Hi, I see where you are coming from. From what I can deduce from your situation, I feel that as long as you portray yourself as a genuine person, and have good intentions for the other party, making friends will not be a problem. As for how you can slowly ease from a one to one to a group meetup/gathering, i suggest you can start to do more things for others e.g baking, showing appreciation of others. From then on, you can slowly gain mutual friends through that one friend while you gain their trusts too. Based on my experiences of making friends, I usually make friends through sports meetup. Feel natural, act natural and you’ll be natural in making friends around you. The Key thing is to be positive and cheerful, while always maintaining a good posture. It is what is inside you, not outside you that matters, people will be able to sense it on the first meetup. Lastly, good luck and have fun making friends around you! I believe you can do it!