Eminem Fan Fiction Shorts - I

Mr. Mathers to the Rescue

I was walking through the aisles, wandering as I tried to find something worth eating, when I heard the pounding of little kid feet coming around the corner. I looked up and saw a boy I'd guess to be somewhere near five or six scanning the aisle before he ran past me and around the other end. I went back to looking at the junk I was facing, letting it slip past me as I considered what I wanted. Soon, however, I heard the somewhat panicked voice of a woman calling out.

"Sammy? Sammy!" I heard her and I looked up to see a woman of about average height, jogging between the aisles, her pretty face overcome with worry. I shifted on my feet, hesitating for just a second, and then responded.

"There was a little guy with dark hair who tore off a few seconds ago around this end." I said, pointing to the far end from her and she nodded and jogged toward it, her thick black hair swinging behind her as she went.

"Thank you," she said as she passed, her face still creased with worry. I'm no hero; I don't just involve myself in other people's shit, but she looked so worried that something in my chest squeezed and I followed her.

"I'll help you look." I said and she nodded and kept going.

I moved quickly toward the far end, intending to move toward her while she took the next aisle, trying to look around all the folks whose baskets were blocking her sight. It didn't take us long, less than half a minute really, to find him. I stopped at the end of the candy aisle and called out to her, pointing as I did.

"Ma'am?" I said and she came running up and to me, gripping my arm slightly as she looked down the aisle.

"Oh, God. Thank you!" She cried, her hand still on my arm and her face breaking out in relief. "Thank you for helping!" She said again before she jogged to the little boy and crouched down.

I couldn't tell you why I walked closer, other than maybe I was curious about how she was going to handle him taking off on her. As I neared, I heard her speaking to the kid, who had to be Sammy. Her voice was stern, but she wasn't yelling.

"Sammy, baby. You can't run off like that. I was so scared that you'd gotten hurt. If you want to go somewhere, you have to talk to me, okay, bud?" She said and he nodded and looked at his feet.

"I'm sorry, Mom. I was gonna surprise you." He said, his voice just a little teary.

I saw that he had a box of chocolates behind his back and I'd be a fucking monster not to have felt bad for the kid. His mom must have felt the same way because she tugged him to her in a bear hug and murmured something to him that I couldn't hear. I felt a little out of place, the moment seemed to have gotten personal in a hurry, so I started to walk away when I heard her speak louder.

"Excuse me? Mr. Mathers?" She said and my lips twisted. She'd recognized me. I turned and she walked up.

"Thank you, again." She said and I shrugged.

"Didn't do much." I said and she smiled and shook her head.

"You helped when others didn't. I appreciate it." She responded and then looked down. "I'm Gina and this is Sam." She introduced and I smiled a little at the kid, who was looking at me with a frown.

Sam actually moved to stand in front of his mom, like he were protecting her, and I nearly laughed. I held it together, though, knowing that his pride wouldn't do well with someone laughing at him over those kinds of instincts. Instead, I nodded solemnly and put out my hand to him.

"I'm Marshall." I introduced myself and he hesitated and looked at his mom, who gave a nod. He gripped my hand then and shook it.

"Sam." He said and I smiled. Little man was all about the tough guy act. As I looked at his mom's hand on his shoulder, I noted no ring. That might be why, I thought.

"Well, Sam." I said. "It was nice meeting you." I continued and I looked up to Gina. Her dark eyes were still trained on her boy and I could see the pride and love in them. She glanced back up and shook her head.

"I'm sorry." She said, blushing slightly. "We're keeping you." She said and she moved as if to walk away, but I found myself stopping her.

"Nah. I've been struggling to figure out what to eat for the last half hour." I said and Gina nodded, amusement shining in her eyes.

"Well, if you're good with tacos, you can join us." She said, indicating the basket in her hands, which held tortillas, tomatoes and avocados. I should have hesitated. I didn't know the woman and there was no reason for me to assume that this wasn't going to go badly in a fucking heartbeat. But, as I looked into her dark eyes, I found myself agreeing.

"If you're cooking, I'm in. But, let me buy them." I said and she refused.

"Nope." She said, her eyes twinkling. She looked to Sam and jogged her head toward the front. He moved that way and I walked with her, still not sure what the fuck I was doing. I hadn't picked a woman up in the grocery store in fucking years. Although, as I watched her pay for her items and I paid for mine, I realized that if anything, she was picking me up.

Once we were all rung up, I walked out to the lot and looked around. Gina pointed to an SUV off to the side. I nodded and got in my car, waiting until she pulled out of the lot to follow her.

About five minutes later, we were pulling up to a smaller house in a fairly good neighborhood. I parked and walked up the path, watching with amusement as Gina gave Sam the keys to the house and asked him to open up. He ran up, puffing his chest a little as he did.

When I stepped into the house, I saw that it was an open floor plan. Sam moved over to the TV in the corner and booted up some kind of game while Gina set her groceries on the counter. I sat on a stool and watched her. Although I'd just met her, there was something so normal about this – like we'd done it a million times.

"Do you need help?" I asked.

"No. This is easy work." She said as she put some meat on the stove and then turned to the cutting board. With swift, calculated fingers, she diced the tomatoes and put them in a little dish.

"Do you live nearby, Marshall?" She asked and I nodded.

"Kind of. I have an apartment not far from here for when I'm working in the studio and don't want to drive all the way to my house." I explained. She nodded her understanding and moved on to the avocado, her hands moving deftly.

"Well, I'm glad that you happened to be there at the right time." She said and I couldn't help but agree as I watched her move.