I have purposely stayed as an archer in some instances when playing with friends only. Mainly because of the same reason: everyone would expect me to be a bard. The problem is, as an archer, i use a lot of the other cross-class abilities, (mainly Mercy Strike, Bloodbath, and Invigorate--all abilities not available to Bard)

Some people like their system and get all pissy when someone presents a new idea. My suggestion is to mainly stick with friends when doing that to avoid hate.