Eleven woke up suddenly from a nightmare. She rolled herself over to see if Mike was up yet. His breath was slow and steady, his eyes closed. She brushed his hair from his face, and traced lines along his cheek, neck and shoulder. She pressed her palm against his chest and felt his heart beating. His eyes opened slowly. When he saw her staring he smiled and buried his face in her pillow. Now she dragged a finger along his spine and the contours of his shoulder blades.
"That tickles." He said into his pillow.
"I'm sorry about last night." She said chewing on the corner of her mouth. "I don't know what came over me..."
"Don't be sorry." Mike said rolling onto his side. "I had a great time."
"So did I!" She said with a faint smile. "It's just..."
"What's wrong?"
"Well I was sad when we went to Benny's. But happy when we were eating Eggos, and then in the theater... I just wasn't acting like myself." Eleven averted his gaze.
"El, it's ok." He said trying comfort her.
"No, I couldn't control myself, we weren't careful."
"Honestly El, I think it's just hormones. It's part of being a teenager, and it sucks. I could have stopped you yesterday, but I didn't."
This made her feel a little better, she finally looked him in the eye. "I love you Mike."
"I love you too... You know, it's been a while since we went a whole day without having sex. Do you want to take a break? We could just hang out today."
She smiled more confidently this time. "I think that's a good idea."
Mike wrapped his arms around her midsection and rolled over so she was on top of him. Eleven giggled but didn't protest. They kissed, and it became passionate. When Mike pulled away he said, "We didn't shower last night. I'm pretty sure I smell awful."
Eleven slid down his body pressing her nose to his chest and inhaling. She usually didn't like the smell of sweat, especially in the halls and gym at school, but she liked the way Mike smelled. "I think you smell good." She said.
Mike laughed, "You do?" He asked, stopping to take in her sweet scent. "Well maybe we should shower anyway." He suggested.
Eleven rolled off of him and scooted to the edge of the bed. She picked out a clean outfit. "Ok." She said pulling on a shirt which was too large for her. Mike sat up and kissed her shoulder before standing and jogging up the steps.
When Mike entered the bathroom El was adjusting the temperature of the water. They stripped and stepped into it's warm flow. They wrapped their arms around one another and Eleven rested her forehead on his collar bone. "What do you want to do today?" Mike asked her.
"Anything." She said smiling. She pulled half way out of their embrace and looked him in his eyes. "Whatever you want. As long as we're together."
After a long warm shower they decided to go for a bike ride. They dressed and exited the bathroom, and then the Wheeler household. Mike hung his backpack from the back of the seat and climbed onto his bicycle, Eleven sat behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning her head against his shoulder. Mike pedaled away from his house under the rising sun.
They rode through town, past the grocery store and theater they'd visited last night. Eleven tightened her grip on Mike. They rode past Hawkins Middle, and along a long forest road. They passed Mirkwood and the long chainlink fence, Eleven stared at the sign reading 'Hawkins National Laboratory U.S. Department of Energy' and the sign directly beneath it 'Restricted Area No Trespassing'. It had been over a year since she left the lab and met Mike, Dustin, and Lucas in the storm that Sunday night, but she still felt uneasy riding past it. They passed the Byers house, and the Settler quarry. They left the road and Mike continued to pedal through the woods. They came to a lake, calm and perfectly reflective.
They had been here before, a few times. It was where Eleven had gone the day the boys left Mike's house to follow their compasses, when she had steered them away from the lab to protect them. It was the day Troy and James chased Dustin and Mike to the quarry and he jumped off the cliff. Eleven was sitting by this lake when she heard her friend's screams. She remembered it vividly.
...
She was staring at her own reflection in the water. Mike's words echoed in her head, 'What's wrong with you?!' What was wrong with her? Why did Lucas keep calling her a weirdo, why didn't she have long hair like the pretty girls, why didn't she have parents, why did she open the gate for those bad people, why had she lied to her friends...? 'I'm the monster...' she thought, tears rolling down her dirty face.
In the distance, Eleven heard familiar voices, and felt familiar presences.
"Ah! Cramp!"
Followed by "Just keep going!" She knew who the voices came from, and broke into a sprint. She dodged trees and ducked under branches. She broke the tree line and saw Mike standing on the cliff. Dustin was in the hands of the mouth-breather who had mocked Will's disappearance. She has been so proud of Mike for standing up to him. But now he had a knife... And it was aimed at Dustin's throat. She couldn't help feeling responsible. If she hadn't embarrassed Troy infront of the whole school, or if she hadn't left her friends in the first place, this likely wouldn't be happening.
"Dentist office opens in five! Four! Three! Two!"
"Miiike!" Dustin pleaded.
"One!"
And Mike stepped over the edge. Eleven stopped running and focused on Mike. She could no longer see him but she felt him, a drop of blood slid from her nostril. Mike was lifted back over the cliff, over the boys staring down in disbelief, and safely dropped to the ground behind them. When Mike was safe she started walking towards the boys. They looked frightened. When they saw her Troy started forward, James was instantly thrown to his back. Eleven, with a flick of her neck, snapped Troy's arm and his switchblade bounced safely to the earth.
He cried in pain, "She broke my arm! My arm!"
"Go."
"Let's get out of here!" Troy cowered, not bothering to help his friend off his back. The older boys ran away and Eleven began to feel light headed. She heard Dustin calling threats to them as she collapsed.
She remembered Mike wiping away the tears from her dirt stained cheeks and saying "That's better." She remembered reaching up to her shaved head, she had left the wig by the lake. "You don't need it." Mike reassured her.
"Pretty?"
"Yeah, pretty. Really pretty!" Mike looked at his feet and then back up to her, "El..."
"Yes?"
"Um... I'm happy you're home."
She smiled, "Me too." Mike leaned towards her. She wasn't completely sure what he was doing but she knew she wanted him to do it. She leaned in as well, but just before what could have been their first kiss, Dustin burst through the door.
...
"El...? El!" Mike said snapping her or of her day dream. "Are you alright?"
"Fine." She said smiling.
"What were you thinking about?"
"How guilty I felt, and how you made me feel better." Her smile widened, "How much I love you."
The worry disappeared from his face and was replaced with warmth. "I love you too." He said taking her hand and sitting down by the lake. She sat next to him and he wrapped and arm around her. They watched the water for a while. A fish jumped from its smooth surface, several birds flew over head, the breeze made the trees dance. Eleven leaned her head on Mike's shoulder.
"Mike?"
"Yes?"
"What's wrong with me."
He turned to face her and held her head between his hands. "Absolutely nothing." He said. "You're perfect."
She fought back tears, but she wasn't sad. She wrapped her arms around him. "I'm so glad I met you." said Eleven.
"Me too." Mike said holding her tighter.
...
Mike remembered that day too. When Eleven had fallen over he ran to help her. It was the first time he saw her use her powers to this extent, she was badly drained. "El are you ok?! El!"
"Mike..." She said faintly "I'm sorry."
"Sorry? What are you sorry for?"
"The gate... I opened it... I'm the monster." She said starting to cry.
"No. No El you're not the monster. You saved me. Do you understand? You saved me..." He pulled her into a hug. And Dustin joined too. Mike helped Eleven to her feet, and she wrapped an arm around him. "Shit." He said "Our bikes."
"I'll go find them!" Dustin offered jogging away from his friends.
"Ok," Mike said, "thanks. And if you run into Troy in the woods just call for us." Mike hollered after him. They watched Dustin disappear into the forest in the direction he and Mike had come from. "Can you walk?" He asked El. She nodded slightly, tightening her grip on him. "What... What happened to you just now?"
"It happened before." She said, "In the bad place."
"Oh, you don't really talk about how it was in there much." He said interested but not wanting to push.
"They wanted me to hurt something."
"Oh." Mike said again, feeling a little sick. He had often fantasized about having the force like Yoda, but he couldn't imagine someone making him use his powers for evil.
"A cat. When I said no, they tried to lock me away..."
Mike was frightened now, he knew bad people were after Eleven, but he didn't know about any of the abuse she had undergone already. "I didn't let them... I hurt the men instead... That was the first time I got tired like this."
"El."
"Yes?"
"I'm... I'm really sorry I yelled at you earlier, I shouldn't have done that. I know you were just trying to protect us, and protect me from Lucas..."
"I shouldn't have done that either." She said regret filling her face. "He already things I'm a weirdo, now he thinks I'm a traitor... I should ha-"
"You're not a weirdo El! And you're definitely not a traitor. It's like Dustin said earlier, we were all out of line. I'm sure Lucas will forgive you." She seemed put at ease by this.
By the time Dustin returned with the bikes, El could stand on her own. They walked back to Mike's house, the boys each pushed a bicycle which they laid in the grass before entering. None of them noticed the agent watching them from less than a block away. Mike often thought about how even though he hated arguing with Lucas that day, it was a good thing he had gone looking for the gate. Because without his warning, the bad men probably would have captured Eleven and taken her back to the lab, punishing her for running away by locking her back in a tiny room for who knows how long.
...
Mike's attention shifted back to the present, and the beautiful young lady sitting beside him. "Want to go swimming?" He suggested.
El looked as though she's liked the idea. She stood, removing the too-large shirt and her pants. Mike stripped to his underwear too and they waded into the shallow water. They splashed, swam, and laughed in the sun for a few hours. Eleven looked back at the shore, she heard something coming from the bike. Upon closer inspection, the sounds was coming from Mike's bag, more specifically the walkie inside.
"Come in Mike." Dustin's voice rang out from the speaker. "We stopped by your house but you weren't there. Obviously... Over."
Mike climbed out of the lake and unzipped the bag. He extended the antenna and held down the button on the side. "Hey guys. Eleven and I biked to the lake past the quarry. Were swimming. Over."
"Mind if we join you? Over." Lucas's voice this time.
Mike looked to Eleven. She couldn't read minds outright, but she knew what Mike was asking non-verbally. She nodded to him. "Come on down!" Mike yelled into the walkie. "Over."
"See you soon! Over and out!" Lucas said.
Mike and Eleven got back in the water and waited for the other boys to arrive.
They did so one at a time, first Will, followed by Lucas, and Dustin in the back. "Byers is victorious!" Will shouted as he leapt from his bike. "The crowd goes wild! Ahhhhh!"
"You cheated." Lucas protested. Dismounting his bike and leaning it in the leaves next to Mike's and Will's.
"What how?" Will asked laughing.
"Neither of you waited 'ti I said go!" Cried Dustin who, even though he was last to arrive, was the first to spot Mike and El. "Hey! Are you two naked out there?"
They all turned to see the young couple out in the lake. "No stupid!" Mike shouted back to them. Mike and El swam to shallower water and stood.
Lucas and Will covered their eyes. "Woah!" They exclaimed.
"That's pretty much naked!" Will yelled.
"I'm wearing a bra!" El shouted back.
"Yeah, you've seen her in a swim suit what's the difference?" Mike asked.
"It's different!" Lucas said.
"Meh." Dustin, already shirtless, walked into the water and when he got to Mike and El pushed them both over. Then he dove under wetting his curly hair.
Will and Lucas exchange a look, Lucas pushes him a little and rips off his shirt charging through the shallows. Will laughed and followed suit.
The friends spent the day swimming. With a little telekinetic help from El they tied an old rope they found around a branch and created a swing. They canon balled, flipped, and dove into the clear water.
...
When the sun started to set they climbed out of the lake.
"Did anyone bring towels?" Mike asked. Everyone shook their heads. They laughed and pulled their dry clothes over their wet bodies. They mounted their bikes and rode away from the lake.
"Bye Will!" They yelled to their friend as he turned toward his house and the rest of them kept riding.
"Alright, see you guys tomorrow." Dustin said as he biked away from the group to his front door.
Mike and El exchanged goodbyes with Lucas as they split up at the end of their ride.
"I wasn't planning on swimming in a lake when we showered this morning." Mike said as he dropped his bike in the backyard.
"Maybe we should shower again." Eleven suggested with a smile.
"Maybe we should." Mike said returning it and opening the door for her. She kissed him on her way inside.
