Your friends just don't want to hangout.

There are different ways of approaching doing something:

"To do X requires me to do this and that. So heres how I'll do this and that to get to X. "

"I can't do X because it requires me to do this and that. "

There's a big difference between the 2. The latter is a lie, they just don't want to do what is required to do that. Its a way of phrasing things so people don't feel bad and they don't have to admit they don't want to do something.

Start looking for it and you'll see it in a lot of exchanges.