Some friendships fail because neither person says what both quietly notice.

Friendships often end from the accumulation of things neither person mentioned. Both of you noticed the drift, both felt the awkwardness after that one conversation, and both decided not to raise it, and then the silence did the work that the conversation would have prevented. Nobody chose the ending. It arrived by default.

If something has felt off with someone for a while, say the mild version of it. Something like a sense that things have been strange lately, without accusation. Naming it is usually enough to break the pattern.