1. You Finish Each Other’s Sentences
Nothing tells you that you’re connected more than when you start a sentence, and your soon-to-be BFF finishes it. And when that happens all the time, you’re well on your way towards bonding for life, because you are sharing some kind of Vulcan mind meld that indicates a strong mental connection.
2. You Don’t Mind Telling Your Secrets
If you can share long-held secrets with your new friend, you probably trust that person a lot. Telling someone about the time that you ran down the street naked because you were really drunk, or that you cry watching an action movie, is a strong indication that you don’t mind revealing your weaknesses.
3. Nonverbal Communication
You know the ‘look,’ right? It’s that moment when you and your friend hear something stupid, but you can’t say anything, so you just give each other the look. The look conveys everything without you having to say a word, and it’s as if you are the only two people in the world who understand how ridiculous the world has become.
4. Mutual Hatred of Enemies
If you hate someone, your friend must hate them too, it’s just a fact of life. You can’t consider being BFFs if you can’t agree that a person who you dislike because they have done you harm, is a bad person. Friendship is all about loyalty through thick and thin, so if your new friend makes faces when your enemy is around, this is a positive sign.
5. Your Friend Has Deleted an Ugly Text You Were About to Send
You know you’re in good hands when your friend deletes an ugly text before you get a chance to send it. Everyone has been angry about an event that took place, and one of the first reactions is to send a nasty text to the person who caused the harm. When your friend deletes that text and tells you to take a deep breath, you will later realize just how close you came to creating negativity in your life.
6. They Positively Reinforce Your Social Media Presence
A friend who is ‘ride or die’ will make sure to positively reinforce your social media by adding ‘like’ to all your photos, videos and random musings. Friends support each other, even if it means ‘liking’ a stupid photo or a video that just isn’t that funny; but that’s what makes friendship special: it’s not always about you.
7. You Hate Watch the Same Guilty Pleasure Shows
Nothing says best friends like watching guilty pleasure shows together, and woe be unto you if you try to hate watch a show without your friend, because you will pay for that mistake. There’s nothing better than eating popcorn or ice cream and making rude comments about the hapless reality show trainwrecks on TV.
8. You Always Pick up Their Call and Answer Their Text
You know how you have friends and acquaintances who call or text, but you wait hours before you respond? Yeah, that won’t happen with your new friend, because you’re pretty sure that there’s a really important reason why that person is calling, and for sure, that person’s text needs an immediate response.
9. You Agree on All the Big Things
Sometimes, lifelong friendship comes down to agreeing on all the big things, such as love, family, religion and politics. That doesn’t mean that you have to be in total agreement, because that would be weird and make you robots, but you do have to share the same values about things. If you agree on big issues, it’s a good sign for future long-lasting friendship.
10. You Don’t Argue
If you find that you and your friend don’t argue much about anything, it’s a good sign that you have found someone who might stick around for the rest of your life. It doesn’t mean that you don’t disagree, it just means that you don’t feel the need to push your viewpoint. Constant argument in a friendship doesn’t bode well for longevity.
11. You’re Comfortable With Silence
When you can hang out with someone without feeling the need to fill every moment with talking, that’s a sign that you’ve found a potential BFF. There’s nothing wrong with just enjoying comfortable silence without the pressure of having to talk. Silence doesn’t mean you’re upset with someone, it just means you don’t have anything to say.
12. You Begin To Adopt the Same Mannerisms
If you find yourself duplicating some of your friend’s mannerisms or repeating catchphrases that your friend invented, you’re probably connected at a soul-mate level that needs no explanation. It’s likely you’ll wonder how your friend infiltrated your consciousness without you even realizing it.
13. You Know You’re Safe In That Person’s Hands
If you realize that no matter what happens, your friend has your back and will protect you and keep you safe, then BFF status isn’t far away. Best friends know that they will do whatever it takes to take care of the other person, even if it means sacrificing what they want.
14. You Can Practice Tough Love
Best friends develop enough trust to tell each other the truth. If you’re not scared to tell your friend harsh truths, and if your friend feels the same way about you, then you are well on your way to building something strong. Tough love isn’t easy, that’s why it’s called tough love, but it is love, and a BFF must be willing to risk momentary anger and hurt feelings to keep it real.
15. You Can Tease Each Other Without Mercy
If you can hurl insults at your friend, and your friend can do the same, and neither of you blinks or takes it personally, then it’s indicative that you have something special. BFF are always ragging on each other, that’s part of the bond that has formed, so no one takes offense at saying things that would make others blush or feel hurt.
16. Your Friend’s Parents ‘Adopt’ You as Their Own
When you become a surrogate part of your friend’s family, you’re pretty much attached at the hip. So, if you invite your friend to family functions all the time, and your friend does the same, and you even go on each other’s family vacations, there is no doubt that you are firmly in the realm of being best friends. Bonus points if you spend time with your friend’s family when your friend isn’t present.
17. You Both Enter Each Other’s Place Without Knocking Or Ringing the Bell
Familiarity doesn’t breed contempt, it breeds comfort. When you reach the point where your friend enters your place without knocking or ringing the doorbell, and you do the same, what more evidence do you need to acknowledge that you are besties? The only other people who have that kind of access are spouses or lovers.
18. Everyone Sees You as a Duo
If you show up somewhere alone, and people ask you where your friend is, that’s a sign that you are now considered a duo. A duo is not a bad thing to be, witness Amy Poehler and Tina Fey. It means you have indelible chemistry, and that you are much stronger together than you are apart.
19. You Become Friends With the Other Person’s Friends and Vice Versa
Although you may not form the same strong bond with your friend’s friends, the fact that they become close with you is part of the formation of your BFF future. It’s difficult to have more than one BFF, but befriending your BFFs friends (say that three times fast), is a necessity.
20. No Subject Is off Limits
When you can discuss any subject with a friend, and your friend can do the same with you without fear or judgment, you have a strong chance to remain friends for a long time. Great, lasting friendships require a total absence of self-conscious behavior, and that’s one of the hallmarks of a relationship that isn’t temporary.
