Crazy Day in the City, Part 3: Fight
Gwen, Mary Jane, and Spidey settled in a coffee house and discussed their plans.
"Maybe we could all see a movie together," Gwen said. "That might be fun."
"Are you stupid? I'll go nuts if I sit in one spot for two hours. I'm barely holding it together just talking here." He began blowing on his hot drink.
Gwen bit back her response through sheer force of will. This was supposed to be Spidey's day, she told herself.
"...Well, what would you like to do?"
"You're asking me now? You could have brought that up before dragging me to a coffee house... which serves coffee... which I hate... which you should have known." He continued blowing.
Spidey acts so differently whenever Gwen is around, Mary Jane thought. Normally, he's so cheerful and devil-may-care. He's always trying to be funny by spouting wisecracks and puns, no matter how lame they are. He doesn't do that with Gwen. He's just a ball of irritability around her.
At first, Mary Jane wondered if Peter was developing a THIRD personality, but she knew better. All real people have different sides to them. So this just meant Spidey was a full-fledged person of his own. It would have made Mary Jane proud, if it weren't such bad news for Gwen.
On the other hand, the feeling was mutual from Gwen's end. They hated each other like it was instinct. Mary Jane knew they didn't act this way intentionally, but she wished they would get along better.
And Gwen WAS making an effort, but it obviously wasn't easy. "Sorry," she mumbled. "I ordered for you as a force of habit. Peter likes coffee."
"Peter doesn't care what goes in his mouth," Spidey replied between breaths. "If he did, he wouldn't be dating you."
Mary Jane winced. So much for effort.
Gwen reached over and poured her cup onto Spidey's lap. He knocked his chair back and screamed, "Hot! HOT!"
"How clumsy of me," Gwen muttered. She took Spidey's forgotten coffee cup and started drinking.
The boy glared daggers as he patted his lap with napkins. "And she wonders why I'm not nicer to her."
"I don't wonder. You do it because you're you."
"Why don't we change the subject," Mary Jane cheerfully tried to defuse the situation.
"Let's not!" Spidey shot back. "Why didn't my spider sense kick in? I'm supposed to be able to avoid danger."
"Peter spends so much time with me, his body apparently doesn't recognize me as a threat. Sucks to be you."
"Wouldn't his girlfriend be extra-threatening?"
"Guys," Mary Jane was starting to worry. "Maybe we shouldn't talk about this in public." Indeed, everyone in the coffee house was staring at the trio since Spidey's cries.
But he had a solution. "MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!" The patrons quickly looked away
Spidey lifted his chair upright, sat down, and lowered his voice. "Our lives would be so much simpler if you and Pete just broke up and STAYED that way. I mean, we all know it's inevitable anyway."
Gwen raised an eyebrow. Genuine confusion. "What do you mean 'inevitable'?"
"Oh?" He suddenly seemed smug. "Do I know a word that Because-I-Know-Everything Gwen Stacy doesn't? They should have a badge for that."
"I know what the word means, smart mouth. YOU'RE the one who's incomprehensible."
"It's inevitable because, although you claim to like Peter, we're always at each other's throats. How's that been working for you?"
"It works because you and Peter are not the same person," she answered like it should be obvious. "Yes, you have the same face but I know you're different people inside. Demeanor. Interests. Morals. Memories. Even food tastes differently for you."
"That's not enough," he also replied like it should be obvious. "Being different people doesn't change the fact that I'll always be with him."
Gwen didn't respond at first. "That's... true... but-"
"See, this is what I don't like about you. You call me selfish, and then you ignore the real world just to have fun with a boy. Like that's not selfish?"
Her glare grew worse as Spidey continued talking.
"You really think it's okay to date a guy who's only half-there? And who has a roommate like me? Maybe you don't care NOW 'cause you're just a girlfriend who sees him after school. But in five years? Ten years? You gonna get married and raise kids with a pair like us?"
Spidey leaned forward on the table. "Get a clue, Stacy. You two have no future."
And that's when she punched him.
Not a slap. She jumped out of her chair and decked him in the jaw, knocked him out of his seat, and sent him skidding across the floor. Then she stomped towards the door.
"Gwen, wait!" Mary Jane looked back and forth between her furious, retreating best friend and her wounded, other best friend. Which side do I take?
Eventually she stooped down and helped Spidey to his feet. "Not to seem insensitive to your face, but you need to apologize too."
He waved dismissively. "Let her go. I'm too mad to apologize and she's too mad to listen. Let her cool down for a while."
Mary Jane looked to the door of the coffee house, not completely convinced. But Gwen was already long gone.
Author's Notes: (1/17/2012) Special shout-out to Sonar for reviewing my story. But did you mean "insane" in a good way or a bad way? Then again, I don't know why I didn't expect comments like that to a fic titled "Crazy Day." (Laughs.) Thanks for taking the time to review. I promise the story will get even more insane soon.