On the Way Down - Andre Burakovsky

Ch. 1: "Chill out dad."

  "Nelly we gotta goooo." I groaned as I looked at my best friend still standing in her closet trying to figure out what to wear.
  "Chels. You gotta give me a minute." she sighed.
  "I've given you 45 now come on. Here, wear my WILSON jersey, I'll wear the Burky one." Tom would probably pout about it, but I was desperate to get going and Janell's favorite player was Tom so I decided to be nice. Janell had no idea that I knew Tom, today would be the day she found out because we were supposed to hang out after the game and he was supposed to come by the house. Back story? I met Tom a few months ago at a Capital's practice and we really hit it off, in just a few short months he had become one of my best friends. I texted him after every game to yell at him for fighting and he would usually just send me a winky emoji and we would go on about our days. Being an only child, Tom was like the big brother I never had. I had on many occasions asked if I could meet the rest of the team and he refused, only letting me meet Backy and Vrana. He was afraid I would fall for one of the players and he told me and I quote 'hockey players are bad news Chels'. I had rolled my eyes and reminded him that he was a hockey player and he just waved me off.
 Janell and I walked down to the ice just in time for warmups. We laughed and took pictures of the players, just enjoying ourselves. Tom skated by and did I double take, poking his lip out when he saw the '65' on my sleeve instead of '43'. I shrugged and pointed to the sleeve of Janell's jersey, showing him that she was at least wearing it. He stuck his tongue out at me and went back to his drills, doing his silly little ritual with TJ Oshie. I was focused on Tom and didn't notice Burakovsky standing in front of me until he tapped on the glass. He pointed to my sleeve and put thumbs up.
  "I like your jersey." he said and winked at me as he threw a puck over the glass. I smiled and put it in my pocket.
  "Oh, he's cute." Janell said and I shoved her a little.
  "He is," I sighed. "But he's off limits." I said the last part under my breath. Burakovsky had been my favorite player since he came to the Capitals. He was the one player I was trying to get Tom to let me meet, but he was being stubborn so I made sure I didn't make it obvious.
 The Capitals won the game and me and Janell left a bit after everyone else, trying to let the parking lot clear out a bit before making our way outside. It was close to midnight when we finally pulled into my driveway.
  "Hey, I have a friend who is supposed to stop by in a few I hope you don't mind." I said as I unlocked my door.
  "Is it a man? It's kind of late, even for a booty call." I slapped her shoulder.
  "He's not a booty call, he's a friend." I giggled as I headed in my room and changed into some sweats and a overly large Capital's Tshirt.
  "Whatever you say babe!" she yelled from the guest room. I rolled my eyes.
 I had just walked into my living room when there was a knock at the door. My eyes went wide and as I moved to the side to open the door all the way I stumbled a little bit.
  "Don't even. He was riding home with me and I didn't want to get here too late so I just brought him with me." Tom whispered as Burky followed him into my house, looking nervous.
  "I'm Chelsea." I stuck my hand out to shake his. He shook mine and smiled.
  "Andre."
  "I knew that." I laughed immediately stopping when I saw the look Tom was giving me. I rolled my eyes.
  "Chill out dad, I'll go get your stuff."
  "Grab two!" he yelled up the stairs as I ran into my room and grabbed 2 pairs of sweat pants and 2 tshirts. When I walked into the living room again I threw a set to each boy.
  "Show him where to go and I'll start the movie." I said sitting down on the couch. Suddenly Janell was standing in front of the TV.
  "What. The. Fuck. Chelsea is there something you need to tell me?" she choked out.
  "Oh, the friend thats coming over is Tom Wilson?" I gave her an innocent pout. She gave me a glare and I giggled. "I knew you'd freak if I told you so I figured I'd just let you be surprised." she hit me with a pillow before sitting on the beanbag chair in the middle of the room. The boys came back downstairs a few minutes later and Tom sat next to me, pulling me into his lap so there was room for Andre to sit next to us. I rolled my eyes.
  "You're way too much Thomas." I chuckled as I started the movie and curled up into him.