Mao made an unhappy, reluctant sound when Lizzie said that not talking about something was still lying. Mao didn't want to believe that, he felt guilty enough as it was. Not for not telling James right away when things happened, but for being too scared and embarrassed to tell him. That was the bad thing. He had been afraid of his best friend.
"It's settled then. We're friends." It was amazing really. Mao didn't really have any close friends, he had shared more with Lizzie in the past half hour than he had with anyone else aside from James. Yesterday they had been acquaintances, today they were friends. He shifted to sit next to her, still wondering at their sudden closeness.
Relief flooded through him when Lizzie gave her answer. He hadn't meant to make her so sad by asking, but it had to be asked. He reached out and put a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to make up for the hurt he caused. "But you're going to...So maybe James will forgive me too, someday." It felt good to have been given hope, he was grateful to Lizzie for providing it. Now he could look out at the future a little more bravely.