Page 50 of Stay Dangerous

Set’s brother Rahshad sat on the floor, typing on a laptop, when he looked between me and Rico and pushed up his glasses.

“Sincere here?” Rico asked.

“Nah. Just us, these beats, and someAmerica’s Most Wanted,” Braceface replied, taking a seat next to Shad.

“Aight. She finna sit with y’all until I get back. I’m sure you know Shad through Set. That mannish muthafucka is Sean, my lil’ homie.”

Sean grabbed his soda off the floor and winked at me. “I go by many things, Freckles. But you can call me your future.”

Rahshad shook his head. “Don’t use that in this song.”

I turned toward Rico and stretched my eyes, but he wasn’t having it. He took a step into my space. “You sit that ass on that fuckin’ couch until I walk back in here or on my mama you gon’ fuckin’ hate me like you been should.”

I gulped like a cartoon, easing back until my calves hit the couch and my butt plopped down.

“Casey with you?” Rahshad asked.

Rico’s jaw clenched. “Nah. Come walk me out, Baby Nitemare.”

My eyebrows furrowed, until the smile wiped off Sean’s face and he walked with Rico out of the house. He came back a moment later, locking every lock I didn’t notice on the door, and going back to sit next to Shad.

They sat there for a while, playing bits and pieces of songs that were popular and songs I hadn’t heard in a long time. There was a notebook in front of Sean, and sometimes he’d write something. Sometimes Rahshad would take it and hum something. But most of the time, Rahshad was showing Sean something on his computer.

My bladder was about to burst when the tv finally got to infomercials and Sean turned it off. He stood up and stretched before turning to me. Gone was the flirty gleam that I didn't expect to see in a pipsqueak, but he still had a playful smirk as he peered at me.

“Can I rap you something and you be honest with me, Freckles? Ain’t no tellin’ when Luney finna come back, and you might as well be useful.”

“Well dang,” I mumbled, before wiping my palms on my thighs. “Sure, I guess.”

“Fasho. Play it, Shaddy.”

Rahshad pushed his glasses up before typing a couple of commands, and a beat began to filter out of his laptop.

Sean rapped low at first, until he glanced at Rahshad who motioned for him to project his voice. He nodded, and began to rap louder, grabbing his notebook to glance down if he forgot the words.

Thirty seconds later, Rahshad cut the beat off, and they both looked at me.

“Ummm,” I began, mashing my lips. “Look, you gotta have more confidence. What happened to the boy who was about to get at me when I first came? Your words are good. The beat isreallynice, and most of these new rappers are hot garbage. But they make it look good, and you gotta do the same thing.”

“I do, most of the time,” he complained, dropping to the floor. “When it’s the fellas, I’m straight. But we had a talent show at school, and… I choked.”

“Badly,” Rahshad added.

Sean mugged him. “Nigga, you weren’t there!” He flinched at him, before shifting his gaze back to me. “New people make me freeze, Freckles. Picturing ‘em naked don’t help. I don’t know what to do.”

He looked so down, and it pulled at my heartstrings.

“Like I said, your flow and words are good. You just gotta believe in yourself. You gotta believe you’rethatnigga. You’re thebest, and everyone else sucks. You can’t picture them naked because it helps you, but they’re naked because they’re lame, and you’re lacing them with game. And fuck whoever thinks differently.”

“You never talk this much at Turk’s house,” Rahshad remarked, a small smile on his face.

I shrugged, standing before I peed on the couch. “You don’t either. Can I use the bathroom?”

Sean’s head was deep in his notebook, but he still nodded and pointed toward the hallway. “The only door open. Make sure youwash your hands, Freckles. We working on my stage presence when you get out.”

My eyes popped open as I was lifted off the bottom bunk in Sean’s room. Soap and my favorite cologne caressed me as I wrapped my arms around Rico’s neck, and let him carry me out of my new friends’ house.

I quickly learned that flirting back with Sean made him nervous, which broke Rahshad out of his shell even more. I knew he was smart, but the way he dissected songs at his age was genius level. For hours we all went back and forth, helping Sean fine tune his verses and having him practice. They even helped me write my very first verse, tucked away in my back jean pocket.