Gatherings for closer friends (7)
I believe the answer is:
rallies
'gatherings' is the definition.
(rally is a kind of gathering)
'for closer friends' is the wordplay.
'closer' suggests the final letters (the letter which 'closes' the word).
'friends' becomes 'allies' ('ally' can be a synonym of 'friend').
The final letter of 'for' is 'r'.
'r'+'allies'='RALLIES'
(Other definitions for rallies that I've seen before include "Recovers strength after illness, or mass meetings" , "Car races on public roads" , "Recovers in health" , "Mobilizes" , "Gets better" .)