Will Byers x OFC

Chapter 3: Evening Cycle

I walked home from school, books in my arms and bag slung over one shoulder. I'd left my bike at home today, and was expecting my parents to pick me up. But, they'd called the school, informing me that my father was off on some business trip in California and my mother had gone with him. Knowing that I practically lived in Karen's house, she let me stay with her instead for the weekend.

The chilly November breeze made my brown waves float behind me as I breathed in the autumn air. Leaves cascaded down from trees and the grass was brown. Tucking a loose strand of a curl behind my ear, I approached my front door and unlocked it with my key, entering the house and slinging my bag into the corner before dashing upstairs to pack my overnight bag.

Tossing some warm pyjamas on my bed and cramming a shirt and jeans into my bag, I found my boots and a pair of rundown trainers and shoved them in too, tossing the bag over my shoulders as I grabbed a book to read and leaped down the stairs. As I exited the house, locking it up again behind me, I trudged through the leaves in my lawn and picked up my leaf covered bike, climbing on and clipping my helmet under my chin. I began pedalling down the street as the sun set behind the orange trees of Mirkwood. Rain drizzled and dampened my hair a tiny bit, but I didn't mind. Cycling through the beginnings of November wind was pure bliss and I felt free.

About 3 minutes later, I cycled into the small town and passed the corner store, heading closer to Mike's house. Pedalling past the trees, I knew the path off by heart so I let my eyes close and breathed in slowly. Opening them again, I suddenly came to a sharp halt and screamed, tumbling forward off my bike, palms reflexively thrusting out and dragging painfully across the concrete, rocks scraping harshly against my skin. Forehead and eye smacking into the pavement, I groaned and attempted to push myself up by my elbows but found they were shred too. Whimpering quietly, I rolled onto my side and cradled my head, feeling wetness start to pool from my head and down to my brow.

Looking up, I met the eyes of the girl who made me crash.

"What the hell is wrong with you, you dunce? Didn't your mom ever tell you not to stand in the middle of the road? Jeez. Look what you made me do!" I yelled at the girl in frustration, rain pouring now as I glanced down at the concrete, blood staining the cracks and bumps from my injuries. I winced at the stinging in my knees, hands, elbows and throb of my aching head.

The young girl, around my age, looked surprised and confused.

"What's a 'mom'?" She asked sweetly, making me roll my eyes.

"Can you ride?" She looked confused again for a second, looking at where I was pointing and shook her head.

"No. Mike usually did." My eyes widened.

"M-Mike? As in... Mike Wheeler?" The girl nodded enthusiastically and approached me, making me back up a little. She looked a little creepy. Her hair just reached the bottom of her ears, eyes brown and dull, cheeks cut and caked with dirt. She looked hurt, and alone. Her hand was wrapped around her left arm, blood dripping from her nose. She looked like more of a boy. I moved my eyes down to the cuts on my hands, coated with the red liquid that made me gag.

"I'm sorry." She apologised quietly, wiping away at the blood with her already bloody sleeve.

"It's..." I was about to retort something sarcastic but bit my tongue, "Fine. It's fine." I reassured her, picking up my bike and gasping in pain. "Ow..." I whined, cursing the sky as the rain soaked through my coat.

Well I wasn't happy with the rain now, I'll tell you that.

"Just... to make it up to me, push the bike to Mike's. If you wanna see him, I'm going there anyway so I'll take you." She smiled and took the bike, starting off down the road to Mike's house. They were probably worried. I knocked my head pretty good, and I could feel my left eye swelling up. I decided to interrogate the girl. "So... what's your name?" I looked at her and she smirked a little, looking down at the ground.

"El." She replied shortly, and instantly I knew who she was.

"You're Eleven?!" I asked excitedly, and she flinched.

"Y-yes. How did you-"

"Oh my French fry pizza guy Mike is gonna be so happy to see you!" She furrowed her brows in curiosity,

"F-French fry-?"

"He talks about you non stop. He's been looking for you all this time and now you're here! Where've you been all this time?" I jumped a little over enthusiastically, dying to know more about the girl my best friend obsessed over.

And for once, I wasn't actually dreaming of Will.

~~~~~

5 minutes later, after some chatting, we reached Mike's house. I noticed that Eleven didn't talk very often, and when she did, it was almost as if she had limited vocabulary. She only spoke words like, 'bad place' and 'no'.

I asked her to open the door after she dumped my bike beside Will's and I walked inside, calling for Karen. I could hear the boys in the kitchen.

"I don't think I can." She muttered softly, looking up at me with her big, doe eyes. She looked so innocent, cheeks muddy and skin pale. Poor thing.

"You don't think you can what?" I asked quietly, as she bit her lip and turned away.

"Mike."

"You don't think you can see Mike?" I asked, understanding her as she nodded and moved a little closer to me. I smiled warmly, reassuring her a little as her tense shoulders slumped slightly.

"He'll be really glad to see you, trust me. When I first met him, I nearly crashed into his bike with mine. He accepted me into the group right away." I said, as Karen appeared around the corner, dish cloth in hand.

"Are you OK, sweetie? Who's this?" She asked, eyes narrowing at the stranger.

"Karen, there's no time to explain, I fell off my bike and cut my hands." She looked me up and down and gasped when she saw my bruised head and bloodied nose. She rushed over to us and pushed us into the kitchen, picking me up and settling me on the counter as I winced. The boys ran into the kitchen and smiled at me, but frowned when they saw El.

"E-Eleven?" Mike stuttered, moving closer.