Grace saw it now.
The looks.
The whispers.
The way conversations paused when she walked by.
She wasn't clueless.
She knew Lucy was distant.
She knew Theo avoided eye contact sometimes.
She knew Nate and Adrian watched her laugh with David like it meant something bigger than it was.
And she was tired of pretending not to notice.
So that night, she did something she hadn't done in months.
She opened the old group chat.
The one still named "The Six đź’«".
Her thumb hovered for a second.
Then she typed:
Guys. Tomorrow. Recess. Outside our old spot near the art room stairs. Let's meet.
No emojis.
No explanation.
Just that.
One by one, the "Seen" notifications appeared.
Julian: Okay.
Theo: Yeah.
Lucy: Fine.
Nate: Sure.
Adrian: Coming.
The next day, all five of them reached the art room stairs before the bell.
They stood there awkwardly.
Same place.
Different energy.
Theo leaned against the wall.
Lucy crossed her arms.
Nate and Adrian stood together.
Julian kept glancing down the corridor.
"She called the meeting and she's late," Nate muttered.
And then they saw her.
Grace walking down the corridor.
Laughing.
With Zoey, Ella, and David.
She said something to David, lightly pushed his shoulder, and then noticed the group waiting.
Her laughter faded.
"I'll see you guys later," she told Zoey and the twins.
David gave her a small nod before walking off.
The five pairs of eyes followed him.
Grace walked up to them.
"Sorry. I'm five minutes late."
No one said it was okay.
Lucy spoke first.
"So. What's this about?"
Grace looked at all of them.
"You guys have been acting weird."
Theo let out a short laugh. "We've been acting weird?"
"Yes," Grace replied firmly. "You have."
Nate crossed his arms. "Grace, you're the one who's changed."
"Exactly," Adrian added. "You don't even hang out with us anymore."
Lucy's voice was quieter, but sharper. "You're always with Zoey. Or Ella. Or David."
There it was.
Grace inhaled slowly.
"You think I changed?" she asked.
"Well, didn't you?" Nate said.
Something in her snapped — not angrily, but honestly.
"Last year," she began, her voice steady, "I was the only one trying to fix our group."
Silence.
"I came to 5C almost every week. I kept asking you guys to come to 5A. I waited during recess. I stopped going just to see if anyone would come to me."
No one interrupted her.
"Julian noticed," she said, glancing at him briefly. "But he didn't try to help me."
Julian looked down.
Theo shifted uncomfortably.
"I wasn't trying to replace anyone," Grace continued. "I was trying to keep us together. And none of you even realized."
Lucy's jaw tightened. "That's not fair."
"No?" Grace's voice cracked slightly now. "Then tell me — when did you come looking for me?"
No answer.
She turned to Theo. "You sit next to Nate every day. You see him more than me."
Then to Julian. "We're in the same class. Of course I have to talk to him. What am I supposed to do? Ignore him?"
Julian's eyes met hers for a second. There was guilt there.
"And Lucy," Grace said, her voice softer but no less firm, "don't even get me started."
Lucy looked startled.
"You told me that group was toxic. That Claire's old group was unhealthy. And now you're back with them. Claire. Denise. Peyton. Audrey."
Lucy's cheeks flushed. "They're different now."
"So am I," Grace replied quietly.
That hit harder than shouting would have.
No one spoke for a few seconds.
It wasn't dramatic.
No tears.
No screaming.
Just truth sitting between them.
"You think I'm choosing them over you," Grace said finally. "But I'm not. I'm just not chasing anymore."
Theo's voice was barely above a whisper. "We didn't know you felt like that."
"That's the point," Grace replied. "You didn't notice."
Julian stepped forward slightly. "She's right."
Everyone looked at him.
"She did try," he admitted. "I saw it."
Nate exhaled slowly. "We thought… you moved on."
Grace shook her head. "I didn't move on. I just stopped running alone."
Lucy's eyes softened, but the jealousy was still there.
"So what now?" Adrian asked quietly.
Grace looked at the stairs.
The same stairs where they once promised forever.
"I don't know," she said honestly. "But I can't keep being the only one trying."
The bell rang.
Sharp. Loud. Final.
No one moved immediately.
For the first time in a long time, everything had been said.
But saying it didn't magically fix it.
As they walked back to their separate corridors — 6A, 6B, 6C — something had shifted.
They weren't strangers.
Not yet.
But they weren't the same either.
And sometimes, the hardest part isn't losing a friendship.
It's realizing it didn't fall apart on its own.
Everyone had a hand in it.