It’s funny how the first paragraph of this page says “the love stories from real life are often better then the ones we see on TV or in the movies.” In many ways, the way the romance developed between my fiance and I was SO TV drama-worthy.

I was 16 years old when I met Nick, just starting my final year of high school. We met online, on a dorky anime golf game, of all things. I still find it amazing the things that happened for us to meet, as if it was somehow destined. For one, we met on a ‘tournament’ style match – where up to 30 players verse each other, often quite competitively (no chatting to one another). I rarely played tournaments – I was the social type who liked to play ‘vs’ mode with only one or two players at a time. My fiance, on the other hand, enjoyed tournaments but was extremely competitive and almost always turned off the chat, especially if it was noisy. Neither of us added other players to our friends lists often, and never ones we’d met in tournament matches.

I wish I could remember the exact things we said to each other … if I could go back in time and save that log for nostalgic purposes, I definitely would. As it happened, I remember somebody in the room was talking, and I replied to it jokingly – or maybe he replied first? I’m not sure, but either way, we were messing around with each other and I remember I found him hilariously witty. He tells me that that day, he forgot about getting a high score and just enjoyed chatting with the goofball he’d just met. We added each other on the game, and several months later, on skype. (Let me repeat, this is something we really DIDN’T do).

The attraction, then, was instant. I’d found him intelligent and interesting before, sure, but I suddenly got to see more of him – he was witty, gorgeous, exciting, charismatic, flirtatious and charming in all the right ways. And such an arrogant jerk, too. He was the real-life TV trope – a jerk with a heart of gold. A walking Damon Salvatore from the Vampire Diaries (not that I’d seen that show at this point). I fell in love so fast, so hard, so uncontrollably and against my own will. There was the Pacific ocean separating us, and I was still in high school. And yet he was my first love. I’d never felt anything like it before. The butterflies everytime I saw him sign on, the sweet things he’d say that melted my heart, the things he said that crossed the psychological line and left me uncomfortable and nervous… frustrated and addicted… I felt so boring compared to him. Loving him was complicated and dramatic and powerful. I wish I kept a diary because it was the only time I ever fell in love with someone, and the way those feelings develop, how it takes control of your heart and mind, when you’re in love with someone unpredictable and wild and crazy …

And he was wild and crazy. He was a player, the kind of man women go out with hoping to ‘change’. Although I knew loving him would be the best mistake I’d ever make, I didn’t fully understand him then. I tried. As I got to know him, I realised he had had an extremely difficult childhood and life. He’d been hurt and broken by so many people. I came into his life at the time that he had given up and just wanted to die. He was dating a girl who had cheated on him, hoping that it would give him the motivation to end it all. And that’s where I came in. He tells me now that I was like a candle of brightness in his chamber of darkness, and it excited him and terrified him at the same time. He was enthralled by me, and scared of what would happen if he allowed himself to fall in love with me, or if we got together, or when I finally couldn’t put up with him any longer. He did the cliche TV trope of pushing me away so he couldn’t hurt me.

For months, and months, and months. He’d leave, and come back, push and pull. I was always there, like a lighthouse he could come back to when he needed it. I gave up the idea of being with him – I loved him so dearly, he broke my heart but he made it soar. Never had I missed someone so much or hated someone so much or cared about someone so much. I just accepted that it couldn’t work. He was a reckless, wild spirit who was admittably quite selfish, hot-tempered and often made horrible decisions blinded by strong emotions. He had a serious anger management problem – though he’d never hurt anybody, he had a tendency to break things and self-harm (actually, he had an emotion problem in general – he didn’t get sad, he got heartbreakingly depressed. He didn’t feel anger, he felt uncontrollable rage. He didn’t feel guilt, he felt utter despair and self-loathing.)

In any event, this was TV love. In the movies, the girl eventually breaks through the guy’s shell, he reforms and they get together and everything ends up happily ever after, but this was real life, over the internet and couldn’t be real…

I dated other guys for several years. He continued his toxic relationship until eventually she dumped him for somebody else, which ultimately resulted in a very serious suicide attempt on his part that thankfully failed. We’d stayed in touch during his relationship (sort of, remember the push and pull thing he was so fond of), and as much as the attraction between us was undeniable I’d told him firmly that nothing was going to seriously develop between us while he was in a relationship, no matter how insincere he may have felt towards his girlfriend or what kind of character she was. I was determined not to be any kind of ‘homewrecker’. Still, he flirted with me, but knowing the player-type he was (he flirted with everyone, men, women, himself, his food…) I never took him seriously… it would be years before I found out he truly meant it every time he asked me to marry him.

Several years later, a real-life relationship I was in for almost 2 years fizzled out. There had never been any spark in it. Actually, all the relationships I’d been in so far had no spark – I realised that I was going out with guys, desperately trying to prove to myself that despite how I felt, it was possible to fall in love again, with somebody else. But I never did. I loved my ex, but I was never IN love with him. Still, I was a mess after this breakup – it happened at a bad time in my life, and I felt so alone and in despair… I shut off the whole world, and went into a deep, dark place. I talked to Nick, and nobody else. At that point, we’d had a long time to get to know each other. He stopped doing the appearing/disappearing act a while back, and we’d become fairly close, though he never gave up the appearance of a snarky, arrogant jerk who would never be able to seriously commit to a real relationship. I felt that he had feelings for me.. he’d confided very personal things to me, but I didn’t think the feelings were really genuine or strong. Still, knowing the kind of person he was, I expected him to ‘pounce’ now that I was single again. But he surprised me. Instead of being his usual arrogant, flirtatious self possibly trying to ‘win me over’, he was extremely sensitive, caring, patient and supportive as I slowly crawled out of the deep dark hole I put myself in. And even after he was stil kind and gentle. He never made any crude jokes or attempts of persuasion… just incredibly sensitive, apologetic and kind. It shocked me. After several months, when I was relatively myself again, he confessed his love for me, that he’d always love me, that he thought I was far out of his reach and there was no way in hell I’d give him/us a chance, that as heartbroken as he would be (and was) watching me be with somebody else, he only wanted me to be happy, and that he’d always be there for me and just wanted me to know all this. And that he was deeply sorry for everything he put me through.

I had never ever expected him to sound so humble. For him to pour his heart out to me, to expect nothing in return … and I knew he wasn’t faking it either… but this was huge. I didn’t really respond immediately. I was still a little wary, but his attitude never changed. Well – not entirely true, he did get a bit flirty again but the humility was still there and I’d never seen him so … open and truthful before. Finally, I decided to give us a proper chance. I actually asked him out, and he was completely shocked…

It wasn’t an easy start – as much as we’d gotten to know each other very well, we were still discovering new things about each other, and the first six months there were some fights. But the passion… my God, to be with the one you never thought you could be with, your first love, your best friend and the man of your dreams… the spark never went away (it’s actually still there). I flew out to see him and while we were both afraid our expectations might be too high and we were setting ourselves up for a possible disappointment… he was even better in real life than I had imagined. Our fingers fit in each other’s perfectly. My head rested perfectly on his shoulder – honestly, before him, I thought that was something that only happened in movies. In real life, putting your head on a guy’s shoulder might feel nice and romantic for a couple of minutes but then your neck gets sore and you have to move. But Nick… I fell asleep with my head on his shoulder/chest. He was the perfect height, his eyes the perfect shade of piercing blue, he did everything I had ever needed … he pushed me against a wall to kiss me, he spun me around, he took my breath away… and somehow, the arrogant jerk I fell in love with never quite disappeared either… He was loyal, committed, humble and honest – the only other time he’d been like that was with his first relationship when he was 14, completely innocent … but he was still occasionally snarky, he still had that piercing stare that made your heart stop, he still drove you up the wall and had you cursing his name at 2am like in the Taylor swift songs… but this time he wasn’t going anywhere. He knew his flaws too, and worked so hard to manage them – for me. He doesn’t have an anger management problem anymore – he struggled so hard, harder than he ever had before, to get over his anger/emotional issues. He used to have such a short fuse, and now… recently, while working, a customer grabbed his arm while he was making coffee with scalding hot milk, making him burn himself. He yelped, but was able to keep being polite with her as he dealt with her demands, and although he ranted about it with me later, when I told him that he can’t let people treat him like that, he got quiet and said simply that his job matters more, because he has to save for us to be together, and he can handle anything from anyone for the sake of our future. I can’t describe how massive a change that is … nor had I ever expected to see such a change, much less that I could bring it about…

Earlier this year, he flew out to see me, got down on one knee and proposed. We’re getting married next year, and we still fall in love more and more every day. He still drives me crazy, still gets on my nerves, and still gives me butterflies. He’s changed so much, and at the same time he’s still that self-centered, complicated, slightly uncontrollable bad boy that I fell in love with at 16. He’s my TV romance in real life – whenever I’ve told people this story, they’ve always said to me ‘my god… that stuff only happens in movies… wow..’

I could not be happier 🙂

Oh, and just saying – he really is like Damon Salvatore. This entire clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovQAg70_lms … amost all of Damon’s lines, he’s said to me, nearly word for word (except for ‘hurt someone’). When we actually watched the Vampire Diaries together for the first time and saw this scene… we were both a little bit speechless, to say the least.

I had had a terrible year when I on top of everything had to move . Away from friends and my grandparents, plus the nervousness and anxiety of a new school. Middle school. Such a rough time of life, adolescence. I climbed shyly on the bus, my first day. My usually outgoing and amiable demeanor quieted by nerves and intimidation. I sat down about a third of the way onto the bus, away from the scary punks in the back. We slowed to a stop and a couple kids got on, when one paused, “Hey! Can I sit with you?” I looked up, a bit startled. I had been busy trying to disappear.
“Sure.” I smiled faintly and glanced up. A boy pretty nondescript stood above me, brown hair, about 5’2…until I caught sight of his eyes as he sat next to me and smiled. Brown like my own, but so deep, open and honest…looking into his eyes was like a warm embrace. my nerves settled themselves and I found myself smiling back. it wasn’t love then. More like an instant connection. Meeting someone for the first time that you’ve known your whole life. I learned his name was Jeremy, and as that sixth grade year continued, I grew to know him almost as well as myself. We were bus buddies, sitting together and laughing, best friends in every way. We would have six hour phone conversations. If my sociopathic, verbally abusive father was making me feel alone or just hopeless and done with..everything, I could call him and pour my heart out. He’d share stories of his own father and make me laugh, which he was great at. The next day on the bus he’d grab my hand and make sure I was okay before cracking me up again. Seventh grade came and went, in which time I moved again, so we weren’t on the same bus, and we still talked, but not as much. I was miserable. I missed laughing with him, having him around to confide in. I’d had a crush on him all sixth grade but was never quite sure how he’d felt. Then, right before eighth grade began, he moved. Roughly six blocks away. In that time, we’d both changed a lot. Gone were my glasses, my ponytails. In was long, wavy hair and tasteful eye make up (unlike some of the girls in our school…blue eyeshadow *shudder*) His hair went from the “mushroom” cut as we called it to a longer skater style, minus the grease. I was shocked. We sat together on the bus the first day and I felt a hole that had formed in my heart begin to fade away, and as we talked, diminish entirely. About halfway through the year, I had begun teasing him, because although I hung out with everyone else in our neighborhood, we never really hung out outside of school. So I rounded up some friends one night, all boys as the girls in our neighborhood were an exclusive group and I didn’t make the cut. We called him and got him to come outside. I hugged him as soon as he walked out. I teased him, “How ’bout a kiss?”
He was shocked…”Umm no!” He cracked up, but as I pulled away from the hug, kissed me tenderly on the forehead. My turn to be shocked. It still wasn’t love. It was tingling and butterflies but not love. We (he and my friends) were playing truth or dare, and he got dared to kiss me. He leaned over, and being a gentleman, kissed me gently on the tip on my nose. i giggled softly and was so glad he was so nice and sweet about it. Then his next turn they dared him to really kiss me. We got up from where we were all sitting in a circle on his dead-end street and walked down the block and hid behind some flowery bushes. We were standing there when he looked at me. Me back at him. He leaned in, and slightly down, as I’m quite a bit shorter than him, and our lips met softy, just for a moment. it wasn’t my first kiss, but it was the best. It was his. We kissed a few more times, all quick innocent pecks that warmed me and left me wanting more. We then left the others, and he walked me to my house, putting his arm around me. I was so happy then. It was all I’d ever wanted. Since forever. Was someone to care about me the way he clearly did. I felt like I was dreaming. We got to my house, he kissed me once, then turned we went our separate ways. I went inside, m face flushed and sat in my room, playing the night on an endless loop in my mind. We dated a little while after that, his first relationship. It lasted a pitiful five days. The last one I had lasted three months. He broke up with me because he was talking about his father and got very emotional and was angry and embarrassed, broke up with me and hung up. We were on the phone at like one in the morning over the weekend. I (an insomniac) cried the whole night. We made up, and a little while later started dating again. That lasted seven pitiful days. I broke up with him, in person, because I was speaking about my father and was just so upset and he wasn’t understanding me at all. We took a break from dating and just went back to being friends. It hurt. A lot. Then one day I asked him to go for a walk. So we did. And this time, we were at the bay by my house, sitting in the sand, close to the chain-link fence when he picked up a rock, asked me if I’d go out with him. i said yes. not because I was stupid or thought I was in love because I wasn’t, and I didn’t/ But because he was my best friend, and even if I wasn’t in love with him, I did love him. So I said yes, kissed him and stood. He pulled a lightweight, shiny black rock from his pocket, got on one knee and said, “Hannah, will you murry me?” It was an inside joke. I said yes, laughed, took the rock and wated to cry I was so deliriously happy. I knew we were going to work. We had some rough patches but made it through. Then came the day I think I fell in love with him a little bit. And I won’t admit it to anyone, not even myself. My mom had driven me to Walgreens, to buy some materials for a Social Studies Project. Jeremy and I had been texting and he’d just been there for the same reason. I was bitterly disappointed to miss him. So I got my stuff, and met up with my mom. She started walking towards the register but I trailed behind a step or two. I was walking slowly, sad I didn’t get to see Jerbear. I looked up at the sound of the automatic doors to the left of the register. And there he was, coming back to buy a different set of colored paper. I missed a step unnoticeably. The sight of him made my heart literally stop for a moment, then swell with a rush of warmness. Jeremy, who I was so comfortable around was making me so jumpy, I was tingling and I was more jittery than getting on the bus that first day. Since then, it’s been nothing but arguments. But they’re so worth to have him. I can’t even describe how bad I feel sometimes, but then he looks at me, or smiles, and there goes m problems. Love is nothing more than setting fire to best friends. It’s still arguments and silly fights. What changes is how they affect you and how you’d put up with them just to be with that person. Even if they don’t feel the same way. Because you do, and that’s enough.

(Screen) Name: hannluvsj

My family moves a lot. It’s mostly for my dad’s work. Our thirsd move was to a city in NB Canada and we stayed there for about two years, I’m very shy and dont make friends easily, I went to the same school from kindergarden to grade one so I made a few friends. At the end of grade one my family mved yet again.We moved about two and a half hours away from my old place and didnt return until my father got a premotion to my old place so we moved back in hte summer befor I went into grade four.
The first time I set foot in my new grade four class, I met a boy, Dylan.We quickly became friends.Did everything together, I was a tomboy, not afraid of anything and he was a trouble maker so we got sent to the office every day.We were unseperable.sat in class together and played soccer and basketball together at lunch.
In grade six Dylan tryed to teach me how to skateboard. Now, when I was yound I didn’t have much balance so I wasnt to good at it. But he stillgrabbed my hand and pulled me aroud the parking lot at my school. I remember when he grabbed my hand, i blushed like crazy, I could feel my face getting red hot and I was embarassed.Of corse Dylan saw how red my cheeks were but being the ten year old boy he was he didn’t notice that I was blushing. That same year my younger sister told him that I liked a guy in my class, Dylan wouldnt stop picking on me about it, no matter how many times I told him that i idn’t like this guy, he would still pick on me about it (Just playing of corse). I eded up telling Dylan tat my sister liked him.She didn’t and he knew it,but him and I picked on her together telling her that we know how much she likes him, we would do it until she ran after us and we would always get on his skateboard (He took that thing everywhere)and take off leaving her with one of my other guy friends Ricky.
Dylan and I never faught and we told eachother everything. And I mean everything when I say everything. HE told me aout him liking Heather, one of my other close friends.I remember hating her.Although i dind’t know why at the time.
The city I lived in was small (like every other NB city) so we could roam around town for hours if we wanted to. We use to et in trouble together outide of school aswell.I remember in grade six, Dylan and I decided to go to a construction sight with a few friends one night.They were building a row of houses attached to eachother.It was really dark outside so we were all scared to go in but we dared eachother to go inside the house and up the stairs, of orse being the twelve year old idiots we were, Dylan and I went inide. Our friends outside yelled for us to come out because one of the construction workers came back. But by that time we were already up stars. we ran down and out but my friends were already gona and the worker was looking for us.we ended up running as fast as we could past the worker and jumpped the fence. Luckally we got away and never got caught but we promissed eachother that we would never tell anyone about it.
In grade six, the game truth or dare was extreamly popular.My friends and I would play it every lunch.One particular day, Dylan, Ricky, Sarah and I were playing in a circle outside away from everyone else. Ricky was the only one who has ever been kissed. And Ricky and Sarah hated eachother, like the faught all of the time.Dylan tahught it would be funny if he dared Ricky to kiss Sarah.Ricky flipped shit, but eventually he gave in a kissed her hand.Lol thats as far as he would go. In spite of Dylan Ricky dared him to kiss me…and that was my first kiss.When he kissed me,I didnt want him to stop.I wanted to sit there for the rest of my life with my best friend’s lips on mine.But eventually Sarah buted in and ot us to stop.
Dylan and I never went out. He datted one of my other friends Heather.I moved in the middle of grade seven and I only saw him a few times a year wen my fsther went back for work.I mean we talked on facebook and stuff but thats the only comunication we had because calling was long distance and costs too much money.
A year later,Dylan and I got into a fight.I dont remember what it was about exactly but I was pissed at the world because my grandfather died.Dylan was only trying to help and I jsut snapped at him.I tryed many times to say sorry but for months he wouldnt talk to me.About 3 months after the fingt,y dad and I went back to my ld place and I met up with him, to talk to him.I told how I felt about him.I told him that I liked him a lot like a lot a lot.And he asked me how long i’ve liked him for. And I told him since grade six.He told me that he liked me since grade four…My heart sank,I froze.The only thing that was going threw my head was “Why didn’t he tell me?” I was so mad. right in the middle of my thaughts he kissed me.I still remember standing in hte middle of the side walk with his arms wrapped around my waist and my lips on his. we kissed for longer then I have ever kissed anyone.
The next day my dad and I had to go back to NS.I cyed the whole way home but I pretended to sleep with my jacket over my face so my dad wouldnt notice.During that car ride home I realized that I loved Dylan.I was thirteen years old and in love with my best friend.
I haven’t seen Dylan since that day two years ago.I still think about him,but we dont talk anymore because we know it will never work.He has a girlfriend that he has been with for 5 months and I have nobody at the moment.Dylan is planning on joining the navy when he is eighteen and out of high school.And I would like to be a nurse…who knows maybe we will cross paths again some day.

(Screen) Name: Liv1996

I was in my first year in high school by that time, first day of school. I woke up late so I rushed and went off to shool, but still there were no more seats for me, I was standing at the back by that time waiting for my seats when a boy named Vince came into my class catching his breath. I smiled and stared at him without knowing. I felt that he’s so attractive. A few weeks later, I forgot that he exist, then a close friend of mine told me that he likes him. I know that I dont like him but there’s an ache inside me. Then, the seats were changed ang I was put next besides him. From that day, we became the best of friends and were never seperated. Until 3rd quarted came and the seats were again changed. I was so far from him and we were too busy that we forgot our friendship. Atlast 4th quarter came, we had a project and we were in the same group. Then, we end up teasing each other and created these “fights” to know who is smarter, but it was just for fun until I eventually started to fall for him, unknowingly that he has a girlfriend which crushed my heart and made me hate him during summer. It was in my second year life that he started to tease me again. But this time, I made my self not to fall for him. One day, he teased me unknowingly that it made me embarrassed. So in great anger, I told him that I hate him and I dont want him in my life anymore. He said sorry but because of my pride, I didnt accept it. The next day, he told me that he likes me, which made me hate him most, coz this such as “If he loves me, why would he embarrasse me?” keep running into my mind. From that day we regret seeing each other. Everytime we see each other, its as if we were staring at a stranger. At our recollection, I said sorry and he replied “K.” and made me like “K.? Thats all? I swallowed my pride to revive our friendship and all I get is a K.?!” . Until now, we still dont talk and I miss him so much. Got some advise? :’>

(Screen) Name: ms. idiot