A/N: Thank you all for your feedback! Enjoy this chapter, and please remember to leave a review.
Shrike176: Don't we all enjoy some quality Mileven time? There is a bit of variety in this chapter, so I hope you like it.
Jbg: Thank you. It is great to be writing consistently again. I'm glad you are enjoying Mike and El simply being happy together for the time being. And I am glad you like this story enough to stick with it, given that it is an AU! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Andy: Thank you!
Jane Eleanor Wheeler: Yes, the sneak out was a success! I'm glad you enjoy it so far.
JayneFawn: I am definitely enjoying writing about Mike and El opening up and getting to know each other, so I am glad you enjoy reading it.
NoDownSide: Figured I would give fun, giddy, and cheesy a chance for a bit lol. Other dynamics will be coming in to play soon though, and I hope you enjoy it when they do!
Girls in Cars: Thank you. I am so glad you are enjoying it.
Afanofstrangerthingsandstuff: Thank you. I'm glad you enjoy the fluffy content. I hope you like this chapter too!
Grievesforyou: They definitely have!
Mike and El: Thank you! I'm glad you liked it.
Exploding Helmets: Thank you. I'm glad you are enjoying their development, and I hope you like this one too.
UnoPeso22: Yes, Mike and El are definitely in the honeymoon phase. They are so happy and getting to know each other and everything is new, but like you said, it wouldn't be much of a story if it went on like that forever. I am glad that the original characters are interesting you as well! I hope you like this chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Stranger Things or any of its characters.
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Week one of camp was well underway. The first round of young campers had arrived Sunday, and Mike and El had both tried their best to appear awake and energized. The truth was that they had stayed out until 4:30am Saturday night before Mike walked El back to her cabin and then hurried back to his own.
Since that night, they had not snuck out again. They didn't want to overdo it and risk getting caught, so they agreed on every Saturday night and maybe once or twice throughout the week. That meant that they did their best to make the most of their spot during the evenings after dinner.
It was Tuesday, and day two of the first week of camp had wrapped up for the day. Mike and El were sitting with Dustin and Suzie in the cafeteria for dinner which was, of course, more crowded now that the campers were there too.
"How was your day?" Suzie asked Dustin.
"One of our girls started crying when she saw the starfish, and she refused to participate in the dissection because she didn't want to, and I quote, kill Patrick," Dustin replied, rolling his eyes.
"How old is she?" Mike asked, scrunching his forehead.
"Like ten or eleven," Dustin shrugged. "Apparently young enough to still be emotionally invested in Spongebob characters."
"Yeah, so I had to calm her down, and Dustin had to step in and help her partner with the dissection since the girl sat the lesson out," El added.
"Other than that little mishap, it was great," Dustin said. "What about you guys?"
"It was good. Nothing too exciting," Mike shrugged, and Suzie nodded her agreement.
"Cool. So are you guys down for some volleyball tonight? Suzie has been dying to play again," Dustin asked.
Mike opened his mouth to decline, but El nudged his leg under the table before he could speak. He turned to look at her, and she gave him a look that said they should probably hang out with their friends tonight. They had hardly seen Dustin and Suzie outside of the classroom and cafeteria, as Mike and El had spent all of their free time together. Mike sighed and silently agreed with El.
"Yeah, that sounds fun," he said.
"Yay!" Suzie exclaimed, her face lighting up at the prospect of the four of them hanging out again. "I was thinking this time instead of playing as couples, we could do boys versus girls. So El would be my partner."
"Sure," El agreed, the smile creeping over her face due to Suzie referring to she and Mike as a couple. El snuck a glance at Mike out of the corner of her eye and saw that Mike's cheeks were turned a light shade of pink, presumably for the same reason.
A little after 6pm, the four of them arrived at the volleyball court and split up onto opposing sides of the net. After some playful banter between Dustin and Suzie, Suzie served the ball, reminding everyone of how talented she was at this sport.
They all lost track of time, diving after the ball and laughing when they clumsily wound up face down in the sand, taking turns serving and taking do-overs when they served the ball right into the net, and losing count of the actual score but just accepting that Suzie and El had won the game.
"It's settled," Dustin panted, both hands on his hips. "Suzie is on my team from now on."
"Hmm, I don't know. I kind of liked kicking your butts with El," Suzie teased, ducking underneath the volleyball net and walking up to peck her boyfriend on the lips.
"Yeah, it was fun," El agreed, joining the other three on the other side of the net and looking at Mike with a playfully gloating smile.
"Definitely," Suzie nodded, wiping the sweat from her brow.
"Worked up a sweat, did you, Suzie-poo?" Dustin teased.
"Just a little bit. Winning can be exhausting," Suzie quipped back.
"Well maybe a nice dip in the lake will help cool you down," Dustin said and lunged forward before Suzie could react. He wrapped his arms tightly around Suzie's waist and hoisted her over his shoulder. Suzie shrieked and swatted at Dustin's back, trying to wriggle out of his grasp as he carried her closer to the lake.
Mike and El watched in amusement as Suzie finally caused Dustin to lose his balance and they both fell into the sand. Suzie tried to stand up to run away, but Dustin pulled her back onto the ground. Within seconds, their laughing and wrestling turned into making out in the sand.
"Get a room, nerds! Nobody wants to see that!" called an unwelcome voice from behind them.
Dustin and Suzie broke apart and joined Mike and El in directing their gaze toward the source of the voice. Of course, Jason and Nikki were making their way out of the woods. There was a smirk on Jason's lips, and Nikki was openly laughing at what he had said.
"Nobody is forcing you to watch, either," Dustin retorted.
"Watch? No, that's not my thing. But maybe you two perverts are into that?" Jason asked, gesturing back and forth between Dustin and Mike. "Watching might help you learn a thing or two."
Jason roughly grabbed Nikki's ass and crashed his open mouth into hers as if he were trying to swallow her whole.
"You're disgusting," Mike scoffed.
"Am I?" Jason asked. He opened his mouth to say more, but Nikki placed a hand on his chest and stepped in front of him.
"Let's just go somewhere else. Don't waste your time with them," she suggested quietly.
Jason looked back and forth between Nikki and Mike a couple of times, clearly torn between wanting to humiliate two nerds and wanting to hook up with Nikki. Sex quickly won, and Jason took Nikki's hand and the two of them disappeared back into the woods, presumably on their way toward the equipment shed that Jason had mentioned using.
"I can't believe she lets him treat her like that. Especially in front of other people," Suzie said when Jason and Nikki had gone.
The four of them spent the next half hour hanging out and talking by the lake. Mike and Dustin walked with the girls back to their cabin, and while Dustin and Suzie were saying goodbye to each other, El pulled Mike's arms around her waist so she was pressed right up against him and leaned up to kiss him softly.
"Today was fun," she said quietly. "I'm glad we spent some time with them."
"Yeah, me too. But now I wish we had some time to ourselves," Mike murmured.
"Well, we could…" El said slyly, her lips curling into a grin.
"Tonight?" Mike asked.
"If you want to," El replied.
"Definitely," Mike nodded.
"Okay," El smiled. "Same time as last time?"
"Yeah," Mike agreed.
"Hey Mike! We gotta get going," Dustin called, startling Mike and El.
"Give me another minute," Mike called over El's shoulder.
"You should get going. Get a couple hours of sleep," El said quietly.
"You too. I'll text you when I'm leaving my cabin," Mike said, and El nodded.
Their lips connected, and Mike held her close, not wanting to have to leave her and not wanting to have to wait four more hours to do this again. But they pulled away from each other and El went inside with Suzie.
Mike and Dustin walked to the other side of the camp to their cabin, and when they entered the front door, they were surprised to see they were the last two to arrive. They had assumed Jason would lose track of time with Nikki and be late getting back.
They crossed the cabin and got ready for bed, Mike crawling into his bottom bunk and Dustin climbing up to the top. Mike did his best to tune out Jason and Eric's conversation, but he just couldn't help overhearing Jason brag about "banging" Nikki in the equipment shed every day.
"I'm getting close with Dani," Eric said. "I should have her by the end of the week."
"I can't believe it's taking her this long to give it up. I'd like a turn with her by the end of the summer," Jason said.
"Like I said, end of the week. Then she's all yours," Eric replied.
"Maybe I'll go after the quiet one in the meantime," Jason contemplated.
Mike shook his head, set the alarm on his phone to vibrate at 12:30, and slipped it under his pillow. He turned onto his side and closed his eyes. This is really how those guys talk about girls? He could feel his blood boiling at what he had overheard, and Mike thought back to when Tom had stood up to Jason and Eric for this same reason. Could it really be possible that Eric was a good person at one point? Mike pushed all of them out of his head and fell asleep thinking about seeing El again in just a few short hours.
Over in the female counselors' cabin, Nikki walked out of the bathroom in the shorts and tank top she wore to bed, and a dark hickey was visible on her collarbone.
"Is that from Jason?" Dani asked, pointing at the dark spot.
"Yep," Nikki replied casually as she crawled into bed.
As Nikki laid back against her pillows, she caught the judgmental look in Kayla's eyes.
"Is there a problem?" Nikki asked.
"No offense or anything, obviously I don't really know you, but aren't you moving a little fast with him?" Kayla asked.
"We're both just in it for a good time, and we both know that," Nikki explained. "I'm only seventeen. I'm not looking to fall in love anytime soon, and I'm not a bad person for having some fun."
"I'm not necessarily looking for love either," Dani chimed in. "But I'm starting to think Eric really likes me… Today he even told me that he would come visit me in Illinois over Labor Day weekend."
In her own bunk where El was hearing this exchange, she felt a small pang in her stomach at the tone in Dani's voice. There was almost a hint of desperation. El thought back to when Dani was trying to get Mike's attention, and then she thought about how much Dani seems to enjoy any attention that Eric shows her. El was suddenly starting to feel bad for this girl.
Soon the chatter died down, and El ensured that her phone's alarm was set for 12:30. Then, she fell asleep, excited about seeing Mike again soon.
Mike and El both woke up to the feel of their phones vibrating underneath their pillows. They each got dressed in their respective cabins, and as soon as Mike was outside of his cabin, he sent a text to El that he was on his way, and off he went.
In her cabin, El was waiting for Mike's text near the bathroom window. She kept looking anxiously at the bathroom door, hoping none of the girls woke up and came into the bathroom and caught her. El looked at her phone again and saw that it was 12:50. Surely, Mike would have left his cabin by now. She glanced at the upper right corner and saw that she only had one bar of service. El decided that Mike had probably texted her that he had left his cabin, but because of the poor reception, she had not received it yet. So, El hopped out the bathroom window and set off toward their spot, hoping to find Mike waiting for her when she arrived.
El let the flashlight on her phone guide her through the woods until she finally reached the clearing where Mike was waiting. As soon as she stepped into the grass, Mike hurried over to her and took ahold of her hand.
"I wasn't sure if you were coming. You never answered me," he said.
Of course, several scenarios had run through his mind when El had not responded. Everything from her sleeping through her alarm, to getting caught by one of the other female counselors, to getting caught by an advisor, to the worst scenario of all – getting lost in the woods with poor cell service.
"I never got your text," El replied simply.
"It must not have gone through," Mike concluded.
"But, I'm here," El smiled, wrapping her arms around Mike's neck.
She stood up on her tiptoes to connect her lips with Mike's. He tightened his grip around her waist and gently rubbed his hands up and down her back while soaking in the fruity taste of her chapstick. He would never get tired of that.
They laid down on the grass, El's head on Mike's chest and one hand resting on his stomach. He linked his fingers with El's that were resting on him, and he caressed her bare shoulder with his other hand.
"Do you see anything in the stars?" El asked after several minutes of silence.
Mike remained silent while he gazed over the night sky, hoping for one of the constellations to jump out at him.
"There's Cassiopeia," he replied, pointing up above them. "You see how those stars make kind of a lopsided W?"
"I see it," El nodded.
"And then if you look a little below it," Mike continued, shifting his arm to point below the constellation. "You can see Perseus."
He felt El nod against his chest, and he returned his hand to hers, linking their fingers again.
"I remember seeing a bunch of them at the planetarium, but I've never had the chance to see any of them in the sky myself," El said. "I think the only ones I've seen myself were the Big Dipper and Little Dipper when I was a kid."
"Hawkins is a small town, so you can usually see a lot of the stars at night," Mike said. "When I was a kid, my mom and dad would camp with me and my sister in the backyard some nights during the summer, and my dad always pointed out as many constellations as he could find."
"That sounds nice. It's good you have a close family like that," El said, snuggling closer into his side.
"Yeah, it was nice," Mike sighed. "But, that was, like, ten years ago. Things change."
"What do you mean?" El asked, looking up at him with her brow furrowed.
"Just… things with my parents started going downhill as my sister and I got older… and then they had my little sister. I don't know if she was an accident or if they thought another baby could bring their marriage back together," Mike shrugged. "But now, they don't even sleep in the same room. Living with my dad is like living with a stranger."
"I'm so sorry," El said, squeezing her arm tightly around him.
"It is what it is," Mike shrugged.
El scooted up to place a kiss on his cheek, and Mike smiled and pulled her closer so her face was hovering over his. She leaned down to kiss him once again, parting her lips and grazing her tongue over his bottom lip. Mike opened his mouth to welcome her in, and his hands roamed down her back to where her tank top met her shorts. He slipped one hand underneath the cotton fabric and felt the soft skin of her lower back against his fingertips. Mike slid his other hand lower, overtop of her shorts, until he reached the back of her smooth leg. He softly traced circles on her skin while El tangled her fingers into his hair. El tightened her fingers around his locks, pulling slightly, while she nibbled on his bottom lip. The combination was too much for Mike, and he breathed a low moan into her mouth.
El suddenly became aware of a warming sensation building within herself, and she knew she had to back off. She loosened her grip in Mike's hair and slid her hands down, caressing his cheekbone as she passed his face. Her kisses began to slow until she finally pulled back, planting one final peck on his lips. As she hovered over his face, she opened her eyes to see Mike opening his, his eyes nearly black from his blown pupils looking up at her. The only sounds were their breathing and the leaves rustling in the background from the light summer breeze. El gave him a small smile and another soft kiss before laying her head on his chest again and squeezing her arm around him. Mike kissed the top of her head and held her, looking up at the stars again, while El slipped in and out of consciousness, her head rising and falling with each breath Mike took.
The next morning at breakfast, Mike and El were once again trying to conceal how tired they were after staying out until 4am in their spot. Dustin and Suzie did not ask any questions, but the sly looks told Mike and El that their friends knew they had snuck out last night after not getting alone time during the day.
As they each dug in to their plates of French toast and sausage links, Eric walked through the cafeteria holding his own tray and sat down next to Dani. Dani's face instantly lit up as Eric greeted her with a kiss on the cheek.
"I'll never understand why some girls are in to douchebags like him," Dustin said, shaking his head, his eyes on Eric and Dani.
"Lucky for you, I was never one of those girls," Suzie grinned, rubbing her foot against his calf under the table.
"I actually don't think Dani is necessarily one of those girls either," El said.
"What do you mean?" Suzie asked, furrowing her brow.
"I think she just wants guys to like her. She was trying for Mike's attention briefly, and now she's got Eric's attention," El explained. "I don't know, I just have a feeling she wants Eric to really like her and… I mean, she's probably a sweet girl, but… maybe low self-esteem."
Mike thought back to the things he had heard Eric say about Dani, and he immediately lost his appetite at how disgusted he was by what Eric was doing to her. Especially since Dani didn't even know it yet.
"Okay, but what is that about?" Suzie's voice broke through Mike's thoughts.
Mike, Dustin, and El looked to where Suzie was pointing and saw Jason sitting next to Kayla at another table.
"That's new," Dustin observed.
"Well, I heard him say last night that he was going to go after the quiet one," Mike recalled, putting air quotes around 'the quiet one.'
"What a pig," Suzie said disapprovingly, shaking her head.
El thought back to the disapproval she had heard the previous night from Kayla when talking to Nikki about Jason. El smirked to herself at the thought of Kayla shutting Jason down.
While they finished eating, the conversation quickly turned to their classroom activities for the day. Dustin wondered aloud if any of his and El's campers would back out of the dissection again today. Soon, people were starting to leave the cafeteria in preparation for the day, and Jason and Eric were walking together toward the door, having separated from Dani and Kayla.
"You said Kayla's your partner this week?" Jason was asking Eric as they stepped into earshot. Eric nodded. "Maybe you can put in a good word for me. Quiet ones can be hard to crack."
Mike couldn't stop himself from scoffing and rolling his eyes at what he overheard as Jason and Eric were passing their table. Unfortunately, Jason looked right at him as he did.
"Do you have something to say?" Jason asked, stepping to the edge of the table.
Mike looked up at him, stunned for a moment. He wasn't exactly the biggest fan of going up against a bully, but he wasn't about to back down in front of El either.
"I just think it's shitty how you talk about the girls here," Mike said, echoing Tom's previous point.
"Oh? And how do you suggest I talk about girls? Since, I'm assuming, you have so much experience on this topic," Jason sneered.
"Maybe like they're actual human beings who are good for more than sex," Mike said. "I don't get why you guys are so concerned with sex anyway. You're at a science camp."
"The nerds are brave at this science camp," Jason chuckled toward Eric before turning back to Mike. "I'll explain this to you since you probably don't have any experience yourself, but places like this – summer camps – are perfect for hooking up. Shit, haven't you seen Friday the 13th?"
"Have you seen Friday the 13th? Not exactly a good example," Mike laughed.
El was unable to stifle the giggle that escaped her throat, and Jason's narrowed eyes immediately shifted toward her.
"It's a shame you've wasted your time with these losers since day one," Jason glared. "Like they're your own little charity case or something. I'm sure you're making mommy and daddy very proud."
The smile immediately left El's face, and her eyes flashed with anger. Mike saw her hazel eyes darken, and chills ran down his spine at the look of hatred that was plastered on El's normally sweet face.
El stood from the table, her heart pounding in her chest. She couldn't feel her legs, and she felt as if she were floating as she appeared in front of Jason in two quick strides. Then she heard the clap of skin against skin and felt the sting in the palm of her hand. El took in a shaky breath and jabbed a trembling finger into Jason's chest while he covered the noticeable red handprint on his cheek.
"Don't you ever," El jabbed his chest with her finger for emphasis as he stared at her, stunned, "ever talk about my mother again."
El stormed by Jason, bumping his arm roughly with her shoulder as she passed, and marched out of the cafeteria. Her heart was still pounding, her blood was still boiling, and she was seeing red as she focused on just getting away from everyone. She was at the edge of the woods when she finally heard Mike's voice calling her name from behind her.
Mike had watched the scene unfold in shock. It all happened so quickly, and El had been out the door before Mike had fully registered everything. He still wasn't quite sure how things had escalated so much, but he knew that he needed to catch up with El and give her whatever she needed from him. So he hurried outside and called her name as she approached the woods.
"El, wait!" Mike called.
Luckily, his long legs helped him reach El, and he gently grasped her arm. When El turned to face him, Mike was shocked to see that she was still livid. Her cheeks were red, her lips were pursed, and the fire was still raging in her eyes. Mike could feel her rapid pulse in his fingertips from grasping her arm.
"El, what is it? What's going on?" Mike asked urgently.
"That… that asshole," El spat. "He has no right to talk about my mama. Not ever."
Mike was alarmed to see El's eyes begin to fill with tears. El huffed and quickly wiped her eyes, annoyed by the fact that she cries when she gets too angry.
"It's okay," Mike soothed her. "That guy's a dick. He doesn't know the first thing about you or your mom. Don't let him get to you."
"You don't understand, Mike," El said, sniffling and shaking her head. "I have spent my entire life defending my mama when shitty kids at school run their mouths. Here, nobody knows anything. Nobody knows… nobody knows about my mom or my homelife. This wasn't supposed to come up. I wasn't supposed to have to defend her here."
Mike watched as more tears came and began to slide down El's cheeks. He was so confused. Defend her mom about what? Why did kids run their mouths about El and her mother? Questions were whirling around in Mike's head, but he did not say anything. He wrapped his arms around El and held her tightly and just let her cry into him. Mike kissed the top of her head as El clung to his t-shirt, her shoulders shaking with the ragged breaths she gasped for in between sobs. He held her until her crying subsided, and then El pulled back slightly, looking up at him with red, puffy eyes that were shining with gratitude. Mike suspected that El had been holding that cry in for a while.
"I'm sorry," El whispered.
"You have nothing to apologize for," Mike said gently.
"You probably think I'm crazy," El mumbled. "Crying this hard because someone made a comment about my mom."
"I don't think you're crazy at all," Mike assured her. "But I think you've been bottling a lot up for a long time."
El nodded and sniffled again, wiping her cheeks dry.
"My mom is a sensitive topic for me," she said. "She, um…"
"El, you don't have to tell me anything you don't want to," Mike said softly when he saw El's bottom lip trembling.
"I want to tell you," El said.
Mike nodded and waited patiently while El took a deep breath to steady her heartrate.
"My mom and my dad were never married. I guess he was really abusive… not physically, but mentally. My mom put up with it for years… him tearing her down, destroying her self-esteem, making sure she believed that she would never be good enough for anyone else… and that the only person who would ever love her and would never leave her was him," El explained.
"That sounds horrible," Mike said, and El nodded.
"When she found out that she was pregnant with me, the first person she told was her sister, my aunt Becky," El continued. "My mom was scared, really scared, that my dad would be just as awful toward me… or worse, that he would use me as some sort of punishment and keep me away from her to hurt her. She knew she couldn't raise me with him. So, she finally built up the courage to leave him."
"I'm guessing your aunt Becky helped her?" Mike asked.
"Every step of the way," El confirmed. "Aunt Becky let my mom move in with her, and she didn't complain when mama couldn't help with the bills. Mama got a job and worked all throughout her pregnancy. She was so scared of having a baby, but my aunt Becky was by her side at every doctor's appointment, every birthing class. Aunt Becky told me that when mama finally went in to labor, she was excited because she was about to meet someone who actually would always love her and never leave her."
She wiped her eyes again, and Mike squeezed her hand, encouraging her to take her time.
"Anyway, when she had me, she was determined to do it all on her own. My dad is a doctor, so child support from him would have saved my mom from having to work two jobs. But she wanted to protect me from ever meeting him, so she never went after a penny of his. Never even told him I existed. His name wasn't even put on my birth certificate," El continued before taking a deep, shaky breath. "Six months after I was born, mama was in a bad accident. She was hit one night walking to the bus stop after work."
"Oh, God, El…" Mike whispered, squeezing her hand again.
"Permanent brain damage. She can't walk or talk or take care of herself," El said. "I'm sixteen, and I've never heard my mama's voice. She sits in her wheelchair, and her nurse and my aunt Becky take care of her."
Mike's mind flashed back to the first day when he saw El getting out of that van. The woman she hugged goodbye outside must have been her aunt Becky. Her mom must have been the woman seated in the van who El hugged afterward.
"She sacrificed so much for me, and so has my aunt Becky. They're the two most incredible women in the world, but it's still hard," El continued. "You know how kids are. I never thought being raised by my aunt was weird until kids at school started making fun of me for not having normal parents. And when they found out my mom was disabled… I can't tell you how many jokes I've heard about my mom being a vegetable."
"People are awful," Mike said.
"They are," El agreed. "And I know, as much of a jerk as Jason is, he doesn't know anything about my mom, so he didn't know it would be such a big deal to me… But I can't help getting defensive about her."
"I don't blame you," Mike said. "She sounds like an amazing woman who did everything she could to give you the life she knew you deserved. And I'm sure that she is proud of you."
"I hope so. I try to make her proud… her and my aunt Becky," El said.
"I'm sure they're both so proud of you and that they both love you very much," Mike said.
"Thanks, Mike," El smiled.
"You don't need to thank me. It's the truth," Mike said, pulling her closer to him and planting a kiss on her forehead.
"Thank you for listening and just letting me cry and let everything out," El said.
"Thank you for sharing that with me," Mike said. "I love that you feel comfortable enough to tell me about something so personal."
"I told you, I feel like I can talk to you about anything," El reminded him.
Mike smiled fondly at the memory and leaned down to lightly kiss El's lips. She returned the kiss softly, feeling as though a whole new level of intimacy had been reached. It was one she had not planned, but one that she was thankful happened.
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A/N: Thank you for reading. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please remember to leave me a review and let me know what you think!