Nick 's jaw dropped "Stop that," Megan, or rather Future Nick said "it's unattractive. Look, Mike is out there, and his patience won't last forever, so I'll make this quick. You're not ready for what's out there in that living room, but I am. It's been almost a year for me, and though I know you're only thinking about how you can turn back into a man right now, I gave that up months ago, and what I want is sitting on your couch."
"Wait, you mean, you actually want to date Mike?" Nick said, trying to get a grip on everything happening.
She nodded "And more... This past year, while I was you, I saw how happy I was with Mike, err... Will be, that is... man, English grammar just doesn't mesh well with time travel. So I came back here to be with him, and you can spend the next few months getting used to the whole being a woman thing, until you become me. At that point, you'll want to come back here and take your place too."
This left Nick speechless for a minute, figuring it all out. The future Nick continued "Here's what you have to do:" She pulled out a phone and quickly snapped a picture. "First, store this photo somewhere safe "“ you'll need it next year to match your look to how you look now. Next, I need you and me to change clothes so I can go out and pretend that I'm the one who just came back from Vegas with him. Then, you'll just wait here until it's safe to head out... you'll know when. I have a wallet here with some ID, credit cards, and cash for you. There's also a letter you should read that explains a lot more than I have time to tell you about now."
"I'm not sure about this..." Nick said "I mean, if I'm getting you... you want to sleep with Mike... as in, have sex with a man... and you say I'm going to end up like you?"
She smiled "Don't worry, he won't be my "“ or your - first... just, hopefully, my last. You'll see - when the time is right, you won't even question it, but yes, you will be me in about 11 months or so. I've done a lot of research on this Amulet, and time travel... the past and future are essentially the same, and you can't change them "“ what has happened, happened, and what will happen, will have happened. In case you didn't figure it out, your little trip back to find out what happened to Mike is the very reason he disappeared."
Nick started to undress "I guess you're right, it is my fault... I'll go along with this for now, but I'm still not sure about it all. How do you plan on explaining everything to Mike? And what about Megan? And what about there being no Nick around?" He had gotten down to bra and panties, while his future self had likewise stripped down and was starting to put on the Vegas clothes. "Wait a second! If your Amulet works, you can go get the medallion! Or if you don't want to give it to me and I'll go!"
