Here’s the next chapter with our favorite 🩵
On ao3 ⬇️
https://archiveofourown.org/works/86092881/chapters/227904661
Or if you’d rather read it here⬇️
Summary: A bad morning, an agreement to hang out with Larissa, and Margery is telling all your secrets. What else can go wrong?
Finding Your Heart
Chapter 2: Don’t Remind Me
Your journal sat open on your bed side table, listening to you pad around and singing your heart out to sad songs. You woke up with unexpected feelings about Harper moving on. You didn’t bother to text Robby about them but you texted the next best person: Selene.
You and Selene became fast friends when she started last year, you showed her around and helped her out the first month she was here. It’s not that you couldn’t go to Robby with your girl problems but you didn’t feel like raining on his Friday morning.
You looked through your cardigans to see which would best fit the overalls you were wearing today because you didn’t want clay on your slacks. You picked out your black one with rainbows and went to grab your coffee.
You took your first sip and spit it back out, it was burnt. Today was off to a great start. You decided that you’d pick coffee up from the cafeteria this morning instead. However when you went to pick up your bag the strap finally broke. You’d been meaning to replace it but kept putting it off.
“Are you fucking serious” you whispered to yourself hearing the thud.
You sighed and pulled your phone out to text Robby,
TRISTEN: Today is a disaster, can you come up here
He started typing
ROBSTER: Yeah, are you ok?
TRISTEN: No
You threw your phone onto your couch and sat down, hanging your head in your hands. Today was off to an awful start and you had to find a way to make it a little brighter.
A knock at the door drew you out of your self pity bubble, you opened the door.
“Hey, what’s going on?” He asked stepping into the apartment
“My coffee is burnt, my bag ripped, Harper is happy and I’m not.” You said quickly pacing around
“Okay one thing at a time, let’s get some coffee from the teachers lounge or the cafeteria” he suggested
“Okay” you whined
“What happened to your bag?” He eyed the strap sitting on the couch
“It finally gave out, I’ve had it since we were in college.” You said pathetically
“That’s the same bag?!” His eye brows raised
You nodded
“Okay, I’ll be replacing that for you this weekend.” He said
“You don’t have to” you offered
“I don’t have to but I want to because you’d do it for me.” He put his arm around you.
You hung your head and grabbed your folder and laptop for the day. Leaving the coffee on the counter untouched but thankfully Robby remembered to turn the pot off. He opened the door for you and you stepped out into the hallway, half a mess on this gloomy Friday.
“Good morning, guys.” Selene said stepping beside you
“I don’t know about good but it’s a morning” you moped
“We are on a mission for coffee, is there any made?” Robby asked
“Yeah in the teachers room, a bunch of us are there. Come on.” She lead the way
The door opened and you stepped in, taking a note of all who were there. Your eyes stopped when you got to Larissa speaking to a history teacher across the room.
You elbowed Robby, he let out a breath.
“Over here!” Selene waved
You stared at Larissa who noticed and looked at you, smiled and continued her conversation.
What you didn’t see is that once eye contact was broken, she watched you walk to the table with your friends. She caught Robbie’s eye and quickly looked away but he smiled.
The truth is that everyone knew how Larissa felt about you, how much attention to detail she gave with you. She took extra interest in what your classes were up to, interest in what your hobbies are. You were the only one who didn’t see it but even if you did would it make a difference?
You pulled out a seat between Selene and Margery, giving you a nice view of the room.
“So, what’s everyone been up to?” Margery asked
“Clay, tons of it” you said dryly
“Brave, I don’t think I’d trust children with such a thing” Selene half joked
“Oh heavens no, you simply never know with these kids.” Margery said
“Margery you’ve done this the longest, you taught our lovely Tristen. Why wouldn’t you give kids clay?” Robby laughed
Margery laughed and cleared her throat
“Honey, I can’t even trust kids not to break history models, I can’t imagine what it’s like handing them clay and hoping that no one eats it” she looked at you
“They have eaten it, twice” you sighed
“See? All children are wild.” She said
“Was Tristen wild?” Selene asked
“She was quiet, but you can’t trust the quiet ones. She put a spell on a bully once that nearly got her expelled” Margery winked at you
A collective gasp came from the table, getting Larissa’s attention, she walked over.
“Everything alright over here?” She asked
“Oh fine, dear. I told them about Tristen’s little stunt as a child” She laughed
You put your head down, hoping to spare yourself the embarrassment that came with the memory.
“What stunt is that?” Larissa cocked her head
“Well, she set her sights on a school bully when she was around year 6. She was unhappy that her friend had been a target and set out to get him back. Every time the poor boy stood up, his belt failed. It took us months to figure out who was doing it. It’s always the quiet ones.” She put her hand over yours
Larissa let out a breathy laugh, it clearly caught her off guard.
“Well isn’t that something” she continued to laugh
Robby elbowed you and Selene started laughing with Larissa.
“Is that why they call you the phantom pantser?” Selene asked seriously
The entire table erupted in laughter, you hated it but it was true.
“Yes that’s where that comes from” you started to laugh.
You were literally saved by the bell, it rang right as you were about to turn red. Everyone stood up and got ready to give their all to their students before the weekend.
“Tristen can you come to my office sometime today? I have some things we need to go over.” Larissa placed her hand on your shoulder.
“Of course, I’ll come by the end of the day.” You smiled
“Thank you, have a good day everyone!” Larissa said as she walked out the door.
Robby came up beside you,
“I can’t believe we found her dating profile” he whispered
“Don’t remind me” you shivered to shake it off and walked out to the door.
“Good Morning, Miss. Heart” Morticia noticed you just outside of your room
“Good morning, Mrs. Addams!” You smiled brightly
Some kids ran through the door, eager to find their clay from yesterday.
“Slow down, it’s there, cross my heart” you held the door open for Morticia to come in
“A little birdy told me in passing that you are having a hard morning” she placed her hand on your desk
“Hard it is indeed, nothing has gone right so far. Here’s to hoping the day gets better.” You half smiled
She handed you a single rose from behind her back, a white rose. You took it from her and looked it over, smelling it as well. It’s a real rose.
“This is gorgeous, thank you!” You poured some of your water in a vase on your desk and sat it down.
“It is certainly gorgeous, you know we are always here for you, darling.” She said
“We?” You raised your eyes to meet hers
“Larissa and I. You can always reach out to me if I’m not in the school.” She smiled
“Thank you, it was really nothing this morning. Just some burnt coffee, a broken bag, my ex getting with someone new, finding your boss on a dating-“ you cut yourself off realizing you’d said far too much.
Morticia caught it though, she always did.
“Why don’t you sit with me at lunch? We can talk properly then.” She gave a few students a bright smile and left the room.
Was she upset? Did she know about the dating app fiasco too?
Just as your class seated themselves, Larissa picked up a phone call from someone on the board.
“We’d like to discuss this year’s outreach with you, Principal Weems.”
“Oh, we won’t be doing that this year, too much skepticism remains from last year.” She said shortly
“You know how crucial this day is for Nevermore, correct? It would put a huge stop to several ties we have with Jericho.”
“Yes, I am aware but I feel as if the school isn’t ready for such a big step out after what happened.” She bit the inside of her cheek.
“Larissa this is very unlike you”
“Yes well, it cannot be helped after almost being murdered by one of them” she put extra emphasis on the last bit.
“I see. Let me relay this and I’ll get back with you.”
“Yes, goodbye, Mr. Stephens” she hung up.
There was a knock,
“Come in!” She called out
Morticia poked her head in,
“Is now a good time?” She asked
“Good as any” Larissa rubbed her temples
“What the matter, dear?” She closed the door and crossed the room
“The board is asking for an outreach day, I told them no.” Larissa said
“Why did you do that?” She sat down in front of Larissa
“Why does everyone ask that? I’m protecting myself and the students. One of them was crazy enough to poison me, I can’t imagine what else they’d plan. Gods forbid they harm a student.” She started to stand
Morticia motioned for her to sit down,
“You cannot hold this contempt forever, Larissa. I understand the fear but you cannot label them all bad.” She reasoned
“What have they ever done for us? They’ve mocked, killed, shamed and chased us all off for years. It was only a matter of time before a normie got bold enough.” She gestured with her hands the whole time she spoke
“You have always been so level headed, what happened? You’ve never spoken this way about anyone. Not even your ex wife, Larissa” Morticia said
“I don’t trust them, and for that matter I don’t trust my ex-wife either. I refuse to let anyone hurt my students, they are my priority.” She said through gritted teeth
“I won’t push, but when you’re ready to talk about it please come to me.” Morticia said carefully
“Alright” Larissa sat down
“I delivered your rose for you, she loved it.” Morticia smiled brightly
“I heard she’s had an awful morning. Poor Margery cannot help but talk about everyone.” Larissa let out a breathy laugh
“Old ladies do tend to have that habit, they have to do it to feel alive.” Morticia joked
“Did you bring the papers I asked for?” Larissa asked
Morticia handed them over and sat back down,
“You should know, you aren’t the only one who saw someone on a dating app. Tristen saw you as well, it scared the poor girl.” She laughed
Larissa stopped where she was reading and looked at morticia over her glasses, jaw slack
“Pardon?” She raised her head
“Yes, she also saw you on the dating app, Robby told me she closed her whole phone out of panic and never looked at it again.” She nodded and smiled
“Well I’m sure that hasn’t won me any points” Larissa laughed pitifully
“She also said something about her ex moving on when she hasn’t. I’ll find out more about that at lunch, seems to be a sore spot for our dear girl.” She winced
“She hasn’t had any luck lately, she told me the other day that she hasn’t heard from her family either.” Larissa shook her head
“Maybe that’s for the best, chèrie. You know why they don’t speak anymore don’t you?” She asked
“I don’t, I never thought to ask.” Larissa said
“Her cousin tried to murder you, though only related by marriage. When she wouldn’t stand with Laurel her family disowned her. She stood up for you and the school.” Morticia said slowly and gingerly
Larissa sat there for a moment, not sure how to take the information she was just given. She thought for a few seconds.
“She…stood with Wednesday when Laurel came to the quad. She was there, she cannot possibly..” Larissa trailed off.
“Only through marriage are they related and from I gathered, she wasn’t aware who Mari-Laurel even was. She found out afterwards.” She smoothed imaginary wrinkles in her gown.
Larissa sat back, putting her pen down and staring at Morticia.
“So you mean to tell me that the woman I’d do anything for is related to Laurel Gates?” She said in disbelief
“I’m afraid so, but rest assured that they are nothing alike. Tristen is a very good woman, who no doubt will change so many lives.” Morticia said
“She already has, several of her past students go to see her and show her their new work. She’s a wonderful addition..I just wish..” she trailed off once again without finishing her thought.
“Wish what?” Morticia leaned forward
“I wish..I wish that she could actually see me. Not as her boss but as a friend at the very least.” Larissa sighed
“Well, make it happen. Actually get to know her outside of Principal/Teacher. Make her your friend!” She encouraged
“You don’t think that would be weird?” Larissa cocked a brow
“You’re colleagues for gods sake! Get to know the girl. What’re you worried about?” Morticia asked
“The age for one” Larissa said bluntly
“She’s 30, you’re 40. 10 years isn’t so bad, I encourage you to expand your social life outside of the same 4 of us you hang out with. Live a little, darling!” She wiggled her eye brows
Larissa let out a long breath, really thinking about it for a second
“Fine. I’ll ask when she comes by later.” She finally said
There was a knock at the door, it was you. You waited for a moment and the door opened.
“Hello, Miss. Heart!” Morticia greeted
“Is this a bad time? I can come back!” You said
“No, no! I was just on my way out, your timing is marvelous” She smiled as she passed you
“Hello, Principal Weems, you wanted to see me?” You asked
“Yes, come have a seat!” She beamed
You sat down in front of the desk and picked at the clay that was on your hands.
“Are you nervous, dear?” She asked
“A little, can you tell?” You bit the inside of your lip
“It radiates off of you like midday sun, I promise everything is okay. I wanted to ask about your new budget for this year.” She said reassuringly
You let out a sigh of relief, you didn’t know what you’d done if anything. Larissa saw your shoulders release and it eased her own anxiety a bit.
“I budgeted for some new paints and easels for the kids, and maybe some new smocks. I’m terribly tired of having them ruin their uniforms with paint.” You laughed
“I’ll get them ordered, did you need anything else?” She asked
“Can we maybe also get some new chalk? I have students who don’t like paint and prefer chalk. They insist that it’s more forgiving than paint.” You felt yourself brace for some reason
“I’ll add that as well, see? It’s not so hard to come see me.” She smiled
You relaxed a little more
“I’m sorry, I promise that you aren’t scary. I’ve had a terrible morning and thought I’d done something wrong.” You looked around to avoid eye contact
Larissa’s eyes in the glowing light of the fire were intense. Her blue eyes were always intense but something about this lighting made her a little more authoritative to you.
“It’s nice to know that I’m not scary” she laughed, “I don’t aim for scary unless it’s needed.”
You laughed because it was true, you’d seen the scary side of Larissa and you never wanted to be the reason.
The bell rang and you went to stand,
“Before you go, Tristen. Why don’t you and I get together, I’d like to know you better. You’ve worked here for 3 years and I only know a few things.” Larissa said nervously
You stopped and turned around,
“I’d love to!” You lied, you were nervous about this
“What night works for you?” She asked
“Saturday? I’m going to a concert with Robby tonight.” You said
“Saturday night works, let’s say 7?” Larissa made a note on her calendar
“Sure thing, I’ll see you Saturday evening at 7 sharp!” You smiled
You walked out of the office, heart beating so fast you feared it would take off. Why did you agree to that? Are you insane? Have you actually lost your mind?
You found Robby in the hallway and pushed him back into his classroom.
“I agreed to hang out with our boss on Saturday night.” You rattled off
“You what?!” He almost yelled
“Shut up!” You slapped his arm, “She said she wants to be friends.” You covered your face with your hands.
“Okay, so give it a shot? What’s so wrong with being friends with Larissa?” He asked
“What if she doesn’t like personal me and only likes work me?” You asked back
“You’ve never met a person who hasn’t become your friend. You’re going to be fine, you need more friends here anyway.” He said
“I have friends!” You protested
“Selene and I are all you have. Margery doesn’t count, she’s as old as the school.” He teased
You sighed, and then sighed again
“Fine. I’ll give it a shot. But if I’m jobless because I was too much of myself I’m blaming you” you said dryly
Larissa walked out of her office and into the teachers room, she had to find morticia.
She found her with Margery, gossiping most likely
“Morticia, can I speak with you privately?” She asked
“Of course, let’s step out to the hallway” she smiled
Once out in the hallway, Larissa looked around and saw you and Robby coming out of his classroom. She waved to keep a polite face and once you’ve left down the hall she leaned in,
“I asked her to hang out, Saturday night at 7.” Larissa whispered
“That’s great! You are going to have a wonderful time, Tristen is very fun to hang out with.” Morticia hugged her
“I hope I don’t blow it up before it can happen.” Larissa said
“Just be yourself, darling” Morticia whispered
You were halfway to your classroom when you heard some students talking about outreach day this year.
“I heard Weems isn’t letting us do it this year because she hates normies now” one said
“Weems loves everyone, why would you say that?” Another asked
“That’s what getting murder attempted does to you” said a younger one.
“Alright that’s enough, get to lunch or you get detention” you said shooing them off the wall
You looked at Robby,
“We have to find a way to get Larissa back to normal, this will ruin her.”
