i totally cant understand humans

.... earlier that day:

girl: omg ian i cant believe u are so fake
ian: wtf?
girl: u said this and that about me
ian: i never said such things
girl: well i heard from so and so
ian: obviously there is a misunderstanding here
girl: liar!
ian: oh well if u heard from a third party that i supposedly said something that was maybe about u.. then it surely thats enuf to jump to a ridiculous conclusion and never talk to me again
girl: so u admit it then? u jerk!

.. well thats obviously a condensed (and slightly exaggerated) version.. but thats basically a conversation today with friend of mine. she is heaps cut over something i never even did.. what the hell do i do about that? i mean she is understandably irrate.. but what more can i do than say "i didnt say that"? .. since i didnt.

im heaps torn about whether to get angry back (at the accusations) and thus risk making things worse.. or to jsut absorb the abuse and hope they figure it out themselves. then theres the school of thought that if theyd accuse me so readily and give up our friendship over something which i heard 2nd hand.. then maybe they arent true frens. i just hate to give up so easily.. i dont wanna be someone who loses friends out of apathy or laziness.

maybe i should just apologise.. since there appears to be no changing of minds.. it sorta feels like when someone is wrongfully imprisioned.. do u feign remorse for a crime u didnt commit just to get parole? or do u stand up for you innocence knowing that itll result in further punishment? (not that i consider myself nearly as unjustly treated as the wrongfully imprisioned.. its just an analogy)

.. well the ole angst-o-meter is at a new all time high (well for non "girl" related levels anyway =p).. i dont really know what to do.. advice? you all know how the comments work by now.