A rather simple topic: I'm looking for a story where a boy is friends with a girl, but that girl looks down on him or pities him or otherwise lacks respect for him. Maybe she thinks that "boys need to be strong" and he's not strong enough to acknowledge, or maybe she measures him in terms of a field where she excels and thus sees him as someone beneath her or someone pitiful she has to protect (maybe both). The point is, by her measure he is pathetic and completely unworthy of any form of respect or approval, and the boy is desperate to grow into a man that she will look at, or in stories where life is full of danger, grow into a man who's able to protect her from danger himself rather than seeking protection himself. Either way, stories where the boy is shown struggling and troubled over his inability to measure up, along with whatever ultimate goals lie beyond that.

While I'm OK with long stories, I'd prefer stories that are at least manageable, and finished.