Star Love Stories #557
In "The Boy Next Door," seventeen-year-old Polly navigates grief and growing up after her father’s sudden death and her mother’s illness. As Vince, the boy next door, quietly shows his care, Polly begins to see him differently—especially when he suggests turning their spare room into a bed-sitter. When a new lodger, Sam, moves in, Polly finds herself drawn to him, only to learn his affection lies elsewhere. Paul Simmons’ expressive art captures the quiet tension and emotional shifts of a young woman learning the difference between longing and love.
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When Polly was seventeen, her father died suddenly and then her mother became very sick. Vince admires the way Polly nurses her mother and tells her he loves her. But she still just thinks of him as the boy next door. With her mother unable to work, Vince suggested they turn their spare room into a bed-sitter. Polly overhears a man at work talk about needing a place to stay and tells him about the room. He agrees to stay with them and Polly develops a crush on the much older man. Eventually Polly learns that Sam loves her mother, not her, and Polly becomes petulant.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).