A/N: So, I've finally seen "Struck by Lightning"! It's an intelligent, heartfelt little film and I loved it! I adored the friendship between Malerie and Carson and I love how he seemed to have a soft spot for her, and that she and his grandma were the only ones who seemed to be able to get him to let his guard down. I adore Chris, and I look forward to his multiple film and book projects in the future! On a side note for those who have seen the film/read the book….doesn't Malerie remind you of Brittany from Glee just a little bit?

"Carson?"

"Hmmm?" He inquired absent mindedly.

"Are you ticklish?"

What the fuck?

Finally wrenched from his thoughts, Carson blinked and slowly turned his head to look at the chubby blonde sitting beside him in the passenger side of his car. The expression on her face was unreadable as she peered at him through her camera lens. This girl was strange and always made random comments, but this one made him especially nervous…because, really, there is only one reason why someone would ask you something like that.

"Nope." Carson kept a straight face even a veteran poker player would be proud of.

Unimpressed, Malerie set her camcorder down on the dashboard. She smirked at him evilly.

"I don't believe you."

Carson's blue-grey eyes widened a fraction of an inch. He could feel his heart rate pick up slightly as he briefly considered bolting from the car.

"Oh no. Don't you dare…" Carson was shaking his head, his voice and expression filled with warning. The boy knew he had a glare that could make most people stop dead in their tracks (he loved using it to get idiots to stop approaching him or to get them to stop talking entirely). So, he tensed up and glared at her as hard as he possibly could, never once taking his eyes off of her as he fumbled blindly for the door handle…he hoped that he could "freeze her" with his gaze long enough in order to buy himself a few seconds to get the door open. Unfortunately, this was Malerie he was dealing with….the girl was close to him, they had a soft spot for each other….not to mention, she was immune to his prickly nature. So, the blonde cackled gleefully and, much like a hyper puppy, completely ignored the warning vibes that Carson was sending out. She went in for the attack and, moving faster than he ever thought she could move, pounced on his lean frame.

"Fuck!" Carson yelled, failing around like a mad person. His foot connected with his steering wheel, cause the horn to honk briefly. He twisted and jerked in his seat, struggling with his half done up seatbelt and still trying to open the door…this last task was difficult, seeing as Malerie had him smushed up against the door. He found it nearly impossible to reach the door handle now…not with her constant assault on his body. Malerie cackled as she continued her attack.

"This is fun! Weeee…."

"F-for you, maybe!" Carson stuttered in a strangled voice. He was pretty sure he was fire engine red by now. Seriously, she was SO lucky she was A.) his friend, B.) a girl and C.) a girl with glasses. Had she not been all of these things, Carson was sure he would have kicked her in the face by now. Marlerie's fingers found a particularly sensitive spot on his torso. The reaction was interesting….

"JESUS FUCKING CHRIST, MAL!" Carson all but wailed, all composure shattered now. Despite himself, Carson could feel his face contorting into a smile/grimace of sorts, and he began to huff out these strange yelping/laughter noises….that is, when he wasn't screaming out every swear word known to man. His flailing increased tenfold (and he didn't think it was possible)…so much so, that he wondered if his old piece of shit of a car would start to fall apart under the strain. In the back of his mind, he could only imagine just how "dirty" a rocking car parked on the side of a road on the outskirts of town would look, and he prayed that no one from town would see them. News of their "hook-up" would be all over Clover by tomorrow, if Carson's red face and out of breath composure was anything to go by. Oh joy.

"Motherfuckingcocksuckingfuck goddamshitFUCK!" Carson's mind, like his body, seemed to be on autopilot now. He couldn't string together coherent sentences anymore. His eyes were tearing up.

"How eloquent of you!" Malerie teased.

"Mal…STOP! I…can't…fucking…breathe! I'm gonna….piss myself!" Carson managed to gasp out in between gut busting laughter.

Malerie's fingers froze. She wrinkled her nose.

"Seriously? Ewww…." She backed off immediately.

Carson sagged in his seat, panting for breath and thanking God that exaggerated figures of speech sometimes sailed over Malerie's head (although, he was sure he would've had she continued.) After a few seconds of downtime so his heart rate could return to normal, Carson gathered enough air in his lungs to speak.

"What the fuck was that for?" He tried to sound pissed off, but the effect was ruined by his cracking, breathy, embarrassingly high pitched and downright giggly tone…he hardly ever sounds like this. He hates it.

Answering him without words, Malerie moved and caused Carson to flinch violently in his seat. Turns out she was just going for her camera. She snatched it off the dashboard and aimed it at him.

"I'm blackmailing you." The girl cheerfully replied.

Carson groaned. He had created a monster (but at least she learns from the best). He could just imagine how the camera microphone picked up on all of his girly screams and squeals that were high enough to shatter glass.

"What do you want?" He ran a hand through his thoroughly messy hair and tried to compose himself.

"There is going to be a Rock Horror Picture Show screening at the movie theater downtown and I want you to come with." Malerie said. "It's tonight."

Carson breathed a sigh of relief. That was all?

"Just as long as I don't have to dress up, I'm fine with that."

"Great!" Malerie flashed him a grin. "By the way, you have a really cute laugh. I think you should smile more often."

Malerie, the queen of awkward moments….

"Promise not to tickle the shit out of me ever again, I'll try…for you." Carson smirked at her.

An easy silence settled over the two friends as they resumed their earlier activity of tumble weed watching (seriously, this was as exciting as it got in Clover…aside from cow tipping, that is). After a while, Carson spoke up.

"Malerie?"

"Yeah?"

"You are so fucking weird." Carson chuckled fondly.

Malerie grinned. That sort of thing was tossed at her time and time again in the school hallways by the other kids but here, for the first time ever, she took it as a compliment.

THE END