Polly opened her eyes and looked around. She was still at Dolly's place. She smiled and sat up, looking around for her friend. The smell of breakfast came to her nose and Dolly would soon arrive with bacon, eggs, and toast.

The artist smiled at Polly. "Morning. Thought I'd give you this myself." She handed Polly her plate. Once Dolly had her plate, Dolly took a seat next to her and started eating alongside her. "So how did you sleep?"

"I slept good," Polly replied, taking a bit of her toast. "Last night was really fun, huh?"

Dolly nodded. "I'm so happy I decided to go with you. I had a really good time"

"That's what I was hoping for," Polly smiled. "Glad you had fun."

"A lot of fun," Dolly giggled. "No need to let a couple of assholes ruin our fun, right?"

Polly was about to ask what she meant when the encounter with Daphne came to her mind. She sighed.

Seeing this, Dolly frowned a bit. It felt so good to hurt that bitch that tried to ruin their night, but she didn't like the idea of Polly getting upset.

Dolly looked down at her plate as she said, "....I'm sorry about what I did. I know that wasn't something you didn't want me to do, but she was saying those things, and I just couldn't take it. I....I didn't like being like that. It made me feel really bad." She looked around Polly, placing her hand on hers. "I just felt that..."

Polly looked back at her friend and squeezed her hand. "I know you weren't yourself when you did that. Just because others say things we don't like doesn't mean we should hurt them, and I know you didn't mean it. You were just hurt for me. But all you need to know for the next time something like that happens is that I'll be okay. I am okay."

Dolly felt an annoyance on the inside. Not at Polly, but at the idea that she could be okay with people making accusations at her like that, especially since it was just because they didn't like her. How could she not have wanted to punch that bitch in the face? How could she not have wanted to stick something painful in her eye, or shove something down her throat to the point that she would choke?

But here she was telling Dolly that she was okay. She may have been, but Dolly sure wasn't. Still, she smiled at the blonde. "As long as you are..."

"I am," Polly said. Then, she pulled Dolly into a hug, wrapping her arms around her tightly. "Especially now that I have you in my life."

Dolly's face turned as red as a tomato, but it didn't take long for her to return the hug. "I'm so glad I have you too..." The artist meant every word of that. With Polly she felt whole, she felt complete. That her world was the brightest it's ever been.

Which is why it upset her much to see Polly get treated so badly, just like it upset her when she herself was treated badly. She had some thinking to do.

She and Polly released the hug. The blonde grinned at her friend. "So, Henry and Megan really liked you."

"Just like you said they would," Dolly smiled softly. "I'm so happy that they like me. Now we can all hang out all the time."

Polly's face lit up when she said that. "You really mean that? You really want all of us to hang out all the time together?"

"Of course," Dolly smiled. "That's what you wanted, right?" She giggled.

Polly nodded, still wearing that grin on her face. "Right."

"Then I don't see why we wouldn't do that," Dolly replied. "You know, maybe I can prepare for them all to come here sometime soon?"

"That's a great idea!" Polly said. "We'll all have a great time just like we did at the party."

"Ans this time there will be no one to interrupt us. Except maybe Rylan and Fred." Dolly joked.

Polly giggled. "I wouldn't mind them joining in on the fun."

"So it's settled then?" Dolly asked. "I'll set everything up and the others can come here whenever they have the time."

"Yeah, it's all set," Polly said.

Dolly smiled. She had really liked spending time with the others more than she thought she would last night and seeing Polly so happy about it made her heart warm. She could see why she liked them so much. They were good people who didn't judge others but their appearance. Not at all like Matteo and Daphne. Polly was showing Dolly things that she thought couldn't even be really. People like Filbert and the others who didn't judge her and Polly herself who was just like her. Polly really had become the light of her life.

The two of them finished their breakfast soon after.

Polly looked at the clock and got up.

"I should be getting home," Polly said. "Wanna check on Filbert and see if he's there before I go on patrolling."

Dolly got up and nodded. "Of course. Do you want Rylan to drive you?"

Rylan walked up to them, smiling at Polly. "It's no problem at all."

Polly smiled back at him. "I appreciate it, thank you."

The two of them walked out of the mansion and got in the car. Polly saw Dolly waving at her and she waved back as the car began to drive.

Judging by what Dolly said, aside from the Daphne thing, the night went even better than expected and now Dolly had come up with the idea that they could all hang out at her mansion. Polly couldn't help but think about how really cool that was.

"She's so amazing..." Polly smiled down at her mask as her cheeks turned red. She put her mask on and looked at the road ahead as the mansion was now out of view.

After watching Polly leave, Dolly went and sat down, getting started on her next painting, she had an idea in her mind, one that she had dreamt of last night and hadn't mentioned to Polly.

She had told Polly she was sorry for what she had done to Daphne last night but she wasn't. That feeling of seeing Daphne hurt, the pain she was causing her. Now that Polly was gone, now that her friend wasn't there to see, she could smirk cruelly as she painted.

Fred, who was taking the plates to the kitchen, stopped to see what Dolly was working on. "Working on another painting, Ms. Dolly?"

"That's right, Fred," Dolly said, turning to him with a smile. "And you know? I have a feeling this one's gonna be one of my favorites..

Fred smiled back at her and headed back into the kitchen. Dolly went back to painting.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

When she was done, she looked at it: It was a painting of her and Daphne, more specifically, a painting of her stepping on Daphne's neck. That cruel smirk came back into her face. She felt something on her lap and looked down to see Coopy had hopped onto it. She ran her hands through her cat's fur.

"You think that bitch is at the hospital seeing her boyfriend now?" Dolly asked the cat. "After that little twist, I gave her last night, she's probably crying to him about the terrible time she had." The image that brought her joy at first one soon become the source of the anger that was now inside of her. "And she's probably blaming Polly again!"

She threw her brush at the wall. Coopy looked up at her. The artist was growling in her, clenching her free hand into a fist, one that she wanted to use to strike Daphne right in the face.

After a few moments, Dolly took a couple of breaths to calm herself down, her attention going back to Coopy. "I should probably do something about her too. Maybe send Ethan after her as well. Maybe that should be my next painting."

She laughed as the thought ran through her mind. Her expression then turned serious. "But seriously," she held Coopy up and looked at him straight in the eyes. "This is going to stop. This treatment of me and Polly. I'm not sure how yet, I'll need to think, but I'm putting an end to it."

She looked at her new painting again as she set Coopy back on her lap, once again petting him. "Matteo and Daphne are only just the beginning. Whether they like it or not, everyone in this town is going to stop treating us like we're the problem. No... it's them. They always have been, this entire town is nothing but a rotten canvas. One that needs a fresh coat of paint." She looked down at the cat again. And who better than me to give it exactly that?"

NNN

After thanking Rylan for the ride home, Polly walked into her and Filbert's apartment and saw him passed out on the couch. She took off her mask again, giggling a bit before going to shake him to wake him up.

Filbert's eyes opened and he let out a yawn. "You're back already?" He looked at the clock. "I thought you wouldn't be back until noon."

"Why not?" Polly asked, taking a seat on the couch.

"You seemed to be having such a good time with Dolly last night that I thought you would end up staying with her longer," Filbert said with a shrug.

"I see," Polly smiled. "Dolly said that she had a great time with you guys last night. She wants you guys to come to her place when you're not busy."

"Oh really?" Filbert asked in surprise. "I think I can do that." He smiled. "I had a good time with her too."

"I know you did," Polly said.

"So what are you going to do today?" Filbert asked. "Patrolling again I bet?"

Polly nodded with a chuckle. "As always." She then got a serious look on her face. "I'm also going to look more into what happened to Matteo. What happened with Daphne last night..l already felt bad..but.."

"What happened to Matteo sucks but they really don't deserve to have you constantly feeling bad for them," Filbert said. "How can you with the way they've treated you?"

Polly smiled softly at him. "That's must how I am."

"I know, I know," Filbert sighed. "It's one of the things that makes you so amazing."

"I'm not that amazing," Polly said. "I'm just doing the right thing."

"Why can't it be both?" Filbert chuckled. He looked at the clock. He got up. "Good look with all of that. I gotta start getting ready for work."

Polly nodded. "Right, thanks."

Filbert smiled at her and walked out of her room. Polly got up and started making her way to her room. Whatever had attacked Matteo was still out there. She needed to find it before it hurt anyone else.

She got in her ran and sat on her bed, turning on her laptop to see if anything new had come up on possible strange sighting. Much to her disappointment, there was still nothing. Looks like for the time being she would have to find out more about this thing on her own.

Her phone rang. She took it out and grinned when she saw who was calling her. She answered the phone. "Hi, Mom!"

"Polly!" Polly's Mom, Summer, beamed on the other end. "How's my girl doing? Did you enjoy Halloween?"

"I had the best time at the party," Polly said, "For the most part anyway."

"Why for the most part?" Summer asked.

"Well, there's this girl who's boyfriend got attacked by something and... she thinks I had something to do with it," Polly said.

"What? That's just nonsense," Summer said, clear annoyance in her voice.

"I know but there's something else I wanna tell you about first," Polly said. "Well someone else."

NNN

After doing a couple more paintings and spending some time watching TV, Dolly decided to take a trip through the park with Coopy. She walked alongside her cat as she noticed there wasn't that many others at the park. That was no problem for her. It made it better in fact.

A man with blue hair and shaggy clothes walked past her. He was smoking a cigarette. He stopped when he was next to her.

"Nice cat," He commented.

"Huh?" Dolly looked at the man. "Oh, um, thank you."

"What's with the mask?" The man asked. "I know Halloween was just last night but doesn't that mean that it's over?"

"I just..really like it," Dolly told him.

"I can understand that," The man replied, putting the cigarette down and stepping on it. "It's a cool mask."

"Thanks," Dolly thanked him again. She wasn't really sure how to respond to this. Sure, she got along with Filbert and the others last night but they were with Polly. As far as she knew, this man didn't even know Polly.

"I'm not weirding you out am I?" The man asked with a nervous chuckle. "If I am, I can go."

"No, you're fine," Dolly said. "I just didn't except the compliments."

The man put his hands in his pockets. "Oh. Not used to them, huh? Join the club." He glanced away. After a few moments, he looked at Dolly again, offering his hand. "Name's Jasper."

Dolly shook his hand. "Dolly."

"Good to meet you, Dolly," Jasper said. He noticed her sketchbook. "So you're an artist, huh?"

"That's right," Dolly said. "I've been called the best artist in the world."

"That's a little strange for someone who's not used to compliments," Jasper said with a chuckle. "Think you can draw me?"

"Sure," Dolly said. She opened her sketchbook and started drawing, taking a couple of looks at him as she did so. She showed the drawing to him when he was finished.

Jasper went wide-eyed, looking at the picture in complete awe. "Holy shit! You really might be the best artist in the world!"

"Told you," Dolly said. "Wanna keep it?"

"Yeah, yeah," Jasper said eagerly.

Dolly ripped the picture out of the book and handed it to him.

Jasper smiled and put it in his pocket. "You mind if I hang with you and your cat?"

Dolly looked at him. He did just compliment her multiple times. She guessed it couldn't be too bad. Plus she imagined how happy Polly will be when she tells her she managed to hang out with someone on her own. "...Sure."

Jasper grinned when she said that. "Sweet!" He for down on his knees and started to pet Coopy. "You hear that, buddy? I'm going to hang with you for a bit."

Coopy purred. Dolly couldn't help but smile at that under her mask. She started walking when he was done.

"Sooo..." Jasper started. "Pretty crazy what happened with Laura, right?"

"Huh?" Dolly looked at him. No way he was talking about that Laura, right? "You mean the Laura that was revealed to be a mob boss?"

Dolly heard Jasper say something about him being stupid before responding, "Uh, yeah, her."

"Why did you call yourself stupid?" Dolly asked, catching Jasper off guard. "Did you know her?"

"You could say that," Jasper said. "I may have ran into her a couple of times."

Dolly just stared at him, stopping in her tracks. "...You used to work for her, didn't you"

"What?! No! I just I-" Jasper couldn't get the words he wanted to say out, which made it obvious he was lying.

"It's okay if you did," Dolly said. "I'm not gonna report you to the police or anything."

Jasper stopped. "...You're not?"

Dolly scoffed at the very thought. "Please. What have those rotten cops ever done for me?"

Jasper smiled. "Cool. Thanks."

"So you were one of her goons, right?" Dolly asked.

"Well, sort of," Jasper put his hands back in his pockets and looked off again. "I was mainly the guy who would get dirt and info on her enemies. That's kind of what I'm good for, you know? She did say I would move higher up in the future. Of course, that day never came." He then muttered.

"Should've happened a long time ago."

So this guy had a place in the criminal underworld. A low place, but still a place, and judging by how he was acting now, he didn't seem to like that place.

"...How would you say your relationship with the other guys and goons were?" Dolly asked.

Jasper scoffed. "Other than mocking me? Practically nonexistent. I did so much for those creeps and they didn't give a damn about me. As soon as Laura was arrested, they kicked me to the curb." He wasn't sure why he was telling this woman he had just met this, but it felt good to have someone to talk to about this problem who could probably understand it. With her not being used to compliments, he figured she could be in a situation that was at least on some levels similar to his

Dolly put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry you were treated like that, Jasper. I may have just met you, but I can tell you are reliable and someone worth appreciation." She wasn't sure how much she meant by that. After all, she hadn't shown Jasoer her face. If she did, he could end up being just like all the others except Polly and the rest. But hearing him, she could relate to being treated like dirt. Her case was far worse than his but she understood him. And that was enough for at least what Dolly was beginning to have in mind in her head. "Do you mind if if show you something?"

Jasper shrugged. "Sure."

"Follow me," Dolly said, heading towards the woods with Coopy.

When Dolly is sure that they are far in enough that no one can see them, she sits down and starts drawing again.

Jasper takes a seat next to her. "You wanted a private place to draw?"

"Just watch," Dolly told him, finishing the art.

The rabbit she drew hopped straight out of the page, making Jasper jump in shock.

"Whoa! How is that possible?!" Jasper asked.

Dolly smiled as the rabbit onto her lap and she started petting it. "Really cool, huh?"

"Are you kidding? That's the coolest thing I've ever seen!" Jasper responded. "How come your drawing of me didn't come to life?"

"My drawings only come to life when I want them to," Dolly said, looking down at the rabbit that was looking up at her.

"Wicked," Jasper said was at he just stared at the rabbit. "Why did you show me this?"

"Because I want to show you what's going to change this city," Dolly said. "What's going to create a better life for people like me."

Jasper looked confused. "People like you?"

Dolly sighed. She stared at him for a brief moment, contemplating her next move, before taking off her mask and revealing her face to him.

Jasper was once again in shock, mouth agape. He wasn't sure how to respond at first. How could he be? It was almost too much to take in. He had only just met this woman and she had shown him that she could bring her drawings to life and now she had a horrible burn on her.

He wanted to choose his next words carefully, so as not to upset his new friend. "W-What happened to you?"

Dolly was in a bit of shock herself. She had hoped he wouldn't judge her, but she didn't expect him to ask that question.

"I'll tell you later," Dolly said, "What I need to know is...you don't think I'm a freak, do you?"

"What?" Jasper asked. He was actually kind of offended that she asked him that. "No way! Is that what people think of you? All because you have a nasty scar on your face...no offense."

Dolly narrowed her eyes a bit but sighed in relief. "None taken." She then gave him a soft smile. "....Thank you."

"For what?" Jasper raised an eyebrow.

"For not judging me," Dolly said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You're one of the only people who hasn't."

"Of course, I wouldn't," Jasper said. "That's messed up. I may be an asshole, but I'm not an asshole."

"Good to hear," Dolly said, getting up. "I want you to join me, Jasper. I want you to help me make this city better. I can tell that you understand that people need to be dealt with."

Jasper couldn't believe it. Someone actually wanted his help? Someone who wasn't just taking advantage of him? How could he possibly turn that down?

He got up and looked at Dolly. "I'm in."

The artist smirked at him and held out her hand. Jasper smirked back and shook it.