You're To Blame

You’re To Blame! Volume 1 Takano Masamune Chapter 1: Lost And Found (1) *** … all I need to do is keep up with my daily life… from home to work… from work to home… never changing… yet the more I do this repetitive life… It’s becoming more and more exhausting just to exist… “Ouch! Watch it! Are you f*****g blind that you can’t even carry a tray properly without bumping into anyone?!” The customer yelled at me, though he was the one that slammed into me… I’ve had people do this before, now he’s going to complain to my manager and ask for a free meal for his ‘troubles’ such an old trick… “I’m very sorry…” I apologized although it wasn’t my fault. He had an ugly smirk on his face. “Are you that incompetent that you can’t even carry a tray from one place to another without bumping into someone? Worthless piece of trash. Get me your manager right now!” As he had raised his voice to yell at me, suddenly someone interrupted him. I looked up to see another customer had grabbed the man by the wrist. Was he going to hit me? I hadn’t even been paying attention… “Apologize.” The other customer said, he was tall, with black hair and a pale complexion almost sickly, like a vampire… “For what? She should be the one giving me an apology!” The rude customer yelled back as he turned his attention to the other man. “You bumped into her on purpose, I saw you.” The handsome customer remarked. He looked angry, but why was he angry when I was the one on the ground? “And how will you prove that? Ouch! Don’t twist my arm you psycho!” The rude customer groaned in pain as his wrist was being held tightly and slowly being twisted to the side. “Apologize to her.” He repeated himself and I stood up to try and mediate things. “It’s alright. I should have been more careful.” I said carefully while tapping the handsome customer on the shoulder. “You don’t need to help me, thank you for everything.” I reassured him with a smile. “See? Even she understands it’s all her fault.” The rude customer stepped in with a smug look on his face once again. I hated having to protect him like this but it was all I could do as to not escalate the situation. “Do you need any more help-” The kind customer turned back to me with a worried look on his face and I quickly shook my head and responded. “No, thank you. You did enough for me. I will head back now and clean this up.” I told him while rushing off. “…right…” The handsome customer agreed and went back to his seat. That day I couldn’t understand why he’d helped me… I had wondered if he liked me, or just couldn’t stand the injustice in the world, if he related to my situation and just wanted to help out, or if he just wanted to feel gratitude from someone to help his own ego… I didn’t know the reason and at some point it stopped mattering to me at all… That man that helped me that day… he came back the next day… “Hi… are you feeling better today?” He asked me so kindly and I couldn’t help but respond with a smile. “Yes. Much better thanks to you.” I said while handing him the menu. He was sweet and talkative, he came in often… In the beginning I thought it was bothersome to have someone pity me… but with time I realized he was genuinely concerned for me. He came in a lot not every single day but at least three times a week… Until finally after a few months time. “Would you… want to go out on a date with me?” Asked me and I agreed without thinking. Bradley… the kind customer’s name, I finally knew it… When he finally asked me out, I felt like laughing… it was so sweet. Then we dated and around him I didn’t feel like this constantly repetitive mundane life was something bad… in fact it was magical… Who knew that having someone by your side could make everything else around you feel that much more vibrant? That much more real… that much more… Happy… he made me happy… “Did you know this flower means eternal love? I want you to have it…” Bradley was an odd ball, he was awkward at times, he was sweet, he stumbled over his words when he was nervous. “It’s a fake flower…” I remarked as I looked it over. “So that it will never wither away, just like my feelings for you…” He replied while looking away, I could tell his face was flushed red and he tried to hide it to the best he could… He really is… someone special… We spend an entire year together… happiness was something I always found so out of reach and yet with him I knew it was just within my grasp until that day happened… The day that would turn this fairytale like, story book happiness of mine upside down…