The female voice on the other end of the line cajoles, “Come on. Don’t tell me you’re going to one of those sorority Halloween parties.” The one with the phone to her ear just listens trying to decide what to answer. The female voice continues, “Seriously, Megan? You know what those parties are, right? All booze and drunken rowdiness. You don’t want that. That’s not you.”

Megan decides to say something here, “You’re right. That’s not me. I wasn’t planning to—”

The voice interrupts, “You aren’t planning to stay home, are you?”

That is precisely what Megan is planning on doing. Caught, she struggles on what to answer, “Uhhh …”

“You are,” the voice realizes, “aren’t you?”

Megan twirls her ponytail with her free finger, “Maybe?”

“I knew it,” declares the voice on the other end. Her voice changes just a bit, “You know what you should do?”

Megan isn’t sure where this going, but she does know that her friend is going to try to change her plans. “Valerie,” she says to stop her friend.

It doesn’t work; she just continues on. “You should come to my private party at my house.”

Well, there could be worse things she could invite me to.

Another part of her mind argues, Still, a party means leaving the house. And I was hoping for a quiet night alone.

Before Megan’s thoughts can get further, Valerie plunges on, “It’s a small, little thing with only my closest friends and no alcohol.”

The same part continues its argument, People means socializing. Ugggg. Not in the mood.

What about all the kids coming to the door and ringing the bell? You won’t get quiet here and you’ll have to socialize with them, the first side argues back.

True.

Sensing the silence on the line, Valerie pulls her trump card, “Megan, how long have you known me?”

“Since I started here in college. You were my first friend.”

“That’s right. And have I ever lead you astray?”

Megan thinks on all their time together, and can only answer one thing, “No.”

Turning on the charm, Valerie pleads, “Please come to my party. It’ll be special. I have a treat for you.”

The first side of Megan’s mind cheers and the second gives up in defeat. She mumbles out a, “fine. I’ll come.”

“One last thing. In the spirit of Halloween, it’s a masquerade party. No costume needed, only a mask to hide your face.”

Megan is still not pleased with this outcome, but it could be worse. She thinks of the various college parties being advertised on the bulletin boards around campus. She definitely doesn’t want to go to those. “fine. I’ll see what I can find.”

“Great! See you in a couple of hours.”

Megan hangs up and sighs to herself, “Great.” She scours her room in the shared house. Cloth is scarce. She does find her favorite green t-shirt has holes and is a little threadbare. Closing her eyes, taking a deep breath, and grabbing a handful near the hem, she rips the bottom off the shirt. “I’ll miss you, old friend.”

Bam The front door closes. Megan peeks out her door. One of her roommates mills around the entrance. Perfect! “Jill, could you help me with something?”

“Hmmm, what is it? I’m kinda tired and not looking forward to the kids coming tonight,” she answers shuffling toward her room.

Megan offers her green sash, “Could you, please, make this into a mask for me?” She gives her best puppy dog eyes.

Jill looks unconvinced, “Why?”

“Because I need a mask and I don’t have anything to sew with and you are the best in the whole house?” Megan butters on the compliments, hoping it’ll improve her chances.”

This still doesn’t faze Jill. “I’m the only seamstress in the house.”

All tactics employed, Megan begs, “Please? It doesn’t have to be fancy, just cover part of my face.”

Jill looks down to Megan’s hands, analyzing the fabric there. “Isn’t that from your favorite shirt?”

“Yeah.” Megan’s head drops in sadness. “I needed cloth and didn’t want to raid your room.”

“Okay.” Megan’s head pops up, questioning. “I’ll do it.” After another pause, Jill continues, “If it’ll get you out of the house and because you didn’t enter my room without permission, I’ll do this for you.”

“Besides, this one will be quick.” Jill begins muttering to herself, “To go with her red hair, I should use …”

Excited, Megan dashes to the kitchen calling behind her, “I’ll put the candy in a bowl for you.” Sounds of a sewing machine mix with the sound of small candies hitting a plastic football shaped chip bowl that was probably bought for a Super Bowl party. Having some left over, she adds the rest to another sport themed container.

As she brings the bowls to the door, the third housemate enters. Lean and athletic, she weaves past pumping her hips back and forth. "Hey Andrea."

"Hey," she responds as she heads further in.

"Going to a party tonight," Megan inquires.

"Heck yeah, I am. I'm going to THE party tonight," Andrea comes back toward her, "I'm going to the mega party put on by the frat and sorority houses. It'll be full of beer and bodies. I'm hoping to hook up tonight, if you know what I mean."

Jill calls from her room, "I hope you aren't expecting me to make you a costume, too."

"Nah, man. I'm betting anything I wear there will be ripped off my body." Andrea pauses. "Wait. Too?" She turns on Megan, "The little home body is going out to a party? I'm surprised."

Megan riled a little defends herself, "I'm not a complete shut in. I've been getting out and exercising like you've been suggesting."

"I can see that. You are trimming up nice, gurl.” Andrea eyes her figure, “Keep that up, and you’ll be invited to the next popular party for sure.” Then she heads toward her room.

Stopping at Jill’s room, she turns back, “I need to get ready for tonight, but you might want to get over here.” Andrea points with her thumb, “She’s doing the staring thing. Save her or she’ll be here all night.”

The staring thing is no big surprise for Megan. It happens every time Jill spots something beautiful. Megan does wonder for a moment what Jill just discovered in her own room that would cause this. That is she wondered until she stepped into the room.

There, over the frozen girl’s shoulder, she sees the pretty mask. Around the eyes is a figure eight on its side, like an infinity sign but stitched with shiny sequins. Small feathers stand at the temples. While a silky green ribbon dangles from her hands, just waiting to be tied.

“It’s amazing.” Megan tiptoes forward so as not to disturb the creator and lifts the mask up.

Jill wakes up from her trance. “Here. Let me,” she offers. “Raise your hair.”

Megan uses her arms to clear the way. Soon, the eye cover is in place and a little snug. “Did you pad it?” Jill nods. “I’m going to see what I look like.”

“Wait a sec.” Megan stops and gets a dusting on her eye lids. Jill also applies some lipstick. “Now you are ready.”

Megan stops by the shared bathroom mirror and gets arrested by the image that looks back. Jill has made her look very pretty. Her red hair cascades down and around the mask making her look beautiful and mysterious. She finishes getting ready including a green dress to match the mask.

On her way out the door to Valerie's house, she hears Andrea behind her, "Hey! Who threw away this perfectly good green shirt? This'll be perfect for tonight."

It doesn't take long to reach Valerie's house. It's a regular house decorated like all the rest of the neighborhood with an especially large spider web covering most of the front. Pieces of skeleton litter the rest of the yard with some sticking out of cocoons in the web.

A quick knock almost doesn't finish before she is dragged inside. Arms like a clothesline, a masked woman pulls Megan through the living room, which true to the description , only has a couple of people mingling and chatting between themselves. They swoop down around a corner, into a hall, and then right into a room.

Closing the door behind them, the masked woman turns on Megan, "Oh good, you're here. I've been waiting for you and hoping you'd arrive early." She doesn't really take a breath, "but you're here now, so we can start. Have some candy. I'll be back in a moment."

Just as quick as the woman appears, she disappears. Megan is left a little frazzled by the whirlwind that just happened. She looks at the bowl of bite sized candy bars on the dresser. She grabs one and pops in it in her mouth. It does calm her some.

After a while, just as Megan begins wonder what's going on, the door opens again slower. The same woman from before enters again. She asks, "Ready?"

Megan, still confused, asks, "Who are you?"

The woman lifts her mask and confirms what Megan was suspecting. It is Valerie. So Megan poses another question, "Ready for what?"

Valerie reaches for something behind the candy bowl. "I'm inviting you to a more private party." She brings out a collar and aims it toward Megan's neck.

Megan takes a step back. "I'm not into that kinda thing."

"Neither am I, but this is something ... special." Valerie adds quick, "and not with me." Still, she hesitates. "Do you trust me?"

"I guess?" Valerie nods. Megan pulls the collar from her hand and brings it to her throat. She wraps it around. However she tries, she can't find the buckle.

"Actually, you can't hook it yourself or undo it. Let me do it." Valerie steps behind and the collar snugs up against Megan's throat. "There. Perfect. Now it's time for the festivities to begin. Meet me in the hall." She slips out of the room leaving Megan alone.

Megan marvels at the soft inside of the collar. She fiddles with it and reaches aound to the back. It's smooth. No buckle. She continues it around both sides to the front. There is no seam. How did she get it on me? How do I get it off?

That's when she feels it. Tickling right near the strap. She scratches and the itch spreads out and down and all over her. Things begin to grow around her. Megan knows that she should be frightened, but the fear doesn't come. Soon, the bed rises to head height. And then she loses balance and falls forward onto her hands. All sorts of things feel wrong, but peace surrounds her.

At last, things stop changing. That's when she notices that Valerie left the door open a crack. Megan butts her head into the opening. As she pushes through, first her upper ears get pushed back by the wood surfaces. Then she squeezes between. Hair covering her body is petted on both sides. It feels wonderful. Something stirs up inside of her. She squelches it as she lets her curiosity get the better of her. After that, the pressure decreases and her tail hits the door causing it to open a little further.

Before she can wonder about the new appendage, she spots a black cat about her size looking to the side. Megan's gaze turns to follow the other cat's. There, further down the hall, is a giant Valerie. "Awwww, you two look adorable."

After a moment of looking down at them with adoration, she breaks out of it and leads them down the hall, "Come with me. You two are invited to a very private party." Valerie turns a corner and holds the door open for them to enter the garage.

Once the door closes, Valerie continues, "Okay." She drums her fingers against each other. "I'm sorry. I tricked the both of you. And now you are stuck with it for a while." She watches the faces below her for a reaction. When none come, she keeps going, "Soooo, I thought you two would be perfect for each other. And well, my matchmaker came out aaaaannd you are on a blind date. And it'll last until dawn. When you'll change back."

"So, since it is a blind date, let's go all the way." Megan watches as Valerie points to the cat next to her, "He will be called, 'Tuxedo Bowtie.'" Because of that nickname, Megan realizes that white splotch on the black cat next to her looks a tie. "And you," pointing at Megan, "will be called Moonlight Tiara." Megan looks down at herself and sees black everywhere, chest, paws, and tail.

"I suppose I should be a little more clear on a few details. The collar has a spell that has turned you into cats. It'll last until dawn. You'll turn back to human then and be able to take them off. But you can't take your own off." Valerie takes another nervous breath here. "If the date doesn't go well, you can come here in the morning and I'll take it off."

She gets lost looking at them again. "Did I remember everything?" She counts off her fingers. "Names. Collars. Spell. Date. Time. I think I got it all. Oh! Nametags. Bowtie, say your name." The cat next to Megan meows. "Tiara, say your name."

Megan. However the sound that comes out of her mouth sounds like a cat.

"Right. That's what everyone will hear no matter what." Valerie reaches for their necks and clips on a little weight. "These nametags will identify you and keep you from being picked up by animal control and it will allow you to talk to each other."

She points to the cat next to Megan, "Say 'Bowtie.'"

Megan's ears hear a meow, but her mind hears, "Bowtie." The sound of the guy's voice in her head is calming and deep. Megan feels like she could listen to that for a long time.

The finger moves to Megan. "Say, 'Tiara.'"

Megan asks, "Tiara?"

"Good, good. It works." She counts on her fingers again, this time mouthing the words. She lands on the last finger, "Door." She opens up the way to the outside. "Off you go, you crazy cats." She shoos them out. "Enjoy your night."

Once they leave, the door closes behind them. They both look at the door then each other. "What should we do now," he asks in his deep voice.

She looks from him to behind him at the wooden gate there. "Go over the fence?"

Bowtie nods, "We are cats after all."

Megan approaches the obstacle. As she does, her body seems to know what to do. She crouches and her butt begins to wiggle and tail jerking like she's agitated. Like a shot, she bounds high on the wood. Her claws dig in and use her momentum to finish her ascent to the board on top. Her dainty paws rest on the platform for just a moment before she she stretches and lowers herself down along the other side. Like before, she picks an unexpected moment and races down extended claws slowing her just a little.

He follows suit and is soon beside her side. "What should we do now," he asks.

"Well, it is Halloween," Megan says, "It would be a shame if we didn't go Trick or Treating."

"But we're cats," he counters.

Her eyes narrow a bit, "That doesn't mean we can't get candy?"

He takes a step back in surprise. Then with his own serious look, he answers her, "Challenge accepted."

"You're on, Bowtie. I'm going to get way more candy than you."

They bound off toward the little kids in costumes. Rubbing against legs sometimes gets a candy dropped. When it does they pick it up in their mouth and run it over to the hiding spot under the bushes. Megan finds that she does better with the kids while Bowtie usually finds the skittish ones. He heads to the doors and starts getting quite a stash of his own.

And, of course, they accepted all the pets they could get.

The dark sky continues, but after a while they notice the kids are fewer and candy is not given out as much. "Trick or Treating time is almost over," Bowtie comments.

"Yeah," Megan agrees. "How did you do?"

His head bounces as he counts. "I think I got around 30-ish. How many did you get, Tiara?"

"Who?" Megan looks around. Then she remembers, "Oh right. Me. Do I have a tiara?" She swats the top of her head, but nothing is on there.

"Look down at the ground," he says. She does. "You have a circle of white splashes and splotches in a perfect circle. It's like a crown dripping white paint was lifted off your head. Do I have a bowtie?"

"You can't see it," she asks. He shakes his head. "Yeah, you totally do. Right where you'd think a tie would go on a cat." She pauses a minute forgetting the original question. "Hey, I've got an idea. Come with me. We still might be able to get some candy."

They dart from place to place drawing closer to their destination. At last they arrive and Megan is glad to see a small group of kids headed to the door. "Let's see if we can get candy from this place. Jill should be manning the door." Then as an added challenge, she throws in, "I bet I get candy, but not you, Bowtie."

He laughs in her head. "I bet you're wrong."

Megan sits on the porch looking at the door as the little witch, plumber, and and princess with rainbow hair surround them. A large adult stands nearby, uninterested. "Don't forget," they say, "This is the last house. Then we go home."

Tiara preens herself as Bowtie joins her. The door bell rings. Once it opens, Megan sees her housemate, Jill with the bucket of candy she prepared earlier. "Trick or Treat," everyone calls including the cats. Of course, only the cats hear themselves say that. Everyone else hears meowing.

Each of the children receive a piece of candy. Megan moves toward Jill as the door begins to close. Candy please. "Meow."

A step or two behind, Bowie joins, Me too. "Meow."

The kids begin to turn away. Megan enters and rubs her house mate's leg as her tail lingers on the door frame. Please. "Meow."

"Hey. Where did you guys come from?" Jill looks don and sees the two cats. In the process, she notices the almost empty bowl. "Kids! Come back."

They turn away from their guardian holding their bags at the ready. Jill dumps two more candies in each. "What do you say," the adult prompts.

"Thank you," they chorus and then turn away.

As they walk away, Jill looks at the cats, "Now what am I going to do with you two?" Tiara and Bowtie continue their circling and rubbing her legs. They watch with half attention as Jill looks in the bowl and back to them. Then back into the bowl. She shrugs, "Well, one piece of chocolate won't kill you."

She drops the wrapped candy and the cats dart to them, snatch the wrapped with their teeth, and dash away into the night. After stashing them, they count up. Megan wins by four. She nudges two to him.

Before he can collect them, though. Pop! Bang! BLAM!

Several things explode near them. Boom! Something large hits the ground near them. "Get them," a young boy's voice shouts. Panicked, the two cats freak and dart. "Don't let them get away!"

Megan and Bowtie manage to escape between legs and into the dark. They bump into each other and continue to run. Up one street, down an alley. They turn corners and bound over fences. Soon, their neighborhoods are far behind.

Atop a roof vibrating with the bass of the over-loud music below, they catch their breath. "I. I think. we lost. them."

Megan agrees, nodding, "Yeah." After a moment, they calm. "Where are we? Things look different from this angle."

"Let me check." He saunters toward the front of the house and hops down onto the fence, heading for the corner like the ground is lava.

Megan looks back and finds her unconscious gaze focused on the backyard. The music gets louder as something slides to the side. A girl giggling stumbles out. "Iss diss beddar," she slurs. The broad shouldered man with her nods. This elicits another giggle. The sliding sound happens again and the noise goes back to quiet and vibrating.

His hands move to her shoulders. "Mmmmm, Iiii liiike dat." She moves in to kiss the man. He returns it. Then his hands start moving and groping. Megan watches as she pulls away, but stays close. "Yoooo wanna peesh ov mee? Deres plenny on diss side too."

Needing no other invitation, his hands go to her collar and pull. Her green shirt splits right down the front. She giggles before saying, "Arnchu ah tiiiiger?" She makes a fist-claw gesture at him. He continues to fondle her body starting with the front now,

Her head flings back as a big smile threatens to pierce her cheeks. She moans and then opens her eyes. "Hay dere, Kitty."

Megan recoils. The woman down below is her housemate, Andrea. And that ripped top was the remnants of her favorite shirt. "What's wrong," Bowtie asks, slinking up.

Surprised, Megan turns to him. She's about to tell him and then remembers that she threw it away. "Nothing," she answers.

He tilts his head and says nothing. Then he changes the topic, "So, we are near the corner of Alamadera and Rodgers."

Megan tries to path her way home. "Oh wow. We ran a long way."

"Yeah," he agrees. After a moment of silence he speaks again, "Sooooo, have you played B.B.a.S.S.?"

"BuhBass? What," she asks not understanding the question.

"No." He spells it out for her, "It's an acronym. Bash Brothers and Smash Sisters."

"What's that? A video game?"

"Only the best video game. It has over 100 characters from dozens of different video games all fighting each other."

Megan doesn't know what to say, so she adds a uncertain, "Uhhh."

“Well, you know Princess Aurora, right?” He insists, “The girl with the colourful hair at the last house we went to was dressed like her.”

Megan confesses, “I wasn’t looking at costumes. I was trying to get candy and beat you.”

"Oh well. We aren't far from my place. I'll show you my rig. And maybe the game, too." Bowtie heads to the opposite side of the roof and hops off. Megan sprints toward him not wanting to be left behind.

Now that they are not being chased, Megan and Bowtie meander through the streets talking. The night has gotten quieter now that most everyone is inside and the only sounds are the parties extending into the midnight hours. Bowtie talks about all the games he has and some of them interest Megan. She'd be tempted to play them if she were human.

Once they reach there, though, he realizes his mistake. He’s a cat. And he isn’t wearing his clothes. So he doesn’t have his keys. So, they can’t get in.

Undeterred, they round the house on the fence and look in his window. He describes the computer on his desk in gratuitous detail until he notices a blank look on her face. Then he switches to the consoles and the games they play. Megan recognizes a few of these from their talk as they walked.

Megan tries to stay interested, but the conversation is a little one sided. She tries to change the subject. “Some of those sound fun. Maybe we can try some of them when we are back to normal.”

“Oh yeah. Definitely,” Bowtie nods very fast.

“You know, it’s been a while. Maybe we should head back and check on our stash. I hope those thugs ...” She lets it hang not wanting to jinx anything.

“Yeah,” he agrees.

So, they head back the way they came. They are in no hurry as they are going to be cats for a while longer. Megan doesn’t mind the long talks with Bowtie. He likes some of the same stuff she does and he’s a good competition for her. She decides to let him in on her hobby.

“My roommate, Andrea, has gotten me into exercising.”

Bowtie joins in, “Oh yeah. I need to get into that, too. But every time I try, I end up stopping. I really hate that.”

“Maybe you just need an accountability partner. Andrea is mine. I tell her about what I do. She helps me get better.”

“Yeah, maybe,” he agrees. “Oh, here we are.” Sure enough, neither realized that they reached their bush until they had almost walked past.

They check and find that all their candy is gone. “Aw man. This was going to be my splurge reward for all the hard work I’ve been doing lately.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Bowtie comforts, “I’ll get us some tomorrow.” He leans in conspiring with her, “The candy sales are the best, the day after.”

“OOoooo! Good point. I’ll depend on you then, Sir Bowtie.”

He gives a mock bow as well as he can as a cat, “As you wish, my Lady.”

They chuckle at that for a moment. When the laughter dies, Megan looks around. “We’re kinda close to Valerie’s place, right?”

Not sure where she going with this, he answers with a question, “Yeah?”

“Well, it’s not too far from my place. I’ll show you what I do for fun.”

“Sure.”

On their way, they amble and take wrong turns because they are lost in conversation, each telling tales of how they met Valerie. Also, how she’d convinced them both to come tonight.

“Hey! I know this place. This is where we went Trick or Treating last.”

“Yeah, this is my place.” She turns on him, ‘But you’d better not come here without permission.”

Not believing a word of her fake anger, he asks, “Or else?”

“Jill’ll sew you into a cloth prison and Andrea’ll hang you up and use you like a punching bag.” She hops up on her fence and calls back down to him, “And I’ll bury you out back.” He gives a fake shiver. Laughing, she says, “Come on.”

Bowtie follows her to the back where he finds a garden of all sorts of plants. Some of them even look healthy to eat. In fact there is a giant pumpkin still on the vine.

Megan notices his gaze and answers his unspoken question, “It’s almost ready to eat. I’ll probably harvest it tomorrow and stuff it with meat and rice and stuff and cook it all together. It’ll be a meal in a squash. It’s really good. I have one every year. It’s tradition.”

She notices his distant eyes and drooling mouth and decides to egg him on. “You see those tomatoes over there? Those’re heirloom tomatoes and I find that they taste the best. I’ll be putting them in the pumpkin meal. It’ll get all nice, soft, and melts in your mouth.”

He doesn’t respond. “There’s a reason it’s a yearly tradition.”

Megan gives him a playful swat in the face. He stops daydreaming and sees her again. “Tiara, can I come over tomorrow?”

“I thought we were going over to your place to play games?”

“That can wait,” he says a little too fast.

Megan decides to play coy. She sticks a finger to her chin and looks away, “Ohhhh, I don’t know. You see I have plans.”

“Pleaseeeee?” If he could get on his knees and clasp his hands, he would have. Still, he gives her his best pleading kitty cat eyes.

She laughs. “I’m sure we can—”

They get interrupted by a shoe flying in their direction. “Get out of here, you cats. It’s 3 a.m. and I’m trying to sleep.” It’s Jill. The light turns on. “It’s you two! You were here before. Get out of here!”

Bowtie and Tiara bolt not wanting another projectile headed their direction. As they hustle out, they hear Jill mutter, “I knew I shouldn’t have given those cats chocolate...”

Once they exit the yard, they slow to a more normal wandering pace. The conversation continues to flow. After realizing that they are both students at the local college, they discuss subjects and teachers.

As they drift to plans for after college, they stop in their tracks. They are back where they started, in front of Valerie’s house.

“Did you lead us here,” Megan asks her companion.

He looks surprised. “You didn’t bring us here?” His surprise turns to amusement. He starts chuckling. Between laughs, he says, “I guess our subconsciouses took us here.”

“Yeah. Well. I’d rather not turn back in my back yard. I’d probably get wierd looks from the rest of the house.”

He nods. “Agreed. My house wouldn’t let me live it down.”

“I guess this is the safest place.” Tiara convinces herself. “Valerie was the one who changed us in the first place.”

They hop the fence and look for a spot to watch the sunrise. The almost black sky is shifting toward Navy near the horizon. On the back deck, the stop and continue their talk of the future. But it doesn’t last long.

The wood warms under their paws and behinds as their body heat radiates from them. First Tiara yawns interrupting herself and then Bowtie does. Soon the yawning bounces back and forth. “You know,” Tiara starts and then stops as her mouth opens to let the exhale of slumber free, “I’m kinda tired. You mind if I nap here for a moment?”

“Sure.” Realizing he just told her he minded, he tries again, “Absolutely.” Crap! I did it again. “Just go to sleep,” he tells her at last.

Seeing that it’s okay, she curls up into a ball. “Fanks,” she mumbles.

Bowtie tries to stay vigilant and guard his charge, but the sleepiness that already had a foothold lets itself in. I’ll just close my eyes for a moment, he promises himself.

click The lock on the back door turns. While almost silent, both parties start awake and find themselves spooning. Tiara decides not to move due to the warmth of his body on her back side. Bowtie like the heat from her. He notices that during their sleep his arms reached around her to draw her close.

They look up from their position to the back door and see their friend standing there. “Sooooo, how did it go?”

Bowtie tosses his head around to dislodge some of her red hair that has made his face home. “It was good,” he replies.

Tiara notes that his voice sounds just like it did in her head. Satisfied, Valerie looks to her. “It was okay, I guess. I’ve had worse.” Bowtie hears the smile in her voice.

“I guess the blind date wasn’t a disaster then.” Valerie looks at them with compassion. “Well, you are back to human, so I assume you guys don’t need my help getting them off of your collars. Just remember. You can’t take them off yourselves.” She starts to step in but stops to look out again. “Oh. And you can keep the collars. They’re yours. And the dawn enchantment is gone. You will only be an animal as long as the collar is on.” Then the door closes leaving them alone.

They spend another couple of moments snuggling together before Tiara rolls over. His brown hair is dishevelled but not unpleasant. A matching half beard surrounds his plump smiling face. "Good morning, Beautiful."

Tiara smiles at the warmth from his compliment as well as his arms still wrapped around her. "Good morning yourself."

Neither one wants to move, so a moment of silence passes as they take each other in. Finally, he speaks and starts to move, "I suppose we should get these off before they turn us into cats again."

Her smile turns to a smirk as she replies, "Is that such a bad thing?"

They chuckle a little as they reach behind each other's heads and unlatch the buckles. Face to face, Tiara wonders if she should just close the distance and kiss him. Nah. Save that for later if I still like him.

Her eyes feel heavy and weigh down as she pulls her hands and his collar back. "That was a good night." Then she yawns.

He yawns like an echo. "Yeah," he agrees.

They trade collars and head around the side of the house to the gate. Upon letting themselves out, Bowtie breaks the silence, "I figure since we know where each other lives we might as well take the next step." He offers his hand, "I'm Calvin, but everyone calls me Cal."

She takes it and starts the shake, "I'm Megan."

"See you around," he asks hopeful.

She nods and yawns, "After I sleep this off. Hopefully, I won't get ribbed too much for coming in this late."

"Agreed."

--epilogue--

A week later, Calvin hears a knock on the door. "Come in," he hollars in that direction, "The door's unlocked." He hears the front door open and close. Then the most delicious smell finds its way to his nose.

He pauses the game and slides out of the lounging chair. Quieter, since he hears sounds close to him in the kitchen, "I hope that tastes as good as it smells."

"Better," Megan replies, tucking a strand of wavy red hair behind her ear as he rounds the corner. "But I just too it out of the oven, so it'll burn our mouths. So, let's let it cool for a few minutes."

Determination fills his eyes, "You're on. Usual stakes?"

"Loser gets walked?" They both nod together. "You're going down, Bowtie."

"In your dreams, Tiara." She notices that he looks a little slimmer than when she first saw him.

They power on the console and grab controllers. The logo to the game gets sliced and punched onto the screen then several characters sprint on screen in a line.

They skip the rest of the intro to pick characters. Megan picks a more feline one with the name, Duchess Dandelion under it. "I thought you'd go for Princess Aurora again," he comments.

"Nah, I don't like putting my opponents to sleep. I think pouncing on them is more my style." Calvin picks Commander Caliber for his gun attack, and the match starts.

Megan loses the first round since she can't seem to figure out the character. Calvin almost clinches it in round two until Megan unleashes a combo that finishes him off with a sliver of life left herself. The third round slides downhill from there. Megan finishes him off getting an Untouched Victory.

"Best two out of three," he asks.

She smiles, "After the walk. But first, dinner." Calvin grabs two plates and silverware and sets the table. Megan follows him with a pumpkin in a glass container. Once she pulls the top off by its stem, the place fills with the same smell but stronger.

They both scoop some of the goulash with some of the pumpkin flesh onto their places and dig in. "You know. I barely got another bite of the stuff you brought last time. The guys gobbled it all up and are asking for when you are coming back. I didn't tell them." Then he adds through a filled mouth, "MMMMmmmm, dis ish good."

Megan swallows a bite, "There's a reason, it's a seasonal tradition."

After finishing dinner, Megan grabs her own collar. After placing it around his neck, he shrinks down to a black cat with a circle white dots and splashes. It does look like a tiara was there.

"Meow." She looks down at the cat looking up. Having become a bit better at reading their expressions, Megan sees that it is confused.

Rather than address it, she grabs the hanging leash and bends down to attach it. "Something not feel right? I switched the collars, Tiara."

"Meow meow." The cat looks upset.

"Switch you back," she guesses. "Nah. It's just for the walk. Besides I'm sure you've never done that to me." 'Tiara's head droops and pulls on the leash. "I agree. Let's go. Maybe tomorrow you'll beat me." He probably will.

They exit the door. "You know, Jill asked me today if I knew where her shoe was. I told her it was in the back yard. She looked so confused and almost figured out we were the cats until I told her that I had seen it when I was working on my garden..."