AITA for not being able to payback my friend?
>The other day I went out with my friends, it was our last hangout until our exams begin and it was to celebrate 2 friends birthdays. One friend I'll call G and the other I'll call M. I wasn't willing to go a few weeks ago due to me being on a tight budget (I'm dirt poor) but I decided to go anyway because it was our last hangout and I didn't want to miss out. The plan was to go bowling then Eat at Popeyes (for those who could afford) and then go Charity shopping. We had all agreed that one friend would pay £36 for all of us for bowling as we couldn't pay individually and then pay £7-8 back (there was five of us). So G paid for all of us but she added an extra £4 for an extra game than non of us had agreed prior. Me not wanting to seem cheap since no one else spoke up went along with it. G then said we all had to pay her back (no given deadline) £12. Me with only £14 in my bank count that I had been saving up all month for this hangout was faced with a dilemma. Either I pay her £12 pound back and not get Popeyes I wanted a meal which costs £10 or buy Popeyes, pay her what I had left , then pay her the remaining money a few weeks later (mystery shopping is my source of income and they pay about £5-7.50 per shop. They pay at the 10 of every month and it takes 5 days for the money to show in the account).
I automatically assumed to pay back wasn't THAT urgent since she had a job and previously that day she claimed to have £2.5k saved up in her bank account, so to her £12 wasn't that much so I could pay her back at my conviniece. Well, I decided to go with the second option which was stupid and I'm currently regretting it. I could've brought something much cheaper at Popeyes but I didn't which I am at fault for. Anyway after Popeyes and Greg's the others wanted to go charity shopping but it was already past my curfew and I needed to be home. Going charity shopping also meant that I had to spend an extra £2.50 for bus. I told G I needed to go home and she asked "what about being a rebel?" Persuading me to come. Knowing it was our last hangout i gave in which was also stupid because it was a waste of money (charity shops where all closed). But that was my fault for giving in to peer pressure. I eventually went home feeling relived thinking the hangout went well until the next day.G had asked me why i hadn't paid her back. I checked my bank account and there was only £2.30. I told her I couldn't pay her back the amount I owed her straight away and that she may have to wait a few weeks. She then told me she needed to be paid back asap because she needed the money for her mother (I think she owed her ). She also told me she spent a lot of money that day at town, leisurely and for presents (this was the day after the hangout). I apologised and explained that I don't have a stable source of income so getting £12 wasn't easy.
She then pointed out that I was being financially irresponsible with my money and that I knew that we were going bowling so I should have been aware of my spending choices, which I didn't protest against, she was right. She told me that her mother at was mad at her for spending money on her friends and explained I was the only one that hadn't paid her back yet. I felt extremely guilty and told her I wasn't sure what to do. She told me that i had to ask my parents for money, otherwise she'll get her mother to call my mother to pay her back. I really hated the idea of getting my parent involved with this for a number of reasons but the main was the fact that this was my mess to clean up so I had to take accountibility. I told her I wanted to leave my parents out of this but she made it clear that this wasn't an option. So I asked her give me 2 days.
I was really distressed about this whole money debacle because I really value G, we've been friends for 5 years and I didn't want to £12 pounds to get in the way of our friendship but after talking to another friend who came with us for the hangout (I'll call A) she had the same feelings as me, she was forced to take money off her parents to pay back and was annoyed she had to pay back an extra £4 that she didn't agree to pay for (she is also tight on money and unemployed). She explained the whole thing was unfair and that I shouldn't feel guilty. So now I'm conflicted. A made me feel like I was being too complacent about the whole thing but at the same time I don't want to escalate it because G seemed ready to argue when I said I couldn't pay her back asap. So AITA?