Their kiss deepened and El thought she might never feel as happy as she did at that moment. Her hand reached for his hair, feeling the soft curls that were dampened still from the rain. Mike pulled her closer as they continued kissing. El could only think about how his lips felt and how it felt to be pressed against his chest. The thunder wasn't bothering her, at least not at that instant.
Eventually they both found that they were lacking for air so their kiss had to end. They parted but kept their faces close for a bit, both of them surprised and overwhelmed by the intensity of their first kiss. Mike grinned and El laughed nervously.
"Wow." She murmured.
"Are you still afraid?" Mike asked, still holding her but now in a more relaxed position.
"I'm not right now." El replied, her voice still unable to find its full volume.
"I'm exhausted. Do you want to try to sleep again?" Mike asked. He was trying to scoot back down into the sleeping bag.
"Sleep would be amazing." El agreed. She turned to her side, facing away from Mike, and slid into the bag as well.
She was lying there thinking about the fact that she had just had her first kiss, and with someone who knew her secret, and she was suddenly overwhelmed with emotion. She felt tears running down her cheeks and tried to stifle her sniffles so Mike wouldn't worry. Of course he heard her. He turned toward her, his body wrapping around her smaller one.
"What's wrong, El?" Mike asked. He nudged her head so that she would lift it and he could slide his arm underneath her so she could use it as a pillow.
"Nothing is wrong."
"Are you okay?" He continued, still listening to her occasional sniffles.
"Yes."
"What is it?" Mike wanted to know.
"It's embarrassing."
"You know I wouldn't make fun of you, El."
She sighed. Mike's arm under her head felt strong but comfortable. "I've just never been held like this. I've never gotten to fall asleep feeling so safe."
Mike didn't say anything. He just hugged her tightly and they drifted to sleep.
The intensity of the storm dulled at some point while Mike and El were asleep but the rain didn't stop its torment of the area. They had slept surprisingly well once they had finally given in to slumber and they didn't wake until 10:00 the next morning, according to Mike's watch. They weren't expecting that the rain would still be falling hard. Another fire was out of the question.
El's ankle was still sore but she was managing to hobble around and they had both been able to leave the tent for a few minutes to take care of morning bathroom rituals. Mike had even brought a toothbrush. They shared it. Neither of them wanted to admit that it was a little gross but their mouths felt fresher and they had already kissed the night before so their teenage minds justified the act.
The constant rain made it seem colder than it was so they had to stay bundled in the sleeping bag all day. They talked a lot. Mike told her about his plans for the future, how he hoped to get into a good school somewhere other than anywhere in Indiana. He wanted a change from the small town, backwoods, backwater lifestyle that Hawkins offered. He wanted to be a pathologist but he also liked writing.
As they lay in the bag talking, El told him that she had been moved around so much that she didn't care as much where she lived as she did who she lived with. She just needed to know at the end of the day that she was loved and was safe. Mike thought that was sad. He had always had that, even with his arguments with his father and the lack of actually doing things with him. The man was always there and he always made sure they were well taken care of. El had moved on to how she felt about her new dad and Mike found himself reaching for her hand. He laced her fingers in his and looked at her, smiling as she continued to tell him about how she liked having someone who was patient with her but it still felt weird and she was always worried that he was going to turn out like everyone else and decide he didn't want her anymore.
"Does he know about what you can do?" The question had suddenly struck Mike and he interrupted her to ask.
"He does. That's how he came into my life. He was working on some things for the government and he stumbled across some documents that led him to me. I guess they had been keeping tabs on me. He has some friends who work for the government, you know, higher up, and they were sympathetic to me and helped him get me out of the foster home I was in and helped him get documents that made him my father so that no one could take me away from him. I feel very lucky but I still worry that I'll do something wrong and he will send me away."
"It sounds like he knew what he was getting into. I don't think you need to worry so much, El. I don't know what kind of people you had to grow up around but I can't imagine you ever doing anything that would make someone want to send you away from them. They must have all been bad people, because you definitely are one of the good ones." El smiled but she looked away. His compliments were something she was in no way accustomed to hearing. She wasn't sure how to react.
The morning gave way to afternoon and still the rain had not let up. Mike knew there was little chance that they would be found that day but he didn't want to say anything just yet. El had seemed more relaxed all morning and he didn't want to reignite her fears.
"I'm hungry." El had felt her stomach growling.
"So am I. I have the cookies my mom packed. We can eat those." Mike went out into the tarp area to find the cookies that were in his backpack. El was sitting in the sleeping bag still when she heard him shout.
"What's wrong?" She yelled from her position in the tent. Mike appeared at the door, a huge grin on his face.
"Nothing! I just remembered that I packed three bags of freeze dried chicken and rice so if I can get my camp stove to light so we can boil some water we can actually eat today." He seemed ecstatic. El also thought chicken and rice sounded better than just cookies. "I'm going to be under the tarp here trying to get this stove to work." Mike said as he disappeared from the door of the tent. El climbed out and watched him. She was interested in this little stove and wanted to see how it worked. He had a little fuel source that hooked into the ignition. He just had to unscrew the safety cap. He tried as hard as he could but it wouldn't budge. He was getting frustrated. He looked up at El and she could see that he was disappointed and he looked like someone had just killed his dog.
"Here, stand back." El said. Mike watched as she glared at the cap. He followed her gaze and watched as the cap started to turn, clearly loosened enough that he could take it off.
"See if that helped." Mike took off the cap and got everything working properly. He poured some water from one of their bottles into the pot and turned on the flame.
"That was awesome. I don't even know what to say." Mike stood up, crossed to her where she was standing a few feet away, and hugged her tightly, pulling her off her feet slightly. He set her back down after a few seconds but before he let her go he kissed her, shortly but sweetly. "Thanks, El." He then used his sleeve to wipe away a smidge of blood that had trickled out of her nose.
El was once again overcome with so many feelings. She had never had anyone wipe her nose, or hug her because they wanted to, definitely had never had anyone want to kiss her. She had never known that she could feel happy emotions. She took a few deep breaths to pull herself together before she went to where Mike was to watch him cook their food.
"See, this package of food is already cooked but then they use a machine to pull all of the water out. So all we have to do is add the right amount of boiling water, and it's neat because we can just pour it into the same package the food came in, and let it sit for a few minutes and it will rehydrate and it'll be like actual chicken and rice we made at home. Well, maybe not as good as that, but we're hungry so I'm sure it will taste good to us." Mike was smiling and talking excitedly. She had saved his life and he was happy that he could do something in return, even if it was only making them some food.
"Do you have a fork or anything?" El asked, not wanting to have to use their hands to reach into the bag of rice.
He laughed a little. "You know I do. I brought everything." He smirked at her and smiled when she blushed.
They could smell the food and both of their mouths were watering. They had known they were hungry but until they smelled actual food neither of them realized how hungry they were. The events of the previous night had caused them both to have rushes of adrenaline. Mike rebuilding the outer tarp tent in the pouring rain and El catching and moving the tree had caused both of them to use any calorie reserves they had so now they were feeling the effects of so much energy used.
"I think it's finished. Let's go back into the tent. I'm cold." Mike turned off his stove and got his fork out of his backpack. Once again they would have to share but they currently were lost in the woods so just having a fork at all was a luxury.
They settled in place back in their sleeping bag and passed the package of food back and forth between them as they took turns taking bites.
"Do you think they're looking for us? I wonder if they even know we're gone." El said softly.
"I don't know. I'm sure they had a checklist but with this storm I don't know what they might do. I don't even know if they continued the hike after last night was so bad. But we will get out of here. If nothing else, when your foot is better we will find our own way out. Together."
"You're not saying it, but I know we're going to have to spend the night here again." El quietly stated.
Mike sighed and looked at the ground. "Yeah, I think we are. I didn't want to scare you so I hadn't mentioned it yet."
"It's okay, Mike. Hopefully tonight won't be as bad as last night." She was quiet for a moment. "And last night turned out to not be all bad." She said, barely audible but Mike heard her.
They finished their rice and got back into the sleeping bag. They were both still tired from the night before.
"Thanks for making food, Mike." El said as she snuggled into the bag. "I feel better now."
"I'm glad. It's literally the least I could do. Really." She giggled at him again which made his heart race. He cuddled into her. She accepted gladly. He had said he was cold but to her he felt warm and it was nice to feel him against her.
The rain hitting the tarp above them made a consistent tapping noise and they were lulled to sleep by the patter of the drops. When they awoke it was dark outside. Mike wished he could get a fire going to warm them up but there was no place to build one and the wetness of the fire pit they had built made it impossible to use at the time. El was rubbing her hands together, trying to make them feel warmer.
"I'm sorry it's so cold." Mike said, he put his hands on hers to try to help warm them.
"It's not your fault. You can't control the weather."
"Still, I don't want you to be cold." They were silent for a few moments.
"Mike, do you think the kids at school will say mean things to us when we get back because we were lost together and spent so much time alone together?" El wondered. She had been thinking about it, how the kids at school would probably tease them, especially Mike. He'd get teased for being alone with the weird girl. Who knew what rumors they would start?
"I don't care what anyone says to me, El. Let them think whatever they want to think. We know the truth of our time out here. We know what we mean to each other." Mike realized he had probably used the wrong words. He didn't want to scare her. He was falling though. Falling hard.
"What do we mean to each other?" She wasn't going to let that one slide. He could tell.
"I mean, I feel like we're connected. You know? Like the first time I talked to you I felt like I had known you forever, even though I didn't know anything about you really. And before I ever talked to you I was always trying to see where you were, at school I mean. Like at lunch when you'd always leave or I'd see you in class but I was too much of a mouthbreather to say anything to you. I thought about you a lot. And now that I do know you better I like you even more. You're kind and honest and helpful and smart. I like to hear you laugh and you have a beautiful smile. Well, I mean actually everything about you is beautiful but I don't want to sound creepy or anything." Mike was starting to think he was rambling. El just looked down.
"Wow. No one has ever said anything like that to me before. No one has ever told me anything good about myself. I'm glad that I'm lost with you, Mike. I'm glad you're the one who is here with me. You make me feel like I'm not alone and I never feel that way." Her voice was guarded, like she thought she might cry so she had to keep it in check.
"I really like you, El." Mike said, smiling warmly.
"I really like you too, Mike. I've never told anyone my age my secret. I'm glad you know. It makes me feel better about myself. I'm lost in the woods, going on my second night, and I've never felt happier feelings than these last two days. I mean, I don't want to be lost but you've made me feel happy. I like feeling happy."
They had moved closer to each other in the bag when Mike had put his hands on El's to warm them. As they had talked Mike had moved himself so that he was once again holding her, her head on his chest just below his chin.
"I hope we get found soon but I wouldn't want to be lost with anyone else either, El." Mike said softly. He could feel her hair tickling his face next to his jaw. He really wanted to kiss her again but he was afraid that their predicament of sharing the sleeping bag might make it seem to her that he was going to try to do more, which he wasn't. Not that he wouldn't want to, he just wasn't the type of guy to take advantage of a situation. She sensed his conflict and lifted her head to look at him. She was still firmly tucked into his side, just raising her head enough so that their eyes could meet.
"Is something wrong?" She asked, her brow furrowing a bit. He couldn't see a lot due to the darkness but he could tell where she was in space. He could tell where all of her facial features were.
"Everything is fine." His voice faltered a bit.
"Are you sure? Did I do something?" She sounded worried.
"Definitely not, El." He paused, wondering if he should just tell her what was bothering him. "Look, I want to kiss you again but I know that's asking for a lot and I didn't want you to think I wanted more, I mean, I'd totally want more, but it's your body your rules and I would never want you to think I would take advantage of you. You're just so pretty and you smell good even though we're lost in the woods and you feel really nice lying up against me and..." She cut him off, her lips brushing gently against his and stopping the words spewing from his mouth. He returned her kiss, deepening it just a little as he shifted so that they were both lying on their sides, facing each other. His arms wrapped around her and she felt his tongue graze her lower lip. She felt it in her toes.
Mike knew that they couldn't get too carried away. They were lost, yes, but that didn't make their sharing a sleeping bag in a small tent all alone any less romantic. It would be too easy to go too far and despite how his body was screaming at him that he needed more he held back. Even when he could tell that she was having trouble not getting caught up in the moment as well he held the ground for both of them.
"Mike." She said, pulling back and breathless.
"I know. We have to stop. Or at least slow way down."
"I know." She agreed. Her tone of voice said that she was disappointed in the fact but she definitely knew what they shouldn't do.
"Hey, El?" Mike lifted her chin, she had hung her head.
"I'm not going anywhere. Unless that's what you want. There will be time. We have time." He smiled, his eyes never looking away from hers. "Come here." He pulled her to him and they just cuddled. Occasionally they would make out again but both of them were hyperaware that they had to keep it in control. Both of them were also hyperaware of what they wanted to happen someday in the future.
A/N: Next chapter, time to find a way home. Thanks again for reading. I hope it's enjoyable!