A woman shared a story of setting boundaries with a 'flaky' friend as TikTokers cheered her on and a slew of internet strangers offered her their friendship

• A woman went viral with a TikTok about realizing she's a "good friend" to a friend who may not deserve it.
• Emily Grace said she and her friend were supposed to grab dinner, but the friend never responded when she showed up.

People are cheering on and comforting a woman after she shared a story about asserting a personal boundary because of a friend's "self-centered" behavior.

Emily Grace, who goes by the handle @emmy_g718 on TikTok, told Insider that the overwhelmingly supportive responses she's gotten "warms" her heart and has restored her faith in positive friendships.

Grace, who's based in Worcester, Massachusetts, filmed her candid response right after the incident over the weekend. In the clip, which has been viewed over 500,000 times, Grace told viewers that it was the first time seeing this particular friend in about a year.

Her friend suggested the Southwestern grill chain Moe's, which has been their "spot" since the two met at a self-defense class in 2016. The choice was not ideal because of Grace's gluten dietary restrictions, but she acquiesced, she said.

@emmy_g718 I feel like I’m a good friend ‍♀️ #fyp #foryou #friends #advice #saturday #saturdaynight #picnic #newengland ♬ original sound - Emily

Grace recounted that she offered to meet beforehand so they could go together, but her friend proposed that she put in an order, and have Grace pick it up and bring it to her house.

Grace reluctantly obliged. It was raining when she arrived at her friend's house with their food, but no one responded to her ringing the doorbell. She then called her and texted her, "Hey, can you let me in? It's raining," but her friend didn't respond.

Grace said she had decided to start setting better boundaries in her life, and she told herself that she would give her friend ten minutes to respond.

Grace, who described herself to Insider as the type of friend who is always "the first one to arrive at a party" so she can help friends set up, said she would have waited much, much longer when she was younger.

"I realized now in my life, at 27 years old, I don't want to have friends like that," she said. "I don't want to be a second thought to people who call me a friend."

In her TikTok, Grace said she ended up eating alone in her car. Her friend finally called her 20 minutes later, asking what had happened, and then where she had left the food. Her friend apparently claimed that she did not receive her initial texts and calls.

"I'm like, 'It's okay, no worries, enjoy your food.' And I hung up," Grace recalled.

Commenters were outraged on Grace's behalf, with many suggesting that her friend was at fault and was not considerate enough of her time or effort.

"No, real friends do not do this. She should have been waiting for you at the door to let you in immediately from the rain," one top comment said. "Keep those boundaries."

"I would have been petty and sent a Venmo request for a delivery fee," another viewer wrote.

Many viewers then offered to be Grace's friend. Some even went as far as adding her on social media so they could potentially connect IRL.

"She's not a real friend but I would be!! I'm in Boston I'm adding you on Insta lolol," one person commented.

Grace told Insider the overwhelming support online has been touching to see.

"People are like, 'I would have taken your allergies into consideration,' and that just warms my heart...to know that there's still people out there like that because I really thought that this was just something that everyone deals with," Grace said.

Grace said her friend isn't aware of her TikTok — at least to her knowledge — and most likely won't see it because she doesn't have the app. She said she will confront her friend at some point, perhaps at the friend's wedding reception in July, which Grace is still planning to attend.

For now, she's happy she shared such a raw moment on social media.

"So many people have commented on it, and I just feel like now I have thousands of internet friends," she said.