Rally 'Round the Rap God - Fan Fic Eminem

Marshall's Risk

"This is so cool!" Rally said as she looked over the warehouse where we were going to be playing. We'd just spent time over at The Belt, checking out the outdoor installation that was on exhibit and were now ready to get to the competitive side of the evening.

This particular date activity was a little risky. I had no idea if Rally was sporty or down with doing something that would have us split up for much of the game. Hell, I didn't even know if she knew how to throw a football. But, I'm a big sports fan and I wanted to see if she was at least willing to give this a whirl. Based on her present reaction, she was at least interested.

I'd called ahead and talked to the owner. He'd let me rent out two lanes on the far side so that we had the wall on one side of us and an open and unused lane on the other. Although that wouldn't stop people from coming up to us entirely, it might give us enough time to just enjoy the game for a while. If we ended up getting too much attention, I had a back up plan in mind - there was a drive-in theatre that just re-opened a few weeks ago that I could take her to.

I'd gone fowling before, so I didn't need the spiel from the outset. Rather, when we got in, we picked up our footballs and made our way to the end of the room where the owner had indicated we would be playing. When we got to the last lane, I looked at Rally, who was still staring around with interest.

"This is fowling." I said with a gesture to the pins near us and at the other end. "The point of the game is simple: you knock over my pins before I knock over yours, using a football." I said and she nodded as she eyed the pins and then the football in my hand.

"Do you think they have a junior or kid's football around here?" She asked and I raised my hand to try to get the owner's attention. He nodded and made his way over.

"Can I help you?" He asked and Rally spoke up.

"Any chance you have a junior or kid's football here?" She asked him and he nodded.

"Yep. Give me a minute." He said as he jogged away. I looked back to Rally and she smiled, only it was a smile I hadn't seen from her before. This one held anticipation and frankly, a little bit of the devil in its twinkle.

"You can throw?" I asked, though I was pretty sure I knew the answer by the way her eyes lit up when the owner came back over with a small football. Rally nodded, but she wasn't looking at me. Instead, she was beaming at the owner, who looked a little starstruck by her response.

I wish I could say that I wasn't a jealous man. But, despite what my song said, I couldn't really argue otherwise. It may be bullshit and it may be over the top, but I don't like it when men get too close to someone I'm with. Although Rally's interaction with the owner wasn't anything significant, I couldn't help the flash of anger that I felt when I saw his reaction. So, I'd admit to being a little curt when I spoke next.

"Thanks," I said. "We got it under control." I finished and turned to Rally, giving the man my back. There was every possibility that he was going to tweet some shit about me being an asshole, but I could really give a fuck. I wanted him far away from my date.

Rally looked up into my eyes, a question in hers. I didn't want to explain so I just shook my head and gestured to the lane.

"You ready?" I asked, my tone still not back where it was. I wasn't really mad at her, but I couldn't help the reaction. She nodded slowly and turned toward it.

"Which end do you want?" She asked and I shrugged. It didn't really matter to me.

"Makes no difference." I said and she nodded and smiled, though it was a little hesitant. Man, I hated that I'd caused that. Fuck.

"Alright. I'll take the far end. You go first." She said as she started to walk away. I reached out and tagged her waist before she got out of reach, though, and pulled her to me.

"I'm sorry," I whispered against her mouth before I kissed her. "It's not you." I explained after I pulled back slightly. She looked at me and I could tell she was trying to decide whether to ask or not. Rather than make her, I just told her the problem.

"I didn't like how he looked at you." I admitted. "And, I can get a little...tense, about that kind of thing." I said slowly, trying not to make too big a deal out of it, but also needing her to understand. She nodded more confidently this time and dropped her football and slid her arms around my neck as she leaned up on her toes to give me a soft kiss.

"I get it." She said when we parted. "Just so you know," she continued. "I have a strict no cheating policy. It's a deal breaker for me and not something that I would put someone else through." She stepped back and picked up her ball and started walking to her side. As she did, she called over her shoulder. "You should also know I only play games I intend to win."

I chuckled as she said that, nodding as I took my place beside my pins. I was thankful she hadn't made a big production out of this. It suggested good things about how we'd interact if we ended up being something to each other.

---

"Unbelievable!" I cried as I stared at my last pin. It had fallen to the ground moments ago and Rally, unsportsmanlike snot that she was, was skipping toward me with a grin on her face. We'd just finished our fifth game of fowling and she'd come out victorious four of those times. After the first game, she'd slaughtered me. She came up, sliding her hands around my waist as she laughed and shook her head.

"That was so much fun!" She said, excitement heavy in her tone. I looked back at my pins and grimaced.

"That was a disaster." I responded, but I let the smile that had been threatening emerge at her continued good humor.

"It wasn't that bad." She replied.

"We both know it was." I countered and she giggled.

"Yep. It sure was." She said. "But I can make it up to you." She offered. I looked at her with a raised brow and she leaned up to whisper in my ear. "Remember, I have cupcakes at home with your name on them." She said.

"You're right." I said, grabbing her hand and pulling her with me. "I need to drown my sorrows and the memory of this defeat in sugar." I finished and I'd be lying if I said my heart wasn't beating faster than it should as she giggled and walked with me out of the building.