The sympathetic look Lizzie gave him made his face burn. In fact, his whole body felt uncomfortably hot. He was paranoid that he was being watched, laughed at, surrounded by vultures who wanted to see him in pain. Lizzie was sure to feel him shaking when she touched his arm.
He kept his chin tucked to his chest as they walked, Mao quickly realized where Lizzie was headed, and after a moment he was practically leading the way with hurried strides. It wasn't until the hum of students was well behind him that he started to talk.
"I'm really fucked up, Lizzie...This is really fucked up." His voice was strained, a little hoarse from his night of crying. But the crying wasn't over yet, he could feel the lump in his throat starting to grow already. "I can't believe this is happening..." He took a shaky breath. "James hates me." His voice broke. "Lukas too."