Loneliness
Max and Freak relate to one another through their experience of loneliness. Surrounded by tons of peers on a daily basis, neither of them connect well with the popular kids. They both also experience bullying -- Max for his height and his dad and Freak for his height and illness. Because the kids at school don't understand what Max and Frank's home lives are like, they treat them poorly out of ignorance. They cannot relate to the two boys' abnormalities and are intimated by them, causing them to reject the boys. Having connected through this shared experience of rejection and loneliness, Max and Freak rush into their friendship. They become best friends quickly, but they both keep secrets for fear of distancing their one friend. By the end of the book, Freak has given Max the gift of true relationship which is enough hope to inspire Max to survive the sever loneliness of losing his friend.
Deception to Spare Someone Pain
Freak's relationship to Max is characterized by deception. He is not honest with Max about his illness, absences from school, or his terminal diagnosis. Understandably he desires to spare his friend the pain of knowing the temporary nature of their relationship, so his intentions are loving, but Freak is still not telling Max the truth. He actually robs his friend of valuable time and emotional space to prepare for Freak's death. Although Max is not forthcoming about his parents, he keeps this information to himself out of embarrassment. The subject is really painful for Max. While Freak must also suffer from the weight of the knowledge of his death, he is not embarrassed by the illness. He deliberately chooses not to tell Max about his diagnosis because he doesn't want to burden his friend, but this decision in and of itself demonstrates Freak's inability to process his own impending death.
Betrayal
Betrayal appear throughout the relationships present in this book. Max is betrayed by his father first and foremost. Not only does his dad murder his mom, but he kidnaps Max while on parole. He establishes himself as an untrustworthy figure in the boy's life, despite being a parent and the one person whom Max should be able to rely upon. Similarly Max learns to mistrust people through the betrayal of his best friend. Freak leads Max to believe that he's going to receive an operation for mechanical legs which will help improve his overall health, but he's made up the entire story. When Freak enters the hospital, he continues to lie to Max. Even the teachers at school won't tell Max the truth about his friend's absence. He learns the truth finally when a nurse tells him that Freak has died. In the wake of Freak's passing, Max is forced to confront not only the pain of loss but also the pain of renewed betrayal. Because he's committed to their friendship, however, Max decides to forgive Freak for the lies in order to preserve the memory of their time together. The friendship helps him fight off cynicism toward people in general.
