Not every love story is just like the latest Nicholas Sparks book. These 11 Reddit users share that quirky, sweet, puny, unexpected moment when they first met "the one:"

Sofa stories

"I was selling furniture at the time. She had just graduated from college and came to the store to buy a sofa for her first apartment. I used the commission from the sale to pay for the first date... That sofa is still in our living room."

(Major dad joke)

"In a statistics class, what are the odds?"

Thank you, car problems

"We met a few months ago, but then lost contact. I was getting on a bus home after a 12 hour health care shift and he was on the same bus. He came up to me and we chatted and he said he couldn't find me on Facebook. I realized that he may actually like me, so that evening I got his number and messaged him. Turns out we had both been interested in each other since the first day we met. We were also really lucky that he was on that bus that day, otherwise we probably wouldn't have met again. He usually drives but his car broke down which was why he was on the bus. Thanks, car!"

In chemistry class, obviously

"We had general chemistry together. She mistakenly thought I seemed smart because I was funny so she chose me as her lab partner. Fell in love the moment I saw her. A year later, she fell in love with me even after she realized I wasn't the smartest."

Brush, floss, laugh, repeat

"She was my dentist (still is) and the owner of the clinic she worked in at the time said he got awkward looks from other patients when they would hear how much we made each other laugh."

That fateful day

"One day, I was walking around a crowded mall. I quickly walked past a shop window and saw a glimpse of the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. I was dazed to say the least and double backed to that shop, eager for just another look. It was my own reflection in the glass.

And I never looked back.

Just kidding, I met my wonderful wife at a friend's party and she's a treasure."

Awwwwww

"[We met] at a camp to help with depression and anxiety. The first day she walked in the door, my heart skipped a beat. We've been together four years and I couldn't imagine anybody else."

You owe that kid

"It was my first day working on my very first movie set. I was the on set costumer (basically anything to do with actor's clothing was my job). It was a kid's movie so obviously there were a lot of kid actors running around. As I walked to set for the first time from the trailers one of the kids pointed to a man I had never met and said to me, 'that guy loves you' loud enough for both of us to hear.

I was mortified.

But I looked at him and smiled and said, 'apparently you love me'. He said, 'I guess I do'.

We celebrate our 16th wedding anniversary in August."

Random objects for the win

"I am actually marrying her today after seven years of being together but we first met at work in a restaurant. I was a sous chef at the time and she was the hostess. We had an open line kitchen and the hostess desk was about 10 yards or so away. To get her attention when it was slow I would throw random small things at her across the line."

Chicken pox romance

"In 10th grade, she became my seat mate because my original seat mate was down with the chicken pox. I told a joke, something about tsunamis, and surprisingly, she laughed. The rest is history.

"He's really cute and is a bad wing man"

"My fiancé and I met in the first week of college because he was trying to be wing man for one of his friends. He's really cute and is a bad wing man."

Passport please

"I bumped into her at the grocery store; she was having trouble communicating with the employees while she was paying (I live in Greece and she's from Sweden). Luckily, I could speak English and so could she, so I managed to help her. In return, I asked for a date, and I got one. We are currently engaged and more in love than ever. If you're still looking for love, remember to take all the opportunities you can. 'The one' might be walking down the street on your way to work tomorrow, or they might be walking their dog in the park, or perhaps they might be your cashier. Give people more than one chance, remember that everyone makes mistakes, and give it your all. Good luck!"

Editor's note: threads have been minimally edited for clarity and content.