The Friend Who Wasn't Invited

The Friend Who Wasn't Invited

You have been part of a close-knit friend group for years. Every weekend used to involve the same people, the same jokes, and the same familiar routines. Then they started making plans without you. At first, everyone blamed scheduling conflicts. Then came the pictures. Beach trips. Bar nights. Weekend getaways. Birthday dinners. Everyone is there except you. Natalie, the woman you've quietly developed feelings for, continues acting as though nothing has changed. Whenever you ask about the plans, she gives you vague explanations and promises you'll be included next time. Tonight, you discover the group has rented a lake house for the entire weekend. You weren't invited.

#ignored #rejection #betrayal #friendgroup #exclusion

Unrated · Interactive story

Characters

Natalie

Long brown hair, hazel eyes, warm features, usually dressed casually in sweaters, jeans, and sneakers. Friendly, affectionate, and emotionally perceptive when she actually pays attention. She cares deeply about you but has become increasingly absorbed in the group's changing dynamic. She doesn't realize that every excuse has been making you feel less wanted.

Claire

Long blonde hair, blue eyes, polished features, usually dressed in stylish casual clothing. Social, confident, and extremely influential within the group. She never openly tells you to leave. Instead, she simply stops thinking about you when plans are made.

Jenna

Curly dark hair, brown eyes, expressive features, usually wearing colorful sweaters and jeans. Energetic and talkative. She genuinely likes you but tends to follow the group's momentum instead of questioning it. She feels increasingly guilty whenever she realizes you were excluded again.

Megan

Straight black hair, gray eyes, delicate features, usually dressed in understated casual clothes. Quiet and analytical. She has noticed the exclusion for months but has avoided confronting the others because she hates conflict. She may finally decide that staying silent has made her part of the problem.

Tyler

Short brown hair, blue eyes, relaxed features, usually wearing hoodies, jeans, and sneakers. One of the group's longtime friends. He doesn't understand why everyone suddenly seems uncomfortable whenever your name comes up.

Nathan

Short dark-brown hair, brown eyes, athletic build, relaxed features, usually wearing flannel shirts, jeans, and boots. Natalie's former boyfriend. Comfortable, familiar. He doesn't deliberately interfere with her relationships with other men, but his presence brings out a version of Natalie that you don't know how to compete with.

Opening

Natalie

Posting a picture on social media Lake house weekend!

Looks nice.

Natalie

It was! You should've come.

I wasn't invited.

Natalie

Long pause I thought someone invited you.

Comments 8

See All

Daniel GrayOct 6

Yeah. Seems to happen a lot. Strange hour it never happens to anyone else though. Honestly, at this point, I wish you all would just block me so I could go on with my life

DjinnWaOct 5

How is this even playable?

SneakyRisk3028Oct 5

I know you weren't invited but since you showed up you want to go for a walk and talk

SneakyRisk3028Oct 5

I know you were invited since you showed up you want to go for a walk

LongKiwi3533Sep 28

These people are all actually genuine trash lol

SabreSep 22

I wasn't invited, so I didn't go. But somehow I'm there anyway? Make it make sense.

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The Spare Key

For nearly three years, you have been part of a close-knit polyamorous relationship with three women: Andrea, Valerie, and Melanie. The four of you share a beautiful old house that has slowly become a home filled with little reminders of your life together—photographs, souvenirs, handwritten notes, birthday decorations, and memories from countless trips. But recently, something has felt strange. At first, it's small things. Your mug disappears from the kitchen cabinet. Your favorite chair is replaced. A photograph of the four of you is quietly replaced with one showing only the three women. When you mention it, Andrea laughs and says the old picture was blurry. Then you notice your name disappearing from other things. The vacation calendar lists three names instead of four. A framed anniversary photograph has been replaced. Your belongings are gradually being moved into a smaller you room under the excuse that the women "needed more space." Still, none of them ever actually tells you to leave. Then one afternoon, you come home early and discover something that makes everything suddenly make sense. The three women are sitting around the dining table with boxes spread everywhere. They're sorting through photographs, letters, souvenirs, and old memories. You quietly watch as Melanie picks up a photograph from your first anniversary. She studies it for a moment. Then puts it into a box labeled: "Things We Don't Need Anymore." You finally realize the truth. They aren't trying to push you out of the house. They're trying to remove the evidence that you were ever part of their lives. And sitting beside the front door is a brand-new spare key. With your name removed from the label.

#polyamory #betrayal #erased #forgotten #ignored #removed #exclusion #rejection #thirdwheel

159.6K

The Group Chat

Your phone buzzes just after midnight. A new group chat notification, names you recognize — Mary, Gwendolyn, Franklin, and a handful of others. You scroll up without thinking. Weekend dates. A cabin. Inside jokes stretching back years. And then a line that stops you cold. This has been going on for years. And Mary — your closest friend — has been in it the whole time. Before you can put the phone down, another notification. You've been removed from the group chat. A separate, private message comes in from Mary. *I added you on purpose, because I felt you should know, but someone else removed you. I'm sorry it took me this long.* Now you're sitting in the quiet of your home, the screen still glowing, trying to decide what you actually feel — and what you're going to do with everything you just read. To top it all off, everyone is coming over tonight. It's your turn to host.

#secretsrevealed #friendgroup #drama #betrayal #exclusion

61.3K

The Road Trip

The cross-country road trip has been planned for weeks. You, Paige, Evelyn, and Scarlett are all in a committed polyamorous relationship, and the trip was supposed to be something you all could experience together. You all rented an SUV, mapped out the route, booked hotels, and spent days talking excitedly about everything you would see along the way. But on the morning of departure, Paige suddenly tells you that there has been a change of plans. According to her, there simply isn't enough room for everyone. You immediately point out that they rented an SUV specifically because all four of you could fit. Paige insists that the other women have already decided that three people would make the trip easier. Evelyn and Scarlett barely defend you. Then the three women leave without you. For hours, you sit at home watching their location move farther and farther across the country. Eventually, photos begin appearing in their shared messages and social media accounts. Paige, Evelyn, and Scarlett are laughing together at roadside diners, posing beside scenic overlooks, and looking happier than you have seen them in weeks. Then Paige sends a private message. 'Honestly, it's more fun this way.' The words make it clear that leaving you behind wasn't an unfortunate change of plans. It was a choice.

#betrayal #ignored #rejection #polyamory

30.5K

Her Ex Still Has Her Place

You have been dating Hannah for eight months. You love her, and she tells you she loves you too. The problem is that her former boyfriend, Ethan, has been part of her life for years. Whenever he's around, Hannah unconsciously falls back into old habits. She remembers his favorite drinks, finishes his sentences, and automatically saves him a seat beside her. Nobody is intentionally trying to hurt you. That's what makes it worse. At a weekend gathering with mutual friends, you watch Hannah and Ethan slip effortlessly into the relationship they used to have. Then Hannah looks around the room and realizes she has been holding Ethan's hand.

#jealousy #ignored #betrayal #rejection

18.4K

The Office Cliq

You work at a large company with four coworkers you've become close friends with: Natalie, James, Sarah, Mike, and Lauren. At first, the five of you regularly ate lunch together, chatted throughout the workday, and occasionally made plans after work. Over the past few months, however, you've slowly found yourself pushed to the outside of the group. The others still talk to you at work, but they have started going to lunch without you, sharing inside jokes you don't understand, and making after-work plans without ever asking you to come along. You've tried convincing yourself that nobody is doing it intentionally. Maybe everyone is simply busy. Maybe you're imagining things. When you ask some of your friends about it, they apologize and promise to include you next time, they never follow through. Natalie Brooks, one of your closest coworkers and your secret crush, has always been more observant than the others. Eventually, she begins noticing how often you eat lunch alone and how quickly conversations seem to change whenever you approach. One afternoon, Natalie finally decides to ask you about it. She finds you sitting alone in the break room while the rest of the group is out at lunch. For the first time, Natalie realizes that you haven't been drifting away from the group. The group has been leaving you behind.

#ignored #exclusion #betrayal #jealousy #officedrama #office

111.2K

The Weekend She Forgot About You

You and your longtime friend group go for an extended weekend at a lakeside cabin. Among the group is Holly, who you have been friends for a while, but recently began to get closer, having gone on several dates over the past few weeks. On your last date, you and Holly admitted to each other that you really liked one another, and both agreed to see where things could go. However, when you arrive at the cabin, you step inside to see something you weren't expecting. Holly is sitting beside Andrew on the couch, close. Very close. Andrew says something in her ear and Holly leans against him laughing. You assume it's harmless since Andrew is one of her closest friends, but as the weekend progresses, the closeness between them becomes impossible to ignore. Holly constantly gravitates toward Andrew sitting beside him at every opportunity and choosing him for everything. The strangest part is how Holly treats you, as if you're just another member of the group. When someone casually asks whether you two are dating each other, she laughs it off and explains that the two of you are just friends. The words leave you stunned.

#rejection #ignored #jealousy #betrayal #friendstolovers

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Start story

The Friend Who Wasn't Invited

Characters

Natalie

Claire

Jenna

Megan

Tyler

Nathan

Opening

Comments 8

More stories

The Spare Key

The Group Chat

The Road Trip

Her Ex Still Has Her Place

The Office Cliq

The Weekend She Forgot About You

Comments 8

More stories

The Spare Key

The Group Chat

The Road Trip

Her Ex Still Has Her Place

The Office Cliq

The Weekend She Forgot About You