Sulking Tiger, Teenage Problems [Open-ish action]

[superoverachiever]

[Closed to Pete]
[Picking a fight with a half dozen kedan thugs has done a lot more to get her banged and bruised than it has to improve her mood. So she shows up on the rooftop as soon as she gets his message but ]

[Open]
[After her little talk with Spider-Man, Ava goes right back to prowling through the Metal Sector looking for crime, trouble, or just generally any excuse to jump into the middle of a fight.]

Comments

[superoverachiever]

You weren't concerned! [She snaps at him almost immediately. The amulet-induced rage may have subsided for now, but it's easier to latch onto her own resentment than properly try and confront her feelings.] Not about me.

You worry more about the bad guys than your own teammates. [The instant she says she knows it's unfair. This Pete doesn't have teammates to prove her wrong with.]

[wallcrawler]

Okay, you cannot actually think that!

[Not that he knows that for sure, but it's mostly disappointment talking. He was under the impression she was just as devoted to schoolwork as he was, and the thought she was ignoring the possible ramifications of anything REALLY bad happening to the bad guys, or just the elven jerk, was not something that meshed with that impression.]

I want to make sure you don't do something stupid because I do care! I've got enough problems from my own screw-ups to let you go and make the same mistakes!

[superoverachiever]

And what if I did screw up? [She bites back the urge to re-emphasize his screw-ups in favor of actually getting to her question. This is what's been bugging her most since she started arguing with Pete early.] Would you be there for me then?

[wallcrawler]

Of course I would! But that doesn't mean I'm going to just let you make them!

[superoverachiever]

You can't just say of course you would.

You don't have any way to prove it.

[wallcrawler]

Okay, that is not fair. And frankly, I don't know what kind of friends you had back home, but real friends? They don't wait for you to screw up just so they can show they care. They step in beforehand.

The only reason I'm here now is because I'm worried you might fly off the handle and hurt someone. Badly. And I don't want you to have to live with that!

[superoverachiever]

Whatever! [That shout is particularly loud, to mask just how close she is to breaking down crying.] You're not trying to stop me 'cause you're my friend. You're just trying to stop because you're Spider-Man.

[She hates that idea, hates how she can't help but think it was true of her Pete at home when she confronted Kraven.]

[wallcrawler]

You just don't get it!

[oh my god Ava you are smarter than this and it's driving him insane]

I'm trying to keep you from screwing up, and screwing up as bad as I have! The fact I'm Spider-Man has nothing to do with it! I made those mistakes, as Spider-Man, and I don't want anyone I care about doing the same!

[superoverachiever]

You don't want anyone doing the same! It doesn't matter whether you care about them or not!

[Ava's mouth twitches after she shouts that. Even in her extremely upset state she can realize how ridiculous it was to hold that against Peter. Or anyone.]

[wallcrawler]

Oh, and that means I'm not trying to help?

Would you prefer I let you kill off a bad guy or two? Because trust me, you won't feel any better, you'll feel worse. And I am not letting you do that to yourself!

[superoverachiever]

No, it means you don't care!

You already stopped me, alright? I thought it was because you were my friend. But you just -- you're -- [Alright, not only has she lost any hope of a compelling argument, she's lost her train of thought.] Rrrrgh!

[wallcrawler]

How does that even make sense?

If I didn't care about you why the heck would I wait around out here all this time just for you to finish blowing off steam and finally show up?

Or are you gonna try and convince me you were really just downstairs this whole time reading?

[Though he wouldn't believe that excuse even if he did know about your romance novel habit.]

[superoverachiever]

[She digs her hands into her knees, growling a little. Pete has a point, but that doesn't mean she has to like it.] Fine. I dunno. Maybe you have a point.

[wallcrawler]

[Well, at least they were done shouting. For now. And he has to take a deep breath just to make sure he doesn't start it up again.]

I'm just trying to help. Alright? I know I'm not the Parker you're used to, but I really do want to help. But there's only so much I can do if there's things you're not telling me. Especially if you're holding them against me.

If you want, I can just...leave you alone for a while, I guess. Give us both time to calm down. Because I don't know how he feels about it, but I know I'm not a big fan of yelling. Not at you.

[Or, well, anyone not completely psychotic. Ava may have had a temper on her, but she was still a good person. And a pretty good friend, considering not a lot of people would have kept their mouths shut about the secret identity thing for this long.]

[superoverachiever]

[Ava's slow to consider that, clutching her knees and staring at the ground in frustration. But she manages to choke back a plethora of uselessly immature responses to come up with] Alright. Yeah. Give me some time. I won't do anything stupid, I promise.