Have you ever had those friends where you're never completely sure how they really feel about you? Maybe it seems like they're just using you because you have a car or your house is great for parties. Whatever it is, all their actions don't exactly scream "friendship" to you or the people around you. It's important to be able to see the signs of a fake friend versus a true one, so that you can surround yourself with the best kind of people.
1. Fake friends love to spend your money. Every time you go out with them, they ask you to spot them and promise to pay you back later. Yet it's been years and have you even gotten a nice gift that would've cost the same as all the money you let them "borrow" from you? Probably not.
True friends need help with cash sometimes, too, but they'll always stick to their promise of paying you back the minute they have a chance.
2. A fake friend is constantly in need of a ride. Whether you're actually a part of where they're going or not, you're the one they call to ask if you can take them. Don't get me wrong, true friends need rides too, so this isn't the case every time, but if they constantly ask you to drop them off at their boyfriend's house and don't even help with gas money, you may want to think twice about calling them a true friend.
3. Fake friends love to talk about themselves and rarely want to listen. Somehow, the topic always ends up turning back to them, even when you're the one asking for advice. True friends take turns listening to each other and genuinely try to help. If the conversation always feels one-sided, you may be speaking to a fake friend.
4. Fake friends beat around the bush when they have a problem with you. They'll complain about it to everyone besides you, and find a way to start drama without seeming like the one who started it. When true friends have a problem, they will come to you directly and try to settle the issue immediately so that a big fight doesn't happen, and the only people ever involved are the people who need to be.
5. A fake friend is never really there for you. Maybe you've gone to every important moment in their life, like when they played a tree in "The Wizard of Oz." But somehow, in every stage of your own life, something was always conveniently happening in theirs and they couldn't even make it to your birthday party. True friends can't always make every great moment in your life either, that's nearly impossible, but when someone shows a pattern of never showing up to anything just for you, that's when they're showing the sign of a fake friend.
The hardest part about friendship is that it may start true and become fake as years go by. Or maybe someone first was pretending to be your friend and it grew into a real bond. It's not all black and white, but if someone is showing these signs, it's time for you to sit down and think about how true of a friend they are. And sometimes what's best for you is to say goodbye to the people you discover are fake friends, and keep close to those you know are true.
