I've had my braces for nearly 18 months and I'm getting them off soon. Don't worry, you won't be a geek, they feel like they really stand out in your mouth at first but actually a lot of people barely notice them. So many people have them nowadays that having braces is not such a big deal

As for pain, well, it can depend. Some people are not so bad with them, others experience quite a lot of pain. I had it quite bad, when it was first put on, my teeth constantly ached for a week, I found it difficult to sleep because of the pain, I could eat nothing but soup for that week and even breathing too hard sent shots of pain through my mouth. But I don't want to frighten you, it's pretty unusual to experience that much pain according to my orthodontist. And after that week, everything was fine, it's just one of those things you get used to. I was nervous about having the brace tightened, but it was nothing like having them put on, in fact it only felt tight for a matter of minutes and then went back to normal. My friend had braces on for a year and hers barely ached at all, so I guess the amount of pain depends on the teeth and how badly they are arranged (mine were pretty bad).
At the end of the day though, braces are made to help you and the pain and having to wear and clean them for a year or two is worth having straight teeth for the rest of your life