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You and your best friend are the epitome of BFF (Best Friends Forever, for those of you who weren’t in on the middle school lingo).

You live together and you drunk-dial each other proclaiming your love. You can even talk about everything from politics to the multifaceted nature of Will Ferrell.

That is, until your best friend gets a significant other.

All of a sudden BFFs become more like Best Friends Until They Get Boyfriends or Girlfriends (BFUTGBG, if you will).

So you joke with your friend about how you’ll never hang out anymore, and your friend assured you that nothing is going to change.

Coincidentally, since that fateful conversation, it’s been about two weeks since you’ve seen or even spoken to one another.

As the best friend, what do you do?

“Honestly, I want to slap them ... And if I hang out with them, I talk less because it’s awkward, and I look away a lot, especially if there’s a lot of PDA,” admitted Paul Karaiakoubian, a fourth-year sociology student.

So are we bad people for having such strong reactions?

I say no. Let’s be honest here: We know that as much as we try to harden our hearts, it’s impossible.

We’ve tried to set up a defense mechanism, but how could we ever be truly apathetic to the people who have seen us through our best and our worst?

So we have to accept that the significant others are now a permanent fixture in the group and even try to bond with them.

By “bond,” I mean “get drunk together.” All of a sudden, I assure you, they won’t seem so bad anymore. Ah, problem solved.

Therefore, you’ll go to these lengths because your best friends are happy, and that really is important to you.

Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do to change how your friend is acting.

You might plan perfunctory “maybe I can try to knock some sense into them” talks, which (sorry to tell you) will probably not do much.

Your best friends are quite happy in their isolated bubbles o’ love.

Even if you try to explain how you feel, there will be a rose-colored aural haze of the honeymoon phase that prevents the comprehension of how upset or irritated you are.

“It’s understandable, but ... it’s really frustrating because once they break up it’s like, ‘Oh, I’m back,’” said Scott Hulbert, a third-year philosophy student.

Are we just being immature babies, or is it all their fault?

I believe that everyone’s got to accept a little of the blame here.

First, we need to accept that things change and that friendships change.

We know by now that life isn’t always going to go the way we want. Roll with the punches – you’ll get bruised, but at least you’ll learn.

At the same time, though, our best friends can also do a few things when they find new lovers. For example: please remember that the honeymoon phase is just that. A phase.

While your friends may have an excuse for the first couple months, after that they’re just being lame friends.

It’s not a good sign when they turn into those couples you used to mock who kiss each other good-bye if one of them so much as goes to the bathroom.

Best friends: Love is great and all, but remember that there is life beyond the relationship frontier.

Many think it is possible and necessary to maintain friendships during a relationship.

“The worst thing to do is to give your all to a relationship because once it ends, you’ll have nothing left. ... If you really care for your friends, you’ll make time,” said Dieuam Phan, a third-year English student.

When in a relationship, it is not a good idea to isolate yourself completely from all your friends because they will only be able to take so much.

But let’s say, hypothetically speaking of course, the breakup does occur: You’re not going to say “I told you so” – as much as you’re really itching to.

Instead, you’re going to be there to drink, curse and move on with them because that is what best friends do.

Besides, you’re starting to date someone you’re kind of into, and it’ll finally be their turn to return the favor.

Tired of being the third wheel or just dislike the wheel analogy overall? E-mail Poblador at bpoblador@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu