In her case, it really was a combination of being overly sensitive to their behavior & a lack of common interest, but she did desire peers to connect with.
Yes. This echoes my experience with my DD, now 14. It wasn't that she wasn't interested in having friends, just that she wasn't interested in being SO radically not who she is in order to maintain the facade. She preferred, mostly, to keenly observe the behavior of peers instead of interacting directly. A sort of Jane Goodall of the elementary and middle school culture, if you will.
I read "potential bullying" into the OP's post, too, however. I would definitely intervene. Some of those interactions sound quite hurtful.
