The Emptiness Inside

Author's note- here's another educational story for y'all, only from a viewpoint different that what you're used to. Enjoy!



"Haha, look at that fat stomach!" Justin exclaimed, pointing at Chris.

"I'm not fat, I'm big boned," Chris replied.

"Too bad there are no bones in your stomach," Joey laughed.

"And this picture is in all the teenybopper magazines across the world," Justin laughed.

Chris took the famous 'pool picture' from Justin and threw it behind him. "So? People will still like me."

"We'll see," Justin teased.

"Yeah, girls don't go for the gut," Joey added.

The guys were looking through a free issue of Tiger Beat when they came across the 'Pool picture' that showed the guys in a pool with their shirts off. All had firm, smooth chests and flat stomachs, except for Chris.

The other's teasing had hurt Chris's feeling, but he didn't let it show. Maybe he wasn't as in shape as the others, but he didn't care at the time, either. He learned when he was little to eat everything he was given, because another meal might not be available for a day or two. That habit had stuck with him, and the only exercise he did regularly was dancing. But that was going to change. He wanted to look as good as the others did, then maybe they wouldn't pick on him anymore.



"I'm hungry," Joey groaned. "Let's eat. I don't even care what."

"Me too," Justin complained. They were stuck as a photo shoot, making new images for posters and shirts. They had been there all day, and they could no longer stand it.

"Well, where do you guys want to eat?" J.C. asked, smiling as the photographer snapped more pictures.

"Anywhere," Joey replied.

"Chris, where do you want to eat?" Lance asked.

"I'm not hungry," Chris lied, hoping they wouldn't hear his stomach rumble.

"That's a change," Justin laughed.

"You're not hungry? Do you feel alright?" J.C. asked.

"I'm fine. I'm just going on a diet, that's all," Chris replied.

"Ha! You on a diet? That's like seeing the Backstreet Boys in the number one spot on TRL!" Joey laughed.

"You guys said it yourselves, I'm fat."

"We were just joshing ya," Justin said.

Chris didn't believe them for a minute. He was fat, and he knew it. But the cure was a simple as not eating.



Chris's stomach growled furiously as he watched the others eat. But he wasn't going to give in. This was the fastest way to loose weight, and in their popular world, things moved at the speed of light.

"I can't believe you're not hungry," Justin said, looking at Chris.

Chris offered a fake smile. "I'm not," he said.

"Okay, whatever," Justin replied.

When the guys had finished eating, it was time to head back to the photo shoot. They all hated the never-ending smile sessions, but it was for the fans, and that was what Nsync was all about.

Chris's stomach growled the whole time, scolding him for not listening. He used his energy fast, and by the time they were on their way back to the hotel, Chris felt drained. However, he also felt proud. The emptiness in his stomach meant there was no way he could get fat. He had to be burning calories. Soon he would look like the others.

"What are we going to do tonight?" Justin asked as the group walked up to the hotel rooms.

"Let's go clubbin'," Joey said.

"We always do that," Lance sighed. "Isn't there anything else we could do?"

"We could walk around on the street and attract a lot of unwanted attention," J.C. smiled.

They all thought about it for a minutes then agreed. "Cool! You can never have too much attention!" Justin said.

They looked to Chris, who normally chimed in with a crazy idea when someone asked what they should do. They saw him scuffing his feet as he walked along behind them, looking half asleep.

"Hey Chris," Lance said, giving the older man a slight push.

Chris tripped over his feet as his head snapped up. "What?" he asked, looking around.

"What's wrong with you? We just asked what you wanted to do tonight and you didn't even hear us."

"Oh, sorry. I don't know. I don't feel like doing anything," he sighed.

"You? Not want to do anything?" Justin asked.

"I'm just really tired, okay?" Chris snapped, unlocking the door to his hotel room. The burning feeling in his stomach made him depressed, but he felt good about it.

"Okay, whatever man," Justin replied, looking at the others questioningly.

"Sorry," Chris sighed, opening his door. "I don't care what we do."

"To the mall it is!" Joey smiled.

Chris smiled went into his room as the others went to get ready also. He shut the door behind him and set the key on the coffee table. As he walked past a full-length mirror, he stopped to look at himself. He stood sideways and lifted up his shirt, revealing his stomach and lower chest. He wasn't really that big anymore, but he had caught a deadly disease that had blinded him, making him see nothing but fat clinging to his ribs. Disgusted, he put his shirt down and ignored the growling of his ignored stomach. He was getting used to it now, and was started to welcome it. No food meant he was getting thinner, which was his only goal right now.

He walked to his bed, where his duffel bag lay and grabbed a new shirt. He wanted to dress down for the night. He was tired of being 'dolled' up for the photo shoot and just wanted to look like a guy. Chris went to the bathroom to face his face of the makeup and saw the bathroom scale. After splashing his face with cold water and drying it quickly on the hand towel, he walked over to the scale and stepped on.

149 pounds. About usual, he guessed. There was usually never anytime for him to weigh himself anyway. 'That's pretty sad,' he thought. 'I don't even know how much I weigh, but thousands of teenage girls probably do.'

Chris stepped off the scale and continued getting ready to go. 'That is pretty light for a guy,' he thought. 'But then again, I'm a little guy. So it all balances out.' Chris took off his shirt, being careful not to look at himself in the mirror until he had another shirt on. 'I'll get in shape if it kills me,' he thought. 'I'm sick of the guys making fun of me. I didn't realize they were judging me until now.' Chris's stomach burned as he finished getting dressed. He took one more good look at himself to keep up his will power, then headed out the door to join the others.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Out in the hallway, he was greeted by Lance. "You okay?" Lance asked, looking Chris up and down.

"Yeah, why?" Chris asked, shutting the door behind him.

"You don't seem like yourself," Lance replied.

"How do I seem?" Chris asked.

"I don't know, kinda like something's eating at you," Lance said, leaning against the door to his hotel room. (Oh my God, I didn't realize I said that until I proofread this! That was a bad choice of words!)

Chris wondered how Lance could tell something like that just by looking. "Nothing's wrong," he lied. "Nothing for you to worry about." 'Nobody says you're fat,' he added in his mind.

"Okay, well if you ever wanna talk about anything…" Lance started.

"Thanks," Chris mumbled as Justin bounded out in the hallway, followed by Joey.

"Okay, I'm ready!" Justin exclaimed, smiling. "Where's J.C.?"

"He's coming," Lance said. "I'll get him." Lance opened the door to the hotel room and leaned in. "We're leaving!" he yelled, then shut the door again.

A few seconds later, J.C. emerged from the room, dressed in new clothes. "Okay then," he started. "Let's get this show on the road!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The guys walked down the street and headed for the mall. In their first ten minutes of being out in the public, they had attracted a small swarm of girls. They signed whatever was handed to them, laughing as the group of girls followed close behind.

"This is pretty fun," J.C. said, looking at the others.

"Because it's my idea," Joey smiled.

"It is not, I said it!" J.C. yelled teasingly.

"Children," Lance interrupted. "Let's not fight."

"Shut up Poofoo," Joey shot back.

Lance opened his mouth in mock surprise. "I can't believe you just said that."

"Well get over it 'cuz I did," Joey replied.

"Guys, shut up," Chris mumbled.

"What's wrong with you?" Justin asked.

"Nothing," Chris replied, putting on his fake smile.

"He's just mad because he missed Korea's birthday," J.C. said.

Chris looked at J.C. "I did not! Did I?"

"It was yesterday," J.C. smiled.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Chris whined.

"Memory loss comes with old age," Justin teased.

"Along with a big gut," Joey added, laughing.

Chris hung his head as they walked in the mall. He was immediately assaulted with smells from the food court, and his stomach burned with hunger. 'I'm not eating,' Chris thought. 'So just get over it.'

"I'm hungry," Joey complained.

"You just ate four hours ago!" J.C. said. "You can't be hungry!"

"Okay," Joey said, rolling his eyes. "What ever you say." Then he took off for the food court.

"I'm going too," Justin said, following Joey.

"Fine! We'll all go!" J.C. yelled after them. The group of girls kept right on their heels the whole time.

"I'm gonna go to Radio Shack," Chris said, stopping from going to the food court.

"You sure?" J.C. asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Chris replied, ignoring his stomach. It burned as if it were going to jump out and get something to eat itself. Chris continued on his way, taking three girls with him involuntarily. They followed behind him and giggled the whole time he was shopping. Chris tried to be nice, but by the time he left Radio Shack there was a large group on his heels.

He returned to the food court and found the group of girls had doubled there too. Tiredly, he sat down next to Joey. "Who's shitty idea was this?" he asked.

"What's wrong Lucky, too many females for an old man like yourself?" Justin teased, taking a bite of pizza.

"Shut the hell up," Chris snapped, resting his head on the table.

"What the hell is your problem?" Justin asked. Joey looked from Chris to the others.

Chris was thankful the others couldn't hear his rumbling stomach over the chatter of the girls.

"Drink this," J.C. said, pushing a Mountain Dew towards Chris.

Chris looked at it wearily. 'I guess drinking would be okay,' he thought. 'Just as long as I don't eat anything.' Chris took the cup and drank the pop, his stomach welcoming the sweet liquid.

Joey turned confused eyes to J.C. "Why did you do that?" he asked.

"Look at him," J.C. said. "It's time for his sugar high."

"I'm fine," Chris yawned. His stomach seemed satisfied with half the cup of soda, relaxing him. "Can we go now?"

Lance looked at the swelling crowd of girls. "We better, before we get kicked out," he said, getting up.

"Aw man, it's just getting fun," Joey said, making faces at the group of giggling girls.

The guys got up and made a hasty exit to outrun the girls. The Mountain Dew was taking effect on Chris already, and he practically bounded alongside the other guys. He felt whole again, and he was proud that he still hadn't eaten anything all day.

"I'm glad to see your back to normal," J.C. smiled, watching Chris laugh at some unspoken joke.

"Better than ever," Chris replied, running around the corner that led them to the hotel. Justin ran after him, and they both disappeared into the night.

"Normally I would object you giving him sugar, but this time I'm glad you did," Joey said.

"He looked pretty down about something," J.C. said. "He's almost like a windup toy, and I just rewound him."

"He'll come around," Lance said. "Can't keep him down long."

The guys rounded the corner and found Chris and Justin pushing each other towards the revolving doors. A small group of girls were standing by and giggling at the two as Lance, Joey and J.C. approached.

"What's up?" Joey smiled as he walked by the girls. They froze and stared as the last three members walked into the hotel. "I love doing that," Joey smiled, hearing the girls' whisper behind them.

By the time Joey, Lance and J.C. had gotten inside, Chris and Joey were nowhere in sight. The three walked to the elevator and pushed the button, waiting for the doors to open. The girls had followed them in and they started to approach the guys. "I really don't want to be stuck signing things again," Lance whispered.

"Me neither," J.C. yawned. He tapped his foot in anticipation and hit the elevator button again as the girls got closer.

The doors finally opened as the elevator dinged. The guys turned to get in and found Justin kneeling beside Chris on the floor. "What happened?" J.C. asked first as they stepped in the elevator.

"Nothing, I just got a little dizzy," Chris replied, leaning back against the wall.

The doors shut, leaving the girls screaming for them to come back. "Are you okay?" Justin asked.

The elevator lurched slightly as it began its climb. "I'm fine," Chris smiled.

"Maybe you should hold off on having any more sugar tonight, okay?" J.C. said, helping Chris stand.

"Good idea," Chris replied. "Is it hot in here or is it just me?" he asked.

"What were you guys doing?" Lance asked.

"Nothing," Justin said, smiling. "Just playin' around."

"Right…" Joey teased.

The elevator came to a stop on the fourth floor and opened the doors. Chris's stomach rumbled loudly as they walked out and the others heard.

"Why don't you eat something?" Joey asked, pushing Chris out in the hallway. "I'm not hungry," Chris replied, catching himself and spinning around to punch Joey.

"Yeah right," Lance said, watching the two wrestle. "That's not what your body says."

"All my body want's to do now is go to sleep," Chris said. His sugar high had begun to wear off, and he was left feeling empty again. He felt drained but proud, for now he knew how to get energy with out eating anything.

"Okay, well I'll see you in the morning," J.C. said as he stopped in front of his room.

"Bye Sleepy," the others echoed as they continued to their rooms.

"Bye gang," he yawned, going in his room and shutting the door after him.

Lance stopped in front of the next room. "Bye guys," he said. "Don't get into too much trouble."

"Goodnight," they replied, continuing their walk down the hall. Justin's room was next, and he pulled out his card to unlock the door.

"What time do we have to get up tomorrow?" he asked.

"Seven thirty," Chris replied. "Don't be late."

Justin just laughed as he went inside.

"That's not good," Joey said to Chris as they walked to Chris's room.

"He better be up," Chris said, unlocking his door. "We got to go."

"I was teasing," Joey said, stunned after not getting a joke out of his friend. "Oh," Chris sighed. "Well, goodnight," he said, going in his room. Joey walked to his door and opened it, glancing back at Chris's room once before going in.

"That's weird," he said to himself. "Oh well."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chris reluctantly stripped his shirt and jeans as he went to the bathroom. He stood in front of the mirror and looked at his bare chest with disgust. "God I hate my body," he said to himself. He stepped on the mirror and was surprised to see he weighed 147. "Cool," he smiled. "But this morning I left my clothes on."

Chris sighed and quickly washed his face. 'I still have a long way to go,' he thought. His stomach rumbled its protest. "'Shut up," Chris murmured. "You have no say in this."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, Justin rolled over and looked at the alarm clock. "Shit!" he groaned, jumping out of bed. He ran to his duffel bag and threw on a shirt and jeans as the clock changed to seven forty-six. Justin nearly tripped on his way to the door as he pulled up his jeans and zipped them up. He ripped open the door and ran out into the hallway, slamming the door behind him.

Justin stood panting in the hallway and looked around. J.C., Lance, and Joey stood in the hall also, and they laughed when they saw him. "What's going on?" Justin asked, running his fingers through his hair.

"You are sixteen minutes late," Joey scolded, looking at his Superman watch.

"Where's Chris?" Justin asked, ignoring Joey.

"He hasn't come out yet," Lance said, leaning against his door.

"Did you try knocking?" Justin asked, going to Chris's door and pounding on it.

J.C. rolled his eyes. "No, we were all going to stand here and tell him to wake up by using ESP," J.C. said sarcastically.

"Is it working?" Joey asked.

Justin knelt down in front of the doorknob. "I bet I could open the door," he said. "Got a coat hanger?"

The others looked at him skeptically. "I'll get one," Lance finally sighed.

"You think he's okay?" Joey asked J.C.

"Why wouldn't he be?" J.C. asked. "He just over slept, that's all."

"But he never oversleeps," Joey replied.

"There's a first time for everything," J.C. said.

Lance returned with the coat hanger and hit Justin in the head with it before handing it to the younger teen. Justin snatched the coat hanger and beamed Lance in the leg before setting to work on unlocking the door.

"Where'd you learn to do this?" J.C. asked, watching Justin wiggle the coat hanger in the lock.

"From unlocking girl's cars when they lock the keys inside," Justin smiled. "Win's them over real fast."

"Should have known," J.C. groaned.

Within seconds, Justin had the door unlocked. "See?" he beamed.

"Ooh, you're good," Joey said seriously.

"I know it," Justin replied, pushing the door open.

The four crept into Chris's room and found the older man still asleep, twisted in the sheets on his bed. He looked dead to the world, and appeared to be in no condition to awaken anytime soon.

"Let me handle this," Justin smiled, holding the others back while he stopped at the foot of Chris's bed. Justin backed up, took a deep breath, then took a running leap on Chris's bed, landing right on top of Chris with a grunt. "Wake up!" Justin yelled, rolling off Chris.

Chris scrambled to get up, fully startled out of his peaceful sleep. He looked a little pale, but his words proved him to be in his usual mood. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"I'm your wake up call," Justin laughed, joining the others. "You overslept half an hour. Now we're behind for a whole month."

Chris sat in bed and scratched his head. "I don't care. I just wanna go back to sleep."

"You? Want to sleep?" Lance questioned. "J.C., what have you done with the real Chris?"

"I haven't touched him," J.C. replied. "No one cares if your tired, you have to get up. We have places to go, people to see."

"I don’t like the people we see," Chris mumbled, trying to lay back down.

"Well they like us," Joey said, pulling Chris back up.

"Fine, I'm up. Will you all just wait outside for a minute while I get ready?"

"Sure. You have five minutes, and if you're not out, we're coming in to get you," J.C. teased.

"Whatever," Chris mumbled, rolling out of bed.

The others went out into the hallway. "Do you think he's okay?" Justin asked. "He wasn't his usual bouncy self."

"Why do you worry so much over stupid things?" J.C. asked. "He's fine. Leave the poor man alone."

Justin nodded and pulled the Hackey sack out of his back pocket. "Wanna play?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chris felt extremely sluggish. Getting his shirt on was like trying to swim through mud. Nothing did what he wanted it to. Completing one task took all of his concentration, and he knew there was no way he would be able to perform correctly tonight.

But yet he remained proud of himself. He didn't eat anything all day yesterday and he had every intention of doing the same today. The gurgling protests of his stomach only furthered his belief that this crash-diet was working, and that's all Chris cared about.

When Chris was finally able to face the day, he stepped out of the hotel room, shutting and locking the door behind him. He turned to face the others and was greeted by a ball flying straight for his face.

"Your turn!" Justin said as the ball bounced off Chris and fell to the floor.

Chris's face seemed a little sunken in and he still had the pale color to him, as if he hadn't fully awoken yet. The most obvious in their friend was his delayed reaction.

"How late did you stay up last night?" Joey asked, going to pick up the ball.

"Uh…I don't know. I was trying to write a song," Chris lied.

"You know how to write?" Justin teased.

The others laughed, but Lance gave Chris a disbelieving stare. He knew the ritual Chris went through when trying to write songs, and they didn't take that long. Chris would sit down in a quiet corner, turn on some low music, and then try to write his feelings at the time. But more often than not, Chris would become frustrated when the words didn't match his emotion and he would give up, producing piles of half finished songs. He just didn't have the patience to sit and write like the others. In fact, the longest Lance had ever seen Chris sit still was for a two-hour plane ride.

"Well let's go eat, I'm starving!" Joey said, throwing the Hackey sack to Justin.

"When are you not?" J.C. teased.

"Hey guys, I'm gonna go…to that cell phone store across the street. My holder thing broke and I need a new one," Chris said, heading in the opposite direction of the others.

"His holder thing?" Justin questioned, watching his friend go.

"Don't you want breakfast?" J.C. asked.

"No, I'm good," Chris replied, walking away.

"Okay," J.C. shrugged.

"Still think there's nothing wrong with him?" Justin asked as they headed to the restaurant.

"He's probably just not hungry from last night," J.C. said.

"He didn’t eat last night," Lance said quietly.

"Guys, it's his body, not mine. I'm not gonna ride him to eat. Chris isn't stupid. Now can we just get some breakfast?" J.C. asked.

"Thank you!" Joey sighed, leading the way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chris wandered around in the VoiceStream store for half an hour before heading back to join the others. Although he walked with a purpose, his steps held no enthusiasm, no bounce. In one day, Chris seemed to become years older. His smiles were forced, jokes not as quick. Something was wrong, but no one would discover what it was.

Chris pulled open the heavy hotel door and spotted the others at a table. He walked over and sat down next to Lance, putting on a smile. "What's up?" he asked.

"Nothing," Joey said. "How about you? Did you find your 'holder thingy'?"

"No," Chris replied. "That's okay though. So what's on the agenda for today?"

"Rehearsals for the concert," J.C. said. "As always."

Chris sighed. He was definitely not up for that. "Yeah," he said.

"Well I feel better," Joey said, getting up. "Let's go."

Justin laughed. "Yes your majesty. Now that his highness is settled, we'll be on our way."

"Justin," Lance teased. "Don't talk to Joey that way. You're not his mother."

"Did you just make fun of my mother?" Joey asked.

"Yeah, what you gonna do about it?"

"Call on my mob to kill you," Joey said. "You know us Italians stick together like Teflon."

Justin looked to Lance and started cracking up. "I don't think we should tell him," Lance said.

"It's probably better this way," Justin laughed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Guys, can we take a brake?" Chris begged, gasping for his breath.

"We just started, and this is your second brake in half an hour," J.C. said, getting annoyed.

The guys stopped their routine and went to the side of the stage. They had barely broken a sweat while Chris was barely able to keep up. They felt awkward knowing something was wrong, but getting Chris to admit something was wrong was like pulling teeth. It was better just to stand back until Chris was ready to step forward.

Chris's legs felt numb, and he quickly found a chair and practically fell into it. 'This is impossible,' he thought. 'I can't do this.' His whole body ached and his lungs burned for air. He wanted so badly to tell the other guys he couldn't go on, but right now he couldn't even get up. It was like his whole body had fallen asleep. Even his once twisting stomach had subdued into a steady burning.

"You okay?" Lance asked, stepping forward when J.C. left in disappointment. Chris looked at his shaking hands. "Yeah, I'll be fine," he replied. He had turned whiter than before, and his cheekbones were protruding noticeably. A thin layer of sweat covered his forehead, making him look sickly in the sunlight.

"You don't look that good," Lance said, studying Chris. "You look ready to keel over any second."

"It's nothing, just a little fatigue," Chris said, leaning back against the stage wall. He was shaking all over, and scaring Lance.

Lance went to get J.C. and the others. "Hey guys," he started, "I think we got a little problem."

"What's wrong with him?" Joey asked.

"I don't know, but it's serious. I think we should get him to a doctor or something."

"He's faking," J.C. tried to convince himself. "He's just being his normal, prank-pulling self."

The others turned to look at Chris just in time to see the older man faint. One of the band members reached him first, getting there just in time to ease Chris to the ground. Lance was next to hover over Chris, trying to figure out what was wrong. When J.C. arrived, Lance looked up and asked, "Still think nothing's wrong?"

J.C. looked at the others. "Okay, so I was wrong. Now what do you want to do?" "He's still breathing okay," Lance said. "But I think we should still call a doctor or something."

Joey pulled out his cell phone and began dialing as the others tried to wake Chris up. Chris remained still and the only noise he made was the rumbling of his stomach. Some of the other band members gathered around and watched, but Chris didn't look like he was getting up any time soon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The guys waited in the hospital waiting room for any news of Chris. He hadn't woken up during the whole ride here, and the doctors all disappeared before anyone had a chance to ask what was going on. The guys could sense an urgency with the doctors, and wondered what their friend could have possibly gotten himself into now.

"Told ya something was wrong," Justin smirked, looking at J.C.

"Hey, I told you I was sorry! How was I suppose to know he would pass out?" J.C. asked.

"Guys, who cares?" Lance interrupted. "That's done with now. Now we just gotta find out what happened."

The guys were silenced for a while, turning hopeful eyes to any doctor that would walk by. Finally, a doctor they recognized from before came over to them. "Hello gentlemen," he greeted, extending his hand to Justin. "My name is Dr. Annog. I'll be in charge of your friend tonight."

"Tonight? So you mean he can go home? It's nothing serious?" J.C. asked.

"No, nothing we can't handle relatively easy. So has life on the road been hectic for you lately?"

"Wait a minute, I thought we were talking about Chris here," Joey said.

"We are," Dr. Annog replied. "I was just wondering why he hasn't eaten anything in around twenty four hours."

"He didn't eat? Why not?" J.C. asked.

"That's what I'm asking you," the doctor smiled.

"I don't know, we ate," Lance replied. "Every time we ate, he would do something else."

"Oh my God," Justin said, turning to Joey. "Do you think this is because we were making fun of him the other day?"

"We were just teasing," Joey said. "I thought he knew that."

Justin saw the doctor looking totally lost and filled him in. "We were teasing him the other day because he's got a stomach," Justin said. "You don't think he was trying to starve himself do you?"

"I think that might be it, yes," Dr. Annog replied.

"But why are we here?" J.C. asked. "It was only twenty four hours."

"But in Mr. Kirkpatrick's case, the process was sped up dramatically. As we found out from his records, he's hypoglycemic. His body doesn't produce enough glucose, and reacts dramatically when he ingests it. Because he burns energy so fast, it's hard on his body to skip meals. By not eating a whole day, Chris was essentially running on empty for about twenty hours."

"So that's why he's always hyper after he eats?" Joey asked.

"Yes. Weren't you aware of this?"

"We knew he was hypoglycemic, but he doesn't talk about that stuff," J.C. said.

"Well now you know. Just think of it like if your bodies are small campfires, Mr. Kirkpatrick's body is like a raging forest fire. I know this all sounds serious, but it's nothing that hasn't happened before. With us keeping an eye on him overnight, he should be ready to go tomorrow."

"Can we talk to him?" J.C. asked.

"I suppose so. He's recovering nicely from what could have put him in a coma. It's a good thing you brought him here when you did," Dr. Annog smiled, pointing them out to Chris's room.

The guys said their thank-yous and entered Chris's room. Chris was awake and watching TV, and looking extremely bored. "Hey guys," he said, watching them enter. "Hey yourself, scuz," Justin teased as he walked towards Chris.

Chris took a deep breath. "Look, before you all lay into me-"

"Chris, you never cease to amaze me," Lance started. "Every time I think you've done something stupid, you do something even worse. What the hell was your problem this time?"

"It was stupid, I just got caught up in wishing I was perfect, and you guys said I was getting fat, so I just wanted to take a crash diet," Chris tried to explain.

"By not eating?" J.C. questioned. "That was pretty stupid, especially with our schedule. Do you realize you could have gone into a coma?"

"I'm sorry," Chris mumbled.

"I'm sorry too," Justin said. "I didn't realize you actually listened to what me and Joey talk about. We were just teasing."

"I know," Chris replied. "That's the bad thing. I know you were just kidding, but I still let it get to me."

"Promise you won't from now on?" Joey asked.

"I swear I won't listen to another thing you say," Chris replied.

"Good," Justin smiled proudly.

"What's changed?" J.C. whispered to Lance.

Finish!

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