Damsel in Distress

Mike's dad announced they were moving to Hawkins a few weeks ago. And now that he was in the town where nothing ever happened, he believed it. He hadn't left behind any friends, especially no girlfriend. He hadn't left behind any favourite places, no favourite memories.

He might as well have left behind a black hole, and come out the other end into another, because that's what his life felt like.

He was already bored out of his skull in Hawkins. He still didn't know anybody, there was a kid next door who always seemed to be gone. Mike wasn't shy, he would have gone over and introduced himself but the opportunity hadn't come up yet.

He didn't like it, but he was used to being alone. Nancy no longer played with him since she had gotten older, she was more interested in boys now. Holly was too young to play with, after all he was already fourteen, he didn't want to be hanging around with kids much younger than he was.

He grabbed his bike to spin around town for a bit, he got bored of that quickly and started hitting some of the dirt roads looking for interesting spots. Places that he could go and be alone. To read or just to think. A place to escape to if he needed a break from his family.

Nancy had told him he should explore the safe side of Statler's Quarry. When it got too rough to safely peddle his way down there, he got off his bike and walked it. Just up ahead he saw another bike, standing up on single kickstand.

When he got closer he could see it was a metallic pink bike. A girl's bike. She didn't look like she was anywhere around. He got closer to investigate. This probably being the most exciting thing that had happened to him in the last six months.

He laid his bike down. Even if he'd had a kickstand installed he would have never used it.

He heard a girl's voice faint, it was faint but it sounded like it was down the road to the final few yards to the quarry behind some rocks. "Is somebody up there? Can you help me?"

Mike worked his way down there, "are you in trouble? I can't see you."

"I'm stuck behind these rocks… please help me."

Mike picked his way around the large rocks, cut and wedged apart my machinery years ago. He found a sandal on the ground and looked up, he thought he saw toes peeking over a rock. The climb was a little treacherous but he finally found the owner of the voice.

It was a girl with very light brunette hair, about shoulder length. She was wearing overalls, her face was dirty but streaks of tears were clearly shown on her cheeks. Her right legs was caught underneath her left one, and the calf of her left one was pressed against the edge of a rock and her left foot was wedged between two rocks. It looked a little twisted, but there wasn't any bone poking through. It was going to be badly sprained, there'd be no way she was riding a bike back home or even walking for that matter.

"Is it bad? I can't feel it anymore. I don't have the strength to get up and try and pull it free."

"Your foot probably went to sleep, your calf is pressed against a rock. When we get it free the pins and needles are going to be bad. You have at least a sprained ankle, and you may have some broken bones in the foot."

She sniffed. "How am I going to get home? My dad will be worried about me now."

"I'll get you home. Don't worry about that. Give me a minute to think of the best way to get your foot out."

"My dad is going to be so mad."

"What's your name? I'm Mike Wheeler."

"El… Jane Hopper"

Mike frowned, "El Jane?"

"Jane"

"Hopper sounds familiar though."

"My dad is the Chief of Police."

"I heard his daughter died?"

"That was Sara, I'm… adopted."

"Oh, ok."

Mike walked around wear she was laying. "How long have you been lying there?"

"It feels like forever, but it's only been an hour… I think."

"Ok, I can get you out. It's going to be tricky, I don't have a lot of upper body strength but I have a lot of leg muscles… I run or bike away from bullies a lot." Mike blushed a little.

"What do you want me to do?" Jane said.

"Ok, I'm going to crouch down, and I want you twist toward me to put your arms around my neck ok? And then I'm going to put my arms around your waist and stand up, an slowly twist you back, then I'm going to push your back until you can get your right foot on the rock, and then I'm going to push you all the way up. You grab that tree branch and pull as soon as you can reach it. Ok?"

"You aren't tall enough to push me all the way up once I get up there."

Mike turned a fierce red. "I'm gonna have to push your butt with both hands straight up… sorry that's the only way I can think of."

He didn't want to dwell on that part, he crouched down. She turned to him. He was startled. "Oh…"

"What is it Mike?"

"Uh… um… you have really pretty eyes." He suddenly felt shy and blushed again, but she blushed also.

"Thank you."

She put her arms around his neck holding on to him tight. As he put his arms around her waist, she said quietly in his ear, "you smell good."

"You do too. That's nice perfume."

"It's from an old bottle of Tramp, my dad doesn't like me wearing it. Or makeup. He doesn't want the boys hanging around me."

"I'll leave out the part of my hands being on your butt when I describe the miraculous rescue."

Jane giggled. "Ok, I'm ready."

"Now." Mike said and lifted. It went a lot more smoothly then anybody watching would have thought. When his hands were placed on her butt he pushed with all he had.

She was able to pull herself up by the tree branch, and Mike scrambled up the rock to stand by her and steady her. Her bare foot was still wedged in between the rocks but it was at a much better angle.

"Ok as soon as we pull your foot free, I'm going help you down really quick before the pain sets in."

"It's going to hurt a lot isn't it."

He sighed. Yeah it is. If you need to cry, it's ok I'll help you keep standing, you want to keep blood flow going to your foot.

Mike didn't even tell her he was going to get down and pull it out. He did it swiftly, her eyes widened in shock. He grabbed her left arm put it around her neck and led quickly down to the edge of the dirt road.

Her foot started tingling, "oh, pins and needles. You were right, kind of tickles." She giggled.

Mike waited. He knew what was coming. "Don't put any weight on your foot all, I'm going to put my arm around your waist, and walk you over to the water. Put your foot all the way into the water."

"That water is cold Mike."

"Yeah, it will be like putting ice on it"

"It's starting to hurt now."

"It's ok Jane. I won't let you go."

"Let me know when the pain stops increasing."

She bit her lip and nodded, she was trying hard not to cry. Mike said, "it's ok Jane… once you start feeling the throbbing let me know."

Mike stood with her for a few minutes with her foot still in the water.

"Ok, lean against this rock, I'm going to hide our bikes on the other side of the rock you were laying on. They'll stay hidden until we can come back and get them."

"We aren't going to ride them back?" She looked at him. "I don't want to lose that bike, my dad got it for me."

"They'll be ok back here behind the rocks, maybe I can come back tonight and get it."

"Are you going to carry me back?" Jane said, she looked up the quarry road, it seemed like much longer up hill.

"We'll rotate, first you hop beside me, I'll keep you from falling… um… I'm going to have to put my arm around your waist again."

"You don't need to be embarrassed Mike, I don't mind." She smiled him, and for the first time ever, Mike's heart felt… light? Weird? Wonderful?

All of the above.

"When you are too tired of hopping like that, I'll piggyback you, and then I'll try a bridal carry." He blushed again.

"When you do that I'll put my arms around your neck so your arms aren't carrying my full weight. Um, Mike. My name is Eleven."

"Uh, I thought you said it was Jane."

"On my birth certificate, but I think I should probably let the first boy who's had both of his hands on my bum call me Eleven."

"Um, ok… I can call you El for short?"

She looked at him, gave him a little nod and smiled.

Mike piggybacked her up the short climb out of the quarry and continued till they hit the level dirt road. "Ok hopping time."

El started to cry after a few hops. The jarring was too much on her left ankle.

"I'm sorry Mike, I can't hop like this any longer. I was trying to be brave by not crying.

"Trying not to cry is not brave El," he said.

"Crying in front of family, and friends, or complete strangers is. That's very brave."

"So I can cry in front of you and you won't think I'm a fragile drama queen?"

"Most girls would have been blubbering by the time they were found."

"I'm not like most girls." El said.