Unexpected - An Andre Burakovsky Fanfiction

Verizon Center

{Andre's POV}

A groan escaped my lips as I rolled over and looked at my phone resting on my night stand.

3 PM. One hour to pull myself together.

Over the past week, I had spent most of my time in bed. I was a wreck, but I didn't have the will do anything about it. Maybe I was overreacting. Hell, I knew I was overreacting, but what else was I supposed to do? Act like everything was fine? I wasn't fine, but I put a smile on my face, went to practice, and tried to be as normal as possible. The last thing I needed was for my teammates to pester me.

And today was no different.

I rubbed my eyes, tossing the covers to the other side of the bed, and swinging my legs over the edge of my bed. A sigh escaped my lips as I stood up. I shuffled to the bathroom, flipping on the light switch. Stood in front of me in the mirror was a stranger; a side of me I didn't see often. I poked the bags under my eyes, wishing I could magically make them disappear. I looked fucking pathetic.

Instead of starring at myself in the mirror, I carried on with my routine, pushing my thoughts to the side, just for the time being.

4 PM.

I turned the car off and took the keys out of the ignition. For just a moment, I collected myself, before getting out of the car and walking into the Verizon Center. I went through security and walked down the hallway toward the locker room. Tom and Michael were standing outside of the door, having a conversation.

"Hey Burks, how ya holding up?" Latts questioned, a concerned look upon his face.

I mumbled something about being fine and pushed my way through the door, walking into the locker room. For the next twenty minutes, I sat in my stall, changing into my under garments and trying to clear my head. Focusing on the game was easier said than done. I took a deep breath, sliding on my under armor shirt.

"Alright boys, you've got five minutes and then I want to see you all in the video room," Coach Trotz stated, "We need to go over a few things before tonight's game".

I almost felt relieved because for just a few minutes, I would have something else to focus on.

6:27 PM.

I stood in tunnel, shifting from skate to skate, listening to the fans cheer as the lights in the arena dimmed.

"Welcome your Washington Capitals!"

That was our cue. Holts led the team out to the rink for pre-game warmups. TJ came up to me as he did before every game.

"Come on Burky, just relax," he laughed. I gave him a small smile, chest bumping with him like we did before every game.

"Woo let's fucking go boys!" Justin yelled, lifting up his stick and continuing down the tunnel.

I was one of the last ones on the ice. I didn't usually go last, but lately I had been trying to prolong the inevitable. Cheers erupted as I skated behind the net and over towards the bench. I did a few laps around my usual spot, mostly staring at the ice or the puck on my stick. As I skated by the left face off circle, I looked up. Wait what? I did a double take, looking behind as I went past. Mallory? I almost ran into Marcus as I stared at...Mallory. There she was, wearing her jersey I had bought her on our first date. She couldn't be here, she hates me. I must've been dreaming.

I skated by once more, slower this time, looking at Mallory. She smiled at me and smacked her hand against the glass as I went by her.

"You're welcome," Tom sang, rushing past me, a smile plastered on his face.

"You did this?" I asked, following behind him.

"I was tired of you moping around," Tom sighed, kneeling on the ice just in front of Natalie and Mallory. I shook my head, looking back once again at Mallory.

'I'm sorry' she mouthed, placing her hand on the glass. I grinned at her, letting her know I forgave her. For the first time in days, I felt like myself again. Unfortunately for me, I still had a game to play.

7:05 PM.

I stood on the bench, listening to the national anthem as I took in the arena around me.

"Oh!" the crowd sang as it got towards the end of the song. As the singer sang the last note, the crowd clapped and cheered. I put my helmet back on and sat down on the bench next to Kuzy.

"Glad to have you back," Tom teased, bumping into me as he slid down the bench.

I grinned, "thank you for doing that".

"No problem, bro," he replied, "Now just go out there and score".

And that's exactly what I did. Six games and five minutes later, I finally ended my drought.

"Fucking right Burks!" Williams praised, coming in for a hug just behind the opposing teams net. I skated past the bench, high-fiving my teammates in the process.

"Capitals goal scored by number 65, Andre Burakovsky!"

10 PM.

After a 4-1 win against the Islanders, the locker room was buzzing to say the least. As I sat down in my stall, reporters gathered around me, quickly firing questions.

"How do you feel after scoring your first goal in seven games?"

"Great. It was good to get the first goal and get our momentum going," I replied, taking a drink of my Biosteel drink.

"Did you do anything differently?"

I laughed, looking down at my hands for a second. "I just cleared my head and focused more on my game".

After a few more questions, the reporters left the locker room.

"Hey Burks, you've got a visitor," Tom murmured, motioning to the locker room door.

I threw on my sweatshirt and walked into the hallway. Leaning against the wall was Mallory, talking to Natalie in front of her. I came up behind her and wrapped my arms around her. God, I had wanted to do that for so long. She turned around, standing on her tiptoes so she could kiss me.

"God damn I missed you," I whispered, my forehead pressed against hers.

She stared at me for a second before she spoke. "I'm sorry," she apologized, her head dropping to look at the floor. I placed my finger under her chin, lifting her head so she was looking at me.

"Don't blame yourself, I'm at fault too," I argued, "I don't want to lose you again".

She gave me a soft smile, mumbling.

"Never".