#i’m wearing my cale shirt today also…SO

[ghstandpucks]

Nothin’ Like You ~ Cale Makar

In honor of reaching over 200 followers, here is a song fic based on Dan and Shay’s Nothin’ Like You. I have a few requests in my inbox that I will be working on. If you have any, feel free to send them in using this prompt! Thank you for 200!!!

Master List

I remember when I first met you Sipping coffee in a corner booth You were twirling your hair And I just had to stare For a minute or two

Cale was with Tyson and J.T. after practice one Wednesday afternoon. The three of them decided to stop and get some coffee as it was a cold winter day outside. They were waiting in line talking about something E.J. had said earlier that day when Cale’s eyes landed on you in the back corner by a window. You had a cup of coffee and were staring at your laptop, completely oblivious to the world around you. He couldn’t help but stare as you wound and un-wound a strand of hair around your finger, every so often stopping to type something. Tyson kept talking as J.T. realized their defenseman was completely distracted by something. Following his line of sight, he chuckled. “See something you like? Or someone?” he chirped his teammate. Cale started to turn red as he looked away from you.

“I thought maybe I knew her,” he muttered. Tyson had stopped his monologue and was paying attention also now. He looked over as you had your head buried in a book, slowly typing something out.

“How did she carry all those books?” he asked with a slight laugh. Cale had noticed the numerous books you had scattered around the table. Didn’t people just do their research online now? “You like studious girls Makar?” Tyson elbowed him.

I was laughing at your stack of books Then you shot me that smile Hey beautiful girl, in your own little world Let me in it

“Man shut up,” Cale said turning on his friend. Unknowingly to them though, you had actually heard all the commotion. It was why you enjoyed doing your research in coffee shops; the garbled noises made it easier for you to concentrate. This doesn’t mean that you had heard what they said exactly, but who could really miss three hockey players walking into a small coffee shop in the middle of the week.

You looked up right as Cale was glancing back over at you. As you locked eyes, you sent him a shy smile and looked back down, trying to focus on your work again. Of course you knew who they were, all of Denver practically did. You were just an overstressed grad student with too many deadlines coming up though; he was probably just looking around the place.

The three of them ordered their coffees, and Cale noticed that you had looked sadly at your cup after taking a sip. He walked up to the counter and got the attention of the barista. “What did that girl in the corner order?” he asked, and was told it was a caramel latte. “I’ll take one of those too,” Cale said, paying for a second coffee. J.T. gave Tyson a look before he could say anything as they watched Cale walk over to you with two coffee cups.

You got all of my attention And you ain't even trying Yeah, you're my kind of different And I never seen nothin'

Nothin' like you

“Um hi. I hope you don’t mind, but I thought you could use this,” Cale said, announcing his presence at your table. You looked up, slightly startled as you had been engrossed in a thought you had while typing out your research. “Didn’t mean to scare you,” he chuckled nervously.

“No, you’re fine! Sorry, I had a train of thought going,” you sputtered out just as nervous as him. “Thank you, that’s very kind. What do I owe you?” you asked, instinctively reaching for your wallet. Cale shook his head.

“Nothing,” he said, trying to think of what the guys on the team might say in this situation. “Your number maybe?” he made a face like he couldn’t believe he just said that, and you couldn’t help but giggle.

“Um, sure, yeah,” you squeaked out, writing your number on a piece of notebook paper and ripping it out to give to him. “I’m Y/N,” you introduced yourself.

“Cale,” he said, taking the paper from you. He was about to ask what you were doing when Tyson called out to him.

“Makar, are you coming?” Cale turned toward his friends who had big, goofy grins on their faces watching the interaction. You blushed slightly at the thought of others watching you.

“I’m sorry. I’ll text you,” he stuttered out, putting your number into his pocket. You smiled softly at him and nodded.

“Thanks for the coffee,” you said and he smiled at you.

“My pleasure.”  

Shades on spinning in a summer rain Dancing when there ain’t no music Just the right kind of crazy, baby

           Cale had texted you like he said he would that same evening. You honestly weren’t expecting it, but felt completely giddy when you saw the unknown number and read his message. He explained that he would be gone on a road trip with the Avs for the next week, but would like to take you to dinner when he got back. You accepted and plans were made; the two of you talking regularly throughout the week getting to know each other better.

           The Avs returned home on Thursday, and a few hours later Cale was at your apartment knocking on your door. He had brought you flowers and you couldn’t help but smile at the kind gesture. The two of you made your way to dinner, talking the whole time. He had just finished telling you a funny story from the trip, beaming at the giggle he had enticed from you when your food arrived. As you looked down at your plate, you started moving your head and shoulders in an excited fashion. “Are you dancing?” Cale questioned you with a chuckle. You stopped immediately.

           ���Oh my gosh, sorry. I tend to have a happy dance with food. It’s a weird family thing. I don’t even realize I do it until it’s pointed out to me,” you rambled on, face turning red. Cale shook his head.

           “Don’t be sorry. I though it was cute,” he said in a low tone. You smiled and giggled nervously; Cale deciding then and there that he wanted to continue seeing that smile for as long as you would let him.  

Something about you Rocking that rock 'n roll t-shirt Whole party dressed up But you just doin’ your thing Ain't nobody ever seen nothin' like you

           You were working on your research the following Friday night, having the game on in the background. Cale had taken you out to dinner once more since your first date, and the two of you had been nonstop texting. The Avs had won, Cale scoring that night. After the game you were about to text him a ‘congratulations’ when your phone started to ring, the caller ID showing it was him. “Congratulations!” you said as you answered and heard him chuckle on the other end of the line.

           “Thanks Y/N. Hey, what are you doing tonight?” he asked, and you heard a few wolf whistles behind him with muttered ‘shut ups’ coming from the defenseman.

           “I’ve just been working on my research since I got out of class earlier. Why?” you asked, trying not to laugh.

           “Come out with us. We’re all going out to celebrate,” he said in a more hushed tone, and you could imagine him trying to avoid the whole locker room from hearing.

           “Cale, I would love to but I’m not dressed to go out,” you said.

           “Who cares. Please? I would like you to come,” he pleaded with you ever so slightly. You looked down at your outfit, deciding it wouldn’t take much to put on some jeans quickly. Your Red Hot Chili Peppers shirt didn’t look terrible at least.

           “Text me the address,” you said into the phone, and you could hear the excitement in Cale’s voice as he said he would.

When you're wearing them worn out jeans Purple untied shoestrings You're a light in the dark And you're stealing my heart like a gypsy

           Showing up to the bar, you became a little self-conscious. Maybe you should have changed? The second Cale spotted you though, he thought you were the most beautiful girl in the room. The front of your band tee was tucked into your ripped black jeans, your white converse showing years of wear as they were no longer exactly white and the shoelaces were frayed at the ends. Cale knew you were probably stressed with your research, and yet you still had the softest smile and a sparkle in your eyes when you found him in the crowd. “You made it,” he whispered into your hair as he hugged you close. He felt you giggle into his chest.

           “Couldn’t let you down,” you answered simply. Cale smiled at you and took your hand, leading you over to a table where some of the team was sitting.

           “Coffee shop girl!” A slightly tipsy Tyson shouted.

           “Oh my God,” Cale muttered as you giggled. You were introduced to everyone as you took a seat between Cale and someone he called Gravy.

           “So what is your research on?” Gabriel Landeskog asked when you said you were a grad student at the University of Denver.

           “The archaeology of Zoroastrianism,” you said, and caught many blank stares.

           “Zoro what?” Andre asked.

           “It’s an ancient Persian religion. Today’s modern practices of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism all have common ties to it,” you briefly explained.

           “Wait, that was the religion Freddie Mercury practiced,” Sam Girard commented, looking interested. You nodded.

           “That’s how most people have heard of it now,” you responded.

           “What is your research trying to say about it?” he asked.

           “So I’m basically writing a big literature review to make sure it is preserved in the archaeological record. It was the first dualistic religion in a time where civilizations had their pantheons to believe in. It spread with the Persian conquest, but no one they conquered was ever forced to convert to it. Now it’s a rare religion to come across, and their numbers keep getting smaller. With it being one of the oldest organized religions, it needs to be preserved and the traditions documented before we lose it all through modernization attempts.” To you, your explanation was simple and one that you had said many times whenever asked what you were studying. It seemed you had impressed the table though, and you slightly blushed as a few questions started flying your way. You didn’t notice Cale softly smiling at you while you talked about a topic that you loved so much; he couldn’t take his eyes off of you. His teammates noticed though, and boy were they going to give it to him at practice.    

I love the way that you kiss me In front of everybody So baby come and kiss me They ain't ever seen nothin'

Nothin' like you

           The following day at practice, the guys were giving Cale crap for how head over heels he seemed for you. The fact he hadn’t kissed you yet was another source of ridicule. Everyone who had met you ended up adoring you within the time span that you spent with them at the bar; and they could easily see that their defenseman was taken by you as his cheeks would turn red at the mention of your name. They were all happy for him, but that didn’t mean the chirping would stop.

           They had another home game to play the following day, and Gabe convinced Cale to invite you and have you sit with Mel and Linnea. Later that day Cale went to your apartment and handed you his jersey, asking you to be there for the game. You couldn’t say no to him, not that you wanted to anyways. That Sunday you put on the jersey and headed to the stadium. Meeting Mel at the front, you quickly got along and enjoyed the game. The Avs came out victorious again, and you followed the captain’s wife to the locker rooms. You stepped aside as Gabe made his way over to his wife, feeling a little out of place. Luckily for you, Cale wasn’t far behind.

           He didn’t know if it was from the guys comments or seeing you in his jersey, but one second he was smiling widely at you, then the next his lips were on yours and his hands on your waist. Without a second thought, you kissed him back, your hands holding his face to yours. You were both grinning ear to ear as you separated, chirps flying all around but all in good nature. Giggling, you hid your face in Cale’s chest as his face turned bright red.

Shades on spinning in a summer rain Dancing when there ain’t no music Just the right kind of crazy, baby Something about you Rocking that rock 'n roll t-shirt Whole party dressed up But you just doing your thing Ain't nobody ever seen nothin' like you, yeah

           A year had passed and you were at the end of your grad program. You were set to present your research at the graduate fair, having been selected to present your research on behalf of your department. The Avs were scheduled to be flying back home that day, but Cale wasn’t sure if he would be there in time to see you present. You told him that it was fine, that you understood; and you really did. He was hell bent on making it though. You weren’t that surprised when you saw Cale sneaking into the back of the auditorium. What did surprise you was that half the team had followed him in. Having become good friends with them, they wanted to be there to support you too. As your name was announced, you swear you had the loudest applause.

           You calmly presented your research, smiling at Cale when you finished and a few questions were thrown your way. Having worked so hard, the questions were simple to answer. Finding Cale afterward, he took your poster from you and the two of you made your way to his apartment so he could unpack from the trip. Changing into some leggings and one of his shirts, you showed him the bound copy of your 105 page thesis. He was so proud of you and couldn’t help but share the cover on his Insta story. The two of you cuddle and slept better that night then you had in a while. For him it was being back home with you, and you finally had the stress of your research gone since the first time you met him.  

Nothin' like you Shades on spinning in a summer rain Dancing in the rain no music Nothin' like you Rocking that rock 'n roll t-shirt Whole party dressed up But you just doing your thing Ain't nobody ever seen nothin' like you, yeah

           Once you graduated, Cale asked you to move in with him. You had secured a job at a museum as a curator in their Antient History section. Setting up an exhibit all morning, you met up with Cale at the same coffee shop you had met at two years prior later that day. “Sorry I’m late” you muttered to Cale as you found him. He smiled and gave you a quick kiss.

           “You have nothing to be sorry about. I already put your order in,” he said as you sat across from him, taking a sip of the coffee he got you.

           “You know me so well,” you hummed with a giggle, the caramel latte tasting sweet. Cale grinned at you.

           “Technically, your coffee order was the first thing I learned about you, so I better get that right,” he chuckled. “That and you seemed like a huge nerd.” You faked offense, but laughed anyway.

           “It was all those books that got you. I knew my tactic of sitting in a coffee shop would work for me one day,” you winked at him.

           “It did. I’d never seen nothing like you,” he grinned, reaching into his pocket to take out a small velvet jewelry box.

Never seen, never seen nothin' like you Ain't never seen anything like you Mmm Never seen nothin' like you

Tagging: @yeahcalesy @avsfans95  @tysojost​ 

[hobeymakar]

Every Kind of Way | C. Makar

Words: 2,528

A/N: this one is based off the song Every Kind of Way by H.E.R. (aka one of my fave R&B songs). In this, COVID-19 never happened and the season starts and ends at the time it usually does.

Warnings: swearing and references to alcohol use

-

Baby, the sound of you. Better than a harmony. I want you off my mind. And on me. Holding me closer than we’ve ever been before. This ain’t a dream. You’re here with me. Boy, it don’t get no better than you. For you, I wanna take my time. All night

You wake up to the sound of birds chirping outside. It’s a beautiful August morning in Denver and you turn over to see the most beautiful sight of all, your boyfriend Cale. He’s asleep peacefully beside you and you take a moment to caress his face, gently running your thumb over his cheeks.After a few moments, he wakes up and goes to kiss you. You stop him and get up to go to the bathroom instead, since you can’t stand morning breath. You brush your teeth and when you come back into the room, you see him on his phone.

He hears you come into the room and puts his phone down before turning over onto his back. You climb back onto the bed, wearing one of his old giant UMass Hockey tees and joggers.

“Good morning,” you smile, straddling his waist.

“Morning, baby,” he smiles back. “Sweet dreams?”

“I dreamt of you winning the cup and me kissing you at center ice,” you explain.

“Well who knows? Maybe it’ll happen this year,” he smiles.

“It better happen. I expect you guys to kick ass all season,” you reply, placing one of your hands over his heart.

“And what if we don’t?” he teases.

“Then I’ll tell Bednar to bag skate you guys after every loss to whip you guys into shape,” you tease back, causing him to chuckle in response.

“I’ll whip you into shape,” he groans, flipping you over and pinning you down to the mattress to tickle you.

“Cale!” you shriek, since you hate being tickled.

He ignores your pleas and continues to tickle you into submission, while you continue to laugh uncontrollably.

“Okay okay okay, I’m sorry! I won’t tell Bednar to bag skate you after every loss,” you whine, not being able to handle any more tickling from him.

“Good,” he smiles, kissing her forehead.

“Now, since you decided to tickle the shit out of me, the least you can do is make us breakfast,” you tease.

“I’ll make breakfast, but you better not complain about it,” he replies, sending you a look as he gets up from the bed.

“Ugh!” you groan, smacking his ass hard.

He doesn’t even react to the smack and walks out of the bedroom, causing you to shake your head and get up from the bed.

I wanna love you in every kind of way. I wanna please you no matter how long it takes. If the world should end tomorrow and we only have today. I’m gonna love you in every kind of way

You walk into the bathroom and see Cale fresh out of the shower, brushing his teeth with a towel hanging low off his hips. The mirrors are fogged in the bathroom and he looks good with his cheeks flushed from the heat and humidity in the bathroom.

“Like what you see?” he teases, raising an eyebrow.

“Shut up,” you scoff, shoving him lightly in the chest. 

He walks over to his sink and finishes brushing his teeth as you go to the other sink and wash your face and hands.

“Do you want me to pick us up some dinner for tonight?” he asks you, his words garbled because of the toothpaste in his mouth.

“I’ll be home on time to make some dinner,” you reply, drying your hands.

He goes back to brushing his teeth and you draw “heart you” over the fog on the mirror, before leaving the bathroom. You go back to the room and get ready for your Zoom meeting for your online business job. Before you know it, Cale comes back into the room and gets dressed for his first day of training camp. He then heads to the living room to grab his gear. You follow him out of the bedroom and into the living room to bid him farewell.

“Love you too, baby,” he smiles, referring to the writing on the mirror you left him.

“So, you saw my note on the mirror huh?” she asks rhetorically.

“It was cute, but you’re even cuter,” he replies, bending down to give you a kiss.

“Bye baby. Make sure you kick some butt today. Can’t have some guy take your spot on the top d-pair,” you tease, your lips just lightly brushing against his.

“No one’s gonna take my spot babe, but thanks for the motivation,” he teases lightly.

“I think there are other ways I can get you extra motivated to have a great camp,” you tease back.

“I better have a great camp then,” he replies, finally kissing you.

Give you all, give you all of me. When you need it. “Cause I need it. I wanna fall like your favorite season. I’ll never give up. Stay here forever, babe. It don’t get no better than this. Your kiss

It’s Conor Timmins’ birthday and the party is being held at Mikko’s condo. It’s a big ass luxurious condo right in the middle of downtown Denver because it’s the type of place you get when you’re making $9.25M a year. You and Cale arrive when the party's just starting to get really going. You bring two big dishes of your famous Buffalo Chicken Ranch dip that the boys always demolish. You and Cale also hand Timmy his gift, which Cale kind of went overboard with. But being that Cale and Timmy have been friends for so long, it’s understandable why he was freaking out over the gift a little. You and Cale obviously greet the whole team and the girls, with you catching up with the girls and finding out what’s new with their lives and how their summers went.

After a while, the party starts going off the rails because the guys start drinking and it’s tarps off after that. The guys start dancing in the middle of the living room, like it’s the dance floor at the Roxy, while the girls just laugh at them. Luckily, Cale doesn’t join in on the shenanigans and his shirt stays on for the entire night. After a while of laughing at the boys, Cale drags you out to the large balcony, complaining that it’s too hot inside the condo. You follow him reluctantly outside and take in the cool breeze of the September night and the view of the city lights.

“Thanks for coming with me tonight. I know the guys can go pretty hard,” Cale says, apologizing as if it’s a bad thing when the team parties.

“Babe, you know I love coming to team parties with you! This is where I get my best blackmail and chirping material on your teammates,” you tease, trying to keep the mood light.

“Wow, look at the moon tonight,” he says, admiring the view.

You look at the moon but you also look at how beautiful he looks in the moonlight.

“I’ll never get over how beautiful this city looks at night,” you sigh, loving the view.

“You make the view a whole lot better though,” he confesses, causing your heart to swell.

You turn around to face him and realize that if this is what being in love is like, then you never want it to end.

“I love you, Cale Douglas Makar,” you smile, brushing his lips against yours.

“I love you so much more, Y/F/N,” he smiles back, before properly kissing you.

The kiss grows more passionate by the second and it feels like the world just disappears and it’s only you two in that moment. However, the moment doesn’t last long, as the sound of the balcony door opening startles you two.

“No making out at team events! You know it’s a $50 fine, Makar. If I catch you two again, I’ll double it,” EJ says sternly.

If anyone takes his job of fining teammates seriously, it’s EJ. Before the two of you can even respond, EJ closes the door shut and goes back to the party.

“I think we should head back before EJ finds another reason to fine you again,” you tease.

“Yeah, I refuse to put more money on the board,” he adds, taking your hand in his.

You two head back to the party and of course, EJ opens his big mouth again.

“Guys, the two lovebirds have decided to join us again!” he yells out, grabbing everyone’s attention.

Cale blushes immediately and you kiss his cheek, causing his cheeks to darken even more.

I wanna love you in every kind of way. I wanna please you, no matter how long it takes. If the world should end tomorrow and we only have today. I’m gonna love you in every kind of way. I wanna love you in every kind of way. I wanna please you, no matter how long it takes. If the world should end tomorrow and we only gave today. I’m gonna love you in every kind of way

Cale is driving through the streets of the city while the song Drew Barrymore by Bryce Vine is playing through the speakers. Your hands are joined together in the middle as you both sing along to the song.

“‘Cause you’re the next Drew Barry and I want more, yeah. And all these other girls keep wonderin’ what I fuck with you for,” he sings, kissing your hand.

You eventually arrive at your destination but have to park a couple blocks away because city parking is always a nightmare. You walk through the streets of Denver, holding hands and luckily, no one bothers you two for a photo or autograph. You eventually arrive at the place and it turns out it’s a small arcade bar. Cale buys your tokens and you drag him to the skeeball machines right away.

“Prepare to go down, Makar!” you yell out.

“In your dreams, Y/L/N!” he retorts, his competitive nature coming out.

You take the first ball and you manage to miss the left 10,000 target and get only 1,000 instead, while he manages to hit the 2,000 range. With the second ball, you manage to miss the right 10,000 target and only get 1,000 instead, while he hits the 2,000 range again. You look up at him and he’s making a cry baby face at you. You just shoot him a look and become determined to get that stupid grin off his face. You take the next ball and manage to hit the 5,000 target, while he misses the 4,000 target and only gets 1,000 instead.

“In your face! Eat shit!” you yell in his face playfully.

The two of you continue your competitive game of skeeball with you coming out victorious. He leads you to the basketball game and you shake your head at him, as a plea of protest.

“Why not, babe?” he asks.

“Because I’m too short and terrible at basketball,” you inform him.

Even though the boots you have on give you an extra couple of inches of height, you are still too short to be playing this game.

“I’ll show you baby,” he assures you.

He grabs a ball and shows you the shooting motion before handing it to you to try.

“This is gonna be so bad, just so you know,” you inform him.

You take the shot, mimicking the shooting motion he made, and you’re shocked when the shot actually goes in without bouncing off the rim. You look at him in disbelief that you actually just did that.

“I told you that you can do it,” he smiles, hugging you tightly.

You guys play more games for a while before deciding it’s getting too late.

“I really don’t wanna walk all the way back to the car! My feet hurt!” you complain.

He lifts you up without warning and you wrap your legs and arms around him tightly as he carries you out of the arcade and into the streets of Denver. He manages to only make it a block carrying you before growing tired. You jump down to the ground and you two finish your walk back to the car, while holding hands.

If this is what being in love is like, then you never want it to end.

I wanna love you. I gotta love you. I wanna love you. I gotta love you

It’s New Year’s Eve and the whole team and all the girls and kids are at Gabe’s house for the Avs annual New Years party. This year, they managed to be home once again, for New Year’s and even played a game earlier in the evening. It’s currently 6 minutes before midnight and the party is in full swing. The children are running around, while their moms try to catch them and stop them from destroying any of the Landeskogs’ furniture. 

There’s drinks flowing and snacks all over the kitchen and dining room. There’s child-friendly music playing, since the last thing the mothers need is for their kids to pick up swearing from the music. Cale is currently talking about improving the power play with Nate and you’re listening as Melissa tells the girls about one of Linnea’s recent play dates. This is your second Avs New Year’s party and you’re already starting to get used to the chaos. As it gets closer to midnight it gets more chaotic and before you know it, everyone is packed around each other counting down the final minute of 2020. Cale is right beside you wearing a ridiculous 2021 hat and yet he still looks so beautiful. You’re looking at the TV screen showing Time Square and the crystal ball, waiting for the ball to drop.

The final 10 seconds begin and you keep your attention on the TV not noticing what’s happening behind you. The clock finally strikes 12 and everyone starts going nuts. You turn to your side to give Cale a New Years Kiss and instead see him behind you on one knee. You freeze and cover your face in shock.

“Y/F/N, ever since I met you by almost spilling coffee on you at Dunkin in UMass, you’ve changed my life. I asked you to be my girlfriend at the New Years Eve party freshman year, so I figured I should ask you to marry me at this New Year’s Eve party. So, will you make me the luckiest guy alive and marry me?” he asks, looking more nervous than he did at 2018 World Juniors.

“Yes!” you cry out, nodding your head.

Everyone cheers as Cale gets up and kisses you, making sure to keep it light because of all the kids around. You look at the giant engagement ring and can’t believe you’re actually gonna marry the love of your life.

This is definitely what being in love is like and you never want the feeling to end.

[pucking-insane]

Nothin’ Like You - Cale Makar

Player: Cale Makar Word Count: 1544 Warnings: Vegetables

Mmm I remember when I first met you Sipping coffee in a corner booth You were twirling your hair And I just had to stare For a minute or two I was laughing at your stack of books Then you shot me that smile Hey beautiful girl, in your own little world And me in it

In a way, you could call Barnes and Noble your home. You loved to read. You read practically anything, from mystery to sci-fi, from fantasy to romance, non-fiction to adventure. 

Today, you were on the hunt for a book for your psych class. You were talking about mindsets in class and you were interested in the topic so you came to find the book your professor recommended.

“Dang.” 

When you located the book on the shelf, it was in the worst possible location. The top shelf. It was just out of your reach and of course there were no step stools around to help you get your book.

“Need a little help?” 

You turned around to see a young guy, no older than 25. He had blonde hair and rosy cheeks. He stood tall, maybe 6 feet.

“Yes please.” A blush creeped onto your face.

“Which one?” He asked you as he looked at the shelf.

“The one with the purple spine, paperback.”

He pulled the book off the shelf with ease, inspected the cover and handed it to you.

“I really enjoyed this one. I’m Cale, by the way.”

“Well, Cale, you into psychology?”

“With my job I kind of needed to know about the different kinds of mindsets. And you’re into psychology?”

“I’m studying at DU to become a child psychologist. I’m Y/N, by the way.”

“You wanna maybe grab a cup of coffee sometime?”

You were taken aback by Cale’s question. Sure he was attractive. And he had this sort of mystery about him. Something that made you want to know more about him.

“I’ll go pay for this and we can grab something from the café?”

“Sounds wonderful.” He gave a smile, stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans and walked towards the café.

You got all of my attention And you ain't even trying Yeah, you're my kind of different And I never seen nothin'

“So, Cale,” you said as you both sat down at a table in the cafe. “What do you do for a living?”

He sighed heavily. 

“Don’t laugh.” A blush spread across his already rosy cheeks.

“Why would I laugh?”

“I play professional hockey.” He bit his lower lip, awaiting your response.

“Oh my god.” You covered your face with your hands.

“What?”

“I can’t believe I didn’t recognize you!” You whisper-shouted. “You’re Cale Makar!”

“Hockey fan, eh?” Cale smiled.

“Huge.” It was now your turn to blush. “I grew up in Minnesota so I spent my life on the ice. And I actually played for my high school, leading them to a state championship as a captain senior year.”

“Oh wow.” Cale took a sip of his coffee. “So you don’t play anymore?”

“No. I wasn’t good enough to commit, but I still love the sport. The Avs are my favorite team actually.” A blush spread across your face.

“You should come to a game sometime.” Cale smiled.

“I would love to.” You returned the smile.

Nothin' like you Shades on spinning in a summer rain Dancing in the rain no music Just the right kind of crazy, baby Something about you Rocking that rock 'n roll t-shirt We're at a party dressed up But you just doing your thing Ain't nobody ever seen nothin' like you

Over the next few weeks, you and Cale began to hang out more and more. He took you all over Denver, trying new restaurants, catching movies, or checking out the local museums. You also took Cale to a Broncos game, where you both donned the blue and orange of the football team. 

You had come to have sort of a crush on Cale. His rosy cheeks and killer smile were your downfall. He wasn’t like the hockey players you had known in high school. He was an intellectual. The two of you could have discussions about psychology and how the brain works. Cale would also help you study for your exams, quizzing you on terms and asking you study questions. How hot is a smart guy?

Your friends at school chirped you for the amount of time you spent with Cale.

“Y/N, your ‘I can’t, I have to study’ excuse has turned into ‘I can’t, Cale and I made plans.’” They would tell you. You would just blush and deny it.

One October afternoon, you were relaxing on Cale’s couch. He had just gotten home from morning skate when he invited you over. His hair was still wet and he was wearing a fresh set of sweats and a t-shirt. You were both reading books as you sat in silence. Your head was resting in Cale’s lap, glasses perched on your nose. You held your latest psych book find above your head, brows furrowed in concentration. Cale was reading a book you had recommended to him, and he found his fingers tangling in your hair as he played with it.

To be honest, Cale also had a huge crush on you. His teammates would chirp him for it, but he didn’t care. He wanted to take his time with you, make sure you knew that he cared (of course you did know that he cared about you). 

“Hey, Y/N?” Cale asked, breaking the silence.

“Hm?”

“Tonight’s the home opener, and it would mean the world to me if you came.” Cale said softly, a blush spreading to his cheeks.

“I would love to.” You looked up at Cale with a smile.

When you're wearing them worn out jeans Purple untied shoe strings You're a light in the dark And you're stealing my heart like a gypsy

That night, you found yourself at the will-call ticket office to pick up the ticket Cale had left for you.

“I’m here to pick up a ticket for Y/N.” You said when you got to the window.

“Alright.” You were given your ticket. “I was told to also give you this.”

“Thank you!”

It was an Avalanche jersey. You ran your fingers over the material. Unfolding the jersey, you realized it was Cale’s jersey. He had pinned a note to the material.

Thought you might want a jersey for tonight. I can’t wait to see you after the game. Cale PS come to the glass for warmups

You entered the lower bowl to go to the glass for warmups. Players were hitting the ice with introductions. Soon, they were whizzing around the ice. As soon as Cale caught your eye, he started to wave. He skated over to you.

“I like your jersey.” He mouthed to you with a blush.

“Thanks.” You smiled. “Someone very special gave it to me.”

He blushed again and sent a puck your way.

After warmups, you found your seat, which to your surprise was in one of the boxes. 

“You must be Y/N!” A blonde woman said as you entered the box. “Cale’s girl! I’m Mel by the way.”

You shook Mel’s hand and she introduced you to the other women and families. 

“Landeskog, 92, is my husband. He’s said that Cale never shuts up about you.” Mel explained.

“Oh, um,” You blushed. “Cale and I aren’t together.”

“Oh! I’m sorry!” Mel apologized. “He does like you though.”

“You think?”

“Oh I know. Gabe says he just blushes every time you’re mentioned by a teammate.”

You watched the game intently, eyes always on the lookout for number eight. You cheered so loudly when Mikko scored off of Cale’s assist. Soon enough the game was over and you were going with all the other WAGs down to the dressing room.

“Y/N!” Cale smiled as he saw you when he came out of the dressing room.

“Great game!” You smiled as you hugged him.

“Thank you! You look great in my jersey by the way.” He whispered in your ear.

“Oh really?”

“Of course.” He pulled away from the hug and looked into your eyes. “And I wanted you to be wearing it when I asked you this question.” He took a deep breath. “Will you, Y/F/N Y/L/N, be my girlfriend?”

“I would love to.”

I love the way that you kiss me In front of everybody So baby come and kiss me They ain't ever seen nothin' Nothin like you...

Cale leaned down to kiss you. It was cautious and gentle. Your lips fit together with Cale’s perfectly and they moved in sync. 

The guys all whistled when they saw what was happening between you and your new boyfriend.

“GET SOME CALE!”

“ATTA BOY!”

The ladies, of course, telling their significant others to shut up and let you have your moment, were also happy for the two of you.

“I’ll tell you what.” Cale said as he pulled away from the kiss.

“What?”

“I have never met anyone like you.” He placed one last kiss on your lips before taking your hand and leading you to his car.

[oveliagirlhaditright]

Chapter Three of My Dark Angel Story “Saving the Siblings”

Summary: What if around the time of C.R.E.A.M–before Max and Logan were that close–they agreed to have a more sibling-esque relationship, since that was what Max was used to? How would the story have played out differently from there? But Lomax will still be endgame, I swear.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21821767/chapters/52075546

Chapter Three

Despite Max’s promise to herself, that she was going to try to keep Logan out of her affairs here—to try and have their relationship platonic—she found she had nowhere else to go, with some of the questions Vada had brought to light.

So, when morning came, Max found herself powering up her Ninja and driving over to Fogle Towers before Logan and Bling were even fully awake, probably.

When Max broke into the apartment—…she really probably should have done something about doing this all the time, but this was her and Logan’s tradition at this point, and who was she to break tradition?—she noticed that Logan and Bling were doing sets.

Logan was trying with all his might to push his legs up into Bling’s hands, and was working up quite the sweat, but it was still to no avail.

And if Max had ever hated herself before, it was nothing like how she felt now. But she made sure not to show it, of course.

“Logan, that’s enough,” Bling was telling Logan, as Bling tried to push his torso away from him and get him to stop for the day.

But Logan kept a grip on Bling’s shirt and kept himself near him, working. “No, Bling. Five more. I swear I can do it.”

“Logan, no. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it twice, slow and steady wins the race.”

“Bling-” Logan said sharply now; and there was the pissy quality to his voice, that Max knew so well. She almost smiled.

And deciding to save Bling, when she herself often wasn’t saved when it came from this attitude from Logan, Max decided to finally let it be known that she was there.

“Knock-knock,” she said with a smirk on her face, while she knocked on the wall behind Logan’s computer, that he nailed all his important documents onto.

Max honestly had no idea why she could be this happy in seeing these two, when just a night ago, she’d realized Vada had been a plant, Manticore had Jondy, and Zack had left her,

Max didn’t know, but that was why she had to be careful with Logan, didn’t she? It didn’t pay to get too close to anyone. Max knew that all too well from how she got burnt with Darren. She tried to lie to herself now, that it was mostly Bling she was thrilled to see, but she knew that that wasn’t true.

“Max!” Logan exclaimed, like he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

“Max!” Bling said excitedly. “Good to see you! Are you here to see Logan? Do you want me to clear out?”

Originally, Max had been thinking that. But since Bling knew everything about her that Logan did, and was pretty sharp, she figured that she could use his advice, as well.

Plus, if he was here, hopefully it would keep her and Logan from making goo-goo eyes at each other, like she didn’t want them to.

“I’m glad to see you’re alright, Max,” Logan spoke softly to Max now, with something in his eyes, as he seemed to wake up enough now, to better remember their conversations from yesterday.

And Max knew now, that in some other life… she easily would have let herself fall for Logan Cale. But she had long ago stopped letting herself be soft. And that was some of the issue here.

“I found Vada,” Max told the two men now, sitting on the couch in Logan’s living room. And she didn’t want to look at either of them, and have them see her face, when she had to tell them that she’d fallen into a trap. But since Max was a strong little soldier girl, she showed no weakness and looked them both in the eye as she explained her failings. “And she was a mole, essentially. She was going to have Lydecker and his men close ranks on us and take Zack and I both to Manticore.

“I convinced her not to do this, for the daughter she has on the outside. But… Vada told me that Lydecker recently got Jondy. And Logan, Bling, I want to go in and get her, before they brainwash her. Before it’s too late.”

And maybe… maybe it would be okay if she and Logan never became anything, Max thought. Because the way that he and Bling were sharing a look, she wanted to believe that maybe they could find something—if it came down to it—and Logan could be happy that way.

“That’s rough, Max,” Bling spoke up, after only a minute… which was a god sent, really, because Max thought that she was drowning in her feelings here. “And I may be a physical therapist… but I also know the importance of emotional therapy. And I understand from your upbringing why you were taught to keep things in. But if you need anything, know that Logan and I are here for you. Okay?”

“Yeah, I know. Thanks, Bling.” And Max acted like she was going to hug Bling… but she really didn’t mean this. She also didn’t feel any of the things that she said there. She was too fucked up to. But she knew that Bling would call her out on it, if she didn’t at least act like she was giving it all some thought. So, she had acted.

Thankfully, Logan cut off Max’s humiliation by clearing his throat. And she held herself back mid-motion.

“Max… if you really want to try a jailbreak, I can try to get some Eyes Only informants down for it. We’re few and far between, but I know they would hate the idea of Manticore, if I blow them out of the water. And it would be better than you, Zack, and Vada, maybe, trying to go it alone.”

And here, Max had to smile… and lean in and kiss Logan on the cheek, despite how much she’d been holding herself back before.

And Max thought she might have seen a certain look on Bling’s face then, but fortunately, he didn’t say anything.

“Max, what-” Logan started, the moment she’d pulled away from him.

But Max was already interrupting him. “I appreciate the thought, Logan. And you and yours helping me would for sure be better than just the three of us doing things, they could probably help even against the genetically engineered killing machines, for a time... but I still think we’d still all die. And Lydecker taught me to think of better odds than that. So, I’m not acting until I do”

And finally knowing the truth of how she felt, that Logan had unearthed from her, Max blurred away, and hated herself every moment that she was running.

…

Thankfully, Max had gotten up in enough time, where she didn’t have to go to work yet, and could swing by her crib for some poor coffee imitation with Kendra and Vada—and check in and make sure Vada hadn’t bounced, or killed Kendra, or called Lydecker on her ass—before she had to sell her soul to Normal for most of the day.

And when Max spilled back in, the last thing she expected to see was Kendra and her sister making out in the kitchen, but that was exactly what her eyes were met with.

For a second, she thought about trying to sneak back outside to try and give the girls their privacy—because they clearly needed it, as they crashed into every nearby item on the counter trying to get to Kendra’s room; where, oh where, had Vada’s feline grace gone?—but in thinking that this may have been a ploy on Vada’s part to try and get information out of Kendra about Max, Max decided she had to break up the little love fest.

First her and Logan’s, and now Kendra’s and Vada’s. Wherever Cupid was right now, Max had no doubt he must have hated her ass.

“Kendra?” asked, going back out the door and coming back in, to give the impression that she was just now seeing all of this. “Oh. Sorry, guys! My bad. Here I was, coming to see if maybe you’d prefer if I got Vada to stay at OC’s, Kendra, but clearly that isn’t the case!” And as she said the last, Max very sweetly and awkwardly got into a thing of cherry icing that was on their little table (one of the only commodities she’d been able to find during the Pulse), and it was delicious. Though Max sort of hated having to get into it now, to try and sell this all, but she would take it.

And damn, if she wasn’t a good actress. She clearly had Kendra eating out of the palm of her hand, as she now pulled away from Vada, blushing.

Vada, however, didn’t seem as convinced. And she looked at Max with a raised eyebrow. Max couldn’t really blame her for it, she supposed. They had been taught the same things, when it came to “besting the enemy.”

Later, Max would actually have to ask Vada if it was possible for the female X series to be bi or lesbian. She’d thought not, since their damn hormones made them want to mate with a male—especially when they were in heat—but maybe it was a thing. And perhaps Vada had found the way. That would certainly be nice to tell Max’s sisters, if she ever got to see more of them again…

“Max… I’m sorry that you had to walk in on that!” Kendra exploded now, speaking a mile a minute, with her hands flying every which way. “But damn if your sister here isn’t swoon worthy. I was just telling her about some bastard said I’m too fat to be wearing crop tops. And then Vada wisely pointed out how wrong that is—one, because I’m beautiful—and secondly, because guys are always shirtless, when they don’t even have the best bodies. And then she started telling me how the standard of beauty people have to live up to is too high, anyway, which is all too true. And then she started reading me poetry, to ease my wounded heart… and here we are.”

Max laughed at that, easily being able to understand how Kendra might fall for Vada in that situation, then. She’d always thought that Kendra was straighter than a ruler. But, hey. If she’d been wrong about that, then clearly, she was the one at fault.

The only thing worrying Max here, was that she feared that Vada was being less than sincere. She wanted to believe her sister had told her the truth of it all last night… but Max wouldn’t be alive today if she trusted anyone.

“I think that’s a lovely story,” Max rued, making sure to nod at each one of her girls now.

Though she wondered if Vada noticed that she’d used the word “story”, as if that it could have been a fabrication. Knowing her, probably. They wouldn’t have been the top of the X5 class, if she didn’t. And her violet eyes definitely seemed far-away, in thought.

“I can definitely get why you two would fall for each other. I wish you guys the best. And if you both want this to be your love nest for a while, I can clear out, actually. I’m sure OC wouldn’t mind me rooming with her for a little bit.”

“Can you, Max?” Kendra piped up then, grinning. And the lovely blonde looked so in love, that it was hard to say no to her. This kind of person deserved the world, and could actually have it, and Max wished that fate would actually be kind to her, unlike it was to Max. “I don’t want to be a bad roomie here… but you know what? I’m starting to think that OC had the right of it. Maybe the problem for me was men all along. And this would be the key time for me to find that out.”

Max patted Kendra on the shoulder once, before getting into her cherry icing once more—God, she loved cherry flavored things—and she had to resist the urge to purr like the cat that had gotten the cream. “If you want time to figure out your sexuality, Ken. I can more than oblige by leaving… But I also know my sister can be a little intense,” Max whispered the last into Kendra’s ear now, being careful not to look Vada’s way, so she might now hear her. But she was sure that Vada heard all of this, anyway, with their super hearing. “If she does anything to break your heart, let me know and I’ll kick her ass for you.”

“Will do, Max! You’re the best!” Kendra sang. And Max was just about to make it out of her apartment door then (the icing in hand), when Kendra stopped her with, “Oh! And be sure to tell Logan that, since I’m on vacation, I’ll let him tutor my Japanese class a few times, like he wanted to!”

“…I’ll do that, Ken!” Max promised her. Even though that was the last thing Max wanted to do, because she was trying to stay away from all things Logan right now.

And Max was nearly out the door again, when Vada gently grabbed her arm. “So, have you decided what we’re doing about Jondy?”

And all of the wind left Max’s sails like a snap of fingers. And if she’d been a lesser woman, she would have been crying right now. Because she hated the idea that she was leaving her little sister to Psy-Ops and Lydecker right now.

“We have to get more soldiers, then we’ll come up with a battle plan,” Max assured Vada.

“…Do you think waiting is wise, Max?” Vada challenged, moving a long piece of hair behind her ear as she did, and looking so lovely while doing so.

…Manticore didn’t let you have long hair, of course, at least not while training. Eventually, when they sent you out into the world, they would, if you wanted it. And even though Vada had nearly been overcome, she had still kept her desire for long hair and that part of herself.

Since Jondy had always favored short hair… could that be a sign that she would be more easily overcome? Or was this just a stupid thought that Max was having right now, that had nothing to do with anything?

“You know that Lydecker almost had me. So, if we wait too long with Jondy, do you think her mind-”

“We’ll do as I say, Vada, because I have rank over you, and that’s that!”

What Max didn’t say, of course, was that really, she was a stinking coward and trying to protect her own freedom.

She left for work without another word.

…

“You’re never gonna believe this, Boo,” Original Cindy told Max the moment she strolled into work, jumping to Max’s side, and linking their arms together. “Normal is thinkin’ about sellin’ the place to some Mr. Sivapathasundaram, or somethin’.”

Max choked on her saliva, as she nearly died laughing at that. And Cindy had to hold her up by her arm, as she began falling over, laughing hysterically.

Normal was not pleased by that, of course, as he’d seen the whole thing and was yelling at Max the moment she showed what a “delinquent she was.”

“I’ll have you know that that’s exactly why I’m selling this popsicle stand!” he told her, looking her dead in the eye. “You kids need a reality check! Mr. Sivapathasundaram is going to make Jam Pony run the way it should! He’ll make it a proper place of business! And then you’ll all see how lucky you are to work here, or how lucky you were to have me!” Normal barked.

“When Hell freezes over!” Sketchy coughed into his arm. And Max was about to say “bless you!” to him, but since she was clearly on thin ice with Normal, she figured she’d better not. Then again… maybe she still would. She was having that kind of day, where she thought she needed to do that kind of thing to make herself feel better.

And if the Blue Lady, God, Fate, or whatever had decided to hate her, then they could decide to hate someone else today, too, like Normal. She would happily rain on his parade.

“And, as always, you’re rolling into work late, I see! What’s the excuse this time, missy? Actually, you know what? I don’t want to know. Just get to work! Bip-bip-bip! These packages aren’t going to deliver themselves!”

Max rolled her eyes, and resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at Normal while he walked back to his desk. But she knew she really would be out of a job if she did that.

Max walked to her locker with Original Cindy, to put her lunch away, and also so she, Sketchy, and Herbal (who had just joined them. And it looked like Sky might have been coming out of the woodwork, too) could carry on their conversation about Mr. Sivapathasundaram in peace.

“So, what? Is this guy your typical Republican, Capitalist, nose to the grindstone kind of male?” Max asked, already having nightmares of Jam Pony turning out to be even more like Manticore, and not knowing what she would do if that turned out to be the case.

“Seems abou’ true, mah sista,” Herbal piped up, putting a comforting hand on Max’s shoulder, and she put a hand atop his, too, knowing that he needed to feel better right now, as well. “We must look to the Almighty in er houa a need. This wasa place wher’ anyone could geta job. What’ll we do if thay take that away?”

“We’re not gonna let them, Herbal, that’s what!” Sketchy chimed in now, coming in to put an arm around Herbal’s shoulders… which Max appreciated, because it seemed like the man really needed that. But what she didn’t appreciate, was that the idiot had brought his bike in with him, and was now nearly crushing her and Cindy’s legs as he moved closer to Herbal.

“Sketchy, watch it!” Max bellowed.

“Yeah, seriously fool,” Original Cindy agreed, pulling Max closer to her—where there was less of the bike—for her safety; bless the girl, Max thought. “I know you don’ have all the beauty that home girl and I got. But that don’t mean you gotta take us out ‘cause youse jealous.”

Finally waking up to the mess he was making, as if he was coming out of a fog, Sketchy got his bicycle out of the way with a quick, “Oh! Sorry, guys!”

“Thank you!” Max praised him then, slapping him on the back one good time.

And then Sky continued the conversation the men had been having. “But you guys are right. We gotta find a way to keep him out. We can’t have him ruining slackers here’s dreams everywhere!”

“Although… now that I think about it- I have a thought. If he is your typical Republican, Capitalist, nose to the grindstone male… I wonder if he might help me with something…” Max whispered, an insane thought coming into her head now. “Sketchy, do you have his phone number? I assume you guys were going to try and come up with some crazy prank to keep him away, or whatever?”

“Yeah, chica,” Sketchy acknowledged, handing Max the paper he’d clearly snatched while Normal wasn’t looking. Quite possibly when he’d been chewing out Max before. “Why? You got a better plan?”

“…I maybe do. But you’ll never hear it.”

“What’s that mean?” Sketchy asked, clearly baffled.

But Max had already ran away (at normal speed) to make a phone call on a burner cell. She’d picked it up when dreaming that if her siblings came back into her life, they would, of course, want her to contact them with a number that couldn’t be traced. She hadn’t thought that when she finally found some of them again, it would be like this… but she was glad now that she did have the phone.

The phone rang six times, and Max was starting to get impatient, when someone finally picked up on the other end. “Hello. This is Mr. Sivapathasundaram. Who is this?”

“…Someone who won’t tell you their name yet. Maybe not even ever. But if you really want to get on the ground floor of something… how about working with Eyes Only, and helping him taking down some serious baddies doing human experimentation?”

[mikamangata]

Supernatural: BTS style

Warnings: graphic discriptions of violence, strong language, horror (I tried?)

(Author’s note at the end)

Chapter 2: Mix-up

Boulder, Wyoming

They were running as fast as they could. Jungkook’s feet hurt and his lungs burned as he was dragged along by Taehyung. The darkness and the many trees around them made it hard to see where they were going and some twigs and bushes hit them in the face and scratched their arms and legs every few minutes. Jungkook wanted to stop and rest, but he knew that was impossible. The axe in his rucksack hit against his back painfully and Taehyung’s grip on his wrist was hurting as well.

The two boys couldn’t stop though, they were still being chased and their two persecutors were slowly coming closer. Taehyung didn’t know how long he’d be able to run like this; he was sure that a least two of his ribs were broken and he had to pull Jungkook along, too. The younger boy had to carry their backpack and even though he normally was the fastest runner in their group, it’s heavy weight and his injuries slowed him down drastically. Taehyung told himself that they’d reach their car soon and then they could get the hell out of this place. Besides, even if their pursuers caught up to them, Jungkook would probably kill Taehyung before they could. After all it was entirely the older’s fault that they were in this precarious situation.

Sometimes Taehyung wished Jungkook wasn’t so stubborn. Then at least he would’ve died out here alone and the youngest didn’t have to pay for a mistake the older made. But even though the maknae knew that Taehyung’s plan was absolutely idiotic, he couldn’t just let him venture out into the woods alone at night. He also didn’t want to ‘snitch’ on Taehyung and tell his other Hyungs, so he promptly went with him instead. He really regretted that now, why did he always have to make such poor life choices? Suddenly Taehyung stopped running and Jungkook crashed right into him, both of them falling to the ground with pained groans. “Why did you st-” Jungkook didn’t finish his question because he already had the answer. One of their persecuters was standing right in front of them, grinning like a maniac. Fuck.

Two days earlier:

“Give it back Tae!” Jimin shouted and chased after said laughing boy in the motel room they were staying at. Namjoon and Seokjin had a quiet conversation on one of the four beds, Hoseok sat cuddled up to Jungkook on the bed next to theirs as the two stared intently at the maknae’s laptop screen. Jimin was still chasing Taehyung, who apparently got a hold of his black boxer shorts and was now wildly flailing his arms around while holding them and fleeing from Jimin.

As the bathroom door opened, Yoongi stepped out and was immediately greeted by a pair of black boxers in his face. The whole room fell silent and everyone was looking at him except for Taehyung. The boy started running out of the room as soon as he hit his Hyung in the face with Jimin’s underpants. Yoongi chased after him, his black hair still wet from the shower he had just taken. The sight must have been quiet comical: a tall, lanky boy in blue and yellow giraffe pyjamas being chased by a wet, angry, short guy wearing bright green boxers and a white shirt, both of them barefoot.

After a few minutes Yoongi returned, pulling a whining Taehyung after him by the earlobe. Seokjin got up from his spot on the bed and closed the door after them. Yoongi pushed Taehyung onto one of the unoccupied beds face first and sat down on the small of his back. “I didn’t do it on purpose, Hyung! It was an accident I swear!” Taehyung pleaded but it came out muffled since his face was pressed into one of the pillows. “I know you’re lying you little shit. I saw you aim that thing at me a second before it came flying.” Yoongi rasped right next to Taehyung’s ear and the younger boy shuddered at how close and authoritive he sounded.

Yoongi then grabbed the collar of Taehyung’s weird pyjamas and pulled it a little, exposing the back of his neck. Taehyung gasped softly at the action, already knowing what followed. Yoongi used his right hand to push the younger’s head into the pillow a little further, then he leaned down and bit Taehyung in a firm but gentle way. The younger inhaled sharply and let out a whimper but he didn’t move away. Taehyung liked it when they bit him, it was his guilty pleasure and they all knew it. Yoongi then kissed and sucked on the spot, making Taehyung moan brokenly from the mixture of slight pain and pleasure. Suddenly the mouth on his neck and the weight on top of him disappeared and the younger turned around, confused by the older’s action. But Yoongi was already laying on a different bed, seemingly trying to fall asleep. Taehyung whined loudly and pleaded: “Hyung, don’t just leave me like this!” Yoongi looked at him coldly and answered with a small smirk: “You deserve it, now leave me alone, I want to sleep.” Taehyung huffed annoyedly but didn’t bother Yoongi any further.

They all layed down: Jimin and Jungkook in one bed, Hoseok cuddled up to Yoongi and Namjoon and Seokjin were sharing the bed in the corner. Taehyung listened to all of their breathing for a second until he got up from his bed and cuddled up to Jungkook, so that the maknae was sandwiched between him and Jimin. The boys had to go to sleep this early because they had an important case that needed to be worked on tomorrow.

-

“Okay, quiet down! We’ll start the briefing now.” Namjoon said with a tint of authority in his voice. The group just came back to the motel room from eating breakfast and they were now sitting on the beds, looking at Namjoon expectantly. Said man cleared his throat and said: “In the last month six people died and two went missing in this town. I don’t know much more myself so we just have to investigate.” “How do you know that this is a case? Could be a serial killer or something too.” Seokjin asked him. “One of my dad’s old hunter colleagues, Johnny, heard that we were in Wyoming and called me. Johnny’s friend, who’s also a hunter, is one of the two people still missing. Johnny can’t come because he’s got his hands full with a shapeshifter back in Texas. He’s a nice guy, so let’s do him a favour and look for his buddy.” Namjoon answered. They all hummed or nodded in agreement. “Good. So today they found another body in the woods, Yoongi-hyung and Taehyungie should check that out. Jin-hyung and Hobi will go to the town’s police station to gather some information, see how far they got with the case. Jiminie and I will question the ranger of this area and explore a little, I’m sure there’s a few stories he could tell us, from my experience these guys really like to talk about their 'adventures in the woods’. Kookie, you should try to contact Johnny again, maybe there’s some details he hasn’t told me yet. And ask around in our hunter community, I want to know what kind of person Johnny’s friend is. His name is James Henner, I don’t really know much more so you’ve got a lot to do. Let’s go guys.”

-

“Who’s there? I’ll hang up if you don’t answer right now.” a rough, unfriendly voice asked at the other line of the phone. “My name is Jungkook, Jungkook Jeon. Please don’t hang up, Mr. Cale.” Jungkook pleaded into the phone. “Jungkook? That’s a weirdass name you’ve got there. How the fuck do you know my name and how the hell did you get this number?!” Johnny Cale asked angrily. “I-I’m friends with Namjoon Kim, we hunt t-toghether. I just wanted to a-ask you some questions about your f-friend James Henner. I’m calling from B-Boulder, Wyoming.” Jungkook stuttered. The boy couldn’t help it, talking to people he didn’t know was always one of his weaknesses. “Jesus Christ kid, calm down. You’re stuttering so bad I can barely understand you.” The man said with a nicer, nearly soothing voice. He reminded him of Yoongi, a little. “S-sorry. Do you have information about Mr. Henner? Did he tell you about any leads he had? Why he came to this a-area?” Jungkook asked, less nervous now that the guy was starting to become friendly. “I don’t know much, he contacted me a few weeks ago to tell me that he’d heard something about people disappearing back in Wyoming. He went there to investigate and since then I haven’t heard anything. Jim’s a good guy and an even better hunter. Whatever the hell got him must be dangerous, Jim’s not a guy who makes dumb mistakes. He’s the best hunter I know, well apart from you guys.” Johnny said.

“Us? I thought you only knew Namjoon-hyung.” Jungkook asked stunnedly. “Well, yeah. I met little Joon a few years ago, worked toghether with his old man on a case all the way back in freaking South Korea. I’ve never been on a plane before, that shit’s fucking scary. Anyways, since Joon left his family and went to the states with you guys, his dad told me to keep an eye on him. But it really wasn’t necessary. You quickly made yourselves a name in the business, I can tell you that. We hunters all heard about a group of Korean kids solving cases all over the place. The vampire nest in Texas, the haunting of the Bailey house in Colorado and all the other things you’ve killed and exorcised. You’re doing an amazing job. How old are you, anyways? You sound pretty young. And are you from a hunter family too, like Joon?” The man asked. He seemed exited. “I’m sixteen, but I’m gonna be seventeen soon so I’m not a kid anymore! And I’m not originally from a hunter family, Jiyong Kwon took me in when I was six.” Jungkook said, a weird tone in his voice when he finished his sentence. “Jiyong Kwon? I knew I heard your name before! You’re one of the kids Jiyong took care of after…uhm yeah well, no wonder you’re so good at what you’re doing. I mean I have my connections to South Korea but even my friends who have no idea about what’s going on in Asia have heard of the Jiyong Kwon. He’s a fucking legend. You probably hear it a lot, but I’m sorry for your loss kid, must’ve been hard.” Johnny said. The way he said it was so honest, with such an understanding tone that Jungkook got choked up for a second before he answered: “Thanks. And it was hard, but I had someone to take care of me. Thank you for the information on Mr. Henner, we’ll do everything we can to find your friend.” “No, problem. Stay safe kid, you and your crew. If you need anything, feel free to call me. We hunters take care of our own.” Then he hung up.

Jungkook sighed. This call had sent him onto an emotional rollercoaster that he wasn’t prepared for and he didn’t get a lot of information on James Henner either. He texted Namjoon that it was a dead-end and then took out his black, leather bound notebook. Jungkook pressed it against his chest and layed down.

-

“I’m Special Agent Cheng and this is my partner Special Agent Lau.” Yoongi said sternly and him and Taehyung showed the officer in front of them their fake FBI ID. “My name is officer Tuckert. I’m glad you’re here. Come on, I’ll show you the body.” The female officer held up the yellow crime scene tape so that the two men could walk under it. They walked down a small path, getting further away from where all the police vehicles and their own blue Camaro was parked. The woman led them to a clearing with several police officers standing around a lump on the ground. When Taehyung and Yoongi stepped closer, they saw that the lump was a body. Yoongi immediately put on blue latex gloves and went up to the corpse to inspect it further. It was a middle aged man with blonde hair and big, green eyes. He was extremely pale and cold. Yoongi took one of his arms and tried moving it, the limb didn’t budge. “The guy’s dead for at least fourteen hours, the rigor mortis has already reached the bigger joints. There is a wound on the side of his neck, right at his carotid artery. He wasn’t killed here, there’s no blood. His wrists and ankles show signs of being bound toghether, there’s bruising around all of the four joints. He’s barefoot but there aren’t any wounds on his feet, so he didn’t run before he was killed. Do we know who he is?” Yoongi said, looking at the officers around him. Half of them took out notebooks and wrote down almost every word Yoongi had said, the other half looked at him stunnedly. Yoongi rolled his eyes; 'a bunch of noobs, great’, he thought. Then the female officer spoke up: “We don’t know who he is, he doesn’t have an ID on him. A jogger found him about an hour ago, we already asked her but she didn’t see anything suspicious and she doesn’t know the victim, either.”

As Yoongi continued inspecting the corpse, Taehyung started to look around. They were at a small clearing in the woods, near the road. The body layed in the middle of the clearing, for everyone to see. “Whoever dumped the corpse here is strong. There’s no trampled grass or broken bushes, nothing that indicates that the body was dragged here. So the person, or most likely two people, must have carried him here. It is also unlikely that they came with a car, since the road would have been to risky, somebody could’ve seen something. They probably came from inside the woods and dumped him here. They could’ve just dug up a hole and bury him but the people who did this put him in the middle of the clearing, for everyone to see. They’re confident and they want to send us a message. Something along the lines of: 'We’re here, notice us. We’re not scared of you, look what we can do’. They seem extremely arrogant.” Taehyung said. Yoongi got up from where he crouched next to the corpse and said: “We have everything we need. You should search the area for evidence, maybe you’ll find something interesting. Our colleagues probably already visited the police station. Thank you for your coorporation.” Both young men nodded respectfully and went back to their car.

“Hyung, what do you think? I’m not even sure if this is a case.” Taehyung said. The boy sat on the passenger’s seat next to Yoongi, who was driving them back to the motel. “I’m pretty sure it’s a case. These wounds on that guy’s neck, they look like they’re from a vampire.” Yoongi answered. “A vampire? That’s so cool! They’re so rare, the last time we had to deal with those was ages ago in Texas! And back then only you guys had the fun since Jiminie and I were still to young to go with you, but this time is different!” Taehyung exclaimed enthusiastically. Yoongi smiled at him fondly and they drove back to the motel.

-

“I’m Special Agent Lim and this is my partner Special Agent Park. We’re here to investigate the murders and disappearances of all those people in the last month. Please tell us about the bodies.” Seokjin said. He and Hoseok were currently standing in the morgue under the police station, in front of them were six tables, six corpses covered with white sheets. The doctor in front of them sighed and answered: “I hope this stops soon. They all died the same cause, blood loss. I can’t explain it, but none of them had more than a few millilitres of blood in their bodies. They all have almost identical wounds on their neck. They appear to be some kind of bite marks, and by the looks of it they are from two different animals of the same species. But none of the victims show any signs of other wounds. Whatever happened to them, they didn’t defend themselves, and it takes time for someone to lose such a huge amount of blood.” “Are there any differences between the corpses? Anything that sticks out? And did you test their blood for any drugs? Maybe they didn’t resist because they were out.” Hoseok asked. “We tested everyone’s blood without any results and there wasn’t anything that was different with one of the victims.” The doctor answered. “Okay, thank you for the information. It was nice to meet you.” Seokjin said and the two young men turned to leave. “Likewise”, the doctor answered.

“Sounds like vampires, if you ask me. But not such a big nest like we encountered back in Texas, it looks like there’s only two of them this time.” Hoseok concluded as they walked out of the police station and back to the motel. “Yeah, it really seems like vampires. Let’s find out what the other got.” Seokjin said.

-

“Hyung, I think I see the ranger’s house!” Jimin exclaimed as they drove through the woods. Their black Impala wasn’t really a great off-road car and the pathway wasn’t concreted and Namjoon worried that Yoongi would scold him for driving in this place and possibly damaging the car. They parked near the shabby front porch of the cottage got out of the car and knocked on the door. A man in his early forties opened and smiled at them. “I’m Ranger Thomson, how can I help you?” He asked. Namjoon returned his friendly smile and answered: “My name is Todd Lee and this is my brother Christian”, he pointed at Jimin, “we want to go on our first own hiking trip this weekend! But since we’ve never done anything like this before, maybe you could tell us about the best tracks and give us some tips?” As soon as Namjoon asked that, the ranger lost his smile and said: “You want to go hiking? Here? That’s not a good idea.” “What? Why not? This place is beautiful.” Jimin asked with big eyes and false wonder. “Well, I don’t want to scare you guys but…there’s something here in the woods. I’m not sure if it’s an animal or something else, but in the last few weeks many campers and hikers like you just disappeared. Most of them were found dead later but some are still missing. I’m patrolling here every single day but I just can’t find the thing that did it and I’m not sure anymore if it’s an animal anymore. There’s no tracks no evidence no nothing. You don’t want to be out here at night. It’s not safe and there’s weird things going on around here.” Mr. Thomson said. The tone of his voice told Namjoon and Jimin that what he said was certainly true. The ranger even seemed scared. “That’s horrible! Brother, I’m scared! I don’t want to go hiking anymore!” Jimin exaggerated and theatrically pulled on Namjoon’s arm. “There, there. Calm down, Chris. We’ll just go to a different place. Thank you for warning us, sir. You might’ve just saved me and my brother.” Namjoon told the ranger. “Ah, it’s no problem, really. Besides, it’s my job to keep people around here safe. Have a nice day, young men!” Mr. Thomson said and walked back to the house. “You too!” Jimin called after him as the two made their way to the car to drive back to the motel.

-

Taehyung and Yoongi were the first ones to arrive back at the motel. As Taehyung opened the door, his eyes immediately fell onto the lump on one of the beds. He layed down next to the pile of blankets and poked it gently. “Kookie-ah? Hyungs are back.” Taehyung said. The lump moved a little, a mess of black hair and swollen eyes looking at him. “What’s wrong? Did something happen? Are you hurt?” Taehyung asked. His alarmed tone got Yoongi’s attention and the oldest in the room went up to the bed and removed the blankets from the maknae. Jungkook looked like he cried, but he didn’t seem physically hurt. “Tell your Hyungs what happened kid.” Yoongi said with a soothing voice and leaned against the headboard so Jungkook could cuddle up to him. The maknae immediately did that and hid his face in Yoongi’s neck. Taehyung then noticed the black leather bound book on the nightstand and asked: “Is it about Appa?” Jungkook nodded and stuttered through his tears: “I-I called Joonie-hyung’s friend and he said that he knew Jiyongie-hyung and I-I don’t know w-why I’m crying.” Both boys cuddled closer to their maknae as he sobbed quietly; Taehyung sighed and intertwined their fingers before he answered: “It’s okay to still be sad sometimes, you know. We both love him a lot and he did so much for the two of us. The pain of losing someone doesn’t just go away. But the weight gets lighter-well…maybe we just become stronger. It’s okay to cry, you know that we all have to do that sometimes, Hyungs too. So don’t be ashamed.” Jungkook nodded, put his forehead against Taehyung’s and shyly said: “I-I love you, Taetae-hyung.” The older boy smiled, pecked him on the lips and answered: “Hyung loves you too, Kookie.” “What about me?” Yoongi fake pouted to cheer the youngest up. Jungkook smiled and gave Yoongi a short kiss as well. “I love you too, Hyung.” He said, blushing a little.

-

Jungkook woke up to the sound of someone hitting a piece of furniture and quietly cursing: “Holy bananas! That freaking hurt!” The maknae rolled his eyes and asked into the darkness of the room: “Taehyungie-hyung, what are you doing?” The clock on his nightstand read 1:30 in the morning. After the others came back they had a long briefing, all evidence pointing at two vampires lurking somewhere around the area. The boys then got some food and went straight to bed so that they could hunt in the morning. “Nothing, go back to sleep.” Taehyung said and walked to the door. “Tell me what’s going on or I’ll wake up the others!” Jungkook warned. The older of the two turned around and answered: “I think I know where the vampire’s hideout is. There’s a farm a few miles west from here, right around where most of the victims were kidnapped and found.” Taehyung proudly showed him a map with a big red circle and a red dot inside of it. “And you want to go there? Alone? Are you crazy?!” Jungkook whisper-yelled. “Come on, our five oldest Hyungs killed twelve vampires back in Texas, I think I can handle two on my own. I doubt there’ll be another chance for me to fight one of these things and I always wanted to!” Taehyung said confidently. “Then I’ll come with you. I won’t let you go there alone, that would be crazy!” Jungkook said quietly but with a lot of determination. Taehyung knew that the maknae wasn’t going to back down. He sighed and said: “Fine, but you’ll carry the backpack.”

-

“Are you really sure about this?” Jungkook asked sceptically looking at the map as Taehyung shouldered a shotgun and put a pistol, some ammunition, two knives and an axe into the backpack. Jungkook groaned as he heaved the rucksack onto his back. “Yeah, it’s the right place. It has been abandoned for years and look”, Taehyung excitedly pointed at one of the dirty windows on the top floor of the old house, “there’s a light on!” The boys sneaked up to the back of the shabby barn and quietly pushed a door open. It was even colder on the inside and it smelled like something died in there. 'It probably did’, Jungkook thought grimly. There was an open space in the middle of the barn, with stables around it and a ladder to the second floor. It was eerily quiet as the boys made their way around the barn, avoiding the middle since they could be seen easily from there. Taehyung went around the left side, holding a shotgun and Jungkook around the right, gripping a pistol tightly in his hands. They knew that these weapons didn’t help much against vampires, but a good hit could knock them out for a while and give the two hunters time to cut the creatures’ heads off. There were rustling sounds here and there, cutting through the tension-filled silence like a sharpened knife. Suddenly something rushed across the room behind Taehyung. The boy turned around, startled by the sudden noise. But the thing was so fast that it was already gone again. Before getting the chance to turn back around, something hit Taehyung’s side. With a painful crack the boy was catapulted across the barn and against the wall next to a shocked Jungkook. “Hyung!” The maknae screamed and ran up to him, Taehyung was knocked out cold, but still alive. The youngest crouched next to Taehyung when he felt it. All the tiny hairs in his neck stood up and he got goosebumps everywhere. Jungkook slowly turned around with his gun held in a tight grip. But…wait. That thing in front of him wasn’t a vampire, Jungkook realised. It looked like a woman, but her eyes had weirdly formed pupils with an unusually green colour and her teeth stood out aswell. They were sharp and big, but not like vampire fangs. Jungkook’s whole body filled with dread. If this thing wasn’t a vampire, what else could it be? Suddenly the creature took a step forward and hit the maknae’s hand, successfully disarming him. Then the beast hit him, hard. Jungkook fell to the ground next to Taehyung, both of them blacked out.

-

“Wake the hell up!” Jungkook heard and suddenly he was wet and cold all over. He opened his eyes, shocked after getting woken up by a bucket of freezing water to his face. The youngest looked around; the thing that knocked both him and Taehyung out was standing right in front of them. Jungkook was still in the barn, but he was bound against a chair, back to back with Taehyung. The maknae realised that his Hyung started to wake up after hearing a groan from him. “Good. So now that you’re both awake, let’s ask some questions. The rules are simple: answer nicely, and I won’t hurt you that bad.” The woman-like creature said and grinned evilly. “We’re not gonna do anything for you! What the hell are you and what do you want from us?!” Taehyung shouted angrily. Jungkook tried freeing his hands but they were bound tightly with Taehyungs’ against the back of their chairs and the rope was cutting into the maknaes’ wrists. “Oh don’t worry, I’ll make you talk. And what I am is none of your business. Now tell me; How the hell did you find us? And are there more than just you two?” The monster asked after stepping close to Taehyung. But the boy was having none of it and spat right into her face. She immediately turned away, wiping her cheek with a disgusted frown. “Oh you’ll regret that.” She uttered under her breath as she walked closer to Jungkook, hitting him right in the face. The youngest’s head was flung back by the sheer force of the punch and blood spilled from both his nose and mouth. The woman gripped his neck and started squeezing tightly. “You fucking bitch! I’ll kill you, I swear to god you’ll regret the day you were born if you don’t let go of him right now!” Jungkook had never heard Taehyung sound so angry. He weezed quietly since he was still unable to breathe and black dots started to appear in his vision. “Please let go of him, I’ll do everything you want just please stop it! He’s dying!” Taehyung begged brokenly. The woman laughed wickedly. “Ha! I knew you’d crack like that! I’m not gonna waste my precious time torturing you, I know that won’t work. But the young one, he’s your weakness. I just have to hurt him a little and you’ll tell me everything I need to know.” She let go of him just as Jungkook thought he was going to pass out. Taehyung didn’t say anything but his head was hanging low. They were screwed and they knew it.

The woman stuck her hand into her pocket but after rummaging for a while she looked at the boys in a displeased manner. “Wait here for a second, alright? I’ll be right back with my lighter. You have a pretty face, young one. It will be my honour to destroy it.” With that said she walked off, smirking. As soon as she was out of sight, Taehyung wispered: “Kookie, are you okay? I’m so sorry.” Jungkook felt awfully dizzy and it was hard for him to answer and think, but he managed to rasp: “I’m fine, don’t worry Hyung. Can you reach my right back pocket? The motel keys are inside.” Taehyung nodded and reached for the maknae’s pocket. After a few minutes of annoyingly slow progress he finally had the keys in his hands and started to use them to cut through the rope that bound their hands together. He successfully freed himself and then started to work on Jungkook’s wrists and feet. The youngest didn’t look very good; there was blood coming out of his mouth and nose, ugly bruises already forming on his upper lip and neck. At least his nose wasn’t broken and his teeth were intact. Just as Jungkook stood up, the door opened and the woman came back with an unfamiliar man at her side. “Shit, how the fuck did you get free?!” She screamed and the man scolded her harshly: “I fucking told you to paralyse them with your venom!” “But then they wouldn’t be able to answer our questions!” She defended herself. Als the two creatures started arguing, Taehyung grabbed Jungkook by the wrist and pulled him towards the back entrance. The youngest grabbed their rucksack, which was laying near the place they both got knocked out and the boys started running.

They had already reached the woods when they heard the door of the barn burst open again with a huge force. The two young hunters were running as fast as they could, but both of them were hurt and they didn’t really know where to go because it was dark and the trees also blocked their lines of sight. As the boys ran, Taehyung frantically looked around, searching for their blue Camaro.

Now:

“Why did you st-” Jungkook didn’t finish his question because he already had the answer. One of their persecuters was standing right in front of them, grinning like a maniac. Fuck. Taehyung immediately got off the ground and pulled Jungkook up with him, standing in front of the youngest protectively. Jungkook quickly took off his backpack and pulled out a gun, handing it to Taehyung who aimed it at the man in front of them right away. “The gun won’t do a thing, they’re not vampires.” Jungkook whispered. “You’re a clever kid, huh? And you’re pretty too, such a shame that I have to rip you apart.” The man said, licking his lips disgustingly. Jungkook swallowed, hard. He didn’t want to die like this, at night in a stupid forest with his stupid Hyung. Oh god, he couldn’t let Taehyung die, not him. The thought alone scared and shocked him so entirely to the core that a small tear slowly rolled down his cheek. “Oh no Will, you made the little one cry! That poor thing!” The woman appeared next to the man and taunted him. Taehyung stepped back a little and pressed himself even closer to Jungkook, the youngest gripping the back of his Hyung’s jacket tightly. “I love you, Jungkook. Never forget that, alright?” Taehyung whispered. Now Jungkook couldn’t hold it back anymore and he openly sobbed, the thought of having to see his Hyung dying taking over his mind. As the two creatures slowly stepped closer, the boys walked backwards until a loud gunshot sliced through the tense silence.

As soon as the first shot was fired, it seemed as if thousands followed. Taehyung pushed Jungkook to the ground and layed on top of him protectively. Relief filled the maknae as he caught glimpses of his Hyungs in the chaotic battle. The youngest looked around and shouted with all his might: “Yoongi-hyung! Stab their hearts with your silver knife! They’re vetalas, so nothing else will work!” Yoongi looked at him shortly and pulled out his knife. He ran up to the woman and tackled her, throwing both of them to the ground. Yoongi then pushed his dagger agonisingly slow into the creature’s chest and twisted it. She let out a horrified scream as her body crumbled apart. Yoongi dusted himself off and ran up to Seokjin, Hoseok and Namjoon, who were holding down the male. Yoongi rammed his dagger into the man’s chest and twisted it to the right. The monster screeched in pain and turned to dust, just like his female counterpart.

Silence followed, the only thing breaking it was their heavy breathing. After a few seconds of just staring at each other, Jungkook squeezed himself from under Taehyung and ran into Seokjin’s arms, his oldest Hyung immediately holding him tight in a protective, motherly way only Seokjin could master. The youngest’s rapid breathing got slower, all the events of the night came crashing down on him and he clutched Seokjin’s jacket like a lifeline. “Aigoo, Kookie. It’s okay, Hyungs are here. We’ll go back to the motel, okay? You’re safe now, I promise.” The oldest said soothingly.

-

“Can you please hold still? I can’t check if there’s any serious damage if you’re so fidgety Taehyung!” Seokjin scolded him with an annoyed tone. Taehyung was laying on the bed, shirtless. Seokjin sat on a chair beside him, trying to inspect the younger’s ribcage. “But it hurts and your hands are cold, Hyung!” Taehyung whined. “Joonie, can you please come and help me? Just hold him still for a while.” The oldest said and Namjoon nodded. The leader sat down on the bed, his front to Taehyung’s back, and grabbed the younger’s arms from behind, sucessfully hindering his movements. Seokjin started gently pressing down on his side, right next to where the bruising was and Taehyung let out a pained whimper. “I-it doesn’t hurt a-anymore, I-I’m fine. Just please s-stop.” Taehyung begged but was interrupted by his own pained gasps every few seconds. “Shh, baby. You know I have to do this to find out if something’s broken. I’m really sorry for what I’m about to do.” Seokjin said empathetically and pressed down right on top of the bruises. Taehyung threw his head back onto Namjoon’s shoulder and let out a loud wail. The oldest gently prodded at Taehyung’s ribs for another few seconds and then let go as soon as possible. “I’m done, baby. Nothing’s broken, just badly bruised. I’ll apply a little salve that will soothe the bruised skin and take some of the pain away. You’re gonna feel better in no time.” Seokjin promised gently. Taehyung was shaking with sobs, hiding his face in the leader’s neck as the oldest applied the ointment on his caramel skin. Namjoon whispered sweet nothings into his ear and stroked his uninjured side soothingly.

As soon as they were done, Seokjin went to the bathroom to look for Jungkook. Meanwhile the leader took off his own shirt and layed down behind Taehyung, making him the little spoon. The second youngest pressed himself closer to Namjoon’s front, finding comfort in the skin to skin contact.

When Seokjin opened the bathroom door, he was greeted with a heartwarming sight; Jungkook sat on the sink only in his black underwear, Yoongi between his legs with Jimin and Hoseok at his sides holding his hands. The second oldest was gently dabbing away the blood on the maknae’s face with a damp washcloth. Jungkook winced here and there but was immediately shushed by Hoseok and Jimin lightly squeezing his hands and softly stroking his thighs. When they were done, Jimin picked Jungkook up and carried him to one of the double beds, laying him down gently. The third youngest cuddled up to him on one side while Hoseok layed down on the other.

“We nearly lost our two youngest today, this can never happen again.” Yoongi said seriously as he stood next to Seokjin, overlooking all the nearly-asleep boys. “I know, it was way to close. But I don’t want to punish them, what they went through tonight showed them the severity of the situation. And Taehyung is already beating himself up about it.” Seokjin answered with a sad tone in his voice. “Joon’s friend, that Johnny guy; We need to contact him in the morning and tell him everything that happened. I think that the body they discovered yesterday was James Henner.” Yoongi said and Seokjin sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Sometimes this job sucks.” The oldest said, sounding like he was tired of life itself. “Let’s go to sleep, Hyung.” Yoongi answered and they both layed down next to each other, staring up at the ceiling while intertwining their fingers.

“I know it’s hard, but somebody has to do it. And we’ll keep each other safe, whatever happens. I have the utmost trust in every single one of you.” Namjoon’s slightly raspy voice broke the silence and after a few minutes, they all fell into a dreamless sleep.

——

Author’s note: There’s the second chapter! I hope it’s a little better than the first one, I’m still trying to find my own style of writing.^^ Please comment if there are mistakes, so that I can correct them and improve, and maybe leave some constructive critisism, that would help me out lots! Thanks for reading!!!☺️

[runesrule]

"Girls kick ass; says so on a t-shirt”: Feminism in James Cameron’s ‘Dark Angel’

Author’s note: goes without saying the following meta contains some spoilers, and language warning coz it’s me writing it. Now, read on. 

Recently, I have dived into a re-watch of James Cameron’s cyberpunk/biopunk scifi Dark Angel. The first time I watched Dark Angel was sometime around 2009-2010 mark, and a few things about it made a serious impact on my budding ideas of feminism. The series, which ran for two seasons from 2000-2002, is the story of Max, a genetically-engineered super-soldier (or ‘transgenic’) who escapes the top-secret government facility known as Manticore as a child. She, along with twelve of her ‘siblings’ split up in order to disappear into a ‘pseudo-post-apocalyptic police state’ AKA a United States of America where an Electromagnetic Pulse has wiped out most of the technology pre-2009. She eventually becomes entangled with Eyes Only, an idealistic hacker battling police corruption and the oppressive regime which controls Seattle, where most of the action in the series happens. Eyes Only AKA Logan Cale, is a cyberjournalist played by Michael Weatherby. 

James Cameron has said that Max is medium of bringing back the ‘tough, female warrior’ to our TV screens, and for most part, he succeeded. The character, played by Jessica Alba, poses an interesting question in regards to feminism. On one hand, Max AKA X5-452, is undoubtedly a warrior; a bad-ass, ass-kicker with a banging bod, who oozes female sexuality and doesn’t back down from a fight. However, it really isn’t Max’s downright lethal fighting skills, or her sharp, scalding wit that make her memorable to me. It’s her relationships throughout the series with other women that always attracted me to the series, and to the character herself. In the first season is Max’s roommate, the perky, blonde Kendra as well as the wonderful series regular, Original Cindy, a black, gay woman who is Max’s best friend, as well as Asha, the idealistic crusader against government corruption. Asha’s one of those characters who gets dismissed as the unwanted third point on the inevitable love triangle. She’s introduced as a further complication in Max and Logan’s heart-wrenching love story in the second season (Uh, geez, Cliffnotes version: Max gets injected with a virus that’s targeted directly for Logan’s DNA sequence, when Manticore discovers his secret identity as Eyes Only). The thing is, Asha is so much damn more than simply a love interest. She’s a fighter for the S1W, a group of activists working with Eyes Only to fight the good fight, a great friend to Logan, and a genuinely decent human being. Ultimately, despite her position as the ‘other woman’ in the narrative, she and Max not only find common ground, but on more than one occasion, the two of them actively display mutual respect for one another. As rare and uncommon as that is in the love triangle trope, it’s the fact that despite initial hostilities between them—to be fair, Max is basically hostile to everyone she doesn’t know and love—they manage to move beyond the romantic entanglements. It’s a refreshing example of women supporting women, despite the narrative having every opportunity to pit them against one another in a bikini-wearing, wet t-shirt catfight to the death. It might be my lifetime membership to the SHARON CARTER IS NOT HERE TO BE STEVE ROGERS’ GODDAMN LOVE INTEREST club, but I really, really adore Asha and Max’s relationship. Next up to the discussion booth is the one, the only, the incredible Cynthia McEachin AKA ‘Original Cindy’. Hit me up: how many black, gay women who wear their natural hair, are nurturing and kind as well as sassy and unafraid to throw a few punches are actually represented in today’s media? Right?? Anyway, Original Cindy is Max’s best friend. She’s sex-positive as hell and multi-faceted. She’s also a normal-sized human, which is a nice element to have when Jessica Alba is running around being lithe and tiny and fit as hell. I am one thousand percent here for more Original Cindy’s in popular culture. Firstly, she has an understandable what the actual fuck reaction to finding out that her best friend is a genetically engineered super-soldier on the run from shady Men In Black types who will kill and maim whoever they have to in order to get their hands on her. Then, when she’s processed, she stands by Max, unhesitatingly. At one point, she literally puts herself between Max and a sniper’s rifle while pretending to be Max’s hostage. (However, she’s also biphobic as hell, uses some fairly transphobic language at one point in Season One and the one time Cindy gets a grounded, well-rounded love interest, Diamond gets stuck in the ‘bury your gays’ plot. Horrifically.) Of course, no discussion of feminism is complete without addressing our transwomen. I guess the fact that there is actually something to discuss gives the show props? I’m cisgender, so I’m not qualified to write from any platform of authority. The facts are this: Louise is a transwoman (who, by the way, is played by a transwoman Jessica Crockett) and lesbian who dates our heroine’s hard-to-like boss Normal before realising she’s gay. I would love to hear from any transwomen who might have watched Dark Angel, and what they think of Louise. As I said, a lot of the language surrounding Louise’s split second feature in a S1 filler ep is problematic and dated. She’s kind of outed against her will when Original Cindy rifles through her purse in order to find out what kind of woman would go out with Normal at all. The thing that always stuck in my mind is that Normal doesn’t give a shit that she’s trans, and it’s only the fact that she likes women that stops him from pursuing her romantically. To continue on the ‘Your favs are problematic’ roll I’ve got going now, let’s talk about Annie. Annie is introduced in Season 2 as a love interest for Joshua, a Manticore experiment who has ‘dog in his cocktail’ resulting in some altered facial features and super senses, as well as truly abominable table manners. She’s a black, blind woman who receives a grand total of three episodes before being unceremoniously murdered by Season 2’s antagonist Ames White. Her death facilitates Joshua moving to Terminal City, where the grand finale of the series goes down. Phew, boy. It’s telling that I completely forgot about Annie’s existence until this recent re-watch. The thing that drives me completely mad is that narratively there were ways around this. Sure, there always is, but sometimes character deaths are the most straight-forward, least convulated way to move a plot forward. I’m a writer, I get that. Sometimes it sucks, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Annie’s death did not have to happen. Sure, her murder by White shocks the audience into realising that Ames is indeed a monster (There were some episodes preceeding this one where his attitude towards his Murder All The Non-Humans deal seems to be softening slightly), and forces Joshua to move to Terminal City, where they find the rest of the Manticore transgenics and stage a last stand. But… Annie’s murder takes place during a chase to find Joshua in the labryth-like setting of the sewers under the city. Another series regular, Max’s workmate and friend the dorky, lovable Sketchy, is also in the sewers, chasing the story for his beloved gossip rag. He emerges, unscathed from the battle, while Annie is left behind to die at Ames’ hands. Now, Sketchy has had a heap of close calls: he’s been kidnapped by the government goons chasing Max and released on the assumption that he’s a bumbling idiot (Spoiler alert: he’s actually not) He’s also been knocked out by Max on more than one occasion and nearly beaten to death by a bunch of ‘steel-heads’: cybernetically enhanced punks. Sketchy is comic relief. He’s the jester of the court; you want to wound our heroes and shock the audience? Take him out. This is a character we’ve been rolling our eyes and laughing at for two straight seasons, and he would have died before we saw his redemption from hating the transgenics to realising that he’s best friends with two of them in Alec and Max. How is that not just as tragic as Annie’s death? I suppose because Sketchy is a loud, skinny white boy not a gentle, helpless blind woman whom Joshua loves, because as always Man Pain™ must win out. (I mean no disrespect to Joshua; Joshua is a golden retriever human and must be protected at all costs) See, Sketchy dies in the sewers, our heroes are collectively enraged and heart-broken, and Joshua still moves to Terminal City because it could have been Annie who died, I must protect her, whine-whine, howl at the moon, love sucks. See? We get to keep Annie and her guide dog Billie alive, and the plot continues in the exact same way, Man Pain™ included. 

So I don’t mean to try and make out that ‘Dark Angel’ is a bad show. It may fall victim a little to the our strong female lead is strong because she can kill twenty grown men with her little finger while wearing booty shorts and a bikini top type of thinking, but it is genuinely a really cool, female-led scifi with a unique idea and really cool, edgy world-building. 

Max is one of those heroes that sticks around in your head, and despite the unsatisfactory finale, ‘Dark Angel’ is a show seriously worth the watch. 

[stonequake]

This is what I do hwen I’m bored

1.Who was the last person you held hands with? this answer would normally be my boyfriend but oddly enough it is a random boy in the pit at billy talent who just held hands with me during a song i cried a little

2. Are you outgoing or shy? pretty shy

3. Who are you looking forward to seeing? my boyfriend tomorrow, my best friend soon

4. Are you easy to get along with? usually

5. If you were drunk would the person you like take care of you? I’m usually the one taking care of people even when I’m drunk

6. What kind of people are you attracted to? weirdos, very emotive people, sincere, thoughtful, artsy, quiet, contemplative people, alternative ppl

7. Do you think you’ll be in a relationship two months from now? yes

8. Who from the opposite gender is on your mind? from the opposite gender? bob ross

9. Does talking about sex make you uncomfortable? not really talking about it

10. Who was the last person you had a deep conversation with? cale

11. What does the most recent text that you sent say? “ *flap* :( “

12. What are your 5 favorite songs right now? damn uh if I had to split-second choose: -  something weird by awful din

fuck shit up by ghost mice

good enough by tiny moving parts

common cold also by tiny moving parts

carjack by greys

13. Do you like it when people play with your hair? oh fuck yes

14. Do you believe in luck and miracles? I don’t believe in it but my brain often makes me act on it

15. What good thing happened this summer? i can’t even remember last month

16. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again? fuck no, unless we’re counting the little one I gave cale, then of course

17. Do you think there is life on other planets? of course

18. Do you still talk to your first crush? I don’t think I ever even talked to my first crush I was like 7

19. Do you like bubble baths? ya

20. Do you like your neighbours? she abuses her dogs

21. What are you bad habits? I have so many, washing my hands is probably one of them, staying up too late

22. Where would you like to travel? everywhere fr

23. Do you have trust issues? I don’t think in that way

24. Favorite part of your daily routine? doin my makeup

25. What part of your body are you most uncomfortable with? I’m pretty comfortable with my body nowadays, probably my nose or teeth

26. What do you do when you wake up? go on my phone, piss, eat cereal

27. Do you wish your skin was lighter or darker? i wish it wasn’t so blotchy

28. Who are you most comfortable around? cale

29. Have any of your ex’s told you they regret breaking up? uh

30. Do you ever want to get married? idk

31. If your hair long enough for a pony tail? yea

32. Which celebrities would you have a threesome with? ummm évelyne brochu and hugh dancy

33. Spell your name with your chin. elkhyxd

34. Do you play sports? What sports? I swim and ski

35. Would you rather live without TV or music? I already live without TV

36. Have you ever liked someone and never told them? who has not

37. What do you say during awkward silences? nothing

38. Describe your dream girl/guy? cool

39. What are your favorite stores to shop in? uh west 49 and like, winners

40. What do you want to do after high school? I’m not in high school and i’m doing nothing basically

41. Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance? generally

42. If your being extremely quiet what does it mean? nothing unusual

43. Do you smile at strangers? yes

44. Trip to outer space or bottom of the ocean? space

45. What makes you get out of bed in the morning? the fact that dad got milk last night so I can have cereal

46. What are you paranoid about? like everything. catching sickness especially

47. Have you ever been high? yea

48. Have you ever been drunk? yea

49. Have you done anything recently that you hope nobody finds out about? not /nobody/

50. What was the colour of the last hoodie you wore? black like my emo ass

51. Ever wished you were someone else? ya

52. One thing you wish you could change about yourself? my functioning, how I dissociate, make my voice stronger thats 3

53. Favourite makeup brand? low end is either nyx or elf, high end is too faced

54. Favourite store? #39

55. Favourite blog? qckdn

56. Favourite colour? grey or maroon

57. Favourite food? man idk, shrimp tacos maybe

58. Last thing you ate? wonton soup

59. First thing you ate this morning? cereal ?!

60. Ever won a competition? For what? can;t remember

61. Been suspended/expelled? For what? no

62. Been arrested? For what?n o

63. Ever been in love? yes

64. Tell us the story of your first kiss? can’t even remember

65. Are you hungry right now? nah

66. Do you like your tumblr friends more than your real friends? I don’t even really have tumblr friends

67. Facebook or Twitter? neither

68. Twitter or Tumblr? tumblr

69. Are you watching tv right now? no

70. Names of your best friends? pat and mat and cat

71. Craving something? What? death lol

72. What colour are your towels? most of them are shades of blue

72. How many pillows do you sleep with? two

73. Do you sleep with stuffed animals? yes

74. How many stuffed animals do you think you have? on my bed, like TEN

75. Favourite animal? I love penguins and bats and foxes and owls

76. What colour is your underwear? I think lilac

77. Chocolate or Vanilla? choc

78. Favourite ice cream flavour? bublegum

79. What colour shirt are you wearing? black :-(

80. What colour pants? grey

81. Favourite tv show? hannibal

82. Favourite movie? mmm idk spiderman

83. Mean Girls or Mean Girls 2? 1

84. Mean Girls or 21 Jump Street? 21 js

85. Favourite character from Mean Girls? uh idk the weird gay one

86. Favourite character from Finding Nemo? that stoner sea turtle

87. First person you talked to today? cale

88. Last person you talked to today? ^

89. Name a person you hate? shae!

90. Name a person you love? cale

91. Is there anyone you want to punch in the face right now? yeah

92. In a fight with someone? no

93. How many sweatpants do you have? 1

94. How many sweaters/hoodies do you have? lots

95. Last movie you watched? tangled lol

96. Favourite actress? anna sophia robb or évelyne brochu

97. Favourite actor? mads mikkelson, hugh dancy tbh.

98. Do you tan a lot? ha! no.

99. Have any pets? :——(

100. How are you feeling? sleepy, paranoid

101. Do you type fast? yea

102. Do you regret anything from your past? of course

103. Can you spell well? yes

104. Do you miss anyone from your past? yes

105. Ever been to a bonfire party? yes

106. Ever broken someone’s heart? yes

107. Have you ever been on a horse? no thanks

108. What should you be doing? sleeping

109. Is something irritating you right now? yes

110. Have you ever liked someone so much it hurt? my boy c-dawg

111. Do you have trust issues? ?

112. Who was the last person you cried in front of? calé

113. What was your childhood nickname? elile, el, zach

114. Have you ever been out of your province/state? yes

115. Do you play the Wii? oh yeah

116. Are you listening to music right now? yeah

117. Do you like chicken noodle soup? yeah

118. Do you like Chinese food? yeah

119. Favourite book? hm, idk

120. Are you afraid of the dark? no

121. Are you mean? oh yeah

122. Is cheating ever okay? no i don’t think

123. Can you keep white shoes clean? i can’t keep any shoes clean :\

124. Do you believe in love at first sight? no

125. Do you believe in true love? not the usual concept of ir

126. Are you currently bored? thats why I’m doing this

127. What makes you happy? my boyfriend, being in the pit, playing piano, hugging dogs, being downtown at night, warm snowy days, sleeping on the bus, looking at the stars, being underwater

128. Would you change your name? i don’t think so

129. What your zodiac sign? virgo

130. Do you like subway? ya

131. Your bestfriend of the opposite sex likes you, what do you do? yo that’s something I’m trying to figure out rn

132. Who’s the last person you had a deep conversation with? cale

133. Favourite lyrics right now? if i haven’t had a good dream in about ten years are my dark days coming or are they here

134. Can you count to one million? why would i

135. Dumbest lie you ever told? I always lie

136. Do you sleep with your doors open or closed? closed

137. How tall are you? 5'2

138. Curly or Straight hair? I like when my hair isn’t straightened

139. Brunette or Blonde? i’m blonde, i like both

140. Summer or Winter? winter

141. Night or Day? night

142. Favourite month? october maybe

143. Are you a vegetarian? no, i don’t eat much meat

144. Dark, milk or white chocolate? white

145. Tea or Coffee? tea

146. Was today a good day? eh

147. Mars or Snickers? mars

148. What’s your favourite quote? i like a lot of quotes

149. Do you believe in ghosts? idk

150. Get the closest book next to you, open it to page 42, what’s the first line

“ the old woman came in” quality bukowski

[juliayepes]

Blood of a Poet

Through fleeting glimpses and a studio visit, a portrait of a singular songwriter and musician emerges.

On the song "Supreme Being," Will Roan, singer and keyboardist of the Brooklyn band Amazing Baby, experiences a transcendental moment. It's an everything's-okay, no-one-ever-really-dies moment, in which everyone and everything in creation is revealed as mysteriously connected. Steeped in mysticism, tracks like "Supreme Being" (a trance song composed on the xylophone and a highlight of the group's self-released 2008 EP, Infinite Fucking Cross) convey a sense of wonder and a longing to return to paradise. Lyrics about "digging up the pearls from years gone by," returning to "salt of the earth," and a "big, black phantom love [that] floats over it all" contribute to the impression of a universe governed by some kind of cyclical, eternal return.

The group’s first tracks sound as joyful and cohesive as Led Zeppelin songs, only half the length, and recent songs are awash in a sweeping but pleasingly off-kilter grandeur. Their potency boils down to an inspired pairing of Roan, a literate preacher’s son, and Simon O'Connor, a virtuoso hard rock guitarist. The bands they had been in before Amazing Baby were good, but very true to a genre. But the project the pair formed together was a hybrid of influences (mutual favorites that included T. Rex and Queen), resulting in soaring melodies and full-bodied, boundary-pushing art-rock. In August 2008, a writer for the popular British music magazine NME raved about their first batch of songs, “Truly great rock bands don’t usually just fall out of the sky — they evolve slowly, meticulously and sometimes downright painfully over time. But don’t expect Amazing Baby to be paying any such dues... These Brookynites have been together since Christmas..., but somehow, they already sound like they could take on the world.” With the release of their first album Rewild due in the first half of 2009, Amazing Baby seemed on the precipice of a breakthrough after a near overnight success story.  

When I arrive at Electric Lady studios at 4pm on the first Sunday last February, the band is putting the finishing touches on their debut album. It's the second-to-last day of recording and a 15-piece orchestra is coming in today to record their parts individually. Bassist Don De Vore—pale blond, handsome, silent—sits in the recording booth nearly the whole afternoon, overseeing the recording of the string and brass parts. Matt Abeysekera, the drummer, pops into the booth and excitedly chats about the soundtrack to Polanski's horror movie The Fearless Vampire Killers. Shy, stringy-haired rhythm guitarist Rob Laasko hangs in the green room for a while, in between long spells in the recording booth. He seems like the mellowest member, but like De Vore, he has the air of a longtime studio musician, who is used to being ignored. Roan and his girlfriend arrive last, after a late night of DJing at a Greenpoint warehouse.

Confused, insulted, and dazzled by Will

With his self-assured manner and clean-cut features, Roan could easily pass for a cultured character in a Wes Anderson movie. Today, after weeks of nonstop recording for the band's debut album, the idiosyncratic singer-keyboardist seems to be running off of a streak of final-stretch adrenaline. In the green room, he drinks Sparks, a caffeinated alcoholic beverage, which keeps him on an even keel between seeming wiped out and alert, relaxed and lucid. He possesses a precise eye. During our interview, he’s polite but brisk, not finicky but quick to correct me when I’m wrong. When I ask him what the song "Headdress" is about, he tells me it’s about "holding onto somebody really tightly" and then tries to explain the title in visual terms. "It's supposed to evoke—I wish I could illustrate this better in words—a distraction, a trick of the eye, a false part of your body. A decoration."

While the teenage O’Connor was into hip-hop, graffiti, and punk music as a teenager, Roan immersed himself in art rock like David Bowie, John Cale, and T. Rex. He was born in Waterbury, Connecticut and his family moved four times before settling in Martha's Vineyard. Roan, who is also interested in design and visual art (he co-designed Rewild's cover art with a friend), majored in creative writing at Bard. After graduation, he moved to Brookyn, where he formed Lions & Tigers, a glam-rock/post-punk outfit that recorded arty, avant-garde songs, filled with images of oceans, fire, and blood. On the tracks, his characters are alienated and often remorseless, dwarfed by a surreal and desolate New York City. They're in precarious and desperate situations. But the songs have the surreal enchantment of a Cocteau movie. Singing about watching the green light die, his girl’s grey eyes, and how she’s “never gonna wake up,” Roan evokes an arresting vision of youth in limbo and casual peril.

He's a gracious host, happy to show me around, introduce me to his friends, and to answer questions. But as polite and friendly as he is, Roan remains inaccessible, even mysterious. Alone, he answers every question I ask. But if other bandmates are around, he lets them handle questions. He seems relieved when he’s surrounded by his friends, as if it’s only when he’s in their company that he can really be himself.

Most people can't be creative on command, but so far that hasn't been a problem for the scattershot singer or his songwriting partner. One reason the band has been so prolific is that they can be productive, and even thrive, in the midst of chaos. (One episode of the Village Voice’s Indie Cribz features a neatly dressed Roan giving viewers a tour of his horrifyingly messy apartment. In the video, he glances around his forsaken-looking bedroom. “I don’t spend a lot of time here,” he says mildly. “This is more like a storage space.”) If anything, he seems more comfortable in a hectic environment. As I interview Roan at Electric Lady studios, string players practice warm-up scales in the room next door. It nearly drives me out of my mind, but it doesn’t seem to distract Roan at all.

While O'Connor rallies me with his raucous energy, Roan is matter-of-fact, precise, guarded. He doesn't like to talk about his band, but he calls MGMT drummer Will Berman who helped write and produce Amazing Baby's first songs "one of the most talented people I've ever met" and predicts he'll put out "a brilliant solo album one day." He encourages me to check out his girlfriend's band (the spooky, shambolic Golden Triangle). And his face lights up with a quirky, genuine smile when he tells me that bassist Don De Vore was in Ink & Dagger "a really incredible, influential vampire-themed band from Philadelphia in the ‘90s." ("Don could do so much better," one diehard Ink & Dagger fan complained on Amazing Baby's Last.fm page.) I learn more about Roan when I'm not asking questions.

For one thing, he’s a good friend. A month earlier, when I run into him at Glasslands, a Brooklyn bar and performance space, I mention that I was surprised by the dizzying heights that MGMT-mania had reached. “Good for them, though,” Roan says pointedly. “Great for them,” I answer. Once he sees that I genuinely mean it, he lets down his guard. I’d seen Amazing Baby at the Mercury Lounge in November 2008 and had asked Roan if he could make me a CD of Lions & Tigers tracks, but he hadn’t had his phone on him. “I wanted to make you a CD, but I didn’t have your phone number,” he explains. He tells me Amazing Baby is recording the next week and that his old band, Lions & Tigers, is mixing an album. “Can I invite you to the studio? Can I invite you to a mixing session? How about if I e-mail you tomorrow?” he says, as he punches my contact info into his iPhone. I tell him that I thought the Lions & Tigers songs I'd heard were great. I love the post-punk sound, I say, and I love post-punk in general; Wire is my favorite band. He brightens. “I love Wire!" And then, in regard to Lions & Tigers, he laughs. "I thought we were good, but no one liked us!” he says.

The first time I saw Roan, he was wearing a shirt that declared “THIS SHIRT SAVES LIVES.” It was November 2008 and I was at the Mercury Lounge for my first Amazing Baby show. Onstage, an impish Roan pranced around the stage with the pomp and exuberance of Jarvis Cocker. After the show, I introduced myself and asked if he could make me a CD of his former band, Lions & Tigers. He cycled rapidly through an array of thoughts like only an overeducated man can. "Sure, I'd be happy to," he answered with a typically cheerful smile, but then he grilled me: “What do you want it for? You just want it? What’s the angle?” He asked me what I thought of the show, knowing it was imperfect. And before I left, he inquired whether this was my first time seeing Amazing Baby live. I told him it was. “You should have come last night!” he admonished me.

Needless to say, I left confused. I was taken aback, even offended, that he was dismissive of his older songs, which I adored. At the same time, I realized that if he didn’t want me to hear his old tracks, then that must mean his new songs sounded a lot different than Lions & Tigers—and that he thought they were really good. Later I realized that he wasn’t being combative because he was a control freak. He simply didn’t want Amazing Baby to be judged by his old band’s tracks. "That was more like a project than a band," he told me, gesticulating. "I was proud of it at the time, but I don't want that to represent me. I don’t want to make that kind of music anymore. That’s why—“ he smiled—“I’m not making it."

His fear of pretension, stutter, and religious connection

Roan cuts an imposing figure. I think twice before crossing a crowded room to talk to the singer—and even after being acquainted with him for months, I find it hard to know how to interpret his sunny, aristocratic charm. It's disconcerting to try to reconcile Roan's bold aura with what he actually says. He is rigorously style-oriented with keen, intelligent eyes that appraise everything. He cannot help but move with a flourish. But in conversation he never says anything remotely audacious or flamboyant. His speech is peppered with prefixes (They're "mega busy," Electric Lady is "super cool") and friendly surfer-stoner affirmations ("totally," "definitely," "rad").

But despite the swashbuckling aura, Roan also has a vulnerable quality. For one thing, his expressive face broadcasts his emotions. And for another thing, he stutters. Though his stutter seems mild (it doesn't surface til the third time I talk to him), one can imagine it’s a source of anxiety for the frontman, especially when he's expected to participate in video and radio interviews, which may catch him when he's tired or ill at ease. (Both states seem to exacerbate the speech disorder.) In one video interview, there's a moment when Roan realizes he's not going be able to get through his sentence without stuttering unless he skips some prepositions, so he starts stringing key words together. It's a heart-rending moment. His bandmates are silent, but it's clear they're in solidarity with the singer.

I would normally think it inappropriate or even disgraceful to ask a stranger personal questions, but Roan is so restrained that I am even less inclined to pry. When I mention that I've noticed a lot of images of eternity in his lyrics, the tone of his voice shifts slightly and there's a flicker in his eye like I'm on to something. "Yeah," he agrees. "Or infinity," I venture. "Yeah," he repeats, in the same tone. "There’s a lot of stony-baloney in there, too," he remarks. Then he lowers his voice and adds evenly, "They’re very personal, but they’re not super specific." I wonder if he means he'd rather not get super specific. (I'd speculate that he wrote "Supreme Being" for his first (or true) love—because on that song he sings "I would die for you,” but in other songs, it's "pump your brakes and leave me alone.") When I ask if Berman will be writing songs with Andrew and Ben in MGMT, he politely answers the question. Suddenly he looks weary. He sighs and shakes his head as if to rouse himself out of a daze. “What else is up?" he asks quickly. Then he corrects himself, as if that way of putting it sounded rude. "Anything else I can tell you?”

In conversation, Roan seems so afraid of coming off as pretentious, that, if anything, he overcompensates for his dandyish hauteur. The boldest statement I ever see him make is in a video interview from their tour of Japan, which took place shortly after Rewild’s release. He says he's proud of the album (though he looks disappointed)—it's been a learning experience (he looks very unhappy)—but it's definitely the best thing he's ever been involved in.

(In fact, I think his newer lyrics also reflect this desire not to seem pretentious. Rewild's new songs don't have big words, and in avoiding them, his lyrics turn absurd and playful. Roan's word play comes off like an inside joke with himself. The title of the album, for example, seems to be a composite of a line on "Kankra": "Turn off your mind/Relax a while." (Get it? Re-wild.))

Once you learn that Roan’s father was a preacher, suddenly everything about Amazing Baby makes sense: the singer's giddy stage persona (shades of a raving evangelical preacher), the Garden of Eden allusion, and the infinite cross imagery. But it also lends pathos to his story. Roan told FAQ Magazine that the first time he got high he had an internal dialogue with himself about how there was no going back, adding that he "continually thinks ... about things I told myself I'd never do." The debut album by San Francisco band Girls is touching because of its sincerity; when former Children of God member Christopher Owens sings that he doesn't want to cry for his whole life, it sounds genuine. There's a similar wistfulness about Roan's longing to return to innocence. Roan has characterized himself as "super emotional" and "messed up." But he seems like a conscientious guy who wants to believe in a higher power and tries to be a good person.

That’s the thing: He has a conscience. More than six months after sitting in with them at Electric Lady, I see Roan at a show at Webster Hall (his friend Max McDonald’s band, Psychic, is playing) and I tell him I'm sorry my story hasn't been published; I'm still going to do a story about the band. "It's okay, it's cool," he says, but he's a person who values honor, and as long as you try to do the right thing, he will be as personable as possible. Suddenly, he’s smiling.

—Julia Yepes

editor: Maura Whang

February 21, 2010

[hockeylvr59]

Secret Love Part 12 || Cale Makar

Requested: [ ] yes [x] no

Authors Note: This does not at all follow the plan I had in my head but uh...apparently my characters are going to do what they want whether I’m ready for it or not…  Also hopefully this will help anyone that needs a pick me up. 

Warnings: smut (unprotected-on birth control but no condom)

Word Count: 2,464

~~~~~

Waking up the morning of your fifth day in Iceland, you quickly became aware of a few things. First, Cale’s arm was wrapped tightly around your body, holding you close. Second, Cale’s soft snores echoed through the room signaling just how heavily he was still sleeping. Third, you really needed to use the bathroom. 

It was only as you moved to slide out of your boyfriend’s grasp that you became cognizant of just how sore you were from last night. It was a good soreness, the best really, and you couldn’t help but smile back at Cale’s sleeping form. You really did love him and the way you were able to connect through physical intimacy only heightened all of those feelings. Last night had been so much better than you could have imagined. 

Though you’d just showered, that was before multiple rounds of sex, so after using the bathroom, you quickly stepped under the showerhead to rinse off before starting today’s journey. 

Cale was awake when you returned to get dressed, his hair sticking up in every direction as he passed by you to use the bathroom himself. Spotting his post-it with today’s itinerary, you realized today was going to be pretty much spent in the car with only a couple stops. After throwing on a pair of comfy sweats and the t-shirt of Cale’s that had been tossed in the wash and never returned after your first time together, you finished packing up your bag so that you were ready to head to breakfast before checking out and hitting the road. 

It wasn’t until you headed to the car after stuffing your stomach that you paused, looking over at Cale. You’d been tired when you woke up, but breakfast had quickly jump-started your energy levels. Cale, on the other hand, had had breakfast and coffee and still looked like he was half asleep. 

As he opened the passenger door for you as he always did, you made a quick decision. 

“Give me the keys Cale. I’m driving.” You insisted. Cale’s mouth opened to speak but you just pressed up to kiss his mouth gently while snatching the keys from his fingers. Quickly moving around to the driver’s side of the SUV, you climbed in, immediately starting to fix the seat and mirrors. By the time you had adjusted everything, Cale had finally climbed into the passenger seat, his tired eyes watching you. 

You plugged the first address into his phone’s gps as you waited to see if he was going to fight you or actually let you drive. As you pulled out of the parking lot, it was clear that he was choosing the latter and by the time you actually reached the main highway he was fast asleep against the window of the car. 

Turning on some music, the volume low, you sang along quietly as you rode down the highway. The vistas of Iceland were stunning and you pulled over a few times to take pictures. Cale didn’t stir even when the car stopped and after snapping the pictures of the view that had made you stop in the first place, you snapped a couple of pictures of Cale sleeping. He was so attractive that your heart skipped a beat, his head laying on a sweatshirt, expression peaceful. 

With nothing but the music, Iceland’s views, and Cale’s steady breathing to keep you company, you drove for about three and a half hours before the sound of Cale shifting signaled he was slowly waking up. He didn’t speak right away, but you could feel his eyes on you, this time focused and intense. 

“Pull over…” Cale’s gruff morning voice suddenly demanded. 

“We’re almost to the first stop...we can switch back then…” You replied, assuming that was what he wanted. 

“Y/N…” Cale spoke and this time the change in tone made you shiver. His hand slid over to rest high on your thigh and just a peek over at him revealed those azure orbs that were only present when Cale was turned on. 

“Cale...seriously?” You inquired, though you were already searching for a semi-private stretch of road to pull off onto as your body’s instincts took over. 

The moment you put the car into park, Cale was leaning over to crash his lips onto yours. It was a level of need you hadn’t seen from him before and when he moved to climb into the backseat, you followed without hesitation. 

Immediately his hands grabbed your hips, pulling you to straddle one of his thighs as you pulled the door closed behind you. 

“This is mine.” He growled against your ear as his fingers gripped the hem of your t-shirt. 

“Problem?” You smirked, tugging your bottom lip between your teeth. Cale’s hands slid under the fabric, cupping your breasts through the material of your bra as he angled his thigh up against your core. 

“You know exactly why it’s a problem sweetheart.” He whispered, his voice low. 

“Well what are you going to do about it?” You whispered back. Somehow, despite the cramped space, Cale flipped you over, settling you onto his lap so that his chest was pressed against your back. Letting out a yelp at the sudden movement, you whined as Cale’s long fingers slid into your sweats, rubbing your clit firmly. 

“If you’re wearing my shirt...you’re mine.” Cale breathed into your ear, his fingers sliding through your core to press deep inside you. 

“You know I’m yours. Always.” You gasped, your body stretching around his fingers as he slowly fucked you open. 

You were a squirming mess on his lap by the time Cale finally pulled his fingers out of you, sucking them clean before shoving at your sweats. Pushing his joggers off of his own hips, Cale settled you over him before thrusting inside you in one smooth motion. The stretch around him made you whimper and immediately Cale froze, his fingers cupping your jaw and forcing you to turn your head to look at him. 

“Am I hurting you?” He breathed, nothing but concern on his face. 

“I’m just sore Cale...it’s okay.” You assured him. 

“Hurting you is never okay.” Cale insisted. “Do you want me to stop?” Shaking your head immediately, you tried to kiss him. “No...sweetheart talk to me…” Cale pressed. “What do you need? Slow? Fast? Shallow? Deep? Tell me.” 

“Slow…” You murmured, knowing you couldn’t handle fast. Everything else you weren’t sure about and Cale seemed to register that, starting with slow and shallow thrusts to see if he could build up to more. 

Ultimately, it seemed like a combination of shallow thrusts and just grinding together was exactly what you needed and after a few minutes you came all over Cale’s lap with a shout. 

“That’s my girl.” Cale moaned out softly, shifting to slide out of you without cumming himself. 

“Cale…” You breathed, tipping your head back to look at him. “I can take a little more. Want you to cum.” 

“You sure?” Cale asked, kissing along your shoulder over his shirt. Flexing your internal walls, you nodded. 

“Cum for me Cale.” You insisted, flexing your walls to clamp down on him again. “I love being with you like this.” You whispered. “The way you fill me. The way you take care of me not just physically, but in every way. I love feeling you spill inside me, knowing that I’m yours. Knowing that every time you cum inside me you’re claiming me.” 

After a few more shallow thrusts, Cale grunted your name, his orgasm crashing through his body. Simply resting on top of him as he came down from his high, you carded your fingers through his hair. 

“You good now?” You asked. “Did seeing me in your shirt really set all of that off?” Your words were teasing and Cale nipped lightly at your shoulder as his fingers trailed across your stomach. 

“This is the shirt…” He trailed off. 

“I know.” You smirked. “It’s the first piece of your clothing that got left behind. And if it causes this kind of reaction...I think I’m officially stealing it.” 

“It’s yours.” Cale murmured, lifting your hips so that he could slide out of you, a hiss slipping from your lips at the loss. Grabbing some napkins from the front seat, Cale did his best to clean you up before helping you fix your clothing. Once you were both somewhat presentable, you climbed out of the backseat. 

Figuring Cale would take over behind the wheel again, you moved to round the car, only to be caught by Cale’s fingers on your wrist. 

“Thank you.” He said. “Thank you for driving, I really needed the extra sleep.” 

“I don’t mind Cale.” You assured him. “Plus you’re pretty cute when you’re sleeping.” You declared winking. 

“Like I’m not cute all the time?” Cale asked, mocking offense to your words. 

“Cute no…” You tossed out, a squeal of laughter spilling from your mouth as Cale’s fingers started to tickle you. “Attractive, sexy, gorgeous...yes.” You amended, kissing him one more time. “Now let’s go...you’ve put us behind schedule.” You joked. 

“We don’t have a schedule.” He called, laughing while climbing back into the driver’s seat as you rounded the car. 

It only took another 45 minutes or so before Cale was pulling into a parking lot. You could see a lot of water but you weren’t quite sure why this was even a destination. As you climbed out of the car, you looked questioningly over at your boyfriend. 

“So uh...this wasn’t on my original list but I added it after the other day.” Cale explained, taking your hand to guide you down the hill and over a rocky harbor. As you climbed a set of wooden steps on the other side, your eyes went wide. Puffins...there were puffins everywhere. Thousands of them. 

“Cale...you didn’t…” You mumbled, feeling your eyes start watering. 

“Of course I did.” Cale mused. “If a little detour can make you this happy then it’s worth it.” 

Cale’s arms wrapped around you from behind as you stood watching all of the puffins. The fact that he had changed up the plans to include this just for you had your heart racing and your hands shaking. 

“Cale I…” you were a split second away from admitting that you love him when the logical side of your brain took hold. “...thank you.” You finished instead, kissing his cheek. 

After grabbing lunch from the small cafe by the harbor, you climbed back in the car to drive another 2 hours to your next destination. The entire drive you couldn’t stop thinking about your almost slip. Did he feel the same? Would he have said it back? No...it was definitely better that you caught yourself because you didn’t want to put that kind of pressure on him only a month after you’d decided to start dating. You wanted him to say ‘I love you’ because he meant it, not because he felt like he had to. 

Realizing the car had stopped, you looked around to find Cale climbing out. 

“You coming?” He questioned, brows furrowed. Swallowing hard you nodded and climbed out of the car, following Cale as he led you down a path. It was a decent walk before you reached the Studlagil canyon where the basalt stacks were a striking sight. Driving around Iceland really did feel like you had visited a dozen different planets in only a few days. Posing for some pictures you looked around for just a few minutes before heading back to the car. 

Leaning your head against the window, you didn’t even realize as your eyes drifted closed. 

From the driver’s seat, Cale glanced over at you. He wasn’t stupid, he sensed the shift in your behavior since your slip in words. And while he could pretend he didn’t, he was fairly certain he knew what you were going to say before you’d caught yourself. He couldn’t help but wonder why you had caught yourself. Were the words that you’d almost shared not true? Were they true but you just weren’t ready to share them? If it was the latter...were you not ready to share them because once again you were worried about moving things faster than he was ready for? 

That seemed like the mostly likely option, or maybe that was just somewhat wishful thinking on his part. To be honest, he hadn’t really thought about it all. He cared about you, was more comfortable with you than with anyone else, and maybe those nagging emotions he’d been feeling lately could be classified as love if he forced himself to classify them as anything. But until now, he hadn’t felt the need to define exactly what he was feeling. Now, he was certain he wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about it. 

You’d almost said ‘I love you’ and that was big. That was important. That was potentially life-changing. And maybe he’d expected it to hit him out of the blue...but maybe that wasn’t how this worked. Maybe it was all of the little things...the way you teased him because you knew him so well, the way your giggle echoed in his ears, the way you’d always supported him and wanted what was best for him no matter what it cost you. Maybe it was the smell of your perfume, the way your eyes lit up when you were happy and how you cried so openly in front of him. Maybe it was how your hand fit in his, how your body fit against him, how your lives intertwined. 

Maybe the realization that he loves you wasn’t supposed to happen suddenly, maybe it was something that pervaded every moment of every day; maybe it was something that just was, like how the sky is blue and a puck is made from rubber. 

Maybe it was something he’d known all along. But whether that was the case or not, he was certain of it now as he watched you sleep in the passenger seat. He was in love with his best friend. He was in love with you. 

You stirred as you felt Cale’s arms lift you from the car. With your head tucked into his neck you groaned softly, but Cale’s whispered words that he had you and to rest lulled you right back to sleep and it wasn’t long before you were tucked back against his body as he joined you in bed, his fingers trailing up and down your spine. 

“I love you Y/N.” Cale’s words settled any worries in your mind and though you were certain they were just a dream, you hoped for the day they would actually be real.