Status: A work in progress :D

Southern Constellations

I Feel Like Dancin' Tonight

"He kissed you!" Tinika verified for what seemed the hundredth time. I had escaped off of the bus early that morning, and found Tinika. I had to tell someone, because I could barely sleep with the exhilarating feeling of his lips on mine just hours ago. I remembered everything like it had happened moments ago.

"Technically, it wasn't a real kiss." I protested. "It was more like one of those kisses you give your parents before your first day of school." On the inside, I was just as excited as she was. I wanted to cry, but I knew that was more than ridiculous.

"That holds zero importance right now, Coraline Maria. Vic Fuentes just kissed you! Why am I more excited than you are?" Her voice was just above a whisper, careful not to let anyone in the catering tent hear us.

I smiled. "Because I don't know how to react. It's so weird." I admitted, suddenly becoming conscious of my appearance as we walked to a table with our food. I could feel a few eyes on the both of us. But I knew that it was because of Tinika. A few guys on Warped Tour had a thing for her. It was funny at times, and other times annoying. Some guys were such pigs.

"Just be excited. I know you are, you've just got to cheer up, babe," She gave me a small, sweet smile. I knew she was right. She knew my better than I knew myself. We took our usual spot at the empty table in the corner. We began eating in silence as we waited for the rest of our close friends to arrive.

"Can I ask you one thing?" Tinika suddenly said, pulling me from my tangled thoughts. I could see that we were slowly drifting apart. Well, no. We weren't drifting apart, I was pulling away, absentmindedly.

I nodded, remorse filling my head as yet another feeling. "What is it?" I asked, taking a sip from my water bottle and staring contently at her.

"You're not hurting yourself again, are you?" Her voice was much quieter now. And her question scared me. I didn't want to answer. I didn't want her to know. I knew she would tell Kellin. I had to admit though, If I was her, I'd tell him too.

"No," I replied. I wasn't lying, really. I hadn't been hurting myself since the day I got the tattoo. But the bruises were still there, fading, but still visible. The burns and cuts were gone, though. And that was something I was dramatically grateful for.

"You promise?" Her second question made me shift awkwardly in my seat. I took my eyes away from hers, for only a millionth of a second, and she sighed. "You are."

I shook my head. "No, not since last week, I-"

"Last week is sooner than fifteen years ago, Cora. You need to stop this. I love you, Kellin loves you, Vic lo-"

"Please, don't say that. It's a lie and we all know it. I'm working on not lying to myself." I cut her off mid-sentence. She glared at me lightly, but her eyes were still held that sympathetic feeling.

"Stop doing that to yourself!" She demanded, her voice attracting a few gazes from the people around us. She sighed, and stared at me. "I'm sorry, I just worry about you." She admitted, her eyes apologetic.

Without replying, I pulled her into a tight hug, nearly knocking her off of her chair. She laughed, and hugged back. "See, your really bubbly and cute, but you've just got to have confidence, love."

I grinned. "You're right. And I'm sorry. I've been way to depressing lately." I laughed. "And I've been saying that way to much." I realized.

She grinned maliciously. I recognized it immediately. I knew she was going to do something that we would most likely regret when we're older, but while we have the time, we'll just have fun. "I'll be right back." She said, walking over to Danny Worsnop, and sitting next to him.

I chuckled a bit, and turned around to see Vic walking my way. He was alone, which was weird. he was never alone. He was worse than a popular high school girl. He made his way towards me, a smile on his face. His straightened hair was pushed back by a beanie. His jeans were tight, just like usual, and he was wearing a Keep A breast tank top, revealing his alluring arms.

He sat next to me. "Hey," he smiled up at me.

"Hey," I replied, returning the smile. He seemed to look different. Like he was nervous. And this concerned me. Was it because of me? "What's up?"

He sighed. "I wanted to ask you something while you're alone." He glanced over my shoulder at Tinika, and gave a halfhearted smile. I made no effort to turn around and look at her, I was too busy focusing on reading Vic's expression.

"I was wondering, If maybe..." he trailed off, and took a sip of his water to take time. "If maybe you'd want to..." His voice cracked, which was kind of unusual for him. His voice was always so exercised from the constant performances.

I grabbed his hands, finally realizing that the expression on his face was nervousness. I didn't like seeing him so worried. But even in this moment, he was flawless.

"I was wondering if you'd be my girlfriend? I mean, I know I didn't want to before, for Kellin's sake. And your sake, because I don't know what everyone's reaction would be. But we don't have to announce it, y'know? We won't have to lie either, though. We can tell someone only if they ask about it. We won't have to say anything unless it's necess-" He was rambling, something I had never seen him do before.

I laughed, and threw myself at him. "Of coarse I will, Vic." I breathed out, burrowing my face in his neck. I squeezed my eyes tightly, making sure that this wasn't just a dream.

I felt him smile as he kissed my cheek. He breathed out like he had been holding his breath the entire time. It made me chuckle softly. Soon, we both pulled away.

"Now, I want to ask a question. Now that we're...together." I said, staring at him contently. The word was metallic on my tongue. I loved being his 'girlfriend' but it was weird calling myself that. It was new land. He nodded once, and I sighed. I was nervous, but clearly not as nervous as he was.

"Did you really mean it? What you said last night?" I asked, thoughts of last night clouding my mind. His lips on my lips....

He smiled, and laced our hands together under the table. "Of coarse I did. I wouldn't have said it if I didn't." he replied, rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb. "Did you mean it?" His question surprised me more than when I had asked him.

I nodded. "Yeah, I mean, I think so. I've never really had a real relationship. My high school life was really just shit. I was never anyone's entertainment for more than two hours." I replied, sighing again. I don't think anyone outside of my family except Tinika had ever really loved me. So this was new land as well.

He smiled, and pecked my cheek. "I love you," He whispered, causing me to giggle. My cheeks turned scarlet, and he chuckled. "You're cute when you blush."

If possible, I turned even darker.

"It's nice to actually tell you how adorable you are without feeling weird now. I know you don't think you are, but you're perfect." He smiled, and stared at the ground, obviously unaware of what he had just said.

He chuckled. "I'm sorry. That was a little too straight forward."

"Hey, Vic," Tinika smiled down at us both. Vic pulled his hand slowly away from mine, and smiled.

"Hey," He replied, taking a bite of his food.

"Do you mind if I steal your girl for a while?" She asked, causing me to shift awkwardly in my seat.

Vic smiled at her again, and nodded. "Keep her safe." he pointed a finger at her, causing the both of us to chuckle.

"I always do." she replied, grabbing my wrist and dragging me out of the catering tent, the warm sun rays hitting my skin like a bullet. It was a nice feeling though, but it was already a hot day, which meant that it was only going to get worse.

I couldn't stop smiling. It wasn't because I was Vic Fuentes' girlfriend (Okay, maybe a little...), but it was because he didn't deny it when Tinika called me 'his girl.' He just answered. He didn't shift awkwardly in his seat like I had, he just replied. most guys would have been nervous, right?

"Oh my god! You have no idea how I feel right now!" I yelled, as she shut the door of the deserted Of Mice & Men tour bus behind us.

"Actually, I think I know." She chuckled, and we sat next to each other on the sofa. "Tell me everything!"

I did just that. I had repeated the word 'girlfriend' more times than necessary, but I didn't care. I loved saying it. It was just so perfect. I hadn't left out a single thing. I told her everything from the point of him sitting down next to me, to pulling his hand away from mine.

"So," I began after I had finished my re-cap. "Why were you talking to Danny?"

She smiled. "So I could get this." She fished something from her back pocket, and threw it in my lap. "You have no idea how long I've been tracking that down. I actually thought Kellin shredded it until recently." She admitted.

I examined the card in my hands. I had recognized it as my fake ID from high school. She had had one too but, since she was 21, no longer needed it. I envied her for this. We had always hung out with the wrong people, but we never really cared. We had fun, and that's all that mattered.

"Go get dressed. We're leaving in an hour. There's a local concert a few miles away. You're drinking." She stated, waving me off. I smiled, and walked to the Sleeping With Sirens bus, leaving her alone to get ready.

"You've been avoiding us!" Gabe yelled as I had walked towards the bunks.

I laughed, and shook my head. "No, I've just been busy." I replied, biting my lip to hide the smile. "I still love you all." I chuckled, and pulled some clothes from my suitcase. Once I was positive I had everything, except my top that I had left with Tinika a few weeks before, I made my way back to the OM&M bus. I dressed quickly in a pair of dark blue, cut off, jean shorts, a All Time Low tank top, and a pair of charcoal colored Converse. I straightened my hair, and did my makeup a little heavier than usual. I pushed a few piercings through, including my snakebites and the left side of my nose. I loved them when I was younger. They made me feel good about myself, but Kellin hated them. So I never really wore them.

"Ready?" I asked Tinika, as she walked out of the small bathroom. I slid my fake ID into my wallet, and pushed the wallet into my back packet.

She nodded once, and smiled. "Your piercings." She chuckled a bit, as I nodded.

"Just like high school." I reminded her.

She nodded once more. "Just like high school."
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