Friend trouble

[Anonymous]

Hi ec'ers! Sooo for the past year ive been struggling with the issue of friendship. When i was in middle school i only had like one real friend, but its not like we ever hung out at all after school. This lasted from 2 to 8 grade. Now in high school, i have lots of what i call "school friends" meaning that i go to school and manage to get along with just about everyone. The thing is i dont know how to go beyond that point anymore with friends. I feel socially awkward to a point that i dont "hang out" with people like others do. I dont know what to do. I dont know how to initiate stuff like that.

Before i go much farther, let me explain a quick situation that happened last year. I was in a class with a group of people that i got along with and for the most part enjoyed being around. Some family stuff came up and they started talking crap about us, so i pulled away from them and in consequence had to pull myself out of a lot of other groups of people. Now im trying to remain "a friendly distant relationship" with those select individuals while moving on to more promising relationships. My schools really small so its like everyone knows everybody....almost. I feel like i have to wait for college next year to try friendship again. :/. Any advice? I feel lost. I hate not having people in my life.