My first Bridge story! I'm just experimenting with a different writing challenge: using my life experiences (which are considerably uneventful, since I'm still 14) to transfer the real life scene and use my imagination to create "A Whole New World", as some would say. Oh yeah, I also got inspired by a certain BtT fic. You know, the one with over 300,000 words xD

My choice of words in this story will be considerably basic and my syntax will be fairly simple for anyone who speaks English regularly. Taking these matters into account, I hope none of you will have any trouble understanding, unless I write something that just doesn't make sense. I do take into account the matter of pronouns, for they can be equally confusing as a jigsaw puzzle when used incorrectly. For example, "She hugged her sister, and afterwards hugged him, who just finished talking to him in her room."

I sometimes like to indirectly tell a reader what has happened. For example, "She died" would be too monotonous, and what would be more appropriate would be "the look in her eyes told the pair that the once energetic girl they all knew and loved would be gone forever."

I also try to use phrases like "a fish out of water" and "a fool's paradise". Understanding these phrases is usually important to understand the meaning to that specific passage.

Grammar may come up as an annoyance in my stories, since I have a bad habit to constantly change tenses. Otherwise, everything else should be completely "edible".

I'm going to modify some of the ages of the characters of the story, though not significantly.

And yes, to confirm early suspicions, this story is a spinoff of what would've happened had Leslie not drowned in the original BtT book and movie, like most other BtT fics.

The year will be set at 2005 that the Burkes moved to Lark Creek, probably because I haven't the slightest clue at what kids did during the 1900s. Then again, Jess and Leslie aren't normal kids.

Standard Disclaimer: BtT does not belong to me, nor do any of the characters. Written for non-profit reasons.

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Leslie Burke, waving goodbye to the bus driver as she stepped out into the gleaming sunlight, had a very uneventful first day of school during her second year at Lark Creek. And alongside her, as usual, was her best friend Jesse Aarons.

The previous summer had been spent playing out in the field. Disturbed by the rope to Terabithia breaking when Leslie tried to hook it with the stick, the kids had decided not to spend any more time trying to get through to their own magical kingdom without the necessary precautions. Not that they had a need to. Jess, slightly younger than Leslie, had spent most of the time not doing chores exploring the land with his best friend. They soon forgot their worries, and inevitably forgot about Terabithia, the main reason being that Terabithia was merely a place to escape to while being tormented in their life at school.

And there was certainly no Scott Hoager or Gary Fulcher ruining their seemingly endless fun during Jess and Leslie's first summer together.

Throughout the summer, Leslie and Jess's friendship only grew as the summer progressed. Unlike their first couple encounters when Leslie moved to Lark Creek, however, growing a friendship takes considerably longer than starting one. But neither of them noticed until one faithful day

The Burkes and Aarons, never having really gotten to known each other, decided to have a picnic out on the field. Of course, it was actually Leslie's idea in the first place, and Jess had been reluctant at first, but when he told his mom of the idea, he knew the moment he saw her smile that there was no backing out of this. Shortly afterwards, he told Mary Aarons that he was going to meet Leslie. Her mom held no objections, but only told him to come back in an hour for dinner.

Of course, Leslie was absolutely delighted at hearing the approval. The two kids then proceeded to walk to their favorite spot, a big and beautiful oak tree beside the creek. Unconsciously, she gently took Jess's left arm and placed it between hers, making a lock of arms. Jess showed a sign of confusion on his face, but it was unnoticed by the ecstatic girl, who proceeded to tell him that their parents were taking a break from writing and had agreed to the picnic also.

The kids arrived in a reasonably short amount of time, considering their entanglement. There, Jess Aarons and Leslie Burke talked of their plans together, and Leslie, always imaginative, suggested many ideas for their activities tomorrow involving both the families. Both fell asleep after a while with smiles on their faces, and dreaming wonderful dreams. Mr. Aarons found the pair a while later, and discovered Leslie's head resting on Jess's shoulder, her right hand on his left leg palm up, her left leg crossed over her right. Both backs were resting against the tree trunk.

Jack scolded his son afterwards about not returning back for dinner on time. But Jesse Aarons thought he noticed a hint of amusement in his eyes as his father turned and shut the door, but not before kissing May Belle goodnight.

"Turn off your lights, Jess."