Make The Most of It

by Dexter1995

Coming back for her final summer at Acorn Flats, 17-year-old Patsy Smiles is ready to get in, get out, and move on with her life. But, when a familiar face reappears after a 4 years absence, Patsy has a change of heart to make the most of every second she has left. I own nothing. All rights go to Cartoon Network and Joe Murray.

6. Redo Shindootenannebaloo, part 2

Okay, so I have technically had this chapter written for AWHILE but I just recently had time between the tangled mess of constant chaotic activities that is my life right now to FINALLY finish it. So… here it is! Lol. Thank you all again so much for supporting this fic thus far and showing that the Camp Lazlo fan community is still alive! This chapter is a bit of a long one and is mostly going to be dialogue heavy with a VERY heavy focus on Lazlo and Patsy. So I hope you all enjoy part 2 of the Redo-Shindootenannebaloo! :D

(Patsy's POV)

Is this happening?

Is this ACTUALLY happening?!

Look, I know it shouldn't be that big of a deal since I've slow danced at school dances before, but… AGH, WHO AM I KIDDING?! I'm actually slow dancing with Lazlo right now!

I can't believe I'm actually keeping my cool on the outside since I feel like I'm a total mess on the inside.

But, can you blame me?!

I've had a crush on Lazlo since I was 11 and I'd have to be a flat-out liar if I wasn't admitting how much I was really enjoying this right now.

Sure we were still keeping a slight 'respectful distance' since the last thing we wanted was Den Mother Doe coming over and 'putting us at a distance' herself, especially considering we saw her already doing that to a couple of others out on the floor.

As well as her trying to pair up some of the younger kids to dance together too in an attempt to make the kids 'mingle' which didn't surprise me.

But, as much as I felt nervous and thought my heart was going to break through my chest, this actually felt really… nice.

I mean, slightly awkward since we both kept looking away from each other whenever we looked at each other too long.

But, still! It was nice.

We kept dancing and I looked off to the side for a second until I heard Lazlo say, slightly awkwardly but still good-natured, "Uh, I like your dress! Yellow's my favorite color."

He was giving me this half glance with a slight smile, but I could still see that it was all in his usual sweet and good-natured Lazlo way.

Even though I was really trying to 'keep it together' more than ever after I realized Lazlo just complimented my dress. I even looked down, almost forgetting what I was even wearing for a second only to remember I put on my yellow sundress with small white and orange flowers on it.

But, after getting myself together, I somehow managed to smile a little back at him as I responded as normally as possible, "Oh, thanks, Lazlo! Actually, this is the first time I've gotten to wear this after my mom got it for me when we went shopping together before I got to camp."

But, not wanting to slip back into 'awkward silence' and also because I really wanted to try and steer this conversation in a way so I can finally get some answers on where he's been for YEARS as I continued, "But, I can see you had a similar thing with your shirt. You said your grandma got that for you?"

He kept smiling as he replied, "Yeah! My grandmother got this for me when we were down in Brazil during my 17th birthday last October. My family usually goes back and forth between the States and Brazil because of my parents' work."

I smiled, remembering something as I recalled, "Oh yeah! Your parents own a fruit company, right?"

Nailed it.

Lazlo nodded at me, looking a little impressed that I remembered that, as he responded, "That's right. Yeah, uh, my parents started the company before I was born in Brazil, but then wanted to open a branch up north in the United States when I was 4. So, we moved around a lot and I transferred between schools a lot because of it. It was okay though! I was always making new friends and even if my parents were busy when I was down in Brazil, my grandmother would usually watch me when I was little while my parents were working. And even when I got older, I would still go to her house after school and spend time with her or call her if I was in the States. We were always really close."

After getting past how incredibly sweet it was how Lazlo told me how close he was with his grandma and how much sense that made about his life since I always wondered how Lazlo hardly had an accent since his accent sounds very 'American' and always has to me, but I couldn't help but catch him using the 'were' as in 'past tense'.

Hmm…

I quirked up an eyebrow as I questioned, "Wait, 'were'? Did something happen?"

Although I had an immediate sense of intense regret and my stomach sank as I watched Lazlo's expression drop as he looked away slightly, looking almost somber.

Oh… CRAP!

I immediately backpedaled, thinking I was screwing things up this early with Lazlo, as I frantically said, "Oh, sorry! I'm so sorry, Lazlo. You don't have to tell me if you don't…" But, he was quick to cut off my frantic apology as he said, sounding nothing short of kind and reassuring (only reminding me even more of why I've never completely gotten over my crush on him), "No! It's okay! It's just… Actually, Patsy… Can we go somewhere else to talk about this? If that's okay? Honestly, it's kind of the reason that I haven't been back to Camp Kidney over the past couple of summers. It's just… it's not something I've really fully talked to someone about yet. I mean, other than Raj and Clam, but… I wouldn't mind telling you. If you want to know about it?"

I was almost so stunned by just having 'all of that' dropped on me, but… I also wasn't about to miss the chance to FINALLY get the answer about where he's been this entire time.

That and Lazlo seemed like he trusted me to tell me about this and I really wanted to just hear what he had to say.

Aside from just wanting to know, even I can't deny that now and no matter what and even though stupid stuff always got in the way of it in the past because of us being stupid kids, Lazlo is still one of my friends and I always try to help him if I can, especially with something important.

So if he wants me to listen? Then Patsy Smiles is reporting for duty!

I wanted to try to be subtle and also do something I've always wanted to do since I met him when we were 11.

Right then I smiled as I dropped my hands from his shoulders from when we were slow dancing and grabbed his right hand from my waist with my left as I started, "C'mon, we can go outside to the dining terrace where it's quieter."

After he gave me an appreciative small smile and nod, I smiled again back before leading him by the hand outside. Even though I was also simultaneously freaking out about technically holding hands with him (and him closing his fingers around my hand back was making my heart beat so fast that I felt SO pathetic but also didn't even care), I seriously just couldn't wait to hear about where he's been and why he hasn't been back to Camp Kidney this entire time.

Luckily we seemed to be the only ones outside when we got out to the terrace since everyone still seemed to be inside dancing and eating at the dessert table.

Well, us and Edward, I guess?

But, Edward looked like he didn't even notice us since he was trying to hide around the side of the Camp Kidney bus to smoke. At least if the puff of smoke lingering around him and the lit cigarette in his hand meant anything about the fact that he still tries to secretly smoke despite either of our camps not allowing smoking ANYWHERE on the grounds after the 'forest fire incident that took out the Acorn Flats nursing station in the 1950s.

I just rolled my eyes, not even wanting to look at him anymore and still wishing it was him that got caught up in either of Gretchen and I's pranks on day one of camp this year.

Ugh… why did Gretchen ever like him anyway?

I mean, again, Gretchen and I may butt heads sometimes and I still have ZERO idea what her deal is lately, but she's still one of my best friends here and I just think she can do better than a cheap-trick-playing jerk like Edward.

But, I decided to just forget Edward as I got us to a table and got both of us to sit down, getting myself situated and ready to intently listen to everything he has to say.

Except I was surprised to see Lazlo just looking out at the lake right now.

It was quiet as he kept looking out at the lake which made him smile slightly, making me quirk up an eyebrow in confusion. I was about to ask if something was going on until he said, "Wow, I forgot how nice the lake looked from the Acorn Flats side."

I looked out where he was looking and saw it was dark to the point that the moonlight was reflecting off the water and some lights from Camp Kidney could be seen on the horizon.

Oh…

I mean, I know I've been going to this camp since I was a little kid, and even though I knew 'this' was all there, I just don't think I ever really looked at it until now.

I could feel that same 'bittersweet tinge' in the pit of my stomach again.

But, rather than get distracted, I was determined to take advantage of every second of this 'moment alone' I had with Lazlo right now.

"Lazlo?" I questioned.

He looked back at me and eventually got this slightly hesitant and sheepish grin on his face, letting out a slightly breathy laugh and rubbing the back of his neck nervously before admitting, "Oh, sorry. Guess I'm getting distracted, huh?"

He laughed slightly as he looked down, drumming his fingers almost nervously on the table.

At this point, I was getting more concerned and confused as I reacted on instinct and asked, "Lazlo, it's okay if you don't want to talk about it. I don't need to know if you don't want to say anything."

Okay, that was a little bit of a lie since I REALLY want to know more than anything, but… I also don't want to force Lazlo to do anything. I've known him and liked him for WAY too long to make him do something he didn't want to.

Also, I could feel my throat swell and my eyes go wide when I realized 'what else' I apparently decided to do without even thinking. I realized I put my hand on top of Lazlo's on the table.

I mean, yeah, I know we just held hands a couple of seconds ago when I led him out here, but that was different!

Right now I was pretty much holding his hand for no other reason than 'just because'.

Lazlo seemed like he was picking up on it too since he was also looking at my hand on top of his right now.

Oh… crap. CRAP!

What was I thinking?!

Not wanting to totally ruin 'whatever this was' with Lazlo though, I tried to save myself from absolute and total embarrassment as I looked away and started, "Sorry, I'll just…"

But, right as I tried to retract my hand, Lazlo turned his hand over under mine and my eyes went even wider when he started, sounding nervous but not put off, "No, it's okay! I… I don't mind, really."

Then I really thought my heart was going to stop and my face was going to spontaneously combust when he closed his fingers around my hand and looked up at me with a shy yet still genuine smile.

Am I dreaming?

Or dead?

Slowly, I smiled back at him, despite how much my face felt like it was on fire.

Sure his hand was a little 'sweaty', but… oh, WHO CARES?! I just can't believe Lazlo and I are holding hands right now!

I probably would've gotten more wrapped up in it, if Lazlo didn't let out a sigh and said, "Uh, okay, I'm sorry about making a big deal about this, but… there was a reason I haven't been back at Camp Kidney until now. And it's not because I didn't want to! Camp Kidney's one of the few things I can call home and I really missed all of you guys but… there was something keeping me from coming back that I didn't want to miss. You know how I was telling you about my grandmother?"

I couldn't help myself from leaning forward, almost completely forgetting about us holding hands as my curiosity took over.

He rubbed the back of his neck with his other hand as he started, letting out a slight sigh, "It's not a big deal anymore, but when I got home from camp the last time and I went to Brazil before school started with my parents to visit my grandmother… well, she told me and my parents that she was 'sick'. At first, I didn't really understand exactly what she meant and she didn't want to say a lot while I was around. Or at least she didn't until I heard her telling my parents later that she had cancer and that she… 'wasn't going to be around much longer'. And for me… that was really hard to hear. I mean, I'm close with both my parents, but… my grandmother was always very special to me. She was always encouraging me to be adventurous and creative, something she also did with my dad when he was a kid too, and she was always that one thing I could count on to be there for me. Whether I called her when I was in America and needed to talk to someone or actually saw her whenever we came back to Brazil, I knew she was always there for me whenever I needed her. So, when I heard she had cancer and she wasn't going to 'be around much longer' according to her doctors, I didn't want to chance leaving for the summer to come to camp and risk not being there for her like she was always there for me. But, even though it ended up being kind of a good and bad thing, my grandmother ended up living longer with her treatments than her doctors were expecting. So, since I couldn't come to Camp Kidney during the summers, I would always stay with her in Brazil over the summers and spend any time with her that I could while I still had her around. It was fun though! After I helped take her to and from her doctor's appointments in the morning, we'd walk around if she was up for it, play games at her apartment, or just cook something together and talk. Even though it was hard sometimes, she would get 'turned around' and confused during the last year she was alive. Last summer when I was staying with her, I thought she just kept forgetting my name since she would call me 'Gaspar' and then she'd quickly correct herself and call me 'Lazlo'. I remembered telling my dad about it when he came over to check on me and my grandmother until he told me Gaspar was my grandfather's name and she probably just thought I 'was him' sometimes in her mind when she saw me. I never met my grandfather since he passed away when my dad was my age now and my grandma didn't keep too many pictures of him around, but my dad said I actually look a lot like my grandfather when he was younger. It was kind of a confusing situation for me, but I guess it made me 'feel better' about staying with my grandmother while she was still alive, you know? And I especially felt better about it even more since she… passed on a little after New Year's this year."

It was so silent you could hear a pin drop as I kept staring at him, my mouth open slightly in shock at everything I just heard.

But, weirdly… it all made sense.

Why he didn't come back? Why Clam and Raj said he 'needed to stay home'? And I have no idea why but… I felt… guilty.

Here I was selfishly thinking he was just 'avoiding camp' and me just wanting to see him when really he was spending time with his terminally ill grandmother the entire time?!

I just felt… bad.

Eventually, I just responded on reflex, "Lazlo, oh my gosh, I am so sorry about your grandmother. I-I didn't know?"

But, I was surprised to see him just give me a small yet genuinely appreciative smile before saying, "Thanks Patsy, but don't be sorry! She was sick for a long time and I'm just glad she's in a better place now. Besides, she was always telling me she wished I would've kept going to camp with you guys and 'live life', but… I don't know? I feel like spending time with my grandmother and making the most of the time I had left with her made me appreciate 'life' even more, you know? Just to live in the moment more! Besides, I still have reminders of her. Like this shirt she gave me for my birthday and she also gave me this a little before she passed away."

He reached into his shirt and pulled out what looked like a silver chain with a pendant on the end of it in the shape of… wait, is that a tree?

Luckily, Lazlo immediately explained, "I can't remember if I ever told you, but my last name 'Moreira' means 'mulberry tree'. My grandmother was always telling me how important mulberry trees were and told me about how they help represent a lot of things in spirituality and nature. This mulberry tree necklace was hers and she wanted me to have it so I could carry it with me and remember the importance of all those things. But, to me… I don't need it to help me remember any of those things. I just like it because it helps me have a little piece of my grandmother wherever I go. Just to stay close to her, you know?"

He looked down at the pendant with his usual sweet smile on his face and I felt like I was close to almost tearing up from hearing probably the sweetest things I've ever heard in my entire life.

But, more importantly, it really did only prove to me that even though I haven't seen him in years, he really was still the same sweet, optimistic, and genuine Lazlo that I remembered when we were kids.

But, right as I was about to slip into a daze of some kind, I tried to 'get back in the moment' as I started, "Well, I bet your grandmother would like that either way. Honestly, I'm kind of jealous. My parents are both the firstborn of 4 kids and I have a lot of cousins, so there were always too many of us around on either side for me to ever get to spend time with any of my grandparents one on one. And I definitely never got anything like an heirloom from any of them like you have. That's for sure."

Slowly Lazlo, looked up at me and I was a little surprised when he squeezed my hand he was still holding and said, "Uh, Patsy? Thanks… you know, for listening to all that. Actually, it kinda felt good to finally talk about this to someone. So… thanks again."

I was a little surprised, but I smiled back and responded, meaning everything I said, "Yeah Lazlo, any time."

Weirdly, and even though I didn't realize it until now, this was probably the most we ever talked to each other.

Honestly, it's almost sad and even a little pathetic to think about the fact that we've known each other since we were 11, and yet now we're both 17 in our last summer at camp and somehow this was the most we ever talked to each other.

Okay, yeah, that is pathetic.

But, I wasn't going to let it stand like that!

And I especially wasn't going to let us have this 'moment' together end that easily now that I have it.

I decided to keep the conversation going as I smiled and recalled, "So, you said you came over from Brazil when you were 4, right?"

Lazlo smiled back and started, "Yup! I was born in Brazil and lived there until my parents moved for work. Even though no one believes me when I tell them I'm from Brazil, or at least they don't until they meet my parents or hear me speak Portuguese. When I got to the States I started speaking both English and Portuguese at the same time and my 'American accent' came out stronger when I spoke English since I just spent a lot more time in America and speaking English at school. Although it's kind of funny, everyone always tells me my parents have really thick Brazilian accents. But, to me, I don't hear them having 'an accent' at all. To me, they just sound like 'mom and pop'."

I would have probably let myself pretty much swoon over how adorable and sweet that sounded until I thought of something else I also weirdly never even considered until now as I brought up curiously, "So… you can speak Portuguese too?"

He kept smiling as he said, "Oh yeah! I can speak both Portuguese and English. But, I mostly just speak Portuguese with my parents at home though or with my grandmother sometimes when she was still alive. But, I usually just speak English out of habit most of the time."

I know I probably shouldn't be thinking this since he just brought up his now-deceased grandmother and just told me that long and emotional story about her, but… I immediately started thinking about Lazlo speaking Portuguese.

Well, mainly him speaking Portuguese with me in certain... situations.

But, I tried to be cool about it as I asked, "Can you teach me something in Portuguese? Or just say something?"

Okay, maybe I'm being obvious, but… I don't care!

The only thing I know about Portuguese is that it's a 'romantic language' and I would do almost anything to hear Lazlo speak Portuguese to me right now.

He tilted his head as he said, "Oh, uh, sure Patsy! What do you wanna know?"

I immediately propped my chin up on my other hand as I said, definitely knowing I was being obvious now as I shrugged, "Just anything!"

Seriously, I didn't care if he just told me 'where's the bathroom' or something in Portuguese right now. Because I'll probably pretty much fantasize about Lazlo whispering 'sweet nothings' in my ear in Portuguese every time I think about him from now on.

After looking like he was thinking, he looked at me and smiled as he said, smoothly and definitely hearing what he meant by his 'Brazilian accent' comes out when he speaks Portuguese (and I was definitely not complaining), "Eu vejo uma garota bonita em um vestido bonito."

Okay… I have no idea what he even said, but if I wasn't sure if I was crushing on Lazlo before… I am definitely sure I just fell for him so hard that I felt like I fell off a cliff and landed at the bottom at this point.

But, not wanting to creep him out by blankly staring at him, I managed to smile and ask, "What does that mean?"

I was surprised when I saw him look a little shy for a second, biting his lip a little and making me nervous and hesitant about what was happening, almost like he was now unsure of what he just said.

Well, until he looked at me and rubbed the back of his neck as he said, stuttering a little and looking nervous but still sounding 100% himself, "Uh, it means, I… I see a pretty girl… in a pretty dress."

Wait, did Lazlo pretty much just… flirt with me?

I mean, I'm not going crazy, right?

Lazlo just called me pretty, right? RIGHT?!

Then as if I already wasn't going into 'overload' over everything I was feeling right now, he slowly readjusted his hand with mine (which was still pretty sweaty and a little gross but I just REALLY couldn't care less) until our fingers interlocked with each other's, making my eyes feel like they were going to fall out of my head.

Is this happening? Is THIS seriously happening right now?!

I kept on waiting for myself to wake up and be incredibly disappointed that nothing that just happened was real.

But… It was all still here.

I wasn't dreaming.

This was actually happening right now.

After years of not knowing if Lazlo liked me the same way I liked him and even though he hasn't said it flat out yet, but… I think the 'feeling' was finally mutual with us.

My heart was beating so fast that I thought it was going to break through my chest again as we kept smiling at each other and holding hands.

But, right as Lazlo looked like he was about to say something, we both heard a hushed and irritated voice start bluntly, "Okay, fine, I came out here. Now what is it?"

Wait... Gretchen?

It sounded like she was around the back of the dining hall, but… who is she talking to?

Then I heard another deep and slightly raspy yet also very familiar voice start, "Nothing. Just wanted to ask something."

Huh? Clam?! Clam's talking to Gretchen?!

"Clam?" I heard Lazlo say out loud in total confusion, almost echoing my thoughts.

Both Lazlo and I shot our heads back to look at each other in mirrored shock and confusion for a few seconds before we eventually got up and started following the conversation as both Clam and Gretchen kept talking around the corner.

Eventually, Gretchen responded through her teeth, sounding very snippy and annoyed even for her, "Okay, then what is it?!"

After barely a second, Clam quickly responded, sounding nothing but calm yet also concerned(?), "Is something wrong?"

"Huh? What kind of stupid question is that?! No, I'm fine, okay?" Gretchen immediately retorted defensively.

Okay, just saying as a friend who shares a cabin with her and I do NOT know the context for why Clam's asking… but yeah, Gretchen's NOT fine. Or at least she's DEFINITELY not herself anyway.

Eventually, Lazlo and I kept following the sound of the conversation until we got to the corner leading to the back of the dining hall.

After exchanging one last confused and curious look between us, we both looked around the corner and saw exactly what we thought.

Clam and Gretchen were standing behind the dining hall with Gretchen crossing her arms and scowling as she looked anywhere but at Clam and Clam was just looking at her frustrated, confused, and almost concerned.

But either way, I had no idea what was even happening.

At first, I thought they were talking about why Gretchen 'went overboard' with throwing him down that pit on the first day of camp, but then I kept getting even more confused as I saw Clam take a step closer to Gretchen and put his hands in the pockets of his jeans as he asked, genuinely sounding even more concerned and completely confused, "Is it me?"

Gretchen turned around even more and looked like she was receding in on herself in frustrated rage as she responded quickly yet short, "No."

"Did I do something?" Clam pressed, looking even more confused and concerned as he kept looking at Gretchen.

Okay, what is even happening right now?

"Ugh, Clam, what are you even?!..." "Gretchen, answer." Clam said to cut Gretchen off, sounding almost 'determined' now, even crossing his arms as he kept looking at her in the same determined way he sounded.

Okay, even though I definitely think Clam is kind of a 'big teddy bear' most of the time despite looking so strong he could chuck a tree to the other side of the planet, even I had to admit he was kind of looking a little 'at his limit' with his patience.

It was silent between them until Gretchen finally answered begrudgingly, still not looking at Clam, "No, Clam. You didn't do anything, okay?"

"Then what's going on?" Clam pressed even more.

Okay, I've known Clam for a while, and he usually doesn't talk too much and I'm pretty sure this is the most I've seen him talk ever.

AND I STILL HAVE NO IDEA WHAT'S GOING ON?!

Gretchen looked like she snapped as she did an about-face and clenched her fists at her sides as she pretty much growled in his face, "Nothing! Okay?! How many stupid friggin' times do I have to tell you?! Everything's fine! We're fine! Got it?! Now, leave me alone and let's go back inside before someone…"

But, Clam just blocked her way and didn't even move one muscle more forward as he just remained almost stone-faced and calm as he crossed his arms from his spot.

They just stood in almost a standoff and kept staring each other down, looking like they were either going to fight or ignore each other forever.

And me knowing Gretchen… either one of those could happen.

Although now I'm kind of concerned she might actually kill Clam, or at the very least ream him a new one to the point where he'll be laid up in Nurse Leslie's office for the next few weeks.

Then I really felt like that was going to happen as Clam dropped his arms and almost immediately reached out and grabbed Gretchen's right hand in his left and looked her right in the eye and said, straight to the point, "Prove it."

Oh crap…

Thinking Clam was about to literally write his own obituary, I was going to run in and try to stop it.

But before I could even react (or even just blink), Gretchen used her other hand to abruptly reach up and grab Clam by the collar of his dress shirt and immediately pulled him in and….

No… way….

Is Gretchen... kissing Clam right now?

Wait… WHAT?!

Then as if that wasn't enough to put my brain through a blender, Clam (after looking shocked for a fraction of a second) shut his eyes and pulled her closer to him and they both were now just having a full-on make-out session behind the dining hall. I felt like my brain couldn't comprehend what was happening (especially since this doesn't look like 'something' new for either of them with each other).

I mean, at least to me it doesn't.

And judging by the expression of absolute shock on Lazlo's face since his eyes looked like they were going to fall out of his head… yeah, I definitely knew this was something that neither of us knew about looking at Clam and Gretchen together right now.

Both Lazlo and I were frozen in shock as we both kept looking at Gretchen and Clam, although both of them now getting to the point where Gretchen shoved Clam's back against a tree (looking like the tree shifted in the process to the point where I thought it was going to uproot itself) right behind the dining hall, and making Clam let out this almost 'groan-like growl' from his throat as they kept kissing that we could hear from where Lazlo and I were standing.

But, right at that moment I heard who I was 1000% sure was Nina call out, sounding like she was coming outside to look for Clam, "Clam? Clam, are you out here? Raj said he's about to start up a stroll line soon! Do you want to…"

Nina immediately stopped talking and also stopped dead in her tracks with wide eyes and her mouth open in shock.

Well, at least it's 3 for 3 between me, Lazlo, and Nina… that was at least reassuring that I wasn't the only one in Buckeye Cabin to not know about this, especially since Clam and Nina usually tell each other everything.

But… guess Clam never told Nina about this either.

Gretchen and Clam practically froze up with wide eyes (but still practically clinging to each other against the tree).

Well, guess now's as good a time as any, right?

Finally, I stepped out from around the corner as I started, putting my hands on my hips and made sure to show off as much confusion as I could, "Gretchen? Just… what the heck is going on here?!"

So… looks like Gretchen and Clam have a 'little secret' they've been hiding, eh? More on this later and I'll leave you all to speculate on this for now. Stay tuned! Lol. ;) But, to focus here, I hope you all enjoyed the interaction between Lazlo and Patsy since I REALLY enjoyed writing something that might happen between a teen Patsy and teen Lazlo who are now both crushing on each other after putting 'childhood cootie syndrome' aside. Haha. For real though, we've seen time and time again in the show how genuinely nice and sweet Lazlo is (even toward those who can't stand him like Edward and Lumpus) and also seen time and time again how much Lazlo loves his family, especially his parents. But, in the episode "Love Sick", there was a member of Lazlo's family who technically appeared that we never saw or heard from since that I found interesting. Lazlo's grandmother. In "Love Sick" when Clam got hit with a VERY bad bout of Love Sickness over Gretchen and Lazlo and Raj were trying to find a way to cure him, I found it very interesting how in that emergency (rather than calling his parents) Lazlo instead called his grandmother for advice and even as a preteen had no problem telling his grandmother he loved her on the phone in front of Raj. And thus a headcanon for me was born! In my mind, I could see Lazlo being a bit of a 'grandma's boy' and having a very close and healthy relationship with his grandmother. But, I decided to put a bit of a somber spin on it in this fic to make Lazlo's grandmother being terminally ill and Lazlo wanting to be there for her while she's sick be the reason why he was away from Camp Kidney for a few years while she battled cancer. Sad, but I could also see Lazlo as he gets older assuming a bit more responsibility with helping people and how this situation helped kind of ground and mature Lazlo a bit more in his teens while still being his usual adventurous, creative, and good-natured self that we all know and love! :) And apparently, Patsy too when it comes to Lazlo. ;) Honestly, it still is a CRIME to me that they didn't try to embrace more of Lazlo's Brazilian roots in the show (especially since Joe Murray wanted to give Lazlo a Brazilian accent, but Cartoon Network executives said that he could only pick one of his characters to have a strong accent and instead opted to have Raj be the character with the accent). Again… THAT sucks to me! So, I decided to have the best of bother worlds for my fic with Lazlo being Brazilian but learned American English at a young age so he speaks with a clear American accent but does have a Brazilian accent when he speaks Portuguese as someone who is bilingual with Brazilian parents. That and I think Patsy REALLY would swoon hard over Lazlo more than she already does if Lazlo spoke to her in Portuguese, or 'flirted with her' in Portuguese to be more precise. Lol. ;) But, aside from the sweet and subtle flirts between Lazlo and Patsy in this chapter, I really wanted to show how these 2 still have their defining traits but just matured a little bit more as teenagers so I hope I was able to pull that off! :) Anyway, thank you all for reading, constructive feedback is always very much appreciated, and stay tuned to see what happens next!

Stay Classy!

Dexter1995