Last night, I went out with Katie, her boyfriend, and Allen.

Katie's boss has a local band (called Arble Marble for anyone in the area) and they were playing last night at the Velvet Lounge. I wasn't planning on going anywhere last night. I was sitting at my computer, playing a little Snood and reading my emails when Allen IMed me.

"Are you coming tonight?" he asked me.

"Wasn't planning on it," I replied. I was planning on a quiet and productive evening of mock trial, and catch-up reading, following a brief trip to the mall. My roommate had bought a coat on Friday at the GAP, and they forgot to take the censor off of it, and I needed to return a VCR.

"Please come. I don't really want to go out with Katie and her boyfriend," he said. He wheedled, he begged. I capitulated.

"Okay, fine. I'll go."

So, at 8:15 I traded in my sneakers and my grey "hoodie" for my black Steve Madden boots, a micro-stretch black jacket, and headed out to meet them. Washingtonpost.com describes the Velvet Lounge as "smaller than most studio apartments", and that description was absolutely accurate. I had never been there before, so I was pretty surprised. The room is very long, and there is broken and beaten furniture placed un-strategically about the room. The stage is at one end, and is approximately the size of a shoebox. There are stickers from different bands stuck on the walls, along with post-modern renditions of naked people.

I went downstairs to the lounge area. There was a couple curled up together, making out in front of the window. I ignored them, and headed for the bar, where I ordered my standard gin and tonic. The bartender made it with Odessa gin, and very little tonic, so it burned the roof of my mouth and the pit of my stomach.

All in all, it was a pretty grungy, disgusting place. My boots were cutting off the circulation to my toes, so Allen suggested that I take them off. The floor looked sticky, and was covered with cigarette butts. I decided that taking my boots off would be something less than prudent.

Because of the outward appearance (and really, the inward appearance) of the Velvet Lounge, I expected the band to be absolutely terrible. I mean, what kind of band plays in a place like that? But I was pleasantly surprised. Arble Marble was quite good. I wanted to purchase one of their CDs, but Katie said she might be able to snag me one for free, or at least at a discounted price. Her boss was the "rock star" of the group, and spent his time trying to rock across the stage without running into the amps, the drums, or the walls. He was largely unsuccessful, so that added a little fun to the show as well.

Right before Arble Marble went on, I got up to use the bathroom. When I returned, Allen had left me to go hit on some girl that was standing in front of us. Earlier in the evening, he had asked me if he should hit on her. I said, "No."

"Why not?" he asked.

Because you're supposed to be here with me, to keep me company. The only reason I'm here is because you pleaded with me to come. "Because it looks like she's with someone. Because she's about three years older than you." But apparently, my warnings went unheeded, as I found him talking to her when I got back.

I sat down in my chair, and chatted with Katie and her boyfriend in exactly the situation that Allen had wanted to avoid. Once Arble Marble went on stage, we got up and moved forward; Allen was still talking to the girl. Two songs into the performance, he found me, and tapped me on the arm.

"I think I'm leaving now. I need to get to this party that I said I'd go to," he told me.

I was pissed. He didn't want to go out by himself with Katie and her boyfriend, but he had no qualms about leaving me with them. I tried to convince him to stay, but he was hell bent on finding the party. So, he went wandering off into DC at night, by himself, looking for some party, and left me at the Velvet Lounge.

As I sat watching Arble Marble, I began to ponder the semester that I spent without Allen's company. Did I really miss him? I think the answer to that is actually a great big no. With all of the other people that I know that have gone abroad, or transferred from GW, there have been times where I've said to myself, "It's too bad XXXX isn't here," or, "I really miss YYYYY." I really can't think of many times where that was true with Allen.

And then I got to thinking - what sort of commentary is that? There's this guy that I've been friends with since freshman year. We're pretty close; we share things with each other. I consider him the closest male friend that I have. Outwardly, it seems like we have the great friendship, and have so much fun together. It looks like we're cut from the same cloth. But that's not really the case. In reality, he is inconsistent and inconsiderate. Three years ago, him leaving me there would have really hurt my feelings. Two years ago, him leaving me there would have just pissed me off. Last year, it would have frustrated me. This year, there was a moment of annoyance, but at this point I just sort of expected it.

Allen is like the wind - occasionally there, but generally undependable. And despite the fact that it seems like we're great friends, I don't really think we are. Last night, he made the comment that he thought we'd be friends for a long time. I don't really think that's true. I think that at the end of this year, it will be the last hurrah for us. If the semester he spent abroad is any indication of the level of communication that will flow between us once college is finished, I imagine it will only take a few months for the trickle of correspondence to just stop.

It makes me a little sad, because though I feel that our friendship has some fundamental flaws and was basically built upon the drinking and parties of freshman year, I think that we have a certain affection for each other. But I don't know what to do, or how to fix those hidden flaws. Or if I even can.