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Discover weekly, the best short stories

Looking for a steady supply of friendship short stories? Every week thousands of writers submit stories to our writing contest.

150+ Friendship Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. Some would say that tales of friendship are some of the most moving of all. From childhood friends to brand new buds, you'll find a story to warm your heart here.

Friendship Short Stories – Page 6 of 10

The League of Inconspicuous Gentlefolk

Submitted to Contest #307

n the deepest depths of a perfectly average town—sandwiched between a bakery that sold suspiciously dry éclairs and a barber who still insisted on bowl cuts—lived a secret society so secret, so absurdly underwhelming, that no one would ever suspect its existence.They were The League of Inconspicuous Gentlefolk.Their motto? “Blend In, Stand Down, Avoid Eye Contact.”Membership required an unwavering commitment to never doing anything impressive in public, always wearing beige or gray, and perfecting the art of walking into a room and being imm...

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Bagging Up

Submitted to Contest #307

What was I going to do? I’d got myself into a very tricky situation, and I had a lot at risk. Courtesy of a very generous grant from the Mellon Foundation, I was officially engaged in a three-year ethnographic study where I was going to explore how poor people cope in the city’s public housing high-rises, otherwise known as the ‘projects’. This was going to be my ticket to the world of academia. Looking back, all I can say is: what arrogance. What a sap I was. Give a guy like me a wooden nickel and he’s gonna to try to pass it off as the rea...

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Lemon Tree

Submitted to Contest #307

In the small coastal town of Maribelle, nestled between sea breeze and sun-warmed cobblestones, there stood a little house with a lemon tree in the front yard. It wasn’t particularly grand or old, but the lemon tree had stood there for over forty years, weathering storms and seasons, always giving the sweetest lemons you’d ever taste. Locals said the tree was magic. Children made lemonade stands beneath its shade. Couples carved initials into its bark. Brides plucked blossoms for their hair. But the tree’s greatest magic had yet to be seen.T...

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Homecoming

Submitted to Contest #307

Massachusetts, 1986I saw her at the first Sunday mass of the fall semester. Her back to me in our regulation pinafores and two long braids like black twine. The stained-glass window straight ahead, a hundred little colours bleeding into one.We were seated next to each other in calculus class because our surnames sat together alphabetically and she introduced herself, smiling. It was the roots of what I knew would be the friendship of my lifetime.She was new to school and everyone liked her immediately. She had a way of pulling you in like th...

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The Final Assessment (With a Bit of Garnish)

Submitted to Contest #307

“What do you mean, this is my final test?” “Mason, The Company has provided this opportunity to redeem yourself in their eyes, and recover a very valuable piece of nostalgia as well from someone who shouldn’t possess it. I don’t see what the problem is.” Paul adjusted his earpiece, and checked his firearm. He had four more clips in his holster, so there should be plenty. “Why also do you insist on calling me Mason? You know my name, Lime, and I’ve told you several times, you can call me Paul.” He could hear the stern look through the earpiec...

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Whispers of Hope: Emma's Story

Submitted to Contest #307

The dorm room was silent and shadowed. Sixteen mahogany bed posts towered like ancient masts, casting blue shadows across four billowing white bedspreads. A whisper of a breeze wafted through a window, dissipating the scent of moth balls and age with the fragrance of autumn.Tick.Plink.Two tiny stones in quick succession nicked the glass window above where Emma slept.Emma had started ninth grade that September. Until this year, school had been a nightmare. She had been so unruly, some teachers thought her mentally impaired, but one teacher ha...

15 likes 8 comments 8
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What a Gem

Submitted to Contest #307

Harold Pollock cradled a jewel in his dry, leathery palm. When he stared at it the rest of the second-hand store faded away. He could no longer hear the beeping registers, the polite exchanges at the checkout counter, or the jingling bell over the door. Instead he was lost in the jewel's deep marine color, falling into the abyss of its crystal clear, flawless volume. It had to be fake, possibly acrylic or glass. If it were a real gemstone it would be worth millions, but here it was on sale for eight ninety nine plus tax. Even the gold pendan...

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Cosi Fan Texty: A re-imagining of Mozart’s famous opera

Submitted to Contest #306

Dora to Fiona, Sun 8 June at 21.37Dora: OMG! Freddie’s proposed! 😊 Fiona: OMG! Congratulations! Dora: He actually got down on one knee and produced a ring! Fiona: When’s the date? Fiona: BTW, I’ve got news too.Dora: August 2026.Dora: Just noticed your other text. You mean you and Julian?Fiona: Guess who’s getting married in 12 months.Fiona: Crossed texts again.Dora: How did he ask you?Fiona: It was so corny. He said he always knew I was Miss Right but how did I fancy being Mrs Wright.Dora: Lad jokes. And technically you’re Miss Lang.Dora: St...

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What We Carry

Submitted to Contest #306

Int. 2nd floor bedroom of Abandoned House - DuskOpen on: An empty room apart from a crumbling stone FIREPLACE, and a dusty floral CHAIR. Sitting is LOU, a woman in her mid-sixties, more weathered than the room around her. Unkempt hair and ragged jacket. She stares out at the lawn through a grimy window, but not without intention, she is scanning. At the perimeter of the lawn, at edge of the woods, she spots a DARK FIGURE pushing through the dead brush. Lou swiftly raises a hunting RIFLE, a HANDCUFF on her left wrist clings and we see she’s c...

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Straight to Voicemail

Submitted to Contest #306

(Content warning: This story is about homophobia! It doesn't feature slurs or violence, but be warned.) CHLOE <3 – OUTGOING CALL – June 13, 2025 5:23 PMHi, this is Chloe! Sorry I missed your call. You can try again later or leave a message. That, or you can join us in this century and text me. I'll make sure to get right back to you!(A beep.)JESSHey. I haven't heard from you all week so I wanted to make sure you're alive. I guess you could've actually died, or lost your phone, but I don't think that's it. (Pause.)Okay, I also wanted to ma...

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If It's Not Chocolate

Submitted to Contest #306

At last, it was quiet — the kind of calm that settled over the ward once the trays had been cleared and the evening meds had made their rounds. The beeps came farther apart now, unhurried, like the machines themselves had grown sleepy. Fluorescent light pooled across the linoleum and pressed dimly against the window blinds. She adjusted her pillow, shifting to one side with the slow caution her body now demanded. Then she stared at her phone screen for several long moments before pressing ‘record.’ LegacyVoices had a polite interface — soft ...

6 likes 1 comment 1
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Season of Misery

Submitted to Contest #306

April 1st Words fail me. At least that’s what happens when I experience any intense emotionally charged situation. I have started writing in this book of empty pages (let’s go with “journal”) at the suggestion of my therapist as a means of not completely losing it. As a white female of 32 years being therapized by a white male of roughly 60 years or age, I have a feeling this will go well.Not a pointless exercise at all.Jamie said they don’t have to be long entries, no guidelines or expectations. I just need to start writing and see where th...

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A letter was left for you at the front desk, Sir.

Submitted to Contest #307

Hi, You don’t know me, but that’s not important. I won't tell you who I am, what I do, but if you’re as good as I think you are, you’ll figure it out. I saw you today, walking a dog we both know isn’t yours, down by the water, amongst the tourists and teenagers that litter the beaches at this time of year. You looked relaxed. Smiled when a kid rode past and almost knocked you over. His mother tried to catch your eye, a blush creeping up her cheeks that was more than just embarrassment, but I guess you were lost in thought. Thinking of Tokyo...

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Keep My Word

Submitted to Contest #306

Keep My Word ACT I: Genesis 11:1-9 ESV The Tower of Babel(Scene opens with crowds of people dressed in rough hewn garbs milling about excitedly babbling to one another.)Narrator: These are God's people after the time of Noah. They have not been following God's demand of going forth and multiply to cover the earth. They have decided to take matters into their own hands.Self-declared Leader: Come, let us make and settle here on this wide plain here in the land of Shinar. We have migrated far from the east.Worker 1: Yes, let us make bricks and ...

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A Recipe for Friendship of the Best Kind

Submitted to Contest #306

Ingredients: 2 curious-as-heck and willing-to-learn kids1 abandoned old bakery that was mysterious3 cups of true adventure that would never end1 pinch of fresh bravery with one ounce of fear5 sprinkles of giggles, waiting to do a chuckleA small dash of lasting magic to outright shineA final touch of endless friendship as the prize Step 1: Start with Two Curious-as-Heck KidsOnce upon a time, in a small town known as Oak Wood, there lived two very best friends, Maya and Liam. Maya loved baking more than anything. She spent hours in the kitch...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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