Chapter 2: I've Got You Under My Skin.

"Great, we'll see you at 8:00."

Jimmy and Chloe had arranged a movie night with Clark and Lois as it had been a while since the four of them had spent time together. Since getting engaged, the couple had been spending more time by themselves while their two friends were still single (and lonely, Jimmy thought). A movie night was just a nice and relaxing way to unwind after a busy week.

Along with work, Jimmy and Chloe had been tied up with their pre-wedding preparations, sometimes roping Lois in. Lois had somehow put herself in charge of the actual wedding day and reception which was to be held at the Kent farm in Clark's barn. Lois was also going hell for leather in seeking out Metropolis' newest Good Samaritan the Red-Blue Blur, and Clark had been kept busy as said anonymous hero. A chance to unwind was just the ticket.

It was a last-minute decision for everybody to gather at Clark's house rather than the increasingly cramped Talon apartment, and Clark had offered to let everyone stay the night if they wished since he had enough space. Jimmy felt it was only fair to supply the takeout and drinks since Clark had been so generous himself, so here they all were, feasting on pizzas, Buffalo wings, nachos and various sweet treats.

It had been agreed to make it a horror movie marathon so Chloe quickly suggested Final Destination as it was scary and funny, to which Clark ventured that Alien should be the follow-up as a genuine fright-fest. He knew Lois got jumpy during horror films and he felt a little revenge was in order after being embarrassed at work with the bra. Lois had recommended The Ring which was quickly shot down by Chloe, not because it was a bad choice but because she'd rather not have to listen to Jimmy's lengthy ramble on why the Japanese original Ringu was so much better.

Chloe put the DVD in and the case on the shelf but the case slipped and fell into the gap behind it. She sighed and went to retrieve the case, pulling the shelf out slightly. Reaching round the back, she found the case but also felt something else solid, which she grabbed and pulled out.

"Here's where it went!" she called out. When the others turned to look at her, she lifted up her digital camera, wiping it on her sleeve cuff to clear the little bit of dust that had gathered on it. "I've been looking for this for weeks and thought I'd lost it." She tried to switch it on but found that the battery had run out so she put it down on the coffee table and sat back down instead.

Jimmy and Clark were sat at either end of the large couch, with Chloe sitting leaning on Jimmy's chest with her feet tucked up as they munched on the bowl of popcorn perched in his lap. Lois was sitting upright beside Clark but with her feet up on the couch and a bowl of popcorn in her lap. Shelby had initially lain down by the fireplace but with all the noise from the movie, he retreated to snooze under the kitchen table instead.

"What a big baby," said Lois, spotting Shelby skulk away while still staring at the TV. Clark and Jimmy exchanged knowing looks.

After the first movie finished, everybody got up to stretch their legs, go for bathroom breaks or refresh their drinks. As Clark was alone in the kitchen for a moment, he tidied up the lounge and made a fresh batch of popcorn. Then it occurred to him that they'd be watching Alien. He looked on the kitchen counter and found a couple of packets of ketchup that had come with the Buffalo wings, and a devilish grin began to form on his face. Oh this will be fun!

The girls had decided to change into their night clothes in Clark's bedroom during the interval. Chloe had brought hers over from the apartment just in case she and Jimmy decided to spend the night, but since Lois had come straight over to Clark's after work, she didn't have any spares with her. She 'borrowed' one of Clark's sweatpants - pulling the drawstrings as tight as they would go, and rolling the leg cuffs a couple of times - and a flannel shirt, pulling her hair into a loose ponytail.

Clark decided he needed to act up a bit in the build up to his big moment, and he figured the easiest way to do that was to pretend that the Buffalo wings had given him a bit of indigestion. The shuffling in his seat and his apparent discomfort were the perfect cover. Once everybody had settled back down, Clark hit play and started Alien.

As the movie continued and the tension rose, Lois' face had been growing ever more fearful. She'd initially sat down as before but there was noticeably less munching of popcorn and she'd been moving closer and closer to Clark. Jimmy looked over Chloe's head which was again resting on his chest, and smirked at Lois. He saw Clark fidgeting in apparent discomfort and whispered, "Hey C.K., you alright?"

Clark whispered back that the wings had given him a touch of indigestion, and all eyes were on the movie again. By now and without realising, Lois had one of her hands on Clark's arm and looked ready to hide behind his shoulder at the next big scary moment. Clark resisted the urge to tease Lois and instead seized his chance for revenge.

He took the packet of ketchup he'd hidden next to him, held it in his hand and stealthily moved his hand under his t-shirt before slowly balling it into a fist below his chest. Steady, steady, here comes the chestburster! In the movie, Kane started to convulse on the table as the rest of the Nostromo's crew tried to calm him, then the chestburster announced its presence. At the same time, Clark started to convulse on the couch, punching up the inside of his t-shirt frantically (but not too hard) and squeezing the packet of ketchup while letting out a bloodcurdling cry of pain.

"AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!"

Everybody in the room screamed and jumped up. Jimmy and Chloe grabbed onto each other while staring at Clark who had rolled down and off the couch, convulsing and with a big bloody patch on the front of his t-shirt where the alien was trying to burst through his chest. It was Lois' reaction however that needed to be recorded for posterity.

She'd leapt about 3 feet in the air while letting out the girliest shriek ever, even for a girl, as her hands flailed about either side of her head. Her nearly-full bowl of popcorn had been launched even higher, tipping its contents all over her while it landed upside down on her head. Her eyes were like saucers and her sweatpants had loosened in the pandemonium, sliding down to just above her knees leaving only the lengthy flannel shirt to provide a semblance of modesty.

Clark's howling in agony slowly gave way to a full-bellied laugh as he looked up at Lois' ridiculous state from the floor. He removed his 'chestburster' from beneath his t-shirt to reveal a ketchup-soaked arm and a balled-up fist containing the squashed ketchup packet. He wound up in the foetal position as he continued to laugh hysterically. He even had tears in his eyes.

Chloe and Jimmy slowly felt their heart rates plummet back to normal once they realised what had happened, and their frightened looks also turned into huge grins. Chloe let out a sigh of relief that turned into a chuckle as she slowly shook her head and put her hand on her heart, and Jimmy wrapped his arms around her shoulders from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder as he began to laugh too.

By this time, Shelby had woken from his slumber again and dashed over to where he could nibble on the treats splayed out on the floor. Everyone turned to Lois, knowing that she'd been the unwitting victim of the scare prank. She grabbed the bowl from her head and tossed it onto the couch, and blew on her bangs which had a couple of kernels of popcorn hanging from the ends. Her face had turned bright red - even in the dim light - and was a mask of total apoplexy. Shelby's proximity caused her to sneeze which shook some more popcorn off her hair and shirt and onto the floor, where the grateful canine was busy hoovering up the snacks.

Lois' heart had been going at several hundreds beats per minute. She couldn't formulate a sentence at the moment so she let out an angry sigh, grabbed the waistband of her sweatpants to pull them back up, and charged off up the stairs to the bathroom, shoving Clark in the back with her foot along the way as he remained laying there laughing. They heard the bathroom door slam shut.

As things settled back to something approaching normal, Chloe and Jimmy watched Clark get back up. He put his ketchup-stained index finger in his mouth, licking off some of the ketchup and pointing his finger in the air to indicate that he'd chalked up a point for himself. The three of them fell about laughing as they began to tidy up the mess. The movie was still playing in the background but it was also very late and they'd long since given up continuing to watch.

Lois was tidying herself up in the bathroom, thinking about how to go all 'Ripley' on Clark's ass for embarrassing her like that.