Basic Trope: Somebody pretends to be someone else's friend, only to betray them for their own selfish goals.
- Straight: Alice befriends Tasmin because she has a crush on Tasmin's boyfriend David, and is trying to steal him from her.
- Exaggerated:
- Alice sits next to Tasmin at lunch and strikes up conversation with her. Literally the next day, Tasmin walks in on Alice and David having wild, passionate sex in the janitor's closet. Tasmin is horrified and saddened (obviously), but Alice then proceeds to cut off all ties with her, and even blocks her on all devices.
- Alice ONLY ever befriends ANYBODY on the off chance that she will get something out of it for herself at their expense. Once she gets what she wants, she never talks to them again, and maybe even kills them.
- Downplayed: Alice befriends Tasmin to determine if she has a crush on David by asking her questions like "what boys do you like?".
- Justified:
- Alice is a sociopath who couldn't give less of a shit about Tasmin or friendships.
- Tasmin is Black, David is white, and Alice is also white. Because of this, Alice doesn't think Tasmin and David are suited to be together, and that he's better off dating a superior, more beautiful, and upper crust white girl such as herself.
- Inverted: Alice's supposed disgust towards Tasmin and David's relationship is actually her way to identify people who actually oppose their relationship.
- Subverted: Tasmin hears rumors that Alice is trying to snag David away from her and confronts Alice about it, Alice assures her that the rumors are not true.
- Double Subverted: Turns out she was lying. Once Tasmin's guard is let down, David is free real estate.
- Parodied: The moment Tasmin and Alice exchange phone numbers, Alice tells Tasmin straight up, "Oh, and by the way, I'm literally only feigning being your friend because David's such a hunk and I'm trying to take him from you." Tasmin laughs and assumes that Alice is only joking, and Alice, realizing that Tasmin is an idiot, plays it off as such, laughing along.
- Zig-Zagged: Tasmin hears rumors that Alice is using her to get closer to David, and questions Alice about them. Alice assures her that the rumors are fake, and Tasmin believes her...except that the rumors are true, and Alice really is trying to worm her way into David's heart, except it turns out that while Alice is trying to break them up, it's actually so that she can get with Tasmin.
- Averted:
- Tasmin and Alice are genuine friends.
- They're not friends.
- Enforced: The writer wants to portray Alice as unsympathetic, so she has Alice pretend to be Tasmin's best friend so as to steal her man, only to have that man dump Alice once he finds out what really went on, get back together with Tasmin, and have Tasmin get new and better friends, likely to teach a message on honesty, betrayal, female solidarity, or all three.
- Lampshaded: "Why do you keep talking about how hot my boyfriend is, Alice? I do hope you don't have a crush on him..."
- Invoked:
- Alice is in her bedroom, mourning the fact that the love of her life, David, has chosen Tasmin instead, to which her sister replies "So then why don't you fake being friends with her so as to get him back?" She may have meant it as a joke, but Alice takes it as truth.
- Exploited: David intentionally orchestrated this so as to give himself the ego trip of two girls fighting over him.
- Tasmin sees Alice's true colors and, rather than forming a bond with her, exposes her plan to the whole school, leaving her ostracized.
- Defied: "Steal Tasmin's man? What the hell kinda friend do you think I am? Ever heard of Sisters Before Misters, loser?"
- Discussed: "Alice, if you have to actively stoop so low as to steal another girl's boyfriend, just to have one, then that says more about you then it does about me. Namely that you're inherently undesirable, both physically and personality-wise, and incapable of getting a man on your own terms without being a scheming, lying piece of shit, and should probably work on yourself instead of ruining what somebody else already has."
- Conversed: "I can't believe this show ACTUALLY has the protagonist's best friend trying to steal her man! Is that really what the writers perceive all teenage girls to be like?"
- Deconstructed: Tasmin is hurt and betrayed that her "friend" could do something like this, and closes herself off, believing that nobody can be trusted.
- Reconstructed: Tasmin eventually finds good friends who break down her walls and encourage her to trust again, and never once betray or throw her under the bus, especially not for something as fickle as a boyfriend.
- Played for Laughs: Tasmin's friends all tell her that Alice is just using her as a means to get closer to David and snatch him from under her nose. Tasmin laughs it off as an impossibility, then turns around and sees Alice making out with David, right there in the cafeteria! All Tasmin's other friends do are go "I told you so."
- Played for Horror: Alice is only friends with Tasmin because she's attracted to David and wants him to be her boyfriend instead, and even plans to kill Tasmin to make that a possibility. Then Tasmin finds herself cornered by Alice in the girls' bathroom...and the screen smashes to black.
Wanna go back to False Friend, sure! Let's go!note
