BY NICOLE ZAKRZEWSKI, PALM HARBOR UNIVERSITY HIGH

Hollywood cinema has shaped our perception of love in its entirety. In high school, you expect life to resemble a John Hughes movie, where Patrick Dempsey arrives at your house on a lawn mower wearing a cowboy hat, or that John Cusack holds a boombox over his head (iPod speakers would do) and, my favorite, Sixteen Candles, where Jake Ryan shows up in his red sports car and gives you the greatest birthday ever. We couldn’t resist re-creating some of these great movie love scenes, just in time for Valentine’s Day. Even if you dread that observance, who doesn’t go “awwwwww” at that cute scene from Lady and the Tramp (on our cover)? Boys, start taking notes.

Sixteen Candles (photo at top left)
Wishes do come true
Even if your entire family has forgotten your birthday and half the high school population has paid to see your underwear, Jake Ryan can heal anything. Plus, he drove a Porsche.
Models: Jimmy Briggs, St. Petersburg Catholic High and Alyx Eva, Palm Harbor U. High

The Notebook
Singing in the rain
Ryan Gosling. What else do you want from a movie?
Models: Humberto Diaz and Danielle Albright, Wharton High
(photo, bottom left)

Lady and the Tramp
Luck be a lady
No matter how ladylike you may be, there’s always room for bad boys — just look at his hair! One gaze into those big eyes will leave you (and maybe even him) blushing (just ask our cocker spaniel).
Models: Hayden Grant, St. Petersburg High and Nicole Suarez, Palm Harbor University High
(photo, bottom middle)

Titanic
Nothing will stop us, not even an iceberg
Throw a piece of plywood in a pool, and jump in with your clothes on! February in Florida will never compare to the freezing waters the Titanic sailed, but the love of Jack and Rose kept them warm enough to make everyone cry at this scene.
Models: Charles Boyd and Sarah Levin, Tarpon Springs High
(photo, bottom right)