chapter one
The sky was pleasantly sunny, and the air perfectly warm and still. All he could think was how ironic it was that possibly the ONLY day that entire year that the weather was perfect, was the day his world came crashing done and his life came screeching to a halt. Because in his mind it was so dark, and the wind reached upwards of 1,500 miles per hour. The rain never stopped and cold icy hail was inevitable. All starting only half an hour ago...11:45 AM.
And now there he sat--Eminem, Marshall, Shady, it didn't matter anyway—in his best friend's office, in the darkest corner, on a....purple bean bag chair. His best friend...Evilyn. Evilyn....NSYNC's PR director. Oh yes, fate definitely had a great sense of humor. Irony...the story of his life.
A loud knock sounded on the door, pulling him from his thoughts. Assuming it was someone important, it usually was with Evi, he gathered what little strength he had left and made his way to the door. Starting to open it, he began, "Ms. Habte's not--" He stopped when the door was fully open and he recognized JC.
Damn him. Another irony.
Leaning against the door frame, JC's hands slid into his pockets and Eminem didn't miss the amused glint in his eyes. "Hello."
"Evilyn's not here." Eminem said, walking over to Evilyn's desk and sitting in the chair behind it.
JC stepped inside, "She was supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago."
Eminem shook his head, "I got here fifteen minutes ago, and she wasn't here."
JC nodded, "Well, she said she was coming to her office, so...I'll just wait with you." He closed the door behind himself and walked the length of one of Evilyn's giant bookshelves. He stopped in the middle of one of them to pick up a picture. "So, Marshall, you don't mind if I call you Marshall do you?" Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Eminem shake his head 'no'. JC continued, "What brings you to Orlando? Tour?"
"No, I came to see Evilyn."
JC nodded, and approached Eminem, picture still in hand. He handed it to Eminem as if asking about it, sitting in a chair on the other side of the desk.
Eminem took it, "Field Day, third grade. We had just won the three-legged race."
Handing it back, he answered, "That's the only year she didn't compete with Carrie as her partner. Carrie was sick that day. They won every year, anyway, so it wasn't a big deal for her."
"Carrie?"
If possible, Eminem's face became darker. "I guess Evi doesn't like to talk about her. But, then again, who does, these days?"
Still the hostility could be seen even just in the way the two men sat. Neither liked each other, and it was obvious. They would most likely never understand each other, much less count themselves friends.
"Oh, EVILYN!!" the call came from down the hallway just as the door busted open and in bounced Marcia, Joey and Chris right behind her. All of them were snickering like mad and trying to look completely innocent.
Noticing that Evilyn wasn't there, Chris said, "Oh, hi, JC. Have you seen Evilyn?"
He shrugged, "It seems that no one has."
Marcia pushed her two best friends into the room, closing the door behind the three of them. "So," she said, as the group took seats on an over-stuffed sofa, "Who's, this, JC? Not another one of your NUMEROUS friends, I'm guessing?"
JC nodded spitefully, squiting his eyes, "Very funny." The thing about JC was, music was all their was for him. The only people he knew had to do with his musical career or were his family. "Actually, this is Evilyn's friend, Marshall."
"Eminem." he corrected automatically.
An ear piercing scream was heard from less than fifteen feet down the hall, it was unmistakably Evilyn's.
Joey, Chris, and Marcia all jumped up, high fiving. Marcia announced, "Come on, guys, we're all going out to lunch, on Eve."
They all walked out the door, Eminem and JC in a state of confusion.
They walked less than 3 feet when they saw the young blonde woman, hanging by her feet from the ceiling. Joey, Chris, and Marcia had rigged up some sort of a man-catcher.
Evilyn crossed her arms over her chest, "I'm SO going to get you back."
Joey pulled a piece of paper, "You said, and this is a direct quote, 'Fine. The day you scare me to the point of my hair standing on end--and I do mean literally--I will take you all out to lunch at the Scarab's Oven.'"
She fought back an amused smile, "All right. Let me down."
Chris grabbed JC's arm and pulled him to the spot right under Evilyn, then moved to the inside of a nearby office, and he could be heard cutting a thin rope.
Suddenly, Evilyn fell roughly from the trap, right into JC's arms.
Everyone took a second to chorus, "Aww." Then Justin, Leigh, Lance, Kimberly, and Anna came running down the hall.
Justin announced, "We heard the word lunch." Taking a look at the scene, he smiled and patted each of the masterminds on the back. "A man-catcher. I'm just so proud."
JC was just about to set Evilyn down when she jumped out of his arms and sprang to Eminem's side, throwing her arms around him.
"So what's this 'Scarab's Oven' place?" Anna asked.
Joey answered, "It's a SERIOUSLY exclusive restaurant on the edge of town. They actually have it built UNDERGROUND."
Justin continued, "Only about 15 people on the planet are supposed to have a card or whatever."
Evilyn pulled back and linked her arm with Eminem's, "Yeah, and it's going to cost me an arm and fifty legs. Well, let's go."