AN: So, oddly enough, this poem was inspired by Burt's Bees peppermint lip chap. Weird.
Pairings: unrequited Victoire/Teddy, Teddy/Roxanne
Summary: But in the end, you're just a peppermint flavoured distraction, and that's all you'll ever be. **Freeverse, unrequited Teddy/Victoire, Teddy/Roxanne
Rating: T
Disclaimer: All things Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling.
PEPPERMINT DISTRACTION
.o.
You clutch your
~little~book~of~poems~
to your chest
this is the BIG CITY
[and maybe there's no . place . for . a . poet . here]
{not one like you at least}
But there's room for a
W I L D C H I L D
who's . hiding . a . heartbreak
and-so-you
hide|your|poetry|beneath|the|hotel|matress
and just let loose
[like Roxy always did]
{before she stole your boyfriend}
and you f-o-r-g-e-t that your name means
V I C T O R Y
because you L|O|S|T him
but you l-o-v-e the way the
p . e . p . p . e . r . m . i . n .t
gloss burns on your lips like a
K~I~S~S
[his kiss]
{but you don't let yourself think about that}
the way the
R E D L I P S T I C K
makes you LOOK
like any R-U-N-A-W-A-Y
in London ought to look
You L~O~V~E
the everlastingnoise
the constantlife
the way there's alwayssomethinggoingon
but you h|a|t|e
hate|hate|hate|hate|hate
the way h_e_'s not here
{he's not here}
the way you feel so l_o_n_e_l_e_y
{lonely}
so u_n_w_a_n_t_e_d
{unwanted}
[but it's your own fault, sweetheart]
(you let him get away, didn't you?)
{and then she took him when you weren't looking}
but you don't realize how clichéd the two of you are
{seems you've already forgotten the last minute kisses and long walks on the beach at sunset}
till you meet him again in January
[it's five months since you saw him last]
it's snowing lightly as he steps through the crowd
and-your-eyes-meet
(you can practically feel the cliché)
and then she appears too
and the snow turns to rain
(and your lovely little cliché turns into a different, more heartbreaking one)
and then Teddy says
"What happened to you Tori?"
and you look down at yourself and you
see the difference between
then | and | now
pink lips | red lips
long, pale blonde hair | short, brunette hair
that sweet little pink dress | tiny little black mini skirt
your annoyance with your Veela charm | you're always using it now
you're ohsodifferent, aren't you?
but you sneer in response to his question
and you laugh and you say
"You happened."
then, before he can say a word,
you brush past him
because you've got a job to get to
and you can't afford to lose it
[it's your third job this month already]
so you leave him gaping
and you try to forget the
P A I N
in his eyes when he sees you
in your less-than-usual glory
it's not till J-U-N-E
that you give up
and go home
you arrive at the Burrow
just in time for weekly Sunday lunch
and you're welcomed back
into open arms
but Teddy and Roxy
have news
they're engaged
and you fight the impulse
to stomp out again
because you've learned your lesson well enough
so you hang around
you don't just DISAPPEAR
(not like last time)
then, at little Lily's 17th birthday party
you find yourself
pressed up against a tree,
with Teddy snogging the
bloody hell out of you
you're both a little
T
I
P
S
Y
so neither of you
feel the guilt you should be feeling
but by the next morning,
you're both eyeing each other
warily
{you both know all too well what happened last night}
you're eyeing him because
you wonder if he meant it
and he's eyeing you because
he's worried you'll tell Roxy
{and Godric, you're tempted to}
but their w-e-d-d-i-n-g approaches
and you still haven't said a word
and then you hear those fateful words
speak now or forever hold your peace
and despite Teddy's imploring look,
you stand
{and it's easier than you thought}
"Tell her what happened on Lily's birthday."
is all you say before you walk out
and despite what you hoped,
they're married
it seems Roxy doesn't even care
and neither does Teddy
because in the end,
you're just a
p. e. p. p. e. r. m. i. n. t.
flavoured
D~I~S~T~R~A~C~T~I~O~N
and that's all you'll ever be
