Starting off a new fic with everyone’s favorite principal!
On ao3 ⬇️
https://archiveofourown.org/works/86092881/chapters/227643746
Or if you’d rather read it here⬇️
Summary: Since surviving the attack on Nevermore and the attempt at poisoning, Larissa Weems is wary of normies. The one thing she isn’t wary of is Art Teacher Tristen Heart. Will she ever overcome that debilitating fear of love and difference?
Finding Your Heart
Chapter 1: Clarity
Finding Your Heart
Chapter 1: Clarity
Journal Entry: September 25th
It’s officially been 10ish months since the fight happened. Larissa is doing as well as she can, she’s fully healed from the poisoning but the mental strain remains. School has started and the kids are eager to learn. Robby and I are going to a concert this weekend, Larissa is nervous about it.
Still no contact from my family, I suspected as much I guess, oh well.
Signing off- TRH
—
The bell rang throughout the school and you let out a heavy sigh. Standing up and letting yourself stretch, you walked to the board and erased your examples from classes earlier. Today was something you’d almost dreaded - clay. They did well and didn’t make too much of a mess though you guessed.
Robby stuck his head in the door,
“Hey Tris, are you coming by after you’re done here?”
Without turning around you gave a thumbs up, once you were finished you walked around with a wet rag and wiped down the desks. You had always loved clay, you hated the mess though. You were covered in it today, thankfully you knew how to get it off. Finishing the last desk you stood and looked around, it would all happen again tomorrow because you thought giving 10 year olds clay was a fantastic idea.
Grabbing your messenger bag that definitely needed replaced you headed out the door closing it behind you. You made the brisk walk over to your quarters,
“How was clay?” Larissa asked as you past her door
“Well I’m covered in it” you half joked and waved
It’s not that you didn’t want to stop and talk to Larissa, you were just eager to get out of teaching clothes.
When you finally reached your door you unlocked it and walked in. Dropping your bag to the floor with a heavy thud you ran your hands through your hair. You were taking a shower first and foremost, you had to get today off of you. You walked around and collected your clothes for afterwards. Your old Nevermore arts t shirt, some leggings and your slip ons you always wore.
Stepping out of the shower and into the steamy bathroom felt nice, you didn’t realize your water had been that hot but apparently you were temperature blind.
Before you headed out the door you grabbed your phone, keys and sprayed your favorite perfume, you always wore it. Sandalwood and Saffron were some of your favorite scents. You went ahead and texted Robby that you’d be on your way.
TRISTEN: Hey, I’m on my way down
He read it and sent back a thumbs up, because of course he did.
Your phone ringing caught you at the door, you answered it without looking at who was calling,
“Hello?”
It was Larissa
“Can you stop by my office in 5-10 minutes? I need your plans for next week”
“Yeah no problem, I’ll have them right over”
You hung up and knelt down to your bag, rummaging around until you found your planning folder.
“Aha!” You whispered in victory
You tucked it under your arm and headed out the door. It was a short walk to Larissa’s office, just a hall over, she was always close. You knocked on the door and heard,
“Come in!”
Opening the door slowly and sliding in,
“Hello Tristen!” She greeted
“Hello Larissa!” You smiled at her
“Thank you for bringing these to me, I forgot to ask for them earlier today.” She smiled as she grabbed them from you
“It’s not a problem, I was just going to hang out with Robby anyway” you laughed
She read them quickly and seemed satisfied with what you’d planned for the kids.
“You know I must commend doing clay so early in the year, especially with younger kids.” She said
“I’m not sure it’s worth the mess they leave but they seem to enjoy it.” You joked
“You’ve always had a soft spot for your students, I like that about you.” She smiled
“I’d do anything for those kids, so if they want to destroy my classroom then I guess they’re going to get to destroy it.” You shrugged
Your phone started to ring but you silenced it,
“Family?” Larissa asked
You scoffed,
“No, just Robby. My family would never call me”
She tilted her head and looked at you for a moment,
“Still no contact from them?” She asked sadly
You shook your head and laughed nervously,
“Nope, I probably won’t hear from them again. It’s okay, I really don’t mind that much.” You said too quickly
Robby started to call again,
“You’d better get that, you’re dismissed Tristen” she said, “Have a good night”
You walked out the door and once latched Larissa hung her head and grabbed her own phone, shooting off a text to Morticia
Larissa Weems: She’s going to be the death of me
She sat her phone down and continued to try and work on this staffing list that was due in a couple of days. Her mind often found itself wandering to you no matter how hard she tried to keep herself focused.
There was a knock at the door 45 minutes later,
“Come in!”
Morticia came through the door and closed it behind her,
“Don’t tell me you plan to sit here all night, Larissa” she said
“I have to, Tish this staffing needs done. They want to make sure there are no cracks.” Larissa said
“Cracks?” She asked
“Normies” Larissa spat
“Oh come now, you can’t tell me you’re all that up in arms still” she shook her head
“One tried to kill me, Morticia” Larissa said bluntly
“But she failed, everyone forgets that.” She put her hand on her heart
“She’s left an entire school traumatized because of her actions, I have to protect the students.” Larissa said
“The students are protected, you cannot fear Normies forever, chèrie.” She cooed
Larissa rubbed the side of her neck, wincing as if the wound were fresh still.
“I won’t, but I can choose to not associate with them.” She insisted
“You still go to the Weathervane” Morticia pointed out
“That’s different, those people aren’t close to me.” She said
—
You rounded the last corner and knocked on Robby’s door twice and waited.
The door swung open and there he stood,
“It’s about time, did you get lost?” He teased
“Sorry, Larissa needed to see my plans for next week so I took them over.” You laughed
“She’s still wanting to see your plans? You’ve worked here for 3 years.” He raised a brow
“Maybe she just takes extra interest in the arts” you said seriously
“Yeah, the arts. That’s it, I’m sure.” He smiled and pulled you inside.
“So, how was your day Mr English?” You asked
“Are you asking because I teach English or because I am English?” He barked a laugh
“I’m asking because I care” you slapped his arm and laughed
“It was alright, Marsh is still causing his ruckus from last year” he rolled his eyes
“Oh come on, you’re his favorite teacher Robby. Maybe he just wants attention, we all know his parents aren’t great” you said
“He probably does, I’ll resume my tutoring with him next week.” He shrugged
“How’s Scott doing?” You wiggled your eyebrows
“He’s alright, he texts me daily about the chill that comes off of Larissa when she’s there.” He hung his head, “We have to do something about her and her coldness.”
“I can talk to Mrs. Addams, maybe she has some ideas on how to help.” You pulled your phone out
“Brilliant, maybe she knows something that we don’t.” He smiled
“Well they’ve been friends forever, she knows her better than anyone.” You said confidently
You texted Morticia
Tristen Heart: hey, can I talk to you about something?
She read it but didn’t answer so you figured she was busy.
And busy she was indeed.
“Larissa you can’t keep all of this in forever” Morticia said as Larissa paced the office with wine in hand.
“I have to, it’s not something that I can act on, Tish” she insisted as she took another drink
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, darling but everyone knows it. We can all see it.” Morticia said carefully
Larissa stopped mid stride,
“What!?” She exclaimed
Morticia nodded, “we can all see it, chèrie”
“Wonderful, that’s just wonderful. I work so hard to keep it from being seen and here you’re telling me everyone knows? Do you think she knows?” Larissa started to pace once again
“Bless her heart, no. She has no idea.” She laughed
Larissa walked back to her desk and sat down hard in her chair, head in her hands. Morticia watched her for a few moments before shifting in her chair,
“Larissa, you could always tell her…” she trailed off
Larissa’s head shot up, her eyes narrowed towards Morticia,
“That is a terrible idea, how could you suggest that?” She scoffed
“Is it a terrible idea or are you just afraid?” Morticia asked
“It’s both, I cannot put my job or hers in that position and I also am afraid to be turned down.” She said
“So your answer to this is to yearn in private to all of your friends, for how long? It’s already been 2 years of that.” Morticia acknowledged
—
You were eating another slice of pizza when Robby’s phone started to ring, you muted the TV and tried not to listen to the conversation he was having with his mom.
You sat up and grabbed your own phone and opted to scroll through it, you scrolled upon a post from your ex, now friend. She was in a new relationship, your heart fluttered a bit. You knew this day would come although you’re a little more prepared than you thought you’d be.
You’d been with Harper for 5 years, engaged even. It all fell apart 7 months before the wedding when she found out that you had some Normie family. She didn’t want to marry into that even though you were just related by marriage. She broke off the engagement and you’d stayed friends the last year and a half.
You sighed and set your phone down, you didn’t want to make a comment and potentially make things any more weird than they already were between the both of you. You didn’t love her anymore but it was still tense at best between you. She’d reached out when the news went live about Laurel trying to murder Larissa.
Now Larissa held that very same contempt for Normies that Harper does, but you understood, Laurel tried to kill her. Being related even through marriage to that piece of trash was almost too much for you to swallow most days. Maybe your family cutting you off wasn’t the worst thing that had ever happened.
By the time Robby hung up the phone you’d descended properly into internal madness.
“Hey, are you alright?” He sat down next to you
“Yeah, I saw that Harper is in a new relationship, it just got me thinking” you said
“Have you ever thought about moving on?” He tilted his head toward you
“What? Of course I have.” You crossed your arms, “I just love my job so much that I haven’t made time”
“Haven’t made time or are afraid to put yourself back out there?” He asked half joking
You sat silent for a beat too long, he spoke again,
“Tris, I love you and all but this moody and broody single life thing that you have going on is kind of boring, no?” He laughed
“I am not moody or broody” you huffed
“Oh you so are, come on, I’ll even help you!” He begged
“Fine, you get 1 chance.” You handed him your phone
He snatched it with a devious smile and downloaded a dating app. He had your profile set up within 30 minutes and gave your phone back, clearly proud of himself.
“I’m surprised you got my age right.” You joked
“I adore you, you look every bit of 30 though” he teased
You gasped in fake offense,
“Well that’s quite rude” you laughed
You spent the next hour or 2 scrolling and swiping through the app. Robby gave his opinions of profiles as you swiped. You weren’t paying attention and Robby yelled,
“NO WAY!”
You looked down at your phone and you’d swiped upon Larissa’s profile, you both looked at each other.
“Don’t just sit there! Swipe it!” He said
“No! I’m not touching it!” You said back and closed the app completely, a little afraid.
“Well that was a hair dramatic, Tris” he giggled
“Dramatic?! I just saw my boss on a dating app!!” You slapped his stomach lightly
—
Morticia was just leaving when Larissa suddenly said,
“I will figure something out, I have to find a way to get over her.”
Morticia turned to face her one last time,
“That’s what the dating app is for, I helped you download it for a reason” she winked
Larissa sighed and locked the door once Morticia had gone back to her own quarters. She crossed the room in quick strides and went into her own apartment. She took her heels off by the door and walked directly back to her room to change into her pajamas.
She laid out her favorite deep green shorts and shirt combo and went to take a shower. She let the hot water consume her for a little while, helping her work out the stress of the day. Once she was done she got out and washed her face.
Settled into her pajamas she got into bed with a book. She had every intention of reading tonight to take her mind off of things but instead she opened her phone. She scrolled social media for a little bit but eventually switched over to the dating app.
She had a couple of matches but ignored them and started swiping, even leaving messages unanswered. She swiped for what felt like forever when she swiped one more time and your profile sat before her. The air left her lungs and heart came to a still at the same time. She immediately closed the app and put her phone down.
She picked her phone back up and texted Morticia,
Larissa Weems: The app is my downfall. I scrolled so long I found her profile.
Morticia Addams: Oh dear
Larissa Weems: I will figure it out.
With that she put her phone down and stared at the ceiling. She wondered what you were doing and if you were in bed or not, which you were.
You plugged your phone into its charger and pulled your comforter back on your bed, climbing in. Unable to shake the feeling you had when you saw Larissa’s profile. You set your alarms and took a final drink of water.
Whatever the feeling is, you hope it’s gone in the morning.
