I own nothinggg.

The first day of summer break was monumental for the guys (for obvious reasons). But it was also El's last couple of months before she was fully integrated into society -and, incidentally, high school. So, to commemorate this, the other five had been saving money since Christmas -they even used a lot of what would otherwise be arcade money- to buy Eleven her own bike.

Needless to say, the day they set to give it to her brought with it a lot of excitement.

Out of all of them, Mike was without-a-doubt anticipating it the most. He must've oiled the chains a dozen times, and he made sure that any speck of dust that happened to settle on it was promptly wiped off before carefully tying a yellow ribbon on the handlebars. Dustin had teased his relentlessly for this, saying he didn't think Mike would be this happy to get Eleven off his bike; but Mike couldn't help it. He wanted it to be absolutely perfect.

He could hardly contain his excitement when Hopper dropped Eleven off.

"Eleven! You're here! Hi!" He greeted her, opening the door before she could even knock with what was easily the world's cheesiest grin plastered on his face.

Instead of the cheerful reply he was expecting, Eleven shrank back, "Mike?" she asked, her voice soft and a little...intimidated. Mike realized that five pairs of eyes staring at her probably was intimidating. He cleared his throat,

"Sorry," He said, "We're just happy to see you,"

"Oh," was Eleven's short response. She was still very confused, but she managed to give a small smile.

"What do you want to do?" Mike asked, but he didn't wait for her response before he said, "We could go outside; it's nice out,"

El had barely nodded her head 'yes' when Mike grabbed her hand and flung the door open at warp speed. She followed him without protest, the rest trailing behind them closely. They seemed just as excited as Mike -well, almost. Eleven noticed that Mike seemed the giddiest.

"Wait here," Mike told her, reluctantly letting go of her hand, "Will, help me out?"

Mike and Will disappeared behind the garage door while Eleven watched, waiting for them to come back into view. And when they did, they brought with them a shiny blue bike adorned with a yellow bow. Eleven could only stare, her mouth slightly agape, as they wheeled it closer to her.

"Mine...?" She asked, running the bright ribbon through her fingers slowly.

"All yours," Mike said, "You like it?"

The smile that took over El's face could potentially blind someone as she said, awestruck, "I like it. It's pretty...thank you,"

"So, are we gonna teach her how to ride that beast or just look at it?" Max chimed in.

Eleven looked at her, confused, "Beast?" There was nothing beastly about it. It was just a bike -a pale blue bike with a small sticker of a rainbow.

"Figure of speech," Max clarified.

"So, what do you say, El?" Dustin said, "Ready to ride?"

El paused for a moment. She was a little skeptical, but the guys made it seem so easy, "I'm ready," she confirmed with a nod.

"Alright, hop on," Mike said, holding it steady for her, "Scoot up a little closer. Okay, now put your feet on the pedals and move them sort of like you're running. I won't let go, I promise,"

Eleven focused on the road in front her, a little nervous as she started to roll forward. But then she heard Mike's encouraging "That's it! You got it!" and her nervousness slipped away. He had his hands on top of hers, his soft skin warmer than her own. She liked the way that felt, his fingers curled over hers.

"Can we go faster? But don't let go," Eleven said, "Not yet,"

Mike obliged, lengthening his strides to match the pace at which El was pedaling. A smile stretched over Eleven's face as the slight breeze brushed her hair backwards.

"Are you to try on your own? Without me holding on?" Mike asked her.

Eleven kept her eyes on the road as she answered, "...okay. Yes,"

"On the count of three, okay? One...two...three!"

The backs of Eleven's hands were shot with a burst of cold air when Mike let go. All the same, she kept her grip tight and her feet at a steady pace. She picked up her speed slowly, listening to the gravel rubbing against the wheels. It was fun.

That is, until she heard the piercing snap of a branch that she had failed to see in front of her. She lost control of the bike, which seemingly had a mind of its own at that moment. She couldn't keep her grip steady, no matter how hard she tried. The wheels swerved, thrown off course.

El landed on the ground, the paved ground, as the bike landed in the grass beside her. She bit her lip as tears began to sting her eyes. She blinked them away, trying to stand (which made her knee sting as well). She started to pick up the fallen bike, but Mike was bending out the kickstand before she had even bent down.

"Are you okay?" He asked, almost frantically, as he forgot all about the bike.

"Yes," Eleven said as nonchalantly as she could.

"No," Mike protested, looking down at her leg. Her knee was all but covered in blood, "You're bleeding,"

Eleven didn't seem to have noticed this before; she looked shocked when she noticed the red dripping from a particularly nasty scrape.

"Oh,"

"Come on. Let's get you cleaned up. I'll wheel the bike back," Mike said, kicking the metal rod back in place and beginning to roll it away. He noticed that Eleven was walking a considerable amount of distance behind him, "Can you walk alright?"

"Yes," Eleven said, although she winced as she her foot made contact with the ground.

The rest of the gang had caught up with them (Mike wasn't afraid to admit that he ran to El when he saw the beginnings of her crash) at this point.

"Here, I'll help her," Max said before Mike could volunteer, looping El's arm around her shoulder and hooking her own around Eleven's waist. She ignored the displeased look Mike was now sporting.

Once they were back at the Wheelers', Mike wasted no time in hooking his arm around Eleven's waist and start towards the upstairs bathroom. The guys made to follow to see if they were of any help, but Dustin called them back.

"Let them have their moment. I don't wanna see this end in divorce,"

Mike had led El up the stairs, tentatively making sure it was as painless as possible. He helped her into the bathroom and onto the rim of the tub, leaving the door open just a crack (she still preferred it that way) and kneeling beside her.

He wiped the blood off with a damp cloth before bringing out an antiseptic pad, "This might burn. Just squeeze my hand if it hurts too much, okay?"

Eleven damn near broke his fingers.

"Sorry. I just need to get it clean," Mike said, still dabbing at the scrape. Eleven was still clutching his hand, although with a softer grip this time. It helped knowing that Mike wouldn't hurt her on purpose.

"Thank you," Eleven said softly once Mike had finished.

"It's no trouble, really," Mike said, "So...you ready to try again?"

Eleven thought about this. She would much rather ride on the back of Mike's, "No. Not yet,"

"Okay. There's no harm in that," Mike said. The 'not yet' acted as a compromise, "You can always just ride with me until then,"

Eleven smiled to herself. She was perfectly content with that.

Thanks for sticking with me this far :)