Another Way | Adopted by Gerard Way (Book Three)

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When Mason left her back on the stone steps outside the candy store, it was like she'd been submerged in frigid water for much too long and had finally surfaced for air. Before leaving, she ran up those steps two at a time to check her reflection in the store window. Studying the left side of her face, she searched for any hint of red or purple where Mason had slapped and was relieved not even to find a scratch. Then, she wiped the taste of his cherry Slurpee off her lips with the back of her hand. She hadn't exactly been lusting for a kiss goodbye, but she hadn't resisted him either.

When she arrived at Gerard's house at a run, eager to be back in her safe place, she stood on the porch, doubled over with her hands on her knees.

Gerard looked at her, bewildered. "Are you being chased?" he asked, crushing half a cigarette in a nearby ashtray.

"No, no, everything's fine," she said. She sat on the porch with her head on her knees. "How are you doing?"

"I'm alright, just wondering if I should be worried."

"I just felt like going on a run," she said, lying on her back, her hat falling off. "I think I overdid it."

"I'd say so." Gerard leaned on the porch railing patiently as Harley caught her breath. He flit his eyes between her and the trees skirting the yard, casting elongated shadows on the grass in the golden, sinking sun. When Harley finally sat up, he helped her to her feet and asked, "How was your day?"

"Nothing special," she said, bending down to pick up her hat. She held it against her chest. "Mason and I just walked around, ate some food, walked some more. I would've honestly been okay with less walking. And you can only stop at so many churro stands before they get old."

She was holding something back, avoiding Gerard's eyes, kicking her shoes off without caring about ruining the backs and leaving them near the door without lining them up. She was wringing her hands, walking swiftly towards the stairs to go up to her room without another word, and Gerard was following her.

He reached out and touched her shoulder just as her foot found the bottom stair. "Hang on," he said.

She stepped off the stairs and turned around, looking at his forehead instead of into his eyes. "What?"

Gerard was grappling with himself; to give her space, or to ask? Should he let her go up to room and be alone when something was obviously bothering her? She was waiting for him to say something, but she was also inching her foot back onto the first stair and slowly reaching for the railing.

"You wanna watch Umbrella?" he asked hopefully. "I think we're at season two now."

Harley's posture relaxed. She said honestly, "Yeah, that sounds good. I'm just gonna go change first, then I'll come down." She gave Gerard what she realized was her first genuine smile since she'd talked to the little girl in front of the candy store that morning.

Less than two minutes later, she returned downstairs wearing a hoodie and sweatpants and holding the candy Gerard had bought her on Sunday. She'd forgotten about it, sitting in the bottom of the bag she'd dropped on the floor when Raven had taken her by surprise. She tore open the bag of Sour Patch Kids as she plopped onto the couch.

"Every time I eat Sour Patch Kids I remember how fucking good they are," she said, holding the bag out to Gerard. "Did you know they're vegan?"

"Are they?" he asked, taking a couple with one hand as he navigated the TV with the other. "If I could live off of Sour Patch Kids I'd go vegan, for sure."

"Yeah, me too. I don't know why I haven't already, to be honest."

"Probably because you can't live off of Sour Patch Kids."