unconsciously ran toward Jack and stared in bewilderment at the damaged cameras.

"Jack! That's not a good idea!" The clown's wide grin suddenly turned into a frown and he stared at me with a raised eyebrow. I gulped back in fear and dreaded what would happened next.

"I met the main Officer yesterday and... uhh.. he saw your box... and quite possibly knows your identity now.." Jack's dark eyes widened and he gawked at me in shock. His lips suddenly started twitching and he soon frowned menacingly at me.

"WHAT?!"

I shrunk back in fear and smiled wryly at Jack. He trembled from the anger and with the way his claws shook I could tell death was imminent.

"WHY IN THE BLOODY HELL DID YOU MEET WITH HIM?!", Jack's deep, masculine voice rung out in my ears and I instinctively gripped the music box.

"What was I supposed to say?! No?! That would have made things worse!" I protested and tried to reason with Jack as he pinched his nose in frustration.

But then he suddenly stopped trembling. His claws stopped shaking and he remained perfectly still. Jack's eyes were wide and for a moment I started to worry. However, a devilish smile crept onto his face and he was staring down at me his those dark eyes filled with lunacy.

"He can't catch me if he's dead, can he?! Oh golly, what a marvelous idea! Ahahaha!!!!"

I stared at the clown with wide eyes and felt my heart stop beating in my chest.

"No! You can't kill him! That's...! That's...!—"

"Wrong?"

The monochrome clown scoffed at my protest and smirked at my pleading figure. He leaned in closer and let one of his claws grab my chin. He lifted my head and forced me to look him in the eye.

"If I cared about something as trivial as that, would I still kill for pleasure to this day? Gumdrop, you still know nothing about me." With that he let go of my chin and smiled. I stared down at the floor with wide eyes and took in his words.

I really don't know anything about him.

I raised my head and let out a sigh. I gazed at the music box in my hand and the sense of wonder flowed though me again. I chuckled and ran my fingers over the engravings.

I turned back to Jack and noticed the bloodlust in his eyes as he no doubtlessly thought about slaughtering the Officer as soon as possible.

"Jack..? Do you like chocolate?"

His eyes suddenly turned to me and for a moment his face resembled that of a child—shocked and intrigued by my sudden request. I smiled back at him and giggled at what I had planned for next.