76- Bike Lessons
Summary: Steve teaches El how to ride a bike.
Requested by: Boris Yeltsin
Steve wasn't sure what was happening.
Here was a girl with superpowers on his porch, asking him for help.
Could his life become any stranger?
Probably. But he wasn't getting into that now.
"What do you need me to do?" he asked again.
El sighed and rolled her eyes. She was getting some sass, Steve observed.
"I want to learn how to ride a bike." she told him.
"Okay, why?"
El raised her eyebrows at him. "I want to ride with my friends."
"Does Hopper know you're here?" Steve asked instead of giving a solid answer.
"Yes!" El exclaimed. "He said I can walk here through the woods."
Steve sighed. "Okay, fine. But don't you have a bike that you need to learn how to ride on?"
"Dustin said you had an old bike that could be my size."
Oh right. Steve had forgotten about that bike.
Steve led El towards his garage.
He opened the door and stepped into the large room.
El slowly followed him, looking around in awe.
There was not a car in the garage, no, there was loads and loads of boxes.
"What's in the boxes?"
"Rich people crap." Steve answered honestly as he tried to figure out how to get through the maze of boxes.
El nodded as if she understood, but Steve highly doubted she did, cause heck, he didn't even understand it.
Soon, Steve finally got to the back of the garage, lifting the bike above the boxes.
He set it down in front of El, who continued to stare at it like it deeply offended her.
"Do you not want to learn how to ride?" Steve asked.
El shook her head. "I want to learn."
"Okay then," Steve clapped his hands together. "Let's get started."
It did not start well.
El fell of just trying to get on the bike.
But don't worry, because Steve is a patient mother of 6, he's fine.
Soon, El was able to get on the bike easily.
"Okay," Steve started. "So, see those pedals? You're going to use them to power your bike."
El nodded, listening intently.
"And you're going to use the handlebars to steer. Now, put that foot on this pedal, yep just like that. And the other foot on that pedal. I'll hold up the bike."
El placed both feet on the pedals and let Steve hold the bike.
"Now what?" she asked.
"Well, see you left foot? It's above the right foot. So, you're going to push down your left foot." Steve explained.
El followed his instructions, pushing her left foot down and moving the bike forward an inch.
"Now the right foot." Steve explained.
El pushed down her right foot.
"Left."
El's left foot pushed down on the pedal.
"Right."
The right foot followed in suite.
"Left."
"Right."
They did this for a few minutes, driving circles around the driveway.
Steve pulled to a stop.
"You've got to learn how to stop now." he told the girl.
El nodded.
"So, if you want to stop, just wind your pedals back."
El frowned in confusion.
Steve saw this and clarified.
"Like this." Steve reached down and with his hand, he grabbed one of the pedals and spun it backward, where it stopped near the back wheel.
"Oh, okay got it."
"Let's try this. Pedal like I taught you, when I say to, brake. Is that good?" Steve asked.
El nodded and started pedaling.
Steve waited for a moment before telling her, "Now!"
El pushed back the pedals, braking.
'Though almost toppling over at the end, she did well.' Steve observed.
For the next 20 minutes, El practiced pedaling and braking with Steve holding onto the back of the bike.
Steve then decided El was ready enough to ride alone.
"Want to try it by yourself?"
El thought for a moment. "Sure, I'll try."
Steve explained how they were going to do this, starting with El riding with Steve holding on. Soon after, Steve would let go but not without letting El know.
"Ready?"
"Ready."
El began pedaling.
"One," he started to count.
"Two."
El gripped her handlebars tighter.
"Three!"
Steve let go, and El lasted about 5 seconds before toppling over.
"Oof, that's okay!" he called. "Are you good?"
El shot him a thumbs up.
"Want to try it again?"
"Sure!"
The next time they tried, El lasted 6 seconds.
"Making some improvement!" Steve commented.
El scowled, frustrated.
"Again?" Steve asked and started picking up the bike.
El climbed on the bike a took a deep breath.
And so they tried, over and over, until finally, El got it.
Not before kicking the bike angrily though.
"Hey, it's okay." Steve assured her.
"I'm not getting it." she grumbled.
"And that's okay. Nobody rides the bike perfectly on the first try."
El sighed. "I'm ready to be done."
"Okay, that's fine. But let's try one more time, okay?"
El glared at him.
"Eggos after?"
"Eggos after."
"Fine."
El climbed back on the bike.
"Ready." she told the older boy and began pedaling.
Steve held onto the bike, positioning himself to let go of it.
"One."
"Two."
"Three."
Steve let go and El prepared to land on the ground.
Surprisingly, she didn't.
She was pedaling and steering.
El was riding a bike.
"Let's go!" Steve cheered from somewhere behind her.
"I'm doing it!" El shouted, giggling.
El braked and got of the bike.
She ran to Steve and tackled him into a hug.
Steve let out a surprised oomph and returned it.
"Thanks Steve."
"Anytime El."
AN: Hope you liked it, Boris Yeltsin! Happy June! Requests are open everyone!