Every time I try to open up or socialize, it bites me in the butt

I’m a pretty introverted person and generally keep to myself at work. I’ve been at the same firm for several years in different roles through law school and studying for the bar and during that whole time I’ve always been careful about what I say to people. I try not to share much personal information because I just don’t really want my coworkers to know more about me than they need to.

A few years ago I made a casual comment to another attorney about my office neighbor constantly making noise, singing, playing music, and narrating their every move including their bathroom habits. It was annoying, but I mentioned it more in a passing way than as some big complaint. She frequently complains about absolutely everything and I thought it wasn’t a big deal saying it to her. That attorney immediately went to my boss and said I was complaining. I got called in to talk about it and was offered a different office. I made sure to explain that if it had actually been a serious issue, I would have gone to my boss directly. The whole thing made me feel weird and very childish because, at least to my eyes, it looks like I’m walking around the office constantly bitching but I won’t say anything if I have an issue.

It’s been like two years since that happened. Recently I switched to a different practice area, and I’ve been having a harder time capturing all of my hours while billing. I mentioned it while discussing a case with another attorney, because currently my billable hours are significantly lower than any of the other attorneys in the office and obviously that doesn’t look good for me. Apparently they waited until I left for the day and then went and told my boss everything I said. The next morning I had an email asking me to come talk about it.

Now I just feel like I’m in middle school. Two separate times people have run to my boss with things I said in what I thought were casual conversations, which makes it look like I’m complaining or being dramatic when in reality I’m someone who mostly keeps my head down and works. It’s not like these are people I don’t know - they are two coworkers who frequently complain to me about things that I would never dare to relay to anyone, let alone our boss, when they told me it confidence.

Is this just normal law firm culture? Because at this point it feels like the lesson is to stay locked in my office every day and avoid even trying to make conversations with people. I know this probably isn’t a big deal and it’s more petty than anything, but I hate being made to look like a drama queen when all I do is keep to myself.