Character Analysis
Honestly Hot
When Erik walks into Zoey's Drama class to perform a monologue, she's blown away by how gorgeous he is: "He was tall and had dark hair that did that adorably perfect Superman curl thing. His eyes were an amazing sapphire blue" (12.54). Yeah, Sounds like a hottie.
Then she realizes that she's seen him before, in the hallway when Aphrodite was trying to give him a blowjob. Um… awkward? But he doesn't seem to recognize her, and instead delivers a powerful monologue that concludes with him staring at Zoey: "As he said the last two lines his eyes locked with mine and, just like in the hall the day before, it seemed as if there was no one else in the room—no one else in the world" (12.63). Sounds like chemistry in drama class to us.
One of the reasons Erik is so appealing to Zoey is that he's really unique. When he greets Zoey at the entrance to the Dark Daughters full moon ritual, she notices: "Ah, man, he smelled good, but I couldn't place what he smelled like. It wasn't any of the tired, overused colognes guys apply by the gallon. He smelled like… the forest at night just after it's rained" (16.14). Yes, he even smells different than most other teenage guys—which lets us know he's something special.
Drama, Drama, Drama
When Professor Nolan introduces Erik to the Drama class, she lists off his accomplishments, which we've got to admit are pretty impressive. She says:
"Most of you […] are aware that he won last year's worldwide House of Night monologue competition, the finals of which were held in London. He also already created a buzz in Hollywood as well as on Broadway for his performance last semester as Tony in our production of West Side Story." (12.56)
And this teen is all of what, maybe seventeen years old? Wow.
Erik claims to be "a dork" (21.75) instead of some actor stud, but Zoey is skeptical. To prove his point, he says: "Come with me to the movies tonight. We'll watch my favorite DVDs of all time […] Star Wars, the original ones. I know the lines for all the parts" (21.79-81). Yep, that is kind of geeky of him. Luckily Zoey finds it endearing.
Speaking of drama, though, there's Erik's history with Aphrodite, which leads to some drama between Zoey and him. Erik tells Zoey: "I just want you to know that she and I are not going out anymore" (18.9), while in contrast, Aphrodite seems to be actively trying to get him back. This isn't going anywhere good. Is Erik prepared to be proactive in telling off Aphrodite? We'll have to wait and see.
Crushing On Our Heroine
Why does Erik go out of his way to spend time with Zoey, even though he's a hot upperclassman who could have anyone in the school he wanted? As he tells Zoey: "you're also definitely not the average fledgling, and there's nothing wrong with that. You're special, Zoey, and special can be amazing" (18.47). So just like she recognizes him as exceptional in a good way, he sees her similarly.
Further, he compliments Zoey on how pretty she is. While speculating about why Heath might've been acting like he was in a trance around her, Erik says: "he might have been acting like that because you're really pretty, and that alone could make a guy feel like he's in a trance around you" (18.71.) Aw, how sweet.
It doesn't seem like he just wants to get in her pants, though. When Zoey directly asks Erik why he followed her after the Dark Daughters' full moon ritual, he says: "I figured I knew what Aphrodite had pulled in here and I thought you might need a friend" (18.54). In other words, his heart's in the right place. And because of his good intentions, we're rooting for Erik and Zoey to have a shot at something together in later books.