Most of the dialogue is directly quoted from the movie Back to the Future: Part II. The goal isn't to make a new story, but to ponder on how the movie could've played out based on the true October 21, 2015. I don't own the Back to the Future trilogy or today's date. I also don't own the different products mentioned in this fic.
The future arrives before you know it
Jennifer found her boyfriend in the garage, leaning against his black pickup, his hands running over the glossy new finish. That by itself wasn't strange, seeing as how he had fallen in love with that truck the first time he'd laid eyes on it. After Jennifer called out to him, the way he said her name and slowly walked over to her— as though she were someone he had been afraid he'd never see again— was a little odd. But that, again, wasn't the strange part of this morning. What made this Saturday the strangest day of her life, was something far, far, more unusual.
Jennifer smiled at his actions. "Marty, you're acting like you haven't seen me in a week."
"I haven't."
She laughed at the exaggeration, even while asking, "Are you okay? Is everything alright?" She wrapped her arms around his neck. If he was stressed about something, she would be his support and comfort.
Marty reached up to run a hand over her arm, but instead of answering immediately, he looked over his shoulder.
Jennifer followed his gaze to see his parents watching them from the front door.
The elder McFlys were smiling, holding one another close. The two of them were so in love, even after almost 25 years of marriage. It was beautiful. The two stepped away from the doorway, apparently wanting to give their youngest son and his girlfriend a moment alone. Marty had wonderful parents. They trusted their children, and even encouraged Marty and Jennifer's growing relationship.
Marty took Jennifer's hand and held it close. "Oh, yeah... everything's great."
Her gaze drifted to his lips, and she felt herself being drawn toward them.
Marty met her halfway.
Two loud bangs and flashes of light startled them apart. Jennifer turned, squinting against a sudden gust of wind, to see a car make a sharp turn into the driveway and hit one of Marty's garbage cans. The garbage can stuck to the front bumper and pieces of trash flew over the windshield, before the car came to a stop.
Smoke drifted up from the hood. It was a silver car. Thick wires ran along its base, just above the tires, and, though she didn't know much about cars, she didn't think they were part of the original design.
Marty started toward the car, and Jennifer followed. Was there some kind of engine trouble? The smoke seemed to be starting to dissipate now. Or maybe the driver pushed the car too hard to get here quickly?
The driver's side door opened— upward— and an older man stepped out. "Marty!"
Did Marty know him? As the man rushed over to them, she noticed Marty turn toward her. She caught a glimpse of the strange look Marty was giving her. Wary; as though expecting her to have a dangerous reaction to something any moment now.
Before she could guess what it meant, the man grabbed Marty's upper arms and forced him to look his way. "You gotta come back with me!"
He seemed very close to Marty, though Jennifer had never seen him around before. Perhaps he was a relative? An uncle, maybe. He had overdramatic actions and seemed very excitable, especially given his age. He had long, wispy white hair, wide eyes, and now she noticed the white jumpsuit he was wearing seemed to be a HAZMAT suit. He also wore a watch on both wrists.
"Where?" Marty asked.
"Back to the future."
The man darted back to the car, ducking into the driver's side, through the door he'd left opened earlier, and started to rummage around inside.
"Wait a minute, Doc, what are you doing?" Marty seemed to find the man almost as hard to keep up with as she did.
The man's— Doc's— head popped back out of the car, his now yellow-rubber-glove-clad arms holding a white helmet. "I need fuel."
The helmet went on, and Doc was at the front of the car, lifting the hood. It seemed the front was a storage area, rather than housing the engine. He started to remove a yellow chest. "Go ahead. Quick! Get in the car."
Jennifer realized the chest was marked with a radiation symbol.
"Don't worry, the interior of the car is perfectly safe," Doc mentioned without looking up.
She stared, eyes shifting between the yellow chest containing some kind of dangerous material, and the man covered in a radiation suit. Her feet stayed rooted where she stood, not sure whether to trust his claim that the inside of the car was safe.
Marty let out an incredulous laugh. "No, nonono. Look, Doc, I just got here," he suddenly turned to gesture at Jennifer, "Jennifer's here— "
She distractedly wrapped an arm around her boyfriend, still giving the yellow case nervous glances.
"— We're going to take the new truck for a spin," Marty finished.
"Well, bring her along," Doc said. He left the case on the driveway to walk over to them, flipping up his helmet. "This concerns her, too."
Jennifer searched his face for some clue as to what he was talking about. Was the man insane? Some mental patient? Was he going to kill them all with radiation poisoning?
"Wait a minute, Doc. What are you talking about. What happens to us in the future?"
Jennifer switched to searching Marty's face. He couldn't be serious— the future? What did that mean?
Marty continued, "What, do we become a**holes or something?"
Jennifer glanced back to Doc, who stilled for a moment, his eyes drifting to the side, as though contemplating the answer to that. He blinked rapidly and shook his head. "Oh, nononono. You and Jennifer both turn out fine. It's your kids, Marty."
Jennifer's eyes widened. Her kids— she hadn't gone beyond kissing!
Doc continued, "Something's gotta be done about your kids!"
No, the two of them had said 'the future'— she would have kids, in the future. ...With Marty. What exactly that suggested started to come to mind, and her gaze slid over to Marty from the corner of her eye.
Doc seemed antsy enough to do whatever he was planning on doing with the radioactive material, whether they were safe or not. So they decided to get in the car.
She was still dazed, but allowed Marty to lead her to the car. When Marty opened the passenger door, Doc called out that they would need to share the seat, so Marty helped her in and then squeezed in beside her.
What Doc had claimed made her feel awkward sitting next to Marty. The two of them hadn't been a couple for all that long, or at least not long enough for her to marry him. It felt confining, perhaps suffocating. Maybe she did have doodles of 'Jennifer McFly' in the pages of her notebooks, but that was when it was only a possibility— a very distant possibility.
"You okay, Jennifer?" Marty asked her.
Jennifer lifted her gaze to him and searched his face. He didn't seem bothered at all. The truth was, she liked Marty. The thought of being with him forever wasn't a bad one, it was just the thought of not having any other options. However, maybe it wasn't that there were no other choices, but a sign that this was the right choice. It wasn't like she was going to wake up tomorrow and discover they're married. They could take it slow, like they had been doing.
Slowly, she smiled. "Yeah. Everything's great."
Their lips drew apart as Doc returned, though Marty kept his arm around her.
As Doc shifted into reverse, a small screen came on in front of her, showing Marty's driveway, and the road behind them. There were yellow lines on the screen that she knew weren't there on the actual driveway. The lines shifted when Doc turned the steering wheel.
"Hey, Doc, is this live footage?" Marty asked from beside her, leaning over to tap the screen.
"Huh? Oh. It's a modification I'd added to the car. There's a camera mounted on the back, which comes on when the car is put in reverse. The overlay shows the projected path of the vehicle."
Marty nodded. "It helps when traveling through time?"
"No. It helps drivers see while backing up."
Doc stopped the car and messed with some controls. Underneath the video screen, a digital display lit up, showing the current date of October 26, 1985 twice in a row and then the date of October 21, 2015 on a third line. Doc entered a few numbers on a keypad, and the first line switched to October 21, 2015.
He stomped on the gas, pushing her and Marty into the seat.
For a moment, she thought she saw Biff Tannon in front of Marty's house. Then, it was raining.
author note:
I might later expand this chapter to include the next scene. I think this'll have three chapters. The next focusing on Marty's adventures, and the last focusing on Jennifer's.