This is the third part in the Alone in the Woods trilogy. The first two parts are Zero-Mile Mark and Seeking the Summit. This one gets a little smutty a little quickly so if that's not your thing, this may not be the story for you. Just a heads up. Enjoy the ride.

Sometimes things happen that alter the course of one's life. For Jane Hopper, El to her friends, it had been getting lost in the forest with Mike Wheeler. Her life had been almost perfect ever since. He had taken her dull, gray existence and painted it with an entire palette of colors. The same could be said for Mike himself; getting lost with El Hopper had opened his eyes, his mind, and his heart to new emotions that he would fight to the death to keep.

It was spring break and El and Mike were on a backpacking trip in the Allegheny Mountains. Mike's parents had taken Holly to Philadelphia to see the Liberty Bell and such and had dropped El and Mike off in the Allegheny National Forest to hike for three days. They had been practicing rock climbing every weekend leading up to the break and Hopper had reluctantly allowed her to go, wanting to avoid a psychic tantrum and knowing deep down that she could take care of herself. They were hiking a loop that would allow them some climbing along with lots of photo opportunities for El. Mike's parents would pick them back up at the trailhead three days after they dropped them off.

"I would never let you fall," El called, staring up at Mike who was hanging from a rock high above her head.

"This harness is digging into my crotch," Mike complained. He had made it at least thirty feet up the side of the limestone. El held him on belay with a rope but had her eyes peeled in case she had to suspend any slips or falls he might encounter.

"Need me to massage it later?" She asked, grinning up at him. He couldn't see her, he was too busy trying to hang on while he found solid footing.

"Don't distract me! I need to concentrate," Mike said, sounding a little out of breath and a little annoyed.

"Again, I would never let you fall, Mike. I've got you." El watched his foot find purchase on the rock and he hoisted himself higher. Feeling more stable, he looked back down at her.

"Then yes, I will definitely need that later." Mike smiled down at her.

"Don't take too long because I want to go too." The position of the rocks caused an echo effect so El didn't have to yell loudly for him to hear her.

"Just a few more feet and I'm there." El could hear him strain as he reached up to grab a small ledge that was just out of his reach. He almost had it but then his foot slipped and he started to fall, suddenly stopping after just a few inches. Mike felt himself being lifted by an unseen force until his feet were both planted firmly on top of the rock. He had almost made it.

"Close enough," El yelled up to him. "I'm on my way to you." There were no other hikers at the rock that day and while El had been studying rock climbing as much as Mike had, she also wanted to practice getting stronger with her mind. She was finding out that the more she used her abilities the less tired she got after exerting the energy. And her nosebleeds were drastically decreased. She scaled the face of the limestone cliff with ease, barely out of breath when she reached Mike.

"You're always going to be cooler than me," Mike said, though there was no irritation in his voice. He smiled warmly at her, taking her hand as she got to the top and pulling her up to where he was sitting.

"I'm always going to like you a whole lot too." El kissed the corner of his mouth.

Mike had a small climbing pack on that held some carabiners, camming devices, extra rope, a first aid kit, and a towel. It also held a small camera. Their backpacks were on the ground. The rock had been too tempting for Mike, wanting to impress his girlfriend, so he wanted to climb it. It was their second day on the trail. They had hiked a lot the previous day and had surprised themselves with how exhausted they were when they finally camped, having fallen asleep almost as soon as they'd finished eating. Mike was going to snap a picture of them by holding the camera out at arm's length and hoping they were both in the shot. El stopped him.

"Let me." She took the camera and then it floated a few feet away from them. "Look at it and smile," El whispered, pulling Mike closer to her. He realized that he had already been smiling. Mike heard the shutter close and then the camera floated back to his hand. "That should be better and get some more background. I want Hop to see that we know what we're doing."

Mike had seen her do things like that lots of times but it still never failed to leave him breathless and in awe.

"I'm really happy Hopper let you come with me. I like being in the woods with you." Mike had stowed the camera back in his pack and had one arm around El's waist as they admired the view.

"I'm happy too. We can take care of ourselves. And I like being in the woods with you too. I like sharing a tent with you. It always works out in my favor." El winked at him, stirring something in both of them.

Mike looked around where they were sitting. The top of the cliff was flat, the rock itself spreading out about ten feet behind where they were sitting with their legs dangling from the side. It dropped off beyond the ten feet behind them. It wasn't deep but it was wide.

"I hope we're not as tired tonight," El was saying as Mike looked around. "It's been a while."

"Let's scoot back, away from the edge," Mike said as he moved himself backwards. He was already reaching into his pack when El followed him. He produced a towel, laying it down on the flat rock before sitting down on it and beckoning El to join him. "I want to stay here for a while." He was sitting with his legs outstretched and El sat in the space between them, her back against his chest. As they looked out at the horizon she felt him slide one hand from her waist to her thigh, his fingers brushing the hem of her cotton shorts. At the same time he started nibbling on her earlobe and peppering her neck with soft kisses, causing her to sigh.

El grasped Mike's upper leg to try to steady the sudden onslaught of desire that was moving through her. She shifted, trying to move into his hand more. Mike understood what she wanted.

"Can I take these off?" Mike asked, tugging on her shorts gently. Instead of answering El grabbed his hand and moved it to the button on her shorts. Mike unfastened them, sliding the zipper down as well. El lifted her hips and felt Mike slide the shorts down as far as he could. She finished the rest, kicking them off over her boots.

El could already feel Mike's erection, being almost right on top of it the way she was sitting. She liked leaning up against him the way she was so she decided not to turn around just yet. She did flick her head slightly to the side though, freeing the button on his own shorts and letting the zipper lower, allowing him to be closer to her as she sat against him, his boxers now touching her lower back. The harness he was wearing caused his boxer briefs to bulge more outwardly, the tension squeezing in a way that caused his hard member to be pushed more forward.

Mike resumed roaming his hand along her upper thigh, occasionally letting his fingers brush against her panties, right between her legs. El enjoyed the teasing. She liked hearing how his breath would hitch as he touched her, his head so near her ear. On his fourth pass, touching her without really doing anything other than making her squirm, she held his hand in place with her own, leaving it where she wanted it.

"Oh, is that what you want?" Mike asked, his voice husky and whispered.

El spread her legs a bit wider, moaning softly at his touch.

"Yes, there. Just for a little while. Please?"

Moving her panties to the side, Mike's fingers explored where she had left his hand. El inhaled sharply as Mike teased her more, his hand immediately slick. He moved his head so he could kiss her neck.

"This is so hot," Mike breathed, "I like having my fingers inside you while we're up here on this rock. Anyone could come along and then what would we do?"

El was almost writhing. "We'd keep doing what we're doing now. Mike, I need more. Take these off of me."

Mike did as he was told. Once he'd slid her panties far enough past her hips she turned around, taking them off the rest of the way before sitting in front of him on her knees. She reached forward to him, freeing his throbbing cock from his boxers by pulling him through the opening in the fly. With the harness on it was too much trouble to take his shorts off.

"I want this. Is that okay?" Her hand wrapped around Mike's shaft and pumped twice before she situated herself on his lap.

"You never have to ask me that. It's always okay." Mike could feel her heat against him. His cock twitched in anticipation. El leaned forward, her arms wrapped around his neck. Her lips met his as Mike lifted her slightly by her thighs, allowing himself entrance. He felt her sink all the way down onto him, both of them groaning at the sensation; El being filled totally by Mike and Mike being held in an exquisite vise-like grip by El. She started rocking back and forth, her mouth not leaving his. She wanted to be as close to him as she could, having both his hard cock and his tongue inside her at once. Mike let her ride him, sensing that she needed it. Her legs were wrapped around his midsection, their position causing her to sit higher than if they'd been on a mattress that had some give. He would occasionally pull her up by her thighs, never pulling out totally, and then let her drop back down, causing him to go deeper.

"M-Mike, do that again. I like it when you go deep." She was holding on to his shoulders now. Mike watched her face as he held her up and then let her drop back down, gravity combined with her arousal causing her to slide quickly down his shaft. He loved how she pushed herself down even further when he hilted inside her.

"What if someone climbed up here right now, El? What would they see? I like it when you tell me." Mike kept lifting her and dropping her. She was moaning louder now, the friction of dropping down his length causing a buildup that was about to explode.

"They'd see me fu-fucking you. They'd see you drop me down on your ha-hard dick and they'd hear how much I loved it. They'd see my legs wrapped around you, me tr-trying to pull you more ins-i-ide me, to p-pull you deeper. If they kept watching they'd see m-me c-coming on y-y-you. Oh, fuck, Mike! I'm gonna come on you. Keep doing that. You feel so g-good!"

"El, look at me. I want to see your face when I make you come." Mike never slowed his pace. El looked at him, her brow furrowed and sweaty. Her eyes were locked with his.

"Mike," she whispered, "I'm, I'm..."

"Keep looking at me, El."

"You're making me come right now." She didn't look away. Mike watched her emotions flash across her face as he felt her tighten around him, clamping down and pulling him in more.

"Oh, shit, El, I'm coming too. Don't stop moving, please!" Mike pleaded, but El had no intention of stopping before he was empty. Her legs were still shaking but she pushed herself down and continued to undulate her hips, watching his face as he released inside her.

She kissed him tenderly as he breathed heavily, both of them having been so turned on by the idea of having sex on that rock that it caused more intensity than they had imagined.

"You know, on this trip we can do the things we wanted to do when we were lost but were afraid to." El kissed him again before pulling back to smile brightly at him. Her cheeks were glowing almost, her hair slightly disheveled. Mike thought how she looked when she was freshly fucked was one of his favorite sights.

After they got dressed El got them both safely down from the rocks. Mike was impressed at how strong she'd gotten just with a little practice. He knew there was no way that she wasn't tired after their tryst on the cliff but she seemed to lower them both to the ground with little effort.

They shouldered their packs, both them wearing dopey grins, and headed out again along the trail. Mike wanted to find a good place to camp before it got dark.

It was El who spotted the perfect camping spot. It was not unlike the area where they'd camped when they got lost, with a backdrop of boulders and some small trees to act as a shield. They went to work setting up the tent and making camp for the night. El still remembered how to use Mike's camp stove so she cooked dinner while he finished with their night's lodging. Since the fateful trip when they got lost, Mike always carried a couple of tarps and tent stakes with him when he might be in need of a tent, remembering how useful they had been. He'd used the same setup in their current expedition. He had already built a fire so they could sit beside it until they got ready to sleep.

"Want to sit out here or go in the tent to eat?" El asked. Their dinner was almost finished.

"Let's sit out here." Mike sat down on a log beside the fire. El joined him. They passed the food back and forth, taking turns just like they had back in October.

"We need to plan our rafting trip when we get back. We still need to pick a date." El took a bite of rice.

"I know, but my parents are picking us up tomorrow. I don't want to think about the summer right now. I just want to think about you."

"Like how?" El asked coyly.

"Like, I want to see how long we can both tease each other for before we give in. I want to make out and touch you until neither of us can stand it anymore. It'll be like when we were lost but we'll get to finally do what we couldn't then, but I want to try to hold out for as long as we can. What do you think?"

El was thoughtful. She had fond memories of making out with Mike in the tent when they were lost. She remembered how she felt, how she knew she wanted more, but she had been afraid. Recreating it now it sounded good to her.

"What if I can hold out longer than you can?" She asked, smirking.

"Is that a challenge, Eleven?"

"Ooh, my whole name. Is that supposed to turn me on?"

"Does it?"

"Well, fuck," El admitted, her shy smile giving way to something more seductive. "Do you remember when I hurt my ankle and you had to help me change into the sweatpants your brought?"

"I do. My hands were almost shaking. I had to keep it together when my fingers brushed your ass as I pulled them up over your hips. I seriously almost kissed you then."

"Really? I wish you had. That really turned me on when I felt your fingers on me. I didn't know what to do about it. My heart was beating so fast. I wanted you to leave your hands where they were but I was afraid to let you know." They had finished their bag of food. El set it beside the log to collect later when they cleaned up. They gazed at the fire, both of them remembering.

Mike stood up after a few minutes. El was confused. Mike pulled her up from the log, leaving her standing right in front of him. He was so close to her. She looked up at him and felt his hands unfasten her shorts, sliding them down her legs. Once they had dropped to her ankles he slowly ran his fingers back over her hips, letting them come to rest on her backside.

"I could have left my hands like this?" Mike asked. El could feel his fingertips radiating heat on her barely covered behind. She was standing mere inches from his chest, both of them staring into each other's eyes.

"Yes. At that moment I think you could have done anything." It came out as a whisper. Mike didn't move his hands but leaned down a bit, meeting El's face as she looked up at him. The fire blazed as they stood in front of it kissing. After a couple of minutes, both of them sighing at the feeling of Mike's hands on El, they wordlessly entered their tent where Mike finished undressing her, El's eyes never leaving his. She did the same to him before they crawled into the sleeping bags that had been zipped together to create more room.

Mike moved his hand over her abdomen, ghosting across it. She rolled into him, her face in his neck. El let her fingers walk down his side, stopping at his hip and then gently scraping her nails across his lower back, dipping down slightly. Mike shivered. He was already getting hard.

El kissed his neck, just barely, thinking she was in control. Mike's hand was on her back and sliding lower and El was enjoying the feeling but it wasn't doing anything overly enchanting to her. She raised her head slightly, catching Mike's lips in hers. They had just started to kiss deeper when El felt Mike's hand graze her buttocks, the lightest tickling sensation, his fingers stroking up and down. As his hand slid to her lower ass he would squeeze and then resume lightly stroking. El groaned into his mouth. She could feel her inner thighs starting to become damp from her arousal.

Wanting to even the score, El did the same thing to Mike. Mike felt himself get even harder when her fingers caressed his ass. He wanted to push into her to get some relief but he didn't, knowing that this was the game and that he'd started it. El's fingernails were longer than his though and the sensation of her lightly scraping them across his buttocks was causing all of his blood to flow into one place. He was practically throbbing.

Mike moved his hand to El's inner thigh, his hand resting so close to her warmth that when they shifted slightly his fingers became slick. She suddenly rolled them over, landing on top of him. Her legs were on either side of his hips, she was still playing the game, but from her position above him Mike didn't know how long he would be able to hold out. El seemed to know too because she was grinning at him, letting his hard dick touch her just barely, knowing how sensitive he was and how it would make him want to feel more.

"I can do this all night," she said, but something in her eyes told him that she really didn't want to wait that long.

"You can do what? Hover over my cock? You know all you'd have to do is just sit down a little." Mike moved his hand to her folds. "I know you want to." His fingers gently ran the length of her opening, up and down, careful to only give her a little taste of what she was really wanting.

El bit her lip. His hand felt so nice, she wanted to give in.

Mike stopped teasing her and moved his hand down. She wasn't sure what he was doing until she felt the head of his dick rubbing where his finger had been. He wasn't pushing it in, he was just using it to tempt her.

"Oh, that feels good, Mike." She started to move in time to what he was doing, causing the tip to rub her where she needed it most.

"Are you giving in?" Mike asked. He was trying to sound smug but he really just wanted to feel her take him all the way inside.

"Can we please give in together? I know you want it as much as I do."

Mike pushed his cock down slightly and then pushed El down onto him, hard, causing her to cry out.

"Oh, shit, are you okay?" Mike was instantly worried.

"Yes, you just feel so good inside me." El leaned down, her head lining up with Mike's. Their lips met and Mike held her by the waist, bucking up into her as she pushed herself down on him. "Push me harder," she breathed. Mike understood and pushed her down onto his throbbing shaft by her waist, sending himself deeper into her. He held her tightly, thinking that his fingers might leave bruises on her hips, but she was encouraging him to push her even harder. She had sat back up, was perched upon him, wanting to move in slow circles while he was buried inside, the angle hitting her g spot and causing different sensations than she was used to.

Mike watched her face, loving how he was making her feel, making her eyes close involuntarily and making her pant with pleasure. It was all he wanted to do.

"I love you. Not just because you look sexy as fuck when you're riding my cock, but I love you for everything you are," Mike told her as she continued to grind down on him. El leaned forward and kissed him sweetly, not stopping her movements with her hips.

"I love you too. More than anything." She kissed him once more before sitting back up, increasing her force and tightening herself around him. Their eyes were locked together.

"El, you, you're sending me over the edge. I'm trying to hold out," Mike gasped, gritting his teeth in an effort to stay in control of his body.

"Do you want to finish inside me? Because I want you to. You're about to make me come all over you. I can feel it so deep. Oh, Mike! Now, now!" She stopped moving. Mike pushed her down on him as far as he could, feeling waves of tightness massage his member as she hit her peak. He followed a second later, unloading into her while he could still feel her trembling around his cock. El collapsed onto him. They were both breathing heavily and semi-laughing, their minds hazy with the feeling of euphoria that they had just given each other.

"You wanted to do that when we were lost?" Mike kidded her.

"Well, something like that. It's definitely something I've fantasized about as I fall asleep in my bed at home. Lots of times. I'd be lying if I said otherwise. But you're way better than the fantasy." She snuggled into him. Both of them were definitely tired now.

"El?" Mike asked, they had been quiet for a few minutes, both lost in thought and feeling drowsy.

"Hmm?"

"I'm really glad that you wanted to go look at that waterfall in October. You changed my life. I really love you."

"I love you too, Mike. I don't know if you'll ever know how much."

He pulled her closer, sighing, and they fell asleep.

Back on the trail the next day, having slept a little late because they didn't have a long way to go before they had looped back around to the trailhead where Mike's parents would pick them back up, they talked about their summer plans.

"I know Max is down for it, which means Lucas is too. Will and Dustin said they both wanted to go too, last time I checked. We just need to find a good time that works for everyone. I was thinking maybe the end of June or early July because that would give us time to save a little money. I think the Vermillion River in Illinois is our best bet. It has some good rapids but we can go just the six of us. I think they have guides but I'd rather do it ourselves."

"How far away is it?' El asked, walking just a pace ahead of Mike.

"It's less than three and a half hours. We could camp along the river. They have buses that will take you from your car to where you put your raft in the water so we could leave the car where we'll finish and then camp at night until we make it back down to the end where we're parked. I don't want it to be a super rushed trip. It will probably be our last big adventure before we leave for college. Next summer we'll all be busy getting ready to leave."

"Yeah." El sounded sad. She and Mike hadn't talked a lot about what they were doing after high school. They both knew college was definitely in their plans but they were both afraid that it might separate them and neither wanted to talk about it yet. Mike sensed her worry as they walked along the trail.

"El? Where do you want to go to school?"

"I want to go wherever we can be together. Before last fall I was thinking Harvard but I can go wherever. I got a 1600 on the SAT."

Mike's jaw dropped a little. They had never discussed her test scores. She was always so humble about her intelligence.

"Um, well okay, I think Boston would be an awesome place to go. Maybe I can get in somewhere there and we won't have to be away from each other," Mike said, still reeling from her test score reveal.

"You'd do that for me?"

"Well, yeah, but it wouldn't be just for you. There are some great schools in Boston. I know I could get into at least one of them. Then we could really have an adventure, you and me in a big city, going to school and coming home to one another. Wouldn't that be cool?"

"Cool. Definitely cool." El felt relieved. "I feel better now that we've talked about it. I was afraid you had your heart set on somewhere."

"I do. Being wherever you are."

El stopped walking, turned around, and gratefully kissed him.

"So what all would we need to bring to go rafting?" El asked when they had started walking again.

"We'd need camping stuff, tents and food and, you know, things like we bring when we go backpacking. We'd be renting a raft from a company. I assume it would come with emergency things like an air pump and patches in case we somehow tear a hole in it. We'd need clothes and swimsuits. I think the best thing to do would be to get everyone together and make a checklist of what we'll need. Next time everyone is over we can do that. I'm sure it'll be next week some time. School will be out before we know it so we should save our money for gas to get there."

"Oh, I almost forgot! We need to find a van or something that we can all ride in that will also hold our stuff. With six of us packing for a week or so we'll have more than when we just went camping overnight. I'm going to see if Hop has any ideas on something we could use," El offered.

"You've got him wrapped around your finger, you know that right? He seems all cranky but he'd do anything for you." Mike stopped, El turned around to him.

"I've been told the same thing about you." She tried to smirk but her smile instead showed her dimples, not being able to keep her real smile from Mike.

"Yeah, well, they're not wrong." Mike shrugged, raising his eyebrow at her before continuing on his way. El followed him.

They got back to the trailhead a little before the sun was just starting to set. Mike's parents were waiting for them, just as planned. Ted Wheeler clapped his hand on Mike's back, clearly proud of how his son was taking the initiative to try something he had been interested in when he was younger. They all piled back into the car and headed back to Hawkins.

Mike helped El get her stuff to her house. Hopper wasn't home yet, probably having been called into the station.

"Want me to stay with you until he comes home?"

"He'd probably flip out if you did. I know what we'd get up to." El blushed and turned away from Mike a bit. He caught her by the wrist, pulling her into him. He spoke lowly.

"I had a great time with you. I'm going to miss you lying against me tonight." His nose was nuzzling her cheek.

"I'm going to miss you too. Maybe soon I can sneak out and meet you in your basement. Would that be okay."

"You can come over any time. I like how daring you are." Mike smiled as he rested his head against hers. "Come over tonight if Hopper gets in and you know where he'll be. You can just call me and let me know. If my mom answers just tell her you found my socks. That can be our code phrase. She'll never suspect it means that you're coming over." Mike grinned.

"Okay. I'll call you later. I love you." El wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him close.

"I love you too." He lifted her chin, his lips grazing hers softly, their heads moving together, the kiss quickly getting deeper. Then they heard Ted Wheeler's car horn. They shared two more shorter kisses, not wanting to part, but then Mike finally pulled back. "Call me." With a kiss to her forehead Mike was out the door.

El sighed but instead of feeling alone she let herself think about the summer and how much fun it would be to go rafting with her friends. She wondered what kind of adventure it would really turn out to be. She loved being with Mike in the outdoors but their friends made it even more fun. She wanted to make some awesome memories with them.

Hopper came home about an hour later with pizza. El told him all about her backpacking trip, well, mostly, and how they had started planning their fun summer adventure. Hopper said he had to be back at the station early in the morning to finish up some paperwork he hadn't done tonight, knowing that El would be back and wanting to spend a little time with her. He said he had to go to bed early. They ate their pizza and watched tv, laughing at an episode of Married...With Children before Hopper told El good night and got ready for bed.

El made a phone call.

"Hi, Mrs. Wheeler? This is El. Um, could you tell Mike I found his socks?"

A/N: Oh, they were so sweet and innocent in Zero-Mile Mark. This will probably be the last smutty story I write for a while. I want to branch out a bit and see if I can get my points across without it. But I've had this planned for a while and I want to stay true to who the characters are now so this is the way it is. The whole party will go white water rafting. We'll see what shenanigans they can get up to. Thanks for reading and I hope no one is offended. I think part two of this series kind of set up who this particular Mike and El are at this point.