El had ridden on the back of Mike's bike several times. And Max's. It was always fun, but El was dying to learn how to ride a bike on her own. She was tired of being dependent on everyone else for rides to places. She and Mike were taking a bike ride. She stood up on the back pegs with her hands on his shoulders, her hair blowing in the wind. It was a cloudy, cool day, so she had a long sleeve shirt on under one of Mike's sweatshirts. He came to a stop outside his house and El hopped off the bike.
"Mike, can you teach me how to ride a bike!" El asked.
"Well yea, of course. Here, put this one," he said, grabbing a helmet out of the garage.
"A helmet? Really?" She asked.
"Yea, so you don't hit your head when you fall. It's inevitable you'll fall at least once and we can't have you getting hurt," he said and put it on her head. She smirked at him sarcastically and buckled the helmet. He held the bike up for her and she swung her leg over and grabbed the handles.
"Okay so put one food on the pedal," Mike said. She put one of her feet on one of the pedals and kept herself up with her other foot, but Mike still held the bike up for her.
"So when you push down on the pedal you'll start moving forward. When you do quickly put your other foot on the other pedal and start moving them. Use the handles to keep yourself straight. Want to try?" He asked.
"Yea," she said with an excited nod. He held the bike up until she pushed down on the pedal and then she moved forward a bit. She gasped excitedly and put her other foot on the last pedal and started moving. She was moving fast and then she lost control of it and fell on her leg, ripping her jeans and scraping her knee. Mike ran towards her and crouched down beside her.
"Baby are you okay?!" He asked, moving the bike off her.
"Yea I'm fine, I just scraped my knee. Looks like these jeans are ruined," she said and chuckled.
"You rode a bike though! Now come on, let's get you inside and clean that up and if you want we can come back out," Mike said.
"Yea, cuz guess what? I rode a bike! And I'm gonna do it again," she said and giggled, doing a happy dance. He helped her up and dragged the bike back to his driveway and they went inside. He sat her down in a chair at the table and grabbed their first aid kit.
"Alright let's get you cleaned up," he said and crouched in front of her. He used an alcohol wipe to clean her knee off. She winced a little bit as he spread some Neosporin on her wound and then put a bandage on it. He put a little kiss on her bandage and looked up at her.
"All better," he said. She giggled and leaned down and pressed her lips to his.
"Thank you," she said. He smiled against her lips.
"You're welcome. Wanna go back out on the bike?" He asked.
"Yes," she said. She took his hand and pulled him up off the floor and they went back outside. She lifted the bike back up and swing her leg over it.
"Get on! I wanna take you for a ride!" She giggled.
"Uhhh...okay," he said and chuckled. He climbed on the back of the bike and held on to her shoulders and she started peddling. She was a little wobbly, but much better than the first time. She pedaled faster and took off down the road towards Lucas' house. She was so excited to show off her new skill.
"Where are we going?" Mike asked.
"I wanna show Lucas and Max I learned how to ride a bike!" She said excitedly. Mike had to smile. She was so cute and sweet when she was excited.
She pulled up to Lucas' house and Mike jumped off the bike. She let the bike fall on the ground and they went to the door. Naturally, Lucas opened the door with Max by his side.
"Hey guys I wasn't expecting you," Lucas said, letting them in.
"Guess what I did!" El said, clapping her hands.
"What?" Max asked.
"I learned how to ride a bike! Finally!" She said and jumped up and down. Max and Lucas smiled at each other. It wasn't a big deal for them when they learned how to ride bikes, but they knew every little thing mattered to El, so they would support her.
"Come see! Let's go for a bike ride!" She said. They shrugged and put on coats and Max hopped on her bike and Lucas on his. Mike hopped on the back of the bike with El and they took off down the street.
"Race you to the cafe! Loser pays for the hot chocolate!" Mike shouted at Max and Lucas. El giggled and took off on the bike. She was twice as far as Max and Lucas and she pulled the bike into the cafe parking lot. A couple minutes later, Max pulled in, Lucas a few seconds behind her.
"Looks like Lucas pays for drinks!" Max said with a laugh. They all set their bikes down and went inside to a booth, shivering from the ride over. They all ordered some hot chocolate and cheese fries. El held the cup in her cold, stiff hands and let the heat warm her up.
"Cold?" Mike asked. She nodded and Mike put his arms around her and pulled her close. She turned her head and kissed him softly. They pulled apart and she took a sip of her hot chocolate and ate a cheese fry. She felt normal, and she loved it. She learned how to ride a bike, was sitting in a booth eating cheese fries with her friends, sipping hot chocolate, kissing her boyfriend...it was a perfect life in her eyes, no matter how boring it would seem to others.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Mike said. She felt Max and Lucas looking at her too. A wide, amused smile spread on her face.
"I learned how to ride a bike. So when can I drive the car?"
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Mileven One-Shots
FanfictionJust a collection of {probably terrible} one shots about Mike and Eleven from Stranger Things (and maybe some Lucas/Max and Nancy/Jonathan). 🏅HIGHEST RANK - #3 in #mileven 11/1/21