Where's the Love? Week: My Almost, Kind-Of, Maybe One Day Love Story

I don’t think it’s fair of me to have spent the whole of the week surrounding Valentine’s Day talking about love without giving you something of myself. I’m  a very boring person: I didn't have a high-school sweetheart and I haven’t had my epic love yet, but at university I did fall in love with someone. It’s not a traditional love story, but I still think it’s a love story and I’m not quite sure how it will end, but I’m going to share it anyway and hope to God he doesn’t read this when I link to it on Twitter...

I met one of my best friends on the day I arrived at university for the first time. Obviously, I didn’t know that at the time and if someone would have told me that he would be my best friend I probably would have laughed in your face. We clicked instantly though, bonding over our love of Bones, writing and books. It didn’t take long at all for me to get a crush. I’m predictable like that.

Now, until I met him, I’d never had a close guy friend. Mainly because I have serious issues and I just can’t speak to them without sounding either ten years old or painfully boring. In this situation we were able to get to know each other without me being too much of an idiot, I think, but you’d probably have to ask him about that. This wasn’t the best idea though. He had, and still has, a girlfriend.

For a long time, and even now occasionally, I wonder if there’s something on his side more than friendship. We’d dance too close, spend most of our time together, he’d say something provocative and it would get my brain whirring. Does he like me as more than a friend? But what about his girlfriend? Surely he’d do something about that? Oh, we’re just friends. Then it would happen again and the whole process would repeat. During this time I bloody fell in love with him, didn’t I. Typical.

I’m not going to lie, I struggled with this a lot last year, especially when said girlfriend spent four days a week living in our house and he knew how I felt and we’d had a few conversations about our behaviour. It was painful and it put a strain on our friendship, but it also made us stronger at the same time. That’s very odd, I know. I don’t really understand it myself.

Now in our third year, he’s studying abroad and I haven’t seen him since August but I still love him and I honestly don’t think I ever won’t. We speak often and I plan to go out and visit him at some point this term. Even with the distance I’d still call him one of my best friends and for me there’s still some hope for us. Something gets said, something is done and I begin to wonder again. It’s probably my insane girl-brain reading into every little thing, trying to find what I want to find, but it’s out of my control now.

So, there you go. The sad and pathetic story of a girl who fell in love with her best friend who has a girlfriend. I’m a walking YA novel sometimes. But unlike my beloved YA, it’s incredibly unlikely I’ll get my guy, but that’s okay, it just means My Guy is waiting around the corner to bump in to me when I least expect it.

I hope you’ve all enjoyed Where’s the Love? Week – I know I have! Thank you to everyone who commented and retweeted my links this week and give another brief shout out to Clover over at Fluttering Butterflies who usually hosts the wonderful Love Month during February.

Sophie 

Where's the Love? Week: My Favourite Classic Love Stories

Now, when it comes to classic literature I’m not that widely read. Despite the fact that I’m doing an English literature degree, it really doesn’t click with me in the way that YA does, but the few that have made a lasting impact on me have a love story or are a love story. Because of my dislike of most classic novels, I’ve cheated a little bit in my selection, but they’re classics to me.

Elinor Dashwood and Edward Ferrars from Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility are my favourite fictional couple outside of YA. It’s my favourite of Austen’s novels and I connected with Elinor more than any other character in a classic novel and my heart broke for her repeatedly. Elinor goes through every possible emotion when it comes to Edward: friendship, love, disappointment, betrayal and finally happiness, but she does it all in silence. She’s the type of heroine I wish were prominent in YA.

When she’d played by Emma Thompson in the 1995 adaptation of Sense and Sensibility with Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman and Kate Winslet, I fell in love and I’ve never gone back.

Now for THE love story: Romeo & Juliet. Shakespeare’s classic play has made girls swoon for centuries even though, you know, Juliet is only thirteen, it lasts a mere three days and they both die. Romeo is extremely fickle and a bit of an idiot for killing Tybalt really and all though I know this, I can't help but love it. It’s dramatic and heartbreaking and so, so frustrating because their deaths could have been so easily avoided! There’s something thrilling about forbidden love and everything appealing about having someone willing to kiss for you and die for you.

Baz Lurhmann’s modernisation featuring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes was lots of people’s first experience of Romeo and Juliet and it really helps decode Shakespeare’s language and access the play.

And now we come to the beginning of my classic love stories.

I’m sure I’ll get some stick for this, but I don’t care. Even after so many years and everything that was thrown in their path, Allie and Noah survived because of the strength of their love. Then they were thrown a horrible curveball and yet their love prevailed over impossible odds. It makes me sob every time. Nicholas Sparks created unforgettable characters that a story that I can’t forget.

The film starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams is a torture device for boyfriends everywhere but the perfect film to watch when you’re doubting the universe and everything in it.

I think this is one that a lot of people will agree with: Bridget Jones and Mark Darcy. It’s nice to know that there are men out there like Mark Darcy and that you can be a hot mess and score a Mark Darcy. She does everything wrong and isn’t the accepted idea of a perfect woman; she’s a real woman. I think there’s a bit of Bridget in all of us and it reassures me that there might be one out there for me somewhere.

Renee Zellweger’s portrayal of Bridget is one of her most famous roles, for good reason and Colin Firth has become Darcy in every incarnation. Bridget’s Jones’ Diary is a feel-good book and movie that gives me hope.

Now for the biggy: Ron and Hermione. It’s rare to find someone that doesn’t ship these two. It took six books for them to admit to themselves that they had feelings for the other and seven books for them to kiss, but boy was it worth it. They were hated each other, then became friends and went to hell and back together. I think that Ron and Hermione are the classic couple of my generation and this post wouldn’t be complete without them.

Emma Watson and Rupert Grint played their relationship to perfection, especially when Ron dates Lavendar and Hermione goes to the Yule Ball with Viktor Krum. Perfection. Emma Watson is one of my heroes.

So there you go, my favourite classic love stories. Do you disagree with some of my choices? Want to add someone to the list?

Sophie

Where's the Love? Week: Why YA Gives Me High Expectations of Love

First of all, Happy Valentine’s Day my lovelies! Go and tell someone you love them.

One of the things I love the most about reading a YA romance is the fact that in most cases, everything works out for the best. This is totally unrealistic but I lap it up.

Regardless of what happens to the heroines in a YA novel, they pretty much always end up with The Guy. He might lose his soul but then she’ll get it back for him and they’ll live happily ever after. She might go in to a coma and then finish with him but then they’ll be reunited and everything falls back in to place.

If The Guy happens to be The Wrong Guy, the Right Guy is always waiting on the sidelines and I’m usually sitting there, book clutched in my hands yelling at the heroine open her eyes and see the awesome guy right in front of her nose. All I can say is: where’s my Right Guy? I don't see him anywhere...

But the main one: where on Earth are these guys?! I’ve never even seen a beautifully sharp, messy-haired art boy or a 6”4 Russian god or an English French American Boy Masterpiece. If they’re out there, I will find one and as a YA reader, I’ll know him when I see him. That sounds a little crazy and stalker-ish didn’t it? Oh well.

This may seem like a rather anti-Valentines post, but although they give me unrealistic expectations, they also bolster my belief in love and a happy ending. I think I might be a little bitter about love and romance without a healthy dose of incredibly lucky heroines who find their soul mates in their teens.

I may wonder why I don’t bump into a beautifully tall blonde boy in a coffee shop or discover that the boy I’ve been crushing on for months has been harbouring a crush on me too, but I have hope because these girls I spend hours getting to know can have it, so can I.

So there you go. YA may give me incredibly high expectations of love with boys that are bordering on perfection but it also gives me hope that it’s possible.

Sophie

Where's the Love? Week: YA Says it Best

As those of you who follow me on Twitter may know, I love a quote. I’ve even dedicated a whole Tumblr to my favourite ones! When they’re from a YA book and they’re about love, well, I’m a happy Sophie. So I thought that I’d show you some of my very favourite quotes about love from the plethora of young adult novel around. Be warned: some are sappy; actually most of them are sappy, but that my friend is exactly my style! I hope you enjoy them.

The first and my very favourite quote from my favourite book by my favourite author. I love this so much that I want it tattooed on my ribcage. Once I’ve manned up enough, obviously.

“There is never a time or place for true love. It happens accidentally, in a heartbeat, in a single flashing, throbbing moment.”

The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen

Now this one makes me go week at the knees. Words like these don't come from a guy like this unless he properly loves you and once he does, he always will. This was a big moment for Clary and Jace and for fans of the series I don't think it was one that will be forgotten.

“‘There is no pretending,’ Jace said with absolute clarity. ‘I love you, and I will love you until I die, and if there is life after that, I’ll love you then.’”

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

I found it impossible to pick just one because the entire novel is so, so beautifully written. Some of the quotes made me smile, some made me sad and some ripped my heart out with the beauty of them, but these, these are perfect.

“But I leave in true love, you know? I don't believe that everybody gets to keep their eyes or not get sick or whatever, but I do believe that everybody should have true love, and it should last at least their lifetime.”

“I love her. I am so lucky to love her, van Houten. You don’t get to choose if you get hurt in this world, old man, but you do have some say in who hurts you. I like my choices, I hope she likes hers.”

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

This quote melted my heart. It was part of the beginning of a series that I counted down the days for the next instalment of and when Dimitri said this to Rose, I fell in love with him and knew that there was going to be some drama and heartbreak along the way.

“If I let myself love you, I won’t throw myself in front of her. I’ll throw myself in front of you.”

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

This book blew me away when I read it a few years ago. I didn’t expect to like it nearly as much as I did. This quote about the heroine, Cassie, has stuck with me ever since. It resonates with me and I imagine it does with many, many others as well.

“Whether he loved her or not didn't change how she felt about him. She loved him  independent and regardless of whether he loved her.”

Ice by Sarah Beth Durst

I also asked my Twitter followers what their favourite quotes about love and romance in YA were and here are some of them:

From Big Book Little Book:

“Love is not the absence of logic but logic examined and recalculated. Heated and curved to fit inside the contours of the heart.”

          Easy by Tammara Webber

From Bec Treveil:

“I’ll tell you something about true love. There’s no science to it. It’s as natural as the sky.”

          Wither by Lauren DeStefano

From holy-waterandblood:

“It’s not the face, but the expressions on it. It’s not the voice, but the way you say it, it’s not how you look in that body, but the things you do with it. You are beautiful.”

          The Host by Stephenie Meyer

So there you go! Are of these among your favourite quotes? Or do you have different favourites?

Sophie

Where's the Love? Week: TV Couples I Ship the Hardest

When I starting planning Where’s the Love? Week I released that many of my favourite love stories and couples are in TV shows. There are so many programs that I squeal over tiny moments between my ships and then if they get together, well, serious happiness. Some of these couples are canon, some aren’t; some are still together, some never were; some are end game and some we just don’t know about yet...

Damon and Elena (The Vampire Diaries)

This show is my current obsession. I loved it when it first came out and watched it religiously until I got to university and lost track of it and then a couple of months ago I caught up and became utterly infatuated with the idea of Damon and Elena.

They bring out the best in each other: Elena’s fierceness and Damon’s humanity and they’re honest with each other. They are both better when they are together and I just think that Elena is a bit blah when she’s with Stefan. She also always gets herself in to deadly situations and waits for the boys to save her, she saves herself now.

I almost lose it when Damon looks at Elena in a particular way and every time something nearly went their way and was thwarted I screamed internally. These two are currently my biggest ship and if you don’t know why, go watch The Vampire Diaries right now!

Chuck and Blair (Gossip Girl)

I devoured the first two seasons of Gossip Girl like my lip depended on it, but I got the point where Chuck and Blair were together and that was enough for me. I stopped watching it. I realise that probably seems crazy to some of you, but I know how evil the writers of this show are I didn’t want them blowing holes in my ship!

Now this awesome series has finished and my Tumblr dashboard and Twitter feed exploded with the season finale I had a resurge of love for this show and now I’m going to see it through the end. Even though that means I have six seasons to catch up on (what a travesty!) and the identity of Gossip Girl was spoiled for me, I want to see Blair and Chuck grow up and see if they end up together.

Like Damon and Elena, Chuck and Blair bring out the nest in each other. They can be devious, manipulative and completely evil and still love and respect each other for it. That makes the sweet and romantic moments between them all the more important.

Kurt and Blaine (Glee)

I love Glee, I really do, but until Kurt and Blaine there wasn’t really a couple that I cared about enough to want them to be together. That may be because they switch all of the time though...

Kurt is by far my favourite character and I love seeing him so happy. After all of the hell he went through after he came out, he deserves to have someone like Blaine you appreciates him for the awesome person that he is.

I’ve heard rumours that there have been some dodgy moments in their relationship in season four, not that I’d know because apparently we have to wait forever for it, but I have faith in them. And if they’re not endgame then I’m going to have hissy fit.

Before I go deep in to the dark and troubled world of Tumblr shipping I’m going to move on to my biggest childhood ships, before I even knew what shipping was.

TJ and Spinelli (Recess)

This was the very first couple that I ever championed. I distinctly remember the episode where they find out that one of the gang’s older sister kissed a boy and they can’t imagine how that could possibly be pleasant. TJ and Spinelli pull the short straw and have to test it out, only to find they like it and have to tell the others that it was gross!

I love it – it was probably only a few years after I started to get interested in boys myself so it made me feel incredibly worldly and grown-up!

Lizzie and Gordo (Lizzie McGuire)

Oh, Gordo. Sweet, dorky, loyal and brilliantly clever Gordo. This was my first experience of the trope of falling for your best friend and the horrendous pain of them not having the faintest idea.

Every look he gives her, every sweet comment and the multiple times he goes out of his way to make it easier for her or to get her out of trouble, my heart breaks for him. I know exactly how it feels. But more on the later in the week. It’s not until the last ever episodes of the show that Lizzie finally starts to realise how Gordo feels and not until the movie (which I totally have on DVD, by the way. Don’t judge me) that they finally, finally kiss.

Zack and Kelly (Saved by the Bell)

Utter perfection, that’s what these two are. Zack was one of my first fictional crushes and I have to admit, he’s still high up on my list. He’s arrogant, lazy, smooth as anything, blonde and absolutely gorgeous. What’s not to love? Then you have Kelly: funny, beautiful, sports star and most popular girl in school. They were made for each other.

They weren’t together solidly through the series. They were other partners for both Zack and Kelly, heartbreak and drama but once Saved by the Bell: The College Years arrived, it was fate. Zack was finally ready to settle down with Kelly and the gang went to Vegas to get married.

Now this show actually finished before I was born but I was obsessed with it during secondary school and I've seen each episode countless time. It’s funny, sometimes ridiculous and completely 80s – I love it.

Who was your first ship? Do you have a couple you’re obsessed with at the moment? Do you strongly disagree with any of my choices?

Sophie