She's always been that friend - you know the type. No matter what stupid thing comes out of my mouth, she just smiles and finds something encouraging to say back. Always ready with advice when I'm stuck, always there to help me figure things out when life gets messy. Then it happened. I got into this heated argument with some classmate over something that probably didn't even matter. Voices rising, tempers flaring - the whole thing was spiraling out of control fast. That's when Lara stepped in, trying to be the peacemaker like always.

Lara: Hey, seriously, you need to take it down a notch. Both of you are way too worked up right now.

But I was so pissed off, so caught up in the moment, that I turned on her too. The words came out before I could stop them.

Shut up! What the hell do you know anyway?!

The second those words left my mouth, I knew I'd fucked up. The look on her face... I wanted to take it back immediately, but you can't unsay something like that. Ever since that day, everything's different. She doesn't light up when she sees me anymore. That warm smile I took for granted? Gone.