I own nothing.

Just a little fic I thought up to express my annoyance over the way people phrase things sometimes. Don't worry, I'm not giving up on my other fic, I'm just having a little writer's block.

Hopelessly in Love?

"GET BACK HERE!" The furious yell echoed through the Alley, but it was no use. Teddy and his best friend, Victoire, were already too far away for him to ever catch up. Finally, they collapsed, still laughing.

"Did you see his face?" Victoire gasped. Teddy nodded, not yet able to respond. This had to be the best prank ever.

Teddy and Victoire had been best friends since before they could remember. Teddy's earliest memories were of the vivacious red-head trailing after him around the yard, babbling away about everything and nothing. They were closer than close, and always had been. This was what often got Teddy into trouble.

Teddy was naturally a smart, quiet boy, the way his father had been before him. He hardly ever went looking for trouble, and when he did, it was for good reason. His best friend, on the other hand, searched for trouble where ever she could.

Though Teddy was much stronger than Victoire, and the rest of his classmates for that matter (the side affect of his father being a werewolf), one could say that Victoire was the brawn of their little duo, while Teddy filled the role of the brain. Teddy could never refuse Victoire anything (short of actually dangerous stunts), so he would supply her with endless pranks to keep her amused whenever she asked. He really didn't mind. He enjoyed their pranks, to be honest. He just didn't enjoy the part where they got in trouble.

Victoire was the one who actually put the pranks into action. Teddy would help when she needed it, of course, but she did most of the actual spell work and preparation.

The same went for today.

Victoire had complained about being bored, and Teddy had suggested making the toys in the shop t their right dance through the store singing in high little voices, making a mess, and otherwise causing chaos. Victoire, delighted by the distraction, preformed the spells needed.

Thus, the hilarity the two teens felt. Finally, they calmed down.

"Hey, Teddy, wanna buy me an ice cream?" Victoire asked, giving him her patented puppy-dog eyes. Unfortunately for her, he was quite immune by now.

"No, but getting one for myself would be nice." He commented with a smirk.

"But I don't have enough!" She whined.

"Not at all up to your usual standards Tory," Teddy shook his head in mock disappointment, "your father gave you money on our way out, remember?"

"Oh…yeah…well…" Teddy laughed and she stuck her tongue out. Just as they turned toward the ice cream shop, they over heard a couple of women walking by them.

"…it's all just so romantic! She's hopelessly in love with him! Just the other day she was telling me…" then they walked out of earshot.

Normally, Teddy would ignore it, but he had noticed Victoire making a face at the woman's words.

"What's up Tory, you look kind of annoyed."

"It's nothing. It's just, what that lady said, 'hopelessly in love'…" she shuddered. Teddy watched, looking confused.

"What, don't you believe in love?" he asked, mentally yelling at his stomach. It should most definitely not be flipping in anxiety to her answer. It didn't matter to him. It shouldn't matter to him. So why was his stomach valiantly trying to convince him otherwise?

"Of course I do, don't be silly!" Teddy relaxed, even as he chided himself for being relieved, "How could I not growing up surrounded by my family? It's just the phrasing. 'Hopelessly in love'. It makes it sound like some kind of disease or something. Like it's a punishment instead of a blessing. 'Hopelessly in love', ugh! It just sounds so…hopeless." Teddy couldn't help laughing. Trust Victoire to come up with such a bizarre view of something this mundane.

"Why do you care so much if it sounds hopeless?" he asked. She sighed.

"Because it makes me feel hopeless," She whispered. She sounded so sad, almost as if…

"You're in love." The realization shocked him, to say the least. He also felt unexpectedly angry and sad, as if she had done something wrong. He knew she hadn't, so why did he feel this way? Why did it hurt so much, to imagine his dorkey best friend, who he had known forever, in love?

"Yes." She sounded ashamed of it. She wasn't looking at him and her voice seemed tremulous, as if she were close to tears. But that couldn't be right, Teddy reasoned, his Victoire didn't cry.

"Does he know?" Teddy did his best to sound nonchalant, but he failed miserably.

"No." Perfect. Now Teddy would have to comfort her and be there for her and listen to her go on and on about 'mister perfect' and he wouldn't be able to say a single word against him because best friends did not feel jealous of each other's boyfriends.

Oh. That was it. He was jealous. But why? It couldn't be Tory…, could it? They had been best friends for so long…

But that was just it. They had been best friends for so long that he had started to take her for granted. It seemed ridiculous, but it was true. In the back of his mind, where he couldn't deny the strange non-brotherly feelings he had for his best friend, he had always expected her to wait for him. Neither of them had dated, ever, and he supposed his subconscious saw it as her saying he was the reason for it. The reason she waited.

But he wasn't. And now, while she was in love with someone else…

He was in love with her

Teddy watched as Victoire stared at the ground for a good twenty minutes before he could work up the courage to ask, in a dejected voice, "Who is he?" She wouldn't answer. "Come on, Tory, tell me."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because, it would ruin everything."

"Ruin everything? What are you on about?"

"Just leave it Teddy!"

"No! Who is it Tory?"

"No one, alright? It's no one!" Teddy stared at her, shocked.

"Wow, I can't believe it," Teddy marveled, "Victoire Jane Weasley, a liar." Victoire glared at him. "What? Are you going to deny it? Because I know you can't. I'm your best friend! Doesn't that mean anything to you? What, you thing just because it's some ugly Slytherin or something I'd just abandon you? I thought we meant more than that! I thought we trusted each other! I THOUGHT YOU WOULDN'T LIE TO ME!"

Teddy was breathing heavily now. People always lied. That's what he told her the day she had promised him she would never lie to him. People always lied. Even the people you love.

Now Victoire was shocked.

"Well what did you want me to say?" she snapped, "Did you want me to say It would ruin everything because you mean more to me? Because you are my everything? Did you want me to say I couldn't tell you not because I couldn't trust you, but because it would make things weird and I couldn't stand that? Or maybe you wanted me to say that thinking of being 'Hopelessly in love' makes me think about how every time I see you, my heart beats faster, and every time you laugh, I melt a little inside, and how every night I dream about you, and I wake up crying because it's hopeless! Because I really am hopelessly in love with you and it's killing me!"

They were both silent for about a second before Victoire realized exactly what she had said and slapped a hand over her mouth. Neither of them could move, neither of them could breathe. Finally, Victoire brought her hand down shakily.

"Teddy, I'm so sorry-" She didn't get to finish her sentence. Teddy had, for once in his life, been the one to act. He had kissed her soundly on the mouth.

Because now, neither of them was hopeless.

Now, they were just in love.