Chic

"I know who you are. The Sisters gave me your address when I turned eighteen. When they kicked me out. I even went by your house once. Must be a nice place to grow up."

- Chic to Alice and 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 brother of Betty and Polly Cooper, thus making him the 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. 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.

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 in 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 webcamming, 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 webcammed. 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.

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 dinning 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 water works. 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 dinning 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 dinning 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 fire place, 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.

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.

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
Not much is known about Chic's personality except 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 has also shown unusual and rather unsettling behaviors, such as when he creepingly stared a 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.

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.

Season 1

 * (mentioned)

Trivia

 * It is currently unknown who Chic's biological father is.
 * Betty wagers he's in his mid-twenties.