Remember Me

Mackenzie Jakobsson sat outside at her favorite coffee shop in Chicago. After the success of her recent album, she decided she needed a change in scenery from the always busy city of Los Angeles. Chicago, while still busy, was always one of her favorite cities to visit and it also included a six-foot-tall Swede who she very much adored.

As she sipped her latte, her cell phone began to buzz. Speak of the devil.

She tapped the green button, "Hej, Marcus," (Hello, Marcus.) she greeted her friend. "Hur mår du?" (How are you?)

Her long-time friend let out a heavy breath. "Trött." (Tired.) She smiled softly, a wave of sadness flowing over her. Marcus and the Blackhawks had been eliminated from the playoffs a few nights earlier. "Men det har aldrig hindrat mig. Vad gör du ikväll?" (But that's never stopped me. What are you doing tonight?)

Mackenzie rolled her eyes. "Nothing that you're doing." She heard Marcus scoff.

"Even hit me with the rejection in English, Mack. Harsh." She laughed and replied, "You'll live, älskling. Now, what is it that you're going to attempt to drag me to?" (Darling)

Mackenzie left money on the table for her waitress and picked up her purse to leave. She could call for a car but enjoyed the walk to her townhouse. Marcus made a small noise of victory in her ear. "The boys are throwing one last team party before everyone goes their separate ways for the summer. Make an appearance, you know they all love you..." Mackenzie sighed, she enjoyed spending time with Marcus' friends, they were a funny group. She always just felt a bit out of place in their company. "...please..." Marcus continued, dragging his words.

"Alright, fine. What time?" She asked.

Marcus laughed. "Kaner said 8, but I know you love showing up late so I'll pick you up at 9." Mack shook her head and laughed as she crossed the street.

"I'll see you tonight, Marcus. Adjö." (Bye.) Mackenzie hung up, hurrying on her way home. After all, she did have a party to get ready for.

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As Mackenzie did her makeup, she heard her front door slam. "Mack!" She rolled her eyes at her best friend's loud ways of doing anything and everything. "I'm upstairs, Harper!"

Her bathroom door opened to reveal a put together Harper Evans. "You look nice," Mackenzie looked her up and down. "The single ones won't be able to resist." Harper laughed at her friend and sat on the toilet seat, waiting.

"You know basketball players are my type, not hockey players."

Mackenzie shrugged, putting on the finishing touches of her makeup. She checked her phone to see that it was close to 9:00. "Marcus will be here any minute. Should I wear my white or black converse?"

The doorbell rang, making Harper stand. "Hmm...white." Mackenzie nodded and they both exited the bathroom. She ran downstairs, letting Marcus in. He was clad in a flannel and jeans.

"It amazes me that you're still single." Harper flirted. Marcus grinned, loving his and Harper's flirting. "Maybe if you would love me back, I wouldn't be." Mackenzie pretended to gag while she put her shoes on.

"So whose house is this one at?" She stood, grabbing her bag and motioning for them to leave.

"We kind of forced Toews to throw it at his house. He just bought the place and it's really nice and he hasn't invited anyone over yet. It's actually only like two blocks from here, so I figured we'd walk." Marcus said, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

The three of them chatted aimlessly during the short walk to Marcus' teammate's house. Marcus headed up the steps first, ringing the doorbell. The two girls stood behind him. Two familiar faces that Mackenzie knew very well opened the door, beaming.

"MACKKK!!" Patrick Kane yelled out, while Andrew Shaw turned around to announce that Marcus had brought Mackenzie along. Harper giggled next to her at the two boy's antics.

Marcus threw his two arms around their necks and walked into the party with them, leaving the girls to shut the door and follow. Harper stuck close to Mack. She'd tagged along to a few of these before but still wasn't as friendly with everyone as Mackenzie.

Mackenzie smiled at all the faces she knew as she made her way to the large kitchen that looked straight out of a design catalogue. She lost sight of Marcus among the many people, opting to find herself a drink and then join him again.

A tall, straight-faced man made drinks behind the island. She'd grown accustomed to his presence at these parties, but not his chatter. No, Jonathan Toews was far quieter than all the men he led on the ice.

She decided to come up next to the host, raising her voice above the loud music. "You look happy!" She had startled him a bit, making him spill the vodka he was pouring. The captain frowned as he grabbed for napkins to clean the spill. She smiled at his apparent grumpiness and he took note of it.

He took a long blink and gave a small smile to her. "Sorry," he looked throughout the room. "I let animals loose in my brand-new house. I'm on edge." Mackenzie smiled at him. "Need a drink?" Jonathan asked.

"Absolutely. Surprise me, Captain."

While Jon busied himself with Mack's drink, Mackenzie seemed to notice that now her second best friend had also disappeared from her side. She let her eyes wander the room and finally zeroed in on Harper and none other than Patrick Kane taking the beer pong table by storm. She grinned at the sight, laughing a little. That was definitely a pair. Mack could already see those two giving her migraines.

Jon quickly tried to catch a glance at the pretty blonde Kruger had brought along to his party, but he followed her gaze to his teammate and her friend and then back to her smile. It was mesmerizing and it made him stop his drink making. Mack noticed but he was in a daze. When he finally snapped back to reality, he realized he'd been caught and began to turn red. The Captain hoped she thought it was due to the number of people in the room.

Mackenzie waited for him to finish her drink and took a sip. It was sweet with a bitter aftertaste. She looked at him as she sipped and raised a thumb, making him smile. Then she had an idea. "Take a break from this bartender business and let's go give those two a run for their money," she said, throwing a finger towards the beer pong table.

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After many beer pong games, Mackenzie and Jon both realized how terrible they were at the game. They separated when Jon was pulled away by some other girl. He had tried to stay but even Mackenzie knew the 23-year-old needed some fun, waving him on to go with the busty brunette. She looked around the room and laid eyes on Marcus and a group of his other teammates. Making her way over, she tuned into their conversation realizing it was an entire group of Swedish men. Niklas Hjalmarsson, Johnny Oduya, and Viktor Stalberg all surrounded Marcus, speaking rapidly in their native tongue.

Marcus noticed her and threw an arm around her waist. "Ni kommer ihåg min vän, eller hur? Det här är Mackenzie." (You guys remember my friend, right? This is Mackenzie.) Mackenzie smiled at the men as they all said hello. "Har kul?" (Having fun?) Marcus asked.

Mack nodded, sipping her new drink. "Your teammates are fun. An attractive group, too." Marcus rolled his eyes, making her chuckle.

"You can stare all you want at them, but you won't ever date or sleep with one as long as I have something to say about it." Marcus scolded.

Now it was Mackenzie's turn to roll her eyes. "I'm gonna go find Harper before she fucks Patrick Kane in a closet."

Marcus kissed her forehead and went back to his Swedes. Mackenzie put her drink down on the island, deciding to take a turn about the whole lower level for her friend. As soon as she entered the living room, she bumped into Jonathan hard. He grabbed her waist, quickly asking, "Are you alright?"

She threw her hand up in the 'OK' symbol. "If you wanna make it up to me, though, you can help me look for Patrick Kane and my friend." He was still holding her waist, burning her skin with his hands. He nodded, "Yeah, of course."

They checked the entire first floor for them, with no luck and now all Mack knew is she was 95% sure she was going to walk in on them having sex. Jonathan led her upstairs, checking the few bedrooms. "I don't understand. Where could they have possibly gone?" She mumbled.

Jonathan nudged her, motioning to the light peeking out from under the bathroom door. Mackenzie grimaced, before walking over and knocking on the door. "Harp, you in there?" She waited a few seconds before trying the door handle. It was unlocked, thankfully. The scene before her was not one she expected though.

Harper bent over the toilet, vomiting while Patrick Kane held her hair back. Mackenzie looked up at Jon and he shrugged at her. "Kaner, is she okay?" he asked.

Patrick Kane looked as sober as ever, wide-eyed holding the girl's hair. "I think she had too much beer. She said she didn't feel well, so I took her up here so no one would bother her." Mackenzie smiled, surprised at his actions.

"I can take over if you'd like, Pat. Maybe one of you could get her a bottle of water though." Patrick nodded, getting up from the floor and leaving the bathroom, but not before taking a quick glance at his fallen beer pong partner.

"I'll go grab the water." Jon said.

Mackenzie sat down next to her friend, who was breathing heavily with her face on the toilet seat. Harper made eye contact with her best friend and grinned a little before gagging again. Mackenzie shook her head, "You sloppy bitch."

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Around 1:00, the party-goers had finally all started to leave and Harper had emptied her stomach down to the bile. Mackenzie helped her friend down the stairs to the front door, letting her sip the water Jon had gotten earlier. Marcus was saying his goodbyes to his teammates for the summer so Mackenzie remained patient with him. Jonathan came down the stairs with a sweatshirt in his hands, offering it to Harper, after noticing her chills in the bathroom. She wrapped it around herself and thanked him. Mackenzie gave him an odd look, he was after-all offering something to a girl he barely knew. He shrugged, "I've got hundreds of sweatshirts, I won't miss that one."

Marcus made his way over, slapping a hand onto Jon's shoulder. "I'll see you in the fall, Cap."

Jonathan rubbed his neck. "Nah, I found a trainer here in Chicago for the summer. I'll be here for most of the summer after I visit my parents." His eyes darted over to Mackenzie's.

Marcus smiled. "Maybe you can keep Mack company. She's a homebody once I leave for Sweden." Mackenzie scoffed at her friend. "She does only live two blocks away."

Mackenzie narrowed her eyes at Marcus. Two hours ago he was lecturing her on messing with his teammates and now he was trying to set her up? "Nok, rumphål." (Enough, asshole.) Jonathan looked at her, hearing her Swedish for the first time. Marcus grinned at his childhood friend. "Have a good summer, Jon!"

Marcus took hold of Harper from Mackenzie, helping her down the front steps. Mackenzie went to follow but turned back to the party host. "Thank you," she clasped her hands together tightly. "for helping Harper, I mean. You didn't have to." Jonathan smiled at her, nodding. "And, uh... if you do ever need someone to hang out with this summer, I'm only a homebody between the hours of 8 am and 2 pm."

Jonathan smiled wider now. "Yeah...I'll just walk over. Two blocks away, right?"

"Right."