𝐊-𝐈-𝐒𝐒-𝐈-𝐍-𝐆 - Chapter 8: Chapter 8

It's been four years since Nas had last been in Queensbridge. He was sent away when he was 15 years old by his mother to go live in Mississippi with his father.
His mother wasn't fond of Nas' early life decisions and was afraid of where or how he'd end up if he stayed in New York.
Nas was against the whole idea of leaving but his mother promised that if he finished high school in Mississippi, away from all the bad influences he had around him, she would let him come back.
So that's what he did. Nas was never a dumb kid. His intelligence threatened a lot of people when he went to live with his father. His parents knew what their son was capable of, and that's why they didn't want the street life distracting him.
Nas focused on his books and graduated with flying colours. But he also found a new passion for poetry, which eventually turned into his love for music and rapping.
Nas has only been back in New York for three days. He was slowly adapting back to the lifestyle over here. Not much has changed since he left, however, he was just hoping that the friends he left behind would have evolved from the madness on the streets.
Him and his boys were currently chilling outside, smoking blunts and telling Nas stories about all the crazy shit that they got themselves into these past few years.
Nas inhaled the herbs from his joint and shook his head. Hearing about who ended up in jail and who ended up dying had him secretly thanking his mom for making the decision that she made.
"Aye but yo.. enough of all that. What was goin' on with you down in Mississippi?" One of Nas' friends Havoc, asked him as Nas passed him the blunt.
"Shit.. nothin' really." Nas shrugged. "Apart from finishing school, I started writin' rhymes."
"Word?" All his niggas recited in unison, looking at him in shock.
"Son let's hear somethin'!" Prodigy, another one of Nas' boys, encouraged him while everyone else did the same.
Nas chuckled, waving his hands out in front of him. "Nah, nah. Y'all chill. Y'all ain't ready to hear all that just yet."
"Aw this nigga's scared." Prodigy joked as Nas waved him off.
"Never that, b." Nas responded. "I got y'all next time."
You and your best friend, Erica, walked out of the building and past the boys. They immediately stared the both of you down as Erica acknowledged Prodigy, who she's been crushing on for god knows how long.
"How you doin', ma?" He hugged Erica and gave you one too. "Wassup, Y/N?"
He immediately looked back at Erica, " Yo, E. You remember Nas from back in the day right?" He pointed at his friend.
Erica gasped as Nas waved at her with a little grin on his face. "Oh my god, Nasir?!" She rushed over to him.
Nas softly cackled and stood up from the bench he was seated on, engaging Erica into a bear hug. "What's good?" He said as they pulled away from each other.
"Wow, I didn't think you were actually gonna come back." Erica stated, still in shock. "How long have you been here for?"
"Just a few days. Spent most of my time unpacking and shit. This the first day I've actually had to relax since I got here." He briefly explained before his eyes trailed up at you. "Who's ya friend?"
Erica glanced over at you speaking to Havoc. She interrupted your conversation and called you over to her.
"Y/N, this is Nas." She introduced you to the unfamiliar boy, as you gave him a closed mouth smile. "He used to live here a few years back before his mama sent him to Mississippi for being a troublemaker."
Erica snickered as Nas playfully smacked his lips, "whatever, kid. Anyways, nice to meet you Y/N."
"Likewise." You responded, taking in his features. He was really good looking, chipped tooth and all. You wondered how long he was gone for because his New York accent still seemed to be very present and very strong.
"Well we gotta go, we're gonna be late for work." Erica said.
"Aight. Where y'all work at?" Nas questioned.
"Ice's Record Store."
"Damn, that nigga's still running that shop?" He chuckled.
"Yup, I don't think he'll ever let it go." Erica shook her head. "We'll see y'all later."
The two of you walked off. Once you both made it far enough to where the boys were no longer in sight, you bombarded Erica with questions.
"Okay, who is that boy? And why am I just now hearing about him?"
Erica giggled, "Nas used to run with all those niggas back in the day doing all types of wild shit. I never understood why because he seemed so different from them. He had a really good head on his shoulders. His mother sent him to live with his dad so he could finish high school without getting into anymore trouble."
You nodded as you listened attentively. "How long ago did he leave?"
"About four years ago. He left a year before you moved here."
You hummed while hearing all the information being given to you. You and your family moved to Queensbridge from Brooklyn after your house experienced a terrible flood.
You hated it here at first but once you started to make friends, you loved it more than where you originally came from.
Erica gave you a devilish smirk, noticing the intrigued expressed you had on your face. "Looks like someone found her something worth looking at."
"The hell are you talking about?" You confusingly asked her.
Erica just dry chuckled and shook her head. "Nasir definitely grew into his looks. I can see why he got you drooling over here."
You kissed your teeth, "ain't nobody drooling over that boy, I just met him. Besides, I already have Rich, remember?"
Erica scoffed in annoyance. "Y/N wake up please! Forget about that trifling ass nigga. He don't do shit for you but give you dick and run around with other hoochies."
You rolled her eyes but knew she was right, so you decided to stay quiet.
"I hope Nas gives you some so you can forget about Rich The Bitch for good." She mumbled, causing you to giggle and gently push her with your arm.
—
- TWO WEEKS LATER -
"Where's Jabari?" Nas' mother asked about his younger brother's whereabouts, as they both helped set the table for dinner.
Nas shrugged, "'Ion know." He stopped what he was doing and rushed to his room.
He went to the window, scanning outside to see if he could spot his brother anywhere but there was no luck.
Nas walked out of his room and slid on his Nike slides at the front door. "Ima go look for him real quick." Nas informed his mother.
He exited his apartment and headed down the hall. Once he opened the door to the stairwell, he was met with the strong scent of weed. But what really got his attention was the music that was playing and voices rhyming over it.
Nas leaned over against the railing, looking down at the rap cypher that was currently taking place. There had to be at least 30 niggas in this stairwell right now and of course, Jabari was one of them.
"Yo, Jungle!" Nas called out for him, using his nickname instead of his government.
Jabari looked up at his brother and began laughing. "See, I knew stayin' out late would get him here." He told one of his friends.
Nas clenched his jaw, annoyed by Jabari's antics. He didn't find anything about this amusing. He was hungry and wanted to get his brother back home before their mother came out looking for both of them herself. He was not in the mood to hear her cuss anyone out tonight.
"I'm not fucking laughin'! Come get yo' simple ass in the crib, man!" Nas retorted.
"Naaah, b." Prodigy chimed in, walking away from everyone and going up the stairs towards Nas. "You've been avoiding this shit since you got back. Now is your time to shine my nigga."
Nas sighed frustratedly, "yo, 'ion have time for this." He muttered under his breath and called out for his brother one last time.
"I ain't comin' unless you spit the shit you be spittin' all damn day when we at home!"
Nas sucked his teeth. He kept dodging requests to rhyme only because he'd never actually rapped in front of a large group before. His brother was really the only person who ever heard him, and that alone took some time to get adjusted to.
Nas knew he was dope when it came to this shit, but he didn't know how all these people would feel about it.
It looked like he was about to find out.
He rolled his eyes and made his way down the steps to the floor below him as everyone began getting hype.
The person in charge of playing the beats on the stereo, quickly switched cassettes to give Nas a smoother beat to rap over.
Once the music started playing, everyone went quiet, allowing Nas to get into his zone.
"Check me out y'all, Nasty Nas in ya area. About to cause mass hysteria.." He started off and everyone began bobbing their heads.
"Before a blunt, I take out my fronts. Then I start to front, matter fact, I be on a manhunt.
You couldn't catch me in the streets without a ton of reefer. That's like Malcom X catchin' the Jungle Fever.
King poetic, too much flavour, I'm major. Atlanta ain't braver, I pull a number like a pager. 'Cause I'm a ace when I face the bass. 40-Side is the place that is givin' me grace.
Now wait, another dose and you might be dead. And I'm a Nike head, I wear chains that excite the feds."
The stairwell filled up with excited roars as Nas gave them what they've been waiting for.
You and Erica arrived back in the building after work and were confused by the commotion going on as you both made your way upstairs.
The two of you stopped when you seen the crowd blocking the way up to your designated floors.
"Is that Nas I hear?" Erica recognized his voice and quickly grabbed your hand, pulling you as she squeezed her way in to see what was going on.
Your eyes lit up when you seen Nas doing his thing. You and Erica exchanged looks before looking back at him as he continued his rhyme.
"I used to hustle, now all I do is relax and strive. When I was young, I was a fan of the Jackson 5.
I drop jewels, wear jewels, hope to never run it. With more kicks than a baby in a mother's stomach.
Nasty Nas has to rise 'cause I'm wise. This is exercise 'til the microphone dies.
Back in '83, I was an MC sparkin'. But I was too scared to grab the mics in the parks and..
Kick my little raps 'cause I thought niggas wouldn't understand. And now in every jam, I'm the fuckin' man."
You smiled brightly while everyone went crazy. It was clear he was leaving a very good impression. You never really listened to rap music in the first place, but Nas was certainly about to change your mind about all of that.
His boys egged him on, encouraging him to spit a third verse. Once he concluded, he received his props and couldn't help but feel like a king at that moment.
You continued your way up the steps as Erica got pulled away by Prodigy. You briefly made eye contact with Nas, flashing a little smile at him before proceeding on your away.
"Aye, ima holla at y'all tomorrow." Nas dapped up his people and glared at Jabari. "Take yo little ass home. I'll be there in a minute." Nas demanded and ran off to catch up to you.
He opened the door, walking out of the stairwell and into the hallway. You lived on the floor above him and one floor down from Erica's.
You glanced back after hearing the staircase door open and shut close. "Sup, ma?"
You stopped walking and turned around to face him as he inched closer to you. "Nothing much, Nasty Nas." You teased him, causing him to laugh.
"That was hot. You did a good job." You complimented his rap skills.
Nas leaned back against the wall and folded his arms across his chest. "Just good?" He asked, squinting his eyes at you.
"Oh shit, my bad." You giggled and put your hands up in surrender. "I mean you did a great- matter of fact you did a fantastic job, Nas."
Nas licked his lips, and nodded as he smirked. "That's more like it."
You playfully rolled your eyes, "so what you want?"
Nas' eyes trailed your figure up and down. He wanted to make you his from the day Erica introduced you two. He already established it in his brain.
He thought you were the most beautiful girl ever but before he decided to make any moves, he wanted to feel your vibe a little more.
Over the course of these last two weeks, you two would see each other in passing a lot since he was good friends with Prodigy and the rest of the guys, who you also grew close to over the years.
Nas loved that you were laid back just like he was and you had an amazing personality on you. You were quite funny to him as well, and as much as he tried to hold in his laughter whenever you told a corny joke to the guys, he would burst out laughing every single time.
He dropped his arms from his chest and gently pulled you into him. "You busy this weekend?" He asked, wrapping his arms around your waist.
You looked up at him, almost melting in his arms.
"Damn this man is fine as hell." You mentally thought to yourself.
You shook your head, " No. Why?"
"Wanna go to the movies on Saturday? We can do that double-date shit with Erica and P if you want."
Your face dropped into a frown. You loved both Erica and Prodigy but if you were getting the chance to spend some time with Nas, you wanted it to be one on one.
Nas caught the hint and chuckled softly. "On second thought, I think I just want you all to myself."
You blushed shyly, as he held you a little more tighter and placed a kiss on your cheek, catching you off guard.
"I'll see you later, aight?" He said as you pulled away from each other.
You nodded, still blushing harder than ever. "Okay." You said and turned away, walking towards your door as Nas re-entered the stairwell.
The new kid on the block was back and ready for his rightful position in the Bridge.