What are two character traits for Maxwell Kane in Freak the Mighty?

Maxwell
Kane narrates 's novel . It's the story of how a learning-disabled and
socially awkward boy becomes friends with a genius who has a physical disability. Together, they
team up to right injustices in the world.

Max has many character traits. He
is shy and timid, he's a loner, he lacks self-confidence, and he is loyal and caring. All of
these character traits are developed through events that happen in the novel. 

The fact that he is a loner before meeting Kevin can be found in chapter 2, entitled
"Up from the Down Under." He doesn't have any friends before he meets Kevin, and he's
pretty isolated at home, too. Here is evidence for that:

That summer, let's see. I'm still living in the down under, in the little room Grim
built for me there. Glued up this cheap paneling, right? It sort of buckles away from the
concrete cellar walls, a regular ripple effect. But do I complain about the crummy paneling or
the rug that smells like low tide? I do not. Because I like it in the down under, got the place
all to myself and no fear of Gram sticking her head in the door and saying "Maxwell, what
are you doing?" Not that I ever do much of anything.

The fact that he is timid can be seen in chapter 6, entitled "Close Encounter of
the Turd Kind." Kevin and Max are confronted by a bully in this chapter, whose name is Tony
D., better known as "Blade." Even though Max is considerably bigger than Tony D., he
is not willing to fight him and shows that he is actually scared of him. Here is evidence for
that:

Tony D. is looking up at me and he's showing his
white teeth, I swear they've been sharpened to look like vampire teeth, and I go 'Uh-oh,' and
start to get real cold inside. Real icy, because I can see that Blade is trying to make up his
mind, is he going to fight me, or is he just going to kill me quick.

This happens at the beginning of Kevin and Max's friendship, and it
also shows Max's lack of self-confidence. Kevin felt confident to insult Tony D. because he was
sure Max could defend him. When the pair starts to run from Blade, this is the conversation that
reveals Kevin's confidence in Max and Max's lack of self-confidence: 

Freak goes, "Whew! That was a close encounter of the turd
kind," and it takes me a second to get the joke, but then I'm laughing, amazed he can be so
cool about it, like it was no big deal that Tony D. was after us. "You can take him,
right?" he asks a couple of minutes later. I go, "Are you kidding? You can't just
fight Blade, you have to fight his gang, too."

Evidence that shows he is caring comes toward the end of the book, when Kevin gets very
sick. Through his actions, Max demonstrates the deep love and concern he has for his
friend.