Novel & Cerita Friends Hang Out Without Me

Myra asked hesitantly. I had been lost in my thoughts whilst eating my apple that I hadn't even realised she’d stopped to look at me. "What's up? Are you stuck?" I looked down at her homework but saw she had finished the question already. "No! No... I was just wondering... if maybe you'd like to hang out on the weekend? ...With me?" Hang out? Like... go to a clothes shop or something? With someone else? It seemed like such a foreign concept to me. Wasn't that something young girls usually did with their friends?

I couldn't bear the fact my two best friends would forget about me. I blinked back my tears and looked around for either Rex or JJ. Rex was still talking to council members with his parents, and JJ was in the corner with Cathy laughing about something. I didn't want to spoil their mood, so I went to the second-best thing that would make me feel better when my friends were unavailable: Dessert.

I’ve been sluggish and unmotivated since she’s been gone. If me and the guys aren’t hanging out in the playroom, then Harper and I have spent most of our other free nights with Juan and Sarah. Don’t get me wrong. It is nice spending time with them. I love them. But I need some alone time with Harper before I go nuts.

He gazed at the blue skies for a while before he seemed to realize something. He then unlocked his luggage and pulled two photo frames out of it. One of the frames held a group picture of all the friends he had met at Taadi. This included him, Hilda, Rex, Thomas and Sonnia. The five of them often went loitering after work, and they'd usually hang out at a café, mall or park. It was a shame that the rest of them apart from Hilda had blocked him on all social media platforms after they discovered that he had ties with the ZF organization. They no longer contacted him at all.

I could hear the stress in his voice. "I am sorry" I mumbled. "It's fine, it's fine. I just... I hope we are good now? I hope we can hang out like we used to and all? Tim and Melinda missed you badly too. The group just isn't complete without you." "Really?" I laughed softly, letting myself ease into the friendly atmosphere. Friends were good. Really good. "Really. Everyone missed you, I especially did miss you so when do you want to hang out?"

“I mean, I figured out a lot when you guys go out to eat after the group meetings, but I didn't think it was also outside of campus.” “When we’re free like today we do as much as shopping or eating, the typical hang out. Some of us like to go out to parties or find open-karaoke nights,” Lucas tells me as he goes through the shirts and pulls out one to look then places it back. “I mean, don’t you do that with your friends?” I shook my head, “Not really. We hang out, go to each other’s houses, or go to the beach, but things like that we don’t do.”

I do hope that the communication with everyone won’t change. There are several of our friends who didn’t join our bonding. They lose their interest in our friendship, I guess? All of us are busy but we can spare time for everyone so hangouts are still possible. I don’t know if this will continue until college. Everyone in our group has their own priorities and I know it. We understand it. But sometimes, their excuses aren’t valid. I don’t want to discuss it furthermore because I might say a word that might offend them. Since tomorrow is get together, I am here on the market buying some snacks and foods that we will be going to eat.

It was peaceful but I know it won't happen again. As I was painting, my phone rang. It was my best friend, Serena James. I met Serena when I was in college, we clicked the moment we first met and since then, we have been best friends. Serena was away on a trip with her parents in Hawaii. She has been gone for two months now, but she said she would be coming back soon. We both own a art gallery, well she owns it, but It is my arts she puts in the gallery. So I am like a business partner.

He whispered. “There is nothing quick about sex with you.” I laughed and shook my head. “And yeah, they’d notice. Your family has caught us too many times. Let’s not risk my family catching us.” I sighed. “Fair.” Clay conceded. “At least they are all getting along.” He nodded to the terrace where almost everyone was. Our moms were in the kitchen. I furrowed my brow as I realized someone was missing. A particular rainbow-haired cousin wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Where could she have gone?

The engagement party had been a whirlwind of celebration, laughter, and love, but now that I was alone in my bed, the quiet of the night pressed down on me, leaving space for all the thoughts I had pushed aside. My friends had filled the group chat with congratulations, heart emojis, and virtual confetti. Everyone seemed genuinely thrilled for me, everyone except Ryan. As the messages poured in, I kept glancing at the chat, waiting for his name to pop up. But it never did. He was the one friend I expected to hear from the most, yet his absence weighed heavily on my heart. I tried to brush it off, telling myself that he must be busy. Ryan had a demanding job, and it wasn’t unusual for him to