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"All right, here we are." Hero said, parking the car in front of Basil's house. Even though it was a late summer evening, the home was completely unlit except for the porch light illuminating the door.
Polly smiled as she unfastened her seatbelt. "Thank you again, Henry. I had a lovely time tonight."
"Glad to hear it." Hero smiled back. "I did too. Honestly, I was a little worried we spent too much time talking shop over dinner."
"Oh, that's no big deal." Polly shook her head. "That was just something we could both connect over. I remember how rough pre-med was for me, so it's nice to have someone to commiserate with."
Hero didn't think Polly realized how right she was.
Circling around the front of the car, he opened the passenger side door for her. "Shall I walk you to your door?" He asked, holding out his arm.
Polly grinned and hooked her elbow around his. "Such a gentleman."
Hero examined the dark house as they walked across the lawn. "How's Basil doing? I didn't see him when I came to pick you up."
Polly slowed for a moment. "He's fine, for the most part."
"'For the most part'?"
She sighed. "Well, his parents hired me on to take care of him until he turned eighteen, and that's going to be early next year, so he's starting to stress out about having to live by himself. Not to mention..." She trailed off, shaking her head. "No, never mind."
"What's wrong?" Hero frowned. "Is it something I can help with?"
"No, it's..." Polly sighed again as they reached the front door. "I think Basil was upset about our date tonight."
Hero raised an eyebrow. "Why would he be upset? I know the two of you are close, but that doesn't mean you aren't allowed to have a life outside of being his caretaker."
"Well, he was fine with it. He even encouraged it!" Polly turned away from him. "...Until I mentioned I was going out with you."
"Me?" Hero said, letting out an involuntary laugh. "What, is he afraid I'm trying to steal you away from him or something?"
Polly said nothing.
"...Oh." Hero slumped against the door frame. After fiddling with his cufflinks for a second, he took a deep breath. "Polly, listen. I'm not going to pretend that part of me isn't still upset by what Basil did, but that has nothing to do with me going on a date with you."
"I know, Henry." Polly said, although her voice had taken on a sullen tone.
"I know one of the biggest mistakes you can do on a date is talk about your ex, but..." Hero sighed. "I promised myself that I wouldn't go looking for a relationship again until I was able to let Mari go. I loved her, and I always will, but that doesn't mean I can't love somebody else just as much. I want to try to love someone that much again." Reaching out, he put a hand on Polly's shoulder. "And I think I want to try it with you. You're not a surrogate for Mari, and you're definitely not some way for me to get back at Basil. You're just..." He tried and failed to grasp for his next words. "You're a very nice girl that I'd like to get to know better."
Polly looked up at him, taking her turn to raise an eyebrow.
Hero winced. "Was that too much?"
"You were okay up until the end." Polly said. "'A very nice girl'? Really?"
"I-I meant-" Hero stammered.
"It's fine," Polly said with a smirk, taking Hero's hand and draping his arm across her shoulders as she pulled herself closer to him. "After all, you're a very nice boy that I'd like to get to know better, so I feel the same way."
Hero blinked before breaking into a smile. "Does that mean you might want to see me again?"
Polly reached up and gave him a light kiss on the cheek. "There's no 'might' about it." Shrugging Hero's arm off of her shoulders, she reached for the front door and opened it. "You've got my number, so don't be a stranger. I'd love to do this again."
Hero nodded dumbly, hand on his cheek.
Stepping through the doorway, Polly turned back with one last smile. "Good night, Henry." With that, she closed the door behind her.
Hero stood on the doorstep, hand on his face and grinning like an idiot. After a few seconds, he finally recovered and started heading back to the car, before he suddenly had the feeling of being watched. Turning back towards Basil's house, he scanned the dark windows until he stopped on one that held a familiar silhouette, with a pair of familiar blue eyes.
He met their fearful gaze...
...And gave a cold, bitter smile in return.