The Perfect Gift
Chapter 3
AN: Yay! I got really good reviews on the last chapter, thanks to EVERYONE who reviewed! Shout out time!
Hot4KidFlash: Thanks for thinking of me as a writer! Although I want to be an actress, I do this for fun :) And I went to your page to read some of your stories, but I'm not familiar with the Justice League, and I'm afraid I wouldn't be much help. I'm sorry :( I'll still read them anyway, even though I won't know what's going on, haha. Hope you enjoy this chapter!
Flaming Trails: I just love snowball fights, it's the perfect addition to any story, lol. I'm really grateful that I have you to catch all of my mistakes, lord knows I make enough of them. Anyway, thanks for the review!
bttf4444: Thanks for the review. I really liked your stuff. I started reading "Marty's Twin" and couldn't help but think, "Whoa, déjà vu! This sounds exactly like BttF II, only some of the characters are switched". Then I read your reviews and found that two people have said the exact same thing, so I'm not going to harp on about it, lol. I read a few more other stories, and I liked them, they had a twist to them. Anyway, if you need help I will only be too happy to help. Hope you like this chapter!
All right, so this chapter is basically one long dream. You'll understand in chapter 4, haha. Read on, loves! And reviews make me extra happy :)
Bright lights, bass thumping, heart pounding in his ears, the body heat of one hundred or more people pressed against a scrawny fifteen year old Marty McFly. His eyes roamed the club crowd for his friends, finally spotting them by the stage. He squeezed through clumps of people, making his way across the floor slowly.
"Hey, guys are we almost set up?" he asked breathlessly. The boy closest to him, Spydo, nodded, fiddling with a guitar amp.
"Just about. We have thirty more minutes until we're up." Spydo said. Marty nodded, shoving his shaking hands inside his jean pockets. His other friend, J.J., spotted this and laughed.
"Marty, don't be nervous. We're going to knock 'em dead!" he encouraged.
"I know but this is my first real gig. I just want them to like us." Marty admitted.
"Don't worry," the last friend, Rick, said as he leaned against the edge of the stage. "Once you're up there, the lights will be so bright that you can't see the crowd. And besides," he shrugged. "Once you get going, you'll forget everything and focus on the music. At least that's the way it is for me."
Marty scoffed. "That's easy for you to say. You've done a bazillion other things like this so you're used to it."
J.J. shook his head. "You don't think that Chuck Berry gets nervous before his first set? Or what about the Stones? Or Eric Clapton? It doesn't matter how much experience they've had; they're only human, so of course they'll get scared. But when they're on stage, they feel the music and block out everything else. Being there reminds them why they signed a contract in the first place." It was the most inspirational thing J.J. had ever said. The other three could only contemplate his words until Rick busted up laughing.
"What Sally Jessy Raphael is trying to say, Marty," Rick said through his laughter, while earning a shove from J.J. "is to be cool, be yourself, and play until your fingers bleed," Marty scrunched his nose at this. "Okay, so forget about the bleeding part." Rick rolled his eyes.
"It's not like we're in a contest or anything." Spydo said.
"Exactly, because if we were, you'd be expected to take the bleeding seriously." J.J. said. Marty rolled his eyes, but grinned nonetheless.
"You okay now?" Rick asked. Marty nodded. "Good. Now, can you get me a drink?"
Marty's eyes widened. "You want me to go through that again?" he pointed to the crowd, which seemed to have grown bigger in the past two minutes.
"Relax. You're short and skinny, you'll just slip right through," Rick said. Marty raised an eyebrow, his expression set in a 'you've go to be kidding me' look. Rick sighed. "Look, just do it. It'll be good for you." With that, he pushed a protesting Marty into the sea of people, leaving him alone and defenseless. While struggling through yet again, Marty pondered how this could possibly be good for him.
He reached the bar at last and plopped into a conveniently available stool. The bar tender, a middle aged woman with frizzy brown hair swept into a bun and black rimmed glasses, squinted at him suspiciously.
"You twenty-one?" she asked.
"No, I'm not ordering alcohol." Marty said, hastily.
"You eighteen?"
He paused. "No…"
The woman put her hand on her hip. "Then how the hell didja get in here?" she asked harshly. He smirked, remembering the fake ID Rick gave him.
"Wouldn't you like to know?"
The woman studied him, a strand of hair falling in her face. Marty thought he was busted for sure, until she cracked a smile.
"You're a sharp one. Hey, I won't tell if you won't."
Marty laughed in relief. "Thanks. Can I have two Pepsis?"
"Sure, kid," she said. She reached behind her for two glasses, then produced two cans of Pepsi from under the counter. "So how old are you anyway?" she asked, starting to pour out the first can. Marty stopped her and asked for the cans only. She nodded and returned the glasses.
"I'm fifteen, but my band and I are here for the War Tour, so it's not like I'm here for fun. Well…I am…but…" Marty trailed off lamely. She nodded, understanding.
"I was wondering how you got past the muscle heads at the entrance."
"You'd be amazed what a fake ID can do for you."
The woman laughed. "You're a good kid. What's your name?"
"Marty McFly."
"Well hi, Marty, I'm Marlene Parker," they smiled and shook hands. "How eerie, our name are so alike."
"Yeah, weird."
"All right, I got other drinks to fill, and not just Pepsis. It was good talking to you, Marty."
"You too, Marlene."
"I'll cheer for you guys the loudest." With a wink, she turned and walked to the other end of the bar. Marty smiled, thankful he made a friend and not an enemy. He didn't notice anyone next to him until he heard a sigh. He looked to his right to find a girl with brown curly hair and a small frame sitting on the stool. She had an elbow on the bar top, and her chin rested in the palm on her hand. A thick book was open and her eyes were cast down at it.
"How can you read with all this noise?" Marty asked. The girl blinked and looked up at him. He was shocked to see that she didn't look much older than him. 'I wonder how she got in', he thought.
She grinned. "I'm used to it," she admitted, then went back to her book. "I know what you're thinking and my mom works here. I come hang out every once in a while."
Marty shrugged. "I didn't say-"
"I know, but I get asked that a lot so I figured I'd save you some time," she interrupted. "You're with a band aren't you?"
He nodded. "Yeah, how'd you know?"
"Because there's no way a kid as scrawny as you could get in to a club without an adult or a fake ID. So which is it?"
"Fake ID." Marty said. He knew he'd seen this girl before, but from where?
She laughed. "Naturally."
"I'm not as scrawny as you think. I work out." he defended. She closed her book, turned back to him with raised eyebrows.
"With what? Tree branches with two pound weights?"
Marty frowned. "No, just regular ten pounders."
"Oh yeah, you're so big and strong." she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. A random thought struck him, which made them steer away from his ability to never gain muscle.
"Do you go to Hill Valley High School?"
"Who wants to know?"
"I heard you're a wanted criminal and if you're who I think you are, I'm turning you in for a seven hundred dollar reward." He said coolly. She just stared at him.
"Wow, that's really lame. I was worth a thousand yesterday." She said with a straight face. Marty rolled his eyes.
"Jesus Christ, it was a joke! I go to Hill Valley, that's why I asked."
"No! Really? What a coincidence, me too!" she said, her voice unflatteringly high. Then her smile dropped and her voice was back to its normal, sardonic tone. "Yeah, I know, Marty. We're in the same math class. And english class and art class."
"Holy shit! How come I've never noticed you?"
"You're too busy with your friends and I don't like to be bothered. I don't talk to anyone and my only other two friends don't have classes when you and I do."
"Oh," he said. Now he felt bad. He thought he knew everyone in his class. "Well, I wish we could switch lives for a day. I've never had a day to myself and I sometimes hate all the attention."
She frowned. "That's a weird attitude for someone who's aspiring to be a rock star."
"You know my music?" he asked, surprised.
"Sure, I've heard a few songs."
"What do you think of us? Honestly."
"Honestly? I like the lyrics and you have a beat I can jam to."
Marty was intrigued. "What's your name?"
"Jennifer Parker," she said. "I hope you're not thinking of turning me in for seven hundred bucks; because I'm worth more than that." Marty laughed, feeling a real connection to this girl.
"Is that your mom?" he pointed to Marlene.
"Yeah."
"She's so awesome."
Jennifer rolled her eyes. "If you say so."
Marty heard his name being called out and Rick emerged from the crowd.
"Here you are. We got worried when you didn't come back. Where's my drink?" he asked, looking out of breath. Marty handed Rick his Pepsi.
"Not so easy getting through there, is it?" Marty smirked.
"Shut up," Rick glared and opened the can. "Oh hey, Jennifer. Your mom working tonight?"
"Hi, Rick. No, I'm here for the boos. Yes, my mom is working! Duh!"
"Aw come on, Jen. You're an alchie, just admit it."
"Wait, you guys know each other?" Marty asked, confused.
"We dated." Rick said, grinning slyly.
"Yeah, in seventh grade for like two weeks."
"The best two weeks of our lives." Rick put an arm around her. Jennifer made a face.
"Ugh, please, I wish I'd dated a slug rather than you." she pushed his arm away in disgust.
"Slugs don't know how to treat a lady." Rick said, a little hurt, but still keeping the grin.
"True, but they don't make unwanted advances." she said, crossing her arms over her chest and giving him a meaningful look. Marty could sense tension and the last thing he wanted was to be caught in the middle.
"Okay well I think we're going to go," Marty said quickly, standing up and finishing his Pepsi. "I hope you stay and watch us. We're up next." he took Rick by the shoulders and steered them away to the crowd and then to the stage, where Spydo and J.J. were tuning up. "I'm not even going to ask what that was about and I really don't care."
"Ah, it's nothing, Marty. We're friends now, though I gotta admit, she's still as cute as she was in middle school." Rick said, jumping on stage, grabbing his drumsticks as he went. Marty looked back to the bar before he too went on stage. He spotted Jennifer, who was apparently looking for someone, too. When her eyes landed on him, he made out the tiniest smile.
"She sure is cute." he said, taking his place in front of the microphone, where he was meant to be.
AN: I don't know about you, but when I started writing this, I could see Jennifer as a bad girl when she was younger. I mean, she wasn't BAD, just different then how we know her. Then as she got older, she grew into the person who we know and love in the movies. Does that make sense? I hope so, lol. This is my all time favourite chapter, I hope you think so too. Oh and Sally Jessy Raphael was a talk show host way back in the 80's to early 2002. She was kind of like Oprah, and I wanted to use Oprah but she wasn't around in 1983. So and yeah, I don't own either show, lol. Leave the love in a review! See you in chapter 4 :)
DreamlessMermaid