A/N: Welcome back! I realize it has been almost a month since this has been updated, so thank you for your patience. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Please remember to leave a review and let me know!
OdoMango: Thank you! I'm glad that you're enjoying it so far. Starting from scratch with having these two meet is something completely new for me and is why the idea of doing an AU was appealing. I hope you like it!
Jbg: Thank you. I'm glad you find Mike's reluctance to be realistic. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
NoDownSide: Exactly!
Shrike176: I always thought Mike would be really sensitive about things like this when it comes to relationships, and exploring insecurities can give a lot of material. I do like writing Dustin a lot, as he is my favorite individual character in the show, so I'm glad you are enjoying his and Mike's friendship.
Andy: Yeah, insecurities are sure an ugly thing.
UnoPeso22: Body image is definitely a real issue that a lot of people struggle with, so I thought it would be realistic. Things could definitely go either way that you mentioned. I hope you like this chapter!
Guest123: Oh no! I'm sorry that happened. I don't see that being the case with Mike and El, don't worry. I'm glad you like it so far.
Ejbeckmann: Hmmm, a kiss by chapter 4 or 5? I'll see what I can do : )
Exploding Helmets: Thank you!
Jean Sumnerland: Yes, the OC's will definitely come in to play throughout this story. I'm glad you are liking it so far.
Grievesforyou: Not sure that I can, haha.
Mikeleven83: Thank you! I'm glad you like it, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Stranger Records: Thank you, I'm glad you like it. I hope you enjoy all the complications that summer love sees!
Afanofstrangerthingsandstuff: Thank you! No, it wasn't that Mike can't swim. It was insecurities with his body image. I'm glad you like the fluff that I write!
Breaklights: So do I!
Zebra wuz here: Thank you so much for saying that! I hope you enjoy this chapter just as much.
KentClarkson03: As of right now, I have no plans to include real smut in this story, and I plan to keep it T-rated. I have some future stories in the works that will include smut, but this and my one-shot collection will not.
Dartikins: Thank you! Their journey will definitely include its ups and downs. I hope you enjoy it.
Mileventhetop: Yep! Things are never quite smooth sailing, are they?
Youngwerther: Thank you. I'm glad you like it, and I hope you like where it goes!
Disclaimer: I do not own Stranger Things or any of its original characters.
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The next morning, Mike and Dustin were walking from their cabin to classroom A where the counselors were meeting to begin their training week. Mike knew Dustin would be wanting an explanation of why he left the bonfire early, especially after all the encouragement Dustin had given him and how well Mike and El seemed to have been hitting it off.
"So, what happened to you last night?" Dustin asked, and Mike was not surprised. "And don't tell me you were just tired. It's just the two of us."
"I just… I guess I got scared," Mike reluctantly admitted. There was no use trying to lie or avoid the question.
"Scared of what?" Dustin asked.
"That the things I was feeling with El were all in my head," Mike replied. "And that even if she thinks I'm a nice guy or whatever, I can't compete with those other guys physically. How could I have expected her to be interested in me when there were guys who looked like that?"
"Come on, Mike. Do I look like the most athletic person to you?" Dustin asked and gestured his hands up and down his husky body. "But Suzie loves me anyway. The right girl isn't going to care how lanky you are or that it looks like your skin hasn't seen the sun once in sixteen years-"
"Thanks, Dustin," Mike interjected sarcastically.
"All I'm saying is El doesn't seem like the superficial type to me. And I know you're going to say that Stephanie didn't seem like the superficial type to you either, but you can't keep using her as a reason to not trust another girl," Dustin explained. "I really think El likes you and wants to get to know you better."
"What makes you say that?" Mike asked.
"You mean other than everything I already pointed out to you yesterday?" Dustin quipped. "How about the fact that she was really disappointed when you left last night."
"She was?" Mike asked, perking up.
"Yeah, she was," Dustin nodded.
"I heard Eric ask her to race him to the water, so I figured she probably just hung out with him since you and Suzie were together," Mike said.
"You assume wrong, my friend. She did run into the lake with Eric, probably to be nice, but she hardly paid him any attention after that," Dustin said. "She laughed a couple times when he splashed her, but she hung close to me and Suzie."
"Really?" Mike asked, starting to feel relieved.
"Yeah. Jason and Nikki even challenged Eric and El to a chicken fight, and El flat out refused," Dustin added. "She did not show Eric the time of day, and I'm pretty sure she can't stand Jason. So she hung out with me and Suzie, and she just seemed like she was sad and confused but was trying to pretend she wasn't."
"Oh," Mike said quietly, the relief changing to guilt. He didn't mean to make her feel bad.
"You should talk to her," Dustin suggested. "You don't want her to start thinking you're avoiding her."
Mike nodded and agreed that he would try and talk to her when they reached the classroom. Of course, the universe had different plans.
When Dustin and Mike reached classroom A, they saw Tom, Kayla, Suzie, and El standing along the back of the room. The two of them immediately walked past Tom and Kayla to Suzie and El, and Dustin gave Suzie a good morning peck on the lips.
"Hey," Mike greeted El with a small smile.
"Hi," El said simply.
"Look, El, I want to talk to you about last night," Mike began.
She looked at him with her big hazel eyes, waiting for him to go on. Just then, one of the four advisors strolled into the classroom following Eric and Dani who had joined the group.
"Good morning, counselors!" the female advisor exclaimed in a tone that was much too cheerful for first thing in the morning.
The counselors grumbled a response, except for Tom who promptly responded with a chipper "good morning" of his own. El diverted her eyes to focus on the advisor who was speaking, and Mike knew he would have to wait to talk to her.
"The eight of you will be the camp counselors for our campers starting next week, so this week we are going to put you through the lessons you will be leading," the advisor explained. "We aren't going to follow the itinerary exactly, though."
The advisor, who introduced herself as Mindy, went on to explain that the counselors' training days would only be four hours long each, just long enough to encompass the four hours of lessons the campers will have. Of course, the counselors did not have to break for phys ed, so they were doing their four hour-long lessons back to back. After which, lunch would be served in the cafeteria, and then the counselors had free time for the remainder of the day. The advisor also explained that while the eight of them were being trained on these lessons, Jason and Nikki were meeting with Angie for training on the phys ed portion of the week, and that since Jason and Nikki would be finished before the rest of them each day, those two would be helping the other advisors, Angie, and the director and assistant director to finish setting up the camp in preparation for the campers' arrival.
"I want to start by having the eight of you pair up with your week one partners, and each pair have a seat at a table," Mindy instructed.
Dustin and El, Mike and Suzie, Tom and Dani, and Eric and Kayla paired up and each took a seat at a lab table. Dustin had hurried to the front, so he and El were at one of the two tables in the very front row. Tom was just as eager, so he and Dani were at the lab table in the front row next to Dustin and El. Suzie had been on her way to the table right behind Dustin and El, but Kayla had been standing closer to it and sat down first, so Kayla and Eric were behind Dustin and El, which left Suzie and Mike to sit behind Tom and Dani.
"At Camp Know Where, we understand that different students may appreciate different sciences, so we pride ourselves on exploring several different areas such as physics, biology, earth science, and chemistry," Mindy began as she picked up a stack of paper from her table in the front of the class.
She walked to each of the four tables and handed a packet to each of the eight counselors. The packet was titled "Lesson One: Simple Machines."
"You already know that each day will consist of four one-hour lessons," Mindy continued. "Lesson One is our physics hour, and we will be focusing on simple machines. The packet I handed out to each of you is a training tool that I recommend you keep with you when your campers arrive so you can use it as a reference. It explains what you will be doing each day, and it is broken down day by day."
Mike flipped through the packet and skimmed over the agenda. It appeared that Monday would be spent teaching the campers about the lever and the wheel and axle; Tuesday they would teach the campers about the pulley and the inclined plane; Wednesday they would teach the campers about the wedge and the screw; and Thursday they would introduce the campers to the physics project.
"As you can see, once your campers have learned about the six simple machines, they will put their knowledge to use and create a balloon-powered car," Mindy said. "The instructions are on the last page of your packet, and you all will be making them yourselves this Thursday as well. Friday will be used for finishing their balloon-powered car projects, and then they get to have some fun and race them."
Mike furrowed his brow as he read through the instructions of building the balloon-powered car and saw the materials that would be used.
"Cardboard, clay, discs, and straws?" he whispered, looking at Suzie next to him in confusion. "When Dustin came home last summer, he had actual machines that he built."
"The older campers spend a much longer time at camp than the younger campers do," Suzie explained. "Besides, that type of thing would be too advanced for kids these ages."
"Now, I know that by now, you should all be familiar with the six simple machines," Mindy redirected the counselors' attention. "But there is a specific presentation that you will need to follow when leading your campers. So, I am going to go through that with you right now. Today will be the presentation on the lever and the wheel and axle."
Mindy dimmed the lights and pulled up the PowerPoint presentation that all the counselors would be provided with to help instruct their campers. As she started droning on about the lever, Mike began to zone out. His eyes naturally gravitated toward El who was sitting at the table diagonal from him next to Dustin. She seemed to be paying attention to the presentation, her eyes fixed on the front of the classroom. Mike couldn't help but notice how pretty she looked even in the poorly lit room with the glow from the PowerPoint screen reflected on her tan skin.
Just then, Suzie cleared her throat which startled Mike, and he turned to look at his partner for the week. Suzie was looking directly at him with her lips curled into an amused grin and her eyes giving him a knowing look. Mike felt his cheeks blush, which Suzie noticed even in the dim light, and she chuckled.
"You know, the three of us had a great time in the lake last night. We all wish you would've joined us," Suzie said quietly to not disturb the presentation.
"I was tired," Mike said lamely.
"Yeah, that's what El told me you'd said after we got back to our cabin last night," Suzie said, and Mike could tell she didn't believe his excuse.
"She was… she was talking about me?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Well yeah," Suzie laughed. "She told me that you guys had a nice talk down by the lake and were starting to get to know each other, and then when everyone was getting into the lake to go swimming, you kind of froze up and gave some excuse about being too tired, and then you took off."
Mike looked down. He couldn't exactly argue with that. From El's point of view, that is probably exactly what happened, and Mike knew that.
"She said she was really confused by it, but personally, I think she was a bit hurt, too," Suzie continued. "She asked me if it sounded like she did something wrong to make you want to leave."
"No," Mike said immediately. "No, it was nothing like that. She didn't do anything wrong."
"That's what I told her," Suzie said gently.
Mike nodded his appreciation and stared ahead at his desk, feeling a bit guilty. He didn't want El to think that he was trying to avoid her, and he certainly didn't mean to make her feel bad in any way.
"So, why did you leave like that?" Suzie asked.
Mike sighed and glanced over at El again. Then, he looked at Eric who was seated directly behind El.
"It's complicated," Mike said quietly. "She's right. We were getting along great and having a nice talk… I guess I just got in my own head about some things."
"What kind of things?" Suzie asked.
"Just… stuff," Mike shook his head, not meeting Suzie's eyes. "It's stupid."
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to talk about it. I know we barely know each other," Suzie said sweetly. "But I'm sure whatever it is isn't stupid. Is it something you can talk to Dustin about?"
"I kind of did," Mike replied, feeling a bit uncomfortable discussing his insecurities without actually discussing them, especially with one of his best friend's girlfriend who he just met. "There are just some things that I'll need to work through on my own."
"Okay, well maybe you should try talking to El," Suzie suggested. "At least let her know that she didn't do anything wrong."
"Yeah," Mike nodded. "I'm going to do that after lunch."
He glanced over toward El again and met her eyes, as she was already looking at him. She offered a smile so small that Mike almost missed it, but it was there. Then, El looked back up front toward the presentation.
Mindy finished the presentation that the counselors were to be giving their campers on day one, and then she answered any questions that the counselors had. She picked up the next stack of papers and passed around packets titled "Lesson Two: Dissection."
El's face curled into a grimace as she flipped through the packet for lesson two.
"Oh, sweet!" Dustin marveled next to her as he skimmed over it himself.
"For the biology portion of camp, our campers will be dissecting a variety of animals, starting very small, and getting increasingly more complex as the week goes on," Mindy explained when she had returned to the front of the classroom. "Each day, you will provide your campers with the animal specimen and a diagram of the animal. This lesson will be very important for you to lead your campers through, so you will have a specimen yourself at the front of the classroom to dissect right along with your students."
Dani, the blonde who was sitting at the table in front of Mike, immediately raised her hand, and Mindy nodded her direction.
"What if someone ethically objects to doing this? This seems like animal cruelty," Dani said.
"They're already dead," Dustin chuckled, though only El heard him.
"Camp Know Where is very transparent with our potential campers and their parents, so everyone is aware that there is animal dissection before they enroll in the camp," Mindy explained. "So, if the parents have chosen to let their children come, they have done so knowing that they will be dissecting animals. Additionally, these animals are preserved specifically for the use of scientific education."
"If you don't want to do the actual dissecting, I can do it and you can explain to the campers what I'm doing," Tom offered, though the look of disgust on Dani's face did not go away.
"On day one, we start off very small," Mindy said. "The first dissection is an earthworm."
It took several minutes for Mindy to ensure that each table was set up with an earthworm and the proper dissecting tools and protective gloves and goggles. Then, Mindy passed out the diagrams of the earthworm and began to lead the counselors in the dissection.
"This is not what I signed up for," Dani said under her breath. Mike heard what she said, and he laughed, causing Dani to look back and make eye contact with him.
"Actually, it is," Tom corrected her.
Dani dramatically rolled her eyes and tilted her head toward Tom while keeping Mike's gaze. Mike chuckled and nodded, and Dani gave him a big smile before turning back to her own table.
The dissection went pretty smoothly for El. It wasn't as bad as she had thought it would be; granted, this was only an earthworm. El flipped through the packet and saw the animals they would be dissecting over the next four days, and Mindy was certainly right when she said they became more complex each day. The remaining animals, in order, were a starfish, a frog, a pigeon, and a fetal pig. El figured she would be okay helping with the starfish and frog, and maybe the pigeon, but she was certain that Dustin would be on his own with the fetal pig.
When the second lesson was finished, the counselors cleaned up their areas. After putting everything away, El walked to the sink to wash her hands, and Mike took the opportunity to walk up next to her.
"Hey," he said. "How are you liking it so far?"
"It's interesting," El replied, shutting off the water and grabbing a paper towel to dry her hands. "I think lesson two will be my least favorite."
Mike laughed and watched as she finished drying her hands. He studied her hazel eyes which seemed to sparkle when he looked into them, and he watched the way she flipped her chestnut hair over her shoulder.
"I was, uh, I was just wondering," he began suddenly. "Could we maybe go somewhere and talk after lunch?"
"Yeah, of course," El replied, raising her eyebrows.
"Cool," Mike smiled, feeling relieved.
"Cool," El grinned in return.
Mike felt himself begin to blush from El smiling at him, so he looked back toward the rest of the classroom where the other counselors were starting to take their places at their tables.
"We should probably get back over there," he said.
"Yeah," El agreed.
They parted ways, and Mike returned to his seat next to Suzie while El returned to her seat next to Dustin.
Mindy passed out the informational packets on lesson three which was covering biomes. As El flipped through it, she saw that they would be spending the first two days discussing several different biomes, and beginning the third day, the campers would each begin creating a terrarium of a biome of their choice. Of course, since the first two days of lesson three were presentation-based, that meant Mindy was about to start showing the presentation that the counselors would be giving next week. El was okay with this, as it gave her some time to think.
The previous night, she had been confused when Mike left abruptly. El couldn't help but think she said or did something to make him leave, but she couldn't figure out what that could have been. Everything had been going great. She even thought she had felt an extra spark between them at the lake. Could she have been imagining Mike moving his hand closer to hers on that rock? Where would things have gone if that advisor hadn't called out about dinner and interrupted?
Then again, things hadn't gotten weird between them until everyone was jumping into the lake. El wondered if maybe she had made him uncomfortable by slipping out of her dress right in front of him like that. Maybe Mike had been feeling something between them too and thought she crossed the line too quickly? Or maybe he was just wanting to be friends, so her doing that sent him the wrong message? Then again, they had been getting ready to go swimming. Of course she had to take off her dress.
"Are you okay?" Dustin whispered, pulling her out of her thoughts.
"Yeah," El whispered back with a reassuring smile.
"Are you sure? You look totally zoned out," Dustin said.
"I'm just… thinking," El said vaguely.
"About Mike?" Dustin asked.
"W-what? Why would you assume that?" El asked, taken aback.
"You were super in to things all morning, and then I saw you and Mike talking over at the sink. Now you seem distracted," Dustin explained.
"Oh," El sighed, feeling a light blush cross her cheekbones.
"What were you guys talking about?" Dustin asked gently.
"He asked if we could go somewhere to talk after lunch," El replied. "I don't know what he wants to talk about, though."
"I think I have a pretty good idea," Dustin said.
El studied Dustin's expression, and from what she could read, he seemed to be genuine and friendly. She was sure Mike probably talked to Dustin last night about whatever was really bothering him, and maybe if Dustin could fill El in a little bit before she talked to Mike, she would have an idea of what was coming that afternoon.
"Dustin, do you know what happened with him last night? Why did he leave all of a sudden?" El asked.
"El, it's not really my place to tell you anything," Dustin replied, and El sighed.
"Will you at least tell me if he was upset about something I did or said?" she asked.
"I can assure you, you did not do anything wrong to upset him," Dustin promised. "Mike's a good guy. He just has some issues."
"Issues?" El repeated, scrunching her forehead in confusion.
"Not, like, bad issues or anything," Dustin said quickly. "Just personal stuff. He has some insecurities about a few different things, and he tends to be kind of hard on himself."
"Oh," El said quietly. Her brow remained furrowed and concern crossed her face. "What kind of insecurities? And hard on himself about what?"
"I've already said too much," Dustin shook his head. "But I swear, he doesn't want to avoid you. Just hear him out."
El nodded. Of course she would hear him out. She couldn't imagine what he would have to be insecure about. He had really seemed to be willing to open up with her at the lake. Sure, they had really just talked about camp and friends back home, but El had felt like if they had been able to sit there and keep talking, she could have shared anything with Mike. There was just something about him.
When Mindy finished the presentation about biomes, she picked up her final stack of packets and passed them out.
"Lesson four is a little bit of a combination," Mindy explained. "It will focus on different types of rock and the rock cycle, as well as some aspects of chemistry like mixing solutions and conducting experiments. Part of what the campers will be doing is growing their own sugar crystals."
Mindy explained that the first day, they will be creating the mixture and starting the process of growing crystals. Then, they will place their projects out of the way on one side of the classroom, checking them periodically to note their progress, and the crystals will be fully formed on Friday.
She started by showing the counselors the brief opening presentation and introduction that they will give their campers prior to beginning the crystals. Then, the counselors gathered the supplies they needed based on the instructions on the final page of their packets.
El took her piece of string and wet it with water before coating it with sugar. She hung it over the edge of her glass jar while she turned on her hot plate and began mixing the indicated amount of water and sugar in a pan. While she was waiting for her solution to boil, she snuck a glance back at Mike and Suzie's table. They both also seemed to be waiting on their solutions to boil, as they were just talking. She saw Mike laugh at something Suzie said, and El smiled to herself at how cute he looked when he was happy.
El heard the sound of water bubbling next to her, so she turned to see that her solution was boiling. She stirred it until all the sugar was dissolved until removing the mixture from the hot pan. Then, El poured her mixture into her glass jar and added a fair amount of food coloring and glitter to the jar.
When all the counselors were finished, Mindy had them place their jars on a shelf along the side of the classroom. She explained that the crystals will continue to form all week and will be finished on Friday, the final day of camp. Mindy explained that the sugar crystals are edible, so it will be a fun treat for the campers to end camp with.
Before dismissing them for the day, Mindy recapped day one of all four lessons and took time to answer any questions that the counselors had thought of. Finally, they were free for the afternoon, and the eight of them began to stand from their tables to head to lunch.
"El, you look nice today," came Eric's voice from behind El as she was pushing in her chair.
She turned to face him and saw him finish eyeing her up and down. El blushed despite herself but shifted slightly uncomfortably.
"Um, thanks," she said.
"Last night was fun, wasn't it?" Eric asked with a friendly smile.
"Yeah, I had a good time with everyone," El replied generally.
"I had a good time too. I was thinking that later today, maybe you and I could go back down to the lake. We could walk the path around it and talk, maybe go swimming again if you want," Eric offered.
El opened her mouth to respond and found herself stuttering in shock. She thought she had made it clear last night that she wasn't interested in Eric, but that she was only being nice. Maybe he didn't get the hint.
"That sounds nice, but I already have plans with someone else," she finally said.
Eric nodded, looking a bit disappointed.
"Okay. Another time, then," he said.
He offered her another grin before turning and walking over to Dani's table and striking up a conversation with her before the two of them left together. El shook her head and turned to face Dustin.
"He's not going to give up until you shut him down hard," Dustin said.
"He's clearly got another option, and I'm not interested anyway," El shrugged.
Mike and Suzie joined Dustin and El, and Dustin immediately wrapped his arm around Suzie's shoulders and planted a kiss on her cheek.
"What did you guys think of day one?" Dustin asked.
"It took me back a few years," Suzie smiled fondly. "I think the young campers will enjoy their week here."
"Me too, Suzie-Poo," Dustin agreed. "But let's get out of here. I'm starving."
Dustin, Suzie, Mike, and El left the classroom and headed toward the cafeteria. As they were walking along the path, Mike was looking into the woods, wondering if there were any shortcuts that campers or counselors had found in the past, or if any had wandered into the woods and gotten lost. El was looking into the woods, wondering similar things. She thought it may be worth exploring some time since it sounded like they would have a fair amount of free time over the next six weeks.
They reached the cafeteria and each got a tray of food and found an empty table to eat at. El looked around and saw Jason, Eric, and Nikki sitting at a table together, Dani and Kayla sitting at another table together, and Tom sitting alone. She wondered if even here at science camp people would be cliquey. They were still high schoolers, after all, even if they weren't in that high school setting. El looked around her table at Dustin, Suzie, and Mike, and she decided that if this was her group for the next six weeks, she would be perfectly content with that. She had mixed feelings about being around people her age that she didn't know. While part of her had been excited by the idea of making new friends, another part of her had been worried that she wouldn't meet anyone and that she would be looked over just like she was at her high school back in Chicago. Luckily, Suzie had been eager to get to know her ever since El stood up for Suzie and Dustin against Jason in the welcome line. And while she seemed to get along with Dustin and was happy to be working with him as her partner for the first week, she was the most drawn to Mike. She kept watching him out of the corner of her eye, and every now and then, she thought she saw him glance her way too.
"But I was thinking that you could talk to your parents when you get back to Utah about coming to Hawkins over Christmas break this year," Dustin was saying to Suzie when El tuned back in.
"Dusty-Bun, you know I would love to, but you don't know my parents. They would be so hard to convince," Suzie frowned.
"That's why you need to start convincing them early. It will give you five months. I know you can do it," Dustin insisted.
"I can probably try to lay the groundwork, but they would definitely want to talk to your mom… probably several times before making a decision," Suzie said hesitantly.
"Of course," Dustin said quickly. "Whatever they want. My mom would love to meet you, and your parents would be happy to know that my mom's bedroom is directly between my room and the guest room where you would be staying."
Dustin said it with a positive attitude, but Mike chuckled at the look of annoyance on his friend's face that appeared.
"It would be fun to meet your mom," Suzie smiled. "And, of course, the rest of the party."
Mike cringed as the word "party" was used again. He had managed to sidestep that yesterday when he had let the word slip and El had asked about it. He wasn't quite so sure that it would be able to slide by again.
"They would love to meet you," Dustin said excitedly. "I tried to convince them to apply to be counselors, too, but clearly I had no luck. I was only able to convince my trusty paladin."
Mike closed his eyes and prayed El wouldn't ask-
"Paladin?" came El's questioning voice.
Mike wanted to disappear.
"Yeah, that's Mike," Dustin said casually. "Every member of the party has their own specific role."
"I'm confused," El said, cocking her head curiously. "What roles? And what do you mean by party?"
"Have you ever heard of Dungeons and Dragons?" Suzie asked.
"Guys," Mike said lowly, his cheeks beginning to turn red.
"Mike has always been a natural leader. He's our dungeon master," Dustin explained earnestly, and Mike felt guilty about being embarrassed because he knew Dustin meant no harm. "So Mike's our paladin, I'm our bard, Will's our cleric, Lucas is our ranger, and Max is our zoomer."
"Dustin, please," Mike said.
"A zoomer isn't exactly a real thing, but we let it slide because Max is cool," Dustin continued.
"That's enough, okay?" Mike said firmly. "Can we please talk about anything else?"
Dustin, Suzie, and El all fell silent and looked at Mike, surprised by his outburst. Mike looked down, avoiding their wide eyes and questioning expressions, and pushed his tray away.
"Sorry," he mumbled. "Besides, I'm not really hungry anymore. I'm just gonna go."
Mike stood up and carried his tray to the trashcan near the exit. He dumped his food and shoved the door open, making a beeline up the path away from the cafeteria.
He knew Dustin meant well. He knew that in Dustin's mind, he was just talking Mike up. But Mike was certain that El now thought he was the biggest nerd possible. Dungeons and Dragons? Party? Paladin? There's no way Mike could recover from that.
"Mike! Wait up!" called El's voice from behind him.
A tingle shot down Mike's spine at the sound of her voice, and he stopped in his tracks. He turned around and saw El hurrying after him. When she reached him, Mike looked down into her hazel eyes and only saw concern and confusion, no judgement.
"I thought you wanted to talk to me after lunch," El reminded him.
"Oh, yeah, that… It was nothing. Just forget about it," Mike shook his head and started to turn away from her.
"I was looking forward to hanging out with you," El said quickly, the disappointment evident in her tone.
"You were?" Mike asked, turning back to face her again.
"Well, yeah," El smiled. "I was having a great time talking to you last night before you left."
Mike remembered that Suzie told him El had said that same thing last night. He smiled and let out a sigh before nodding his head.
"Yeah, I was too," he said. "So, uh, where do you want to go?"
"There are some picnic tables by the volleyball court. We could go sit and talk there," El suggested.
"Sure, that sounds good," Mike agreed.
They made their way toward the volleyball court in a comfortable silence. Mike couldn't help himself from sneaking several glances El's way. Maybe he could come back from this, after all.
When they reached the volleyball court, Mike and El took a seat on one side of one of the picnic tables, facing each other. Her wide eyes were watching him patiently and expectantly.
"Look, El, the reason I wanted to talk to you was to apologize for last night," Mike began.
His heart was pounding, but Mike was proud of himself for getting that out with no stuttering or stammering for the proper words.
"You don't have to apologize for wanting to leave. I was just taken off guard, and I thought maybe I did something wrong, even though Dustin and Suzie both assured me I didn't," El said.
"No, you didn't," Mike quickly confirmed. "You didn't do anything wrong at all. It was… it was me, not you."
El nodded and waited for Mike to continue. She felt like he was holding back so much, and she wished he would just open up like he had started to last night.
"Well, would you like to tell me what happened? Only if you want to, of course," El offered gently when Mike remained silent.
Mike let out a long sigh, and El saw on his face that he was struggling with what to say.
"It's just that… I guess I'm just really… self-conscious… about certain things," he managed.
"I didn't pick up on that at all when we were talking by the lake last night," El said. In fact, she had thought he had shown a bit of boldness, telling her the kids at her school were missing out by not talking to her. And El was almost certain he had started moving his hand toward hers.
"Well, when it was just you and me talking by the lake, I wasn't feeling self-conscious," Mike admitted. "I really like talking to you when it's just me and you… I feel like I could talk to you forever, but…"
"But what?" El asked after a moment.
"But when there are other people around, I just… I mean, look at you, and look at me," Mike blurted out.
El furrowed her brow and narrowed her eyes.
"You're just… and I… and Jason and Eric…" Mike's cheeks were on fire.
He felt like he wanted to shrivel up and completely disappear. Apparently, he had gotten his hopes up when he started this conversation off strongly, because clearly, any chance he had at a coherent explanation was gone.
"What do Jason and Eric have to do with anything?" El asked.
"It's just… you're so… pretty," Mike forced himself to admit. "And last night… with those guys standing right there all shirtless and…" Mike sighed again. "It's just, isn't that the kind of guy any girl would want to be seen with?"
"I mean, I can't speak for all girls, but muscles and abs and tan skin are not what determine who I want to be seen with," El said. "Mike, was I asking Jason or Eric to go swimming with me?"
Mike's eyes fell to the ground.
"No," he mumbled.
"Exactly," El said. "I don't care that you don't look like them. I was enjoying getting to know you… Besides, Jason's a creep, and Eric is too buddy-buddy with him for me to even think about trusting him. But you… you seemed like a really sweet, genuine guy, and I thought we could become at least friends."
"At least friends?" Mike repeated, his eyebrows raised in surprise.
El's mouth gaped open as she realized what she said, and her cheeks started to turn pink as she let out a nervous laugh.
"Well, um, yeah. I-I know I want to be your friend. Like I told you last night, I don't really have a lot of friends back home, so it was nice to feel like I was making one," El admitted.
"Well, I want to be your friend, too," Mike said, and El smiled sweetly.
"Good," she said. "Because friends don't lie to each other, right?"
"Right," Mike replied slowly, unsure of where she was going with this.
"Then will you tell me why you got so upset at lunch a little bit ago?" El asked.
"It's just… I guess that's another thing I'm self-conscious about," Mike admitted. "Dustin was going on and on about Dungeons and Dragons, and I was just worried you would think I'm just some huge nerd and you wouldn't want anything to do with me."
"Mike," El said seriously. "We're camp counselors at a science camp. I already knew you were a nerd."
Mike laughed but felt a sense of relief come over him.
"And you still want to be around me?" he asked. "That doesn't scare you off or anything?"
"Of course it doesn't," El replied. "And of course I still want to be around you."
Mike smiled at her, feeling much more confident about the connection he had sensed between them. He couldn't help but feel guilty at thinking El could be the superficial type.
"If we're going to be friends-" El began.
"At least friends," Mike playfully reminded her, the words leaving his mouth before he even thought about it.
"At least friends," El grinned, the blush crossing her cheekbones again. "Then you need to know I'm not going to judge you for what you like to do for fun. I want you to be yourself. I want to get to know you. You don't have anything to be embarrassed or self-conscious about."
"Thanks, El," Mike smiled.
El returned the smile, flashing her perfectly white teeth, and the smile reached her sparkling hazel eyes.
"So…" she said, her lips suddenly curling into a teasing grin. "You really think I'm pretty?"
Mike's eyes nearly bulged out of his head as he gaped at her question. Her glossing over that earlier must have been too good to be true.
"I, uh… I mean… y-yeah, obviously," he stuttered, his face feeling more on fire than it ever had before.
El giggled.
"You know, it's really cute when you get all flustered like that," she said, blushing.
Mike let out a nervous laugh.
"So you think I'm cute?" he quipped.
"Obviously," El smiled.
Mike suddenly became aware of how much closer he and El had moved toward each other. His eyes were fixed on hers, and he felt the breath from her lips against his. In an instant, he felt the soft connection of her lips pressed against his. Mike closed his eyes and wove a hand into El's wavy, chestnut hair, and he felt as she clasped her hands behind his neck. The rest of the world fell away, and their lips moved together as if they had known each other their whole lives.
They finally pulled apart just enough to look into each other's eyes, neither of them fully believing it had just happened. Mike swallowed hard, the taste of El's strawberry kiwi chapstick still on his lips.
"Wow," he breathed.
"Yeah," El sighed with a smile.
"I'm, uh… really glad we decided to be friends," Mike teased, his smile reaching ear to ear.
"Shut up," El laughed, and then she forward and joined their lips once again.
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A/N: I hope the wait was worth it and you all enjoyed this chapter. Please remember to leave me a review with your thoughts!