-

''POLLY'S CONVINCED HERSELF THAT NO ONE WANTS HER BABY.''

Hazel Michael, once again, sat criss cross on the floor in between Kevin Keller, who sat on the arm rest of Veronica Lodge's seat, and Cheryl Blossom, who sat on a leather ottoman that next school day in the student lounge.

Elizabeth Cooper and Jughead Jones took up the small two seated couch and Archie Andrews sat on a arm rest Valerie sat in.

Kevin cocked his head to the side. ''Besides, of course, the child snatching Blossom monsters.''

Cheryl raised brow as she turns to him.

''No offense, Cheryl.''

She pursed her lips, supposing he was to be sincere. However, this is her family he was still talking about. ''None taken.''

''So your mom and dad want Polly but not the baby, and the Blossoms want the baby but not Polly,'' Jughead worded out. His head rested in the hand of the arm that was propped on the arm rest of the couch. ''That's a true Gordian knot.''

''It's an impossible situation.''

''Betty,'' Veronica calls. ''Come on. An impossible situation is being invited to both the Vanity Flair Oscar party and Elton John's Oscar party on the same night.''

Kevin intakes a small gasp, resting a hand on her shoulder. She turns to him, ''Which happened to me one year, I know.''

She turns back to Betty and declares, ''This is merely an annoying situation. But luckily, I've been percolating on an idea, hellishly simple in it's conception. What if my mom and I were to host a baby shower?''

''Count me in,'' Cheryl grins.

''Oh!'' Hazel exclaims. ''We should do a gender reveal for her? Yeah? We could do the cupcakes with the color filling inside, or get fireworks, or get a piñata with the color of the gender in confetti, or-''

''Hazel, girl, breathe!''

Hazel pressed a hand against her chest and takes a deep breathe, exhaling slowly.

Betty bops her head at her. ''Are you good now?''

She nods her head. ''I'm sorry, what were we talking about?''

''You want Polly to feel love and supported, right?'' Veronica attempted to persuade Betty.

''Yeah,'' She agrees. ''But ideally by her own parents.''

Veronica flips her curls over her shoulders. ''Okay, so, baby steps, girl. Get Polly and your parents in the same room in a public setting where they can't fight, and, voila, let the healing begin.''

With furrowed brows, Jughead asks, ''Am I expected to come to this thing?''

Veronica exclaims, ''Of course!'' Just as Hazel exclaims, ''Duh!''

Veronica shrugs her shoulders and points out, ''You're Betty's boyfriend, so..'' As she takes a sip of her coffee, Betty turns to Jughead and it seemed as if they were discretely analyzing their status.

Veronica quickly pulled her lips away from the lid of her drink. ''Oh, my god, you guys, relax. It's just a word that starts with the letter B.''

Betty peers away from Juvhead, smiling like a goof and down at her lap.

''Betty,'' Veronica drawls out her name. ''What do you say?''

Before the blonde could answer, a voice had called her. ''Elizabeth Cooper.''

Hazel turned to head to find Alice Cooper, Betty's mom standing prominently in the doorway. She deflates instantly and rolls her eyes.

''Mom?''

''I need you,'' She points a finger at her daughter before moving down to Veronica, ''You,'' and down to Hazel, ''And you.''

Veronica points at herself while Hazel pursed her lips.

''Right now.''

It wasn't long before Betty's mom lead the girls to an empty classroom.

The girl made themselves comfortable by occupying a few seats in the front. Hazel sat behind Veronica while Betty and Veronica, herself, took up two front seats.

''Sheriff Keller told us everything. How you're hiding Polly at the Pembrook?''

''Better than in an insane asylum,'' Betty argues.

''Actually, Mrs. Cooper,'' Veronica spoke up. ''That's on me. I was the one who suggested that Polly stay with us.''

''She's trying to help,'' Betty defends Veronica quickly before her mother could respond. ''Unlike you and dad, who want Polly to give the baby up for adoption.''

''Betty,'' Alice breathes out and insists, ''It's what's best for Polly and the baby.''

''Mom, that's not your choice,'' Betty counters. ''Your choice is whether or not you want to be a part of Polly's life. Veronica and her mom have offered to host a baby shower.''

Mrs. Cooper folds her arms across her chest. ''Well, that is hardly appropriate!''

Hazel tilts her head to the side. ''It's not like her actually family were going to throw it for her.''

Betty gets up from her seat. ''I think it's an amazing idea. You want to be loving and supportive like a normal grandmother?'' Alice rolls her eyes. That word couldn't make her feel any older. ''Then, great. Otherwise, stay away.''

''Can you explain to me why I am here then?'' Hazel questions.

The older blonde simply shrugs her shoulders. ''I don't trust you.''

-

''A baby shower?'' Polly Coopers eyes Veronica Lodge, Betty Cooper, and Hazel Michael incredulously. They sat in Veronica's suite that Saturday morning, enjoying breakfast with Hermione Lodge. ''Are you sure that's a good idea? You know, when..-''

''It is,'' Betty insists.

''It's a great idea,'' Veronica adds.

''You're gonna love it,'' Hazel smiles.

Polly dropped her fork and folds her arm on the table. ''What about mom and dad?''

''Well,'' Hermione stopped eating to face her. ''What do you want, honey? Do you want them to come?''

''I do,'' She responds. ''I mean, mom at least.''

''In that case, we'll get her there,'' Veronica pursed her lips. ''Somehow.''

''Ugh,'' Polly groans. ''But I do not want to fight with her.''

''You won't,'' Betty assures. ''The entire Cooper family will support you on this, Polly.''

''I want the Blossoms there.''

''Cheryl,'' Veronica mentions, looking around with the nod of her head. ''Sure, yeah. She's on the guest list.''

''And Mrs. Blossom.''

Hazel raised a brow at her. ''Are you sure about that, hun?''

''What Hazel means is,'' Betty licks her lips. ''She just tried to declare you an unfit mother.''

Polly shrugs her shoulders. ''Well, then this shower is the perfect opportunity for me to prove to her that I'm not.''

Hazel plants a hand on top of her shoulder and smiles. ''If that's what you want,-''

''It is,'' She perks up.

''Okay,'' She nods, smiling softly. ''Consider her, invited.''

''Uh, Ronnie,'' Hermione abruptly calls. Veronica turns to her with a hum. ''A word?''

-

''Archie?'' Hazel furrows her brows. After her breakfast meet up with the girls, she returned to the comfort of her home.

That is until somebody rang their doorbell.

And since Hazel was already downstairs, making herself a Hot Pocket, she answered the door.

''Hazel,'' He chuckles dryly. He swallows deeply, noticing her apparel. It was so much different compared to how she's dressed at school. Her hair was always down, curled in some sort of style to match her band tees, black jeans and denim jackets. If not those, than cropped hoodies and ripped jeans.

But she stood before him wearing a pair of burgundy shorts that had the Victoria's Secret Pink logo on the strings and a thin black long sleeve t-shirt, a v-neck to be specific. It showed off more cleavage, and it didn't help that her hair was tied up into a messy bun.

He clears his throat. ''Hi. Is uh, is Francis home?''

Turning away from the doorway, Hazel yells almost aggressively, ''Francis!''

She turns back around and finds Archie eyeing her with wide eyes. She was so small, innocent looking, you wouldn't expect her to be capable of such a volume.

She smiles sweetly and steps away, opening the door wider. ''Come in.''

Archie steps into the waemth of the home, allowing Hazel to close the door behind him. He turns to her, watching her as she walks back into the living room, plopping herself onto the main couch. She slides her small plate that held her Hot Pocket on the brown wooden coffee table and grabbed the remote.

Archie stuffs his hands in his front pockets, blowing out a sigh from his as he stood behind the couch.

''Uh,'' He stammers out. ''Where are your parents?''

''Working,'' She bluntly informs, surfing through channels.

''Oh,'' He mumbles, nodding his head. She turns her head to the side, peering over her shoulder to find him stand there uncomfortably.

He felt that he should've waited outside.

''Oh my god, do you have ants crawling up your ass?'' She giggles. She pats the cushion of the couch. ''Have a seat, Arch. Please.''

''Okay,'' He smiles small. He walks around from behind the couch and sits in one of the solo chairs in front of the window.

She smirks at him, longing out his name tentatively, ''Archie,'' She cocks a brow. ''Hun, why are you here?''

''It's nothing really,'' He waves the subject off. ''It something your brother can mostly help with, honestly.''

''Well,'' She cocks her head to the side, placing the remote back onto the table before leaning back into the couch. ''You should know that anything Franny does, I could do better.''

He snickers. ''Franny?''

She grins. ''Don't let him know that I told you that. But that's what I call him inside the house.''

''No worries,'' He chuckles softly. ''Your secrets safe with me.''

''Uh huh,'' She straightens her posture and pulls a strand of loose hair behind her ear at the sound of footsteps stampeding down the stairs.

''Hazel,'' Francis calls. ''Are you talking to somebody?''

He rounds from the landing and instantly stops in his tracks once he seen Archie Andrews sitting in his living.

''Archie,'' He pursed his lips for a split second before opening his arms out from his side, taking steps forward, ''What's up, man?''

''Francis,'' He gets up from his seat. ''Listen, I hate to bother you, but I was wondering if you could help me out on a project?''

''Oh?'' He jerks his head back, folding his arms against his chest. At this point, he stood behind the couch. ''Which class?''

The red head shakes his head. ''It's not for a class. My dad lost his crew on his construction sight on the drive-in lot. Needs a new one. I'm thinking about grabbing a couple of the guys and help him out?''

He bops his head. ''Yeah, sure. When do we start?''

''Today?''

Francis shrugs his shoulders. ''I got nothing to do.''

Hazel jumps on the couch, her knees propped on the cusions as she held onto the top edge of the couch. '' And neither do I.''

''Hazel,'' Archie warns. ''We're going to get dirty and there's a lot of heavy lifting,-''

She tilts her head to the side and furrows her brows. ''I don't exactly hear the problem, Andrews.''

Francis scrunched his lips to the side. ''Yeah, she'll be good help. Trust me.''

''Well,'' He turns to her and hesitates shrugging his shoulders. ''If you really want to-''

She squeals, lifting herself up and jumping over the couch. She runs towards the staircase and runs up the stairs.

-

''What is this?'' Fred Andrews breathes out a smile, eyeing the group of teens mostly known for being on the football field stand before him with construction helmets, shovels and other tools need for today's work.

''Your new crew,'' Archie smiles, looking around. ''Reporting for duty.''

He points a finger over at Hazel Michael, who stood next to Francis Michael. ''There's a girl in this new crew.''

''Ah, trust me,'' Francis waves him off. ''She's a dude in a girl's body.''

''I have a shovel in my hand,'' She turns to face him, her lips pursed. ''Don't test me.''

''I appreciate it,'' Mr. Andrews nods his head. ''I do, but isn't there something more important you need to be doing? Like going to school, playing football?''

Hazel perks up. ''Lucky for you, I only do one of those things.''

''And,'' Archie adds. ''We can work after practice and on weekends until you find a new crew help keep things in schedule. Come on, dad. I worked for you the whole summer. And these guys-''

''We're bruiser studs, Mr. Andrews,'' Moose, a boy in the group spoke that Hazel couldn't exactly identify. ''At least some of us are.''

Hermione Lodge turned to Fred Andrew, whispering for encouragement, ''Come on. Desperate times, Fred, huh?''

He turns back to the group with a sigh. ''Alright. Here we go.''

Hours were spent, shoveling up dirt and carrying around heavy rocks. Not to mention that most of the guys were whistling, cat calling the only female worker that wheelbarrowed the rocks where the crew were instructed to place it, also happened to be a huge part of it.

Hazel had specks of dirt covering parts of her features, mixing with the swear glistening her forehead and sliding down her nose and the sides of her face.

She had a few scrapes on her exposed arms, given that she wore a black tank top and a regular pair of denim jeans.

''Hey, Hazel!'' Another one of the boys calls. She stands up straight, rolling her eyes as a groan emits from her throat. Not again.

She turns and finds the boys walking past her, carrying rocks with Kevin Keller towards Jughead and Archie.

''I know a couple of ways that could get you huffing and puffing like that.''

She tosses the shovel to the ground and pursed a vague smirk. ''Too bad you'd never get me to do it.''

''Ooh,'' They burst out with laughter.

She rolls her eyes again, walking past them to join Jughead and Archie, as they walked off.

Archie was using the wheelbarrow to carry the rocks while Jughead just kept him company.

''Boys,'' Hazel sang once she approached them. ''I hate to pop in like this but I could use a break.''

''Maybe if you had a proper shirt on, you wouldn't need one,'' Jughead absent mindedly mumbles.

Archie faces him with narrowed eyes while panting through his mouth.

''Believe me, Juggster,-''

''Don't call me that.''

''If I had a say on my physical features, I'd be a Kardasian.''

Archie chuckles.

''Pretty handy with that wheelbarrow, Archie,'' Jughead observes. ''You know, if the whole music thing doesn't pan out, you can always have manual labor as a fallback.''

''Don't even joke. I did this all summer long, remember?'' Archie prompts. ''My dad loves this kind of work and I love him, but..-''

''No,'' Jughead nods his head, understanding the concept. ''I know. Your dad's path is not for you. Trust me, I get it.''

''He works his ass off for me, bro,'' He shakes his head. ''But never asks for anything. Always has my back, even when I mess up. So if having his back means I gotta haul some rocks, then bring it on.''

''Agreed. Your dad's got my back, too,'' Jughead approved. ''More than some people.''

''Exactly.''

The trio stopped as Archie sets the wheelbarrow down. He rests his hands on his heaps and exhales deeply.

''You know, Hazel,'' He turns to her with furrowed brows. ''I'm really surprise to see how much you've helped out around here. Impressed, actually.''

She smiles a lopsided one. ''Is this an apology, I hear?''

He gapes at her. ''I didn't say anything offensive in the first place.''

''No,'' She chuckles softly. ''But you were implying that I couldn't do the job.''

''That's paranoia,'' He declared which caused her to giggle.

''Am I wrong?''

He smirks. ''No comment.''

''What?'' She laughs. ''No, you have to comment. Common courtesy when someone asks you a question.''

Archie looks over at Jughead whose arms were folded across his chest. He shrugs his shoulders, not participating in the conversation.

He turns back to her and cocks his head to the side, opening his mouth to respond until Francis came up from behind the group, walking past to head into the trailer for a bottle of water as he advised to Archie, ''I plead the fifth.''

''I plead the fifth,'' Archie repeats.

Her jaw dropped, not even minding that her brother intervened. She closed her mouth and narrows her eyes, nodding her head. ''I'll remember that, Andrews.''

Another couple of hours had passed and daylight had transferred to the night.

The crew were entering the small trailer, occupying the space for some beverages and calling it a day.

''Hey, guys,'' Hazel stepped in, looking around for where they kept the water bottles. ''And gals. You were a life-saver today. I appreciate it. Hard hats go in the bin, and there's soda in the fridge.''

A lot of rude remarks were exclaimed as Hazel forcefully pushed her way through the guys to get to the fridge.

''Come on, Hazel,'' Francis snapped, holding onto his yellow helmet. ''Really?''

She shrugs her shoulders, her hand resting on the handle of the fridge. ''It's not my fault you guys were in my way.''

''Seriously, Haz,'' Kevin nods his head vigorously. ''You could really be a wrestler.''

''Yeah, but,'' She sighs once she leans back out of the fridge, opening her can of Sprite. ''I don't wanna ruin this money maker.''

''Where's that at?'' Francis asks.

''I swear, I'll spit on you.''

''Crap,'' Moose hissed by the front of the room. ''Hey, guys, I forgot my phone.'' He then ran back out the trailer.

As the group enjoyed their refreshments, there was banging that was heard from outside.

Kevin was the first to set his drink down and run out before the rest followed after him.

They soon found Moose on the ground with a pick up truck driving off viciously.

''Moose!'' Archie calls out for him as he rolls on his back. ''Are you okay?''

Hazel furrows her brows furiously as Mr. Andrews got down on his knees, inspecting the damage that was done to him. ''Stay down, we'll get you some help.''

''Who did this to you, Moose?'' Kevin asks.

''No clue,'' He groans. ''But they said, as long as we keep working, they're gonna keep coming back.''

Swallowing forcefully, Hazel pulls her brother a couple steps back and away from the group towering over Moose.

Mr. Andrews got up and ran back for the trailer to call the cops. Hazel watched him run off, waiting till he was further away till she spoke.

''You don't think it was..'' She looks up at her brother through her lashes.

''No,'' He immediately answers. He seemed to be sure. ''No, that couldn't be, remember? He's dead.''

''Hypothetically, Francis,'' Hazel begged. ''If he wasn't dead?-''

Jughead turned his head only slightly, listening in on their conversation.

''Why the hell would he bother on a construction site?'' He questions.

''He knew about the dead kid.'' Jughead's eyes went wide. ''God knows what else he knows or what he does. He did go to a dark place at one point.''

Francis sighs. ''That could've been one of us.''

Her jaw clenched. ''Maybe we should move.''

Francis tilts his head to the side. ''It's not him. We saw him, he's dead. Full on flat line, Haze.''

She wanted to persist the topic. Like, where the hell the letter could have came from? Explain the handwriting?

Soon, the group relocated in front of the trailer as Kevin's father, Sheriff Keller pulls up in the police car.

He get's out the car, closing the car while pulling on his hat as he asks, ''What the hell happened?''

''Moose, over there,'' Mr. Andrew juts his chin over to Moose who had an ice pack against the swelling on his face. ''He caught a couple of guys working over my equipment with a crowbar and then they got the drop on him.''

''Who were they?'' The sheriff asked Moose. ''Vandals?''

''Cliff Blossom has made it abundantly clear he would love nothing more than to see this whole project go belly-up,'' Mr. Andrews mentions.

''I doubt that Blossom's gonna hire some thugs to bust up your site and beat up some teenagers,'' Sheriff Keller began to subside.

''Don't be so quick to deny,'' Mr. Andrews voice grew louder. ''We got a female working here too, it could have easily been her.''

He cocked a brow. ''What are you doing with a female working on grounds meant for a man's job?''

''Sexist much?'' She blurts out, until Francis wrapped an arm from behind her, pressing his hand against her mouth to quiet her.

''She insisted,'' Fred argues. ''She did a pretty damn good job while we're at it.''

Archie takes a stand. ''Maybe it wasn't Mr. Blossom. I mean, this is Serpent territory, right? Maybe it was them. Pissed that they had to leave 'cause of this project.''

Kevin takes a stand next to his father with furrowed brows. ''Serpents?''

''Yeah.''

Jughead then got up, reaching closer to the guys. ''When I worked at the drive-in, the Serpents never bugged me.''

''Did you see any snake tattoos, anything on their jackets?''

''It happened pretty fast,'' Moose flatly informs.

''Alright,'' Sheriff Keller nods his head. ''I'll talk to Blossom, but I mean, I don't think we'll get anywhere unless we can ID these guys.''

''That is such bull!'' Archie exclaims, nostrils flared. ''If this was Clifford Blossom asking for help, you would say yes.''

''Archie,'' His father warns him, wanting him to stop.

''What, dad? It's true,'' He argues.

''It's also not helping.''

-

The baby shower was detailed with yellow decorations. The Lodge woman decided that it'd be best to drop the gender reveal idea given the whole shower ordeal itself was planned on such short noticed.

So they kept things simple with the indecisive gender and invited people over.

The tension was unavoidable. You could feel it, it was lingering in the air.

But what would you expect when you have Alice Cooper and Penelope Blossom under the same roof?

You'd expect some cold sweat.

Though, it was such a lovely time. The ladies had dressed up for the formal occasion, arriving with sweet gifts for Polly's future child.

And Polly could have never been so happy. She was so tense, wondering if either mother's would appear. But knowing that they were here and for her, it meant the world.

Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge and Hazel Michael were so pleased to see Polly smiling genuinely, enjoying herself.

Hazel held up Betty's phone, recording Polly opening the gifts.

''Okay,'' Betty claps her hands together. ''Now mom's.'' Betty hands Polly the small purple bag. Polly takes out the yellow stuffing and unravels the wrapper to reveal an angelic nightlight.

''It's my nightlight,'' Polly informed to those around her. ''When I was a little kid.'' She giggles softly. ''How did you- Where did you even-''

''I saved it,'' She fills her in. ''I know how much you loved it and how it made you feel safe. And I wanted you to be able to pass it down to your own baby one day.''

Hazel pressed a hand against her chest. ''Awe.''

''Alice, it's lovely,'' Hermione praises in between Hazel and Veronica.

Polly reaches a hand out towards her mother, smiling. Her mother smiled back and reached out for her hand.

It was so sweet, so sentimental.

This is was what you'd call pure. The care Polly wanted is what she received.

''Open ours next, dear,'' Penelope Blossom politely requests.

Hazel furrows her brows and turns to find Archie storming into the apartment. He quickly makes his way through and heads straight to Jughead.

''You were protecting him,'' He realized. ''That's why you didnt tell me.''

Hazel look back and made eye contact with Veronica and Betty. As if cue, the girls stood up and made their way towards the boys.

Hazel had Betty's phone in her hand still, the red dot blinking on the screen, signifying that the camera was still rolling as it was face down to the ground. Yet, the video had long slipped Hazel's mind as Betty hissed, ''Guys.''

''Do you know that Jughead's father is a Serpent?'' Archie turned to the girls sharply as they approached.

''No,'' Betty mumbles.

Hazel couldn't help but frown when she saw Jughead's gaze shift to the ground. He was ashamed, and he couldn't stand the way they were looking at him.

''That's why he tried to stop me from going to the bar, so I wouldn't find out,'' Archie quickly concludes. ''After everything my dad has done for you-''

''What?'' Hazel shakes her head, confused. ''Why were you going to a bar? For what?''

''To find the guys that attacked Moose,'' Betty quietly informs her.

''Stop telling her things,'' Jughead hissed.

Veronica furrows her brows out of disbelief. ''Again with this?''

''Archie,'' Jughead whispered. ''I can explain, okay?''

Hazel's swipes her tongue across her bottom lip. ''Why don't we take this to another room? Or, you know, talk about this another time?''

''Hazel's right,'' Veronica agreed. ''This is Polly's day, so you two need to check yourselves. I mean it.''

Jughead narrows his eyes at Veronica. ''You know, you wouldn't be so quick to defend Hazel if you knew what she was up to.-''

''And what is she up to, Jughead?'' Archie's voice grew louder.

Hazel confused, everything was happening too fast, but everyone needed to calm down.

''Archie,'' She scolds, wanting him to lower his tone. She didn't need this to be a bigger scene than what it was.

''When Moose got hit, I overheard her talking to Francis..''

Her eyes went wide and her heart sunk. Why wasn't she more careful? She was so close, in this town, in being normal.

''Jughead,'' Her voice cracked. Her eyes plead for him to stay quiet.

''They know the connection to the murderer of Jason Blossom.''

She went still, almost motionless. He knew that he didn't like her, but to expose her at a time like this?

''Hazel,'' Veronica turns to her. ''Is this true?''

She couldn't explain to them the whole truth. California Hazel was a mere facade that was left in the past.

And the brunette was so desperately trying to run from her past. That's the whole reason why she was in a new town.

But if you don't find trouble, then trouble finds you. And the only trouble here, was Hazel Michael's past.

She slams Betty's phone against Veronica's chest before dashing out of Veronica's apartment.

She couldn't believe it. There goes the only friends she made in Riverdale.

It's California all over again.

-

''Hazel?'' The brunette leans up from her laid position on her bed, the tear stains prominent on her pillow and the mascara streaks trailing her cheeks.

Francis had noticed the lights on yet she was laying down with her clothes still left on. Hazel hates the lights being left on in her room, especially when she's trying to sleep.

He furrows his brows and takes a step further in to her room. ''What's wrong?''

''They know, Francis.''

He never felt more confused.

''About the letter?'' She cocks a brow. ''About dad?''

His features fell flat. ''What happened?'' His voice dropped several octaves. He took a seat on her bed as she sits up all the way, sitting criss cross.

''Jughead overheard us on the construction site,'' She fiddles with her fingers. ''He told them that we know about Jason Blossom and his murderer. That we're connected to this.''

''And what did you tell them?''

She shakes her head. ''I left. But, Francis, if it ends up like-''

''It won't,'' He sternly assures. ''I won't let that happen.''

''What if they run to the cops?'' She cries out. ''Francis, I'm really scared. What if they try to kick us out of town and we still keep quiet about who we are?''

He shakes her head. ''Your friends wouldn't do that. They're reasonable people, Haz.''