Pixie Nightingale
One of the hardest things Eleven ever had to do was tell Mike about her time in the lab. Telling him her secret was easy compared to that.
She knew it would be hard for him to hear. It broke her heart to see him cry. She had desperately wanted to avoid that, but it couldn't be helped. She promised herself she'd make it up to him.
She admitted it was fun lifting herself off the bed while still sitting in a lotus position. She had expected his eyes to bug out.
Instead he said, "Ok. My Pixie can float. This is something out of an X-Men comic, but I'm seeing it right before my eyes. My girlfriend is a magic Pixie."
Eleven glowed inside whenever he called her Pixie. She laughed.
Mike made the all the connections to the album names from her story. She didn't need to explain any of that.
She didn't feel too bad about making him blush when she gave him an inkling of what he could give her for her sixteenth birthday. It made her feel a little overheated.
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She would never get tired of waking up with Mike in the morning. Sure they had to sneak around right now because of their age, but that wouldn't last forever. Two years at most. She was also aware that because they were… well they were rock stars now, they could probably get away with a lot more and she would have her people take care of any trouble they got themselves in.
She didn't want to be one of those bands though. They made the entertainment news for entirely the wrong reasons.
When she felt Mike's tears she had an idea what the problem was and she wanted to reassure him. They reassured each other. They were in love.
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El managed to keep her composure when she saw Mike hugging the father's little girl. She was proud of him, he wasn't skittish about a fan coming directly up to him, he was polite, and personable. That little girl would have Mike's poster on her wall for at least the next five years.
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11's newest album Not So Pretty has been released. The cover photo is hard to look at. It is absolutely heartbreaking to see El Hopper cry. It's by far the saddest thing this reviewer has ever seen. When she cries on stage as she did for the first two shows, a good portion of the audience cried with her. Myself included. The album does come with some goodies for the fans. There is a poster for each member. They can be hung up individually or if side by side, they form a group shot.
- Rock Music Magazine
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Max flew into her B3 solo, and as expected the crowd went wild. Mike had suggested that a low speed fan be put behind her.
"It'll solve two problems, it will keep Max cool during her solo under that spotlight, but it will blow her hair around… the audience will eat it up"
Lucas looked up at him, "and Lucas will too." Mike continued.
"Good recovery Mike." Lucas laughed at him.
Mike had been right, over 70,000 people were transfixed on Max dramatically playing Toccata again. She played with a flourish reminiscent of Virgil Fox.
El could see Mike stumble a bit and walked over to him in the shadow of his speaker cabinet. She asked if he was ok.
"I'm wiped El, I'll finish off the show, but I'm really not feeling all that good."
"If you need to leave Mike, Max can cover your solos, and I'll try… I'll try not to worry about you…"
"I'll stick it out, Pixie."
El smiled at him. "Ok Paladin." She kissed him on the cheek.
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She did not want to leave Mike by himself when he wasn't feeling well. She said goodnight reluctantly.
She was in her own hotel room for a few minutes when she made her decision.
She grabbed her overnight bag and a wool blanket she always travelled with.
She let herself back into Mike's room.
"Something wrong, Pixie?" He said to her sitting up in bed.
"I'm not leaving you alone." I'll sleep on the other bed. If you need anything in the night just wake me up and ask ok?"
"Ok."
El had found out just recently that she'd been a light sleeper, when sleeping beside Mike she'd gotten a better, deeper sleep. She never enjoyed sleeping as much as she had until she started sleeping beside him. It already felt wrong not to be in the same space as he was.
It was the middle of the night when she heard it. A light rustling sound. It was the sound of cotton blankets being stirred.
She sat up to get a better listen. She got out of bed and saw that Mike was shivering. She heard him saying…"c-c-cold."
Screw this, she grabbed her wool blanket and got into the sheets behind him, spooning him this time. She covered him with the wool blanket.
She whispered. "It's ok, your Pixie will keep her Paladin warm."
She pressed herself up tight against his back, swung a leg over his to get as much body contact as possible.
She was secretly thrilled to have this close contact with him without the need to be intimate. That felt honest to her, but her body had a different and significant reaction. Mike was too much of a gentlemen to say anything.
His voice hoarse, he said, "you're nice and warm, Pixie. Thanks… I think I can fall back asleep again."
El fell asleep behind him.
She awoke much later on the front of her pj's completely soaked with Mike's sweat.
"Ok that's it, I'm calling the tour's doctor. I know he's on call."
"You'll need to change Pixie, I don't want him to see my girlfriend in a wet t-shirt contest… "
El looked down at herself and blushed. "I at least I hope I was the runner up."
"The winner." Mike smiled and then went into a hacking cough.
El had changed, turned on a few lamps and opened the door when she heard the knock.
She had a hard time standing back while the doctor examined him. She was wringing her hands and fidgeting the entire time.
Finally she wasn't able to keep silent any longer. "Is he ok, doc?"
"He has a cold a nasty one, but the symptoms are amplified by the exhaustion he's suffering from. Has he had any kind of an emotional, um incident?"
El looked at him with her clear golden brown eyes. "Our love for each other is very intense."
The doctor nodded.. "He's obviously not used to the touring schedule…. Um, how do I ask this delicately… El, you haven't been, um… wearing him out have you?" He indicated the other bed's mussed up bedsheets.
El felt as if her face was on fire, "No, doctor, I'm waiting until I'm at least sixteen. I was going to make an appointment with you to make sure everything was… ok."
"You will need to tell him about your situation, you know that right? That is your only issue right now. There's no point in taking the pill. And if neither of you have had any other partners… you are… free to do as you wish."
She sighed, "yes. I've been avoiding that. I'm not sure how he's going to take it… I think we'll be ok."
"He needs rest. A few weeks. It would be dangerous for him to be on stage right now. Can I count on you to keep him in bed? Or at least resting?"
The doctor handed El a bottle of pills. "This will keep the fever down. If he's not showing any signs of recovery in three or four days. Get me back up here."
"Thanks doc. I mean it." The doctor looked her then at Mike. He smiled back at her and nodded, then left.
"How I'm going to take what, Pixie?"
"I'll tell you when you are feeling better. I'm having some chicken soup brought up. I'll spoon feed you? Then I'll get you changed."
"Ok, Pixie." Mike smiled weakly, El placed a pill on his tongue and helped him take a sip.
After Mike had been feed, sponge bathed and fed, El crawled in bed beside him, spooning him again.
"Are you going to keep me warm all night Pixie?" Mike said in a whisper.
"I am my Paladin."