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