flowers are a boy's best friend /arctic

He tipped his head back against long blades of grass and sighed, the afternoon sun warm enough to make him sleepy. His feet were propped up on Parker's picnic basket, his bike was laying nearby, the tulip bulbs still safely in its basket. The few clouds in the sky did enough to protect them from sunburn but Wisteria's arm was over his eyes anyway. It'd been a long morning in the shop and it had started at five for him.

A small wooden board lay between them, a spread of olives, figs and grapes adding a splash of colour to the grey blanket beneath them. You weren't supposed to wear sandals when biking but Wis' had been left facing the blanket ceremoniously as if he had entered a home rather than the simplicity of laying down on soft, grey wool.

'Same time next week' had been a slogan of their friendship for almost four years. Ever since their history teacher had paired them for a project because their families both owned flower shops, essentially. There was probably supposed to be some animosity between them because of their warring business but Wisteria had only felt a fondness for Parker. He hoped that his friend felt similarly.

"And anyway, that's why she's gone all weird now," he said, wrapping the story that he'd been telling for the last ten minutes up. It was a real shame what happened to that girl but it wasn't like no one had seen it coming, they'd just never cared enough to step in. "Five's so messed up, Park," he said with a sigh, "So many people buying flowers for so many funerals, it's kind of depressing."

Wisteria was beginning to feel the drain of endless funeral arrangements, he much preferred weddings or birthdays. His favourite was when someone walked into Magnolia's asking for an arrangement as a random surprise for a loved one. Those were always so joyful. Funeral arrangements were beautiful but the flowers carried such a sad message.

"Please tell me you have some good news at least, it's starting to get to me," he said, the small pout on his face a slight accent.