>>89883221Ariel doesn't abandon her friends - they hang out with her. Her family is a little different, but considering her dad destroyed everything she loved, shat on her beliefs and forbid her from following her dreams, you can understand why she'd want to leave.
Eric DID like her looks, but a lot of his attraction for her came from the fact that she was mysterious, weird, and completely unlike anyone. And then an unspoken connection started to develop between them, or at least an attraction. She started as a curiosity, but he grew to really care for her.
