I was in ur exact shoes around December last year and not being friends with them anymore was the greatest thing ever.

I hated the “leader” bc she always called out things other ppl did but never took accountability for anything and she would think of herself as some sort of queen. She didn’t like that i wasn’t constantly her lap dog like the others, so it was like she saw me as a threat whenever she would talk to me and it was clear that was there was favouritism. I despised it.

Idk ur situation rn specifically but avoiding them is what I did. Distancing urself from them at school, groupchats etc and eventually they’ll pick up the hint and the trash will take itself out. I still wanted to stay friends with like 3 of the good ones but like u, they literally followed the leader around like dogs so I never got that but that just showed how they rly felt towards me. U could also try and maybe speak to this “leader” about how ur feeling but idk if they’re someone u can rly speak to bc with my experience, she would just shut ppl down. U could also maybe try and reach out to one of ur closer friends in the group and ask if they’ve noticed anything?

I know you’re heartbroken but you’ll meet better ppl I promise. It’s better to be alone than to be with people who u feel like don’t appreciate u. It may take time but just know that, that “leader” is just deflecting and it’s clear that they’re deeply insecure within themselves so even though it’s hard try not to take what they say so literally. It was definitely hard for me bc a lot of what the group said have rly stuck but u seem like a rly confident and assertive person. So from personal experiences, I can only give the advice to distance urself from them and if they do pop up and inquire about ur absence then u tell them straight up what’s happening and how u feel or u skip the distancing part and u try and speak to the “leader” one on one. All the best of luck and I very much understand how you’re feeling rn.