Eminem Fan Fiction Shorts II

Marshall's Birthday

"Yo, man! Happy birthday!" Denaun yelled at me from the side of the room.

Biz had called me to come down to check out a new artist, and with nothing too pressing to do, I packed up my crap at the studio and headed over to a newer, small club in downtown Detroit. Looking around to see all of D12 here, along with a fair number of women and other artists, I realized I'd been had. This was a fucking birthday party and yours truly was the guest of honor.

"Aw, man." I muttered, looking at Biz who came up to my side. "You know I'm not big on this shit anymore. I'm too fucking old to party." I said and he just grinned and shook his head.

"Nah. You're just out of practice. Besides, we don't plan to burn the place down." He said, though there was a gleam in his eyes as I was sure he considered doing just that. "We just wanted to get you out of the damn house, ya hermit."

I grumbled, but didn't argue. Although I'm out and about a lot, I tend to play it low profile. Most of my fan base wouldn't even know it was me walking by them on the streets most days. Sighing as I looked around, I nodded and smiled.

"Alright. Bring it on." I said grudgingly, and Biz grinned and slapped me on the back.

"That's what we like to hear!" Denaun cried as he came around with drinks. He looked over the crowd of the club, which I'd bet my next album had been completely rented out, and nodded to the stage.

"So, we decided to have a little fun." He said with a smile. "We're going to have a few battles, but the topics are limited:  they can only be about the ridiculous shit you've pulled," I groaned, "or about comic book heroes and villains." He concluded and I perked up. A rap battle about comics? I could get into that shit.

I nodded and took the drink he offered as Biz looked around, frowning. "Yo, man. When's Sarah supposed to get here?" He asked and I froze.

Sarah Wilding had been a friend of the group decades ago. She used to come to all the battles - was behind the scenes for everything. She was the kind of friend that you took for granted, but that you only realized in her absence. And her absence had been my motherfucking fault for years. I watched as Denaun's brows puckered and he surveyed the crowd.

"I could have sworn I saw her here somewhere." He muttered.

A tingle of awareness zigzagged down my spine at the thought that I'd get to see her again. The last time I'd seen Sarah, I'd been a colossal asshole. We were at a battle here in Detroit and she had just brought food for the lot of us to have once the spitting was done. When she'd come in, I'd noticed that she looked off, but I hadn't thought too much of it. Instead, I'd gone about my shit. It was at the end of the night that everything that could have gone wrong, did.

Sarah pulled me aside that night, wanting to talk to me in private. I remember thinking that she looked pained, but that she was trying to keep it to herself. I'd thought something was wrong with her, so I'd agreed and we'd stepped behind the building for a talk.

"I don't know how to say this, Marshall, so I'm just going to do it, alright?" She asked, sliding her hands into her jacket pockets. I nodded, waiting.

"Kim's been running around on you." Sarah said, her dark eyes serious. Red-hot anger boiled to the surface in reaction and I stepped into her face.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" I demanded.

"I saw her with him, Marshall. She's cheating." She said and I sneered.

"The fuck is this? You trying to get in between us? You thinking you have a shot, Sarah?" I gave her a once over, disgust on my face. "You follow us around like a fucking puppy dog, desperate for our scraps of attention. You don't bring shit to the table. You're a goddamn groupie." I'd ended on a yell, pointing at her.

"I'm not lying, Marshall." She insisted.

"You're so full of shit I can smell you from here." I responded, backing away from her.

Sarah nodded, her eyes hurt, but I didn't give a fuck. She stepped back, turned, and walked toward her car, which was parked in the back lot.  

"Find your own fucking ride home then."

I shook my head at the memory of that night. Those were the last seven words I'd ever heard from Sarah. Although she'd kept in contact with many of the members of D12, she hadn't come to anything that involved me since. I couldn't fucking blame her, especially considering what I knew now.

There's a reason for the saying that hindsight is 20/20. I saw now, with perfect clarity, that I'd tossed a good friend to the curb because my heart wouldn't let my brain connect all the dots. It had been made worse by Kim, who'd told me that Sarah had always had it out for her. Because I wanted to believe that Kim wouldn't do that to me, I'd convinced myself that Sarah was full of it - a jealous piece of shit that I didn't need in my life.

Years went by before the truth became painfully clear, but by then it was too late. Too much water had passed under that bridge, which I'd frankly burned to the motherfucking ground. I'd been vocal - extremely vocal - about how little use I had for Sarah. It left my mouth feeling like I'd swallowed a bowl of ashes as I stood here tonight.

There was no reason why Sarah would want to have anything to do with me. Although I'd backed way the fuck off of my shit-talking about her, the idea that she would even consider coming to a birthday party in my honor was almost laughable. But, as I took a drink, I couldn't help the scan of my eyes over everyone. If she were here, maybe there was hope. Maybe, there was something I could do.

"There!" Biz said, smiling at Denaun.

I turned my eyes to where he was pointing and felt everything start in slow motion. There, in the center of several of the younger crew, was Sarah. She was wearing a close fitting, black club dress and her strawberry blonde hair was falling in a tangled mess around her shoulders. She'd always struggled to keep those curls under control, and it seemed time hadn't made it any easier. She was laughing at something someone said, her bright smile overtaking her features. She looked like a damn dream come true. How the fuck hadn't I seen any of this when I was younger?

From a distance, I heard Biz and Denaun call her over and I watched as she waved to the folks around her, joking with them as she moved away. She walked toward us confidently. I didn't see any hesitation in her movement as she came up to give first Denaun and then Biz a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

Her dark eyes met mine then, and I was under water. Everything was muted around us as I tried to think of something to say. She saw my struggle, though, and shook her head with a quirk of her lips. In a daze, I watched as she leaned forward and gave me a gentle hug and kissed my cheek, the smell of peaches following her.

"Happy birthday, Marshall."