Chapter 03: Crazy Stuff

Oranges...! :) I honestly don't know what it was with me and fillers back then. I guess I didn't think this story would be as big of a deal as it is for me now. The first few chapters drag on a bit, but things get SO GOOD later on! <3

"Hey-hey-hey-hey, I got an orange joke!" Joe jumps up and down in his seat excitedly.

"Go for it!" I laugh after I nearly choke on my juice.

"Alright, alright!" Joe says, getting into the zone. "...How do you tell the difference...between a walrus...and an orange?" He asks dramatically.

"Uhh..." Kevin gives a weird look to Joe, while Nick and I just wait for the answer.

"Okay, okay! You ready?" Joe says with wide eyes, biting his lip with anticipation.

"Sure!" Nick says, trying to sound enthusiastic. I can tell that he really isn't excited for the answer.

"Alright! Put your arms around it and squeeze it... If you don't get orange juice, then it's a walrus!" Joe starts laughing at his own joke.

No one laughs. Nick, Kevin and myself all have the same confused and unsatisfied look on our faces. Joe's face falls immediately, and his expression changes into an upset and awkward appearance. I start laughing non-stop. Not because of the joke - just because of the disappointed look on Joe's face!

"Well, then..." Joe bites his lip.

"Yo, man!" Nick yells at Joe, laughing at the same time. "That was the worst you've ever come up with, Joe! I could do so much better!"

"Oh, yeah?" Joe asks, sitting on the edge of his seat.

"Yeah! How about this one?" Nick warms up. "What did the little chick say when its mother laid an orange?"

"What?" The three of us ask in unison.

"Look at the orange marmalade!" Nick exclaimed with his eyes wide open, imitating the chick.

We all laugh - even Joe does a little. But once again, mainly because of the hilarious expression on Nick's face when he gave the answer!

"Aaaahahaha! What's with us and oranges?!" I laugh. "It's all your fault, Kevin!"

"What?!" He puts an innocent look on his face. "Why me?!"

"You're the one who gave us orange juice in the first place!" I laugh again.

"Well sor-ry!" He says sarcastically, but not in a mean way.

"So, anyways. What have you guys been doing on your tours?" I ask, taking a sip of orange juice.

"Ah, just the usual," Joe leans back in his seat. "Playing and writing songs, goofing off, doing radio interviews, and basically just having the time of our lives!"

"We love to film things for YouTube too," Nick adds.

"Haha! That's so awesome!" I say enthusiastically.

"Yeah, it's a lot of fun!" Kevin says.

"We get to travel around with so many cool bands and artists, and we get to meet a lot of famous people as well," Joe tells me. "Everyone's so nice to us! You wouldn't even believe some of the things that happen... We get gifts, like, every day from fans that come from all over the place!"

"It's awesome, cause you'd think that the fans would be like: oh, they're famous, they don't need anything that's free," Kevin adds. "But it's totally not like that! Everyone's so supportive and caring... It's truly amazing. We owe everything to our fans!"

"That's really cool!" I say, intrigued. "It's so crazy that you guys have made it this big! I remember when you were just little Jersey boys! Haha! ...Oh! And speaking of tours; how's your singing coming along, Nick?"

"It's great! But it's harder to sing high now," he sighs.

"Aww, yeah. From what I remember you used to sing really well in the higher ranges," I comment.

"I know, but -"

"IT'S PUBERTY!!" Joe screams, flailing his arms in the air, and acting like a crazy person.

"I think that was a given, Joe!" Kevin laughs at his brother's slowness.

"Well I'm sor-ry, Kevin!" Joe says sarcastically. "Some people aren't as smart as you are, okay?" He motions towards Nick with his eyes.

"Hey!" Nick shouts. Joe looks shocked. He probably didn't know that Nick saw his eye-movement.

I laugh at Joe's expression...again.

"I'm probably the most mature out of the both of you!" Nick yells, but still in a kind of laughing and joking way.

"I'm sure you are, Nick!" I say sarcastically.

"Seriously, I actually think he might be!" Kevin says to me.

"Wow..." I say, unbelievingly, to myself.

"WHAT?! That is SO not true!" Joe actually seems offended now. "Well at least I'm more mature than Frankie!"

"Joe, be serious here!" Nick is still laughing and joking around. "Everyone knows that you're the most immature out of all of us...possibly even more than Frankie..."

"Oh, yeah?!" Joe stands up off of the couch. "...Well, I don't like your pants!"

And then he leaves the room. No idea why.

"They're his pants..." Nick mumbles to me. "No idea what he's talking about!"

I laugh quietly, looking at his tight grey pants (not in that way, pervs).

"Yeah..." Says Kevin, catching Nick's gaze.

"Okay..." Nick whispers to himself, almost inaudibly.

"Now that crazy Joe has left the room...it's time to get a little serious..." Kevin says solemnly.

"Ellie..." Nick turns towards me, and I do the same towards him. "I have to tell you something..."

"Should I be worried...?" I ask with a clearly concerned expression on my face.

"Umm...no," he says shakily at the beginning, but reassuringly at the end. "Well, you can be if you want. But you shouldn't be. Honestly. It doesn't concern your health or anything."

"But it concerns yours?!" I furrow my brows confusedly.

He doesn't answer at first; he just surveys his folded hands in his lap.

"...Yeah."

"Oh my goodness..."

"I'll just let you know, first of all, that I'm okay," he looks up and smiles. "I'm not dying or anything!"

"Okay..." I sort of smile too. "Well, that's good to hear! ...But what is it?"

He puts his hand on my arm, just above my wrist.

"I have type one diabetes."

"Oh my goodness..." I am lost for words.

"A little over a year ago, we were on the road, touring, doing a school tour. And, uh, some crazy stuff started happening... I started losing weight. I started drinking a lot of water all the time, and it was time to ruin that attitude; it wasn't me."

"Oh my gosh..."

"My parents brought me to the doctor...and I found out that I had diabetes - type one. And, uh, my blood sugar was over 700. If you don't know, normal is anywhere between 70-120."

"Absolutely. My granddad has type two, and my mom had gestational. I know...go on..."

"Yeah. Finding out was crazy, 'cause I really had no idea what it was. And, um, the first thing I asked was: Am I gonna die? And the doctor said: No, you're gonna be fine. You're gonna be not here, but at the hospital for a few days. So we went to the hospital, and we went through, like, 'extensive training' (he quotes extensive training with his fingers) of what diabetes was, and how to manage it and take care of it, and all that stuff. Yeah..."

At this point, he's choking a little on his words, and he has tears in his eyes. I put both of my hands on his one hand resting on his leg. He puts his other hand on my hands, then continues.

"It was crazy...crazy time," he looks down once again, and swallows, and holds back his tears. "So I started learning how to manage it...started going on tour... It was, an ironical story. We were on a bus, and we were touring, and I was taking shots at the time; checking my sugar twelve times a day... It was getting really hard to do the shots, and to manage all that. But then I heard about this new product that was coming out. It was called the OmniPod, and the OmniPod changed my life. I found out about it, and I started using it a couple months later. And it's just this little...here - I'll show you really quick..."

Now, I have heard about these OmniPods before, and I've heard that the most common place to put them would be under your shirt, on your lower stomach, or near your hip. So I'm kinda anxious to see it...but anxious in a nervous sort of way, considering he'll be lifting his shirt, haha.

He turns somewhat to the side and lifts his left t-shirt sleeve.

Ohthankgoodness. A weight has been lifted off of my shoulders!

"It's that right there," he says, indicating the small white pod on the back of his arm. "It's just a little thing I wear that controls my blood sugar, and uh, helps me stay awake so I could be here for you today!" He laughs at the last part, and I smile back at him.

"And without it, I mean, I don't know where I'd be. But, uh...yeah..." He smiles at me, but then looks down again. "And, um, it was crazy. During that time I probably looked a little more thin. I lost fifteen pounds in two weeks...crazy..."

"Wow..." I shake my head in disbelief. We continue to hold hands. Kevin has just been sitting with his head down the whole time. Joe walks in at this point. He goes to make a wise-crack, but then realises what we're talking about, and sits down on the other side of the couch beside Nick without a word.

"Yeah, and I only weighed 115 pounds, so it's not cool," Nick continues. "But my brothers were there for me the whole time; my parents, our fans...and you were there, Ellie. Not physically, but mentally. So, thank you... And actually, the day I got out of the hospital we had a show in New Jersey, in a small little club. And that was the day after, so it was right after that."

"Crazy, you're right."

"The day I got diagnosed, I decided I wasn't gonna let this slow me down. And I know all of those people out there that have diabetes have their own story. Everyone has their own story on what went down, and how they manage it and all that, but I'm just so blessed to be able to share mine with you today. And so I wanna encourage you just to be positive about it."

"Wow. Of course I will, Nick."

"You know, at the beginning I was asking myself why me?, and then I started asking why not me?," he pats my hand reassuringly. "You know, I could be here today telling you that through all that I made it through. I'm here today, singing, and having fun! And I just want to encourage you to keep it positive. That's why I get the nickname sometimes, Mr. Positive, just because I told other people, and they found out, and they said I've always got a smile on my face about it. That's why I tell people; if you're ever disappointed and you're like: 'why do I have diabetes, why did this happen to me?,' just remember that there's always an opportunity for you to make someone smile."

"That's amazing, Nick. It truly is," I say and let go of his hands. "When did you find out?"

"I found out around a year and eight months ago, and I announced it publicly in mid-March, this year."

"Wow...I'm really proud of you, you know, for being so brave about it."

"Thanks," he says gratefully, and we hug for a long time.

Author's Note

Q: Why did the blonde stare at the orange juice?
A: Because it said concentrate! :P

Nick uses the OmniPod to control his diabetes. (Here is a demo video about it: http://www.myomnipod.com/popup/prod_demo_popup.html) By the way, I did use most of Nick's actual diabetes speech, word for word. That took so long, just having to replay the video over and over to get the right words! (Although, as you can see, I added stuff in-between as well.)

I like comments; feedback is greatly appreciated! :)
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