Scarred and Scared

"So… we're done?" Lucas looked around the cabin at the band named 11.

El sat next to Mike, their hands interlaced. "I think the only thing bothering Mike was, my 'yes'"

Mike blushed.

"It's fixed Mike, Lucas won't use it." Lucas nodded.

"That's being a little possessive isn't it Mike?" Max said smirking.

"I like it when he's possessive Max." El laughed.

The cabin door opened and Chief Jim Hopper walked in, followed by two men even larger than he was.

El ran to him and hugged his middle. He closed his eyes and kissed the top of her head.

"How long are you here for, dad?" She asked him.

"Just to tell you guys to get the hell out of my cabin, " he said gruffly.

"You got Brenner," Mike asked.

"He was trying to sneak in to his office at the lab last night. I happened to be there gathering evidence. He got roughed up a little, and then Mirandized, then I frog marched him to my jail. I called the numbers I was told to call, and they got him around three thirty this morning. Heavy SWAT and military escort. I couldn't tell you where he is now."

XXXXX

RMM is saying 'yes' to No and 'no' to Yes. And we can't really tell you why. The playing is top notch, no surprise there, and El Hopper's soaring vocals are interesting and ethereal. They may have more at home on a Jean-Michel Jarre album or to a Wyndham HIll album. To be honest here at RMM we think the music is inaccessible to 11's original fans. We are going to guess it's Mike Wheeler's influence that led to this album. 11 swung for the bleachers but this one is a foul ball.

- Rock Music Magazine

XXXXX

They trudged off backstage. Both Max and El were in tears.

"Ah, shit, that was awful." Dustin said.

"It's really is true isn't it? Great shows come from a positive feedback from the audience." Mike hung his head.

"So I guess I'm going to kick you guys when you are down."

"Mike?" El said.

"I want to quit the band. My influence is not helping you guys. It's selfish and self-serving. On my part."

El looked up at him, her eyes wide in panic. In a small voice she asked, "are you quitting us?"

"You and me? No El, never. I promised you." Mike could see the relief on her face.

"Maybe you should treat me like a session musician, I just play what you guys tell me to play."

"What about on stage?" Max asked.

"I'll play the last set tonight, but I think you should stop playing this album. Have you seen the reviews? They aren't good. And they are pretty much blaming me. Can't say I'm surprised, but you don't want me dragging you down."

The rest of the band including Lucas looked down. Nobody was disagreeing with him, and Mike felt a little better because of it.

"I'm sorry Mike…" El said, "I have to agree with you. You've been thinking about this a lot haven't you?"

"Since the first day we started writing the album. I had four months to convince myself otherwise but I couldn't come up with anything. Sorry guys, my judgement was clouded by my love for Pixie. That's the only excuse I have."

Max smiled at him, "that's not the worst excuse to have Mike. I think we all appreciate your honesty."

"I can go out on a high note. Let's just do the best we can of the second set and that side of the album, put all our solo's in?"

"Works for me." Dustin said.

Mike would have to admit to himself. He enjoyed the second set, and the audience seemed to like it more than the dismal No side of the album.

He caught El's smile a few times during the set and saw she was having a good time also. He came over and they synchronized the movements of their guitars similar to the way KISS guys was doing it. As they backed away to let Max gear up her solo, they tripped, and twisted, and fell.

That's all Mike remembered that night.

Well, he remembered the blood. El's face was covered in it. She watched him as he tried to reach for her to staunch the flow but his vision turned red, then black and he passed out.

XXXXX

"Get out Mike." That was a voice not to be trifled with.

Mike nodded, hung his head yet again and started to walk back to his room.

This was the third day after the accident that he attempted to visit El in her hospital room.

"Wait. Let's just get this over with now."

Mike pulled up one of the chairs and sat with his knees touching the bed El was laying in.

"Well?" El looked at him. It wasn't a kind look. Her eyes seemed fade between menacing, defeat, and… love? No, Mike wasn't seeing any love there. Mike thought she was sounding a bit like the El Hopper and he was scared.

"I don't understand El" He looked into her eyes.

"Don't play dumb Mike, just tell me and get it over with."

Mike shrugged, "El, I really don't-"

"Oh, for fu-" She stopped herself from saying it.

"Can we not just end our relationship without any more drama? I get it Mike, I'm scarred for life. Unless you want me to put a bag over my head while we screw, we're done."

"Geez El, you don't have to be so-"

"What did you think was going to happen Mike? My modeling days are over," El gave Mike a sarcastic snort.

Mike just looked into her eyes.

"Well?" She asked again.

"I have a scar too, El." Her eyes softened when he said that.

"Mirror image from what I'm told." She said.

"If you don't want to be with me anymore… El… because of this... ." It felt like the last of Mike's composure was slipping away. He sniffed, barely holding on.

"Mike, it's not... I would never saddle you with a girlfriend that would make a paramedic hurl."

Mike leaned over, and put his hand over her heart. "This is what I'm in love with El. You know that. Pretty on the inside El."

El put her hand on his own heart, and at first Mike thought she meant to push him away.

"Me too Mike. You have no idea how badly I wanted to hear that from you one more time. Because this time it counts doesn't it?" Tear flowed freely and soaked her bandages.

"It always counted El… always."

"I was scared to death you were going to dump me. Come up with some lame excuse..."

"Hey kids." Mike could see El wincing, but not from the pain of the injury.

Doc Owens and a nurse entered El's room, and Lucas followed behind. With a camera.

"Ok, no sugar coating. The cuts are bad. And it looks like you are both going to have Keloid scarring. We warned you this might happen."

"What's that?" Both Mike and El said at the same time.

"It's a raised scar, sometimes can be bigger than the original cut. To help the healing as much as possible, you can do some not so simple things."

"No extreme facial expressions, caused by sex, crying, singing, smiling, pain. Did I cover all the emotions. Keep your kisses simple, and for at least the initial healing, try not to cry."

"Why no crying?" El asked

"Tears are salty, salt can cause scarring. You don't want that in the wound."

"Ok… Um, l Lucas, what's the camera for? I'm sure El is up to photos today."

"It was my idea Mike."

Owens and the nurse took Mike's bandages off first. The nurse handed a facecloth to El. El was puzzled at first until she saw Mike's raw scar with what could be best described as Frankenstein stitching. His beautiful face was scarred for life. El loved Mike more in that moment than she thought her heart was capable of. She dabbed her eyes, she didn't cry as much as she thought she would.

Mike watched El's face with every wrap being unwound from his face. "It's bad isn't it?"

El pressed her lips together and nodded. "Matching girlfriend coming right up."

The nurse was a little more delicate with El's bandages.

When the last bandage was unwrapped, El looked at Mike. She didn't know what she expected to see on his face, but her heart warmed when he smiled at her.

"Yup, it's bad El… And i'm still here for my Pixie. I'm not going anywhere."

The scar on the right side Mike's face started just about the corner of his mouth and angled past the corner of his eye to his temple.

El's scar matched his but on the left side of her face. They were almost mirror images of each other, both in length and intensity of the scar.

"Ok you two. Look into each other's eyes, and lean your foreheads together."

"Perfect." The clicking and whirring of the camera, filled the air while Mike and El looked into each others eyes and smiled.

"Ok, Mike, I want you to give El a simple kiss, lean your head to your left, right side of your nose touching El's nose right side… yeah like that… hold the kiss."

More clicking and whirring from the camera.

It was Mike and El's first kiss since the accident. When they parted. Mike said, "you still take my breath away Pixie."

"It doesn't make any sense that we can love someone this much…" El said.

"But we do." They both said at the same time. Then laughed.

XXXXX

"Lucas wants to show us those photos, and maybe take new ones now that the stitching is out." El said.

Lucas said, "this was El's idea. Pure genius, and I'm just the sound guy."

The first photo was of Mike and El staring into each other's eyes their heads tilted forward, their foreheads touching. The scars on their faces were positioned vertically to form… 11.

The second set of photos were of them kissing. The slight angle of Mike's head as he kissed El. The scars formed a V.

"Ok, I get the 11 from the first photo, what's the V for?"

"That's going to be the name of the fifth album… wait… hear me out Mike."

El explained what she wanted to do.

"Ok, that sounds workable… and fun. I'm in. I totally support anything you want to do El." Mike was enthused by El's idea.

"The catch," El said looking at her friends, "we aren't doing this till next year, so if you guys have solo projects," she looked specifically at Max and Dustin, "now's the time."

"What are you two going to do?" Dustin asked.

"Lucas sent those photos to an organization that helps those with facial scarring. They want to do a photo shoot with Mike and I… Mike is not comfortable being a spokesperson for them, so I told them I would do it."

"Do you realize what that will do for thousands of girls?" Max asked shaking her head in wonder at her best friend.

"I do," El smiled.

"There's a phrase you're looking for Max."

Max looked at the two of them, she was amazed at the love they had for each other.

"Pretty on the inside."