savetheearth | baby you're a firework

Entry tags:

baby you're a firework

Who: Avery Strider (

counterclock) & Kotetsu Kaburagi (

earnedmystripes)
What: Avery isn't wearing a helmet and that is a fucking safety violation. Straight to jail, delinquent brat.
When: August 6th.
Where: Outside the community college.

It is going the fuck home time and as usual, Avery is super psyched to hide in her apartment not having friends, talking to her cat, and harassing people on the internet. She has a new video blog to make and her new sunglasses are supposed to ship and should arrive soon and really she is totally done with people for the next twenty-four hours, which is great because she doesn't have class tomorrow because her only Wednesday class is notoriously canceled by her teacher, who she suspects hates being at school more than any of the students in her class.

Anyway, the point is she is home free, and is going to spend the next thirty-six or so hours locked in her room filming shit and playing videogames, until she has to get up at ass o'clock for work on Thursday.

But today is not Thursday. Today is Tuesday and she is the eternal flame, and that eternal flame is hungry for ramen and cheetoes. She bikes like the wind, because nothing is going to stop her, and absolutely nothing, nothing, will get in between her and the corner store on the way home and the ice cream and iced tea and iced mini cakes she is going to buy. Nothing.

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[Unfortunately for all parties involved, it is not going the fuck home time for Kotetsu. He's patrolling around the neighborhood around the time that Avery leaves the community college and his car is parked just across the street from that store in which he'd stopped to grab a bagel because he'd forgotten to have lunch that day.

He's in a pretty decent mood this afternoon, too, despite all the craziness surrounding...everything in his life these days--humming a cheery little tune in between bites of bagel, and he's just turning that corner when he looks up to see Avery barreling toward him.]

Oh shi--

[Bagel is dropped, and he manages to avoid being slammed into by a bicycle by diving off toward the left. Instead of making friends with the cold, hard pavement right there, however, he vaults off his hands and lands properly on his feet. This would be rightly badass if he didn't almost immediately thereafter trip on the crack in the sidewalk and fall on his ass.]

Edited 2013-08-07 09:49 (UTC)

[Don't think he's forgotten about you though, Avery. Because he calls out after her over his shoulder as he works to get his ridiculously lanky legs underneath him and get up.]

Oi, stop!!

[Upright again, he dashes to catch up with her. Clearly he's planning to chew you out for nearly hitting him, right?]

You should really be wearing a helmet.

[...nope.]

[So this cop comes out of fucking nowhere all of a sudden, and Avery is terrified for a split second when he steps right into her path, but he dodges out of the way just as she swerves, and a collision is avoided.

She should really stop biking and turn around to ask if he's okay, but all she can think of is that guy getting the snot beaten out of him that she saw the other day while biking home this very same route, and her legs pump hard on the pedals, hoping she'll just be able to outrun him and maybe he won't come after her, right?

Wrong.

Ridiculously fast (for a cop), this guy bolts down the street after her, shouting for her to stop. Reluctant and shaking a little bit, Avery does, slowly pulling her feet off the pedals as her hand squeezes the break. She settles her foot against the ground to brace the bike up and doesn't turn around to look at him, barely even registers what he says next when he finally catches up to her, having taken not much time to do that at all. Shit. Shit. A hop skip and a jump away from terrified, Avery stares at the ground and is silent.]

[Ah, geez. In retrospect, Kotetsu realizes, tearing down the street after someone while in uniform does send a distinct sort of message. Thinking before acting, that's sure not a thing he's good at in any incarnation.

Is there a way to salvage this situation, that is he question of the hour. Unfortunately, there really aren't non-awkward ways to say don't worry I wasn't going to arrest you or anything, and after almost a minute of mounting, uncomfortable silence, he decides simply to push on with the only approach he really knows--i.e. being ridiculously earnest about everything ever.]

It's dangerous to ride a bike without a helmet. Kinda like you wouldn't drive a car without a seatbelt, right?

What if we'd been in the street and I'd been in a car, or something? You coulda been really hurt.

You're too late, sir, [she says, trying to be polite but simultaneously finding it hard to tone down her natural dickery.] Got hit by a car like, last month and I'm still breathing I think, so I think I'm gonna be okay.

[Nice work, Ava.]

[Behold, Avery, the longest silence in the history of long silences.]

...Wait a sec. So. You're saying you actually got hit by a car. And you still don't want to wear a helmet???

[KOTETSU IS JUST. STARING AT YOU LIKE YOU'RE COMPLETELY OUT OF YOUR MIND. And he might honestly be wondering if you could be considered a danger to yourself at this point.]

Edited 2013-08-15 01:47 (UTC)

Well. [Well yes.]

I wasn't on a bike.

[Because a skateboard is totally different.

Aaaand she's apparently dumbfounded the cop. That has to be a new record somewhere.]

[OH HEY WHAT'S THIS NOW?

It's, it's...! Spoiler alert: another pause.]

...Were you just...walking, or...?

[He needs details here, Avery. Because if you got hit by a car while just walking, this is a little less absurd but you should still wear a helmet!]

Edited 2013-08-26 08:40 (UTC)

Ssssssssskateboarding? [She says it slowly, like a question, as she's kind of unsure as to what he's looking for.]

[BZZZZZZZT WRONG ANSWER.]

...You shoulda been wearing a helmet then, too! Don't take your luck for granted!!

Look, I don't think there's a law that says I have to wear a helmet when I skateboard. Unless I'm breaking some legislative violation of American freedom then I don't think you can legally take your billy club out and pound me into the pavement for resisting arrest, I guess not that that'll stop you, but seriously, man... really? I'm not causing an accident. I got reflectors and use signals and everything.

[Oh no. The sass is unleashing. Avery, don't.]

[Yeah he just...stares throughout that whole babble/rant. And keeps staring. And frowning. But it's not until the end that he looks legitimately offended.]

Why the hell would I do something like that?! Seriously, what could I possibly ever get out of terrorizing a kid. Even putting aside how gross and wrong and pathetic it'd be, I've got better things to do with my life!

I was worried, you stupid asshole--

[Language, Kotetsu. He stops himself, teeth gritting for a moment as he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, and then continues with less vehemence:]

And I'd assume there're other people who'd also appreciate it if you didn't ever crack your skull on the pavement, so maybe you should be grateful that you didn't the last time and wise the hell up instead of mouthing off at the guy you thought was going to hit you.

[He's starting to think your sense of self-preservation is in the negatives or something.]

Edited (eh) 2013-09-09 05:19 (UTC)

[The average person with a sense of shame would be immediately mollified and probably a bit scared that a cop just started yelling at them. Avery, unfortunately, runs on terror and awkwardness and turns it into asshattery. She is a very functional machine that someone is probably going to blow up some day.

But today is not this day.

And so, instead of shutting up and apologizing, her mouth twists and she folds her arms across her chest, leaning back on her bike seat.] Look you can get offended all you want, bucko, but maybe you might wanna share your special hobbies with your buddies who don't got anything better to do than beat up random students for sneezing the wrong way while on their way to class, maybe, yeah?

Legit, I wanna know. Am I breaking the law?

No?

Then you ain't got any reason to give a shit, sir.

Because the only things I can give a shit about is screwing people over, right? Cops can't possibly care about whether someone lives or dies.

[...He feels even shittier after saying it, because no, a lot of them apparently don't give a shit about who they need to hurt to allow this alien invasion to happen and keep it a secret. He hates feeling ashamed of something he's been devoted to for fifteen years. There's a frustrated sigh, and he looks off to the side, grumbling.]

...Besides, kids do have to wear helmets.

Newsflash: I'm not a fucking kid. I'm an adult. Can I go, now?

[Yeah, she's not feeling any of your "cops care" bullshit.]

[Don't mind him, Avery, he may possibly be projecting a teeeeensy bit. Just a little.

He might. Also be staring for several seconds at that declaration. And blinking.]

....Really? You don't happen to have some ID on you or anything, do you?

[~~Yeah, you totally just got carded over a bicycle helmet. What is your life.~~]

Are you seriously carding me over a bicycle helmet.

Is that really happening right now.

[Seeeriously, fuck this guy.]

... I'm eighteen, I promise.

Huh. I woulda pegged you for like, fourteen, maybe...

[Partly being stubborn, partly genuinely curious here. He doesn't comment further on the matter of carding, though it's unclear whether it's because he's expecting her to pony up and won't argue about it, or if he's simply decided to drop the matter.]

Oh my fuck, whatever. [Irritated but trying not to get out of hand, Avery slings her backpack onto her thigh, which she turns to support on her bike seat. Pulling it open, she digs in deep trying to find her ID, and thus barely notices when a notebook slips out through the side and falls open.]

There, here you go; it says 1994 right fucking there.

[He's about to reach forward to take the ID when the notebook falls out and hits the ground. The noise distracts him, and he looks toward the source of it, when a single line of text catches his eye. moisturize me.

...

Suddenly, the ID is a hell of a lot less relevant to him.]

...You're from the network.

[All of the details about the targeting of network users aren't exactly clear to her, but as soon as he says it her blood runs cold. Oh, oh fuck. She's so fucked. She is so beyond fucked.

She's going to die. Even if she biked away now, he'd have a whole notebook full of her info and info on the network.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuckshitting fuck on a foot-long fuck sandwich--]

I don't know what the fuck you're talking about, [she hedges, shrinking back away from him.] Look canyoupleasejust look at my ID, I swear I'll wear a helmet next time, I'll go buy one right fucking now, cross m' heart--

[For all his defensiveness about his career earlier, it actually takes him a minute to parse that reaction. It's almost almost comical, the look on his face as realization dawns, his gaze flickers between her, the notebook, and his own uniform--no wait don't freak out!--and there's a moment of indecision before he pulls out his phone, types in his own number, and digs up the last post he made, turning it around to show to her.]

This network. I'm on it, too.

[Her shoulders slowly relax as she examines him, and more specifically the phone. It's a long moment of silence before she sighs and scratches the back of her head.]

I almost fucked us real bad.

[He's relieved when she begins to calm down, and offers her a tentative sort of grin.]

Nah, regular people don't seem to notice the network at all. S'like it doesn't exist to non-numbereds.

...But you probably couldn't go wrong scratching the number out whenever you're done using it, either.

I, uh, I'm Kotetsu, by the way.

[e-even more tentatively offering a handshake......]

Oh, [she says, scratching at her arm.] Didn't know that. I guess I won't freak out next time. Well, hopin' there ain't a next time-- um.

I'm... Ava. Nice to meetcha, I... guess. [She gives him the barest most anemic handshake possible before snatching back her hand.]

Yeah, that's probably best. Never hurts to be cautious.

[~~Today in Things Canon Kotetsu would never say...~~]

Same here. [Beat.] I, ah, m'sorry for freaking out at you about the cop thing, by the way.

Yeah, uh. No hard feelings man. I was prob'ly being a jerk anyhow...

[Awkward pause, filled by an uncomfortable cough.]

So, do I still gotta wear a helmet?

[....]

...You really should.

... But do I have to?

Could...you....?

[Beat]

....Please?

...

[She is being lightly begged to consider her safety by a fucking police officer. Wow. There's only one real answer to this situation, but apropos of nothing Avery shrugs, halfhearted, and says:] I'd really rather not...

[GDI AVERY.]

Why noooot....

[Well. Nobody said he was the most mature cop ever u_u]

[There's approximately six seconds of silence at this point before Kotetsu has a new idea and changes tack.]

--Is it 'cause they're not cool enough, or something? 'Cause. I've seen some pretty badass helmets. Like, with painted flames and stuff!!

[THAT'S COOL, RIGHT???? ~~get it, cool~~]

And! Being safe's pretty cool too, right? I mean, you don't get hurt and have to worry your folks and miss school--though I guess that'd have been kinda a perk when I was growing up....--and there're no huge med bills to pay and stuff????

You could even start a trend, maybe. Of safe...ty.....

[....It sounded better in his head, okay.]

[Uh.]

Maybe...

You should...

[Uhhhhhh.]

... go home, or something.

[This teenager is giving you the most unimpressed stare ever.]

Like.

Get a hug from your wife. Play ball with your dog. Drink some tea.

[Kotetsu flinches rather suddenly at the mention of a wife, recoiling as if he's been struck. For a moment, he stands frozen, uncertain how to respond, and his gaze drops to the ground when he mumbles uncomfortably--]

...I don't have a dog.

[Yes good, let's buy time. It gives him about three seconds to figure out a way to talk around the wife thing.]

And I'm not--married right now.

[Kind of suspicious word choice for a guy wearing a wedding ring, huh? Moreso considering he just abruptly shoved his hands in his pockets.]

....What does any of that have to do with helmets and safety, anyway.

Wow.

Dude.

I wasn't being literal. I don't know you man, and uh. I don't think I actually need to, no offense. [She shifts, viscerally uncomfortable.]

I will put a good amount of college thought into wearing a helmet. How's that?

[NO OKAY HE IS TOTALLY DOWN WITH NOT TALKING ABOUT HIMSELF flsdkagkdjf let's just pretend things were not said here, okok.]

...By which you mean, you're not gonna do shit, because you're a teenager and think you're invincible and could never possibly get hurt.

[The heaviest of sighs ugharughafsj everything about this sucks.]

Do me a favor and at least stick to sidewalks if you're not gonna wear one, alright?

[Not that she's likely to do that either. But he has to try, damn it.]

Riding on sidewalks is actually more dangerous... [Cough. Cough.]

...So you're worried about crashing into pedestrians with your bike but not getting seriously hurt by a car.

[Shrug.

...yeah, that's all you're getting.]

[JUST. A LOUD, FRUSTRATED NOISE. AND ICONFACE.]

[Total. Deadpan.]

Sooooooo...

... Can I go now?

[..........]

[.....]

[...]

[Really, he wants to come up with an excuse to hold her up longer, just to be petty, but he can't think of one.]

Fine. Go.

[Yeah, she's definitely not crying about this moment ending.] Thanks.

Later. [She adjusts herself on her bike, slinging her backpack properly over her back again and making sure all of her shit is properly locked inside.]

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baby you're a firework

1/2 bc this had to be at least a little hideous

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WOW when did it get to be ten days since i tagged this weeps

it's okay i managed twelve. let's not make this a competition.

we are both winners of the fail championship tournament

light the torch

sets fire to the rain

watches it burn as i touch your face....

hears it screaming out your name??? (i totally had to go look up those lyrics sob)

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1/2

2/2

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ignore the glowing faintly injured nature of this icon shhh

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