Summer 1985 - Mileven/Jopper/Lumax

Chapter 1: The Car Ride

After a long ten months of their first year of high school, the boys, Max, and El were ready for their summer vacation. Will had asked them all back in December on their Christmas break if they wanted to go camping to a site four hours from Hawkins.

He used to go every summer with his mom and Jonathan and was now eager to bring his best friends. It's what got them through drama at school with new bullies, teachers not as kind and helpful as Mr. Clarke, and their tough AP classes.

     As for El, she spent the year catching up on schoolwork with Hopper, her new dad. Her pronunciation and understanding of vocabulary had vastly improved since she was last in Hawkins, along with a basic understanding of the maths and sciences she'll need to catch up with her friends in school.

Nevertheless, the fourteen-year-olds deserved a fun and relaxing vacation.     While Joyce and Hopper triple check the packed car, the kids excitedly babble over each other, despite the fact it's 6 am, and are already arguing over the seating arrangements for the long car ride.

    "I am absolutely not sitting next to Dustin the whole time! He'll fart and then snore in my ear the whole damn time!" Lucas exclaimed, causing the group, including Dustin, to giggle.

    "Oh get over it, you pansy", Dustin shot back, knowing well he just wanted to nap the entire time.

    "Yeah really Lucas, don't be such a baby" Max added on, smirking.

She had grown very close to the boys, though Lucas a bit more than the rest. She loved bonding with Eleven, being the only two girls surrounded by nerdy teenage boys 24/7, but she connected with Lucas the most.

Whether it was their personalities that seemed together perfectly, both head-strong and independent, or the fact they had the same sense of humor, she was grateful to have met him and his friends.

    Hopper comes over, interrupting the children, "If you kids are gonna argue like this the whole time, I will leave you on the side of the road. We're all packed up, let's go."

    Crammed in Hopper's van are Lucas, Max, and Dustin in the middle row with Will, Mike, and Eleven in the back. Dustin and Will were snoring within fifteen minutes of getting onto the highway while Lucas and Max were swapping the comic books they had brought for the trip.

    Mike and El, ever since she got back, had been inseparable. It had been a long year for Mike Wheeler, but, as he looks down at El in the bumpy car, with the rock music station playing softly in the front, he knows that year of suffering wasn't anything compared to if he had never seen her again. He was beyond grateful to have his girl back and vows to make sure nothing else happens to the pixie-haired girl staring out the window.

    El feels his stare on her and turns around, looking up questioningly at him. "What?" she says, tilting her head to the side. Blushing at the fact he got caught, he gives her a soft smile and shakes his head, "nothing El, are you excited to go camping?"

     With a huge smile and a twinkle in her eye, El nods her head "s'mores! Dustin told me all about them, he says they're his favorite. He thinks I might like them better than Eggos." Letting out a laugh, Mike puts his arm around her shoulder and excitedly rambles, "I don't know about that, but there's also other fun things we can do. Like start a fire and tell stories and oh, the sky is so clear at night so we'll be able to see hundreds of stars!" Giggling at the messy-haired teen, she nods with a huge smile which vanishes when she lets out a big yawn.

    "You tired El?" She sheepishly nods again, resting her head on Mike's shoulder. Mike kisses her temple and grabs a blanket he had put on the floor, laying it over both of their laps. Probably from the years' she spent in a cold sterile lab, she's usually shivering with freezing hands. "Thank you, Mike" she mumbles, bringing her legs up to her chest and turning them to lightly lean on his side.

    When El first got back, it took them a few months to sort out their awkward teenage feelings, but once it was out in the open, everything came natural to them - showing affection, conversing before fighting, like they (Mike) had when they were twelve and dealing with the Upside Down. Now a kiss on the cheek or leaning on one another was the norm and expected out of the young teenagers. Mike tightens his hold on El and leans his head back, grateful for the month he'll be spending with his best friends.

    Joyce turns around two hours into the trip, shocked by the quietness in the car. "Wow Hop, you really must've scared them with that threat of yours, they're all passed out" she smirks. Shaking his head with a slight smile he warns, "It's never too late Joyce, looks like you'll be the one catchin' a ride from a trucker." Joyce lets out a quiet laugh, shaking her head at the smart-mouthed sheriff.

    After the week he helped look for Will two years ago, he had grown incredibly close to Joyce and her family. She couldn't help but admire his strength, which is coincidentally what he admired in her. They shared a mutual love for one another that didn't have to be spoken or at least hasn't been yet.

After a particularly hard bump in the road, Lucas awoke and looked down to see Max sleeping peacefully on his lap. Biting his lip, he knew he had to sort out his feelings. On one side, he liked her and she was a good friend to him but on the other side was the scary and unknown part. He had never thought about dating a girl before. He knows he gives Mike a lot of crap when it comes to Eleven but knows, secretly, that's something he wants with someone.

    With dating someone, though, comes vulnerability and he's not sure that's something he's ready to deal with. As the snoring from the spunky red-head breaks him out of his thoughts, he lets out a soft laugh and prays this trip with her and his friends gives him some clarity.