I'll Be There For You | Reading Reddit Stories

- Hello, and welcome to Reddit Stories. I'm Shane, and this is our new set. - Yeah! - Yeah! - Yeah! - Chocolate Reds! Chocolate Reds! - Chocolate Reds is there! - They gave him armrests! - For those who are listening, I have armrests. - I mean, he's got pretty board. Look at those chalky pancakes! - Chucks! - If you're a typical listener of the show, then, um, sorry, I guess it's not very different. Maybe the acoustics are a little different for you. - Yeah, I don't know. - Well, does Shane sound more confident 'cause he's in a king chair right now. - I am in a king chair, I'm in a much bigger chair. - He is, like, more back support, and, like, armrests. - I have armrests, it's awesome. I have a little pillow. - He has a cute little pillow. - Yep. - And look, you know, and so, and I, I'm sorry, um, and so, and I have a lot of, sorry, I sat on this one. - That pillow's name is Am, I, the asshole! - No, it's Am, I, the ass, and this is the whole-- - Oh! - We have a pillow named, uh, anyways. (laughing) - Before we continue about the set, I should intro that this show is about friendship. - Oh, the theme, the theme today is about friendship, and Smosh is all about friendship. And I am joined by two people who I can't stand. - Wow! Well, we hate you too, and that's why friendship is common for people. - And that's why it ends. Friendship is so weird. - You just make it work, huh? - I'm joined by Angela and Amanda. Thank you all for being here. (laughing) - Get your two cans out! - It's friendship always will you? - Come on, Saturday morning, call your bestie. - Well, we would not do well at Burlesque. - We did this? - Yeah. - You imagine the show was like, yes, sexy, sexy. We're going. - Come on! - Woo! - Anyone from Seattle? (laughing) - Woo! - It's all like the Utah? (laughing) - In your life, what has had more drama? - Friends. - Friendships or your romances? - Sisterhood. - Friends. - Oh, okay. - Sister's way the most drama. - Sisters? - Friends? Okay, sisters? Let's do this. - Yeah. - Sisters? - Friends are pretty close. - Whoa. - Because if you have a friend that goes, oh my god, you're like a sister to me, it can get real tricky path. - Wait, there's an old clip that I get tagged in constantly, and you and I barely know each other, and we're doing a challenge pit, and we're talking about friendship breakups, or we're doing like a agreed degree, we're talking about friendship breakups versus romantic breakups. And I'm like, I'm the one that goes on the friendship breakups, I'd be like, it's like, it's harder. - Oh my god. - And then you go, yeah, and then I go, because when you enter a friendship, there's never like the understanding that we'll might break up. - Yeah. - But with relationships, you're always like, this could not work out. - This could happen, right? - So when friendship breakups happen, it's so brutal. And then you go, yeah. - And then we have a really short hair. - Yeah, remember this clip. - Because I mean like, yeah, like you said, you don't get into a friendship expecting it to end necessarily. - Or like, it's expecting you not to work. - And friendships don't necessarily have to end, like a relationship kind of, if it's not working, it has to end, right? You have this agreement. You're so involved with each other's lives, but a friendship can be like, oh, we just don't see each other as often or whatever. There's no rules. There's not the same rules. - And you're not like going into it with a promise. 'Cause also, I think relationships are always labeled just like, oh, it's hard work, hard work. And friendship, it should be just like, oh, you're my friend. - You're my friend, it's fun. - But then sometimes you experience something together and you bond so deeply and then you go, and then they show a side to them that you're like, uh-oh. - Also a friendship breakup, a romantic breakup can be like, I don't think we work together as a unit for whatever reason, but a friendship breakup is typically, I don't wanna see you. - Yeah, it's tough. - I don't like you. That's so much more brutal than what a romantic breakup, a romantic breakup can be amicable. - Totally. - You're also, yeah, sorry. - No, I'm, no, I'm sorry. - No, I'm sorry. - I'm sorry, you guys. - What friends? - No, no, we're not breaking up. - We're not breaking up. - Okay. - No, we're not breaking up. We have, we have, we have steady grounds. - We're here. (laughing) - This morning when they were like, and Amanda and Angela will be in the friendship one of it. - Is that right? - Wait, hold on, I'm sorry. And everyone's like, and we got so freaked out. - Oh, no. - We committed to it. - So funny. Anyways. - Friendships are hard. - Yeah, but they can be so rewarding. - Oh, absolutely. - It's one of the best parts of life. - Well, let's hop into some messy friendships, shall we? - Well, the best part of life. - 'Cause you know, - Oh, that's what we're gonna, we're gonna read. Our first story comes from Am I the Asshole? Am I the Asshole for leaving my best friend's birthday party early because I was a B-list guest, a B-list guest at a birthday. - I'm interested in my head. - There's tears. - Oh, they didn't set up the VIP table. (laughing) - So this was posted only a few days ago. Throw away for privacy, though this is a pretty specific incident. And anyone who knows the situation will probably be able to identify me anyway. I, a 29-year-old woman, have been good friends with Sally, a 30-year-old woman, since we were eight years old. - Woo! - We were inseparable throughout school, but we went to different colleges. I visited her a few times each year, she'd visit me, and we'd always meet up at Christmas in summer breaks. After we graduated, I moved about a three-hour drive from where she moved to. We still cut up often. As normally happens, we established our new professional and social lives, drifted apart, but whenever we caught up, it was like no time had passed. We were there for each other whenever we needed it. When she got married at 25, I was a bridesmaid. I declined made of honor because I was concerned with the long commute and I couldn't do all the made of honored duties required slash expected. She drove to my place to support me when my father had a stroke. I stayed with her when she found out her ex-husband cheated and she filed for divorce. I always figured that even though life is taking us in different directions, we're always there for each other. Now to her birthday. She turned 30 last week and had a huge party this past weekend. Since it was a milestone birthday, she had it at a banquet hall, all catered, DJ, et cetera. It was at night, so I booked a hotel, drove up, and would drive back home the next day. When I arrived, I was ushered into a small room with four tables and about 10 other people. There was a portable TV on a trolley with a stream of the party in the bigger room. One of the guests told me Sally invited more people than the main hall could accommodate. And she hoped after a few people RSVP'd know, we'd all fit in. But only one or two people RSVP'd know, so the venue opened a second room for the excess guests. I saw it in the stream, new people arriving after I did, so I knew I was clearly relegated to the B-lister room and wasn't brought there because the main room was already filled up. So I left after 15 minutes and took my gift with me. The next day, as I was preparing to check out the hotel, Sally called and asked why I didn't show. Apparently, she came to the leftovers room to mingle about 30 minutes after I left and noticed I wasn't there. I told her I did attend, but I didn't realize I'd be watching a stream of her party instead of attending it, which I could have done at home. She asked if I wanted to catch up for lunch and I could give her my gift then, but I told her I needed to get back home because I had plans for the afternoon. Queue the Instagram story about how people who claim to love her don't show up and she can't help that so many people wanted to celebrate her. During my drive home, her mother left a voicemail that she was very disappointed in me, but I'm here like, I'm supposed to be one of your best friends and I got the leftover experience. Did I overreact? Am I the asshole here? I'm gagged. I'm literally gagged, girl. (laughing) - Gagged! I'm gagged! - I am gagged! I am on the floor! - I am gagged. I am gagging. I am over the toilet. I am barfing. I am gagging. - I am gagging. I am gagging. - I am gagging. I am gagging at the same time. - I am gagging at the same time. - I have scarlet fever. I'm gagging. - The plague has hit me, girl. (laughing) - I am plague. - Nobody come close to me. I'm very contagious. - I am contagious, gagged! - Wow, we can go on forever. - Okay. - Can I tell you growing up, if you didn't go to church on time and the main room got too big, you'd go to the other room and watch a video of the pastor in the other room. - That is quiet. - So what, here's the thing. That made sense 'cause it's about lateness. It's about if you're late, and there's something to watch. A live stream video of a party. - And she didn't get chosen to be in the A-list. She found out the type of, you know, deer that she was in as this woman's friend. - But what is crazy about this to me is that this isn't inherently something you're watching. You don't need to get it if it's like a musical and you're like lay and you have to like watch the stream. But you're watching people talk. - Dare, this birthday girl think that she's that cool. Well, who would be happy with that? - Who? - You have to sit in a room with 10 people that you don't know. - And go. - So you're not, you're not at the party to be clear. - But you're watching people. - You're in the building. You're in the building. - But you're not at the party. - You're not at the party. - Oh, there, there she is hugging another friend. - And then she came in 30 minutes in for them to kiss the ring. - She was like, oh my God, you guys are here. I hope that they're feeding you guys in this room. - Did you see everybody else is in there? - Yeah. - Having a great time. - This person is not the asshole but the asshole. - Not the asshole. - I actually love that they stood up for themselves and was like, I'm leaving and I'm taking my gift with me. - Yeah. - 'Cause also, okay, so maybe, maybe, I can get my head around a banquet hall being so strict that you can't go over the limit. - Maybe. - And then having a separate room. - Sure. - But where she enters asshole territory is when she didn't make it about who comes in and it make it random. She made a separate list, a second-tier friend list of people that she wouldn't miss if they're in the main. - Yes, queen. - That's when we entered the whole territory. - And then she did a passive-aggressive rude ass Instagram story. - That's great. - Like calling people out and then got her mom involved. I'm sorry, but you have crossed a line I mean, they've been friends since there were eight. So this is like a childhood friend mom. You got the mom involved to be like, I'm disappointed in you. Excuse me, I'm wall. (laughing) You're really, really good. Can you tell we've been on camera for eight hours today? Excuse me, I'm wall, I'm French. So first of all, no, no, no, no, no, no. And second of all, and second of all, I am got. I am so sick, throw up. I am honey, pretty urgent care. Get me a doctor's notice. (laughing) Anything else, Shay? I think that about sums it up. I was gonna say, I think the friend is the asshole for putting anybody in that room. I understand that, okay, you overbooked it, but like, man, consider that shit. And if I walked into that room and saw like, wait, you guys all have to sit in this room and not be part of the party, like, oh my God, you guys can leave, I'm so sorry. Like, I'd be, I'd walk into that room being so apologetic of like, you don't get to attend the party. So it means that she chose this act out of time. But she chose them to be like, hey, you're in the not party room. The second she made a list, and she named names, is when it's like, not me. 'Cause this isn't, this also isn't like, a wedding where it's like, oh, people, like, family, and people who want, like, need to be at this wedding. You're just gonna get the bathroom. It's a birthday, it's like, hey, sorry. Like, just don't invite those people. Or just go to a bar. Like, don't invite those people, but if they're be list, but then you're gonna be so mad if they don't show up or leave. Here's what I'm doing, here's what I'm doing. Do it. Banquet tells me, I can't have certain amount of people in. And my list is big. Okay. I go. You have a lot of friends. I go, mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, of course. And if you play cards, right, you'll be an angry. Yeah, okay, I can't wait. All right. We call one room the magic room. Oh, fun, okay. So then everyone's, so in during the party, every once in a while, you hand someone a star. Oh, fun. And they get to go to the magic room. Oh, fun. And the magic room is for intense personal conversation. Right. And then everyone's gonna go, magic hour. And you've just switched it up. Yeah, of course, I love that. And then you're hoping, who am I gonna go to the magic room with? Yeah, so maybe somebody they don't know. Yeah. And then it's kind of rotating. Oh, I love that. So like, you're not stuck in a room. You're actually rotating because a random person is gonna give you a star. A star and say, you're the hot one. And you get to go to the hot. Will you come to the magic room with me? I like this. I like this. I have so many people in that room and I'm switching it up. Okay. I would be okay with that. I'd be like, cool. I get to go to the magic room and I get to be picked by Angela. It's so fun. Or I'd get like a tarot card reader and I'd be like, do you want to go into the like mindfulness room and get like a fucking reading? You in a guy, right? And he's like, so you're the be-list? So it's pretty magic. Yeah. It's the mindfulness room. We're not supposed to talk. Or like make it like, I don't know, the dessert room. So you're doing a good job. I'm trying to. Yeah. You're doing well. I think this woman didn't even think about that. No, she's not thinking about shit. Which is, it's one thing too that she's like, oh, I wasn't considering this. There's all these people in this leftovers room. Which she put them there. But then to be mad if they leave. And to be like, hey, you can meet up with me for lunch so you can give me your gift. She got out of tell room. I'm just like, and then to post a story about it being like, wow, people really let me down. It's like, bro, if you're going to put these people in the be-list shitty room, you can't be upset if they don't show up. If someone shows you who they are, believe me. Leave them. Dag. Dag. Dag. Dag boy. This episode of Rent Stories is a show. Okay. Vertical. Not the asshole. Majority, not the asshole. There's not an official verdict yet. Comments, not the asshole. You don't overbook a party. You book a venue that can accommodate everyone. What the fuck? 6.7000 upvotes. Jesus. Anyways, OP says, yeah, that's a weird and risky approach to take. If the venue didn't have the extra room, do you just turn friends and family away? Someone said, I'm sorry, y'all are 30. And the mom is calling to shame you beyond nope. OP said, her mom is like a second mom to me. I think it was more like her wanting a heart to heart with me. Someone said, not the asshole here. She had the nerve to ask you to go to lunch. You could give her your gift seriously. Has she always treated you like this? Or is this the first time you truly noticed? Then for her mother to get involved, OP, sometimes people grow, sometimes they don't. As we grow, we see that some relationships are not worth our time here on Earth. You just realize this, best response, block them, treasure the people who do invite you, and don't usher you into a side room of the main event. Appreciate people that want you as a part of their lives. I love the Reddit therapist. So when he's back, I love when those comments-- He's like, I've been working really hard today. Man, how much is he getting paid? See, I always think it's a mother. A lot of karma. A mother who wants to write a book, but she won't get around to it. So she writes these big comments. She's so right. OP said, honestly, this is the first time she's acted like this. It's so far out of her normal behavior. Does she have new friends? Well, you know, fuck that stuff. So I was going to say this. Sometimes, I wonder if you guys need this way. Sometimes-- Sometimes. Sometimes. Sometimes, sometimes. [LAUGHTER] Good times, friends. Sometimes. Good times, friends. Sometimes. Sometimes. Sometimes. Sometimes. All right, go ahead. Sometimes, I think that my new friend-- you feel so safe with the friends you grew up with. And you go, no matter what they're not leaving, no matter what they're always going to be around. And your brain just goes, no matter what they're here every year, I get older and older. So then the newer friends, you're like, I have to check on them. Yeah. Because those are new friends. So then old friends, sometimes you're like, yeah, my birthday is tomorrow. You should've known that. I'll come every year. Is this about you, is this your birthday? What's going on? If it was about me, I'd have a magic room. Yeah, that's what you're interested in. Also, a banquet hall accommodates a lot of people. So-- Yeah, how many friends are we talking to? So you're walking into a room full of 10 people and watching a stream of a room with a hundred people. That's so crazy. All you see are just butts. It's just the camera's really low to the ground. It's just a bunch of heels. I think I would get-- if I'm in a room, which I probably would be, I'd go up to-- I think I would keep going up to the camera when I'm like, who's watching this? I've been feeling I'd be a B-room probably. And just it's me and some other guy. What's funny is I am someone at a party. I can get overwhelmed by just the crowd in the noise that I'd probably see B-room. And I'd be like, what's that one? Oh, one where you can actually hear a conversation. Let's make the camera beat the B-room. OK. OK. OK. You mean the A-room? Oh, yeah. But your POV, your B-room. Yeah. Yeah. You mean the A-room. Sorry. What are you trying to say? This is A-room. This is A-room. This is A-room. So this is A-room. I think the problem is from their perspective, this is A-room. This is A-room. And an empty room right now. And it would be like this. It would be like this. And it'd go, oh my god. And the list of the-- Oh my gosh. How are you? Dude, this is the best night ever. I bet this is going to cut together perfectly. Yeah. Why are you-- Because what kind of dancer would you do? OK. Because-- You would look at the camera, and it would be like this. >> Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's been really hey Mike. >> I've been going. >> Oh my God. >> Happy birthday to you. >> Okay, that really helped. My foot is on the hay pillow. >> For the people who are watching, they understand how awful this is. >> Is there an update? >> No. >> What was the gift she was going to give her? >> I don't know. >> Find out. >> I'm going to keep it. >> Okay. >> Moving on. >> That was cool. You're going to be able to watch it and be like, I'm OP. >> I'm OP now. >> I'm OP now. >> I'm OP now. >> I'm OP now. Our next story comes from relationships. This was posted about a year ago, April of 2025. There's a 22-year-old woman. >> Okay. >> My boyfriend, who's 22, keeps letting his friend, a 24-year-old man, come on our dates. >> Excuse me. >> That sounds like a threesome. >> No, okay. >> Okay. >> Sorry. >> Her boyfriend lets his friend join them on their dates. >> Oh, yeah. >> Okay, a table for three. >> Yeah. >> Yikes. >> I do this with you in court. It's fine. >> Yeah, yeah. >> You just crashed their dates. >> I don't. >> I always make a joke about it. >> Put your table over. >> Yeah. >> What did you say? >> You're the bee. >> Here's the bee tail. >> I have the bee tail. >> I can't forget for dinner. >> I go, what a day. >> Huh? >> Okay. How we got into this predicament in the first place is that my boyfriend just really likes his friend. We'll call him Liam. He's like a brother to him. He saved his life once, et cetera. But he's on all our dates. I even brought one of my single friends on a date so we could do a double date. And Liam and her don't date, so that failed. I've honestly asked my boyfriend why Liam is on our dates and he says that Liam is lonely, has nobody else, and he has no siblings or girlfriend. But then my boyfriend kind of guilts me because I know this sounds awful. Liam is the fucking package for guilt. His mom died when he was young, then his dad and him don't talk anymore. So Liam just doesn't have anyone else to talk to. I honestly think my boyfriend is guilt tripping me and I don't think I can do this relationship anymore. I don't think I'm leaving. This has gone on for three months. Like sure, I feel bad for Liam, but I don't really know him. And it's not my problem. It's also not just dates or movie nights that he's here. Going to the mall, he's there. Where is he not? Also, I know this sounds made up. I still can't believe it, but it very much is real. And I basically just need validation that it's okay to break up with my boyfriend over this. This whole post. Edit. [BLANK_AUDIO] soon to be ex-boyfriend to meet up and I'm gonna break up with him. I'm gonna tell him the exact reason honestly. I swear if Liam is there though, like I'm not considering the possibility of not breaking up with him. It's not even just because of Liam. It's that he manipulates me into letting Liam come. Okay. - Okay. - So she's already made up her mind. - Yeah, this is like when a friend needs advice, but it just wants to talk it out. - Yeah. - For Liam and the boyfriend, just friends? - I was gonna ask that. - We have no context on that. - I don't know, I've never heard of anything quite like this. - I will say, I have definitely had a partner where they have had a friend where they're like, they're going through a lot. They're kind of lonely, like, can they join us? And I have had that and sometimes it happens a little much where you're like, okay, blah blah. But it definitely is like, it's a weird relationship between them and their friend. It's very tricky territory. - It could be that her boyfriend feels responsibility for Liam. - 'Cause he saved his life. - 'Cause Liam saved his life. - But also just like, when you have a friend who's going through horrible shit. - The boyfriend, Liam saved the boyfriend's life. He was stuck out on the ice. - You fucking loser. - No, I'm just joking. - Early on, it says, he saved his life once. - I just made it the ice park, 'cause that's how I picked those things. - He's like a boyfriend. - So Liam was stuck in the ice. - No, so the boyfriend was stuck in the ice. - The boyfriend was stuck in the middle of the ice. It was cracking, he was falling down. - And Liam. - And Liam. - He grabbed-- - And Liam was a Robe. - And the Robe. - Yeah, he grabbed the rope, and then he slid out, and then he did this, and then pulled the boyfriend out. - And, and, and, no. - No. - It's just, it's any story where someone's saying this. - This is just how I- - He's just making shit up. - Probably five different books that Amanda's saying. - It's just my brain words. - Mine might want to be saved. - And for our viewers and listeners, mind you, we're on story two right now. But, uh. - Sorry. - Sorry. - There you go. - Okay. - So, he fell. Stop. (laughing) - Okay, sorry Shane, you got the floor. - Let's go to some comments. It's okay to break up. You didn't sign up to be the third wheel in your own relationship. He can spend as much time with Liam as he wants, as a single dude. - Re-e-tweet. - Someone said, is your boyfriend afraid to spend time with you one-on-one? I think he's too young for a romantic relationship. It's more than just about his buddy. He's insecure and likes having his buddy for comfort. Whoa. - Whoa, that might be it. - That might be interesting. But his friend's trauma doesn't feel like recent enough to be like, he needs somebody now. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - That's what bugged me. But you're right, I couldn't, you know. - Someone said, before ending it, you are fully validated on doing so based on your post. Have you put your foot down? Why don't you plan dates and tell him his friend is not invited period? Oh, he said, I have. But as I said in the past, he always like guilt trips me into letting him come. Saying this out loud kind of just made me realize he's manipulative. - Oh, okay, so it's more than that. - Yeah, it feels like no matter what, if you're asking something of your partner and no matter what, they find a way to not honor that. That's besides, yeah. - I'm so interested. It sounds to me like, yeah, he needs Liam as like a safety blanket, but there definitely feels like there's a disconnect between their connection. - Oh, what about that? - Opie and the boyfriend connection. - 100%. - Like, what are they doing when they're hanging and watching a movie like at their home, - Liam's there. - Liam, why do you want to be there though? - I know. - I think when you fall in ice so hard. - Yeah, no. - No, it's not right. - It's you up. - Right. - Yeah. Of course, and Liam maybe thinks that he has to save the boyfriend's life again. - Maybe. Update. - Okay. - Okay. Here we go. - Oh my God. - This was posted the same day. 'Cause she was on her way to break up. - Yep, yep, yep. - I broke up with my ex. I'm gonna call him Xavier. - I went to where we agreed to meet up and guess who he brought with. - Shut the fuck up. - You guessed it, Liam. - Was it near an ice rink? (laughing) - I was very annoyed at this point. I told him I wanted to speak with him privately and he brings fucking Liam. It's very uncomfortable to break up with someone in front of their best friend, but I was too pissed. I told him, I said I wanted to speak privately and he said, say it in front of Liam. - Oh. - Why? - Okay, so, okay. - Okay, so Xavier's got stuff. - Xavier. - Yeah, get out of here. Eventually, I just get annoyed and say that's it. I don't want Liam always here in our private life on dates everywhere. He basically said, remember what I told you about Liam's circumstance, blah, blah, blah. I said something like, I'm sorry, but I don't give a fuck about what Liam's going through right now. This is about me breaking up with you. Meanwhile, Liam is just standing there looking confused. I'll get back to this later. So, we basically get into a fight in this park and it gets to the point where I tell him that he manipulates me into not kicking Liam out of our dates and about everything he told me Liam went through. Like a brother to Xavier, save Xavier's life, dead mom, dad absent, no siblings, friends or girlfriends. And then Xavier looks like he got caught or something. And Liam gets angry saying, what did you tell her? This is all really funny and really awful at the same time. It turns out none of what Xavier told me was true. Liam has a fiance, has a real brother and sister, and his mom isn't dead. - No! Ow! (laughing) I was here with you. She yelled at my ear. That's not good friendship. - Angela! (laughing) - Keep going. - Gays, you're down? (laughing) - No, no, no. - Because Scott used to it. - He's coming out mute. - So anyway, definitely broke up with Xavier. Like 40 minutes later, Liam DMs me, basically saying that Xavier told Liam that I wasn't comfortable being alone with Xavier and that he thought I wanted him to be on the dates. Sir, what? He said the reason why he agreed is because his fiance is living in Europe to finish up her study a broad program and he had nothing better to do. So Xavier just flattered as a liar. Glad I broke up with him, mad I got lied to, but oh well. This was honestly not a turn of events I was expecting and I have to get it out somewhere. - Wait, what? This is-- - So savior, savior, whatever was saved on the ice. So he was uncomfortable with his girlfriend. - He didn't want to be alone with his girlfriend. So he lied to both of them. - Why didn't he want to be alone with his girlfriend? - There's a lot to unpack with Xavier. I think-- - I don't think Xavier's ready to date. - I don't think Xavier, I don't know what Xavier's ready to date. (laughing) - He lied. - I don't know what he's ready for. - He lied about everything that Liam went through. I wonder if Liam's still friends with him. - Dude, if I found out someone was telling lies like that, I'd be like, "Hey, man." - So Liam, what are you doing here? - Maybe I'm gonna take a break too. - If people are making lies up about me being like, "Sorry, she has to come. "Her dad's dead." And I'm like, "He's alive." - Yeah. I would be so uncomfortable. - This is really intense and weird. - I don't think you guys have this, but it's my thing, like, in middle school, I have work that I was so scared to run into. (laughing) - Wait, you had a boyfriend that you were scared to run into? - Yeah, okay. - Yeah, I was in middle school, so I'm-- - I can relate the first-- - Oh, yes. - I can relate to that. In middle school, the first girl I ever asked out, I was terrified. - Wait. - So I was like, "I don't know fucking clue what I'm doing." - I do get that. - That is so relatable. There's actually a story in elementary school, a guy liked me. And I literally would cry if I was near him. - Yeah. - But this person is 22, right? - 'Cause you're not used to the first person. - Yeah, but he's 22. - Okay. - But to be clear, he's 22. - He's 22. - If it's Scott, stop. (laughing) - You're not used to the pressure. - Well, when you're little and you're just like, they're like me. - I understand, I understand, I understand. - Maybe there's something wrong with me 'cause I would seek them out. - I'd be like, "Where are they?" They're down the hallway. There they are. - Amanda. - Okay. - Amanda, Amanda, who was 5'10" and 2nd grade. (laughing) - Where are they? - Straight up. - Where are you going? - They were like, "Hey, do you guys hear that?" No, it was like, boom, boom, boom, boom. - Where's my boyfriend? (laughing) - Where's little Mario? - I smell him. - I smell him. (laughing) - I smell him. (laughing) - I see his backpack. Where is he? (laughing) - I see it. - Stop, I wasn't like that. That's crazy. - You guys are sick. - Not me. - Jason, recess isn't over yet. I know. (laughing) - I know, can I just hide out here for like, three hours? (laughing) - You know what he is with the school nurse, yeah. - Jason! (laughing) - Can you send me to the principal's office? - Hey, Jason. - Hey, Jason. - Can I just stand here for like 10 more minutes? - Oh, mommy wants a kissy. - For some reason I said I had a crush on her 'cause I thought her hair was beautiful, but I didn't know her vibes were like this. - Listen, I was really cool. - And very chill, you know what you need to do. - You have to need to talk. - I believe it. - I'm gonna talk to them. - No, it does remind me though, the first girl I ever asked out, it was in seventh grade. And I had such a crush on this girl, and I had a crush on her for so long, like months. And then I was just, I finally like had the courage. I was like, oh, do you want to be my girlfriend? And she's like, oh yeah. And then I was like, I have no clue what to do now. - It's so true. - I was like, what do I do now? - What happens now? - You feel crazy. - No idea, and it was just a weird week. And then it was like, I think one of her friends is like, yeah, I don't think she wants to be here. And I was like, ever being relieved. I was like, me too, I don't know what we're doing. - We didn't kiss, we barely like hugged. I was just like, we just kind of had a title for a bit. - Oh God. - In church, we would only do group hangs. So if you were hanging out or like kind of dating somebody, it was in a group. He was never one on one. And then one on one, you're like, oh. - You guys are crazy. I'm like, one on one, let's kiss for a long time. - Okay, we have a little bit of an update in a comment. - Okay, okay. - Did he, Xavier, ever explain why he did it? Are you still in touch with Liam? What is Liam's take on what happened? This was a little bit later, right? This was like a few, like a couple of weeks later. - Yeah. - Oh, he responded, he never explained to Liam or me why he did it. But the vibe I'm going to say, getting from what Liam has told me and my own feelings on the matter are that he was trying to frame Liam into looking like Liam was on the dates with me so Xavier can show Liam's girlfriend photos or something to break up with Liam and his girlfriend. That's the second runner-up. I personally think that Xavier just did it for a sick game or something. As perfect as it would have been for Xavier to be gay for Liam sadly, I don't think that's the case, but who knows honestly? me and Liam have talked every once in a while the past few days, but I'm definitely not friends with him. I'm not really sure if I can trust him because I don't know enough about Liam to know he is not a pot sterler himself. Liam was definitely kept in the dark about a lot of things so it's not his fault or anything. But I just don't know the friendship I walked into. Based on what Liam said, he feels baffled. When this topic first came up, he said he wouldn't know why Xavier would do something like this, but a tiny bit of him is not really surprised. I don't know what he did before that to be not surprised because Liam never really gave me a straight answer. What I can take out of it is that he is really curious about Xavier's intentions. Hopefully this can answer any questions you might have and if anything else needs more clearing up, you can ask. We have nothing more. I'd love to ask, but I really, okay. So Xavier possibly wanted Liam to get caught in a photo with his girlfriend to make Liam's girlfriend fiance Matt. Okay. Yeah, okay. There's not really a good version of it. You could be scared, bro. Yeah, I'd just say you're scared, this feels-- It's the problem with lying is that I'm just like, well, what are your intentions, but I can't trust your answer? It's a weird one. Yeah, super weird. Yeah. Anyways. Anyways. Moving on. Thanks. Am I the asshole for leaving my friend at a restaurant after she tested me? We got a friendship test. Here we go. Love it. Throw away because a lot of my friends are on here. So I, a 23-year-old woman, have a close friend, a 24-year-old woman, who will call Stella, who has this really annoying habit of doing little things to test our friendship. Oh. She'll say stuff like, I just wanted to see if you'd notice I was upset or I wanted to see if you would drop what you were doing to help me. This really pisses me off, and I've told her before, that I would really love it if she stopped doing that and just talked to me openly if something was bothering her. Last weekend, we went out to dinner with two friends. At the end, we asked for separate checks. When it came to me, I noticed they had charged me for one of Stella's drinks. She had already paid, so I decided not to say anything then because I didn't want to complicate everything for the staff. I figured I would just bring it up later. After dinner, while we were saying bye, I quickly mentioned to Stella that one of her drinks had been charged to my bill and that I thought she had overlooked it. I said it really nicely and pretty off-handedly. However, after I told her that, Stella suddenly got really cold and just said, "Oh, I'm a really awkward person and don't know how to handle people when they're being rude or standoffish, so I kind of let it slide." Later that night, she texted me saying she felt I had been acting selfishly and that she didn't feel appreciated in our friendship despite her doing so much for me. She said she had noticed the drink wasn't charged to her and waited to see whether I would offer to cover it since she had helped me move into my new apartment two months ago. I understand wanting to be appreciated, but I was honestly really annoyed. I don't think it's healthy to help your friends and expect something to return. That feels really transactional. I told her that if she wanted me to buy her a drink as a thank you for helping me move, it would have been better to say so two months ago. Instead, this turned something small into some arbitrary test of friendship. She replied that it shouldn't have to fall on her to keep reminding me to show basic appreciation. We decided to meet for brunch the next day to talk it out in person. I got there first in order to coffee. However, before I could even really say anything, she immediately started telling me how she hoped I had thought more about my actions. At that point, I just couldn't do it anymore. I was so frustrated that any attempt at having a productive conversation turned into me somehow being the villain. I just stood up, paid for my coffee, and left. I texted her afterwards saying that I was done participating in her little tests and that I can't be friends with someone who isn't willing to communicate like an adult. I just don't know how I can make her understand that she needs to stop testing people quite literally. Am I the asshole? There's an edit. I'm actually someone who hesitates to ask people for help because I hate inconveniencing others, so I didn't ask her to help me move. She volunteered to do it herself, and even then it wasn't anything too crazy like big furniture. Just boxes I needed to transport over from my storage unit, which I was originally planning on doing myself anyway. And yes, I, of course, bought takeout for us after because I still would have felt really shitty taking advantage of someone even if they offered to help. Now I'm thinking maybe to her, it felt like something I would have done anyway on a random hangout and didn't necessarily feel like an explicit thanks, which I verbally said, of course. I don't know, but overall, I feel like the whole situation was literally nothing significant to begin with, so I have no idea how we got here. Thank you to everyone who shared their own experiences. You've all definitely helped me get some clarity on the whole situation. I think I just started questioning whether I had been too emotional at the time and should have given her some grace, but it's definitely taxing being her friend in the long run and I genuinely can't do it anymore. - Oh, my God. - I am exhausted. Okay. - That was exhausting. That wasn't funny. That wasn't interesting. That sucks. (laughing) That's just a bummer. - Dude, it sounds like this girl literally does things for other people just to be like, remember when I did that thing for you? - Oh my God. - Those are red flag friends. - It's manipulative. - You can't have them. - It's, yeah, people who keep track of shit and hold it over you, it's so exhausting. - And I think there's the degree I'm sure within a lot of us where we're like, you keep track of things in the M.I being taken, like is this person taking advantage of me? - Yeah. - But I get that and that is the case sometimes. But there are so many people out there who it's like, oh, like, when you volunteer to do something and then use that as a chip against them. - And she got her take out, like, bro. - Girl, what word do you have on it? - That's what it cancels out. - Yeah. - And also, if we're gonna get into that nature and I am not this type, but if you are gonna get into there, it's like, oh, like, if you help someone move, I get the only expectation that I think I would justify is if later on they're moving and it's like, of an equal caliber, I'm just like, hey, but it's not a transaction. It should just be like, hey, we're friends and we have each other's back or we need each other. Not, I did this there for moving in to do this. - She not only tests her, but she's keeping score. - Yes. - And that's really scary. - And like, I remember I had a friend in college that would do really nice things, and I never, like, saw it that straightforward, but then it took me a while to be like, oh, when she does this stuff that I don't ask for, it kinda makes me, like, forgive her for stuff that she doesn't do. - And that is, I think that is actually a tactic. - No, 100% - No, 100% - She's like, oh, if I drench her, it's a little bit of, like, love bombing, but, like, kindness bombing. Be like, I'm gonna help you with your move. And now you owe me one. And it's like, I didn't. - And they get really lavish, like, birthday gifts that you're like, whoa, this is like so nice, and then their birthday comes around and you're like, oh, God. - Yeah. - What do I have to do? - Right, they put you in a bind, it's controlled. It's a very specific type of control. - Yeah, I'm a gift giver. And sometimes I overdo it 'cause I love gift giving. - No. - But then I'm thinking about doing something without, like, making some, you could tell the heart behind a gift being, like, I want you to have it 'cause I love you, I love this. - I feel anxiety when you give me gifts. When you give me gifts, I'm like, oh, my God, this is so great. - No, but what I'm saying is, like, there's a different energy. When someone gives you a gift 'cause they want something or in return. - I agree. - But I know that you really, really like this thing, so I got it for you. - I just. - It's an instinctive thing. - I love you. - And then they tally something and they go, like, God, that makes you feel a little bit higher than me. And it was just boxes. - Yes, absolutely. Yeah, no, Angela, I feel like we all know, 'cause I feel like you'll give a great gift, but then you'll be like, oh, yeah, but it's whatever. It's fine. - Yeah, exactly. And then I give a gift to you. - It's literally nothing and I don't even talk to you. - I'm like, I don't want you to make you feel hungry. - No, no, no, no, no. - I'm actually leading and I don't ever talk to you. - No, I'm actually, like, moving. - Don't see me. - I'm actually moving to another country so I don't ever talk to me. - So I tripped and fell on this gift for you. I'm just gonna hand it to you. - Something that really is tough for me is, I'm not someone, I don't keep score. And therefore, I honestly don't remember what I do for people sometimes, and I'm not bragging about that, but people who keep score will be like, I did all this and what did you do for me? And I'm just like, I'm not thinking about that. When people are like, oh, I did that for you last year. It's like, no, you're thinking about that. - Yeah, doing anything that's a giving mentality, like even buying a drink for someone doing any of that with an ulterior motive is always gonna bring a little different to me. - I really wonder if this person's family life had that included if her mom went on trips and it's just like, how dare you do this thing? Because we just went on a trip or that is so real. - It might be like parents parenting or sibling. - It could have been a learned behavior. - No, for sure. - I grew up around a lot of that too. - I grew up around a lot of times. - Look how good you have it. - I think it's very common. I do think it's a very common thing, but it's something like, you gotta check in yourself for a little bit. - And also it makes me feel bad for the person who's testing because you can't just stand up for yourself. I know it's more vulnerable to be like, I don't feel loved by you. - Yeah. - So I have to trap you into doing it and then go put the lights on. Ashton, good, you're good. - Right, yeah. - You don't love me. And you're just saying you don't feel that way is enough to the right people. - Which is what I think OP was asking for. OP was like, listen, that hurt my feelings. Let's get coffee. And then Stella just completely derailed it. So she was like, "Okay, if we can't communicate like adults." saying, "Hey, I've moved you and I actually felt like I really needed a little bit more." Then it was like, "Okay, clear. I'm not able to give that to you." But it said she traps them and then tests them. And forces that. It's scary. It's so much better when friends care about you in response, and you don't have to trap them into doing it. Yeah, exactly. Verdict is not the asshole. Comments, not the asshole, tell her that the brunch was a test to see if she could communicate like an adult without playing mind games and go tripping, and she failed. 16,000 up votes. Whoa, gosh! Someone said she sounds exhausting. Drop people that are energy vampires from your life. Someone said, "Okay, first off, I, 36-year-old woman, have been there before, and I'll cut to the chase quickly. Let go of that friend. No matter how much it hurts, friend break-up suck. Or how much other friends will say you're being unreasonable. Let it go. It isn't worth being friends with someone who expects you to guess their moods and act accordingly. It also isn't worth constantly feeling like a bad friend. So you end up over-compensating later. Trust me, it isn't worth it. I also want to stress that this isn't about communication. It's 100% about control. Yes. There may be a hole this friend is trying to fill that you just can't. No matter how hard you try, and the more you try, the worse it will get. You are not the asshole. 100% the asshole. Okay, I like her. She's a good therapist. They're, uh, red at therapist. Yeah. To a certain degree, because I've heard of people being in situations where you have a friend who constantly is gilting you, constantly making you feel like you're not, like, not doing enough for them and stuff. And at a certain point, it's just like, "Hey, man, I guess I'm not a good enough friend for you." Like, I guess we should-- Yeah, you wish that you could say that to yourself back in the day and go, "Hey, um, drop this friend." But no, you go through this, they get you to a point where you feel so crazy. And you actually, I don't know if you've ever had a friend to be like, "Oh, well, you're not going to be good without me." Oh, right. If you'll ever make it without me, and you've had so much time with them that you're broken down to a place where you really believe it, it's like, you look back on those friendships and you're like, "Whoa!" Unfortunately-- What sucks about it is growing up is you do-- like, your brain is so much smaller when you have only a couple of friends. You're like, "Oh, I can only feel this way with this person." Yeah. And the more older you get, the more you're like, "Oh!" And then when friendships feel easier, it just takes them feeling harder for you to recognize. Oh, that was so easy to talk to you. And you're like, "Hey." You know what I mean? You immediately have healthy boundaries with a friend is just unreal. And it's possible. That's the other thing is when you only have a few friends, you're just like, "Oh, my God, to have a friend that already has boundaries." How nice is that? Yeah. Or like, just like, growing up, it's like, who's in your class at school? Those are your friends. Right, right. And you don't really have the-- And then as an adult, you go, "Whoa, I can kind of curve my time. I can decide who I want to be with and who I don't." Isn't that crazy when you give yourself that permission? I know, but growing up, you're like, "Well, we're in a class together, so." Kind of tough, yeah. Yeah. Well, good on OP for just-- Yeah. Indeed. Our next story comes from today I fucked up. OK. Yay! Yay! Posted in March of this year, 2026. Today I fucked up by kissing my friend because I was 100% sure he was about to kiss me first. Ooh. Ooh, this is fun. Ooh, your friend. Ooh, your friends and kissed. This happened three days ago and I want to move to a different country. Oh. There's this guy in my friend group. We've been friends for like a year and a half. Nothing weird except lately, it felt like something shifted. Or I thought it did. He was texting more, finding reasons to sit next to me. Did this thing where he'd fix my hood when it was half stuck in my jacket collar, which is like, who does that platonically? Ooh, so last Friday, we're at a pregame at our mutual friend's place. It gets late, people leave, and it's just me and him on the couch, close. Talking about nothing. And he gets this look on his face, kind of soft, kind of serious, leaning slightly and going quiet mid-sentence. I have never been more sure of anything in my life. I kissed him. He did not kiss me back. Not like he pushed me away, he just froze. And then pulled back a little and did this sharp exhale and said, "Oh, one syllable." Oh. Oh! I wanted to dissolve into the couch cushions and become part of the furniture forever. Turns out he was about to tell me that he likes my friends. Oh, no, crushing. Uh-oh! That is crushing! Gag! Dead! Skirt fever! Front ground! Bubonic plague! Bubonic? Bubonic! Oh! Lagus hit the town. He wanted my advice and was working up the nerve. That was the look. That was the quiet. He was nervous about talking about her. I had to sit there for another 40 minutes because I couldn't leave without making it weirder. We both pretended to watch something on his phone. I don't know what it was. I was not processing visual information at that point. He texted me the next day like, "Hey, are you okay?" And I said, "Yeah, LOL. And have not opened anything since. I have to see him Friday, same friend group. They will be there. I am not okay." Oh. It's really sweet that he texted. Are you okay? I know. I think that's sweet, but I also would hate him for it. Why? Because he was like, "Don't be nice to me." I don't know. It's like you fall on your face and he goes, "Ooh, you good?" He texted me. You fell real hard, huh? I don't know. It's like it's an amazing thing. But it's sweet. It's sweet. This is. I don't know him, actually. No, I'm okay. He's your brother? It's nice. I'm okay. Well, I don't have a brother. This is like the start of a pilot. I feel like. It really is. This is like the start of a protagonist's story because I'm like, man, that type of twisting of the heart of just like, "Oh, this person you like so much and they're like, "Oh, you get so vulnerable." And they're like, "No, I actually like your friend." Which is, there's nobody's doing anything wrong. They have nobody's wronged her, but that is so devastating. But in like every romcom or whatever, that actually works out. And so when it does, and it's like, "Oh, no." And then that smash cut to title, this is her story. No, the friends to love. The friends to lover's thing, we've watched it a little too much where it's like, you're like, "Well." You know, like. You're like, "Hey, whoa, hey." "Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa." In the games video we just did, Amanda and Chance got really close to kissing. Really? Yeah. And she. Are you feeling okay about it? Yeah, you're right. Um, yeah. It was like crazy. Um, we like, really almost, French. Um. What about. I'm fine with it. I'm fine with it. But the nightmare, to me, is like, how sometimes, um, having a crush gets your brain being like, "They're sitting next to me. They love me." Oh, yeah. Like, yeah. Like, you're so right. And it's kind of so horrifying. Sorry. It's okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That pillow wants to kiss you. Yeah. But, um, but it's like. That's what's so scary. It's like. Yes. Because I was like, "Oh, did this guy do something wrong by hanging out with her one-on-one late at night after drinking and just, like, kind of talking to her?" But I'm like, "No, he didn't do anything wrong, but she interpreted it." Yeah. Like, he liked her back. Okay, but has it ever happened to you where, like, role reversal, where you've been the person, like, going out with a friend and you're like, "And they're about to drop you off." And you're like, "Okay, yeah. Like, that was so much fun." And then they leaned in for a kiss. Has that ever happened to you? No, has that ever happened to you? Mm-hmm. Oh, my God. I have had it with men where they, like, think. Like, I was. I was hanging out with someone and they thought it was a date. And I was like, "Oh, I thought we were getting coffee." Yeah. I didn't think it was, like. So, I think it can get confusing because I think it's very easy. If you like the person, it's very easy to see what exactly what you said. Yeah. These moments of, like, I hate when I do this. Whatever. The moments where they say yes to something or they are dropping you off or they're getting a little bit close and you're like, "Oh, my God. That's happening." But the other person is just like. Yeah, this is a good spot. There's something about it. It's so scary. And I don't know how you nap. How you nap? Yeah. What is she going to do? I have no idea. Well, wait a second. Do we know anything? So, he said he likes the friend. I wonder if she really good friends with the friend. Or if the friend's just part of the friend group. I don't know. Oh, like how close of a friend is. Yeah. Because then does she have to explain? It's got to be like a close friend. It's got to be like. We're all hanging out again. It's got to be the most devastating comments. Talk to him. Don't brush it off and act cool. Really talk to him. There's a 99% chance that he also has no idea how to navigate this. And he's just as embarrassed or confused as you are. Tell him it was a spur of the moment thought that you acted on because you think he's cute or whatever. Yeah. And you misread the situation. Yeah. Let him react from there. And he said, "I don't like sabotage and be like, it was nothing I don't actually like you." Right. "Put the ball on his side of the court and see what he does." 8,000 upvotes. Someone said, "The best is if you explain to him the misunderstanding. If he really is your friend, he will understand. Yeah. Try to joke it off or eventually apologize. I also recommend learning the difference between care and love. No big deal, no worries. It happens to the best of us. Oh. I'm still learning too. For example, fixing the hood is actually showing care to one another. Not necessarily platonic. But for now, try to talk to him about it. No. Okay. If someone went like this, "Hey, you're hood." Well, I don't know if he's doing that. Also. Well, well, well. It's a desert out here. The difference between care and love. Yeah. Come on. Just fucking trying to get by. It's so hot. Fixed is your tag. You're like, "What's your name?" You're like, "Oh, my God. Kindness in America. What?" Like, my goodness. You can't sometimes people do things. Kindness and love. - Like, guys, it's a blurred line. - That's like someone getting missed on them and going, "That's not water." - Whoa, what an interesting-- (laughing) - Whoa, okay. - Someone's getting missed on you. - Don't repeat it, give me one. - That's not water. - Hey, don't do what OP is gonna do. You gotta face it, girl. - I don't wanna eat it. - Gotta get missed it. - You're gonna get missed, right? - Missed a test. - Missed a test. - You want to see what that's like? - No! - No! - Okay, guys, listen to me. - Don't test us, Stella! - Stella! - I think you guys are doing me out. And I wanted to see-- - Definitely don't zone you out. I literally heard you say "missed" and I went, "What?" (laughing) - We both turned to you and asked what you just said. - That's what I'm glad, I'm glad. - Okay. - OP said, "The hood thing was not nothing. I stand by that." My friend I told said, "Yeah, that's flirty behavior." So I was not completely delusional. I was maybe 30% delusional, LOL. I keep replaying the "Oh" and I think about it and my stomach just drops every time, one syllable. He could not even finish a word. I don't know how to walk into Friday and look normal. I don't know what my face is going to do. - Can I also say something? Beware of friends sometimes in this scenario because sometimes you'll be like, "Oh my God, he did this thing." And they're like, "Oh my God, he loves you." - Right, they want to be supportive. - They want to be supportive so they do actually support you in like, not the right direction. - But that's why you gotta be like, "Well, what do you mean?" - What do you mean, what do you mean? - When I guess it's on my face. (laughing) - I guess this is what? - If they've been friends for a long time too, the line is very confusing and weird. And I do think like, she went straight for going in for a kiss when maybe it's like, you could put out feelers in a different way of being like. - Yeah, there are smaller colors. - We're friends, right? What's finding another simpler route? 'Cause once you do the kiss, like you're in. - Yeah, maybe be like, "Miss you." (laughing) - Miss you. - Miss you. - Miss you. - No. (laughing) - And then go like this. - Oh. (laughing) - I think I would be like, toxic middle school Angela, would be like, do you have any crushes right now? (laughing) - If there's someone that you're really into right now? - Yeah. (laughing) - Yeah. - Or you just go like this? - No, I'm not making a physical motion. I'm being like, "Oh, I'm going, what does your heart feel?" (laughing) - Oh, so that's, I'm not feeling like, or like arms, no. - Yeah. - Yeah. - Get on electric scooter and go really slow and be like, "Oh no, if you're standing right in front of me, I might accidentally kiss you." (laughing) Better get out of the way. - Get out of the way. (laughing) - If there was someone that you could kiss in this room right now, who would it be? - That's a pitch that I've pitched this to Smosh. It's called Kiss Jousting. And two people get on electric scooters. (laughing) And they are blindfolded, and they drive. - You're good. I'm not gonna knock your teeth out. - Who are you? - You drive very slowly, you can try. - From the producers of Who Slapped Me, it's Kiss Jousting. - Yeah. - And then Shane is also blindfolded. He goes, "Okay, I'm guessing who's jousting right now." - Who's kissing? - Okay, that felt like an Angela kiss. - It feels like if Amanda was on a scooter, it sound like she was moving really fast. (laughing) - Yeah, what if someone goes fast? That's gonna hurt it. - What the fuck? - What are you talking about? - So you're blindfolded. - You watch a nice tale. - I think we're trying to kiss. (laughing) - Okay, but going very slowly. - Like this? - This just-- - We can't even light a candle in here without getting sickened. - Oh, true. - You're right. - You're right, we can't. - Because we're gonna have two motor operated scooters. - If you wanna have a birthday, you gotta go to the B-room. (laughing) - Okay, let's switch that. - Last comment, someone said, "People send mixed signals all the time, "sometimes completely by accident, unintentional. "People misread signals all the time, "people act on those mixed signals "and misinterpretations all the time. "You are human, humans are going to be human, "you will be okay." - Human. - Thanks. - Thanks, commenter. - It's so true. I mean, this is such like real shit, but it's painful. - No, yeah. - It's painful, but this person will absolutely be okay. We've all kind of been there in a way. - And now you got one, you did that. That's your big crazy story. - Yeah, sure. - You'll survive. Hey, I also think like you always have that story. Like, it's like, oh, you fucked up, whatever, blah, blah. Whenever I hear about someone like shooting their shot, I'm just like, "Yeah, man, good job." - Shoot your shot. - Better to do that than to not. - Not all shots miss. - I've heard that. (laughing) - We love it. - Not all shots missed. - We should take you to a basketball courts and see how many shots you've been. (laughing) - Not all shots missed. And it's just like, "Change pit." - Not all shots missed. - I think Angela has missed 500 shots. - And in the background, you guys are on Scooters. - I think you guys said, bro. - This has a message. (upbeat music) (laughing) - Back to the show. - This is crazy. - What is happening? - I don't know. - One day, by the way. - Whoa, it is? - Yeah. Our next story comes from "True Off My Chest." I cut off my entire friend group because they believe I'm demonically possessed. I kept my side of the story in silence for over a year. It finally feels good to get it out, even if that means reddit. Okay. - What? - It's been hard to share this. It took some time to get over the initial shock of everything. I, a 30-year-old woman, was part of a close knit friend group for several years. We did everything together, and although many of them are non-denominational, or fundamentalist Christians, we always got along just fine. I was raised Catholic, but no longer practiced actively. Despite her religious differences, there was a mutual respect. Or so I thought. One day, one of my closest friends in the group, let's call her Sarah, sat me down for what she called a heart-to-heart. She was clearly distressed and kept telling me she was worried about my well-being. Then she dropped the bomb. She believed a demonic entity was attached to me and that she had been sensing this for over a year. - Oh my gosh. - She claimed the moment it started was a night when we all took mushrooms together. According to her, I, a fundamentalist Christian taking mushrooms. Damn, that's a combo. - What is happening? - According to her, I somehow brought the devil into her home. She told me she saw the face of the devil in a photo taken that night, laughing and mocking us. She had even brought it up to her husband who apparently saw it in me too. It turns out she'd also been discussing this with the rest of the friend group behind my back for months, and with her own husband for over a year. When she finally brought it to me, some of our mutual friends, including people I thought were level-headed, jumped on the bandwagon. She suggested I see a priest get an exorcism or go back to church for spiritual intervention. Even some of our extended friends who aren't even Christians seemed convinced something was wrong with me. As someone who still holds many core Catholic values, even though I no longer attend church, I was deeply offended. The entire experience left me feeling ganged up on and judged, not supported. Afterward, the group dynamic shifted. I felt ostracized. I noticed people giving me side eyes, making plans without me, and treating me like I was tainted or dangerous. They even criticized me for using sage or crystals for intention setting, calling it devil's work, and saying they were genuinely worried for my soul. Just to clarify, they never said the exact words, the devil's work. I was over-generalizing in this statement. What she really expressed was more along the lines of deep concern that I was into that kind of stuff, and that she seriously worried about me messing with sage, crystals, et cetera, because that's the devil's temptation to stray you away from the Lord. These are her real religious beliefs. Eventually, I told Sarah I needed to take a step back. Her response was, "Whenever you're ready to come back, we'll be here with open arms." She clearly believed she was coming from a place of love, and I don't doubt her sincerity, but I couldn't get past how hurt, judged, and betrayed I felt. So I made a decision. I cut ties with all of them. I unfollowed and blocked them on social media, left the group chat, and blocked numbers. I haven't spoken to any of them in over a year. No explanation, no big confrontation, just silence. A few of the more distant friends who were involved but less intense have tried to reconnect, sending friend requests or messages, and honestly, I feel bad for some of them. I think they were just caught up in the group think, but part of me still feels like they had opportunities to speak up or think for themselves, and they didn't. Sarah and I had been friends for seven years. We were extremely close. Her intervention broke my trust, even as she truly thought she was helping. I haven't responded to her attempts to reach out since. I just can't. So Reddit, sometimes I feel guilty for cutting them all off without a word and choosing not to revisit those friendships. Damn, so it's just a straight up confession about that they lost a whole friend group. Wow. This is really kind of heartbreaking, honestly, for this person, for your entire friend group to be like, oh, you're working with the devil? We, first of all, you see a lot of shit when you're on mushrooms, like, come on. The being on drugs thing and going, we decided all collectively that you're a bad boy. Yeah, all the drugs so much the picture. Where is the picture of the devil? I can't stop thinking about, like, insidious. That's all I think about, is the guys like-- I just love the fucking loops that some religious people jump through of, like, what they consider the devil's work and what they don't. 'Cause I'm like, wait, hold on. Crystals are the devil's work, but you guys did a shroom trip. But you're all doing good. It doesn't count. I'm like, what the fuck, and you saw visions and that wasn't the devil's work, like, what if-- Yeah, so the Catholic girl gave you the visions of the devil, not the drugs? Yeah, exactly. What? No, this is really sad. I also feel like, well, welcome you with open arms. To me, growing up in the Catholic church, I'm just like, this feels very familiar to me. It's very much like, oh, if you do what we don't like, you're out of here, like, you're evil. But when you're ready to accept that you're evil and change, then you can come back with open arms. It's so wild. The only demonic thing is ostracizing people. Yeah, you know what I mean? That to me is like the worst part of this. Especially if we're talking, if the other friends are Christians, it's like, oh, if someone feels like they're like, [BLANK_AUDIO] I don't know, you go towards them, I think, is like the idea, rather than like back off. Yeah, but like, but I respect people protecting their peace, like sure. But this just feels like they just ganged up on her 'cause she's different. Totally. Totally. It's just controlling behavior and they-- Also, crystals, that's the devil's work, since what? It changes, it changes all the time. I feel like what they label as devil's work. Sometimes the things you don't understand and the things that scare you don't, I feel like a lot of religions just label that like go away. Go away, and when you've changed, when you've gone back to like where we are, come back. It feels very clicky, and I'm very glad that this person actually cut these people out. Oh, they had to, goodbye. Well, and it's like, it's actually, I'm like, you didn't necessarily cut them out, they were intolerant of you. Like, they're such an intolerant group, and you kind of had no choice. Like, you weren't safe. But what the funny thing is about this is she did nothing. It just happened because they were on drugs, and they all collectively had a weird vibe from her. They just, what, I really want to see this picture. If weird vibes were demonic, I'd have no friends. I'm not, but, yeah. Hey, I like demonic people, and you're one of them. I'm not fully buying the mushroom trip. I think this was just something like, they were building up to, like, at some point. I agree. Like, maybe if someone's a bad vibe because they're mean, and they're treating people awfully? Well, they're hiding behind a really bad excuse. But she did nothing. Like, she literally did nothing. She did nothing. But this is just controlling. I mean, this, I mean, come on. In America, we see this literally every fucking day. Like, it's just like going out of their way to try to control people who are doing literally nothing to them. And it's really heartbreaking because I think if you don't have a good support group, you can really feel like you are bad, that you are negative, that what you're doing isn't right, but it's like, to me, this person is actually doing things that makes her feel good. To me, it's like religion, spirituality, whatever it is, that's going to make you feel more connected to your inner self. That's the work that you should be doing and we shouldn't be shunning people for that. Well, it's also like, they would say it all the time in the Bible, too. Where it's like all the disciples would be like, shunning people that were weird or sinful, and Jesus would love them and go towards them. And everyone would be like, what? Yeah, it's like, that is the basic thing, and it's core. Yeah. So maybe we got that, but no, I think we keep that. It's true, though, but we keep that, that's the jet. It's so true, and then it's the same pattern that was that a billion years ago was happening, that's still happening today, where people are like, if I don't understand you, I can't understand you. I can't look exactly. Comments, why is she even judging you and stuff for not being fully Christian when she voluntarily took mushrooms with you? Didn't she even think it was the paranoia from the shrooms? Oh, he said, it seems like she used the shroom trip to validate her own original suspicions. But, yes, considering the paranoia from the shrooms is a very logical way to think. Someone said, the thing I'm stuck on is the assertion that using crystals or sage is not of God, but doing shrooms is okay. Like, Jesus is against rocks and harmless plants, but A.O.K. with technically poisonous psychedelic fungi. Lastly, someone said, and good rinse to all of them. Sarah was never your friend, that was a setup, and she used your faith to gang up on you. I can't, yeah, exactly. It's honestly what bad trips you're scared of when you're doing drugs, you're scared everyone's talking about you and thinking to like not talk to you. And you do see hallucinations. Sometimes you see people's face like totally. You're on drugs! Yeah, 100%. You're on drugs! It's kind of like the beginning of a song. A church song. I don't think this person, this friend group, has ever in a moment in their life gone, maybe I'm wrong. No, never. Yeah, ever. And I bet they're like, well, shrooms are of the earth, so we could do them. Yeah. That's the Christians I think. But rocks are not. Huh? Crystal meth, you made them. Yeah, exactly. But this is the earth. Yeah. They're minerals, by the way. Crystal's. Just get out of town. We are not friends anymore. Hey. You watch Breaking Bad. You know Hank Schrader loves him. Oh my god, of course. Of course. Oh god, we're on like the third-bringy bad reference of the day. You haven't seen it. It is 20 sets! If you have seen it, you would be on it, too. Crystal meth. Our final story comes from true off my chest. Supposedly a few days ago. I saw a friend in the market, and I can't stop thinking about how she greeted me. Okay. What market? What year is it? Sapo! I'm so stupid. That is slut. That's ass, slut. It's like, thanks. Have a little girly slut. You guys looking good. Woo! Woo! I'm end of the be-room. The demons are in there. So the demons are. The other day my husband and I, this is a 57-year-old woman, walked into the supermarket, and there in the produce section, I saw a friend who I hadn't run into for years. We know each other in a professional capacity, more than a personal one, but we get on very well, even though we never socialized outside of work. So I see her standing there, and I'm so happy. I exclaim, is that Dina Piscchiati? Not a real name. She made up Dina Piscchiati. Is that my slut with that? Is it offensive if I say Angela, do you know how to pronounce this P-I-S-C-I-O-T-T-I? Is this your friend? P-I-S-C-I-O-T-T-I. Piscchiati. Piscchiati. Piscchiati. Piscchiati? Piscchiati. Is that Dina Piscchiati? [ Laughter ] With a huge smile. Is this what OP exclaim? Wait, but that's not her name. No, that's not her real name in parentheses. I really enjoyed the way Shane said that, though. I really like. [ Laughter ] With a huge smile, she turns around, and it takes just a minute for her to register my face, and then she comes in. I thought we were going to do a friendly hug and a little squeal of delight, but no. She grabs my shoulder and pulls me into a hug. Fully pulls me in and hugs me with a huge smile and a huge embrace, and then pulls away laughing and smiling, and then pulls me in a second time. I don't think I've ever been hugged like this in my life. I've never been surrounded by such genuine joy and happiness to be seen. It was completely sincere and filled with joy. We stood there for a minute catching up, introducing her to my husband, excited small talk and left with plans to meet for lunch, which we have scheduled for next week. I cannot stop thinking about that hug. Again, no one has ever done this for me. Not my parents, siblings, husbands, other friends, no one. It felt like pure acceptance and happiness to be seen in a long-lost family member. It was wonderful. Okay. I love you, bitch. Thank God I ran into you near the avocados. God, I never had someone do that for me. I never had someone. They'd handle me and call me. She's like, God, it's so good to see you. God, it's me. Okay, so what's really important to me is I misheard this, and I thought, I thought, oh, he was talking about someone looking at her, calling her a full-wrong name, going, is that Dina Piscchiati? Dina Piscchiati. Why is this story so funny? And then Dina Piscchiati grabs her and you know that part in the figure skating where they spin them around the door. So she grabs her hugs her, flips her around. I'm just like, whoa, what was this woman? Maybe she was like-- Maybe she just won a lot of money and not moment or something beforehand. Or maybe she was just like, she was like, that is me. I am Dina Piscchiati. That is your god damn right I am. You're right, you slut. Get it here. Because I think we keep saying the sentence, like, is that really fun? But imagine an OP is 56 or something. And she's like, is that Dina Piscchiati? Yeah, you're damn right I am. Come here. And then she's like, I've never felt that way in my entire life. Yeah, whoa, what did the husband think? He's just like-- He's like, I've never seen anything like that before in my entire life. I-- I'm obsessed with Dina Piscchiati. He's like, who's Dina Piscchiati? Who is that? And she's like, Dina Piscchiati. She's like, Dina Piscchiati. I met her once at the market. She goes years ago. We used to have fun. Yeah, we went down each other for a long time one night. You think? You have Dina Piscchiati? Is that? We went to France and-- Oh boy. And we French. Or what if O.P. was like a normal woman? And she goes, she's like, yeah, honey. Oh, I love-- let's get a couple of these. No! Holy-- Oh my god. Is that Susan Brandkoff? Get over here. And then the dad's like, what? What? There's a cart in between them. They smoosh it. She goes, yeah. All the groceries to splatter. What? Oh my god. Is that-- Is that Dina Piscchiati that I am mistaken? I don't realize I was in the cake aisle. Are we doing serpents right now? That I am mistaken. The Lord has risen. In the name of the demons in the B-room. God damn it. It was her first dance. She can do whatever she wants in a banquet hall. Hey. Okay, sorry. By the way, OP couldn't walk after the hug she could. She gets that. She goes. Oh! Dina and she goes, yes, ma'am. Check your wallet. - Check your wallet. There's a hundred dollars in there. - Oh my God. - That is Gena! Pissie! - Ah! - I love this story. - I love this story. - But also though it makes me sad that OP doesn't feel like seeing or love or hug. - Even by your husband. Does her husband not grip her at any time? How are you well? - Let's talk about the ramifications of this situation. Like God. - This is a funny story to read because when I'm at the grocery store, I don't want anyone to talk to me. - Oh God. - Oh I've had like a couple of these happen to me. - It's tough. - Sure. - Where it's like, "Ah, Amanda!" - You're fucking kidding. - You're joking. - Won't feel as bitch! (laughing) - You? No? - Okay. - The problem is like, especially if you have perishables in your cart, you don't have much time. - Oh my God. Is that what you're thinking about? - You're such a hunter gal. - She can breasten my cart. - So I have chicken breasten my cart. - I cannot take a hug. - I'm so sorry, Deena. - Sorry. - I can't say hi. I'd love to see you in squeeze. - It's a pair of sweet asses. - I got a pair of shoes in my cart. - I love to squeeze that sweet ass on my palm. - Well is that? - Tina Pizziotti. I'm so sorry. I got eggs in here that are dined by the second. - I'll see you later. I'll see you later. God, this mark is fun. - If I don't get them out of here, they're gonna hatch. Anyways, goodbye. - Jesus. - All right. Comments. - Fuck no. A genuine heartfelt hug has been shown to prolong life. I know hippies get a bad rap, but some of the best hugs I've ever had were at Burning Man and lasted longer than 30 seconds. - Okay. - Everyone needs to be hugged more than a while. - What the fuck is happening now? - There's not just hippies at Burning Man. Come on. They're architects. - Yeah, they're all love. - They're filters. - Yeah, they're all from Silicon Valley. - Yeah. - Someone said, "There are a few people I've hugged in life who give mom dad hugs. Like I completely melt in their arms and feel safe, seen and cared for. I did tell one lady this and she pulled me back in for another and told me I could have a mom hug whenever I needed one. Thanks for giving the best hugs, Jen." Someone said, "I love this. I must admit, I'm so jaded by my Reddit negativity that I assumed the OP was going to complain about overstepping boundaries or whatever. I had my pitchfork ready. It was such a lovely and wholesome surprise to read this." Lastly, someone said, "There's not a lot of joyful wholesome posts. I feel so negative for waiting for that. Thanks for sharing. You can all choose to be a light for others and ourselves." - Oh, Dina Pissiotti is a light. - Dina Pissiotti is a character we got to do now. - Dina Pissiotti. - Whoa, she's changed. - Well, that's Dina Pissiotti. - Because we're doing the dresses of OP. Because OP is who said, "Is that Dina Pissiotti?" - Oh, you're right, you're right, you're right. - Dina Pissiotti turned around and goes, "Yeah, god, you're right." And she took her head. - Get the fuck away. - Is that my best friend? Is that the only best friend? - Is that the only one? - And then she hugs you. - You're right out on the back. - And I felt this heat on my back and it was like, - And I felt the light. - Why is that happening? Do you think, "Is that my mother fucking sister?" - Hey, hey, sister, queen, queen, queen, queen, queen. And then the shopping carts, the mess-- - Don't trust me. - Take a lemon on me. - She's like-- - Dina Pissiotti. Dina Pissiotti is following it. - Dina, it's been so long. - I know. - Dina, we-- - Oh, I remember friends. - Nope, Dina. - Oh my god, Dina. That was crazy. We-- - What was happening in France, honey? - Oh, is this Jasmine? You're going to want to step back. - Hello. - So I've never given her a hug like you've given her a hug. You know what I'm saying, Dina? - Whoa. - I can tell, I can tell. - Whoa. - Before Dina was like that, we used to fuck a lot. - Like what? - Yeah, I think it did. - Yeah, yeah, I think it. - Dina, something has happened to Dina. - I've ascended. - I did truth. - Yeah, we know. - I've been in this grocery store for two weeks. - Yeah. - They won't let me out. - Oh. - Oh. - God. - Dina Pisciotti. She wins Reddit. - Yeah. - Yeah. - We need her. - Can I be honest for a second in that delirious laughter? I thought we were at the old studio. - Whoa. - Whoa. - Shane. - We-- - Oh. - Whoa. - Whoa. - And you know what I thought? I thought this was a haystack. (laughing) I love this so much. (laughing) (laughing) - This is my idea of a haystack. - I can't stop thinking about it. This is a haystack. You know those that are rolled up in the barn? - We have to get her home. - I do have to go home. - I don't think God is the last thing you know. - Is that a haystack or Dina Pisciotti? - Dina Pisciotti. (laughing) - I recognize that haystack anywhere. - Is that Dina Pisciotti? - I only know one person built like a haystack and it's Dina Pisciotti. - I recognize that one. Anywhere, Dina? - Oh God, we gotta cut this off, y'all. - Yeah, everyone's gonna be like-- - All right. - This was not a good act. - You know what I wanna meet Liam, 'cause he can save my life one day. - True. - True. - All right. - Angela, Amanda, this went about how I expected it to go. (laughing) - That's what friends are for. - Let's litter. - That's right. Thank you for joining me and thank you for watching. Uh, boy. Hey, hug your friend. Bye. - See you next Saturday. - Hey, hey, hey. - Okay, bye. - Hug your friend. - Hug your friend. - Let's go back to the B room. - All right, we're going to the B room. - Okay, this was the A room. - Yes, that's what you're not gonna be. - Can you beat me? - Yes, yes, this is A room. - Yeah, so. - Oh, here. - Oh, hey, Steph. - Oh, the birthday girl. - Oh, look at that. There's a bunch of charcuterie over there. - Is that Dena Pissy, honey? (laughing)