I agree with the the whole romance thing, if it's a shoehorn. Too often, authors are almost told that they need a love-triangle in a plot, to make it appeal. Chrissy makes a good point that there are other types of relationship to explore and friendship between boys is something I've tried to take a look at. Ironically, the thrust of my book is about a boy trying to make a girl 'like' him, but it's the interaction between him and his friends that's the foundation for everything he does, right or wrong. Personally, I don't like the whole thing with hot guys and hot girls, which is why I went for a geek. I also don't like the whole 'it turns out OK in the end' thing because, in my experience, it rarely does - and I've tried to reflect that.
Love might be the topic that most songs are written about but in a vehicle that gives you so much more room to manoeuvre, I think there are other avenues to have a march down.