I think Eric longed to be Jody's boyfriend because in the story, he even wrote that Jody was Mark Brittain's boyfriend when Eric was the one who really loved her. Eric hoped that Sarah Byrnes would come to the senses of becoming his longed friend also because Sarah was his only friend before he lost weight. He and Sarah made up Crispy Pork Rinds because it showed the students at the high school that crispy is for Eric and Rinds is for Sarah, since she had scars caused by her father. Her father pushed her against the burning stove and decided not to let her do surgery, so it was a lesson that Sarah Byrnes lived for her entire life. During the end of the story, Eric realized the truth of Sarah Byrnes and saw that there was great danger ahead of their lives.
