#i had a VERY interesting idea for this nostalgia prompt that leans heavily into au territory that i might start writing up for fun

[doctorbrown]

DOCTOBER '23 ⸺ 「 23 / 31 * NOSTALGIA 」

December 7, 1985

❝Can you believe it's been twenty-seven years already since we got married, George?❞ Lorraine says, smiling as George wraps his arms around her from behind. He leans in and whispers something in her ear that paints her face a bright shade of red and has her giggling like a schoolgirl. Lorraine swats at George's hand half-heartedly, but her eyes are twinkling with the knowledge passed between them in their silent conversation.

Marty quickly looks away from his parents to look at Dave, at Linda, at the faint coffee stain on the couch—anywhere but there. Linda rolls her eyes, shrugs at Marty, and leans in toward her little brother to whisper, ❝You and Jennifer better not be this bad when you get to be Mom and Dad's age.❞

❝How time flies,❞ George says wistfully, ❝but these have been the best years of my life. I married the woman of my dreams, I have my family... You know, I was actually looking through some of our old stuff and you'll never guess what I found tossed in with the photo albums—our old yearbooks!❞

❝Our yearbooks? Oh, I haven't thought about those things in years.❞ Lorraine sighs, leaning back into George. ❝Speaking of high school, George, you remember Calvin?❞

Marty snaps straight to attention as Lorraine makes a noise he can't quite place. At his sides, Linda and Dave both groan in preparation for a story they've heard so many times they could recite it verbatim.

A lump the size of a baseball forms in Marty's throat and he feels the tension mounting in his shoulders as he pulls them tighter, willing to the powers-that-be that his parents change the topic or the power goes out. The lights don't even flicker and his silent pleas once again go unanswered.

He grabs his soda from the table.

❝Calvin. Now there's a name I haven't heard in a while. I wonder what happened to him. He disappeared after the dance; didn't his uncle say he went back to New York?❞

They talked to Doc? Marty chokes on his drink and Linda whips her head around, her face scrunched up in a mix of concern and annoyance. ❝You forget how to drink?❞ He waves a hand at the four pairs of eyes now trained on him to say I'm fine, ignore me. Dave pats him gently on the knee.

❝He must have been one of the strangest people I ever met,❞ George continues, humming softly. ❝Always saying weird things, didn't quite fit in—❞

❝But he was so handsome,❞ Lorraine muses, and Marty feels his stomach flip. This is all still too fresh in his mind for them to be talking about this and he fights the urge to cover his mouth when he starts feeling nauseous for fear that they'll somehow put two-and-two together.

Dave's brows furrows as he asks if Marty's feeling alright and he diverts the question with a hurried nod.

❝Mm, he was an attractive guy, wasn't he?❞ Marty's eyes widen as the realisation sets in.

❝I'll never forget his advice to me: you can accomplish anything if you put your mind to it. It's what I've been teaching you kids since you were little. It's all because of him I had the courage to stand up to Biff that night.❞

Lorraine smiles. ❝You were amazing, George. It was the most heroic thing anyone had ever done for me.❞

Linda groans. ❝We know, Mom, we know. And then Calvin Klein played at the Enchantment Under the Sea dance where you kissed for the first time and fell madly in love, Dad became super popular at school and became class president, and you lived happily ever after.❞

❝Why don't I go grab one of them? I think there's even a picture or two of Calvin in there. Have we ever shown you those photos, kids?❞

Marty shoots up off the couch like a rocket as his heart slams into his ribcage. ❝Shit, uh, I just remembered I was supposed to help Doc with something; I gotta go!❞