CRUSHES

There are so many things you love about your bestie: She's caring, loyal, intuitive, the list goes on. But lately, you've been noticing new things about her, like the way her eyes light up when she's passionate about something or how pretty she looks when she laughs. How do you know if the butterflies you feel when she flashes you her signature smile or gives you a hug are more than platonic? We're here to help you figure it out.

You find her physically attractive

One of the first tell-tale signs of a crush: thinking they're cute. But when it comes to gal friends, you're likely no stranger to hyping your pals up. This can make detecting which BFFs you simply think are gorgeous and which ones you're crushing on a little tricky. Finding yourself thinking about *that* person beyond fit checks or Instagram comments (i.e. daydreaming about how her sweater really brought out her eyes or noticing how similar she is to one of your celeb crushes) may be an indication of attraction. 

Touching her makes you giddy

@lilia

Exchanging hugs, holding hands and general proximity of closeness are all normal in friendships. However, if these actions make you feel fluttery (being smooshed next to her on a sofa at a sleepover sent a swarm of butterflies through your stomach), there might be more to the story. 

Her relationship status makes you jealous

Sometimes seeing our friends in a relationship can bring about feelings of betrayal, resentment and loneliness. This can also make it tricky to distinguish between jealousy over your friend taking more time for their partner and jealousy over your friend simply being in a relationship.

A few signs that your jealousy may point to romantic feelings for your friend include having an immediate disdain or dislike for their partner (in the case that none of your other friends feel similarly), feeling as if you would make a better partner for your friend (cue Dove Cameron's "Boyfriend") or yearning for your friend to be single again (who hasn't craved their crush's undivided attention?). 

You can imagine being with her

@sabrinacarpenter

We all dream about dating our crushes (whether real or fictional, looking at you Jo March and Mr. Darcy), so imagining a future with your friend could mean you've caught feelings. Whether she's always part of your ideal relationship fantasies (study picnics on a picturesque hill and weekly romcom nights) or she simply slips into your mind whenever you think about romance (your celeb crush is starting to look a whole lot like your bestie), this most likely means you're entering a subtle phase of crushing. 

She makes you feel different than your other friends

The final sign to solidify your crushing status is how your bestie makes you feel in comparison to the rest of your crew. Whether it's feeling at ease until she shows up at the lunch table (suddenly you're whipping out a mirror to check your hair or rehearsing things to say that don't make you sound like a dork) or the way you're rolling your eyes at your gang's love of BLACKPINK until your bestie mentions she's obsessed, maybe it's time to take the leap and confess your crush on her (at least to yourself). 

Tell us your crush stories on Twitter @girlslifemag!

Ready to up your bestie status? Look no further bb...
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💞 How to get the courage to ask out your crush

Slider image: @lilia | All GIFs via Giphy

by Madeline Morrow | 1/11/2023