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Chapter 2: Girls and Boys
It was the hair. El remembered the day when she came out of the bathroom wearing that wig with the long blonde hair and she could still feel the impressed looks of the boys on her and how it made the skin on her cheeks grew warmer. She liked that feeling. But it was nothing more than a costume. Her real hair was short and although she was about to grow it out the curly strands did what they wanted and resisted each of her tries to gain some control over them.
Max's hair was like liquid fire. It was long and reached to the middle of her back but what made it really impressive was the bright red color that flittered in the autumn sun like embers. With hair like that, her casual style and her cool attitude the other girl seemed almost effortlessly taking up all the attention in the room. Sometimes she had to repeat herself three times whenever they were in the same room because the boys, especially Dustin and Lukas, seemed to totally forget that she was there.
And that was exactly why El didn't like her. At the moment Dustin and Lukas tried to trump each other in their attempts to impress the new girl with their meager skills in skating mainly by acting like total idiots. Max was standing beside them on the abandoned street behind her parent's house, laughing about their clumsy tries and giving advice while Mike, Will, and El were currently sitting on the sidewalk watching the trio.
"Hey, Mike. Don't you want to try it?" Max called and waved for Mike to come to her. Instantly El felt her body stiffen beside him. Mike looked up from where he was lazily playing with a few stones. "No thank you. I don't want to break my neck." He answered dismissively. And El felt a little wave of relieving float her system. Max just laughed. "Oh come on don't be a baby." She teased him and El's neck started to tingle. All she would have to do was turn her head a little and she could… Suddenly she felt Will's gaze on her and as she turned her head to look at him she noticed the intense stare the small boy was giving her. As their eyes met he shook his head slightly and El let her hands drop in defeat.
Somehow his experiences with the other world seemed to have left an imprint on Will. Mike told her about the changes they had noticed in their friend. He always used to be a shy and quiet boy but it had become worse. Sometimes he was just sitting around staring into nowhere like if he could still see behind the curtain into another world. Will denied it but something was off with him and apparently, he knows also developed an intuition for El's powers.
Mike, who didn't seem to have noticed the exchange, gave an irritated moan. "Fine. If we can finally go into playing on the Atari-like you had promised us." He said as he lifted himself off the ground. Instantly El's hand shot forward in a panic to wrap her fingers around his. Mike looked back at her in concern. "No Mike. Dangerous." She pleaded with him with her big eyes as he carefully graced her knuckles with his thumb to console her. "Don't worry El. I've done this before. I will be fine." With that, he pulled his hand away and walked over to Max, Dustin, and Lukas where they handed him a skateboard and a helmet.
"You shouldn't use your powers on your friends." Will whispered beside her and El gave him an irritated look in return. "Max is not my friend." She answered harshly but wanted to slap her hands above her mouth in the same instant. She didn't want Will to think bad about her but the boy just chuckled. "I understand but I don't think you have to worry. She is actually quite alright and she also has a difficult time with her family and everything. You just have to get to know each other a little better."
El gave him a reassuring nod but in her mind, she still doubted that she would ever befriend the other girl.
Will and El turned their attention back to the street ahead of them where Mike was about to put the board down in front of him and stepped onto the little wooden plank with one foot. Then he carefully lifted the other and gave himself a little push. El could feel her heartbeat in her ear as the strange thing beneath his feet started to role forwards slightly.
"Not bad Wheeler. You are a natural." Max praised him but her tone sounded more like she was mocking him. Lukas and Dustin watched their friend with matching gravel expressions.
This time Mike pushed a little harder and the board started to move faster. The bored expression moved from his face and El could see that he was starting to enjoy himself. At the next try, he bends his knees a little deeper and moved his feet so that the board made a turn.
Everyone watched him with surprise given the unexpected success of the boy that usually acted like his arms and legs were a bit too long for his body. Mike skated up and down the street and did a few turns while his friends cheered him on. After a while, Mike stopped the board and turned for Eleven. "El come over here! You have to try this too."
Unsure she looked at Will who gave her a reassuring nod and a little smile. Nervously she stood up and tried to pat some dirt on the shorts she was wearing. As she passed Max on her way to Mike the girl gave her a friendly look and a wide and honest smile. She couldn't make out even the slightest tint of malice on her face and that made her feel a little bit guilty about her behavior towards the red had.
As she reached Mike he held out his hand to her which she took care as he guided her to stand in front of him. "Okay now you just step on the board and I do the rest." He instructed and since El trusted him with every root of her stubborn hair she did as he told her. Although Mike was holding it still with his foot the board was moving slightly beneath her and she needed a second to take her balance.
She almost fell when they started to move but Mike was quick to put his arms around her waist and pull her closer to him. An unknown fluttering feeling spread from her belly and she didn't know if it was because of the strange sensation of skating or because of the feeling of being held.
"You like it?" Mike asked her with a whisper in her ear. His warm breath next to her face made it hard to focus on keeping her balance. El didn't dare to turn around so she just nodded hoping that he would feel it as the back of her head was pressed against his chest. Mike chuckled softly before he gave to board another push that made them a little faster and then another one until they were rolling down the street almost as fast as on his bike.
A giggle left her mouth as El dared to close her eyes as she enjoyed the soft late summer wind cooling her face and the warm feeling of Mike's body behind her as well as his light smell of washing powder. She almost felt like she could fly when suddenly the board hit a stone and made an unsuspected jump. Mike lost his balance and as he fell he pulled El down with him since he was still holding onto her. She gave a surprised shriek but it was too late to do anything to catch the fall. In the last instance, Mike managed to spin them around a little so that his body would be between her and the solid asphalt street. As El felt the soft skin on her left knee split with a sharp pain Mike hit the floor full force with a loud and nasty slap and an unhealthy cracking sound.
She didn't even notice the blood dripping down her leg as she immediately crawled over to Mike who was laying on his back holding his right arm with a pained expression on his face.
"Oh my god are you guys hurt?" An agitated voice screamed from the other end of the street as their friends came running in their direction. El didn't even hear them as her whole system was floated with panic.
"Mike man. Can you move your arm?" Lukas asked as he reached them but as soon as his hand touched the arm of his friend Mike let out a loud yelp that made everyone jump backward. "I'll go get my mom," Max said before she went running back to the house without waiting for an answer.
"El… are…mpf….are you hurt?" Mike asked between clenched teeth while his eyes roamed her body while he was checking for any injuries. Eleven didn't even notice that he had spoken to her until Will carefully touched her leg to check her knee.
"I'm fine." She dismissed him with a stern expression. "Don't worry about me." She stated and then out of pure instinct she crawled over to him and carefully lifted his head to rest it on her lap. She knew him well enough by now to notice that he was trying to play down his state but he had to close his eyes regularly to deal with the pain in his arm.
Not a second later Max came back with her mother and it was quickly decided to get Mike to the hospital. Of course, everyone wanted to go with him so they all squeezed themselves into Mrs. Mayfield's car as they rushed to the hospital. El refused to leave his side as they brought him into the examination room and ordered his friends to wait outside. Mikes face turned slightly red as the nurse started to cut his shirt off him so he wouldn't need to move his arm but El didn't even seem to notice as she was still staring at his arm with burning intensity.
An hour later Hopper rushed into the hospital like a tornado. Everyone jumped out of his way on pure instinct because he looked like a maniac. As he reached the second floor he was greeted by a group of familiar kids hanging around a waiting room being uncharacteristically quiet. Joyce was already there sitting beside her son and greeting him with a little nod as she noticed his arrival. Then she signed to the back of the waiting room where he could make out his daughter hunched into a little ball.
She had her knees pulled up beneath her chin and her arms wrapped around them. One of her knees was split open and some dried blood and dirt blemished her light skin. She wasn't crying but the panicked expression on her face gave him a chill right through his bones.
"El! Baby, what happened? Are you alright?" he asked as he rushed to her side and wrapped her in a big hug. First, it felt like he was hugging a statue but then she slowly relaxed and wrapped her arms around him in return.
"Mike is hurt." She whispered in his ear and her voice broke. "The kids were playing with a skateboard and Mike and El had a little accident. She is alright but he apparently broke his arm as he tried to stop her fall. His parents are with him right now." Joyce let him knew and Hopper nodded absently.
"I hurt Mike," El whispered again and he felt wetness on his neck as she started crying into his embrace. Hopper didn't know what to say so he just wrapped his arms around her a little tighter and softly started to rock her.