Kid Ritz x Veneer

Part 4

(MENTIONS OF SH KIND OF NEAR THE END)

I literally had to redo like half of this part. I already did it but somehow it didn't save. I just want to cry, and scream-I can't find the rest of this part, so it will be kind of different. Anyways, enjoy!

Floyd decided to visit Veneer to make sure that he was doing well. He could barely sleep the night before. Once he got to the prison, Veneer was already talking to someone. It was one of his old fans. "Thank you Veneer! I'll come tomorrow and try to visit Velvet!" the purple haired girl said with a huge smile. "Bye Orchid! See you soon!" Veneer replied and looked down at Floyd. "Hey Floyd! How are you?" Veneer asked. "I'm uhm, I'm okay. I just needed to check on you," he replied. "Why? Did something bad happen?" Veneer asked with a worried look. "Well, uhm, s-sort of," Floyd replied. Veneer decided not to push any further because it deeply troubled Floyd. Veneer decided to attempt to take his mind away from whatever was troubling him.

Branch was nervous but knew that he needed to talk to him soon. He and Bruce were talking about how he should approach the situation. Branch finally got an idea of what to do about the whole ordeal. He decided to go visit him after he ate some dinner, since it was time for dinner. Queen Bridget invited the trolls for dinner. They went and had a great time. King Gristle was excited to see the trolls again, since he became close to Branch and Clay. The meal was grand and tasted amazing. Queen Bridget and 3 other maids were the ones that cooked the large meal. All the Bergens and most of the trolls were there. They also had a grand dance a bit after the dinner. Branch and Poppy danced for a while.

Veneer was happy to sit with Lance and his other friends. They were excited for him to leave early next year. Veneer still felt like he didn't deserve to leave yet. He wanted to leave but knew that he deserved to be there. "So, Veneer. Do you actually like singing?" Lance asked. "Oh. Absolutely not. I prefer gardening and cooking," he answered with a smile. "Oh. Honestly, I didn't take you as someone who likes cooking," Lance said with a slight, teasing smile. "Yeah. I used to cook a lot with my mom," Veneer replied with a smile. "That's so sweet!" one of his friends gushed. Veneer laughed and smiled. "Yeah. She was sort of my best friend," Veneer said with a sad smile. Veneer's roommate was really flirty. His roommate never tried anything physical but would flirt with him all the time.

Branch finally visited Ritz after a few days. He found him sitting in the middle of his bedroom floor with his knees to his chest. He was about to knock until Ritz started talking. "I have to wash my hair tonight. It will take a while to dry but I'm too tired to dry it," he groaned. Suddenly, he let out a loud scream of pure frustration. He then stood up and acted like nothing happened. "I'm perfectly fine. I'll be fine. Nothing's wrong at all," he said and turned around while his eye twitched. Branch jumped as Ritz turned back to the window he was standing outside of. Ritz went to the window and stared at him for a long, uncomfortable moment. "Did you watch me do that?" he asked with a dead, blank look in his eyes. "N-No?" Branch answered nervously. Ritz sat down and curled up into a ball. "I just embarrassed myself once again. This is why nobody likes me. This is why I hate myself," he said and sat there for a moment. "Anyways, what brought you to my house?" Ritz asked and he stood up. Branch flinched and looked at him nervously. "A-Are you okay man?" Branch asked awkwardly. "Physically yes. Mentally, no," Ritz replied. "Anyways, come in!" he exclaimed and let him inside. Branch walked in nervously but happy, nonetheless. Ritz offered him a drink and snacks if he wanted them while he showered.

Branch was mentally preparing himself for their conversation. Branch decided not to rush anything. He didn't want to put any pressure on him to speak about that happened a few days ago. Branch went to the bathroom door and listened. Ritz was just finishing up. Branch heard him wince slightly. Branch sighed and shook his head. He went back to the living room and sat down on the coffee table. Ritz came back after a few minutes and looked down at him nervously. "S-So, uhm, what did you want to talk about?" he asked. "Oh, uhm I just want to talk," Branch replied nervously. "O-Oh, uhm alright," Ritz replied with a small shrug. The two began talking until sleep came up somehow. "I used to not get much sleep. I've been sleeping better since I got my brothers back and everything. I also did because I slowly stopped feeling so guilty about my grandmother's death," Branch said with a small, sad smile. "Oh wow. That's horrible. Uhm, if you don't mind me asking, how did she die?" Ritz asked. "I was singing, and she got taken by a Bergen," he replied with tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry. That has to hurt so much. It wasn't your fault that she died though," Ritz said with a sad, reassuring look on his face. Ritz and Branch continued talking for a while until Branch finally decided to bring it up.

(Mentions of SH ahead, skip if you want)

Branch took a deep breath in and smiled nervously. "H-Hey uhm, Ritz? Can I talk to you about something?" Branch asked. "L-Like what?" Ritz asked as he got an idea about what it was. Branch sighed and looked at him. "I want to talk about the self-harm. It's okay if you don't want to talk about it yet though. I won't rush you or anything," Branch said. Ritz looked down and sniffled as tears filled his eyes. "I-I'm sorry," he mumbled as he started crying harder. Branch couldn't help but flinch. He had no idea how to help him. He should've brought Floyd along to help him. He was about to speak until Ritz spoke. "I-I'm sorry about crying like that. I just...I don't know. A-Anyways, what did you want to know about it? Wait...H-How did you find out?" Ritz asked. "Well, I just wanted to know why you did it. You don't have to talk about it though, if you're not comfortable yet. Floyd told us about his suspicion about you hurting yourself," Branch replied. "O-Oh. Uhm. There were just a lot of thoughts filling my head. They were about how nobody cared about me and lots of other things like that. H-How many people know?" Ritz mumbled and wiped his eyes. Ritz paused and couldn't help but talk about all the negative things filling his head.

Branch felt so awful for him. The two were more similar than what Branch originally thought. Ritz didn't deserve to be so isolated from everyone. Branch just listened and didn't speak until Ritz told him that he could. "You're not alone. You have so many people that care for you. You know, it's okay to talk to someone. You won't burden any of us. You can talk to Floyd or me. We're both here for you. Heck, even Brozone, Viva, and Poppy! We all care for you," Branch said and got up on the couch to attempt to hold his hand. Ritz couldn't help but cry more. He felt so stupid for believing his thoughts. He still felt horrible for hurting himself. Branch was in tears as well. "Th-Thank you. I'm glad I could finally talk to someone about this. Y-You know you can talk to me if-if you need to," Ritz said after a while. "No problem, kiddo. I'll come talk to you if I need to. Thanks for that," Branch replied with a smile. Ritz checked the time and jumped. "Holy crap! I have to go to bed! I'm sorry branch! I would love to continue talking, but I have a huge interview tomorrow! good night, Branch! See you soon!" Ritz shrieked and rushed upstairs to his room. Branch laughed and left, feeling much better. He felt like he had possibly saved him. He was close, and they both knew it.