Calibrations

California 2006

When Youngblood opened his eyes, he was back at the Paramour Mansion, standing in the kitchen with Pepper and Revenge. Pepper stayed there for a while, looking disoriented, while Revenge went into the living room, sat on the couch, and moped. Youngblood poured himself a cup of coffee, and he thought about everything that had just happened. Not for the first time, he wished that he had his sketchbook with him. Maybe he could tease apart his racing thoughts if he could draw them out. Maybe he wouldn't have this flurry of emotions: fear, sadness, and above all, regret. He wasn't sure that he regretted marrying Lindsey, whoever she was, but he definitely wished that his future self hadn't broken Frank's heart. Then again, could he really regret something that he hadn't done yet?

He thought about Frank and all of the memories they'd made together. He thought of him coming to every My Chemical Romance show, the days they'd spent together designing T-shirts, his beautiful hazel eyes, the tattoos on his skin, the way he'd felt when he kissed him. He thought about how Revenge and Pepper smiled whenever they mentioned Frank, how their faces seemed to light up when he walked into the room, how they seemed so in love with him. Youngblood decided that the answer was a resounding yes. He could always regret hurting Frank, even if he hadn't done it yet.

The three Gerards stayed quiet for a while, but Pepper was the first to break the silence. "That was weird," he said as he adjusted his black marching band jacket.

"Yeah, I know," Revenge said.

"It was like the time machine glitched or something," Pepper said.

Revenge and Youngblood looked at each other in confusion. "Glitched?" Youngblood said.

"Yeah," Pepper said. "I typed in that we were going to Colorado in 2007, but we just ended up here again. The time machine must not have worked, but I guess that makes sense. It's probably just because the Watch doesn't let people go to 2007. Anyways, we should figure out where Figment went. Do you guys have any ideas?"

Now, Youngblood and Revenge were even more confused. "Pepper, we went to 2007," Youngblood said.

"We did?" Pepper said.

"Yeah," Revenge said. "My Chemical Romance was playing at Projekt Revolution, and backstage...backstage...you were..."

Revenge couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence, so Youngblood did it for him. "You were getting married to some woman named Lindsey."

"I don't know anyone named Lindsey," Pepper said.

"I know! That's the problem!" Revenge exclaimed.

"And then we found Frank crying about it after the ceremony," Youngblood said. "Apparently the version of us from 2007 left him and then married Lindsey really quickly afterwards."

"That's horrible! I would never do that!" Pepper exclaimed. "You guys must be making this up just to mess with me."

"We're not," Revenge and Youngblood said simultaneously. Youngblood wished that they were making it up, that this was all just a bad dream, but it felt so real. He knew that it had actually happened, that this was his future.

"This is bad," Pepper said. "Why don't I remember any of this happening?"

"I don't know," Youngblood said. "I remember it all pretty clearly."

"Me too, although I wish I didn't," Revenge said.

"How could I forget something like that?" Pepper asked. "I feel like I'd remember crashing my own wedding. What the hell is wrong with me?"

"I don't know," Youngblood said. "Maybe we can ask Figment when we find him. He would probably know why Pepper doesn't remember anything."

"Yeah, but then he'll know that we went to 2007," Revenge said.