2+1=3//Bughead

1: The promise

GENERAL
"Mom, Betty. I have some news." Polly sat the two women down. Alice looked at Betty as if she knew what Polly was about to say.

"I'm pregnant." She dropped the bomb that would surely have a massive affect on the family.

"Excuse me?!" Alice erupted into anger. Polly was barely 18 years old.

"Who's the father?" Betty asked, having remained seated.

"Jason Blossom." She smiled, seeming proud.

"God damn it Polly." Alice hadn't sworn like that since she found out that her husband was a serial killer.

"What's wrong with Jason Blossom being the father?" Betty was just as confused by Alice's outburst as Polly was.

"For one thing, that family is deranged and crazy. Who knows what kind of incest goes on behind those walls." Alice creeped Betty and Polly out.

"Incest? What incest?" Polly asked as she covered her stomach.

"You and Jason are 3rd cousins. In the words of Penelope Blossom, there is nothing more pure Blossom than those babies." Alice rolled her eyes.

"You're lying! Jason and I can't be related..." Polly looked at Alice in disgust.

"Your great-grandfather wasn't just murdered by a Blossom." For the first time in years, Alice was explaining their past with the Blossom family.

"He was a Blossom. After the murder, our family severed ties with the Blossoms and their name, and we took a new one. Cooper." Both Polly and Betty's eyes widened.

"I'm...a Blossom?" Betty dry heaved, avoiding eye contact with Alice.

"You, Polly, are a Blossom, which makes you and Jason relatives by blood." Alice wasn't happy about this either.

"I- I'm going upstairs to take a shower." Polly walked away, leaving Betty and Alice alone in the kitchen.

BETTY
Nearly managing to get up, my mom sat me down again.

"We need to talk, Elizabeth." My mom only used my full first name when I was in trouble, or she needed to be serious with me.

"What do we need to talk about? I'm not pregnant." I deflected her seriousness.

"Not now, since you're only 16. But you will be, in the far future. Can you promise me something?" She sat down besides me, her hand covering mine.

"Sure?" I was confused.

"Promise me, that you won't get pregnant until after you graduate from college, and please promise me that you'll share a baby with someone who isn't from the Southside..." She begged me.

"I promise that if I do get pregnant, it'll be after I graduate from college and the father won't be a Southsider. But may I ask...why?" I asked, confused.

"Southsiders have a bad reputation, and I'd rather not have our name, your name, besmirched by someone of the Southside." She insisted.

"Isn't that discrimination?" I asked, even more confused.

"It can be, but it will ruin your reputation within Riverdale if a Northsider, like you, was to fall pregnant with a Southsider's baby." She informed me.

"Whatever. As long as you're happy, I'm happy." I decided to ignore my mom's ideas of how my future should be. Heading upstairs, I went to bed, trying to relax.
———
Getting up at my normal time, I heard the bathroom door open, before the sound of something hitting the toilet bowl echoed. Being the sister I was, I checked up on Polly, seeing her washing her face.

"Morning sickness?" I asked, smiling.

"Yeah. The babies have been keeping me up all night." She hugged me.

"Babies? As in, twins?" I asked, shocked.

"Yeah. A boy and a girl. I already have a name for each. Juniper and Dagwood." She held my hand towards her stomach.

"Wow. Creative name choices Polly." I smiled, letting go.

"Hey, Betty? Have you heard from mom? Is she still upset with me?" Polly and I walked out the bathroom, manging to get downstairs to the living room.

"I heard her talking to Mr and Mrs Blossom last night. That's all I know." I shrugged my shoulders.

"Well, I'm hoping mom will come around and try to be happy for me." Polly sat on the couch.

"I'll see you later Polly. I'm off to school." I hugged my sister, eventually leaving the house with my bag tightly connected to my back.

"Good morning, B. How's my favourite blonde?" Veronica walked up to me.

"My sister is pregnant with twins, the father is Jason Blossom and I'm afraid to go home." I just let it all out.

"Woah. Ok. Do you need me to help you at all?" Veronica stopped walking, our tracks stopping just outside of school.

"Can I sleep over at yours tonight, V? I'm afraid that if I go home, I'll be walking into a war zone." We continued walking.

"Of course, B. You can even borrow a pair of pyjamas." Veronica hugged me.

"What's going on?" Archie walked up to us as we entered the school.

"Girl problems, Archiekins. Nothing for you to be concerned about." Veronica answered his question, before unlocking her locker next to mine.

Getting back to Veronica's home after school, I was greeted by Mrs Lodge.

"I hope everything's ok at home." She smiled before leaving home.

The time at Veronica's really took my mind off things, and before long, I had forgotten about Polly and my mom, being able to sleep soundly.
———
Walking home at 7 am, was not how I saw my day going, but anything to get the day over with. Arriving at home, I noticed that the front door was unlocked.

"Polly? Mom?" I called out to the seemingly empty house.

"POLLY? MOM?" I yelled, still hearing no response.

Going upstairs, my first instinct was to check Polly's room, and to my surprise, her bed was made, her vanity was spotless and every drawer was empty.

"POLLY?!" I freaked out, checking the rest of the house. I ran into every room, panicking when I couldn't find her. Racing downstairs, my heart pounded when I was knocked over, my mom lifting me off the floor.

"M- Mom? Where's Polly?!" I asked her, scared.

"I- I thought you knew? I've been looking for her since you left the house yesterday." She was crying.

"You mean she hasn't been home at all?" My eyes widened.

"You left yesterday morning, and I told Polly that I needed to get groceries, so I left the house. B- But when I came home, I noticed that she wasn't in the living room. I looked all over the house and saw that her room was clean and empty. I- I told Sheriff Keller, and he's gonna be looking for her." She hugged me, crying and scared.

Hours had passed, and my phone buzzed. My heart raced when I saw the letter P on my screen. Answering the call, I raced to put the phone near my ear.

Me: P- Polly? Is that you?

My mom looked at me with hope.

Me: Polly, please c- come home! Mom and I m- miss you.

Polly: I'm sorry Betty. I can't come home. Not now, not ever. Bye Betty.

Me: Polly, don't hang up the-

Before I could finish, the call ended.

"So?!" My mom asked, concerned.

"She said that she can't come home. Not now, not ever." Those words would constantly haunt me.

"I- I drove her away..." My mom cried.

"Neither of us could've predicted this..." I hugged her as she balled her eyes out, her cheeks becoming tear-stained.