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The Spine stared out of the bus window, watching the landscape speed past in a blur. The band had already been driving for several hours, however they still had a few more hours of travel left. Rabbit could not stay still, bouncing around the aisle and announcing how bored he was to anyone who would listen. Nobody wanted to listen, of course, but that didn’t deter Rabbit from making his tedium everyone’s business. The Spine envied that Matt and Mike were driving in a separate vehicle. Walter Girl P silently shooed Rabbit, not looking up from her phone. Rabbit pouted, but he did sulk away, leaving her in peace. The Spine pulled the brim of his fedora down, hoping that he could appear to be in standby mode like Hatchworth.
“Hey Spineee!” Rabbit leaned over the back of the seat, peeking underneath the Spine’s fedora to see his glowering green eyes.
“Hello Rabbit,” the Spine said, adjusting his fedora back into its usual position. Rabbit opened his mouth to explain the incredibly important issue of there being nothing to do on the bus, but a glimmer of white on the Spine’s vest
“S-s-say, whatcha got there?” Rabbit reached out and plucked a small flower from the Spine’s vest pocket.
“It’s a flower, Rabbit. One of the fans gave it to me,” the Spine said, emphasizing the ‘me’. He watched Rabbit carefully as he twirled the little white flower between his fingers. Rabbit brought it up close to his photoreceptors, inspecting the small flowers that dangled from a green stem. Rabbit let out a loud and excited gasp, earning a quick glance from Paige before she looked back to her phone.
“It ain’t real!” Rabbit exclaimed, poking the paper flowers.
“I am aware of that fact Rabbit, but it is still fragile,” the Spine turned to face him, and he let out his hand to hint that he wanted it back. Rabbit didn’t seem to notice as he bent the wire stem. “Don’t break it,” the Spine puffed out some steam as he grabbed Rabbit’s wrist to prevent him from messing with the artificial flower anymore.
“I ain’t gonna b-b-break it da Spine!” Rabbit whined, but he let go of the flower into the Spine’s open hand. He grabbed it by the stem, careful not to crinkle any of the paper flowers, and placed it back in his vest pocket. Rabbit tilted his head, staying oddly silent for a few seconds. “Ya sure do get a lot of flowers,” Rabbit tapped his lower jaw as he tried remembering all the times that the Spine had a flower in his vest pocket after shows. The Spine nodded as he adjusted the flower slightly, to ensure that it would not be damaged. “Are they all fake?” Rabbit rested his chin, tapping his fingers along the back of the seat.
“Yes, the fans make them.”
“Why?” Rabbit asked. The Spine shrugged. “Is it because they want them to l-l-last forever?”
“Perhaps.”
“Don’t ya wish they were real flowers though?” Rabbit said, his voice growing slightly quieter. The Spine hesitated, taken back by the question. His inability to answer right away was hidden by a dangerously loud bang. The bus veered to the right, before Steve gained control over the steering wheel, cursing loudly.
“Not again!” Steve yelled, slamming his hand on the steering wheel once.
“Did we blow another tire?!” Rabbit jumped up and ran to the front of the bus, leaving the Spine alone in his seat.
Rabbit did not mention the flower for the remainder of the trip, opting to instead chat with Hatchworth. The Spine was thankful as he absentmindedly fiddled with the small flower. Once they reached Walter Manor and had unpacked all the equipment, the Spine went to one of the many sitting rooms that were hardly used at all. He walked up to one of tables by the window, where a pale blue vase sat. He plucked the small white flower from his pocket, glanced at it for a moment before placing it in the center of the overflowing bouquet of flowers. None of the flowers matched one another, but the Spine made sure that each flower was visible. He smiled as he recalled each face that presented each flower. They would forever remind him of them. The smile dropped as he thought of how these flowers would never wilt or fade. Perhaps he wouldn’t mind some real flowers. He could keep them alive, even if just temporarily. It might be nice to have something that didn’t last forever.