Author's note: This story takes place the day after George finally stood up to Biff. He talks a walk to Hill Valley Park, and makes a new friend in Sherman Peabody.

November 13, 1955
11:00 AM PST

It was a Sunday morning - and, after a thunderstorm that had lasted the whole night, the sun had finally come out. George McFly's attitude was almost as bright. As he was headed to Hill Valley Park, he thought of how much he really loved Lorraine Baines.

That was not the only thing he was happy about, even though she was quite a loving and precious girl. He was sure happy to have found some new courage. For quite the first time, he actually had the courage to stand up to Biff Tannen. He simply felt that, from now, things would be different. He would have the courage to live his own life.

Up until yesterday, he was a little too shy to even talk to Lorraine. She seemed to be nice enough, and she had even been known to say "hi" to him. Still, being as Lorraine was one of the more popular girls in school, he simply feared being rejected by her.

He suddenly felt a real pang of sadness, as he thought of Calvin Klein - who preferred to be called "Marty". He wondered if he would ever see that young man, again. It just made him feel empty, to think that the young man who helped him so much was gone.

He recalled the strange event that he witnessed, last night. After Mark Dixon had cut between him and Lorraine, he simply started to lose his courage. It was at that point, that young Marty seemed to fade away - as if his existence was simply dependent on George and Lorraine getting together. Of course, he could've just been hallucinating.

After he stepped into the park, George saw a young boy - who appeared to be about nine. As George really took a closer look, he noticed that the boy was reading a comic book - called Tales From Space. George really was intrigued, as he had always had an interest in aliens. George tried to overcome his shyness, as he walked up to the boy.

"Hey, buddy," George commented, using Marty's term of affection. As the boy looked up, he added, "Well, I see that you're so interested in aliens." The boy nodded, as he added, "That was always my interest, too. By the way, I'm George. George McFly."

"My name's Sherman," the boy commented, quietly. "I'm Sherman Peabody. I've been interested in aliens for a pretty long time. Hey, George, can I ask you a question?" As George just nodded, he asked, "Do you believe that aliens are, uh, really real?"

"I know that they're real," George replied, as he thought of his encounter with Darth Vader. "In fact, I just, uh..." George paused, as he didn't feel certain of if he should tell Sherman what had happened, lest the boy think he was actually crazy.

"I've seen an alien," Sherman explained. "It actually crashed right into our barn, last Saturday. Not yesterday, but the week before. It just knocked down our pine. I felt quite scared. My pa tried shooting at it, but it just got away. After he told the police about it, he got committed. I really was scared that there would be another attack."

George was stunned, as he tried to take in what the little boy told him. He pondered over whether Calvin Klein and Darth Vader were, in fact, the same. He seemed very harmless, in spite of the "brain melting" threat. After all, he could still remember that event from the dance. He simply wondered if anyone else had actually noticed it.

"I can understand why you would be real scared," George replied, gently. "He maybe really wasn't evil, though. He maybe was quite, uh, fightened. After all, I'm sure that this was a new world for him. I mean, other than crashing into your barn, did he..."

"You know," Sherman replied, softly, "I was doing some thinking about it. We maybe did act, uh, rashly. I was just thinking about racism, and how I never felt that it was actually right to treat anyone differently - just because the skin was a different..."

"I completely agree with you," George replied, as he thought of Goldie Wilson. "I sure never agreed with how Lou treated Goldie. I wanted to tell Lou just exactly how I felt - but, up until yesterday, confrontation was never my strong point. I believe it rather would be nice, if Goldie Wilson actually ended up as a mayor. He really deserves it."

"I think so, too," replied Sherman. "Anyway, my pa was placed in the mental hospital last week - after the police decided that he was delusional. It just took about a week for them to keep him there. He's really my grandpa. My parents died, when I was..."

"It sounds like a real bad place to be," George said, shaking his head. "From what I've heard, it quite sounds about as bad as being in jail - and they treat you like a criminal. It just sounds horrible. Even if your father was delusional, which I'm sure he's not, it's still... Well, people can't help it - if they have something wrong with them. They're..."

"I actually feel like it's partially my fault," Sherman commented, sighing. "I told Pa that he should even shoot it, because it morphed into human form. You know, some of the other children at school make fun of me - because I like aliens. However, I feel so..."

"I'm not especially popular at my school, either," George replied, ruefully. "I just have a couple of very close friends, and some acquaintances. In fact, up until yesterday, I was bullied around by Biff Tannen. Last night, though, I finally took a stand to him."

"I don't let anyone push me around," Sherman said, with confidence. "My true friends accept me for who I am. If other people don't like me, that's their problem. I feel quite bad, though - because, well, maybe the alien wasn't necessarily evil. I do wish I could go back in time, and undo that day. What about you? The alien that you met?"

"His name was Darth Vader," George explained, nervously. "He simply came here from the planet Vulcan. At least, that's what he said. He quite threatened to melt my brain, if I didn't take this girl to the dance. The thing is, I've never felt that scared before!"

"He sounds so scary," Sherman replied, shuddering. "Why do you suppose it mattered to him quite so much? I mean, he shouldn't've threatened you. You should never have to date a girl that you can't stand. I feel that you should make your own decisions."

"Actually, I do like the girl," George replied, quite nervously. "She just seemed to be nice enough, and she never really teased me... or made fun of me. There was this boy, though. His name was Marty Klein. At first, I thought he was quite so annoying - but, after a few days, I've grown very fond of him. He really seemed strange, but..."

"Do you think Marty Klein might be Darth Vader?" asked Sherman. George nodded, as the boy added, "I simply wouldn't doubt it. After he climbed out of that spaceship, he looked all yellow. After some time, he mutated into this brown-haired young man."

"It sounds so plausable," George said, nodding. "There's another thing. At this school dance, when Marty Klein was playing Earth Angel... Well, I really could swear that he was about to fade away. He started out playing erratically, and then it seemed..."

"That is a little strange!" gasped Sherman. "So, you said that he seemed nice to you?" As George nodded, he added, "I'm not very sure what to make of him. You did mention that he threatened to melt your brain, and that's not quite nice of him. If he was just trying to, uh, preserve his existence... I suppose I'm intrigued and scared."

"He sure helped me to gain courage," George commented, softly. "Up until last week, I never let anyone read my stories. It turns out that my friends quite liked them. I might even write a novel, based on Darth Vader. I'll send my stories to Tales From Space."

"Hey, George," Sherman asked, as a smile spread across his face, "I really would like to read some of your stories. I only have one friend, who even understands me. It's pretty enjoyable, being able to talk to you. Would you like to be my friend, as well?"

"I would cartainly love that, Sherman," George replied, as he smiled warmly at his new friend. "It'll sure be nice to have a friend, who understands my interests. I was known as the weird kid, for about as long as I could just remember. I'm pretty glad that I met Marty Klein. He helped me to become a little more confident, and I really will miss hm."

"I sure feel so ashamed, now," Sherman commented, sadly. "I was this weird kid that loved aliens, but my actions certainly didn't show it. I mean, I was quite xenophobic - and I was eal foolish. What I did to him, was far worse than how Lou treats Goldie."

"Well, you feel ashamed of it," George commented, gently. "That is a very good sign, and it simply shows that you do have a desire to do the right thing. That is more than what we could say about... well, about some of the people that go to my school."

"Yeah, I can't imagine that the kids who make fun of me," Sherman replied, "feel any remorse about it. I mean, they do it pretty cheerfully - and they sure get their jollies from putting down the weird kid. This used to bother me so much, but I sure realized that there's no shame in being different. I sure don't want to be like everyone else."

As George simply smiled at his young friend, he thought of how he never considered changing who he was - just so that he could be more accepted. He only wanted it to be considered more acceptable to be free to pick your own interests and hobbies.

"Well, Ma just came here to pick me up," commented Sherman, as he stood up. "Why don't I give you my phone number, and you could just call me later?" He reached into his bag, as he pulled out a slip of paper. "It's simply been nice meeting you, George!"

George smiled and waved, as Sherman headed to his grandmother's Jeep. It felt very good to have finally overcome his shyness. He felt so lucky, and he just found himself expressing his gratitude to Calvin Martin Klein - wherever he was. Whether or not the young man was connected to Darth Vader, he felt that he owed everything to him.