How can someone balance the desire to look good and feel confident with the negative attention it might bring?

What does it mean to have people in your life who are "just there" without any effort on your part? How do you navigate those relationships?
What might happen if someone in the American Midwest tried to leave a gathering quickly without following the usual extended goodbye ritual?
Why do people who have been in relationships with narcissists often feel stuck and keep asking relationship-related questions even after it ends?