INFINITE (Eminem Fan Fiction)

Chapter 8: Love Game

“What was all that about?” He asked in a hushed tone.

Riley blushed, looking almost embarrassed that she’d been noticed. “Uhm… a little girl recognized me. She wants to be a model when she grows up.” She cleared her throat. “Can we go on the Ferris wheel now? Please.”

He held her eye contact for a minute. She was changing the subject. She didn’t like the attention. He couldn’t believe it. Most people, especially on the brink of being famous, were dying to be noticed. She was ashamed of it… didn’t want it… ignored it. She was just like him. He absolutely hated all the attention that came with being famous.

He placed his hand on the small of her back, leading her away. “Okay, let’s go.” They strolled through the crowd, making their way to the bottom of the Ferris wheel. There was an old man, running the ride, who had the worst hunch. He smiled at them and let them onto the free carriage. He shut them in and pulled the lever, sending their carriage forwards and up. As they were high enough and out of the sight of everyone, Marshall removed his sunglasses.

After a few minutes, they made their way to the very top, where it stopped for a moment. From their height, they could see out onto the open water, the sun setting on the horizon, its evening glow cast out onto the city of LA.

Marshall glanced at Riley, who was so focused on the view, in absolutely astonished. From the profile, she was simply beautiful. The sunset cast a warm light onto her golden skin, highlighting her beautiful jawline and soft features. Her blue eyes were shining like always and her smile could have lit up a galaxy.

“Beautiful,” She said.

“Yeah…” He agreed. He almost added a ‘you are’, but realized she was talking about the view. She glanced over at him, staring intently into his eyes. The same tingling feeling spread through him as their eyes met, the same as when he’d kissed her. More than anything he wanted to lean in and kiss her again but knew she wouldn’t be okay with that. She was right… they had to wait until the music video was over. They had to remain professional for the most part. But resisting the temptation took all of his concentration.

“You seem really amazed by all of this. Don’t you get out?” He asked, trying to distract himself from how much he was attracted to her.

She sighed, looking back out over the rolling waves. “No.” She paused. “I guess I have tunnel vision. My whole life I’ve been so focused on my career, I forget to live a little. In fact, the only thing I did for myself at home was surfing. I guess I’m still learning how to relax and it’s all very new and exciting.”

He nodded, “I’ve always wanted to take Hailie out here. But I’m just too busy and…” He paused, not wanting to continue the rest of the sentence.

She glanced back at him, “And?” Her face was so sincere, he felt like he could trust her with the information he held so close.

He hesitated but eventually said, “And… I don’t think Kim would allow it.” She looked more confused than confronted like he’d expected. He elaborated, choosing his words carefully. “She’s my ex-wife. We divorced a few months ago.”

Riley genuinely looked upset, “I’m sorry things didn’t work out between you.”

He drew in a deep breath, “Me too. Things get a little complicated with her. I love her and she’s great but… we clash heads a lot. I think my career has been really tough on her but she really drives me crazy sometimes. It’s just...”

“Complicated,” Riley finished. She was staring at the view again, but she wasn’t smiling. She looked like she was reliving a dark memory of her own. After a second, her face lightened up again. “We’ve been up here a while,” She insisted, glancing down at the pier. “Oh my god.”

Confused, he looked down and saw what Riley was surprised by. Instead of a dispersed crowd all over their pier, everyone was gathered around the bottom of the Ferris wheel. “What’s going on?” That’s when he noticed that half the people closest to the base had cameras out, flashes going off every few seconds. “Shit.” It was the paparazzi. They must have caught onto where he was.

“Is that…” Riley didn’t even finish the sentence, she was so overwhelmed by all the people.

If he listed carefully he could faintly hear people saying ‘Eminem’ from the crowd. “Yeah… bad news.” At that second, the Ferris wheel started moving and they started their decent. Riley looked horrified as they came closer and closer to the crowd, who were now clearly swarming paparazzi.

Fast as lightening, Marshall stripped off his hoodie and sunglasses and passed them to her. “Put these on.” She did so, quickly, making sure the hoodie was zipped up and the drawstrings were pulled tight so most of her face was covered. “What about you?” She asked.

“Don’t worry,” he insisted. Their decent was fast and the crowd started going wild as they stopped at the bottom of the Ferris wheel. The old man undid the cage and they stepped out. The camera flashes were so bright, as the paparazzi bombarded them with photos and questions.

“Eminem, who is this with you?”

“What work are you doing here in LA?”

“Are there any updates on your relationship with Kim?”

Not intending to be mean, he roughly led Riley through the crowd. They mostly let him through, but it didn’t stop the pictures and questions. He blindly made it back to the car and helped Riley into the front seat before jumping in the driver’s side.

Instead of leaving them alone, the paparazzi crowded the car. Annoyed, Marshall started the engine and revved the car. Most of the people stepped back and as he started moving, they got out of his way, not wanting to be run over by his ferocious road rage. It wasn’t until they were half way back to hotel that he could relax.

Riley finally undid his hoodie and took off his sunglasses. “Thanks.” She said, softly.

He tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “I’m sorry.”

As he glanced over he saw she was still overwhelmed. “It’s okay. I just… didn’t realize how crazy famous you are.”

He sighed. Those fucking idiots had ruined everything.