Morning couldn't come sooner for Mike. He spent majority of the night tossing and turning, too excited to shut his racing brain off. El's beautiful image flashed behind his eyelids, her big eyes looking at him, smile shining, dimples creasing on her dewy skin. He imagined sitting by the lake with her, the sun setting on the horizon. The golden light made her look like a painting. The more he thought the harder it was for him to drift unconscious. After she first defeated the Demogorgon it was hard for him to imagine spending just one more day with her, and now he was looking forward to spending days on end in her company.
After hours of trying, sleep finally found him, and soon morning did too. Normally he would have to drag himself out of bed, especially plagued with lack of sleep but not today. He practically leaped out of his bed jittery with excitement. Mike ate his breakfast with impeccable speed causing looks of disgust from his parents and Nancy alike.
"Mike slow down, It's not like they're going to leave without us!"
He ignored his sister's annoyance and continued to shovel food into his mouth. Every second ticked by weighing on him, at this speed it felt like he was never going to get to the Byer's house.
Although not letting it show, Nancy was just as excited as her brother to start this trip. Thoughts of her being with Johnathan, in his arms made her face flush. She wouldn't let Steve get in the way of her much needed alone time with Johnathan. She could only imagine how excited Mike was about this whole camping thing, maybe she should have told El more about boys when she had the chance.
"Alright kids, remember be safe and listen to Mrs. Byers and the chief," Karen said wrapping her arms around her kids, kissing them on the head as Mike rolled his eyes.
"And remember to have fun." Their father said in his monotone voice barely looking up from his morning paper.
They heard the familiar horn beep of Johnathan's car and headed out the door.
Meanwhile Hopper stood in the kitchen, looking at his watch impatiently, "come on kid, we don't want to keep your friends waiting."
"Okay" She called out from the bathroom. She looked in the mirror again, she made sure to brush her hair out, smoothing its tight curls. El also added a touch of the lip gloss she wore to the snowball, making sure to slip the tube in her pocket before leaving the room.
"Someone's dolled up." The chief said throwing their bags in the trunk.
El's cheeks grew warm as she tried to conceal a smile.
"I don't want Mike getting any ideas." He said joking, but also a little thrown off by seeing her with make up on, even if it is only lip gloss.
El ignored his comment, partially because she didn't understand and also because her mind was too busy thinking about seeing Mike. Of course she was excited to spend time with all of her friends, but her feelings about seeing him were different. They were more intense, and seemed to over shadow all others.
The ride to the Byers was surprisingly quick and they were the last to arrive, just as Hopper predicted.
She ran out of the car to her friends who were grouped together by Joyce's car.
Mike's heart stopped when he saw her, something that happened every time their eyes met. She must have been wearing one of the new tops she bought, it was fitted to her body compared to the baggy shirts she was getting from Hopper. He also noticed a smooth sheen on her lips, it made it difficult to keep eye contact with her. It also made him want to kiss her more than usual. She could feel his gaze on her mouth, it made her nervous. He noticed her bite her lip.
She searched for the word he used at the snowball, "beautiful?"
"Always beautiful."
She gave him that smile, the smile that made him melt.
"Boys! Come help me pack the cars!" Hopper called.
Mike flashed a grin at her one more time before he and the boys went to help the chief.
Max looked at the other girl standing there with a goofy grin. She rolled her eyes and smiled at her teasingly.
"Mouth breather." El said with a chuckle as she and Max walked to join the boys.
The cars were packed and the groups split up. Johnathan and Nancy went with Joyce in her car, the boys, with the exception of Dustin who went with Steve, and the girls went with Hopper. Much to Mikes displeasure, El sat in the front seat. He was jealous of Lucas and Max sitting in the back close together, giggling and smiling at each other. He wished he was doing that with her right now, but he knew he'd have to watch how close he got to El with daddy Hopper watching. Plus, he was able to stare at her from (kind of) afar, something he enjoyed very much.
As the ride ensued Lucas and Max fell asleep on each others shoulders, something Mike and Will would give him shit for later. Will doodled mindlessly on his sketch pad he brought as El fiddled with the radio. He watched her flick her head changing the station with just her mind, he loved to see her use her powers for little things like that, he didn't know why but it made him smile. Finally, she got to a song she liked. He recognized it after a few seconds, it was "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac, he only knew because he remembered his dad bought his mom the album a few years back for Christmas. He watched El close her eyes and listen to the music, moving her head to the beat. Eleven loved music, the night of the snow ball she told him about the records Hopper shared with her and how much the beautiful sound soothed her, and how "Every Breath You Take" was her new favorite song, it was his too.
Mike spent the rest of the car ride watching her hum along to each new song that played, getting excited at the ones she knew and voicing her opinions on the new ones she heard. He made a mental note of which songs she liked the most, formulating a plan about making her a mixtape at some point in the future.
The car ride was a little bit over an hour, so they arrived a little after eleven thirty. The lake was surrounded by dense woods besides for the small lots designated for camping. Hopper was smart for choosing to go during the week, there wasn't anyone in sight. They waited a couple of minutes for the others to arrive before beginning to unpack.
Setting up the tents and unpacking was a hefty job, but they finished quickly with the number of people they had. The boys put their boy scout knowledge to the test putting together the tents while Hopper set up a fire pit for later. The girls helped Joyce get out the sandwiches she made before leaving this morning. This reminded El of how much she loved Will's mom, she could tell everything she did was with love and kindness.
The kids sat on a picnic blanket while the adults sat on the folding chairs they brought. Hopper lit a cigarette and passed it to Joyce as he thanked her for the sandwich.
"Hey kids it's pretty hot out maybe you should test out the lake!" Joyce said as she began to collect the trash from lunch.
"Yeah I'm sweating out in this heat!" Dustin said heading to his tent to change.
"Whoa there, help Mrs. Byers' clean up, then you guys can go swim." Hopper said stepping on his cigarette butt.
They all picked up after themselves before heading to their tents to change. The girls in theirs, the young boys in theirs and Johnathan and Steve in their own. The two older boys weren't too keen on sharing a tent but it was the only arrangement that made sense. The boys of course made it down to the lake first, all of them but Mike were already jumping into the water when the girls came down. Nancy was wearing her favorite cover up and was carrying a new book she must have took from her mom's book shelf. Max and El were also with her, both of them covered in oversized tee-shirts. Max quickly put her towel down and took her shirt off tossing it casually to the side running to join the boys in the water. El was more hesitant, she carefully pulled off her tee-shirt as Mike's breath hitched in his throat. She was wearing her new bathing suit, it was a red two piece, high up on the waist with a halter top. He did his best not to stare but he found it impossibly difficult, he's never seen her so exposed, it made his stomach tight and his hands sweaty. She gave him a cheeky smile as his face flared.
"Mike?"
"Yeah?" His voice cracked through his dry throat.
"I don't really know how to swim." She said slightly embarrassed.
"Oh well that's okay, we'll stay in the shallow part, and I'll show you." He said giving her a big smile while extending his hand.
She took it, feeling its warmth as he led her down to the water. The other members of the party splashed and swam in the deeper water, leaving Mike and El in the shallow part.
She slowly took a deep breath and stepped into the water, her hand never leaving Mikes. It was colder than she expected but it felt good against her sun heated skin. They walked until they were about waist deep until Mike stopped her.
He took her other hand, "Alright it's going to get a little deeper, but don't worry I got you." He led her deeper into the water slowly until they were about shoulder deep.
"Okay so what you're going to do is just kick your feet and move your arms around, it's called treading water."
She nodded timidly afraid to let go of his hands.
"Here I'll hold you." He hesitantly put his hands on her hips feeling his stomach coil tightly and his breathing shorten, "ready?"
El nodded at him with a smile, feeling her stomach flutter at his touch. She did as he told her to do, struggling at first but soon finding the rhythm to stay afloat.
"See you're getting it!" He exclaimed beginning to remove his hands from her waist.
"No!" She said obviously still not confident in her abilities.
"Okay," He said with that goofy smile forming on his face, "but we're not going to go any deeper just to be safe."
She nodded in agreement as she treaded in the water. Soon after she did something that shocked Mike, she moved closer to him, wrapping her legs around his waist and laid back against the water to float on her back, reminding him of the "bath". He continued to hold on to her hips, his heart beating so fast he felt like it was going to explode. He's never been this close to her, or to a girl in general, especially in a bathing suit. He looked down at her as she stared up at the clouds. He's never seen something so beautiful.
They stayed like that for a while before Will splashed them and started a splash fight between all of them. The boys continued as Max and El went to join Nancy who was tanning by Johnathan, who was taking every opportunity to photograph. El loved the feeling of the sun drying the water on her skin, and causing her hair to form into bouncy curls. To make everything better, Johnathan brought his battery powered radio. The music came out tainted by static, but El didn't care. Everything was perfect.
As the sun moved further west, Hopper came down to the lake to collect the kids for dinner. Of course they all protested, but everyone knows there's no point to fight with Hopper. El who was dozing in the sun put her shirt on and collected her towel sluggishly.
"I really wish you had your bike." She said smiling at Mike.
"Well come on I'll give you a piggy back ride!"
"A piggy what?"
"You hop on my back, wrap your legs around my waist and arms around my neck, and I carry you." He said smiling.
"Okay." She said returning the grin.
He crouched down as she gently hopped on his back. For the first time she noticed how much taller Mike had gotten since they met, he was still a little skinny for his age but he was now a couple of inches taller than her. He carried her all the way back to the camp site, listening to her giggle in his ear.
By the time they got to the tents the fire was already going as Joyce threw tinfoil wrapped potatoes on the outermost coals. They set up their picnic blanket and started to roast their hot dogs over the fire. Hopper instructed El and the others on the "right way" to do it, in between Dustin's constant wiener jokes, which induced snickers from the rest of the kids. During dinner the party sat around laughing and planning what to do in the upcoming days as Joyce and Hopper relaxed, sipping on the beer he discretely packed.
Time past quickly and soon the stars were out. The only thing illuminating the campsite was the fire, sending shadows on the tents and surrounding trees. El watched the flames with tired eyes, her head leaning on Mikes shoulder. The soft sound of Johnathan's radio filling the air, coaxing her and the others into a doze.
"Come on kids, why don't you get ready for bed we've had a long day." Joyce said in her ever motherly voice. Usually they'd beg to stay up later, but being out in the sun all day had drained them.
Will and El said goodnight to their respective parents, hugging them. The boys said goodnight to the girls before splitting up to go to their own tents. Mike and El were the last to separate.
"Hey Mike," She said stepping close to him, looking over her shoulder to Hopper who was deep in conversation with Joyce and the teenagers, "thanks for teaching me how to swim." She laid a gentle kiss on his cheek, making them both blush. She left him standing there as she retreated to her tent, only looking back to smile and say a hushed goodnight.
Both Mike and El drifted off to sleep quickly that night, thinking only of each other.
Hey guys, so sorry for such a late update, I had to put all creative projects on the back burner to focus on school, but now I have actual time to work on this! Next update will come in the next couple days, so look out for that! I really hope you enjoyed this chapter, you all know how much I appreciate the reviews and recommendations, so please leave some if you want! Love you guys!