Может быть, я неправильно понимаю ваш вопрос, но почему вы не можете просто сделать это?
SELECT f.friends_friend AS user_id,
users.username AS friend_name, users.user_email as user_email,
users.user_avtr AS profile_pic
FROM friends as f
LEFT OUTER JOIN(
SELECT user_email, user_id,username,users.user_avtr FROM users
)AS users
ON f.friends_friend = users.user_id
WHERE f.friends_member = ?
UNION
SELECT f.friends_member AS user_id,
users.username AS friend_name, users.user_email as user_email,
users.user_avtr AS profile_pic
FROM friends as f
LEFT OUTER JOIN(
SELECT user_email, user_id,username,users.user_avtr
FROM users
)AS users
ON f.friends_member = users.user_id
WHERE f.friends_friend = ?