Fireworks 1 and 2

Jungle: Chapter Sixty-Two

    Nicki leaned over, reading the lyrics Mia had come up with. "Ooh, I like that."

    Mia pointed at the page. "I was thinking this could be the hook. It might have to be tweaked a little bit, though."

    "No, I love it," Nicki said. "You did that, girl. Yas, bitch, yaaaas." She turned and gave Mia a high five. Then she returned to studying the lyrics. "I'm going to show you what I came up with in a minute."

    The studio engineer played around with the controls, playing different pieces of music while Mia and Nicki talked music. Mia glanced over her shoulder at Drake, who alternated between pacing the length of the studio working on lyrics of his own and scrolling through his social media feed while seated on the couch.

    Nicki looked up and followed her gaze. "Crazy how drastically your entire life can change, right?"

    Mia nodded. "Yeah."

    "I remember the last time we all hung out," Nicki said. "I mean really hung out, not the club appearance or concert appearance bullshit. Do you remember?"

    "St. Maarten," Mia said with a smile, remembering the impromptu vacation she and Drake had decided to take. It had been a shock to them to discover that Nicki and Kenneth had also chosen to vacation in the same location at the same time.

    "You were so wide-eyed and new to everything," Nicki mused, wearing a grin on her face. "It was the cutest thing. Back then, I didn't know if you were going to be a flavor of the month for him, or if you were going to be a more permanent fixture in his life. For me and Ken to pop up there and just randomly see you guys..."

    "We saw so many people there that same week," Mia recalled. "It was like a hotspot."

     "That happens sometimes," Nicki said. "The same celebs will pop up in Ghana or South Africa or Turks & Caicos. Most of the time, it's because of local events drawing in tourists. Those were good times." A nostalgic tone filled her voice as her gaze shifted from Kenneth to Drake. 

    Mia wasn't fully aware of everything that had transpired between Nicki and Drake. There has always been rumors swirling around about the two and whether or not they'd been romantically involved, or whether any semblance of romantic involvement was just to hype up Young Money artists' popularity. Even though she wondered about their level of involvement in the past, that was a topic that Mia could never bring herself to ask her boyfriend about. There were some questions you just didn't want the answers to.

    Nicki blinked and abruptly turned to face Mia. "Sometimes I wonder whether or not the friendship I have with Aubrey will ever be the same again."

    Mia's eyes widened at the confession. 

    The pretty rapper hurried to add, "We all get along now, but...the friendship I have with him is definitely not the same. He and I used to be so tight. Like brother and sister, literally, but now..." She slowly shook her head. "Whenever we're around each other, I feel like I'm walking around on eggshells around him. Ever since the Meek bullshit, everything has been so strained and awkward. We'll rarely get these moments where it's like we've traveled back in time ten years and we're just joking around on the tour bus again, but then those moments pass so quickly and he's back to...just being that nice acquaintance I see once in awhile. He used to confide in me all the time, ask for my advice on shit, and he doesn't anymore."

    What do I say to that? I'm not even sure of everything that happened between them. "Have you considered talking to him about it?"

    A sad smile touched Nicki's lips. "That's one thing about him. His trust is taken for granted in this industry...but if you betray him, chances are that he'll never fully trust you again. I've known this and witnessed this, and still chose my man over my brother."