Literally Loving Thy Neighbor

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    Neighborly

    Sometimes living in close proximity to an attractive or friendly person of the opposite (if that's who the character prefers) sex can lead to more than just borrowing a cup of sugar. All too often, characters will end up falling in love. This can often lead to a minor character having a more significant role, or it could just end up as trouble.

    Literally Loving Thy Neighbor comes in three types.

    • The two characters fall in love with each other.
    • One loves the other but the other is unaware of the crush.
    • One loves the other but the feeling isn't returned.

    This neighborhood love interest can overlap with or be confused with the Girl Next Door who is average and wholesome femininity personified. He might not be able to resist the urge to take advantage on the situation and spy on her or he might visit her by Enter Stage Window.

    Compare Childhood Friend Romance.

    Examples of Literally Loving Thy Neighbor include:

    Advertising

    • The long-running Nescafe ads in both Australia and the UK where a man moves into the neighbourhood and is offered a coffee by his pretty neighbour. The Australian version was very sweet and the couple ends up married. The UK versions were a bit steamier.

    Comic Books

    • Mary Jane was the girl next door to Peter Parker in both Spider-Man comics and the movies.
      • In the comic books, Peter was MJ's aunt‍'‍s neighbor; it still counts as she ended up living with her aunt. Also unusually for this trope they didn't meet through being neighbors but through Peter's Aunt May's and Mary Jane's Aunt Anna's attempt to set them up. Played much straighter in the movies where MJ was Peter's neighbor since childhood.

    Fan Works

    Film

    • In Harold & Kumar go to White Castle Harold has a crush on his neighbor but is too shy to tell her.
    • The Film Noir In a Lonely Place about a romance between two neighbors after their involvement in a criminal investigation.
    • The Girl Next Door: Matthew Kidman looks through his bedroom window into the bedroom of the house next door. He sees the girl next door who's as sexy as can be. She sees him looking at her and comes over to talk with him about it.
    • Bryce moves in right across the street from Julie in Flipped. She sees him and decides that he's walking around with her first kiss. He takes the length of the movie to decide that she's kissable.
    • Whatever It Takes: Shane West is Jodi Lyn O'keefe's neighbor, who, after chasing the wrong girl., finally realities he had more in common with his friend, and the girl next door. Various scenes are heavily based on their balconies facing each others'
    • Drive Me Crazy where the protagonists are neighbors who use, then fall in love with each other.
    • In Sky High Layla walks over to Will's house so they can walk to the bus stop together.

    Literature

    • Many interpretations and reiterations of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet have the dueling families of the Capulets and the Montagues come from neighboring houses making the romance between Romeo and Juliet an example.
    • Pride and Prejudice opens with Mr Bingley, a wealthy young bachelor, moving into Netherfield house in the neighbourhood of the Bennet family. His friend Mr Darcy quickly notices that Elizabeth Bennet is agreeable but not handsome enough to tempt him.

    Live-Action TV

    • That '70s Show had Eric living next to Donna. They eventually hook up and even get engage.
    • In Cougar Town, Jules and Grayson had Unresolved Sexual Tension in season 1; since it was resolved, in season 2, they have a full relationship.
    • Freddy lives across the hall from Carly in iCarly and he's loved her since the day they've met.
    • In Family Matters Urkel loves Laura. Laura's less than thrilled.
    • The How I Met Your Mother episode "The Platinum Rule" has the ultimate Girl Next Door as a potential love interest for Ted and the title refers to Barney's colorary to The Golden Rule (misinterpreted, obviously): "You can love thy neighbor, but never, ever love thy neighbor." The plot follows how not heeding this rule comes out badly for the others.
    • Family Ties: neighbor boy Skippy has an unrequited crush on Malorie.
    • Leonard (and Sheldon, surprisingly) almost immediately has a crush on their new neighbor Penny from across the hall in the pilot episode of The Big Bang Theory. The majority of the early seasons has Leonard pining for Penny; eventually, they start dating.
    • Lana Lang lives so close to Clark in Smallville that he can spy on her through his telescope.
    • Desperate Housewives. Susan and Mike would be the main example of this one.
    • Everwood. Andy and Nina.
    • Monica and Chandler from Friends lived across the hall from each other.
    • McLeod's Daughters. Tess and Nick. Alex and Claire. Alex and Stevie. Kate and Riley. Taylor and Patrick.
    • Neighbours. Given that it's set on a residential street and follows the interpersonal (romantic and otherwise) relationships between its inhabitants, nothing else will be said.

    Music

    • Taylor Swift in the music vidio of her song You Belong With Me is able to write messages and hold them up to her bedroom window to show her crush. He writes back because she's his friend.

    Oral Tradition, Folklore, Myths and Legends

    Theatre

    Web Comics

    Western Animation

    • From Johnny Test, the Test Twins are attracted to the neighbor boy Gil.
    • Phineas and Ferb: Isabella is attracted to Phineas, but he doesn't reciprocate, mainly because he is too young. Heavily implied to eventually become a two-way relationship in "Quantum Bungaloo".
    • Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm from The Flintstones grew up as next door neighbors, and became a couple in the cartoons set a decade and a half after the original series.
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