Southern Constellations

"Kellin, I'm fourteen. And it's not like I'm going to be alone." Coraline stated, crossing her arms over her chest in annoyance.

"Just be careful." He said, opening the door for her, avoiding the glare in her stunningly bright, hazel eyes.

"Aren't I always?" She asked, in an innocent tone.

"Not always." He answered, chuckling a bit as she got into the car full of teenage girls, one he recognized as Tinika.

Warped Tour. Coraline Quinn was going to Warped Tour without her big brother for the first time. She was too young, but Kellin knew that she would end up going, even if he didn't want her too. What was the point of fighting?

"Be careful!" He repeated, as she got into the back seat of the BMW convertible that he despised. She was a fourteen year old, hanging out with sixteen year old kids. That's enough to make her big brother worry about her constantly. She was leaving him. She was old enough to start doing things on her own, and Kellin didn't like that at all.

He sighed heavilly, and closed the door to the home of the both of them. He began walking back to his room, when he noticed that Coraline had left the door to her bedroom open. He stared at it for a moment, before walking over to it. He walked in her room, the smell of hairspray and cotton candy perfume filled his nostrils. He recognized the large room, covered top to bottom in posters of familiar bands. The mattress on the bed pushed against the west wall had been moved slightly.

He shouldn't be doing this.... His sister needed privacy, and he had promised her that he would be respectful of that.

But she has been acting a little suspicious lately. She barely ever comes out of her room anymore...

He sighed again, before walking over to the bed, and lifting the mattress. Underneath it, was a old, beaten, composition book. He hesitated, before flipping to a random page, and began reading.

He kissed me. Jake Lacey kissed me! We're going to a concert this Saturday. Hopefully, he'll do it again. It was the best moment of my life. He's sixteen, but who cares? Okay, maybe Kellin. But it's not like he'd ever find out. Ugh, he's worse than mom and dad. Another good thing happened this week. Tikina and I got away with starting the food fight on Wednesday. That was fun - other than the spaghetti noodles in my hair. Over all though, it was a pretty good week. There was one bad part though. When I was straightening my hair, I burned myself. But not on accident. I know, I know. It's bad. But all I wanted to do was feel it. Now there's a big red mark on my wrist. I have to wear multiple bracelets to cover it. I just don't want Kellin to know. He'd kill me.

Kellin slammed the book shut, and shoved it back under the mattress. White-hot anger began forming in the pit of his stomach. He wanted to kill 'Jake Lacey' and he wanted to scream at Coraline for hurting herself. He never thought of her as the person to do that. Why did he have to worry about things like this? He should be worrying about his band, and trying to get them signed. Not his little sister getting kissed by older guys, or her trying to kill herself.

He walked back into the lounge, and grabbed his keys. He slammed the door behind him, and climbed into his car. He shoved the keys into the ignition, and revved the engine, before speeding down the road after Cora and her friends.

Once he finally arrived at the location she had said to be, his heart dropped to his feet. Hundreds of people were here. How the hell was he going to find her?

He walked around for a while, trying to find her, before he started asking questions.

"Have you seen a group of teenagers? One girl younger, short, black hair?" He asked repeatedly., the answer always being no.

He heard a familiar laugh in the distance, and whipped his head around. Coraline was laughing and giggling loudly, holding hands with a tall, thin guy. His hair covered most of his face, and was dyed an unnatural red.

He walked over to them, and pushed the guy away from Coraline. "What the hell are you doing?" He screamed, angrily. "She's fourteen! This not a relationship! That's fucking rape!" He looked at the guy menacingly. "Come anywhere near her again, and I'll rip out your fucking throat out." He said, before turning back to Coraline, tears steaming down her face.

"Get in the car." He demanded, trying his hardest to stay calm.

She stood there, emotionless.

"Get in the car." he repeated, earning glares from the people around them.

"Kellin, please. He didn't do anything!" She sobbed, causing him to feel the need to comfort her.

He sighed, and his eyes lightened. "Coraline, we're leaving." he said, grabbing her hand, and tugging her with him.

The entire way home, neither of them said a single word. The sound was filled with soft sniffles coming from Coraline.

Once they were back in the safety of their home again, Coraline walked to her room, and slammed the door without saying anything.

Kellin leaned against the door, and fell to the floor. He pulled his knees up to his chest, and sighed. "Cora, I know. I know what you did. Please, let me come in? I just want to talk to you. I'm sorry." He said, his eyes closed in frustration, pity, and embarrassment.

Her heard the little click of the lock on the door, and quickly stood up. He walked in, to see Cora lying on her bed. Her knees pulled up to her chest, and her face buried in her hands. He silently walked over to her, and pulled her into his arms.

He stroked her hair, and tried to comfort her as much as possible. After a while of this, she looked up at him. Her mascara running down her cheeks, and her bright, hazel eyes bloodshot and swollen.

He took her wrist in his hand, and carefully removed her bracelets. She didn't pull away from him, she just watched, and occasionally winced as the bracelets revealed the burn.

"There's more," she whispered. Kellin ignored this statement, and examined her wrist. He attempted to understand why she did this, but he couldn't. She was so beautiful. She had wonderful friends, a wonderful family, and support whenever she needed it. Why was she doing this to herself?

She lifted up her shirt, and stopped just above her breasts. Her stomach was covered in red marks. Some fading, some raw. They all took the shape of tiny (obviously metal) hair accsesories. A horrifying image of his little sister doing this appeared in his mind. He examined them carefully, making sure not to miss a single one.

"Why?" He choked out, just now noticing the bulge in the back of his throat.

"I don't know..." She lied.

"Why did you do this, Cora?" He asked again, becoming impatient.

"Because I'm not pretty, Kellin. Because I'm fat. Because I'm disgusting. Because I'm annoying. Because everyone hates me. Because I can't get good grades, no matter how hard I try. I think the correct question would be why not?" She said, pulling her shirt back down.

Kellin sighed, and closed his eyes again. "You're wrong. Coraline, you're beautiful. You're smart, you're funny, you're not annoying. I love you. Fuck what everyone else thinks. After you graduate, you won't see half of them ever again anyways. Please, stop this. For me?" He pulled her into a tight embrace, and wrapped his arms around her neck.

She nodded against his chest. "Okay. I love you too. I'll stop. But you can't tell anyone, okay? This never happens again, and it doesn't leave this room. Please?" she tried to negotiate.

Kellin hated to agree to this, because he knew his parents needed to know. But if she would stop, he'd do anything. "Never again." he breathed out, before kissing the top of her head.