Alright, I really wanted to try to come back to this fic since I had this chapter almost finished for a VERY long time. But, since I'm not only very busy in my career, have a lot of family obligations, and am now going back to school for my advanced degree… free time hasn't exactly been something 'plentiful' in my life as of late. So if updates for this and my other fics come around slower than usual, I am still writing! I'm just busy, so thanks in advance for your patience. :) Here is part one of the dance at Acorn Flats between the Squirrel Scouts and Bean Scouts. Hope you all enjoy it!

3 hours later

(Patsy's POV)

All of us were waiting inside as Raj was getting some music going right as the Camp Kidney bus pulled up to the center circle of camp in front of our dining hall.

Mr. Slinkman opened the door of the bus and got off with Scoutmaster Lumpus, feeling weird seeing both of them in more 'casual attire' rather than Scout Leader uniforms.

When we started finalizing the event (which I am still shocked everyone agreed to), Amber asked Den Mother Doe if we could have the dance be 'casual attire' rather than wearing our uniforms.

At first, I thought that idea was going to be shut down SO fast… but Den Mother Doe practically ate it up and thought it was a 'wonderful idea' to 'be individuals in our own appropriate style'. The only catch was it had to be 'school code acceptable' and no pants or jeans with holes, but… whatever!

All of us were just happy to ditch our Scouting uniforms for a few hours at a camp party.

Plus, the kids all seemed like they were having fun already since they got to dress in whatever clothes they had without a parent telling them what they could or couldn't wear.

Ah… the things I used to get excited about when I was little.

Honestly, I was actually excited to be a little more 'casual' too since I was wearing this cute and really comfortable sundress that I got when I went out shopping with my mom before summer started. Or to be really honest, it was just nice to wear anything that wasn't my uniform right now.

I kept looking at the bus to wait for the Bean Scouts (mostly Lazlo) to come out until I felt a tap on my shoulder as I heard Nina say next to my ear, sounding a little off, "Um… Patsy?"

I whipped my head behind me and saw Nina looking just as 'off' as she sounded. Quirking up an eyebrow, I asked in pretty much slightly hesitant concern, "Um, yeah? What's going on?"

Then I felt like I was thrown off even more as she leaned in more and said in a hushed voice, "Gretchen just walked in."

Nina's eyes slowly glanced to the left and I slowly glanced that way too, trying to figure out why she looked so shocked for some reason… until I looked.

Honestly, even though I was shocked that Gretchen would've found some way to 'cut and run out' from a non-competitive camp event between us and Camp Kidney, I was even more shocked to see she actually came on her own… and actually dressed nicer than I was expecting for something like this.

I mean, not that Gretchen won't wear make-up, skirts, or dresses outside of our uniforms since she will. But, I won't deny that I wasn't a little surprised to see her wearing mascara, a cute sleeveless blouse, and a black skirt.

Sure she was leaning against the wall, casually filing her teeth, and looked like she definitely wanted to be left alone… but still, she was here and dressed nicer than she usually does.

"Oh…" I finally got out in agreement so Nina would know I was just as surprised as she was.

Then I felt like I was almost thinking out loud as I started, "You know, when I brought this up, I didn't think about how this would include everyone being here. So, I'm kind of surprised she wanted to be here knowing Edward was going to be here. Unless she wanted to come just to strangle him and toss him into the lake."

Nina and I both looked at each other (despite us totally thinking Edward would deserve the 'consequences' after standing up Gretchen for a date last year as a cheap joke), we both also felt… concerned about the 'unknown' with what Gretchen would do. Especially since both Nina and I know exactly what Gretchen can do if she's left with nothing to hold her back… and that's under NORMAL circumstances!

But, Nina and I have been afraid to even talk to her at times this whole week since we still have no idea what's going on with Gretchen.

I bit my lip until I heard who I was 110% sure was Toodie say, sounding very knowing, "Oh… don't even worry about that. Amber and I have Edward 'covered' tonight."

Immediately Nina and I went wide-eyed and whipped our heads over to see Toodie and Amber standing near us with sly smirks and crossed arms.

Nina and I looked at each other in confusion before looking back at them as Nina questioned, "Explain?"

Amber almost coyly looked up to the ceiling before alluding almost mischievously, "Well… let's just say that we may have told some of the new girls about how there was this Platypus Bean Scout named Edward coming tonight who 'did something mean to Miss Gretchen' and he needed to be 'taught a lesson'."

Almost on cue, Toodie added on, "And then we also maybe gave the kids some 'ideas' and 'tools' to teach said jerk-wad… I mean, Bean Scout a lesson in what happens when you mess with a Squirrel Scout like that."

After a moment, we heard a loud yet familiar, "OW! What the heck, you little wingnut freak?! You'll pay for that!... And watch where you're going next time!"

Edward.

All of us looked behind us to see Edward pretty much fuming and holding his left shin as one of the new girls (Shelley) walked away with a very angry expression on her face.

We could all tell by looking that Shelley probably kicked Edward in the shin for whatever reason as Mr. Slinkman put a hand on Edward's shoulder before smoothing out, "Edward, calm down. We need to be respectful guests here and good role models for the younger scouts, remember?"

Almost right after, Shelley came over to us and looked right at Toodie before saying, sounding just as mad and annoyed as she looked, "You're right, Miss Toodie! That doofus bumped into me and didn't even say 'sorry'! Agh… dumb butt-bag."

After that, we all just watched on as she stomped off and Toodie commented, "Wow… never heard 'butt-bag' before. That's actually a good one! I'll have to use that later."

We all laughed at that before Amber said, "Hey, just saying… that's basically 'point proven' as far as I'm concerned. I mean, think about it here. We were vicious when we were kids. So, all we had to do was 'plant the seed' and just 'watch it grow' now. Either way, Edward looks like he's going to have a 'fun time' getting tormented by a bunch of 9 and 10-year-olds all night if he sticks around. And we all can just sit back and watch. After all, if you mess with one Squirrel Scout… you mess with all of us. Right, ladies?"

It hardly took me a moment to react as I put out my hand and initiated with a slight smile, "Squirrel Scout's honor?"

It almost felt like I was transported back in time as everyone else joined in and stacked their hands on top of mine as they all said proudly, "Squirrel Scout's honor!"

After we 'sealed the oath' by raising our hands in the air like when we were kids, we all couldn't stop ourselves from laughing.

Or at least I was until I stopped completely when I felt a hand on my shoulder and a familiar chipper and friendly tone sound off over the music that just picked up, "Hey Patsy! Wow! This looks like a great party so far!"

Lazlo.

I turned around and I felt like my heart stopped for a moment when I turned around and saw Lazlo and Clam standing right behind us.

But, that isn't what got me.

Okay, I know it seems kind of stupid since I've seen Lazlo outside of wearing his Scouting uniform before. The day I met him, he was wearing his Bean Scout swim trunks and swim shirt. And I've even seen him WAY more formal than this in the past since he wore an actual suit for Scout Master Lumpus and Den Mother Doe's wedding.

But, I've never seen a 'clean yet casual' Lazlo before… even if 'casual Lazlo' still looked very much like him, I was still not 'prepared' for it right now.

He was wearing a pair of tan linen pants with his usual black shoes, but… that wasn't what got me. His shirt completely 'stole the show' by a long shot. He was wearing this linen button-down shirt that was in this VERY colorful patchwork pattern and each patch had a different print with everything from stripes, dots, to even hints of floral patterns.

Either way, and as busy as it looked… it actually looked nice and was VERY 'Lazlo'.

But, I didn't want to seem like I was awkwardly staring as I quickly 'got it together' and maybe it was just me, but… wait a second… was he looking at me too?

But, I was determined to try to 'keep my cool' and not look too far into it as I just smiled and responded, "Oh, hey Lazlo!" "Hi Patsy! Hi Nina!"

I looked over and saw Clam smiling and giving both of us a wave.

Wow… even Clam cleaned up nice.

Sure, he was just wearing a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a pair of dark blue jeans, but even Clam looked like he tried to look nice for tonight too.

Actually, now that I'm looking around, most of the older Bean Scouts were dressed pretty 'nice'.

But, then the more I was looking around and seeing a lot of them trying to chat up 'certain Squirrel Scouts', particularly considering I was seeing Samson talking to Almondine right now. Yeah, Samson I know still has had a crush on her since we were 13 even though she's always said she's not 'interested in him like that'.

Oh yeah… it's obvious.

I mean, that's fair to say you're just friends. But, with Almondine and Samson these days? I don't know?

I know they're friends and everything, but again… I don't know? Ever since Almondine started helping out Ms. Mucus with manning the front gate to camp more and more since we were 15, she and Samson always talk for a very long time each time he comes to deliver our mail on his route.

Again, nothing wrong with that, but for the third time here… I don't know?

After all, Nina and Clam are just friends, but you can totally tell there is nothing more going on.

One because Nina's been dating her boyfriend Henry very seriously for the past 3 years (especially if the promise ring she showed up to camp with this year means anything by it) and two, you can tell Clam sees her as nothing more than a 'sister' and Nina still jokingly calls Clam her 'brother' to this day.

And now was only proof of that since before I could even say 'Hi' back, Nina immediately jumped in excitedly, "Clam?! Oh my gosh! It's been forever since I last saw you. I haven't seen you yet this summer!"

Then the two of them hugged almost immediately and Clam smirked before lifting her up like it was nothing while still holding the hug. Nina was just cracking up as she said, "Clam, come on! My head is going to hit the ceiling!" "Booster!" Clam called out as he lifted her up a little more and gave her more of a squeeze in their hug before setting her back down with a grin.

Once Nina was back on the ground, she smacked him playfully on the shoulder before both of them laughed together.

Well, or at least they were until we immediately heard Edward yell at the top of his lungs right after it looked like he sat down, "AHHHHH! WHAT THE?!..."

We looked over and saw Edward with his teeth clenched and it looked like he pulled something out of his right butt cheek before looking at the chair and commenting through his still clenched teeth, "Why… does this chair… have STAPLES ON IT?! AHHH! THAT'S IT! I'm outta here!"

Edward started stomping toward the door as Mr. Slinkman stopped him before saying, clearly not noticing what exactly happened to make him leave, "Edward? Where are you going?"

Edward just kept walking past and threw his hands in the air, "Outside! I'll wait by the stupid bus until it's time to go!"

Then just like that, Edward stormed out the door and I immediately saw some of the new girls giving each other smirks and low high-fives, causing me to smirk too.

Hmm… well played, girls.

I looked over at Clam to see him smirking a little too.

Considering Clam's never really liked Edward that much and I've noticed even more as we all got older how much he really doesn't like Edward… I'm not surprised that he was amused by the prank too.

I was thinking more people were going to comment on it until Raj took the microphone we gave him at his makeshift DJ table and called out, "Alright! Let's get this party started!"

Right then Raj put a record on for some pretty upbeat music and everyone was already starting to hop in on the dance floor. Well, pretty much everyone except for most of the younger Bean Scouts (who were all pretty much awkwardly standing by the far wall looking terrified) were making their way out on the floor.

I was about to grab some punch until I heard Lazlo ask in concerned confusion, "Uh, Clam?"

I looked over just in time to see Clam just staring at something until he shook his head and looked down before saying, "Uh, cake!"

After that he immediately looked down at the dessert table and grabbed one of the pre-sliced pieces of sheet cake with a fork and started eating; causing me, Lazlo, and Nina to all look at him and each other in confusion.

Or at least we were until I looked off to where Clam was looking at before, but all I saw was Gretchen now almost completely facing another corner of the room with her arms crossed and back turned to us, making me even more confused.

Well… that was weird.

I mean, I don't know if it still has to do with Gretchen tossing Clam down that hole on the first day of camp or what?

Either way… weird.

But, Clam just kept looking out at the dance floor eating the piece of cake he grabbed until all of a sudden, I heard and saw what I was 1000% sure was Kelly say, "Hi! I like the pretty flowers on your shirt!"

I looked down and saw her pointing to Lazlo's shirt and I felt my stomach converge slightly as I bit my lip in embarrassment.

But, then I have no idea why I was so freaked out about feeling so embarrassed since it was like I kept forgetting it was 'Lazlo' we were talking about here since he just smiled and said, looking down at his shirt, "Thanks! I got this shirt for my birthday last year from my grandmother when we were still living in Brazil. The colors and everything are so cool, right?"

Agh, why does he always have to be so adorable?!

I felt like I was slipping into 'something' until I felt a tinge of confusion as I caught something that Lazlo just said.

Mainly that he said 'when we were still living in Brazil', meaning that it sounded he wasn't living in Brazil right now.

Hmm…

But, then I felt slightly embarrassed all over again since I think I went WAY too deep into my own head that I reacted a bit too suddenly when I heard Lazlo ask, "Uh, hey… Patsy?"

I whipped my head over as I responded, looking WAY too suspicious (and maybe even like I was losing my mind), "Yes! I'm here!"

Right as it all came out, I realized how nothing I just said made any sense and also just made me look like such an idiot in front of anyone who heard me say that.

But, luckily, Lazlo looked like 'whatever came out of my mouth' just now didn't even phase him since he was just smiling at me and motioning out to the dance floor while saying, rubbing the back of his neck a little too but sounding nowhere NEAR as stupid as I just sounded, "Uh, do you… wanna go dance?"

Even though on the outside I was desperately trying to 'keep my cool', inside I felt like I was pretty much exploding.

Is this happening? Is Lazlo ACTUALLY asking me to dance with him?! Well, even if its just dancing more around him instead of actually with him… but still! Okay, stay cool, Patsy. Don't do or say anything else to make you look stupid.

Eventually, and I have no idea how, but I somehow was able to smile relatively normally before responding just as normally, "Yeah, sure Lazlo."

Lazlo smiled at me before we both walked off onto the open dance floor we set up earlier and both of us just started going along on our own to the music.

I was about to make a comment until I saw Lazlo looking over my shoulder in almost confused deep thought. When I turned my head and looked behind me, all I saw was Clam, who seemed to be acting more 'himself' now, as he and Nina were talking to each other.

I looked back at Lazlo and asked, part concerned and part confused, "Lazlo? Is something wrong?"

He shook his head a little as he looked at me before saying, sounding a little apologetic but still looking perplexed, "Sorry, it's nothing really. But, I don't know? Ever since the first day of camp, Clam's been kinda… 'not Clam'. I mean, I know I haven't been here in a while and he's still 'Clam' most of the time, but later on… I don't know? He's just been a little weird lately. Even Raj told me Clam's not 'himself' either."

I gave Lazlo an intrigued look before saying, "Really? That's weird. Nina and I have been having something similar going on with Gretchen. Neither of us have a clue what's going on with her?"

Lazlo quirked up an eyebrow before saying, "Why? What's going on with Gretchen? I mean, I know she threw Clam down that hole but…" I quickly cut him off as I explained, "No, it's not that thing… or not completely, I guess? I mean, you know Gretchen. She can be kinda harsh most of the time and lash out if you push her buttons enough, but she's been making a wild territorial badger look 'reasonably calm' by comparison lately. She's been barely talking to me and Nina since the first day, spends most of her time by herself and only comes back to the cabin to change for field hockey or Jai alai, or when it's lights out. And Nina and I barely even know what to say since every time we even look at her she looks like she's just been so 'on the edge' that we're too freaked out to even ask her. But… I don't know? She was like this a little bit for a couple of weeks last year too at the beginning of camp, but even then she was never this bad. Why? What about Clam though? You said he was acting kind of weird too?"

We both kept dancing and Lazlo looked almost hesitant and like he was about to say something until I felt like I got shoved from behind and probably would've stumbled more or fallen over if I didn't fall into something.

Well, until I felt like my heart stopped for a second when I realized I fell into Lazlo to the point we were almost as close as we were when I caught him from falling and landed on him in the woods the last time I saw him.

Oh… kay… Okay, just calm down, Patsy. It's no big deal. Just… remain… Ugh, oh no.

We both just kept looking at each other wide-eyed and definitely feeling taken off guard by whatever this was. Then, right as my heart started feeling like it was crawling up my throat from nerves being this close to this boy I've had a crush on since I was 11… the song phased out and a definite slow song started playing.

What the?!

I stopped short until I looked over in the direction of the DJ area and was completely unsurprised to see Toodie and Amber by Raj at the table, flashing teasing grins with a thumbs up at me.

Look, I am not an idiot. I knew exactly what was going on and I know that Amber and Toodie probably requested a slow song from Raj (and also probably bribed him too if the $5 bill resting near Raj on the DJ table meant anything by it) to try to 'force a situation' right now.

Mostly they were trying to 'set me up' to slow dance with Lazlo.

And especially from the smug look on Amber's face, I knew she must have been the one to shove me into Lazlo and Toodie probably bribed Raj to play a slow song at the exact same time.

Yeah, under normal circumstances, I would not be complaining… definitely wouldn't be complaining at ALL, but now?... I did not appreciate this.

I haven't been around or even talked to Lazlo this much in years and I wanted to try to have this happen differently. But, after years of openly saying how much I like Lazlo (truth or dare related or not) and brushing off everyone teasing me for it… yup, I had this coming in SO many ways.

I was about to try and play it cool, say sorry, and respectfully put a little distance between us (if for no other reason than to stop me from feeling so embarrassed that I wanted to crawl out of my own skin), I even looked over at Lazlo to try and 'explain myself' somehow.

Well, until Lazlo and I both mutually took a step back and just... stared.

I didn't get it?!

Even at that stupid sham dance back when we were kids I secretly would have done anything to dance with Lazlo, so… why am I freaking out about it?!

Yeah, we aren't exactly kids anymore, I haven't seen him in years, and he's somehow even cuter now than I remembered… oh crap.

I was trying to figure out what exactly I was going to do… you know, aside from wanting to push Amber and Toodie into the lake for 'forcing the issue' here.

I bit my lip and tried to 'keep my cool' despite how much my face felt like it was on fire, but I just really didn't want to screw this up.

As much as I felt like I wanted to just 'cut out' before I did anything stupid, I was shocked when I saw Lazlo hold out his hand to me.

Before I could even look up, I heard him stutter slightly but still sounding like nothing short of his usual sweet and good-natured self, "Um, Patsy, I… I-I'm okay with this if you are?"

Huh?

When I finally looked up; and even though Lazlo looked nervous and also a little embarrassed like I was after Amber literally and totally on purpose shoved me into him, even I could see he was still being genuine… which only made my heart beat faster at what I fully realized was going on was actually happening.

Lazlo was asking me to slow dance with him.

Okay, I know I threw in kind of a cruel cliffhanger on a couple of different things for this chapter, but… stay tuned all! There will be part 2 of the dance next time with Lazlo and Patsy content and more! :D Anyway, thank you for stopping by to read and constructive feedback is always very much appreciated.

Stay classy and thank you in advance for your patience.

Dexter1995