Rewound {PTX}

%#@&$!

"Scott, can you do me a favor?" I'm walking in the front door and shouting so he can hear me from upstairs.

"Whatever your heart desires." He meets me at the landing.

"If I'm ever unduly upset with you, could you point it out to me?"

"Why? What did 2011 me do? Am I in trouble?"

"There was some major drama."

"Uh-oh."

"You were way out of line."

"Oh no. What did I say?"

"Say? Not exactly. You kind of shoved me, stepped on me, threatened me, and told me never to speak you you again."

"🍓! Are you kidding me?"

"That's what started this in the first place! Well, I started it."

"You hit him?"

"No!"

"Then why the 🍓 did he do that? The 🍓ing 🍓! 🍓! Mitch, are you hurt?" He pulls me into his chest and wraps his arms tightly around me while swearing vengeance on 2011 Scott. He shows no signs of slowing down or hugging me any less tightly, but I'm comfortable. I can smell his deodorant faintly. "Mitch, I'm so sorry."

"It wasn't you, and I haven't even told you how it ended."

"It was me, though. If he could do that, so could I, right? Don't put up with me- either of me- for even a second if I push you around. It's one thing to be mad. It never happens, but we'd be fine. It's different to hurt you or thr-"

"Scott, I know. I know. Let me tell you the rest. I think you'll understand. Imagine if someone didn't just push me. Imagine they took me. Imagine they erased my very soul. You would kill them before you even knew what you were doing."

"And then I would come to my senses and regret not burning them alive slowly."

"Wow. Okay. Imagine now that they fool you at first, though. They use my memories to pretend to be me. You notice I'm different, though, and you're really concerned. You want to help me, but I just shut you out. In some ways I'm bossy and aloof, and in others, I'm closer than before. You start to feel alone even though I'm still around. Then I tell you I'm from the future."

"Oooooh. That's where you're going with this."

"Keep up. I say I'm from the future. How do you react?"

"You tell me. You were there."

"You realize I'm a different person. You realize I've been leading you on and I'm to blame for your loneliness. You realize I'm not Mitch. You realize I took Mitch. You blow up. He told Kevin he would have killed me if I didn't look like Mitch. I messed him up bad. Eventually, though, Kevin convinced him to think of me as me. I apologized for keeping it from him and for being different, and he apologized, and I forgave him, and I think we're good now."

"No, you aren't."

"Oh?"

"He doesn't trust you, and he doesn't understand you. He still misses his Mitch and he's still comparing you to him. If you want to fix it, you need to stop and let him get to know you. Let him learn everything about you. He still thinks you're 'bossy and aloof,' and the best way to dispel that is to let him actually get to know you."

"I'm a little worried he'd take it the wrong way."

"Isn't that what you want? What you've wanted since September 18th? I know it's what he wants. So what's stopping you?"

"You! That would be weird in every possible configuration."

"Don't overthink it."

"Don't underthink it! I don't even want to talk about it. This is way too bizarre. Just, um, Grammy. Grammys. Let's talk about Grammys. I want one. I need to win a Grammy to beat Kirstie.

"Okay. Let's get you a Grammy. Which one do you want?"

"Is 'all of them' an option?"

"For you, yes."