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Title: Scream Summary: Mulder drops by with a movie and some tricks up his sleeve. Mulder knocked lightly on Scully's door. No answer. He knocked again, this time a little harder. Still no answer. Letting himself in with his key he stared, confused, at Scully's kitchen. Or lack-there-of. It looked like someone had taken a hammer to the floor tiles, and all her appliances were gone, as were her cabinets and counter. Mulder turned and warily walked in the direction of Scully's room. Scully was sitting on her bed, picking up popcorn that had exploded out of the top of the machine, as she had forgotten to put the lid on. Mulder stared at her. "Popcorn?" he asked. Scully looked up, startled. "Mulder! What are you doing here? I didn't hear you come in. Then, again, I was having a little trouble with this new popcorn popper..." "What happened to your kitchen?" he asked, thoroughly confused. Scully smiled. "I'm re-doing it. I wasn't going to tell you. You'd just make me move out, and stay at your place. But I'm fine. I moved the refrigerator in there," she said, indicating the TV area, "and the microwave in here." The black box now sat atop her dresser. Mulder allowed himself a small smile. "Ok." Scully looked at Mulder, cocking her head to one side and raising an eyebrow. "Why are you here, Mulder?" Mulder paused, caught off guard. "Well, you seemed kinda shaken after this last case, and you were a little out of it today, so I thought I'd cheer you up with a movie, and the pizza should be here in 10 minutes." "Thanks, Mulder..." his petite partner said, giving him a grateful smile. "And look - I've already made the popcorn. Well, most of it has been on the floor, and is therefore in-edible, but... I'm sure we can find other uses for it." And with that and a devilish grin, Scully grabbed a handful of popcorn and flung it at Mulder. "Hey... no fair. I don't have any ammo," Mulder said softly, moving towards her and the bowl in her lap. "Uh-uh. This is my own private supply," she said, hopping up and off the bed, still clutching the popcorn. She grabbed another handful as Mulder skirted the end of the bed, and showered him again, a few kernels getting lodged in his hair. He didn't seem to notice Scully noted, also identifying the look in his eye as trouble. Mulder walked right up to her, and she backed up, unconsciously, until her back was up against the wall, and the bowl of popcorn the only thing that kept him from moving closer. She was trapped, the bed and 2 walls being 3 sides, and her partner's tall frame completing the box. She didn't like the way this was heading. "Mulder..." "All's fair, Scully..," he said, eyes dancing, as his hand reached into the popcorn supply. He withdrew a large fistful and playfully sprinkled it over her head. "Scully, you look good in popcorn. It really brings out your eyes," he teased. "Well, you've got some in your hair, too..." she said, reaching up to extract a kernel from his hair. Mulder didn't move, letting the silence hang. Scully kept her eyes down, very aware of how close her partner was standing. She risked an upward glace, and as soon as she did, he lowered his head toward her, looking at her lips. Scully's eyes widened as she realized what Mulder was doing. She quickly ducked around him, scrambling over the bed, and spilling the forgotten popcorn all over the room. She turned and practically fled from her partner, calling over her shoulder, "Let's watch that movie, OK?" She approached the TV and VCR, sitting down cross legged in front of them. She switched them on, and turned slightly, holding out her hand for the video Mulder was holding in the doorway. "What did you get?" she asked. "Scream," Mulder said, handing her the Blockbuster cassette. "A horror movie?" "Sure. It's supposed to be really good." Damn him. He's acting like nothing just happened. No apology, no explanation, Scully thought angrily. She popped the tape in and turned to sit down. Problem. Mulder was stretched out across the entire sofa. No room for her there. The large easy chair had been moved down to her storage space in the garage to make room for her out-of-place refrigerator. The fridge!! Scully walked over to the appliance, sitting down indian-style, directly below the ice dispenser, and leaned back against it. Mulder looked over at the redhead, sitting against the freezer, like it was where she always sat. Plan #2: down the drain, too, he thought. Oh well... Plan #3... Suddenly, Scully's eyes got a wide, panicked expression in them as she dropped the remote and arched her back, opening her mouth in surprise. Her hands flew to her back, untucking her shirt as she jumped to her feet. The piece of ice that had dropped down her shirt from the ice dispenser flipped out the bottom of her over-sized T as she danced around the room. Mulder couldn't help it. He laughed out loud at his partner's troubles. Scully was surprised by the low rumbling laugh that came from her partner. She could almost never make him laugh. "That wasn't funny, Mulder..." she said, abandoning her previous position for a seat on the floor, near the end of the couch that held Mulder's feet. They sat like this for all of 3 minutes, when the door bell rang. By this time in the movie, Drew Barrymore was already dead, and Scully jumped at the sound of the pizza being delivered. She got up and paid for the dinner, closing the door and bolting it just in case. "I'll be right back. The plates are in the bedroom," Scully murmured, disappearing into the back room. Scully went over to her supply of paper plates and napkins that sat next to her microwave on her dresser. She placed the pizza on the microwave, and opened the lid, preparing to grab the biggest piece for herself. Suddenly, an arm encircled her waist as another clamped over her mouth, stopping the scream that was about to surface. A leg twisted around hers, and before she knew it, she was flat on her back, pinned to the ground by the weight of her assailant. The hand was still over her mouth, and another was now covering her eyes. Scully felt the warm breath of her attacker on her ear as he whispered: "Scared, Agent Scully?" Immediately, Scully recognized the voice, and bit down hard on the hand covering her mouth. Mulder yelped in pain and, surprised, rolled off of his partner. "Don't you EVER do that again, Mulder! I should shoot right here and now!" Scully yelled angrily, jabbing a stocking'd foot into his stomach. He groaned, and rolled away from her, gasping, "Never kick a man when he's down, Scully..." Scully grabbed her plate and stormed back into the TV room, resuming her position at the foot of the couch, on the floor. In a few minutes, Mulder re-entered the room, and took a seat in the center of the sofa, eating his pizza calmly. Half-way through the movie, Mulder spoke up. "Can I play with your hair, Scully?" Scully jumped at the sound of his voice, as it was the first sound either of them had made since the incident in the bedroom. She looked at him, suspicious. "Why?" "I want to braid your hair," Mulder replied simply. "OK. Um, just a sec," Scully said, getting up and giving him a quizzical look over one shoulder. She went into her bathroom, searching for a brush. Once she had located a nice one, she looked around, collecting as many bobby pins and pony-tail holders as she could. She gathered everything up in her arms, and turned to go back to the TV room. And screamed. Standing before her was a tall frame, cloaked in black, with a long white face. The ghoulish mask looked like it was screaming, too. The outfit was identical to the costume in the movie they had been watching. Mulder started to lift off the mask when he heard his down-to-earth, never-ruffled partner scream. He hadn't expected that kind of volume or length from such a small person. Scully's first response was to connect her fist with the white mask, causing it's wearer to groan and clutch at it's nose. Mulder pulled off the mask completely, and stood there, looking at his partner, pinching his nose. "Mulder!!" Scully yelled, annoyed at the childish behavior of her partner that night. "What were you doing?? Come in here, we need to talk," she said, leading him back to the couch. "What are you trying to pull tonight?" ahe asked. "It's Halloween, for God's sake, Scully, get in the spirit," Mulder said. Halloween... oohh... Scully suddenly remembered the date... Oct. 31st... "What about that stunt in the bedroom?" Scully asked, with a lot less conviction and anger in her voice. "Listen, Scully, that was nothing, and I think you broke my nose, so..." Mulder said, still holding his large facial feature. "Oh, I'm sure I didn't... Let me see..." Scully said, bending over to examine him. "Oww!!" Mulder yowled. "I guess I don't know my own strength... Yes, Mulder, your nose is broken. Come on, I'll drive you to the hospital," Scully said, standing with a sigh. |