Chic

"You're not gonna do that. You see, I never touched that body, Betty. Or the car. Or went through his phone, or called his contacts. I didn't go to the sewer pipe. It's not my fingerprints or hair they're gonna find. You know, maybe I should call the police, tell them what sort of things my sister's capable of doing. {...} You know, I don't think I'm comfortable being in the same room as someone who's done those sorts of things. It scares me, Betty. You scare me. Can't you see that? You're scaring me, Betty. You're scaring me!"

- Chic to Betty

Charles "Chic" Smith is a recurring character on the second season of Riverdale. He is portrayed by Hart Denton.

He is the eldest child and only son of Alice Cooper, as well as the older half-brother of Betty and Polly Cooper, thus making him the half-uncle of Polly and Jason's twin babies. Chic was given up for adoption soon after his birth, and his existence was kept secret by his biological mother for many years until she agreed with Betty to search for him, welcoming Chic back into their lives.

Early Life
On the night that Hal and Alice were crowned King and Queen of their homecoming dance, the couple was witnessed fighting by FP Jones; Alice had just told Hal that she was pregnant however it was by another man. This revelation led to an argument as Hal wanted Alice to have an abortion believing they were not ready to be parents, however, Alice was unwilling to do so.

The following day, Alice checked herself into the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, and five months later she gave birth to a baby boy which the sisters arranged to be adopted quietly. Alice then kept the existence of him a complete secret.

After Alice gave birth, he entered and stayed in the foster system and was never adopted as Alice had originally planned. When he turned 18, his records were unsealed and made available to public records. The Sisters of Quiet Mercy also kicked him out, though gave him Alice's address. Upon leaving, he went by the Cooper's house, to see his mother, though he never interacted with them. Sometime later he found himself living in Centerville.

Meeting his Family
While awaiting the arrival of a client in his Centerville hostel home, Chic received a surprise visit from Alice and Betty Cooper, his mother and younger sister. Just as Alice prepared to introduce herself, he revealed that he was already aware of who they were, having been given their address after being kicked out by the Sisters of Quiet Mercy at the age of eighteen. Chic admitted to even stopping by their house once before. "Must be a nice place to grow up", he remarked. When Alice asked why he didn't come in to meet them, Chic responded that he had the feeling that she didn't wish to have someone like him around, though Betty insisted that this was not true. He then looked at Betty before telling her that she was lucky that Alice sought to keep her. As the interaction carried on, Chic grew angry, instructing them to leave as he had a client on the way. "Fantasy Fulfillment" was his occupation.

The next day, as he was being attacked in the hallway of the hostel home, Chic was rescued by Betty, who had returned just in time to pepper spray his attacker, allowing for both of them to escape, though Chic did suffer a nasty cut on his arm, at the hands of his attacker, who was armed with a box cutter. Betty took him to her house, where he was cleaned up by Alice and her husband, Hal.

Later that night, as Chic rested on Polly's bed, Alice assured him that they would sort everything out at a later time. In the meantime, she only hoped that he would get some rest. He then told Alice and Hal to have a good night as they were exiting the room.

While Betty slept, Chic quietly crept into her room, where he stood at her bedside, looming over her menacingly.

Chic's Darkness
Barely settled in at the breakfast table that morning, Chic is questioned by Hal in regards to the extent of his stay at the Cooper house. "For as long as he wants", Alice interjected. Hal alleged that his line of questioning merely stemmed from a place of curiosity as he was trying to plan his life. Rather than to continue listening to Hal target him, Chic offered to answer any of his questions. Hal wished to know more about why Chic was brought into their house bleeding profusely from his arm. Betty told Chic that he didn't have to answer her father's questions but he did so regardless. Chic explained that his attacker's name was Marcel. He ran the Hostel that Chic lived at, and sometimes, he booked clients for them, who ranged from nice to even nastier than Marcel. The night Betty showed up, Chic wasn't in the mood to work, but Marcel attempted to convince him otherwise. If Hal preferred, Chic could elaborate on his recent statements, along with showing him a decent collection of scars that he had acquired over time. Betty remarked that she too had scars, crescent marks in her palms, from digging her nails into them, Chic gathered. Like Betty, he once dug his nails into the palms of his hands.

The following day, Chic returned home in a fit of rage after learning that Marcel, his landlord, had thrown away all of his belongings, everything he needed to survive, including his laptop and camera. Betty questioned how he could return to the Hostel after what Marcel had done to him. Chic exclaimed that his entire life was at the Hostel, though Betty reminded him that Alice had said that he was more than welcome to stay with them for as long as he wanted. Unlike Betty, Chic didn't believe that his stay with Alice, Betty and Hal was long term. Before heading upstairs, he told her that if she honestly believed that he would permanently live with them, then she was crazier than he thought.

That night, Chic opened his bedroom door to find that Betty left him a laptop at the doorway. She said she was sorry that Marcel had sold everything in his possession and she was hoping that the laptop would make up for it. He took the laptop with him and shut the door without responding.

At the breakfast table the next morning, Hal told Chic that his and Alice's daughter, Polly, used to sit in the very same seat that Chic was currently sitting in. He was not only sitting in her chair, but sleeping in her bed as well. Chic was filling a void, as far as Hal was concerned, though this proved to be of little concern for Chic, given that he was relatively unbothered by Hal's remarks. Everyone needed something, to his point. Furthermore, he didn't expect to be staying with them for free. He never had.

Chic entered Betty's room later that afternoon to ask why she had purchased him the laptop. Betty explained that she didn't. She laptop that she gave him was an old computer she had from the Register. He then asked why Betty came back to the Hostel to get him. Betty replied that he was her brother and her mother was depressed. However, Chic wasn't buying it. He had come to realize that everything's a transaction. No one, not even Betty, is that nice. So, why did she care, Chic wondered. He told her to choose her next words carefully because he'd know if she was lying. Betty revealed that she wanted to figure out why she is the way she is. There's a darkness in her that she didn't understand, which scared her. She thought that if Chic had the same darkness, which she believed that he did, he would be able to help her makes sense of it. Betty then told him that she knew about the web-camming, which is why she got him the computer. So, if he ever wanted to talk about it or even compare scars, she'd be there for him. However, Chic passed on her offer.

The morning of Pickens Day, Chic, Betty, Hal and Alice gathered around the breakfast table before their first outing as a family. Fortunately, Hal revealed that he would be staying behind considering he had a few odd jobs to do around the house.

Before Chic could even get a chance to try a maple snow cone at the Pickens Day celebratory event in Pickens Park, Chic was confronted by Hal, who had gone through his computer while they were away. Hal had seen what Chic had been doing online with his "clients". Betty insisted that her father stop prying into Chic's business and harassing him. In response, Hal even scolded Betty for bringing Chic into their lives and into their home, more specifically, Polly's bedroom. Alice retorted that it was no longer Polly's room. It's Chic's. Hal was persistent in Chic needing to go, and that Alice knew why. Alice replied that she had thrown Hal out once before and that she was willing to do it again. Heading Alice's warning, Hal took off into the opposite direction. For the remainder of the evening, Chic stood alongside Betty and Alice as Veronica and the Pussycats took to the stage and were later interrupted by the Southside Serpents.

Later that night, Chic entered Betty's room to confess that the first night he was there, he came into her room while she was sleeping. He kept waking up that night, trying to understand why Betty would go all the way back to the Hostel just for him, who she didn't even know. Chic believed that he had figured out why she came back. She was alone there, at the house. Chic sat next to Betty on her bed, agreeing to share with her his personal life, starting with why he web-cammed. One of the reasons was to make money. The other reason was to escape, to pretend to be someone else. It was a way of getting away from the darkness within himself. Betty looked at her scarred palms, asking if he could show her how to escape from the darkness inside of herself. With the stroke of a few keys, Chic's dark educating of Betty had begun.

Betty returned home to find Ben coming from out of Chic's room. Chic came down soon thereafter in nothing but a house robe. As Ben exited the house, Betty asked Chic about his job interview. Chic told her that Ben worked concessions at the Bijou and that he was pretty sure he got the job. Betty suspected that Ben was one of Chic's clients, but that was not the case. Chic would never tell any of his clients where he lived and he advised Betty to do the same. Boundaries are key. They'd keep her alive.

A couple days had passed and it was dinner time, Chic and Alice sat alone at the table because Betty had not yet made it home. Alice explained to Chic that it was typical behavior of his sister to get caught up in something and drop off the face of the earth. Chic asked about Hal just as someone knocked at the door. Alice went to open the door, saying it was probably him. However, instead of Hal, she opened the door to a lanky, older gentleman with bleached hair, asking for Chic.

A Shady Killing
As it would turn out, the shady man would go on to attack Alice, forcing Chic to come to her aid. In doing so, he killed the man, seemingly bashing his head in with a lamp, leaving him to bleed out all over the dining room floor. In the corner, Chic sat curled up as tears ran down his face while Alice and Betty cleaned up the mess before Hal could return home.

After Betty and Alice had cleaned up the mess and disposed of the body in the old sewer pipes by the woods, the Coopers went back to their daily routine life. Or at least they tried to. That morning, Chic and Alice sat at the breakfast table, enjoying chocolate chip pancakes as if nothing had happened. Alice then invited Betty to join them as she came down from her room. Betty, unfortunately, dropped her bowl of cereal as someone repeatedly knocked at the front door, causing her to panic. On the other side was merely Jughead, who wished to walk her to school.

Later that night, just before dinner, Chic and Alice played board games in the living room. They invited Betty to join them but she claimed that she had a ton of homework to attend to.

First thing the next morning, Chic was confronted by Betty at the breakfast table after she discovered that the shady guy wasn't a customer of Chic's, but rather a drug dealer. In his phone, Betty discovered hundreds of messages from junkies looking for their next fix, including one from Chic the night of the murder. Betty explained that she went back to the dumping site to ensure that no one could see anything from the trail in broad daylight. It was there that she uncovered the phone. Considering that Chic lied to them about the shady guy, Betty began to wonder what else he was lying to them about. Rather than owning up to his lie, Chic looked up to Betty as tears ran down his face though Betty was unsympathetic, telling him that no one was buying the waterworks. Before Betty could continue her pursuit of Chic, Alice pulled her into the hallway to scold her for her recent actions. Chic listened on from the kitchen table, smiling as Betty and Alice argued out in the hall.

The next day, Hal unexpectedly stopped by the house. Annoyed by his arrival, with a fake smile on his face, Chic opened the door to tell Hal that neither Betty nor Alice were home at the moment. However, Hal wasn't there to see them, pushing his way through the door to remind Chic that it was still his house after all. Alone with Hal at the house, Chic called Betty to alert her of his arrival. By the time Betty arrived, Chic was frantically pacing back and forth in the dining room as Hal verbally attacked him and accused him of stealing his grandfather's watch, along with other valuables. Hal told Betty that he had change of heart and he was feeling that it was time for him to move back in and more importantly, get some answers from Chic, who wouldn't even look Hal in the eyes. Hal began to then question everyone's strange behavior as of late. He asked why the house smelled of bleach, what happened to the dining room rug and where the lamp went. He was positive that something was going on in the house and that it involved Chic. Betty demanded that he get away from Chic and leave the house or else she'd tell Alice about his affair with Penelope Blossom. With Hal gone, Chic thanked Betty and asked what they should do next if Hal came back or called the police.

That night, while alone at the house, Chic sat in front of the fireplace, looking through the old Cooper family photo album. One photo in particular of Alice, Hal, Betty and Polly caught his attention. Chic proceeded to remove the photo from the album, and with a pair of scissors, he cut Hal out of the photo.

Taking Over the Cooper Household
Day after day, Chic watched Betty as she nervously checked the headlines and local news, waiting to see if they had been exposed for murdering the shady man and disposing of his body. As she entered her room, Chic came out of her bathroom, explaining that he preferred her shower as she had better water pressure. Chic later waved at Betty as she left the house for school.

Chic became acquainted with Jughead as he waited for Betty to join him downstairs for their weekend get-away at the Lodge's lake house. Chic asked Jughead if he knew about the killing of the shady man, which he did. While Jughead assured Chic that he was to be trusted, Chic threatened the safety of Betty and Alice should Jughead tell anyone about what happened. Before Jughead could sum up an appropriate response, Betty came downstairs and headed out the front door with Jughead, completely oblivious to the conversation that had just transpired.

Chic video chatted from his bedroom with Kevin Keller. Little did he know that Kevin was a friend of Betty and that she was coaching Kevin on what to say. Kevin asked him if he liked to party and play. Chic claimed that he didn't. Considering that this was their third time talking to each other, Kevin wanted to know more about Chic. But Chic responded that Kevin hadn't yet taken his shirt off so they were even. However, he had a change of heart and decided to open up to Kevin.

A couple days later, Polly returned home, much to Chic, Betty and Alice's surprise. Chic held Dagwood as Alice held Juniper. However, Betty came over and took the baby from him in a manner that wouldn't raise any suspicions. They then learned about Clifford Blossom's will-reading from Polly though Chic did not attend.

After the will-reading, Polly and Betty explained to Chic that the Blossoms were his cousins and that anyone in town who could prove with medical authentication that they were of Blossom blood would inherit a portion of Clifford's fortune, which included the three of them. However, Chic refused to get his blood tested because he didn't want their blood money and needles triggered him.

The next day, Chic arranged another video chat session with Kevin. It had been a few days since their last chat and Chic was curious what happened to him. Kevin told Chic that he had gotten tested for the first time and the test came back negative. Kevin asked if Chic got tested. Which he did. He used to go every week, and he once had a terrifying scare, one that he didn't feel like sharing. But he did tell Kevin that he was living with a rougher crew back then. Chic then noticed that Kevin was talking to someone else, causing Kevin to shut the laptop and end their session.

After returning from work, Chic found Betty coming out of his bathroom. He told her that he liked it better when Polly wasn't around. Love was finite, according to Chic, and people ran out of it eventually. He feared that Alice would stop loving him. And so Betty asked if he was okay. Rather than to respond to her question, he told Betty to never use his bathroom again.

Later that night, Chic took the twins on a walk alongside Sweetwater River. He returned home with the babies unharmed only to be confronted by Polly, who was concerned that he may have done something to them.

The next morning, Polly came down to announce that she was leaving again, but this time for San Francisco, which came as no surprise to Chic. He told her that it was a nice city to raise kids and that she should send a note from her new address once she got there. Chic then went into his room and cut Polly out of the picture that he had previously cut Hal from.

Chic was later confronted by Betty with the DNA test results from the Blossoms' lab. Betty had sent his DNA without his permission as she was curious as to what he had been hiding. Chic wasn't who he said he was, and so Betty demanded to know who he really was.

Chic was confronted by Betty with the blood test results that had confirmed everything she had feared, that she had let a dangerous stranger into her house as Chic did not come from Blossom blood, leading Betty to believe that he was an impostor. Betty ran with this startling discovery to their mother. However, Alice revealed that Chic wasn't of Blossom blood because he didn't share the same father as Betty and Polly. He was not Hal's son. So then Betty asked who Chic's biological father was, but Alice refused to answer, claiming that it didn't matter because Chic's father wanted nothing to do with them. As Alice held Chic in her arms, comforting him, he and Betty made eye contact, as a devious smile formed on Chic's face.

A couple days later, Chic invited Kevin over to the house. Apparently, they had continued their online chats. Eventually, Kevin revealed to Chic that he had only initially began their chats because of Betty's cat-fishing scheme. Upset with Kevin's betrayal, Betty asked that he leave. He couldn't believe that he was being kicked out, but Kevin left as asked of him though Chic assured him that they'd catch up later. Once he was gone, Betty demanded that Chic leave her friends alone. Clearly, there was something he wanted. A void he was looking to fill. Like brother, like sister, Chic remarked. Recalling on how Betty mentioned that they shared the same darkness though Betty countered that Chic knew nothing about her darkness but he would soon.

As Chic slept in his bed later that night, Betty entered his room and waved a Zippo lighter across his face, waking him up from his sleep. She told Chic that he wasn't the only one who could scare people by being crazy. While he may have fooled their mother, Betty was far from fooled. She promised Chic that she was going to bring him down as she had so many bad men before him, like Clifford Blossom, The Sugarman and the Black Hood. The commonality between all three of these men was that they were dead. Essentially, Chic had been warned.

The very next day, Chic told Alice about Betty tormenting him with a Zippo lighter. To make matters worse, he had gone through her belongings and found her black wig. Which Chic revealed that Betty wore when she had sex with Jughead. Betty clinched her fist tightly and admitted to her mother that she and Jughead were sexually active.

After talking it over with their mother, Betty entered Chic's room to propose a truce between the two of them but he had no reason to believe her since all she's wanted to do was get rid of him. Betty explained that if she really wanted to get rid of him, she would go down to the Sheriff Station and tell Sheriff Keller how he killed a man in the kitchen. However, Chic explained just why Betty wasn't going to do that. He never touched the body, the car, the phone or went through the dead man's contacts. It wasn't his fingerprints or hair they would find, rather Betty's. Chic then threatened to call the police on Betty since all the evidence would point to her. He then told her that he was uncomfortable with being in the same room as her.

Chic was horrified by the discovery that Dwayne's car, the man who he had murdered, was discovered in Swedlow Swamp where Betty and Jughead had dumped it, thus leading to an investigation being opened.

Later that week, at Sunnyside Trailer Park, Betty and Jughead were scolded by Alice for going to Kevin for answers in regards to the on-going investigation. However, Betty and Jughead explained that they had to in order to figure out what was going on with the car. Furthermore, Kevin didn't suspect anything. They had learned that Chic's drug dealer, Dwayne, stole someone's car before stopping by the house. Considering that Dwayne didn't have a car of his own, Chic concluded that he must've taken his girlfriend Darla's car. Unfortunately, Chic couldn't tell them much about her as he barely knew her. Regardless, as FP pointed out, there was nothing connecting them to the car. With that out the way, Alice then ordered Betty to return home though with Betty refusing to return so long as Chic was there, he agreed to move out.

Chic came through the front door with Darla that evening, claiming that he was trying to help, but only managed to make things worse. Darla wasn't surprised that Dwayne took her car though it ending up in a swamp in Riverdale did bring up questions. Just as she was getting ready to head back to Centerville, Chic called her to see how much she knew, but she saw right through him. Dwayne was a horrible person by Darla's account. So she didn't care what happened to him and didn't see any reason to ask questions so long as she got the $10,000 that he owed her. Should they refuse to pay her, Darla threatened to go to Sheriff Keller. With no other choice, they agreed to pay off Darla. However, the bank was closed and they would have to wait until the morning.

The next day, while Betty was out at the bank, Marcel, the hostel managed from where he used to live, unexpectedly arrived at the house, presumably called over by Darla. Betty returned with the $10,000 soon thereafter. However, Marcel and Darla weren't quite ready to leave as previously agreed upon. When Chic confronted them for going against the deal, Marcel pulled out a box cutter and threatened to cut out Betty's eye. Just then, Jughead and the Serpents kicked in the front door and demanded that Darla and Marcel leave. Heading their warning, Darla and Marcel took the money and left. Once they were gone, Jughead apologized about the front door but Alice didn't seem too concerned and only wanted to thank Jughead and the Serpents for saving them. Given that he had put them in danger twice now, Alice looked over to Chic and asked that he leave.

Chic arrived at Riverdale High School and headed backstage where he found Betty in dressing room. She's surprised that he came, but he claims that he wouldn't have missed it for the world. Betty then told him that he should get back to his seat as the play is about to begin and he wasn't supposed to be backstage.

The crowd was packed when the play began, and Alice started to sing "Evening Prayers". When Alice cued Midge, the curtains raised only to reveal that Midge had been murdered by the Black Hood. She had been stabbed with knives and scissors and pinned to the wall. On the wall, written in blood was a message. "I Am Back From The Dead. All Those Who Escaped Me Before Will Die... B.H" When Alice screamed in fear, the crowd realized that this was not part of the play and the auditorium erupted in panic and chaos. While all this took place, Chic sat in the crowd, perfectly calm as if nothing had happened.

Physical Appearance
Charles is a young man in his twenties, about 6 feet tall with hazel eyes and the characteristic blond hair of the Cooper family, cut short. He is rather lanky, and with a well-defined jawline, another trait shared by most of the Coopers.

Personality
Some of Chic's personality seems to stem from his bitter resentment towards his biological mother for having abandoned him at birth. Raised in the foster care system, Chic does not seem to be accustomed to the affection of loved ones, even showing himself envious of his younger sister's childhood, implying that his own childhood with the Sisters of Quiet Mercy wasn't very much like that of the Cooper sisters. His resentment, however, is hidden behind a mask of apparent calm, although it is not entirely clear whether this is the result of lacking the ability to properly express emotions, or an introverted character trait, bubbling his own anger inwards. Chic is shown to be manipulative, such as using guilt and raw emotion, in order to achieve his goals which are still currently not fully understood. Chic has also shown unusual and rather unsettling behaviors, such as when he creepily stared at sleeping Betty in the darkness of her room only to reveal that he was just hesitant to wake her to talk a bit, unable to sleep.

Chic is primarily a pessimist, expecting every sort of relationship to be based on personal gains and transactions to the point of using his own body as a commodity. Moreover, Chic is self-loathing about his condition, eager to experiment with multiple alternatives to a miserable life, giving one to think which of his many faces is the true one, if a true personality even exists. He shows little to no remorse for his actions and has the tendency to mask his crimes by playing the victim. Chic is also shown cutting members of the Cooper family out of a picture, removing them one by one as he terrors them out of the house.

Alice Cooper
"Got the feeling you probably didn't want somebody like me around."

- Chic to Alice

Given to foster care after birth, Chic met his biological mother only in his early twenties, when she revealed to her younger daughter, Betty, the desire to meet him. Although the Sisters of Quiet Mercy had given him her name and address, Chic had harbored a deep sense of abandonment and rejection towards his biological family, as evident during his first meeting with Alice. The relationship between Alice and Chic is still in its initial phase, with Chic being, understandably, distrustful of the Cooper family.

Betty Cooper
"You're my sister? Well, you're lucky she wanted to keep you."

- Chic to Betty

The relationship between siblings Chic and Betty is quite complicated and at its early stages, strongly influenced by the jealousy felt towards the Cooper sisters for having been lovingly raised by Alice and Hal. In spite of Chic's harshness, Betty is very welcoming toward him, referring promptly to him as "brother". Noteworthy is the episode in which Chic crept into Betty's bedroom to spy on her while she slept, giving rise to various conjectures to explain similar behavior.

Hal Cooper
"I went on your computer, Chic. I saw what you were doing online with your clients."

- Hal to Chic

The relationship between Chic and Hal is strongly hostile. Even before Chic was born, Hal wanted Alice to get rid of him. When Chic returned in Alice's life after twenty-five years of separation, Hal began to be very suspicious and unpleasant towards Chic coming to the point of moving out the house because he didn't want to live in the same house with Chic. This left Chic quite indifferent since he was only interested in building a relationship with his long-lost mom. Since Alice was aware that Chic is not Hal's son, it's possible that this is one of the reasons he hated Chic from the very first moment they met.

Polly, Juniper and Dagwood
"Can I just say, between us, that Chic is creepy? I don't think he likes me and I don't think that he likes the twins. A couple of times I've just caught him, like, staring at us."

- Polly to Betty

Chic has an awkward to an almost non-existent relationship with his sister Polly, conditioned by the prolonged absence of Polly from home and the fact that Polly believes that Chic is creepy, as she confessed to their sister, Betty. However, Chic seemed to be warm-hearted towards her children, Juniper and Dagwood at least until he began to fear that the twins could in some way deprive him of Alice's affection. He then started staring at them when he thought nobody was watching.

Kevin Keller
The relationship between Chic and Kevin started when Betty asked her friend to catfish Chic in a desperate attempt to discover something more about her brother. After a couple of unsuccessful cam-ing, where Kevin almost got caught talking to Betty, the two of them started to flirt again by chatting online and at some point, Kevin revealed Chic the truth about how it all started as Betty's plan. Despite Chic was surprised, they eventually decided to meet in person, with Chic inviting Kevin at the Cooper house to spend the afternoon together and they were genuinely having fun until they were interrupted by Betty.

Season 1

 * (mentioned)

Trivia

 * It is currently unknown who Chic's biological father is, but it is not Hal Cooper or FP Jones.