Ah fanfiction, the reading that got me, and many others, through middle and high school. If for some reason you have no idea what fanfiction is, according to Merriam Webster Dictionary it is stories involving popular fictional characters that are written by fans and often posted on the Internet. These fan-written stories usually have some cliches or common themes. These are the best ones.
1. Frenemies
https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-couple-people-woman-343/
This is the concept that two characters have had a rivalry for so long that it is apart of those two characters' daily routines and neither character wants to end it because it is so familiar and so fun to them. But then comes the slow realization that they have really developed a meaningful bond with one another and the two characters realize that they are actually now friends.
2. Faking Dating
https://www.pexels.com/photo/photography-of-couple-holding-hands-842546/
Fake dating is fairly self-explanatory. It is when two characters, for a variety of reasons, start to pretend they are dating. Then along the way, the lines between what's pretend and what's real starts to blur so eventually someone confesses their true feelings making the relationship very real.
3. Roommates AU
https://www.pexels.com/photo/people-gathered-inside-house-sitting-on-sofa-1054974/
Another concept that pretty much explains itself. Due to the setting of some tv shows or movies, this will sometimes be set in an alternate universe. In this alternate universe, two characters will voluntary become roommates. While living with each other their bond strengths and eventually the two will fall in love.
4. Long Journey
https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-man-standing-on-top-of-mountain-2577274/
Okay, this requires a bit more explanation. In this trope, the characters have to go on this long and often dangerous journey. One character is supposed to be the protector of the other but the two don't get along at all. So the two constantly bicker and butt heads but as the journey continues, they learn to trust each other after having to save one another or just through their own self-reflection. They slowly build a friendship that leads to a relationship.
5. Forced Bed/Proximity
https://www.pexels.com/photo/two-woman-kissing-on-bed-1418354/
This is similar to roommates for the fact the two characters live with one another. But the difference is that this living situation is not voluntary by any means. The two characters usually can hardly stand each other but usually by supernatural forces, they must share the same space or there are dire consequences. So their relationship grows from a begrudging truce to true love.
6. Angst
https://www.pexels.com/photo/adult-dark-depressed-face-262218/
This trope is just meant to hit you right in your heart. The story is full of negative emotions from the character whether it is sadness, depression, anxiety, heartbreak, etc. Your heart is just clenched the whole time, these stories might through in one or two happy chapters to relive you but that is not always the case.
