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“Hi Ms. Wheeler,” Eleven called from where she was taking her new shoes from Joyce.
“Oh, hi sweetie. Are you here to see Mike?” she asked. Did she even need to? The two were inseparable. “He’s getting some milk right now, but it’s ok. Why don’t you go see Nancy, she said she had a pair of shorts that were getting too small for her, go try them on”. Even though El lived with Joyce, the two mothers almost shared her - raising a child who had lived in a lab up until half a year ago was no easy feat. Besides, she was over at the Wheelers so often, Karen was like a second mother.
“Yes, Ms. Wheeler,” El called, already most of the way up the stairs. She knocked on the door of the older girl’s room hesitantly.
“Come in,” Nancy said, smiling when she saw it was El who’d knocked.
“Hey,” El mumbled; she was still nervous around Nancy. She knew it was stupid, because Nancy would never do anything to hurt her, but she just couldn’t shake the feeling of unease she got around older girls, since she hadn’t met many who’d treated her well. “Your mom said you had shorts?”
“Yeah, sure!” Nancy smiled, sliding off of the bed and opening her closet. “These ones, I think. They probably won’t fit you, though.”
“Cool.” El tried the word out, having only used it a few times. She went to leave, waving a little at Nancy, when the teenager stood up.
“Hey, El, would you… wanna hang out with me until Mike gets back with the groceries?” El nodded shyly, sitting down and smiling weakly. Nancy swung her legs a little, sitting down next to the smaller girl and smiling back. She reached a hand up tentatively, touching one of the loose strands of El’s ever-growing pixie cut; it was more of a bob, by now. “Your hair’s getting long now, yeah?”
“I guess,” She agreed, looking at Nancy’s long curly locks. “Not like yours, though.”
“It’ll get longer,” Nancy shrugged. “Hey, can I show you something cool to do with your hair in the meantime?”
“Ok,” El wasn’t sure what Nancy meant - once when the two had been painting their nails (something El now loved) Nancy had shown her how to put her hair in a ponytail, but she didn’t think there was much else to do.
“So, you take your hair, and you split it into three, right?” Nancy took El’s hair in her hands and did so. “Now, basically all you have to do is put one section over the other and into the middle. So the left section goes into the middle, and now the right. Left into middle, right. Left, right. Do you want to try?”
“Yeah,” El said faintly, taking some of Nancy’s hair into her hands and looking up for permission.
“Go ahead!” Nancy looked on in encouragement, waiting for El to finish. “El, this is so good! Are you sure you’ve never braided before?”
El shook her head. “I haven’t. Thanks.” She practically glowed at the praise, focusing on Nancy’s necklace to keep herself from shaking. She still wasn’t used to compliments.
Nancy looked down at the girl sitting on her bed, warmth filling her chest. She felt an unreasonably strong attachment to this strange little girl, same as everyone else. Everyone had a different reason. Nancy thought maybe it was the way she carried herself, with a quiet assurance rooted beneath her layers of timidity. She reminded her of Barb, sometimes. Everything seemed to, these days. “So, El, do you have your eye on anyone these days?”
El looked up in surprise. “Huh?”
Nancy repeated the question, smiling. “Do you like anyone?” She thought she already knew the answer but she wanted to know anyway.
“Like? Well of course. I like Mike and Dustin and Lu-”
“No, do you like anyone? Like a crush?”
“Crush?”
“Oh! Well, a crush is like… hm. It’s when you like someone as more than a friend. A crush means you want to date a person. Maybe even kiss them. You know what kissing is, right?”
“Oh, yeah,” El answered. “But how do I know if I have a crush?” As Nancy explained, El tried to think. Felt fluttery around the person? She always felt like making something levitate when she was around Mike. Make your heart beat faster? Definitely. Did she have a crush on Mike?
“So, do you?” Nancy tucked some of her hair back, causing El to mimic the motion. “Like anyone, I mean.” She wasn’t sure why she was so interested. El was four years younger than her, at the very least. They’d not been able to pinpoint her age, but they’d all gathered she was the boys’ age, landing her around twelve. So it wasn’t as if she could replace… anyway. Maybe it was just the fact that El had given her another sister, one who was old enough to at least kind of understand.
“I mean… Yeah…” El looked at Nancy nervously.
She squealed, moving closer to the younger girl. “Oh my god! Who?” she pushed away her assumptions, waiting eagerly for a response.
“I… I dunno if you…” El stuttered, dancing around the question before sighing. “Mike.” She said it quietly, almost inaudibly.
“What was that?” Nancy already knew, but she’d rather be safe than sorry.
“Mike.” She said it louder this time, and was about to stand up before Nancy tugged on her skirt. “I’m sorry, I-”
“Hey, hey, woah, El!” Nancy patted her shoulder. “I’m not mad, you know that, right? I think it’s cute.”
“Oh. So, does… does Mike crush me back?” Eleven asked tentatively. Was this wrong? She was never sure about social things. She only ever really felt comfortable around the boys, especially Mike.
“Crush you too? Oh haha, well, you don’t crush people - I mean you might be able to with your powers, but you have a crush on someone. Of course he does! Have you seen how he looks at you?” Nancy thought it was adorable the way Mike stared at El when he thought she wasn’t looking. He had the sweetest look on his face, full of admiration and a little embarrassment. As soon as she said that, El’s face positively lit up.
“Really?” She asked, trying to keep her excitement in, but it crept into the edges of her voice.
“Yeah, you should say something! Or, hold his hand. Really, it’ll be cute,” the older girl playfully suggested.
El looked at her lap, her cheeks tinged in pink. “Yeah.” She said it quietly, with trepidation. “Say something,” she echoed, fiddling with the hem of her dress.
“Mom! I’m home!” The door slammed, and El perked at the sound of Mike’s voice. “Where are you guys?”
“El’s here for you, Michael,” Ms. Wheeler yelled from somewhere else. El still hadn’t gotten used to that part of the Wheeler family’s differences from the Byers’. The Bers were quiet people for the most part; they all sat in one room and talked things out, and El had never once heard Joyce raise her voice at her sons out of anger. The Wheelers, on the other hand, yelled everything. They yelled up the stairs, they yelled across rooms only feet apart, and heck, they even yelled at each other if they were in the same room. They didn’t always mean it to be rude or argumentative: the Wheelers were just loud, abrasive people in all of the areas El’s foster family was subdued and gentle.
“Cool, thanks mom!” Mike set his backpack down, and El could hear his light footfalls up the stairs. “Where is she?”
“She’s in here with me, Mike.” Nancy responded, giving El a knowing smile and patting her hand.
“Why’s she with-” Mike was clearly irritated, but he dropped his tone when he saw El, as always. “You.” His face softened at the sight of the small girl, also as always.
“Hi Mike!” El was chipper, excited by the prospect of Mike liking her back. She still wasn’t totally sure what it meant, but she knew she had liked it when they had kissed in the cafeteria and when they would find excuses to hold hands or cuddle up together.
“Wow, El, you seem happy. Are you doing Nancy’s hair?”
“Yeah I did - um - this?” She showed him tentatively, not sure how to let him see it without putting her whole head under his nose. She did just that anyways. What would he mind?
“It’s called a braid El. There are more types than just that - I’ll show you them sometime if you like,” Nancy filled in.
“Cool!” Mike looked at the braid with apparent interest, although he was really just looking at how long El’s eyelashes were when he was looking straight down on them.
“Well, now that you two have been rejoined at the hip…” Nancy stood up, shooing both of them out as they giggled. “Get out of my room. Well, Mike, you get out of my room. El, you too, but only for now. Come back another time for braiding lessons.”
“Yes, Nancy,” Mike mimicked her bossy tone, rolling his eyes and looking down at El.
“Joined at the hip…?” She looked down too, trying to figure out the idiom.
“Joined at the hip, yeah,” Mike said before smacking his forehead. “Oh! Um, well, she just means that we’re always together, I guess. Not that we’re actually stuck together.”
“Oh.” El looked up, careful not to slip on the stairs as they headed toward the kitchen. “I understand.” She bumped her own hip against his, smiling at the pretty color creeping across Mike’s face. He always looks so pretty when that happens, El thought absently.
Mike rubbed the back of his neck, pulling a chair out at the dining room table for El and sitting across from her. “Yeah. So, homework?” Even though El wasn’t in school yet, she still did homework with Mike, as a stand in school. Lessons with Joyce, Jonathan and Mr. Clarke could only go so far. As Mike explained what he was doing (a math sheet - El could do some of the problems as she was a quick learner and was now up to 3rd of 4th grade level math, but others were a mystery to her). She found herself tuning out and staring at Mike instead. His hair was only a bit shorter than hers, she realized. An image of Mike in - what had Nancy called them? Braids? Yeah, that was it. An image of Mike in braids crossed her mind. She giggled to herself, thinking of how cute he would look.
“What’re you laughing at?” Mike asked, bringing her out of her thoughts.
“Your hair, it-” she reached out to touch it, tracing one of the flyaways. “It’s really pretty.”
“Oh-” Mike’s voice was cut off by her words, his mouth clamped shut in an attempt to contain his own set of complements. “Um. Thanks. So, you remember long division, right?”
El nodded, but she was too busy looking at Mike’s hair again to actually pay attention. She eventually walked around the table, sliding into the chair next to him while he was distracted.
“And so then you- hey, El.” The hey was elongated, and he looked down at his lap. “Can I… do you need something?”
“No.” El shakes her head, her hair swishing around her face while she swings her legs back and forth. She decided just to go for it. “Can I braid your hair?”
Mike sat up straight, no longer slouching. “What?”
“Like this.” She ran a hand over Mike’s hair, carefully selecting and parting one section of his inky locks and setting to work. “Okay?” She kept at it after he nodded his head, smiling to herself. She was pleased with how close she was able to get to Mike’s- what’d he called them? Freckles. She really liked them, no matter what Mike had said about them. He’d told her about all of the times Nancy had teased him about them, how much trouble they’d caused. He didn’t particularly appreciate their existence, given that they set him apart from everyone else. El liked them for the same reason. They made him look even more interesting.She sectioned off his hair, deciding to do two braids to lay on each side of his head, pulling the left section over into the middle just like Nancy had taught her. Now, the right. She liked doing hair, especially Mike’s.
“So you had fun with Nancy?” Mike asked, tilting his head a little.
“Stay still!” Eleven reprimanded jokingly. “Yeah, I can braid my hair now!”
El’s infectious enthusiasm made Mike smile. “It looks nice in braids,” he said, letting a compliment slip. The two children settled into a comfortable silence. With El finishing off the first braid, then running upstairs to Nancy for some hair ties. She had returned and started on the next when Lucas, Dustin, and Will walked through the front door, coming over to the Wheeler’s for dinner and a Dungeons and Dragons campaign.
“Wo-hoah, Mike!” Dustin lost it when he saw Mike sitting at the kitchen table with half a head full of braids. “What’s happening here?”
“Say one word, Dustin, and I will kill your D&D character, I swear to god.” Mike glared, trying to look dangerous, which just made Dustin laugh harder.
“Who did this to you, dude?” Lucas joined in.
“El decided she wanted to, okay?” Mike stayed still, as El had returned with a wristful of hair ties. “I’m not going to tell her she can’t.”
“No, I think you mean that you can’t tell her she can’t.” Will.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Mike narrowed his eyes at his three smug friends. “I can choose what to do.”
“Oh, nothing, nothing…” Dustin said airily. “You didn’t choose to be whipped, it’s fine. Continue, El.”
“Whipped…?” El looked up. “I’m not hurting him, am I?”
“No, El, whipped means like…” Lucas began, looking to Will for help. He’d always been a wordsmith.
“Whipped basically means that he’ll do whatever you want. Like, you know, sort of trained, like a dog.”
“I don’t think Mike’s a dog.” El frowned deeper, dropping the braid she was working on.
“And they don’t either,” Mike said firmly, looking at them pointedly. “And they are also putting their bags downstairs, right? English class is over.” He crossed his arms, muttering about free will and being his own person.
“Is something wrong?” El asked. Why do they have to make it weird between us? Mike thought, even though he knew the boys were just kidding.
“No, they’re just laughing because, well, because boys don’t usually wear braids,” Mike explained. He wasn’t sure how El would react, seeing as she wasn’t totally used to social customs.
“But you look pretty,” she said.
“Oh, um, ok,” Mike decided to let the use of the word pretty slide. “Ok, well, I’m going to keep them in.” El smiled, and he knew he was right. They turned to go downstairs, so Mike could lead his party and El could sit in her fort and watch, when Will came through the door to the basement.
“Hey, I like the braids. You should keep them in. Jonathan says to do what you want,” the small boy said, reassuring the two.
“Well, Dustin says to get playing!” Dustin plopped down at the small table, waiting impatiently for the rest of them to start the game. “Come on!”
“Yeah, yeah,” Mike grumbled, sliding into the chair he always sat at and opened his folder. “Let's go.” He feels himself start to fall back into the easy rhythm of staying in one place, surrounded by people he cared about.
They began setting up the table and board, bickering about who would sit where and where pieces belonged. As the boys sat down Mike turned to El, who was sitting on the couch watching.
“Hey, El…” Mike says, beckoning her over. “D’... do you wanna sit down with us?” She nods eagerly, putting her hands behind her back and smiling.
He pulls a foldable chair out of the garage, running back downstairs with it and setting it down for her.
“There you go. We can switch chairs if you want…” he noticed his friends all laughing behind their hands. “What are you all laughing at?”
“Nothing, it's just… it's really funny how absolutely devoted you are,” Lucas teases.
“Completely and utterly,” Will adds.
“I’m not devoted! I’m being considerate, unlike you guys!” Mike protested. Shut up guys! He thought. They we humiliating. He usually didn’t mind the teasing, but tonight something was different. She… he couldn’t describe it, but there was a feeling, like when he was around her something would happen. Eleven slid into the chair he had finally finished dusting off, smiling at him.
“Nice hair El, did you do that?” asked Will, sensing the awkwardness between the two and changing the subject.
“Yeah!” El said, excited for the chance to talk about her new skill. “Nancy taught me while I was waiting for Mike,” she explained, as Lucas and Dustin shared a look. “Your hair almost looks long enough to braid…”
Will nodded, scooting his chair towards her and smiling indulgently. “You can if you want, El. I won't mind.” Lucas and Dustin both snickered, both at how Mike looked jealous at the prospect of El touching someone else and how silly the whole scene looked, with Will practically laying across El’s lap, giggling at how spidery-quick her fingers were.
“And you two can shut up, because I'm coming for you next.” El pointed at Dustin and Lucas, grinning mischievously at the way their faces immediately went blank.
“Take Dustin, not me! I don't even have enough hair to braid!” Lucas yelps, pressing his knees to his chest and giggling at Dustin’s face.
“No! Not me either!” Dustin started to get up, but when El shot him a look, he sat back down. “I mean… whatever.” Mike smiled, pleased. They all knew that El had them wrapped around her finger. She could braid their hair together and they probably wouldn't complain. Woman’s charm and all that.
And maybe just a little bit of the fact that she saved their lives.
She finished up Will’s braids, choosing to do two, like Mike. Dustin sensed that she was coming for his hair next, and started to run up the stair playfully, but she swept him off his feet and floated him down in front of her with the just the flick of her head. He resigned, and she took one section from the front of his head, braided it, did the same to the other side, and met them in the back, making Dustin’s hair look delicate and elegant. Lucas laughed at this, thinking he was safe with his short curls, but El pulled out her secret weapon: the blonde wig she wore when she first arrived.
“What? You want me to wear that? No way,” Lucas protested. “Just so you can braid it? No way!” Just like the other boys, he couldn’t resist her, especially after how hostile he had been when they had met. He felt bad - even though she insisted she was over it. He settled down in front of her, pushing Dustin from his spot. She placed the wig on his head, and after they had all stopped laughing about his grumpy expression offset by the cute blonde wig, she combined what she had done to Mike and Will with what Dustin sported and created a elaborate hairstyle. The boys hadn’t seen their own looks yet, so they marched up to the mirror in the hallway to see.
“Oh my god oh my god oh my god,” Dustin moaned, picking at one of his braids. “This is so completely stupid.” He threaded his hand through his hair, the ponytails coming out and dropping to the floor. “Can I take them out now? Please?”
“Sure.” El shrugs, interrupted by Lucas’s shrieks of laughter.
“Oh my god, Will, you look so-” Lucas was cut off by a slap across the shoulder from the boy.
“You can shut up, Lucas, because you look like a fairy princess.” Will follows Dustin’s suit, unraveling the braids and marveling at the slight curl they'd caused.
“Hey!” Lucas slapped him back, right on the forearm. “You can shut up too, you look just as funny.”
“Is there anyone who doesn't look silly here?” Dustin says, as he leads them back downstairs.
“Yeah,” Will scoffs. “Mike.”
“What? What're you talking about?” Mike’s head snapped up. He hated being singled out from the group, even positively.
“What, are you gonna disagree?”
“Wh- no! I just don't think any of us look that ridiculous.”
“I think you all look great!” El added. The boys looked at her for a second, then continued their arguing.
“Mike, you’re crazy. We look hilarious,” Lucas said through laughter.
“What are you laughing about?” called Karen from the next room. “And does anyone want to stay for dinner?”
“Oh, no, it’s alright Ms. Wheeler, my mom’s expecting me at home. And hey, El, I liked the braids,” Will said, heading downstairs to get the game going. He didn’t even realize he still had his hair all done up.
“Lucas is coming to my house for dinner, Ms. Wheeler,” Dustin said, heading to the mudroom to get their bags and giving Lucas a shove as Mike and El walked to basement, ready to start.
“You look nice, Mike,” El said tentatively.
Mike coughed, looking around, desperately trying to look somewhere other than El’s face. “I… thanksyoudotoo.” He said it quickly, smushed together, and El frowned a little at his reaction. She waved goodbye to the rest of the boys, and remembering Nancy’s advice, she slowly, nervously, put her hand in Mike’s.
Mike stiffened up, almost ram-rod straight. Did what he thought just happened just happen? He didn’t complain, though, and just let his much larger rest in hers. She smiled appreciatively, happy to just stand and let things be.
“Mike?”
“Yeah?”
“Is it normal to want to do this,” she held up their entwined hands, “with a friend?”
Mike coughed again, raising his eyes to the stars. “Um. Well, it’s different in some cases. I think it’s normal if you’re both girls-”
“And you’re not,” El shoots back.
“Well, yes, but I think it can also be normal if a boy and a girl are really good friends.”
“And… we are?”
Mike sighs in frustration. “I don’t really know, okay? I love being friends with you, El, but you make it so hard for me to- to-” he turns around, dropping El’s hand and sighing once more. “Never mind.”
“Mike…” El catches his hand again. “Friends don’t lie.”
Mike paused for a moment, not sure what to do. Could this be the moment where he… tells her?
“Well, I don’t know. I mean, I guess…”
“Mike,” El interrupted.
Mike pulled Eleven closer to him and kissed her, all in one swift motion. It wasn’t like the kiss in the school, this one was fueled by something more than just the fear and adrenaline. This kiss was an answer, the cumulation to all the hands brushed up against each other, all the glances, all the hidden feelings of the past half year. It meant something going forward.
“Mike? Was that… was that your answer?” she looked so innocent and bewildered, Mike couldn’t help but kiss her again.
“Yeah, I think so,” he told her. It was cold, the May nights not quite warmed up yet. El radiated heat, as she always did, probably something to do with her powers.
She put her head on his shoulder, her cheeks hot and her heart beating faster. “Okay,” she said faintly, smiling at nothing and sighing happily.
“Yeah, okay,” Mike echoed, letting her rest her head on him and smiling down at her.
And, in that room, there was a moment of perfect balance.