By Anushka Kar

Romance as a genre provides many individuals ÔÇô the majority of them being women ÔÇô as some sort of fantasy standard of their ideal partner, because, well, reality doesn’t always provide this. Within romance comes many different tropes between two lovers, and the one I want to delve into for the sake of February and its all-encompassing Valentine’s sentiment, is the friends to lovers trope. There are dozens if not hundreds of romantic tropes out there, so why are we not looking at ÔÇÿEnemies to Lovers’, ÔÇÿForced Proximity’ or ÔÇÿFake Relationships’?

While most romantic clich├®s provide some sort of excitement, there’s something unique about the ÔÇÿFriends to Lovers’ concept. I fully accept that my opinion consists of some bias, mainly because I myself, am a hopeless romantic and from a young age, dreamt of the coming-of-age type romance, but it’s worth noting why many others resonate. It’s the innocent, heart-warming, heart-wrenching slow burner that we find in Cecelia Ahern’s Where The Rainbows End– that you might recognise now as its film adaptation, Love, Rosie– or Carley Fortune’s Every Summer After. In both novels we see a girl and a boy with no expectations from the start, a childhood innocence, that blooms into an unspoken love as the two navigate adolescence. While their feelings seem unrequited, we always have the inkling the two are drawn to one another, through sparks or ÔÇÿmagic silences.’ Chapter after chapter, we see their confessions unfold- right up until their thirties, or in the case of Where The Rainbows End, their fifties. It’s never too late. The range of emotional scope and different perspectives we see of one person through another’s narrative is huge; we see a friendship with all it’s quirks, void of sexualisation and with an appreciation for the other. Gradually, romantic feelings are involved, and the characters are seen in a different light. Throughout these novels, above all romance, the pair are best friends; their compassion transcends time and almost anything is forgivable. In Every Summer After, when Percy and the boy next door, Sam, finally end up together, their communication between them suddenly ceases, which the author only reveals at the very end. The shocking events that unfold would make any couple feel queasy, yet the two bond for a second time over Sam’s mother’s funeral; in an array of emotions and life-is-short sentiment, the two can never manage to hate one another. In Where The Rainbows End, a similar understanding is brought about; despite how many times the two friends are separated, and despite their unfortunate luck in their lives that further drives them apart, they manage to stay in contact and confess feelings for one another.

I suppose it’s arguable the trope is a sickening clich├®, but it’s one I never seem to tire of; it’s intriguing to see the trauma both parties overcome, drawing them closer together. What’s more, we’re seeing the trope experimented with a little more; in Sally Rooney’s Normal People, an awkward yet raw friendship is formed and unravelled between Connell and Marianne, who ultimately end up falling in love. It’s not love at first sight, or forced proximity, but rather an unexpected interest and respect in the social hierarchy of school life: the popular yet reserved boy and socially awkward yet forward nerdy girl fall in love as they navigate school, feelings and everything tumultuous that comes with them. Both the novel and tv show successfully depict a candid experience of young love and friendship, throughout their fallouts and into their adulthood. The interesting part these novels allow a glimpse into however is the dependence that naturally comes with finding your ÔÇÿperson’ so young. In Every Summer After, Percy who has a creative flair, stops writing all together after she breaks up with Sam while he continues to chase his dream of becoming a cardiologist; in Normal People, while Marianne thrives in college (albeit with her own issues), Connell goes into a depressive state during college when he is apart from Marianne. While she has some friends she can somewhat talk to, Connell cannot open up to anyone bar Marianne because she is the only one who has ever provided him with a sense of security, being seen and understood.

The ÔÇÿFriends to Lovers’ trope allows us to witness two characters develop as we follow their individual and intermingling stories; it’s almost as if we grow up with them in some warped sense of time. In Where The Rainbows End we see this through an array of letters, emails and texts between Rosie and Alex; the language used at the beginning depicts discourse between two seven year olds, filled with spelling errors and blunt remarks. Throughout the novel, their communication is light-hearted, but gradually becomes more mature with insinuations and unsaid emotions; their friendship remains, but it’s a case of right place right time for any romance between the two. It’s the same for Normal People, wherein every time Connell and Marianne become comfortable within their relationship, they’re uprooted to another chapter of their lives, and need to readjust. Every time it seems like ÔÇÿright place, right time’ for them, life seems to get in the way of their happily ever after; it’s a back and forth, refreshing reality in the ÔÇÿFriends to Lovers’ clich├®.