Another Way | Adopted by Gerard Way (Book Three)

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Harley couldn't sleep, but that was becoming the usual. It was 4 A.M., which was also becoming the usual time that she'd give up on trying to quieten her mind so she could sleep, only to fight off sleep so she wouldn't have to suffer nightmares.

She'd taken to scrolling through Instagram in those early hours; something she never used to do, save the account she made for the sole purpose of keeping up with her favourite bands and secretly inserting herself into the sea of Evelyn's readers so she could see what they were saying about the book.

This morning, though, she had a purpose, as she squeezed her eyes shut and attempted to recall the name of the tattoo shop she'd walked past with Mason near the Pier. Then, without really telling them to, her fingers typed it into the search bar: Black Diamond Tattoos.

The account came up at the top of the search results and she tapped it and scrolled quickly, past high-definition photos of inked-on insects, rats, and bats and other creepy animals in a style that made her heart leap with recognition. Then, she found the post that had been shared nearly a month ago.

This months guest spot: Raven Tattoos.

Harley could've hopped out of bed and jumped up and down if she didn't think it might wake Gerard and Lindsey. She squealed into her pillow instead.

4 A.M. was too early to get ahold of Raven, she knew, but she DMed them, anyway. A block of text she hoped got her excitement across clearly.

Harley: Hi Raven I know it's been forever but I just saw that you're in LA and I also happen to be in LA cause I'm staying with Gee while my moms are on Eve's book tour and like... if you wanted to maybe perhaps visit and catch up if you have time I'm sure he wouldn't mind

If she hadn't been able to sleep before then, she certainly wouldn't manage it now.

• • •

Harley hadn't been able to stop checking her phone all day, even when she was skateboarding with Remi. Although, those moments were more like her stealing glances at Remi as she skateboarded, her skill improving by the day.

"Are you waiting for an important call?" Remi asked, her cheeks rosy from the hours of skating she couldn't seem to get enough of, as they walked back toward their houses.

"Kind of," Harley admitted, pocketing her phone guiltily when she realized she'd paid more attention to it that day than to her friend. "I found out that a family friend I haven't seen in I-don't-know-how-long is currently in LA, so I messaged them. I really want to see them."

"Who are they?" Remi asked, tensing up slightly.

"One of my mom's friends. They've been friends since they were teenagers and we used to be really close, but then I guess everyone got busy and we kind of fell out of touch."

"Oh," Remi said, relaxing, although Harley was looking at the sidewalk and didn't notice Remi's change in disposition at all. "Well, I hope they respond soon. It'd be nice to get in touch again, huh?"

"Yeah, it would be really nice."

"Tell me about them."

Harley smiled. "Their name is Raven and they're a tattoo artist. They're so cool. We used to be, like, partners in crime but we didn't really do anything rebellious 'cause I was too young and Raven was too responsible—that's just what my moms used to call us. Us and my mom's other friends, Krash and Ryder."

"They all have really cool names," Remi pointed out, then, after a moment of thought, added, "They sound like they might've picked them out themselves."