Analysis chapter because I felt like it-

This chapter will essentially break down the Shelly/Popsicley sub-plot and the friendship group dynamic in general so. Yeah :] This is kinda mainly for my own purposes though lol, don't expect it to be too good.

Chocolatey: I declare this friendship meeting in session!

Popsicley: This was such a great idea Chocolatey, now we can hang out better.

The first time we see the group in episode 3, we see that Chocolatey is the leader/founder of the group. And as Popsicley says, this group is so they can "hang out better". Shelly corroborates this in episode 10 by saying that the friendship group "wasn't exactly an alliance, more of a thing to get [their] minds off of the game".

Then Shelly gets concerned about Slurpy not being there, to which Chocolatey says:

"Hmm...maybe next time."

While her tone/words sound a little dismissive, I think Chocolatey is just being light-hearted about the issue more than anything, because that's her character. It does strike me as odd that Chocolatey doesn't really apologize for excluding Slurpy; a simple "oh my bad, maybe next time" would've sufficed.

That does lead me to believe Chocolatey isn't as good of a friend with Slurpy than Shelly (did I word that right?), not to mention that she'll "maybe" invite Slurpy next time. Still, she doesn't sound intentionally malicious. Especially since in episode 7, she defends Slurpy when Popsicley suggests Slurpy is a threat. ("Yeah, [Slurpy] seems okay.")

Note as well that Boat nor Popsicley outwardly supports/objects to having Slurpy in the group.

So when the other three leave to spy on Pear, Shelly hesitates and looks uneasy. Either she doesn't want to spy on Pear, or she's still sad about Slurpy being excluded. Or both. Either way, this scene establishes that Shelly has some level of discomfort with the group.

Popsicley: Hey girls, I just ended a possible alliance between Big Orange Chicken and Boombox.

Chocolatey: Cool.

Popsicley: So, down to business. We need to figure out who our enemies are if we want to make it far in this game. Who has ideas?

Popsicley has taken over the leadership role, and has taken a more strategic approach with the group. Did Chocolatey pass over the leadership role, or is Popsicley just acting as leader while Chocolatey is chill with it? The answer doesn't matter that much, I guess.

Sometime between episodes 3 and 7, we can assume Popsicley got more serious about BOTO and her desire to get farther bled into the friendship group, which was supposed to be casual and get their minds off the competition. The others don't seem to mind too much, but are less passionate/critical about getting rid of possible threats.

Popsicley: I don't know about [not having any threats]; Slurpy's pretty smart, and she seems a bit fishy to me.

It's not any petty dislike on Popsicley's part, she genuinely feels intimidated by Slurpy's intelligence. Anko also says as much on one of his livestreams (either the post-BOTO finale or the Party Hat animation stream), that Popsicley disliked Slurpy because she felt intimidated, and for one other reason I'll say later.

Shelly and Chocolatey defend Slurpy here, but Shelly is much more upset at the suggestion Slurpy is a threat. I'd also like to mention Chocolatey's wording; that Slurpy "seems okay". Again, Chocolatey is kinda ambiguous about the issue, but doesn't have anything personal against Slurpy. Boat doesn't say anything at all, but it can be inferred that she's casual friends with Slurpy because she (with Shelly) offers Slurpy a ride to the finish line.

But Popsicley doesn't get to say why she believes Slurpy is fishy because this happens:

Something I noticed recently is that when Slurpy shows up, Popsicley has this panicked look on her face. Boat does too, but I imagine that might be because she got startled. She does a little jump when Slurpy suddenly starts talking.

Again, Popsicley's reaction shows that she feels intimidated; there's some level of fear that if Slurpy heard what she said, Slurpy'll start messing things up.

Then they all just leave. Except Shelly. I think it's worth noting that Popsicley gets up first, then Boat and Chocolatey follow after her, reinforcing that Popsicley is the leader. So there's some awkwardness surrounding Slurpy in general, most likely because if they explain they're having a friendship meeting, Slurpy would question why she wasn't invited, and that makes things awkward for everyone.

Obviously Popsicley has a dislike for Slurpy, but Boat and Chocolatey are quite passive about the issue. Since they're better friends with Popsicley though, they side with her. Shelly doesn't say anything either, likely to keep the peace. She doesn't want her friends to fight.

Popsicley: I feel like Shelly's becoming better friends with Slurpy than with us, do you think they're in an alliance?

Chocolatey: Hmm...I know what you mean, but they could just be good friends.

Popsicley: Well, still, don't you think it's bad for the friendship group?

Chocolatey: .....I'm bored, I think I'll go find a book to read or something.

This was the other reason I mentioned: Popsicley also dislikes Slurpy because she felt that Slurpy was taking away her control over Shelly. Anko specifically used the word 'control'. What Popsicley was controlling Shelly for, I have no idea (AUs aside), but Popsicley's thinking has gone from 'Slurpy is suspicious' to 'Slurpy and Shelly are suspicious'.

It goes to show how competition-oriented Popsicley has become; she won't let Shelly have other friends (or at least, specifically Slurpy) for fear of sabotage/betrayal, and it goes to the point where even her best friend is awkward about the issue. Anko mentions this as well; Chocolatey is silent, looks uneasy, and changes the topic. Again, she's being passive, and is trying to avoid conflict.

...why does this look like a meme format-

Anyway. Popsicley is smug about still having control over Shelly, but Shelly is obviously VERY uneasy. Popsicley even has an arm around Shelly, as if she's going 'Shelly's mine, what are you gonna do about it'. It's a very clear indicator of some degree of possessiveness in this case.

Something I find really interesting here is that Popsicley says "do you want to go with [Slurpy], or stay with me?" She's trying to remind Shelly that Shelly's loyalties should be with her, and that being friends with Slurpy is a betrayal. Actually, that might've been obvious and I didn't catch it until now lol.

And even though Shelly later implies she felt as if she didn't have a voice when it came to Popsicley, she's indecisive and most likely wanted to be friends with both of them. There's a certain loyalty that comes with being someone's friend for a long time, and that's what Shelly was feeling, even if Popsicley wasn't the greatest friend in the end. I also get the feeling she's very much a 'why can't we all just get along' type of person.

Shelly: Well, since I know I can trust you, I was part of this friendship group thing with the other girls, but it wasn't exactly an alliance, more of a thing to get our minds off of the game. I tried to ask for you to join too, but Popsicley was just too overpowering, and I don't think she liked you a lot, for some reason.

A few things we can gather from Shelly's thoughts!

Up until now, Shelly was hesitant to tell Slurpy about the friendship group because she wanted to keep the peace; the way Shelly says "since I know I can trust you" implies she thought Slurpy might've gotten mad at Shelly for being in a group with the opposite team and/or hanging out without her. Then of course, the way Slurpy defended Shelly/didn't force her to choose solidified her trust in Slurpy.

Shelly says the friendship group wasn't an alliance, but Popsicley was clearly talking about the group as if it was. Either Shelly still believes the group was just a casual thing (which I doubt), or she's still hiding some details. Maybe that was just her trying to downplay the whole thing to avoid conflict/reassure Slurpy.

Shelly tried at least one other time after episode 3 to get Slurpy to join, but Popsicley straight up refused. And again, saying Popsicley was overpowering implies she felt like she didn't have a voice. She was also unaware why Popsicley disliked Slurpy, meaning Popsicley never said she felt intimidated by Slurpy (which is reasonable enough).

Popsicley: Seriously you guys? She's a traitor.

Boat: ...What did she do?

Popsicley: ...You know, whatever, I'm voting for Party Hat!

Popsicley obviously still has a grudge, but neither Boat nor Chocolatey seem to know what Popsicley's talking about. I find it weird that Popsicley's still bitter, but apparently hasn't told her friends 'hey, Shelly betrayed the friendship group'. 

But anyways, Boat questions Popsicley, and Popsicley just avoids the question? She even looks hesitant to answer it. It was probably just to keep the episode going, but perhaps Popsicley doesn't want to stir up conflict with her other two friends, considering how Shelly left? Definitely an interesting character point.

I'd also like to add that Shelly obviously isn't thrilled to see Popsicley, but she doesn't look too upset? She doesn't say anything either, so I imagine the ordeal with Popsicley is more of a bad memory to her, rather than something to be bitter over.

So, TL;DR Takeaways:

1. Boat and Chocolatey were passive during this sub-plot; they had no issue with Slurpy but didn't quite support her either. They were likely being conflict-avoidant.

2. Popsicley's desire to get farther bled into the friendship group and ultimately destroyed her friendship with Shelly. She acted the way she did because she was intimidated by Slurpy and wanted to control Shelly.

3. Shelly couldn't choose even when given an ultimatum; it was only after the confrontation she felt comfortable telling Slurpy everything. She tried to avoid conflict the best she could.

4. I feel really bad for Slurpy throughout all this, but she seemed to take it pretty well!

So...yeah. If you have other thoughts, let me know :D Okay bye ily <333