DISCLAIMER: I don't own the characters of Smallville, nor am I in any way affiliated with the show or with Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. This piece of fiction is purely for entertainment purposes.

NOTE: Set in the seventh season, sometime before "Traveler".

A/N: I've had this chapter finished for a while, but I was wanting to wait until I finished chapter four to post it since the two chapters actually kinda go together (plus, this chapter is kinda short, for which I apologize). However, since I've been busy with a couple of other fan fictions, notably The Morning After and The Beast Within, Part II, I've decided to just go ahead and let y'all read it. So, please, enjoy! :)

"What's taking the girls so long?" queried Clark, messing with his bowtie.

He had been relieved to find that the mens' costumes consisted of tuxedos in the older style, but that didn't keep him from feeling ridiculous as he and Jimmy waited at the foot of the grand staircase for Lois and Chloe to finish getting their costumes on.

"You know women, C.K.," Jimmy replied with a smile. "They just take longer to get ready."

"What was that, Mr. Olsen?" came a flirty, feminine voice from behind them.

They turned to see Chloe standing on the stairs, one hand resting on the rail. She wore a yellow, fringed flapper dress, a matching headband, a long strand of white beads, and matching high-heels, with a canary-yellow feather boa wrapped around her shoulders, completing the ensemble.

"Wow, Chloe," Jimmy said, staring up at her in awe. "You look...amazing."

"Thank you." She smiled, blushing a little at the compliment. She continued down the stairs, towards the pair of tuxedoed men. "You don't look half bad yourself, Jimmy."

She accepted his proffered arm, before turning and informing Clark that Lois would be right down. Just as she finished telling him so, another feminine voice audibly cleared her throat.

Roving his eyes up the staircase, Clark looked from red heels to well-defined legs that were covered to mid-thigh in fishnet stockings. From there, he took in the sight of the crimson-fringed flapper dress that clung to Lois's shapely form, the strand of black beads that hung from her neck, and the black and crimson feather boa draped around her shoulders. His gaze then traveled to the scarlet feather sticking out of her headband, before finally settling on her crimson-lipped face.

"Um, Lois...uh..." Clark swallowed, suddenly finding it very hard to talk, as all thoughts of their drive up that afternoon seemed to vanish from his titanium trap of a memory.

Observing this, Jimmy and Chloe exchanged knowing smirks, an exchange that went unnoticed by Clark.

"Well, what are you all staring at," Lois asked, descending the stairs. "It's dinner time, and I'm starving. Let's go."

Good ol' Lois, thought Clark, smiling and shaking his head.

"Shall we, milady," Jimmy asked Chloe, grinning broadly.

"We shall," she replied, smiling and giving a nod of her head. With that, they headed towards the dining room, arm in arm.

Clark watched the couple leave, then glanced awkwardly at Lois.

"Lois, would you... I mean, should we..." he began, unsure how to ask his question. "Lois, would you...do me the honor of...being my date?"

Softening a little, Lois smiled, and replied, "Once again, chivalry noted. Sure, Smallville. I'll be your date."

Joining arms with his, Lois added, "But no funny business, alright? And hands where I can see 'em."

Suddenly, the events of that afternoon came rushing back to him, as he escorted Lois to the dining room, where they noticed the other guests for the first time since arriving.

Noticing the various name cards arranged around the table, Lois and Clark took their seats, which were situated directly across from Chloe and Jimmy. As soon as they sat down, all the guests were served dinner, which consisted of several fancy gourmet dishes that none of the friends seemed to know the names of.

About an hour later, when everyone had had their fill, their host, an attractive man in his mid- to late twenties, stood at the head of the table and addressed his guests.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," he began. "Thank you all for coming. Now, for those that don't know me, I am Matthew Morgan McKenzie, owner of McKenzie Manor. Soon, you will all receive a character card that will explain the roles you are to play in this weekend's story. Then, we will adjourn to the lounge and the games will begin."

He then briefly went over the rules of the game, and when he was done, everyone received a small envelope with their name on it. Inside each envelope was a card that gave a short character bio as it related to the story.

"Apparently, I'm Ms. Ivory," Chloe announced excitedly to her companions, "engaged to 'decorated war hero Sgt. Saffron'."

"And I'm Sgt. Saffron," Jimmy declared, beaming. He and Chloe then shared a brief kiss.

"I'm Ms. Crimson," Lois informed them, less than impressed. "And apparently, I'm 'secretly dating the dashing Mr. Emerald'. Hmm, wonder which one he is," she added, looking around the table with mild interest.

"Um," Clark hesitantly spoke up, opening his own envelope, "that would be me."

"Ah, crap," was her disappointed response.

TO BE CONTINUED...