Zarbon watched her and suppressed the chuckle trying to bubble out of him.  He was barely two feet from her, concealed by his chameleon like power.  While her head was turned away, he allowed himself to become visible.

 

 "Boo." he said.

 

 Tonya's head whipped around, her eyes widened, and she was up and gone before he could say anything else.  Glancing at his watch, Zarbon noted he still had about 10 minutes to kill before the plan was to be implemented.  He got up and began to stalk his lover again.

* * * * * *

 Daniel glanced at his watch and turned on the water.  He began to spray the freshly turned earth he had just been working for the new rose bushes he was transplanting for Tonya.  Shaking his head, he wondered again how he had let himself get roped into this plan.

* * * * *

 Everyone else was in Tonya's room.  While Zarbon was keeping her distracted, Sally stood watching as the others were removing every article of clothing they could find.  This included undergarments, shoes, and her bathrobe.  They took the large towels from her bathroom closet.  Everything was packed into boxes and moved into the other girls' rooms.  When all the clothes had been removed, Poopsie and Dee carefully laid out one outfit on the bed.
 
 The group quickly left the room and moved out onto the back patio.  Daniel spotted them, turned off the water and quickly joined them.  Sally's watch beeped and they began to watch for Tonya to emerge from the green.

* * * * *

 Tonya was beginning to grow tired of wading through the thick green of the garden.  It was getting harder and harder to keep just ahead of her lover.  Suddenly he appeared right next to her again and she darted away, intending to take this chase into the open area close to the house. 

 

 She hurdled over a low hedge, jumping into the clearing.  As she landed, she remembered that Daniel had intended to put the rosebushes there.  The result of the work he had done early was a very wet patch of earth.  She slipped on her landing, falling face first into the mud.

 

 Hearing laughter, she slowly looked up and saw the group on the patio.  Zarbon was standing at the edge of the mud with a very amused look on his face.  He toed off his shoes and stepped it to help her up.

 "Now I've caught you." he said taking her arm.

 

 Tonya pulled back hard, flipping him into the mud.  "Don't be so sure."

 

 A mud-wrestling contest ensued, fully coating the combatants with mud.  Zarbon finally conceded defeat, and the couple extracted themselves from the mud.  Daniel and Alec helped them to get some of the mud off with the garden hose.

 

 Holding out her braid for inspection, Tonya frowned, "Oh yuck!  I really need a shower."  She kicked off her shoes and sat them outside the door.  Then she darted up to her room and straight in to the bathroom.  She stripped quickly and jumped into the shower.
 
 She was so busy trying to wash the mud out of her hair and tail that she didn't hear the door open or see her muddy clothes being taken away.

- - - - - -

 Finally, Tonya was sure all the mud had been swept away from her person.  Shutting off the water, she squeezed the excess water from her hair and wiped her bangs out of her eyes.  She reached for her towel and was surprised to find that it wasn't there.

 

 Opening her linen closet, Tonya realized she didn't have any large towels left.  Pulling out four smaller towels, she preceded to dry off.  Next, she noticed her bathrobe was missing as well as her dirty clothes.  Beginning to suspect she was the victim of a practical joke, she wrapped two of the small towels around herself and carefully opened the door.
 
Nothing happened, so she walked into the room looking for the trap.  She opened her closet and stared at the empty space where her clothes used to be.

 "What the Hell?!?" she exclaimed and dashed to the dresser.  After finding all the drawers empty, she glanced at her bed, thinking of ways to hurt the clothes-napper.  She spotted something pink and went to investigate.

 

 Her eyes widened in shock as she saw what was on her bed.  The frilly, lacey, slinky, and low cut dress was light pink, but not pastel.  The matching heels, bra, and thong were just a shade darker.

 

 Tonya cringed as she realized this outfit was all she had to wear now.  She could even confront the others in the towels she was wearing as the barely covered the essentials.  She was about to give up when she noticed the bed hadn't been stripped.
 
 Yet. she thought as the tossed the offending articles on her desk before pulling the sheets off the bed.   

* * * * *

 "You know she's going to be really mad when she comes out, right?" Sally asked the group in front of Tonya's door.

 "You could have just asked her to try it on." Daniel added, "Then took the pictures."

 

 "This is so much more fun!" Jed declared, "Besides, we did ask.  She told us to take a hike."
 
 The door opened a crack and favored the group with one of Tonya's eyes glaring at them.

 

 "If you come out," Poopsie said, "We'll give you back your clothes."

 

 Tonya opened the door and stepped into the hall.  Everyone gasped at what she was wearing.

 

 The green sheet was wrapped around her like a toga of ancient Greece.  Her hair was up in a bun and a construction paper circlet of green leaves crowned her head.
 
 Techno turned on his video camera and Poopsie snapped a couple of pictures as Tonya posed.  Then in her best 'I will dismember you if you don't tell me' voice, Tonya asked for her clothes back and the group helped her move the boxes back into her room.

- - - - - - -

 Two weeks later, Tonya was trying to sneak out of the house.  She had to attend a guest lecturer's presentation for one of her classes and didn't want to get caught.  Since it was a formal lecture, the people attending couldn't show up in causal attire.  This meant suits and ties for the men, and hose and heels for the ladies.

 

 Tonya held up the edge of her dress a little as she descended the stairs so she wouldn't trip.  Pausing at the bottom, she scanned for any sign of the other members of the household.  She began to walk quickly to the door, her heels clicking loudly.  Catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror by the door of the den she paused.

 

 Her long brown hair was loose, slightly waved, and flowed to about mid thigh.  She had pulled the sides back into a braid that was tied off with a small blue ribbon.  The green eye shadow and its complementing eyeliner highlighted her eyes.  She also wore some rouge and lipstick.  Her dress was blue denim and brushed the floor.  To avoid embarrassing herself by tripping, she wore her low-heeled dress shoes.  She adjusted the gold braided necklace adorning her throat, then turned to leave.

 

 "Hey!" Tonya froze at the sound of Daniel's voice, "Who are you?  What are you doing here?"

 

 Almost immediately, everyone else came running to foyer to face the intruder.  Sebastian had pulled his GUN and was pointing it at Tonya.

 

 "Turn around slowly and keep your hand in plain sight." Alec commanded.

 Tonya did as she was told, holding her hands up to show she was unarmed.  She blinked in surprise at the GUN, and frowned at Sebastian.  "And you say I'm obsessed with my guns.  At least I never point them at my friends."

 

 "Tonya?!?" the guys stared.

 

 "Where are you going?" Sally asked.

 

 "I have to go to a formal lecture tonight."
 
 "So you had to wear a dress." Sebastian grinned and holstered his GUN.

 

 "I was going to borrow one of your tuxes, but I didn't think it would fit too well." Tonya replied dryly.

 

 Techno leaner closer and squinted, "Are you wearing lipstick?" he asked with a grin.

 

 "And eye shadow?" Jed put in.

 

 "And blush?" Poopsie smirked.

 

 Tonya blushed a little, "So?" she asked defensively, "I can't wear a little make up?"

 

 "You could, but you usually don't." Dee replied.
 
 "I think you look very nice." Zarbon said, stepping closer to examine her outfit.  "I don't believe I've ever seen you wear you hair down." he smiled, "I like it." He tucked a stray strand behind her ear.

 

 "Well, I'd better be going." Tonya said, taking a step back, hoping to flee before the cameras appeared. "I don't want to be late."

 

 "What time is your lecture?" Poopsie asked, raising an eyebrow.

 

 Tonya looked like a deer caught in the headlights, "Umm..." she glanced at her watch, and saw it was 5:45, "6:00.  I really have to go."
 
 Poopsie smirked, "Try again."

 

 Tonya dropped her head and mumbled something, but Poopsie was already going after her camera and Techno for his video camera.  They quickly returned.

 

 "Smile." Poopsie grinned.  Tonya glared and frowned. "No.  I said Smile." Poopsie replied raising her camera.

 Tonya gave her a false smile and the camera flashed.

 

 Zarbon smirked, "Tonya.  Ai shiteru."

 

 Tonya blushed as a real smile grew on her lips as her eyes softened. "Ai shiteru koi." she replied.  The camera flashed again.

 

 Zarbon held out his arm, "May I walk you to class?"

 

 Tonya linked her arm with his, "Of course." The camera flashed once more before the couple escaped out the door.

 

 "I still think we should try and get her into that pink dress." Sebastian said.