Could she have been interested?

Wow that was long haha. Im thinking that the girl may like you and is just awfully shy about that fact, she's told her mates and her mates want to help her get with you by giving you hints to ask her first, us girls decide to act on and off when we're not sure whether we should be flirty, funny, or just neutral with the guy we're talking to, especially if we have a crush on them. So basically, yes i think she may have liked you, and you should go for it, and i think yes her friend was trying to get you to confess to her because she's too shy to do it herself ^_^