I'll be there for you. || A ritzneer fanfiction

Grocery Store

Hi!! Sorry for not updating for a long time, I was lowkey gonna abandon this but I changed my mind 😓🙏
This chapter takes place three weeks after the last one btw :3

Ritz's POV

"Alright, so we've got our big performance at the Rage Dome tomorrow." Veneer says, pointing at the calendar.

"I know!" I answer. "I'm so excited for you two." Velvet, who is sitting at the table behind me eating breakfast, adds through a mouthful of cereal,

"Yes, and our performance needs to be perfect." Veneer smiles and nods back at her, then turns to me.

"You're announcing us tomorrow night, right Ritzy?" he asks.

"Yeah, of course." I respond, pouring myself my own bowl of cereal. "You guys are gonna be great." Veneer grabs a bowl for himself, and when we're all finished I rise from the table.

"I'm gonna head out to get groceries." I say. "Anyone wanna come with?" Veneer nods, and Velvet says, "Sorry, Ritz. I've gotta work in our set for tomorrow night." Veneer and I get ready and I grab my beanie from its spot above the door. I pull it on just as Veneer comes down the stairs. I'm in my normal go-to outfit, just the simple t-shirt and jeans, but one thing I admire about Ven is that he always goes all out wth his outfits no matter what we're doing. He's wearing the prettiest baby blue tank top that goes perfectly with his eyeshadow, paired with a white scarf and bell bottom jeans. He looks stunning, as per usual.

"Ready to go?" he asks, taking my hand. I nod, and we head to the limo. Extravagant for a shopping trip, I know, but Veneer refuses to take the normal car. He says the limo delivers "more of a fabulous impression" to people driving by. Veneer and I climb into the front and passenger seats, and we drive to the grocery store. People have seen us in public multiple times at this point, and they didn't know what to make of it for a while. Eventually someone took a picture of us holding hands and the secret was out. It's old news at this point, but the amount of "Veneer has a boyfriend!" headlines that are still popping up are slightly concerning, and people still make a big deal of us in public.

Soon we arrive at the supermarket, and miraculously manage to get inside without being recognized. Whenever Veneer and I go shopping, we split up to get things done faster so we can head to the mall afterwards. We rip the list in half and agree to meet back up by the frozen food aisle.

Veneer's POV

Ritz goes in one direction and I go in the other. I get recognized a few time, but by very tame fans. Good for me, especially because all the crazy fans will definitely show up at the Rage Dome tomorrow. I go around the store, grabbing the different items from my half of the list, and finishing in the frozen food aisle. I get the food I need there and wait, because Ritz isn't done yet. I shift my scarf and pull out my phone, leaning back against one of the freezers. Someone taps me on the shoulder and I look up. A guy with red hair and surprisingly striking brown eyes looks down at me.

"I'm sorry am I in your way?" I ask, stepping to the side.

"You're alright," he answers, opening the freezer. Suddenly his eyes spark with recognition and he turns back towards me. "Wait, are you Veneer?" I smile and nod. Here we go again. Nothing I can't handle, though. His eyes narrow at me, and I shrink back slightly. He looks... irritated? It might just be the whole freezer thing though. He finally speaks;

"Cool. I'm a fan of you and your sister." He offers his hand and I take it, and I flinch as he squeezes my hand rudely as he shakes it. "My names Camdyn," he says coldly. "I'm sure you've heard plenty about me."

I stop cold, and feel my heart drop. Camdyn... this guy is Ritz's abusive ex boyfriend. Not wanting to anger him further, I pull my hand out of his and reply,

"Not sure that I have. Sorry." This just seems to agitate him further.

"Don't play dumb. I know that little bastard has mentioned me to you." he says through gritted teeth. "Your little affair with Ritz costed me a lot of cash. He had a lot of money."

"You used him for money?! Ar you kidding me?" I shoot back. "No wonder he left you."

Camdyn makes a fist, glaring. "You little..." he starts, and stops suddenly, looking behind me.

I glance in the direction he's looking, and spot Ritz turning the corner, his face turned downward toward his phone.

"Get out of here," I say, backing up slightly. Camdyn rears back and shoves me hard into the freezer door with a loud smash, causing Ritz's head to snap up.

"Cam..." he mutters, looking from Camdyn to me and back again.

"Ritzy." Cam starts, taking a step toward him. Ritz grabs my arm and pulls me close.

"Don't call me Ritzy, and don't touch him." he says firmly.

"Ah, Ritzy... don't talk to me like that." he smiles down at him, a hand on his hip. He grabs Ritz by the arm, pulling him out of my grasp and into his arms. Ritz tries to push away, but Cam is way bigger than him. He continues, "We left off on a bad note! Let's fix this." I take a step towards them, but Cam pushes me back again, causing me to fall on the floor.

"Stay out of this," he glares at me. Ritz jams his heel down on Cam's foot, causing him to jump backwards. "Gah! You little motherfucker!" Cam stares menacingly at Ritz as he rushes back to my side, helping me up.

"Leave us alone," Ritz says, his voice shaking. Camdyn gives him a piercing look full of hatred. He nods.

"I see how it is." he mutters. "But you'll regret this. Mark my words, you ungrateful little shit." He gives Ritz and I the finger before walking down the aisle. Ritz turns to me.

"Are you alright?" he asks, taking my hands. I nod.

"Are you?" I ask him. "He shouldn't have grabbed you like that."

"I know." Ritz answers, avoiding eye contact. After a pause, he says, "Wanna get out of here?" I smile and nods, hugging him and taking his hand. Yeah, let's go. We'll buy some stuff for the pre-show photo shoot tomorrow afternoon." And then everything is okay again. Except it isn't. Ritzy's crazy ex is after him. But I'm going to make sure he doesn't hurt him again.