Another Way | Adopted by Gerard Way (Book Three)

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It had rained during the night, so instead of dead silence with the occasional birdsong and scuttling of squirrels, the forest was alive with the sound of water droplets pattering on the ground. The aromatic and earthy smell of pine and damp soil perfumed the air. It would have been peaceful and refreshing if the Forest Friends could've sat on their rocks without soaking the backs of their pants or being showered by the leaves above.

They turned around and headed back up the path, wordlessly agreeing that they'd need to find something else to do until the sun hit its noontime high and dried everything up again.

Harley, noticing that Ryan was behind the group, slowed her pace.

"How's it going?" she asked.

Ryan, who had their eyes fixed on the ground and was stepping on as many twigs as possible to hear the satisfying snap, looked up. They were becoming more comfortable with Harley by the day, especially since coming out, and her initial shyness and reluctance to make eye contact had dissipated. "I'm good," they said, smiling. "I was really happy when I realized that it rained last night. The morning after rain is my favourite thing to wake up to."

"Really? I always think it kinda sucks that everything's soaked," Harley said. "But at least the plants get watered."

"Yeah, but think about it: you're lucky you're living down this long driveway into the woods 'cause you get to smell the petrichor. When you're in the middle of town, it always just smells the same. Like cars and trash and, like, pigeon shit."

"I get to smell the what?" Harley asked, too hung up on that word to laugh at "pigeon shit".

"Petrichor. You know, the smell of the ground and the grass and trees after it rains for the first time in a while. It's nice and earthy and fresh. It's calming," Ryan said. They inhaled deeply.

Harley sniffed the air. "I didn't know there was a word for that smell."

"Well, now you do. Now you teach me a fun fact."

"Uh, I don't think I know any fun facts. I'm not super knowledgeable about anything specific. I guess I know about this kind of cancer more than the average person. It's called acute my—" Harley interrupted herself before she could finish that long name that held so much pain. "Um, that wouldn't be a fun fact, though, would it?"

Ryan knit their eyebrows together, "I guess it doesn't have to be a fun—" but was interrupted by Harley letting out a gasp.

Harley's eyes lit up with the relief that she had a valid way to change the subject. She lowered her voice to ensure that no one else would hear her and said, "I can't believe I forgot to tell you... I have some very important news. You might even call it 'fun.'"

Ryan matched her whisper. "Oh?" they asked, intrigued.

"Finn and I were watching Luca last night—he slept over, it's a long story—and I took my chances by telling him, 'You know who Luca and Alberto remind me of?'"

Ryan's eyes widened. "I know where this is going! Did it work? Are we good to go ahead with the plan?"

Harley nodded enthusiastically. "It took a bit of convincing. A lot of convincing, actually. They're still not completely on board, I think, but they're just nervous, which is understandable. I told Finn they're in good hands with us, though, and—" Harley lowered her voice even more, "—that Andy obviously really likes him back. They just need a little push."

"So, how do we push? Where do we go from here?"

"I don't know, I'm kinda tempted to sit them down and straight-up tell them what's going on. That would be the most efficient way."