Do Erik Fisher and Arthur Bauer have a genuine friendship? Explain why or why not.

I don't think there is a real friendship there. Both exploit each other to validate the pathetic existences they have chosen for themselves. Arthur's slumping football career marginalizes him. He sees being Erik's goon as some kind of twisted social validation. Erik sees Arthur as a dim-witted boy who will do his bidding. Both boys feed off each other’s self-loathing and hate.