Jess Aarons walked right into the glass doors of KeepYourMindWideOpen with a slight 'oof.' His company. The company inspired by Leslie Burke, that some odd twenty years ago. 'No! I can't think about her right now!' Jess told himself, 'I've a presentation to do for...whatshisname..'

'Some hotshot guy who loooves your secretary, but hates you.' The voice came out of nowhere. For some reason it sounded vaguely familiar. Jess spun around to see the bustling streets of Washington. 'It's me silly,' the female voice came again.

"Who?" Jess thought he had said that a bit too loud. "Good question," the guard said, "Who are you?"

'Ahhhh. Now I remember,' reality came rushing back to Jess, 'I hired a guard because Scott Hoager was trying to get the secret behind my success...'

Jess was ready to run, ready to beat Scott Hoager. Ready to become the fastest in the fifth grade, faster than anyone. 'Hey! New girl! This race is only for guys!...Hey! I'm talking to you!"

"Whatsa matter Hoager? 'Fraid a girl's gonna beat you?" Hoager didn't reply. Jess heard the GO and was off. He felt like he was flying. Nothing could stop him from crossing that finish line first, or so he thought. The new girl was starting to catch up.. What was her name...Leslie! Oh yeah. He pushed harder, but he was no match for her long strides. He dropped to the ground, exhausted, after the white-blonde hair whipped past him and graphically designed shoes passed the finish line. NO! He was supposed to win!

Jess stood there for a moment or two. He gripped the railing. Why had that memory come back to him?

'Because it's when you lost...To a girl!' There it was again! He had to get on with his day. The guard was looking impatient.

"Oh, yeah.." Jess flashed his ID Card.

"Oh! Yes, go on in."

The voice didn't interfere with his day again. 'Thank-Goodness! I was beginning to think it sounded like-'

Jess had gotten home and his daughter, Hunter, yelled "Jess' home!" Jo walked down the path towards Jess. Jess had met Jo at the company, when she came in for a meeting about a kid's movie. Jo and Jess got married three years later, and had two kids, Hunter and Taylor. Taylor looked like her mother and Hunter looked like him. Jo had short, almost-white blonde hair, she wore it flipped out, and NEVER wore make-up. She stayed true to herself, Taylor said Jo should dye her hair. Jo refused profusely. 'She would look good with brown hair, she wouldn't remind me so much of-'

"Hey Jess!" Taylor yelled, walking along with Hunter. Both were tall or their age, averaging five-foot two easily. "So how was the first day of work?" Taylor and Hunter asked in unison.

"Oh, it was good," Jess said, remembering the horrible presentation, "And your first day back to school?" The two girls lit up at that question. "I beat Hunter in the race today!" Taylor said, proudly. Jess had passed his love for running on down to his children. "Oh yeah?"

"YEAH!" Taylor knew her father was teasing her.. "I could probably beat you now!"

"You're on!" Jess said playfully, "Ready…………Set…………… GO!"

'Aww. You're not going to let your own daughters beat you, are you?' The voice came instantly, and the faded. Jess ran faster to show her, who-who ever she was, that he could win. Jess beat Taylor, naturally.

Jo and Jess were talking into the night. Even though they had been married for eleven years, Jo still didn't know about Jess' life as a child. "So… How was work really today?" Jo asked sensing that there was something wrong earlier today.

"How did you know?" Jess said incredulously.

"I've known you for too long," Jo replied, with a hint of a smirk. Jess had never seen that smirk before. ELEVEN years and that was the first time he had seen that sarcastic smile on her face.

'Who does that remind you of?' Jess dismissed the voice. "The presentation with Mr. Preston was horrible. I totally forgot our aim. He wanted us to do a movie called 'Roll the Dice'. Interesting name, eh?"

"Yeah, I wonder what it's about."

"It's about a single father with a gambling addiction. He ends up leaving from his beautiful home in Miami. He gets so frustrated that he beats his daughter. One day he beats her so badly that she goes and tells her 'friends' and they tell the whole eighth grade. It sort of reminds me of Janice Avery…" Jess had said it before he even thought about it. He didn't want to talk about Leslie Burke. The girl who had changed his life dramatically. She helped him realize to live life, sometimes it's too short. She had died, just less than a year after he met her. But no, even though she had changed his life in a good way, it was just too painful to talk about her now, twenty-some years later. He had learned to live with the decision he made, to go with Miss Edmunds to a museum. Leslie had visited Jess in a dream about thirteen years previous. He had woken up in a cold sweat.

"Jess! Jess!" Jess could've'e sworn that it was Leslie calling him. Her voice was so clear. He ran back to the Terabithian Creek. "Leslie!? LESLIE!?" There she was, in the very place May-Belle had been hanging on for dear life, when he had gone to Terabithia for the last time before he crowned her princess. "C'mon Jess! Help me will you," Leslie exclaimed. Panting, Jess did so, without speaking, for he was to shocked for words. "Thanks are in order, great and noble King of Terabithia. Thy hast saved me from a horrible death," Leslie said regally, then speaking normally, "Thanks Jess!" She smiled. " Well don't just stand there with your mouth hanging open!" Jess laughed. "That's better!"

"Wha..what?"

"This is a dream Jess. Until this day, you have been blaming yourself for my death. Death happens, you know," she explained, "even to the best of us!" She added, laughing just ever so slightly. "I chose to go to Terabithia. I swear I thought you were over there. I guess I forgot to check the rope. Either that or the magic of Terabithia only keeps the rope strong when we're there together. I think it was both. Jess, you have to stop blaming yourself for my death. I don't blame you, so why do you? "

"Because, Leslie. If I had invited you to go with us to the museum, you wouldn't have tried to go over, and you wouldn't have died."

"Jess, you know I've been to a museum millions of times!"

"I knew you'd say that. I had imagined the whole conversation that I would have with you in Terabithia after I got back. Before you...you know..."

"I know. I'm always with you Jess, always," Leslie explained quietly.

"Leslie?"

"Yeah Jess?"

"Is this real, or is it all in my head?"

"Of course it's all in your head! but who's to say that doesn't make it real?"

Note:

This is my first attempt at writing a fanfic. Please don't post rude comments without elaborating on why you didn't enjoy it to the extent you could have. Not just a simple "Horrible" or the like. If you give me something to work with, I can change it, somewhat. Work for the people.

Please rate and review.

Oh gosh, I'm so nervous! My First Chapter of My First Ever Fan Fic!

-LostTerabtihian

We Rule Terabithia, And Nothing Crushes Us!

PS. I HAD to put in that line from the Hallows!!