MCFLY JULY ‘24 — on the radio.
JULY 15, 1989
Marty sighs, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. He flexes his hands, rolling his shoulders, trying to work the kink out of his back before getting back to work. That’s pretty much the only downside of tinkering around with various unfinished projects of Doc’s; way too many hours spent hunched over.
“That was Tom Petty with ‘I Won’t Back Down’ here on KWHV 108.3 and I’m your host, Jamie Lee.” The deejay’s voice is sweet and smooth, and he remembers, warmth creeping across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose, that Jamie Lee was his first crush. As if it wasn’t enough she was the coolest girl inside the halls of Hill Valley High, outside of school she was the best basketball player and had the best music taste. A triple threat for sure.
“Next up we’ve got something kinda special: a new group that’s been soaring through the charts and sent the music world spinning with their electrifying debut.”
Marty feels his heart quicken in his chest and tries to tell himself to calm down, the radio static buzzing in his head. He drops the screwdriver, which clatters to the table clumsily. There’s no way. There’s absolutely no way in hell she could be talking about–
“So, without further ado, with their lead single ‘Strangerland’ off their album 88, give it up for Hill Valley’s very own hometown boys, McFly and the Flyaways!’
His stomach drops. He’d recognize that opening riff anywhere.
“Future sight can’t help me tonight, tired of waitin’ for time to restart–”
“Holy shit,” he breathes. “Holy shit!” he exclaims, leaping to his feet and not even caring that he hits his head on the way up. “Doc! DOC!”
He only feels a little bad when the door gets kicked open and his best friend bursts into the room like he’s goddamn Batman, clad in safety goggles instead of a cape and wielding a fire extinguisher instead of a Batarang.
“MARTY!” Doc cries, looking around like a man possessed, frantic in his search for some threat. “What is it? What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
He runs to the scientist, grasping his upper arms. His face hurts from smiling so much.
“Doc! Doc, listen!”
“—ghosts in my head, there’s a ghost in the mirror that I see instead—" comes his own voice a moment later.
Marty bows his head, grip momentarily tightening. There’s a lump in his throat and when he looks up at Doc again, his blue eyes are watery.
“My song, Doc,” he whispers. An awestruck, dumbstruck, disbelieving smile on his face makes him look all of thirteen again and he couldn’t care less. He lets out a laugh that’s a little too close to a sob for comfort. “They’re playing my song.”
The fire extinguisher falls to the ground with a thud as Doc returns the embrace, holding Marty at arm’s length so tightly he thinks he’ll wake up with bruises in the morning. If Marty thought his own smile was big and stupid, it had nothing on Doc’s.
“Do you know what this means?” he murmurs.
“You were right,” Marty replies. “All the stuff you said to me.”
“If you put your mind to it…” Doc starts, gently.
“…You can accomplish anything,” Marty finishes.
The chorus starts, crackly over the radio, but it’s the greatest thing he’s ever heard.
“Oh, I’m lost in my dreams, fallin' apart at the seams, and time is slippin' through my hand
But I got somethin' to prove, so what have I got to lose?
I'm gonna make it outta this
Strangerland!
I gotta make it outta this
Strangerland!”
“Woah,” Marty laughs, tears sliding down his face. “This is heavy.”
Doc pulls him into a bone-crushing hug which he eagerly returns, the instrumentation that took them weeks to nail blaring in the background.
“You did it, Marty. You made it.”
“I made it,” Marty repeats, as if it’ll make it feel more real. He feels lighter than air and like he’s buzzing with electricity, like he’s flying over a thundercloud. “Holy shit, I made it.” A sudden realization shocks him and his eyes widen. “I-I gotta tell the guys!”
“Go on, go on!” Doc encourages, letting him go, watching him fondly as he almost trips over his feet and the rug trying to make it to the phone in Doc and Clara’s library and study.
However, it’s already ringing when he gets there.
“Yo!” he greets, out of force of habit.
“Marty!” his dad’s warm voice responds.
“Marty, honey, turn on the radio, quick!” his mom jumps in. “They’re playing it! Your, um, your Stranger in a Strange Land song!”
“It’s your song, kiddo!” His dad sounds full to bursting with joy. “And boy, does it sound great!”
He laughs, using his thumb and forefinger in a fruitless attempt to try to stem the flow of tears.
“Thanks, guys.”
“Oh, sweetheart, we’re so happy for you. And so proud of you, too, so proud.” His mom sounds like she’s about to cry, too. “Linda’s taping it and everything and Dave has it playing at the office!”
“We love you, son,” his dad reminds him, “and you’ll be home for dinner, right?”
“Yeah, Dad. I will. Love you too.”
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local library book sale section haul
i don't check the book sale section of my library very often, but I was there yesterday and found some really great finds for really cheap :)
more info + rambles under cut!
top row:
- Call The Name of The Night
(never heard of it, but it sounds interesting. $1 is such a small amount of money that it's worth taking the risk in not liking it. i can just give my best friend whatever i don't like in hopes that she might enjoy it <3)
- I'm in LOVE with the VILLAINESS
(best friend loves this one. i want to also love this one. i think she would be happier if i didn’t like it so she gets to keep it)
- Little Witch Academia
(read a few volumes of this (that i checked out from the same library lol) when i was young. it's really good iirc. i lack the motivation to finish most series but i wish i really could've w this one)
- Bloom into You
(cute yuri!! never read but i'm looking forward to it :) )
bottom row:
- Wotakoi: Love Is Hard For Otaku
(actually read this exact volume while visiting another library in the city not too long ago. really good imo. a cute and fun read, gotta place the others on hold)
- Land of the Lustrous
(i've heard of it, but i actually don't know much other than the description at the back and that cosplayers love this one. again, $1 is such a small loss that it's nbd if i don't like it.)
- citrus
(pirated the whole thing as a kid. stole my older brother's ps vita and wouldn't give it back because this was my wallpaper. this is the most controversial choice, but i'd like to see the rest of y’all NOT buy a childhood fave for $1. i think i'm in the right here. cute series, would be perfect if they weren't stepsisters, but that's literally the core plot so. y'know. it's regular good.)
all first volumes, and all for $1 (CAD)!! total value of the haul is $7. significantly cheaper than buying the random manga that people donate to the thrift store, except w way better selection (not counting the trashy thrift store yaoi because i've only seen that twice in 5 years.) AND with the knowledge that you've supported your library a little :) definitely would recommend checking this section out once in a while for anyone that buys books.
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