Another Way | Adopted by Gerard Way (Book Three)

15

For the first time, Harley was truly bothered by her unruly hair. Brushing it out only made it frizz and stand out around her head like an angry cloud, and she wasn't about to dedicate the time it would take to straighten it. She wished she could just cut it all off so she wouldn't have to deal with it anymore.

She'd never picked herself apart quite like this before, standing in front of the bathroom mirror, the overhead LED lights paling her face. Makeup would fix the washed-out tone and her blemishes, the uneven freckles that were barely noticeable to anyone but herself. She was never one for makeup, though, and probably wouldn't even be able to identify most beauty items if they were laid out in front of her. Mascara was too heavy on her eyelashes, lipstick felt sticky and sparked paranoia about it accidentally coating her teeth, concealer and foundation felt like a sheet of plastic stuck to her skin that would crease if she had anything but a neutral expression on her face. She was hyper-aware of the way it all felt, and the way it looked was even worse.

She'd had a phase where she wrinkled her nose at the colour pink, proclaiming herself as being "not like other girls," turning down the radio if a song by the likes of Taylor Swift or Miley Cyrus came on, simmering with pride when she admitted she couldn't name a single track on the Top 100. Phases are meant to be outgrown, but her hatred of makeup or anything else societally deemed as feminine was still strong, although, hatred wasn't the right word.

It was discomfort.

It wasn't something she'd ever shared with anyone, but something that gnawed away at her insides every time she looked at herself from a certain angle or tried to step out of her comfort zone and wear something that wasn't her usual baggy attire. She couldn't decide if she should force herself to swallow the feeling and put on something nice for her date with Mason, or just show up in a hoodie and jeans.

The hoodie and jeans were definitely tempting.

From the corner of her eye, she saw a figure step into the doorway of the bathroom. "Lindsey," she whined, drawing out her words, "Help."

"What can I do for you, girly?" Lindsey asked, stepping into the bathroom.

"I don't know what to do," Harley said helplessly, looking at Lindsey's reflection in the mirror.

"You mean to get ready for your date?"

Harley's eyes widened. "How did you know I was going on a— Gee told you."

"Was it supposed to be a secret?" Lindsey asked as she delicately ran her fingers through Harley's hair. She began trying to undo the knots.

"Not necessarily, just... don't tease me about it."

"Of course not," Lindsey sighed, "Young love. I think it's cute."

Harley's face flushed. "Who said anything about love? Don't get ahead of yourself."

"I know, I know, but I still think it's cute," Lindsey said, switching from using her fingers on Harley's hair to a comb. "You know, Eve and Em were each other's first relationships."

"I know."

Evelyn, feeling overwhelmed by the music, people, and expensive price tags surrounding her, searched through racks at Hot Topic— a store she'd never even heard of let alone shopped at, although her new family seemed to fit right in. She'd immediately gravitated towards the section of classic band tees: David Bowie, Queen, The Beatles— her favourite artists at the time, not including her own adopted father's band she'd only truly discovered with him last night as he played video after video for her.

As she flipped through the shirts, she didn't remove anything from the rack. The bold numbers on the price tags were too daunting— she didn't feel deserving of anything worth so much, or anything at all, really. But that was something she'd internalized and would face the full wrath of soon through her own self-destruction.