Disclaimer: I do not own Bridge to Terabithia, in any shape, form, or fashion. That honor belongs to Katherine Paterson, Walden Media, and the Walt Disney Studios. I am simply a grateful fan of a beautiful story.

Author's Note: This update came much, much quicker than I thought it would. It is shorter than I planned, though, and that is why. I decided to divide up my original plan for chapter two, because I thought it would flow better this way.

May the other chapters come as quickly! And I hope you enjoy this one.

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A PLACE FOR US

Chapter Two: Dream

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The sound of a thunderous rain, banging against his window and the roof, roused Jess in the wee hours of the morning.

For once, he did not mind. Downpours usually made him nervous, and anxious long after the last drizzle came to an end, but not this one. Tonight's storm had actually done him a favor, by dragging him out of a strange dream.

The memory of it still danced around in his tangled thoughts.

He remembered standing in a dimly lit, drafty room. Or maybe it had been a cave. He did not know, only that it had been very, very cold.

He thought he had been alone.

Then a moaning had reached his ears, and he saw a dark mass writhing, twisting and curling, in an even darker corner. At one moment it looked almost human, the next it was only curling shadows, but the pitiful, pained cries he had heard had definitely come from it.

Something else—something big—stood close to the shifting shape. He caught only a glimpse of what might have been horns on the hulking figure's head. And… feathers? It seemed to be speaking, and yet all he could make out was a dry clack-clack-clack.

There was nothing inherently scary or terrible about the scene. Nothing attacked him, he still had his pants on, he could actually see—all hints he knew meant he was trapped in some sort of nightmare. Swelled creeks had recently joined the usual signs, but there was not a drop of water to be found here either. Weird was a better way to describe all this.

But as he had stood there, watching the horned figure clack-clacking at the fuzzy shape, Jess could not shake off a feeling of dread, of an intense discomfort that made him sick to his stomach. He was on edge, his breathing raspy and short, and his heart pounded wildly against his chest.

He had been afraid, terrified even, and he had no idea why.

So just as soon as he was glad the rain had woke him up, he blamed it for giving him such a stupid dream.

His head ached something awful now. He still felt uneasy, too, darn it. Sweat soaked his sheets and shirt, and every little sound made him flinch.

Going back to sleep any time soon did not seem at all likely.

With a huff, Jess sat up and flicked on his dependable flashlight. He then grabbed his sketchbook (it was always close at hand) and a pencil nub. Opening the book up to a fresh page, he started to draw.

There were three things that always helped calm him down when he was feeling out of sorts. Since it was close to two in the morning, he knew the first one was probably sleeping like a log next door. Running-number two-was out of the question, too. Drawing was the third thing. It never failed to put him in a good mood.

And, sure enough, the first stroke of the pencil did the trick. Peace settled in, trickling from his muddled brain all the way down and through his tensed-up body. It felt absolutely wonderful. Lord, he loved to draw.*

He had just finished sketching an outline of Prince Terrian's head when he heard the floorboards creak. "Jess?" May Belle, her hair bedraggled, poked her face around the makeshift curtain that separated his part of the room from the girls'. She blinked sleepily at him. "Jess, you okay?" she said.

"Mm-mm," he said. "I'm fine, May Belle."

"You sure? Why're you awake?"

"Just had a dream. Now I'm up and felt like drawing some. Er, sorry. Did I wake you up?"

May Belle shook her head, rubbing at her eyes. "Nuh-uh. It was…" She yawned. "It was all the rain… It's real loud, huh?"

"Yeah. You scared?"

"Nuh-huh."

"Well, then go back to sleep. We got school tomorrow, remember?"

A gusting rush of wind sent more rain crashing against their house. Lightning lit up the room for a few seconds, as the walls groaned and the window rattled.

May Belle did not so much as budge an inch. Instead, she looked him right in the eye. "You want me to stay up with you, Jess?" she said.

He knew why she asked, and his heart went out to her. She had a big mouth, and got on his nerves sometimes, but May Belle really was a good kid.

Maybe instead of just the three, there were four things he could always count on to help him out during a tough spell.

Jess smiled at his little sister. She was yawning again, bless her heart. "Nah, don't worry 'bout it," he said. "I'm okay, and you're tired. You can go on back to bed."

"You sure?" she said, squinting at him.

"Sure I'm sure. C'mon." He set aside his sketchbook and walked her back to her bed. "I'm fine, May Belle. Really, I am. I'll just draw a little more, and then I'll go back to sleep. Okay?"

"Okay," she mumbled. She was already half asleep.

Jess tucked her in, pulling the sheets up to her chin and handing her that night's sleeping companion: the newly dubbed Captain Super Extreme Barbie. He wondered how long it would be before this one lost a leg (or both) in battle, like one of her predecessors had.

Before he left, May Belle held out her arms. The pleading look she gave him was more than he could take, so he bent down and hugged her close.

"Can you please show me your drawing tomorrow?" she whispered.

"Yeah, I will. Promise. It probably won't be very good, though."

She snorted, smiling at him. "Everything you draw's good."

This time, he was the one who had to snort back a laugh. "Huh, I wish. But thanks anyway. Now close your eyes already and go to sleep."

"Kay."

"Good night, May Belle."

"Night, Jess. I love you."

"Love you too."

She snuggled deeper into the blankets, and Jess sat with her until he was certain she had fallen into dreams. He hoped they were nice ones. Stepping carefully back to his paper-and-pencil-strewn bed, he nabbed his sketchbook again and went back to work.

Two hours later, his drawing of P.T. battling a renegade troll was done, and he was finally able to go close his eyes.

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It was still raining heavily when morning arrived. Jess finished his chores (or at least the first set of them) as usual, but by then his shoes were covered in mud and his socks were soaked. He had to leave the secondhand sneakers on the porch when he ran inside to grab some breakfast and a clean pair of socks. His hair he just let drip dry.

He had a feeling he would be all wrinkled before the day was over.

"Don't forget your coat, Jesse!" said his mother, as he raced through the kitchen a few minutes later.

"I won't, Momma." He grabbed his backpack and shrugged on the coat. It was a bit too big for him—it had belonged to an older, much larger cousin—but it was warm and heavy, perfect for a cold, rainy day like this one. "See you later," he said, giving Mary Aarons a brief but warm hug.

An equally warm smile came over her tired face. "Have a good day, hon."

"You too. Bye, Dad."

Jack Aarons, sitting at the table for a quick bite to eat before work, nodded with a grunt. "Try not to catch a cold out there."

"No promises!"

May Belle was patiently waiting for him on the porch with the umbrella. After Jess laced up his shoes, he opened up the umbrella, and together they braved the elements. They trudged the path to next door, where they waited for Leslie on the Burkes' deck.

Jess knew Leslie must have had an umbrella or three of her own, probably one for each color of the rainbow, but she really liked sharing one with him and May Belle.

He really liked it too. He had told her so once, and Leslie had blushed.

Leslie bounded out of the house only moments after they arrived. She and her colorful wardrobe, complete with polka-dotted boots and yellow raincoat, were the lone bright spots to be found in the damp, gray morning air. Her smile was positively sunny, too, warm and sweet and inviting and, goodness, so, so pretty, until she got a good look at Jess. Then she was just frowning.

"Jeez, Jess," she said, scampering under the big umbrella to huddle with the siblings. They stepped off the deck and made their way to the sludgy road. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Huh?"

"You've got really dark circles under your eyes. You look awful! Did you not sleep well last night?"

Jess hedged for a second or two. He did not want to worry her. He finally offered up what he hoped was a breezy shrug and said, "It's no big deal. I woke up real early and couldn't get back to sleep, so I just drew until I could."

May Belle was not nearly so tactful. "He had a bad dream," she said.

Gosh darn it! "May Belle…" he groaned, glaring at her.

Maybe it was too soon to add her to the list of "Things That Calm Jess Down" after all. The little rat didn't look the least bit sorry about spilling the beans, either.

"A bad dream?" said Leslie.

Thunder rumbled in the distance, and the icy rain pounded against their umbrella. She gasped, the spark of a thought dawning in her eyes, and he knew exactly what was going through her mind.

It was the same reason why May Belle had offered to stay up with him the night before.

"Oh, Jess…" she whispered. She grabbed his free hand, interlacing their fingers. Her thumb brushed the back of his, again and again. "I'm so, so sorry. I should've called you last night, when the rain didn't let up, and just talked to you for—"

"Hey, hey, it's okay, Leslie," he said gently. He squeezed her hand, letting her know without saying it aloud that he was still grateful for her show of comfort. "It wasn't… It wasn't that dream."

She released a pent up breath. "It wasn't?"

He shook his head. "No."

She eyed him closely. "Really, Jess, tell me… It wasn't?"

"It wasn't. The rain, it still sometimes… Well, yeah." Jess shrugged, swallowing. "But I haven't had one of those kinds of dreams for a while."

Leslie sighed again, and hugged his arm close to her. "Good," she said. "I'm glad. About the dreams, I mean," she added hurriedly, wincing, "not that storms still…"

"I know. Same here."

They shared a gentle look, and then she nudged him and said, "So what about your dream last night?"

"Well… It wasn't really a bad one."

"Was too!" said May Belle.

"No, it wasn't," insisted Jess, though he wondered just who he was trying to convince. "It was just… weird."

"Weird?" said Leslie. "Weird how?"

"Well, first, I was in this real cold place."

Jess went on to describe the dim, drafty chamber. He told her about the shadow and the clacking figure, too, and how it had all bothered him for some reason. Leslie listened silently, her brow furrowed. She did not interrupt, not even once, or poke fun of him. That was just the way she was.

When he finished talking about his strange dream, Leslie abruptly let go of his arm. Without so much as a warning, she started pushing back the damp hair plastered to his forehead. Her lips pursed. "Hmmm…"

He chuckled a little. "What the heck are you doing?"

"Just checking to see if you have a lightning-bolt scar or not," she said, smiling playfully at him. "Cause I think you've been spying on Voldemort!"

They both choked and laughed uproariously, hard enough that their ribs started to hurt. Even May Belle, who had seen a couple of the Harry Potter movies by now, laughed a little too.

Lord, it felt good to laugh.

"Seriously though, Jess," said Leslie, once they had their guffaws mostly under control. They now stood at the bus-stop, muddy water pooling at their feet. "You were right. That is weird! You should cut out all the junk food before bed."

"Yeah," he said. "Cause apples are totally the worst thing you could eat."

She giggled. "You know it! More Oreos for you, mister!"

Jess's stomach turned, even though he knew she was just joking. Eating too many of those dumb cookies always made him sick. He could still remember the time when he had swallowed one more Oreo than he should have. That day in Terabithia had not been filled with magic or exciting battles and daring rescues, but rather him puking up his guts into a bush, moaning, and Leslie stroking the back of his neck saying, "Gosh, I'm so sorry, Jess…" over and over.

He had stuck with apples and a few chips from then on.

"Speaking of Oreos," he said, "how's the list coming along?"

"Pretty good," said Leslie. "I got most of my stuff last night, actually."

May Belle whooped. "Really?"

"Yep. I just need new batteries for the radio, and Dad said he'd grab some when he went after groceries today."

Jess grinned. "Cool. Me and May Belle got the blanket and basket, so we're set, too."

"Great!" said Leslie. "But I don't think we'll get to go on the picnic today. And maybe not even tomorrow." She gestured at the soggy, cold mess they stood in. "Not if it stays like this."

"Aw…" said May Belle, her face scrunching up into a real pout. "I really wanted to go!"

Leslie chuckled and stroked the little girl's hair. "Me, too. But don't worry, May Belle. We'll go, I promise. The rain won't last forever."

Jess had a feeling she had said that for his benefit, too. She was certainly smiling at him now, and she had grabbed his hand again. He smiled back, and his heart soared when her eyes welled up with what could only be happiness.

It was still pouring buckets, his new socks were wet now too, and he had had a stupid dream that kept him awake almost all night. But all in all, it wasn't a half bad start for a Monday.

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Author's Note: Credit is due where credit is due. The passage with the asterisk at the end is heavily based on one from the novel. I have modified it a little, but not by much.

There is another BTT Easter egg in there too. Did you find it?

Thank you so much for reading! Again, reviews are not required, but like donations they are very much appreciated. Take care!

T.O. Cole

Edit (3/11/13): I added running as one of Jess's stress relievers. I can't believe I forgot it, either. Running happens to be one of my favorite things to do, too.