Chapter Text
After ensuring for the third time that the equipment was properly secured in the bed of the truck, Marty’s parents finally gave their son a hug goodbye for the weekend he had been looking forward to for weeks. He was finally taking that trip to the lake with Jennifer. After the events of the past couple weeks, he wasn’t even sure that it would be happening, but there they were. Marty made the quick drive to Jennifer’s house and they would be on their way.
Jennifer was already on the driveway, suitcase and duffel bag in hand, and he could see her dad’s face in the window of the house. Marty got out and opened the door for her, and after slipping her bags through the straps holding everything down, he was back behind the wheel again.
“It’s about time you took the truck for a spin, huh Marty?” Jennifer said with a smile that made Marty’s heart soar.
“Yeah, well, she’s been good to me so far,” he replied, giving the dash an affectionate tap.
Jennifer rolled her eyes, still smiling, and grabbed the map that sat folded in the glove compartment.
“Hey, Jen, I know where I’m going, I don’t need that thing!”
“Marty just yesterday you were late for school for making a wrong turn.”
Marty opened his mouth to reply, but found that he had nothing to say to that. It was true, since he had gotten the car he wanted to drive everywhere, but he realized quickly that skateboarding and taking shortcuts was significantly different from driving on the road. While he had been to the lake before, he had never made the drive himself, and he was usually not paying attention, headphones in his ears in his own world. So, he let Jennifer unfold the map and start studying their route.
About an hour into their drive, Marty decided that he needed some music. He picked a tape from his storage box and inserted it into the player in the car. “Here comes the Sun” started playing, and it made his mind wander until Jennifer spoke up.
“I didn’t know you listened to the Beatles,” she said, nodding her head to the tune.
“I didn’t, Doc gave it to me… I hadn’t realized that I enjoyed their music before.”
That made Jennifer pause, Marty had still been a little upset with Doc’s sudden departure in his train. Marty wished it could go back to how it was, he enjoyed being his lab assistant. But he just smiled and hummed the riff as he focused back in on the long country road ahead of him.
…
They had been ascending into the mountains for a while now, and the trees were beginning to thicken. Jennifer rolled down the window for some of the fresh air, and Marty breathed in the familiar smell of pine and mountain wind. It was refreshing.
As the Beatles tape stopped rolling, Jennifer pulled one of her own tapes out of her bag at her feet. Marty recognized the handwriting as his own, it was his audition tapes. He had forgotten that he gave them to Jennifer to review before he sent them in, and he laughed at the idea of listening to them now, but she had no problem with it.
She removed the Beatles tape that was in before, and started his audition tape from the beginning. Marty knew how it sounded of course, and so did Jennifer. They had both listened to it dozens of times by now, but as the sound of “Johnny B. Goode” filled the car, Marty felt at home. Jennifer moved in as close as she could and leaned her head against Marty’s shoulder. He remembered how much he had missed her back in 1885 and rested his chin on her head, keeping his eyes on the road.
The two teenagers sang along to the lyrics, laughing at each other, and Jennifer looked closely at Marty once the song slowed to a halt and the quieter tunes of “Under Pressure” played from the speakers.
“You know Marty, I still think you should send these in. You have a lot of talent and I’m sure the record companies are dying to find someone like you,” Jennifer said, sitting up and looking at Marty.
He remembered the last time he had this conversation, what he told her about being afraid of rejection. It would take time for him to unlearn that.
“I don’t know, I don’t think I’m made for music,” he lied. He wanted it more than anything else in the world, but he never quite felt sure of his abilities.
“Are you kidding? You’re always practicing, and you’re really good.”
It felt good to hear her say that, “what if they tell me I’m no good?” Marty knew her answer to that, he had asked it a million times, but she surprised him this time.
“Marty, remember what Doc said about our futures? How we have to write them ourselves?”
“Yeah?”
“Well, you’ll never know their answer until you try,” she continued.
Marty thought about Doc again, and his want for Marty and Jennifer to make a good life for themselves. He thought about his father, the new version of him, how he had the same fears and took the plunge. Look at him now, a wildly successful author.
“Well,” Marty said, Jennifer looked at him expectantly, “I guess if I put my mind to it I can accomplish anything.”
Jennifer smiled, she rested her head on Marty’s shoulder again, and she smiled as Marty’s cover of “The Power of Love” began over the speakers.