For the Georgia kids, they've all known each other since.. Birth, almost. The boys met playing peewee sports when they were really young, so they've probably known Matt longer than Syd has and would have definitely known her before she moved away. Ed probably liked her well enough BEFORE the breakup, Claidia never really liked her as SHE really wanted to sleep with Matt at the time, and Ben would still be perfectly friendly and probably adored her. It's possible they bumped into each other in LA after he moved there since he moved there for college when he was 18.
Penny has only been in Atlanta for a few years, so they'd be a new friendship. Especially since the town where Syd grew up is 5 hours from Atlanta anyway. I'm all for bonding once Syd came to Atlanta though and becoming BFFly. Penny definitely needs friends!
I think she should definitely be friends with Livvy and Ellie, too! They would have known each other in LA and they also went to college in NYC. In fact Ellie goes to Columbia, too! And since they have both slept with Matt (Livvy did very recently) it could be nicely awkward.
Also with Ollie, he goes to Columbia, too! And so does Bri! So, woooo. And Ollie could definitely have taken her out and tried to loosen her up. He had a thing with Cyn's BFF all through high school - not exclusive or anything, but - so he and Cyn could have made it a group effort to get the girl to go out and party some!
Now, Maddie! I love this idea. Maddie grew up in New York and went to college in Georgia. She's only 21 now, so she would have still been in New York when Syd started college. She just transferred from UGA to a school on Atlanta this year, so I'm thinking friends who met and kept in touch over the years and now are hanging out since they're in the dame city and she rants about Matt ALL THE TIME, so maybe Syd just hasn't figured out it's the SAME MATT! LOL!
And Rissa! Knew each other vaguely before their respective moves away and they can bump into each other and become better friends now that they're both in Atlanta? :)
And she and Charlie could easily meet. Sadly, he will not hit on her because he has a girlfriend. :P