Another Way | Adopted by Gerard Way (Book Three)

7

"I'm sorry I didn't answer my phone all day!" Harley yelled as she practically ran through the door, not wanting to force anyone to wonder where she was any longer.

Gerard immediately appeared in the hallway as though he'd been standing there waiting for her. She couldn't read the look on his face, but she tried. "Listen kiddo, I love you, but you've only been here a couple days and you're stressing me out," he said, running his fingers through his hair that was almost as tangled as her's. He didn't sound angry, which was relieving to Harley, but he sounded tired.

"I'm sorry, Gee, I got distracted," she said, not being able to offer him a better excuse. She sat on the wooden floor of the entryway and pried off her shoes very carefully instead of kicking them off like usual, only because they were new and she wanted to keep them in mint condition for as long as possible. "But at least I— Aw, shit! I said I was gonna bring you back a coffee, didn't I?"

"Don't worry about it Harley, I've probably had enough today anyhow."

"I wouldn't doubt it," she said. "Anyway, guess what? I made friends— Or at least I made acquaintances that could potentially become friends." She lined her shoes up next to all the other pairs near the front door, then stood up again and bounced on her tiptoes slightly as she swung her arms at her sides with a wide smile on her face. The effects of the 160mg of caffeine she'd had before noon definitely hadn't worn off yet.

Gerard studied her movements with an amused look on his face. He seemed at a loss for words, so Harley took his silence as a cue to get on with an elaborate story detailing what she'd been up to that day.

"Okay, so basically I went to the skatepark like I said I was going to and the new board was rad by the way and then after a while— I'm not sure how long I was there until they showed up but those kids that we saw yesterday showed up and made me break my concentration so I sorta fell—"

"Harley—"

"I almost went headfirst into the fence actually but I was fine and it was actually kinda funny looking back on it. So then they were introducing themselves and asking me questions and I basically kept it really vague when they asked me why I was in LA if I'm from New York 'cause I told them that I'm from New York—"

"Harley," Gerard said again.

"What?"

"I'm used to you having energy, but you're talking so fast I can't even understand half of what you're saying."

Harley giggled. "I had a bit of caffeine."

"You don't say?"

"What do I do? Just wait for it to go away?" she asked, jumping up and down.

"You've never had much caffeine before today, have you?"

"Nope!"

"What did you drink? Coffee?"

"A Monster energy drink. Everyone else had one and they were just fine! I was the only one bouncing off the walls. Well, we were outside so there weren't any walls, but you know what I mean. I was just sitting there vibrating, and I wanted to go run around or something, but I also wanted to stay there and sit with them, so there I was just—"

"Let's go for a walk until Lindsey's done making dinner and maybe you'll calm down a bit," Gerard suggested.

"What are you doing making her do all the work? Go and help your wife!" Harley exclaimed only half jokingly as she pointed in the direction of the kitchen.

"That sounds just like something Eve would've said as a teenager," Gerard said, laughing a bit, but mostly smiling at the thought. "Don't worry, though, we take turns making dinner."