Romance...How Awkward

Earlier today, I was watching a conversation two teachers were having and it sparked some writerly thoughts. They were talking about student relationships here at school and how they can go...Err...A little overboard.

"We were very close to seeing something happen," one teacher says.

"Yeah, I swear, sometimes I think couples are practically making babies right in the hallway," I add.

The other teacher just laughs hysterically, like she normally does when something is funny or even when nothing at all is funny.

Anyways, there are a lot of relationships at my school that just aren't healthy, just like some relationships in YA novels aren't that healthy. A classic example is Edward and Bella in the Twilight books. Edward is very controlling of Bella and Bella doesn't know how to be happy without Edward. In "New Moon," she jumped off a fricking cliff just to hear the guy's voice. There's something wrong there.

So in my YA books, I try to set a good example for teens. At least one heroine is strong emotionally. In "The Dead and Dying Embers," the strong heroine setting a good example was Skye. If one character was falling apart, she was always the one to pick up the pieces and show them the right way to do things. If there even is a "right" way to do things. She was a good example for everyone.

Until she got a boyfriend, that is. One day, I was writing another chapter in the story and everyone was at a ski resort close to Denver. Skye and her boyfriend ended up in a hotel room together and...I stopped writing because I knew where things were headed. I started yelling at my characters inside my head.

"Really, Skye?! Really?! You're going to have...that, with him?!" I scream at her.

"Yes," she replies.

I scowl. "Fine! Have it your way." I begrudgingly write the rest of the chapter. I didn't put any mature content in the story though, I just put in a very subtle, "love the night away." Okay, maybe it's not THAT subtle, but I'm not ruining anyone's innocence, am I?

Am I? Maybe I'm just ruining my own. I have only had one boyfriend and that relationship wasn't really a relationship. We barely had conversations! I called him Mr. Oh. Here's what our conversations looked like:

Me: (asks a great question)
Him: (answers and says nothing else)
Me: (Not sure what to do so I provide my own answer to the question, hoping a conversation will start)
Him: Oh.

So writing about relationships, for me, is really awkward since I've never really been in a relationship myself. I know what I've learned from other people's relationships and books. So for my character to have such an intense relationship and I have to put down the words for her is really scary because I am pretty conservative.

So much for Skye (and me) being a good example.