"Okay," Betty clapped her gloved hands together, "the Sisters of Quiet Mercy are due north." She pointed behind us, "The getaway car was west," She points to our right, "on the Old Route 40.

"The closest bus station is east, headed towards Sweetwater." Jughead nodded towards us, "If Polly wanted to leave Riverdale without anyone seeing her, she probably would've left through-

"-Right here." The blonde next to him gestured at the trees, "Evergreen Forest."

We had gathered as many people as we could in the forest to help look for Polly. My parents weren't here. They had some work to attend to. It was Betty and Jughead who had come up with the idea that Polly would be hiding out somewhere in the forest.

Jughead and I walked behind Archie and Betty as the rest spread out, calling Polly's name as loudly as they could.

"Hey," Jughead gripped my hand and I got startled because of how cold it was, "You okay now?"

I nodded, nervously lacing our fingers together, "I'm…sorry…for my outburst yesterday. I'm at the extremes. Either I'm too sad or too angry."

"So, you're not happy right now?"

Was I?

"No, no. I am…I think. Am I supposed to be?" I looked at him while carefully stepping over a large rock, "With Polly missing? Is that okay?"

"There's nothing wrong with being worried and happy at the same time." Jughead pointed out, steadying me as I almost slipped over mud.

"Yeah, I'm happy then." I scratched the back of my neck with my free hand.

He snickered a little, "Liar."

"I'm not lying!"

"I know when you're lying, Max."

"How do you always know when I'm lying?" I asked, exasperated, "Happy how, anyway?"

"Not heavy-hearted."

"The fuck does that even mean?" I grumbled under my breath as Jughead chuckled again. "How are things with your dad?" I asked, freeing my hand from his grip and pushing aside a branch.

Jughead sniffed and frowned, "Mr. Andrews offered dad his job back. He doesn't want to take it."

I rubbed my hands together, "I think he'll change his mind soon. Fuck, it's so cold. My fingers are freezing."

"Yeah, it'll be a miracle if he changes his mind."

I patted his back and turned my head to see Sam walking with Veronica and Kevin. They were in deep conversation and Ronnie pointed at Reggie while talking Sam and she shrugged and grinned in response.

"No offense, but why is Sam here?" Jughead peered at the brunette.

I chuckled, "Something about her voice being melodious enough to attract Polly?" I laughed even more at Jughead reaction as he scoffed and made a face.

We walked deeper into the woods, calling for the lost girl. It had been hours and my feet were getting tired. I hated physically straining myself by walking so much. And to be honest, I felt like we were a large group of people out for a morning stroll in the forest. It wasn't long until we ran into the Blossoms. They had dogs too. They were dressed as if they were going horse riding. It took all of my willpower to not imagine Cheryl with a riding crop.

Ew, ew, ew. Cheryl with a riding crop. Ack, the image has been burned into my mind. Ew, ew, ew.

The two groups stood opposite to each other, with Sherriff Keller standing at a distance, and I spotted Ginger standing behind Penelope Blossom, scowling at me. To my absolute surprise, Christopher stood next to her, wearing his black, large-framed glass. My mouth fell open as I made the connection.

Holy shit, Christopher is Ginger's cousin! The one she screamed at me to stay away from!

He saw me and grinned, lifting his hand in greeting. I waved back, still in a daze with my mouth open and eyes narrowed is disbelief. I might've imagined it, but I felt Jughead move closer to me. Archie witnessed the exchange between Christopher and me, and turned his head to look at me. I gestured that I'd tell him later.

"Alice Cooper," Penelope spoke, in a voice that had always irritated me and made my skin itch, "Where is she? Where's Polly?"

Behind her, Christopher rolled his eyes and I coughed behind my fist.

Yeah, I'd like to know too.

"You think if I knew that, I'd be out here with the mosquitoes?" Alice replied in disbelief.

Us too, Momma Cooper.

"Face facts, mommy dearest," Cheryl said, in her dulcet tone, "Polly killed Jason."

"She escaped from the asylum once," Clifford Blossom added, "Who's to say she didn't before, say, the day Jason got murdered?"

"The noose is tightening around your murdering daughter's neck." Mrs. Blossom hissed, "I know it, Sheriff Keller knows it-"

"Hold on now." Sherriff Keller disagreed.

"-And I promise you, when we find her, and we will find her, the entire town of Riverdale will know, too."

"Great," I muttered, "As if Alice Cooper wasn't enough, we have two psycho moms now."

Archie jabbed his elbow in my ribs to shut me up.

"Three, if you count mine." I added, sticking out my tongue at him to which he rolled his eyes.

A few more threats were exchanged and after Alice announced that there was only so much stupidity that she could handle in a day, the parties dispersed and the search was called off.

Out of curiosity, I approached Christopher who had stayed behind.

"Heard things about you from Ging." The brunet smirked, "Wasn't very nice what she said."

"Yeah, and I have a lot to say about your cousin too." I crossed my arms.

"I don't care," He shrugged, "Whatever happened between you two stays between you. I have and want no say in this."

"She force you to come?" I asked.

"Yep. Why else would I wake up early to look for a person I know nothing of? I don't even know who this Jason guy is." He titled his head to look behind me, "What about you? Your boyfriend dragged you?"

Blood rushed to my cheeks and despite the cold, my ears felt uncomfortably hot, "Okay, first. He's not my boyfriend. Second, Polly is my best friend's sister."

"Aah, is that so." Christopher shoved his hands in his dark coat pocket and stood on his toes for a moment, swinging, "It was actually quite stupid to look for her in the forest."

I frowned, "Why?"

I knew he was right. A little.

"She wouldn't hide out in a forest of all places during this weather. As far as I know, except for the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, there are no buildings to act as shelter. And since the SQM has a strict 'no personal electronics' rule, Miss Cooper doesn't have a cell phone and hence cannot contact anyone. I'm guessing that she has no money, either. So the best bet is that she's somewhere in town-Riverdale, I mean- and probably hiding right under your noses."

I gaped at him, "Holy shit, Sherlock. That makes sense."

He smugly pushed his glasses up his nose, "If you were half as smart as I expected you to be, you would've figured it out. But of course, you're not. Pleb."

"Yeah, well, I had a lot of other shit to think about." I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Real mature."

"You shut up."

"Hey, Max!" I turned to see Archie waving at me, from a distance with Jughead and Veronica, "You coming?"

"In a minute. You guys go ahead." I replied and faced Christopher again, "Seriously, though. Ginger Lopez?"

"Hey, I can't help it, okay?" He spread his arms, "It's not my fault our mothers are sisters. I'm not too fond of her either."

I tsked and patted his arm.

"How long are you here for?"

"A week, I think. I've taken a few days off of school and piano practise. Somehow, I'm not too happy with the fact that I won't be able to practise, but there are no competitions coming up so yeah…"

"Ah.."

"That guy likes you, by the way." Christopher looked behind me again and I found Jughead standing alone, rubbing his palms together and blowing on them.

"Pssh, of course he does." I scoffed out of disbelief, "He's my best friend. I'd be worried if he didn't like me." It was all a cover, really. My heart was pounding and my mind started making up scenarios where Jughead did like me like that.

"You really are quiet dull, aren't you?"

I tried to punch his stomach but he caught my fist and laughed, his bright green eyes shining. He pulled me towards him while still grasping my fist and flicked the centre of my forehead with his other hand.

"Ow." I rubbed the spot. Who knew being flicked on the forehead hurt?

"Chrissy, we're gonna leave without you." We heard rustling and I leaned sideways to see Ginger walking towards us.

"Then leave without me, Ginger." The brunet looked over his shoulder, "I know my way back."

"I thought I told you to stay away from him," The dark-haired girl narrowed her eyes at me.

I glared back at her, "And since when have I started listening to what you say?"

Christopher sighed, rubbing his temple, "Just go, Ginger."

Ginger pouted at him and stormed off and her cousin muttered under his breath.

"Annoying twa- Ow!" he flicked my forehead again, stopping me from cursing, "Stop doing tha-Hey! Ow. It hurts!"

"Pipsqueak."

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING SHORT?"

"Pixie."

"YOU SHUT UP."

"Half pint."

"I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT I'M TALLER THAN AN AVERAGE FEMALE."

"Insecure about your height, then?" He asked, smugly.

I stopped yelling immediately, "I was really short up until sixth grade, okay? I don't like being called short. No, don't open your mouth now. I'm not talking to you. Bye." I stomped back to where Jughead was standing, staring at me. I grabbed his arm and dragged him with me.

"See you soon, Munchkin!" Christopher called after me.

"Stop talking to me, Chrissy!" I screamed back as we walked further away from him.

"What was that all about?" Jughead asked casually, once I had calmed down and we were out of the forest. "The…flicking and everything."

"He's mean and rude and I don't like him." I huffed like a child, crossing my arms.

"Right…" he trailed off.

We walked in silence for a while, our shoulders touching occasionally. I yawned a couple of times which led to Jughead yawning too.

"Where are we going, anyway?" I asked, my cheeks stinging from the cold air.

"The Coopers, they're doing a public interview near the Church. Mrs. Cooper said that they'll reveal to the public that Polly is pregnant."

I blinked a couple of times, trying to digest what he had told me, "But…wasn't she the one who was worried about people finding out about Polly?"

"Knowing her, she has an ulterior motive." Jughead shrugged.

"Yeah…And-" I suddenly remembered what Christopher had said about Polly hiding within the town, "Let's hurry! I need to talk to Betty. It's important!"

"What is it?"

"Christopher." I said, "He said something. It was actually kinda smart. Not that I'll ever compliment that douchebag. Come on, let's go." I started walking faster and Jughead followed me after a pause.

"I'm sure it was smart." He mumbled.

I love Christopher more than I love Max or Sam or Ed or Vivien. Seriously. He's just so much fun to write, that intelligent but bipolar jerk.

On the other hand, I'm panicking because I'm nowhere near finishing chapter 36. *sigh* There was once a time when I could type out 5 chapters in one day because that's how creative my mind was. Not that I'll ever abandon this story. Hopefully. I love writing this fic. It's...just that...I'm stuck...Fecking writer's block, I tell you.

Please, please, please don't be a silent reader. Tell me how you felt about the chapter, about a character or about a scene. (You could give me ideas but shhh)

(Also, I made two and a half new friends and I'm really happy about it.)

Thanks for reading. Have an amazing weekend! Do your homework or get drunk, just make smart choices xD