Eleven liked walking. Going through the woods felt like freedom. She loved Hoppers house. It was Home, but she had spent an entire year just sitting there waiting. And the woods were cruel to her in the winter she spent hiding. But now it was Summer, the breeze was brisk and nice, Hopper had gotten her some summer friendly clothes, and the woods were nice this time of day. Now that things were calmer with the bad men, she could travel out as long and far as she could, as long as she didn't draw attention to herself. (And she was back before 10)
It had been six months since she'd been adopted, and she noticed how many more freedoms Hopper was granting her every week, like walking through the woods, going to Mike's everyday, and even going with him to the office a couple days.
She was going to Mike's now. She loved going there. She snuck out sometimes at night to go sleep in his basement, where he'd meet her and they'd just lay together. Mike reveled in the fact that she'd travel all through the woods at night to be with him. He was glad for it. He wished he could do the same, but sneaking into hoppers house was way more difficult. Frankly, Hopper wasn't as ignorant as Mike's parents.
She walked up to his house. She was excited. She had decided she and mike had to do something together today, instead of just watching movies and hanging with the boys. She did enjoy doing those things, but she wanted to do something a bit different this time. Something just for the two of them.
She was going to open the door before Mike came out wearing shorts and a T-shirt, revealing his skinny arms and legs. "Hey El!" He said to her when he saw her. Eleven looked at them and mocked being blinded.
"You're so pale," she giggled.
She's been picking up on Dustin and Lucas's humor, thought Mike.
"Yeah so are you." He laughed. "What's in the bag?" He asked, pointing to the tote bag she was carrying.
"I want to do something with you, and only you," she said. He immediately turned red. Every time she showed any kind of affection towards him he got butterflies.
"W-What did you want to do?" He asked.
"I wanted to go swimming."
She took out a towel from the bag.
Mike wasn't expecting this. Usually, eleven stayed inside. Mike knew that was mostly because of Hopper, but he also knew she liked the basement, seeing as she spent so much time there.
"Are you sure, Eleven? Do you think you're ready to?" He was worried about her, she knew that. He noticed how often she got flashbacks and how often she got nightmares, and seeing as how she went through some traumatic stuff in the sensory deprevation tanks, he didn't think that would be good for her.
"I want to have normal fun. Be a normal kid. Be outside. The water would be nice to play in."
He thought about it, and he found he couldn't disagree with that.
"Okay! Let's go then."
Mike went in to go change into some swim shorts. She waited until he came back out and grabbed his bike. "Come on," he said. She hopped on behind him, and clung close to his back, hugging him from behind.
He knew of one public pool in Hawkins, but he didn't want to take her to some public place filled with people, because one, Hopper wouldn't like it, and two he was worried it would be too overwhelming for her. Not that he felt that she couldn't handle anything. He admired the strength she displayed every day. But the pool was sometimes a hangout for mouth breathers, the water stank of chlorine, and there were all these rules you had to follow. He didn't think she'd find it enjoyable. Also she said she wanted it to be just them. He was going to take her somewhere special.
They rode through the woods until they came up to the edge of the Quarry, where, surprisingly, no warnings or signs that indicated it was private property, which Mike would have thought would happen after that happened with Will. Also, he had almost died here, if it weren't for Eleven.
"Why here?" She asked.
"It's nice and quiet, and the water is actually kinda nice." He explained.
He saw a glimmer of remeberance shift across her eyes.
"Don't worry, I won't jump off any cliffs this time." He said, as he comfortingly touched her arm. She smiled at him and swatted away his arm. She got off the bike and took off the shirt that was covering her new swim suit, then took off her bottoms. She put them in the bag, then noticed how red Mike was.
"What?" She smile at him.
"N-nothing," He said. It was not nothing, for he had been staring at her new pink swim suit and thinking about how nice she looked in it, but he didn't say anything.
She smiled at him, then lowered her head. He started to float in the air. "Hey!" He shouted. Eleven giggled as he flailed. "Put me down!" He said in between laughs.
"Okay," she said, as she let him splash into the water. He resurfaced to see that her nose started bleeding, but she was smiling. He rushed out to check on her.
"That was rude," he laughed at her. She stuck out her tongue at him. He reached up and wiped the blood from her nose. The action wasn't self conscious, but she turned red anyway, feeling the butterflies she usually felt when she was with him.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"Yes," she said.
"Good," he replied. He took her hand and pulled her toward the water. When she got into the water up to her knees, she halted and froze. She clutched Mike's hand tightly, shivering, but the water wasn't what gave her the chill.
"Hey, hey look at me." He said he walked in front of her and cupped her face, one hand still holding hers. She looked into his dark eyes, his wet, black curls clinging to his forehead. "It's just me. The water is just lake water. I'm here okay? I'm here."
She nodded. She hugged him close and started to calm down. When they pulled apart he studied her face. No tears, but slightly pale.
"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked her. She nodded again.
"Promise." She said to him.
He smiled. "Good," they waded farther out into the water, Her grip on his hand lessened, but she did not let go. "then I won't feel bad doing this!" He shouted, and pushed her under the water. She came back up, her short hair clinging to her face. She looked aghast at Mike, then started to run after him, seeking her revenge.
He splashed her and tackled her. He watched as she giggled and laughed and tried to fight him back, she couldn't win, even though he was gentle with her.
At one point she stood up in the water, her hair hanging all wet. He had a second to admire how pretty she looked like that, before a giant sphere of water began to lift out of the lake. He looked at it tentatively, stared back at Eleven, and ran for his life. Eleven giggled as the water slammed into mike taking him under.
He came up from the water and shouted,
"That's not fair!"
"It's funny," she said as she laughed. He ran to her and pulled her toward the deep end, splashing her all the while and pulling her under.
They stayed under, looking at each other in the water. He drew her closer to him and kissed her. It was short, because they were underwater, but it was nice. He could see her turn red under the water, and even he could feel his face redden even under the water. They came up for air and walked to the shallow end, holding hands.
"It's always the same," Eleven said abruptly.
"What?" Mike asked.
"You always kiss me, and it's always short," she said. "I want to do it."
He felt his face turn red again. "Um...okay," he said.
She walked up to him, her head barely reaching his nose. She looked up at him, took his face in her hand, and placed her lips against his. She stayed there for a long time. It wasn't awkward, it wasn't quick. It was just right.
They were just right.
