At the age of 21, Emily is told an incredible family secret by her mother: all the women in her family have the ability to relive their past. She can revisit any moment in her life to try things differently until she gets them perfectly right. She decides to use her new special gift to win the heart of a beautiful blonde named Naomi, but finds that the course of true love can be difficult even with the ability to try again.

Ok so I have had this idea swimming around in my head for a couple of weeks now and I just wanted to get some of it down, I have the first couple of chapters written so thought I would post the first one. I am not so sure about how it works really, it is based on the film About Time by Richard Curtis, there will be some parts that are just like the film but then there are obviously going to be some major differences as well. I have also never written a story where Emily and Jenna get on with each other so that could be a challenge in itself. I will stop wittering on now though and just let you read it, I hope you like it...

Chapter One

Emily

I always knew we were a fairly odd family. First there was me, Emily, with my bright red hair trying to break free from the shadows of my twin sister. My mum was not like other mums, she always seemed so busy and focused on things being the right way. She is better with things now but let's just say when I told my family I was gay a few years ago it didn't go down with her to well. My Dad, I guess I would describe him as the more normal out of my two parents, he was down to earth and took life in his stride and dealt with things as they happened. He owns the local gym 'Fitch Fitness' in town which keeps him occupied but he still always has time for us whenever we need a chat. Then there is Katie, my twin sister, she was born 6 minutes before me and that apparently gives her the right to control me. She lives in leopard print and high heels and is always plastered in make-up. I want to break free from her control and live my own life but I will always love her and she will always be a part of me. And I can't forget about James, my little brother, he is a few years younger than Katie and I and the best word I can think to describe him is pervert. He spends his time trying to watch through the keyhole in the bathroom door whilst Katie and I are in the shower and there have been a number of times we have found him going through our draws or dressing in our clothes.

All in all though we had a pretty good childhood, we mostly got on as a family and having the beach right on our back doorstep was incredible. I guess I should tell you we live in Scotland now, both Katie and I were born in Bristol but mum wanted to move back to her home country so here we are.

I always knew I was different from Katie from an early age, she was always talking about boys and how fit they were whereas I was never that interested but there were some pretty cute girls around. I didn't tell Katie about that at the time though. It wasn't until I was 16 that I felt I could come out to my family, as I said before mum didn't take it so well at the time but she has accepted it now although it is pretty obvious that Katie is her favourite. Dad just told me he wanted me to be happy and if being with a girl was going to make me happy then he was happy. I'm not entirely sure he understood completely what I had just told him but it was all good. Katie didn't take it well at first; I think she thought that people would think the same about her because we were twins. She went round shagging every guy in sight for a while to stop people thinking that but they didn't and as soon as Katie realised that things were good between us again. Then I come to James, he just thought it was all very cool and even asked if he and his friend Gordon could come and watch when I had a girlfriend. For that comment he received a slap round the back of his head from me and 100 reps on the naughty bar from dad. You would think that would have taught him a lesson but the comments still kept on coming, they still do but I'm used to him. We used to spend a lot of time down at the gym with dad making the most of the equipment and making sure we stayed fit, strolled along the beach skimming stones across the water as we walked and every Friday evening mum would insist we spent the evening as a family. She always made her signature dish of beetroot and artichoke soup, which was absolutely revolting but we all ate it regardless and then we would watch a film, taking it in turns week after week to choose that evenings film. Of course once mum and dad were in bed Katie, James and I would all sneak down to the kitchen and eat what we could find in the fridge and cupboards to stop the hunger from the disastrous dinner.

To add to that every year the dreaded New Year's party would come round. When we were younger Katie would always be trying to set me up with the next random lad she had found deciding that I needed a good seeing to but once she had accepted I was gay she started trying to set me up with random girls instead and this year was no different. She failed to accept that I could find my own girlfriend.

This year it was a girl named Mandy that Katie had dragged in to try and 'end my dry spell' as Katie put it but there was absolutely no attraction there at all. She was so tall, almost giant height to my small frame with long dark hair and as the evening progressed I also discovered she was extremely clingy. I looked around the room trying to find Katie to help me out of the situation I had found myself stuck in but she was of course busy with another random lad she had picked up along the line and there was no way I was ever going to get her attention. I also looked around for my best friend Panda, well her name was actually Pandora but it always gets shortened to Panda but she was of course nowhere to be found. Katie had probably had a word in her ear telling her to stay away and let things with Mandy run their own course. As midnight approached I was desperately trying to find a way to escape Mandy, I knew what she would be expecting to happen when that clock struck but that was not what I wanted. Unfortunately though as I heard the chimes indicating to me that we were entering a new year Mandy was still by my side and all I could do was watch helplessly as she slowly moved her head down aiming for my lips. I had to think quickly and as her lips were about to reach mine I turned my head so she got my cheek instead before muttering 'sorry' as I walked away. She looked so disappointed but I couldn't help my own feelings and I was still cursing Katie for putting me in that situation once again.

And so I woke up the next morning, hung-over, ashamed of myself, and not realising it would be the day that would change my life. I groaned slightly as I sat up in bed, I was about to move and have a shower when Katie burst into the room "Get up stupid, Mum wants you."

I threw my head back on the pillow and moaned "Oh what does she want?"

Katie rolled her eyes "I don't know do I so you better get your arse into gear and go find out."

With that she flounced back out of the room as fast as she had come in to it and I knew there was only one thing I had to go and do now. I stumbled out of bed and slowly made my way down the corridor knowing that mum would be in her office. I took a deep breath before knocking on the door; yes I know I said things were ok between us now but being in a room with her alone always made me slightly nervous. I opened the door slowly and heard her Scottish drawl immediately "Emily, come in, take a seat." She indicated towards the chair to the side of the room as she spoke.

I sat down tentatively wondering what this was all about "This is all very formal mum."

She looked nervous, I don't think I had ever seen my mum look nervous before, she gulped before starting to speak again "Well, um, yeah." She paused "This is an odd moment for me because I had the same moment with my mother when I'd just turned 21, and after it, my life was never the same, so I approach it pretty, um, nervously."

"Okay." I half whispered slightly concerned about what she could be about to tell me "When you're ready. It's all very mysterious."

She paced the room slightly before turning back to me "Ok, here goes… Emily, my dear daughter, the… The simple fact is the women in this family have always had the ability to…" she paused "This is going to sound strange, be prepared for strangeness. Get ready for spooky time, but there's this family secret and the secret is that the women in this family can travel in time." She paused again trying to gauge my reaction before continuing "Well, more accurately, travel back in time. We can't travel into the future."

I laughed "This is a joke right, such a weird joke." I didn't know what else to do other than laugh, what mum was telling me couldn't be the truth, could it.

She looked directly at me "It's seriously not a joke."

I took a deep breath trying to take this in "So you're saying that you and grandma, and her sisters could all travel back in time?"

"Absolutely." She replied in a deadly serious tone.

I was so confused "And you still do?"

"Absolutely." She replied again still in that serious tone "Although it's not as dramatic as it sounds. It is only in my own life. I can only go to places where I actually was and can remember. I can't kill Hitler or shag Johnny Depp, unfortunately."

"Okay, stop." I stuttered out, I really didn't need to know about my mums thoughts on her sex life but also I was still so confused "Um… if it's true, which it isn't."

Mum interrupted "Although it is."

I chose to ignore her and carry on with what I was trying to say "Although it isn't, obviously. But if it was, which it's not."

Mum interrupted again "Which it is."

I continued again wanting to find out more about what she was trying to say "Which it isn't. But if it was, how would I…"

She smiled slightly, probably wondering if I was coming round to the idea "The 'how' is the easy bit, in fact. You go into a dark place, big cupboards are very useful generally, toilets at a pinch. Then you clench your fists like this." She demonstrated before continuing "Think of the moment you're going to and you'll find yourself there after a bit of a stumble and a rumble and a tumble."

"Wow." That was the only word I could find to express what I had just been told.

Mum laughed "That is as good as reaction to any. I think I plumped for "fuck!"

I was laughing I couldn't help it "This is obviously a joke."

"It's not a joke." She said shaking her head "Why would I lie to someone I'm fairly fond of?"

I looked directly at her and could see she wasn't laughing or smirking, maybe she was being serious after all but I still couldn't bring myself to believe it "Have you had this chat with Katie yet?"

She nodded "Yes, just before you, she reacted in almost the same way as you until she tried it out."

Maybe she was being serious, I guess there was only one way I was going to find out for real if this was true "Okay, but when I come back downstairs after standing in a cupboard with my fists clenched, you're going to be in so much trouble."

She just smiled "Well, let's just see shall we?" she paused as I stood up to leave the room "And Emily, try and do something interesting."

I nodded slightly still not really believing her but why would she say something like this if it wasn't true. I left the room and walked back up to my bedroom, I looked towards my wardrobe and started walking towards it before stopping and thinking 'no this is stupid.' I was going to walk away again but I knew I wouldn't be able to stop thinking about it until I knew for sure whether it was true or not. I stepped towards my wardrobe and opened the door, tentatively stepping inside and closing the doors behind me again. I took a deep breath and stood up straight with my fists clenched beside me and thought back to yesterday's New Year's Eve party. There was a bit of a rumble and a bit of a tumble and as I opened the wardrobe door again I found myself back at the party. I couldn't believe it, the absurdity that mum had just explained to me was true, I guess now all that was left to do was to do carry out what I come back here to do. I felt so guilty about last night I wanted to put it right, I walked back into the room feeling a sense of de ja vu, which was to be expected. The clock was approaching midnight and I once again found myself standing next to Mandy. As the clock struck and I saw her moving towards me I let her kiss me, she softly caressed my lips and I returned her kiss, there weren't any feelings there from me but I didn't want to see that disappointed look again. As she pulled back she smiled and I spoke softly "Happy New Year Mandy."

"Happy New Year Emily." She whispered before I turned to walk away again to avoid any awkwardness.

I made my way back upstairs and climbed back into the wardrobe taking myself back to the present day and made my way back up to mum's office knowing she would be waiting for me to come back to her. She rested her hand on my shoulder as she walked over to stand next to me "Are you ok Emily?"

I swallowed "Um, yeah." I paused "Mum, does Dad know?"

She shook her head "No, not a thing."

I nodded slightly again "Strange." I stopped "And what about the whole…"

"Butterfly effect thing…" she finished off for me "What can I say? We don't seem to have messed up civilisation yet."

I took a deep breath "It's going to be a complicated year."

"It's going to be a complicated life." Mum laughed.

I was about to walk away but stopped to turn back around "What have you done with it?"

"For me it was books, I've read everything I could wish to, twice." She paused taking in my expression "Any first thoughts?"

I shook my head slightly "I don't know, it's a lot to get my head around. I guess money would be the obvious thing."

Mum nodded "Yeah I can see why you would think that but I will let you into a secret, that was the same thought as your grandmothers and it screwed up her life. It left her without any love or any friends. I have never bumped into a genuinely happy rich person." I sat down again and she sat next to me "You have to use it for things that you really think will make your life the way you want it to be. If you really think about it the answer will come to you."

I was silent for a while just thinking, still taking it all in really "Well, I guess if I am honest, I suppose, at the moment, it would be great if it could help me get a girlfriend."

"Wow." Mum exclaimed surprised.

I smiled "Yeah, I just want to find happiness with someone special."

Mum smiled "Well if anyone can do that, you can Emily."

I gave her a hug, something I didn't do very often, before leaving the room once more. I couldn't stop thinking about what I had just found out about myself and I also knew that now I knew it was true it was always going to be about love for me.