The Coopers. The Stepfords of Riverdale. High school sweethearts who got married and had two beautiful daughters, Polly and Betty.... until Jason Blossom happened.

A week before the first Ghostface murder in Riverdale. While fiddling with his camcorder during lunch, Y/n feels a tap on his shoulder, Jason Blossom. "Hey, can I talk to you for a second?" He requests in a very quiet voice.

"Uh.... sure." Y/N replies as he glances around, noticing all the envious look he's getting from the other students who whish to boast their popularity by being friends with Riverdale High's best football player.

As soon as they make it to a corner where the talkative students can drown out their voices, Jason gets straight to the point. "I'm leaving." Jason tells Y/N, causing the kid to blink.

"What?" 

"I need to get out of here." Jason specifies, glancing around anxiously. "This town, my dad and mom, all of it is corrupt. And... none of them will accept me if I told them who I was.... dating." 

Y/N blinks again, taking a moment to process this new information. Things just got a bit too complicated for his plan. "Why are you telling me this?" He then asks Jason after a minute of awkward silence. 

"Because when the weekend comes, I'm gonna fake my death." Jason then reveals to him. "I know, it sounds overboard, but my parents are powerful people, you know what I'm saying?"

"Yeah, I get it..." Y/N knowingly nods. 

"So, I need someone to help sell the story that.... I'm dead." Jason then shares with him, putting a hand over Y/N's shoulder. "Please, just make a random memorial video, anything. Cheryl's helping too." 

Y/N slowly nods, then he quickly forms a brief quick plan. He smirks at Jason.

"No problem."

And now, we would hear from the person who was closest to him those days leading up to his disappearance and murder. Polly Cooper. How a casual conversation turned into a epic forbidden romance. How, for reasons still murky, their respective parents tried to tear them apart. 

How their break-up was short lived because Polly soon learned she was pregnant with Jason's baby. How they became secretly engaged with his grandmother's blessing and her heirloom ring. And made plans to run away together, to start a new life.

And how their dreams of escape, went up in flames. 

As Jughead mentions this in his article, we see one of the new arrived Detectives Markus, watch some old Street footage like the deputy that tried before him. That's when he spots someone in a Ghostface costume stalking Cheryl on one of the streets and such. 

Meanwhile, Detective Bailey examines the crime scene involving that cop's death. Where he finds a make-up kit that was frantically abandoned by the killer before they left the car and alleyway. Something like this could count as evidence.

Sheriff Keller questions Polly about her last moments with Jason Blossom. The police need everything they can get while his killer is still on the loose, adding bodies. "And that was the last time you saw him?" 

"At Pop's, when he told me the plan, that he was gonna fake his own death, and then we would meet up." Polly testifies to the Sheriff. "But, before that could happen, my mom and dad sent me away." She bitterly adds. 

"One of Jason's teammates said that before he ran away, Jason was dealing drugs." Betty mentions, hoping she can explain that part.

"Making a one-time delivery." Polly emphasizes in his defense. "He needed... we needed money. To get away and to start over."  

"So Riverdale's star football player becomes a drug mule?" Keller questions, wanting more details on that front. 

"He went to a bar on the other side of the tracks and made a deal with some biker gang." Polly tells him, and Keller understands quite well who she's referring to. 

"The Serpents?" Keller names, very familiar with the group.

"He got an address upstate, where he was supposed to deliver the drugs in exchange for cash." Polly finishes. 

"The drugs in Jason's car?" The sheriff mentions, to which Polly and Betty nod. "That went up in flames."

"Along with everything I had left of Jason, including the ring his nana gave me, which he was keeping until...." Polly starts breaking down again, causing Hermione to stand up and break the interrogation. 

"Okay, Sheriff, I think that's enough for tonight. I think Polly needs her rest?" She suggests, and Keller nods, standing up as Hermione shows him out. The Sheriff will still need to ask her some other questions however involving Jason's fake death plan.

Like, whom else did he tell? 

________________________________________

Andrews House: 

Jughead, Archie, as well as Y/N are all chilling in the redhead's room, playing DC Universe Online as a party. Archie's using his TV, Y/N's using a laptop he brought with him, and Jughead's also using the device he usually writes his novels on. 

"You gotta stop blowing us up." Jughead complains to the redhead as the kid continues to throw AOEs on the ground. 

"Both of you are going the wrong way." Archie criticizes, things start getting intense as the the boss starts charging up an ability. 

"Quickly, get into cover, because it's a-" Y/N tries warning them, but it's too late. The boss wipes them all off the map in seconds, making them lose the fight for the fifth time. "... one shot." 

"Aw, come on..." Archie groans as he sets down his controller with a sigh, earning himself a look from Jughead. 

"Well, you're the one who keeps accidently hurting us." Jughead points out as the two mutually decide to take five for now before giving it another round. 

"I told you we should've just watched Netflix slasher movies instead." Y/N remarks as he rubs his hands along his face. 

"The last time we did that, you decided to talk about the movie than watch it with us." Jughead mentions, giving him a sarcastic look. "You even gave it away that There's Someone's Inside Your House's Killer was-"

A knock at the door interrupts him from spoiling it to the readers as Archie's dad walks in. "Hey, guys, getting pretty late..." He pauses himself as he steps inside the room. "Whoa! It's kinda ripe in here. Does someone wanna open a window?" 

"I got it." Y/N says as he stands up and lets some fresher air in as well as the nasty stench out. 

"You settling in, Jug?" Fred queries as he glances around the room. Clothing seem all over the floor, but that doesn't really bother the old man. 

"Oh, completely. It's like Archie and I are just roommates in a college dorm." Jughead comments as Y/N gets a ding from his phone.

"Oh, I should get going." Y/N tells the others as he grabs his bag and other stuff before leaving. "Got to make a quick visit before heading home." 

"You mean Cheryl?" Archie questions with a teasing smirk. 

"Shut up." Y/N replies from outside the door as Archie chuckles, tapping Jug on the shoulder. Fred smirks at the two before telling the boys why he needs the silence for the rest of the night.

"Alright guys, I got a big day tomorrow." Fred tells them, clapping his hands with tired anticipation.

"Yeah, breaking ground on the SoDale project, right?" Archie recalls, to which Fred nods.

"Yeah, indeed we are." He confirms before awkwardly looking at Jughead. "Uh, sorry, 'cause I know it's kind of a sore spot for you, Jugead, about the drive-in." He apologizes, remembering how their last discussion about it left on a sour note. 

"As long as you build something beautiful in its place." Jughead replies, mentally shrugging. He's still a little bitter about that whole thing but moving in with Archie has almost made up for it. 

"Well, I don't know about beautiful, but it's definitely going to be big." Fred promises, the images of the finishing touches of it all are so big, it could cause a murder. But, hopefully it doesn't come down to that last part. "Night guys."

"Night dad." Archie replies as his father softly closes the door. 

Tomorrow, things are definitely gonna be big.

________________________________

Riverdale High: Student Lounge

The next morning, Betty explains to everyone about the conflict surrounding the Blossoms, the Coopers, and Polly's child. "Polly's convinced herself that no one wants her baby." 

"Besides of course, the child-snatching Blossom monsters-"

"Dude." Y/N gives Kevin a subtle, warning look, gesturing towards Cheryl Blossom who's literally sitting alongside them. 

"Uh, no offense Cheryl." Kevin awkwardly tells her, as Y/N gives himself a soft face palm. 

"None taken." Cheryl replies, though her look suggests that it might say otherwise the next night.... in his sleep. 

"So your mom and dad want Polly but not the baby, and the Blossoms want the baby but not Polly." Jughead summarizes. And with the Cooper girl not wanting to be separated from her baby, the two have now been put in a massive crossfire. "It's a true Gordian knot." 

"It's a conflict that sounds like it came out of a movie script. It could also be a good distraction for a the massive plot twist." Y/N comments, the last past causes everyone's eyes to fall towards him. "I mean, think about it. Two sides are fighting over a McGuffin, as well as two possible theories about who's in the wrong, which but little do they know, there's a third party actually manipulating this conflict from behind the scenes." 

"You mean.... The Ghostface killer?" Jughead questions, slightly catching on as Y/N smirks at him.

"Exactly, now that Polly's escape as created a Red vs Blue situation, all the killer has to do is play a few cards, so the conflict can escalate, diverting the audience's attention from the big reveal." Y/N explains, and Betty starts to put pieces of Ghostface's possible plan together. "It's like a game of chess, but there's a third player who can move pieces wherever he wants to."

"And that's how he'll be able to create a frame-up." Betty finishes, the gravity of the situation now weighing down on them. "The killer didn't break into my house to kill Polly, he was just trying to scare us and set someone up." 

"That's why they found the snake inside." Jughead chimes in, everyone shares a look as they mentally come up with theories as to who would benefit from it. 

"Luckily, I've been percolating on an idea that might help calm the waters, hellishly simple in its conception." Veronica announces, causing everyone to immediately turn to her. "What if my mom and I were to host a baby shower?"

"Count me in." Cheryl agrees with a smile before Y/N can question putting the two families in the same room so early. 

"You want Polly to feel loved and supported, right?" Veronica mentions to Betty. The idea has a mixed opinion amongst the group, however. 

"Yeah, but ideally by her own parents." 

"Okay, so, baby steps, girl. Get Polly and your parents in the same room in a public setting, where they can't fight, and, viola, let the healing begin." Veronica details, it sounds plausible to work, but the whole serial killer aspect should still be worth mentioning. 

"Am I expected to come to this thing?" Jughead questions, understandably not wanting to stand and act polite for too many hours.

"Or course, you're Betty's boyfriend, so..." Veronica responds with a sip of her coffee as everyone glances at her with funny looks. "Oh, my gosh, you guys, relax. It's just words that starts with the letter B." She playfully tells them before looking at the blonde with an expecting look. "Betty, what do you say?"

Betty tries hiding the smile but fails, before she can verbally give her answer however, an adult marches straight into the lounge. "Elizabeth Cooper."

"Mom?" Betty exclaims with surprise, and so is everybody else who tries to avoid the woman's glare. 

"I need you, and you." Alice demands to both Betty and Veronica, the latter pointing at herself with a hint of surprise. "Right now."

The awkwardness of the two girls glancing at the group before Alice leads them elsewhere goes on for longer than they thought as they all turn back to each other. Y/N considers the baby shower, as well as seeing Polly again before she disappeared. 

It might spark up an opportunity if he makes a visit....

_________________________________________

SoDale Construction Site: 

It's the first day of the construction of the massive contract. The head of Fred's hired crew walks in as him and Hermione double check everything. "Hey, Vic, I was just getting ready to come out and walk you through the day." 

The mentioned Vic takes off his helmet in a way that means he's gonna say something he won't want to hear. "I hate to do this to you, Fred, but um..... I gotta pull my crew." He tells him, causing the two to look at him in slight shock.

"Before we've even started? What happened?" Fred questions, his expression dropping like a sack of potatoes. 

"Cliff Blossom reached out, says he's got a big job coming up, says he needs us free and available." Vic explains, causing Fred to sigh. "Blossom's willing to guarantee us two years' work, starting now. You can't ask my guys to turn down that kind of money."

"No, Vic, I can't." Fred mutters with a defeated expression. Vic briefly apologizes to him before leaving the RV, leaving him and Hermione to look at each other with a new question.

What are they gonna do?

____________________________________

Riverdale Police Station: 

"A make-up kit?" Keller questions what he just heard from Detective Markus. The two have told him everything they've learned so far, from Ghostface's frequent stalking, to what Bailey found in the suspect's car, which they've also now learned belonged to the Sugarman. 

"That's not all, we managed to locate the brand it came from and tracked down a purchase." Bailey shares with him. "It belonged to one, Alice Cooper." He reveals, which gets the Sheriff's attention peaked.

"Mrs. Cooper? What were her items doing in a murderer's car?" He questions, though the inevitable response lingers in the air. A new big suspect to their case. The detectives glance at each other before asking him a serious question. 

"Do you think we can confirm where she was during each murder?" 

______________________________________

Andrews House: 

"Don, I just need a few guys from your crew, a couple to get me started." Fred, now obviously in a pickle with new situation, tries negotiating with his third call tonight. While talking, he sees his son coming in with a pizza box. "I did check. I'll get back to you Don." He dismisess before hanging up the phone and roughly crosses the name on his notebook. 

"What was that about?" Archie asks him curiously, having heard only the last few parts of that conversation. 

"It's all good." Fred shrugs it off, not wanting to worry his son as he digs his hands in his pockets. "How was your date with Val?" 

"It was good, I got you some slices." Archie politely replies, sliding the box across the kitchen island. Fred nods, but opts to take a beer from the fridge instead, which gives the redhead a hint that his dad's gone through a rough day. "Did something happen at work?" 

"Cliff Blossom made my crew an offer the couldn't refuse, so they walked. Every last one of them." Fred bitterly tells him as he pops the cap of his bottle. 

"Screw em, then. Anyone who'd rather work for Clifford Blossom than you is crazy, dad." Archie remarks, waving them off. However, Fred doesn't seem to take it so gently. "Dad? what is it?" Archie asks, now more concerned as his father takes a massive swig out of the bottle. "You always make me talk to you about my problems."

Fred looks at his son with a bleak expression, not helping Archie's worries anymore. "The business.... it's in trouble, Archie, has been for a long time." He reveals to him. "Big jobs are just few and far between. That's why this SoDale thing is so important to me. I can't break ground without a crew, and thanks to this new serial killer that's willing to attack pretty much everyone, who's gonna accept coming to Riverdale?" He bitterly mentions. "Now every day, I'm just hemorrhaging cash, and got equipment sitting there, supplies, bills that are past due." 

"Dad, why-why didn't you tell me?" Archie questions with a slight stammer, standing up. "I had no idea." 

"It was never supposed to get this bad." Fred mutters with a sigh. "I mean, you work your ass off to build something, and in one false step you could lose everything." 

"No, Dad, you're not losing anything." Archie states with a determined expression, not wanting his dad's job to go under. "We'll figure this out."

However, the two are so absorbed in their own problems, they fail to notice a peeping tom in the window. Ghostface then slips away, having obtained some interesting information. 

He knew it would pay to stalk like it was a hobby. 

___________________________________________

Thornhill: The Next Morning

When Fred's about to leave his estate, Mr. Andrew's car cuts in and blocks his route. The two then step out of their vehicles with one keeping his posture straight, and the other one not so. "Fred." 

"You try to hire my crew on the first day of construction?" Fred questions as he stomps over to him, clearly and understandably very pissed. 

"Opportunity knocks when it knocks." Cliff mentally shrugs in a very businessman-like way. "Nothing personal."

"Yeah, it never is with you guys..." Fred mutters, not liking those choice of words. "So, what is it? The development? What?"

"The land you're building on, it belonged to my family. We founded our maple empire on it." Cliff then explains with a hint of venom, subtly showing that it actually is personal. "Now, we were in the process of reacquire it, buy it back, when your mysterious boss, he.... he just stole it right out from underneath us." 

"And you can't go after him, so you come after me." Fred angrily guesses, not liking to be caught in some big business crossfire. 

"The way your boss does business deals, secret deals, building that SoDale monstrosity at the speed of light. Kinda makes me think that he has a limited amount of funds." Cliff theorizes, now it makes sense what his plan is.

"So, you're gonna halt construction, bleed him out."

"Reaquire the land at a more reasonable rate." Cliff confirms, and Fred bitterly nods his head. 

"Thanks a great plan." Fred has to admit. 

"Thank you." 

"Except you're bleeding me out too, you pompous ass." Fred curses in his face, to which Cliff can't help but give a cheeky smirk to. "You're messing with my business, my livelihood, my son's future." He states. "I don't care if you're the richest man in Riverdale, I will come after you with everything I've got." 

"Which is what, exactly?" Cliff questions with a eyebrow. It takes almost everything in Fred not to sock this cocky businessman where he stands. "Go park somewhere else." The Blossom demands when Fred is unable to find a response. 

That cocky, greedy, son of a......

___________________________________

L/N House: Y/N's Room

Y/N L/N is currently going through some stuff in room, evidence he's taken, fake evidence he's fabricated, as well as what's he's going to do once he's at the baby shower. During which, his cell phone rings, causing the kid to slightly groan as he answers it. "Yeah?" 

"Hey, Y/N?" Archie's voice echoes from the other end. "Look, I need a huge favor from you, which probably sounds silly since I already asked for your help with the variety show." 

"Yeah, I'm starting to get deja vu." Y/N comments while as he then finishes sorting the fake and real evidence in different stashes while the Childs Play remake plays in the background on Y/N's laptop. "Please don't say you need me to sing again." 

"No, nothing like that, though it might be an ache on your muscles." Archie mentions, this is a terrible act of persuasion if Y/N's ever heard one. Speaking of, he then grabs a box laying in the center of the room, removing the tape and pulling out a camera inside. 

"See, my dad's in trouble....."

__________________________________________________

SoDale Construction Site: 

Fred Andrews practically slams the door once he makes it back to the trailer. "How'd it go with Clifford?" Hermione queries, as if she needs to ask. 

"Good, insofar as I didn't knock him on his ass, which I would really love to do." Fred responds with very peeved voice as he sits down. "He's in some kind of grudge match with the owner of this land. Lucky us, we're caught in the crossfire." 

"And this mysterious buyer...." Hermione stands up. "Does Cliff know who he is?" She questions with a slightly nervous voice that Fred doesn't seem to pick up on. She should be, after all, this is Hiram Lodge's land. Which only the Lodges know. 

"No, he's as in the dark as we are." Fred tells her, almost throwing his hands up. Then, they hear cars coming up into the yard, interrupting their conversation. "What the hell now?" He mutters annoyed as he and Hermione stand up to go check it out.

What they find however is pretty surprising. Archie Andrews pulls up along with Kevin Keller, Jughead Jones, Moose, Y/N L/N, and two other jocks from the football team, all in construction gear. "What is this?" Fred questions with a surprised voice.

"Your new crew, reporting for duty." Archie pridefully tells him, glancing at the others. He wasn't gonna let his dad suffer at the Blossoms' hand, so he called up some help in exchange for an paying job. 

"I appreciate it, I do, but isn't there something more important you need to be doing? Like going to school? Playing football?" Fred questions, worried about causing an inconvenience. 

"We can work after practice and on weekends, until you find a new crew, help things on schedule." Archie states, although his dad still seems hesitant. "Come on, dad, I worked for you the whole summer. And these guys-"

"We're bruiser studs, Mr. Andrews." Moose chimes in, before glancing at Jughead and Y/N. "At least some of us are." He adds.

"Hey, I have a six-pack." Y/N retorts with a small glare, not taking that comment likely. It came with the territory of earning his second identity. "Alright? There's some muscle protecting these brains." 

Back to topic, Hermione turns to Fred. "Come on, desperate times, Fred, huh?" She mentions, reminding him that they're currently out of options right now. Fred sighs, but he turns to the crew with a dad-like smile.

"Alright, here we go."

________________________________