Part of what makes Riverdale so special is the fact that the cast is so close in real life. When a group of actors plays best friends on a television series, that doesn't necessarily mean they actually are BFF off-screen. Lucky for is Riverdale fans though, that isn't the case for this cast and there's one extra special relationship to come out of this show: the bromance between Cole Sprouse and KJ Apa. Everyone who watches the show knows Jughead and Archie are super close, practically like brothers and their scenes together are some of the best. You can feel their bromantic love for each other.

riverdale jughead archie

That connection stems from Cole and KJ's real-life friendship just being so solid and we here at J-14 are obviously huge fans of the show (#RiverdaleStrong forever), so we just had to take a look back at some of their cutest, most bromantic as Cole himself has even said moments ever. If you need proof this friendship will last long beyond the actors' days of drinking milkshakes at Pop's then allow us to show you:

Cole compliments KJ any chance he gets.

When we spoke to Cole back in 2016 at Comic-Con, he couldn't help but really commend his co-star, who is actually five years younger than Cole, on how impressed he was with KJ as an actor. Riverdale is KJ's first American television series and Cole was nothing but impressed.

"[KJ is] the best. Really talented. Just savant-talented, you know what I mean? Prodigal. You know when you watch someone do something and you can tell there's almost… they're so good at it but there's not so much overthinking involved? That's KJ. It works because he's a great actor from some talent that he's just had with him. It's genetic. I'm not a religious man myself but it's prodigal, almost," Cole exclusively said to J-14.

Cue the sobs. And Cole is nothing but proud of how he and KJ bring Jughead and Archie's friendship to life too, which he told Teen Vogue all about.

"I love the way Archie and Jughead’s relationship is portrayed: It’s very understanding, and there’s open communication. KJ and I are both in places of our lives where we feel very comfortable with who we are and our friendship. I think our show deals with that kind of dialogue really well," Cole said.

And they're not afraid to roast each other either.

Cole and his brother Dylan are known for dragging each other and themselves on social media and it appears Cole and KJ have that same type of bond. It all went down when Cole shared an edit of a photo that is half of his face and half of KJ's face.

Riveting pic, isn’t it? Well, this inspired the guys to literally call out every little imperfection they can find in each other, resulting in a hilarious back and forth.

![Cole and KJ Tweets](https://images-production.freetls.fastly.net/uploads/images/file/53815/kj-cole-tweets.png?fit=crop&h=448&w=500 “Cole and KJ Tweets”)

Classic. And the roast sessions didn’t stop there. If you happen to follow KJ on Instagram, then you know he is one to frequent the gym and the guys’ co-star [Charles Melton](https://www.j-14.com/posts/riverdale-charles-melton-kj-apa-cole-sprouse-144564) usually joins him. Well this time around, it was our dear Cole who joined KJ for the gym session. And of course KJ had to poke a little fun at Cole by letting us know that Charles appears to have shrunk, via his Instagram story.

A sign of absolute friendship when you don't mind blasting each other to your millions of followers, tbh.

Cole was the only person to properly remember KJ's birthday this year.

We often turn to Google to quickly pull up when our fave star's special day of the year is, but the all-knowing search engine had incorrectly told the world KJ's birthday was June 16, when it's actually on the 17th.

And while fans and co-stars started sending in birthday shout-out — like Cole's rumored real-life love Lili Reinhart — he was quick to point out he knew the real date all along.

And yes, KJ took note.

Seriously, is that not the cutest?

KJ knows who Cole's celeb crush is.

While these two were playing a game of how well they know each other with Netflix, KJ was asked who Cole's celebrity crush and he got it right: it's Dylan. Yes, as in Cole's twin.

kj and cole dylan crush

LOL. See, KJ just gets Cole. Like who else would guess that would be the answer? A true friend.

They already conquered a rough patch in their friendship.

Well, okay we're being a tad bit dramatic with that one. But before these two ever actually met, Cole did what anyone would do: he stalked KJ's social media accounts. And upon first examination, Cole wasn't sure they would get along at all, since they seemed so different, which he told us at Comic-Con last year.

"Now when I first saw that KJ was cast, I stalked his Twitter a bit. I was a little trepidatious I would get along with KJ. There was a single picture and I still give him crap about it, where he's flexing his biceps and he's got a Red Bull in each hand. I was like, 'All right. This is what it's going to be,'" Cole explained to J-14. "KJ and I are legitimately two peas in a pod. We really are, and surprisingly so. We come from very, very different backgrounds and two different parts of the world but we're solid. We hang out all the time outside of set."

Life lesson learned here: never judge a book by its cover, or a person by their embarrassing Twitter and Instagram pics, right?

They're very thoughtful when it comes to showing their appreciation to each other.

KJ just had to get his bud a little something special while the whole crew was in New York City and of course, he settled on this somewhat cheesy, yet equally adorable trinket.

kj cole gift

If only we saw Cole's reaction because we already know it was priceless.

They go on memorable road trips together.

Both KJ and Cole documented their drive once they wrapped the first season on Instagram, so fan got a little look at how their bro-bonding session. KJ spilled what it was really like and admitted the one thing he can't stand about traveling with his BFF: Cole being the biggest backseat driver ever.

"After we finished Season 1, we drove back down to LA together. The best thing [about traveling with Cole] is that he has a sick car, it's a Jeep and it's got this tent on the very top that folds out and it actually inspired me to get my own one. So I actually have a truck and I chucked a tent on the back of mine too. So we have matching tents," KJ said in an interview. "The least favorite thing [about traveling with him] is 100% if I'm driving and he's in the passenger seat, he's the biggest backseat driver. Honestly, he's the worst. He's looking around as if I've never driven a car before and he'll warn you about something and I'm like, 'Mate, I can see it.' You might as well just let him drive even if you're driving your own car, let him drive otherwise it's just going to be gnarly."

Imagine the spats these two got had while out on the road, driving from Vancouver back to California together!

View this post on Instagram

The boys are in San Fran

A post shared by KJ Apa (@kjapa) on

KJ was a fan of Cole's before they ever worked together.

Like most of us, KJ grew up watching Cole and Dylan on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. So yes, he was a fan and he has a favorite episode too.

"I used to watch him when I was little on the The Suite Life and I wasn't sure what he was going to be like. And then I get this message [on Twitter] like, 'hey congrats man.' He slid into my DMs!" KJ explained to E News in an interview he did with Cole right next to him. "There's an episode where his character has this eagle and he's standing on the balcony and he sets it free, and I remember watching that episode. And he was crying and his mom was there. That was my favorite and I've told you that was my favorite," he explained to Cole.

PRECIOUS.

They have an incredibly strong selfie game, so let's take a moment to appreciate it.

KJ shared this lovely shot, adding that little heart emoji. So slaying our real-life hearts in the process.

kj and cole selfie

Like can you even handle this??

cole and kj cute selfie

Even while on-set, they're giving us these adorable pics for us to obsess over.

kj and cole riverdale set

If all else fails career-wise, they have would make really great construction workers.

See?

archie and jughead riverdale scene

This is a memorable Riverdale scene we just had to acknowledge because it was a true gift to us all.

Cole and KJ, stay besties forever.

cole and kj laughing

The world can use more of it.

Additional reporting by Ed Gross.

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