A/N: Okay, well like I promised, it's longer... But I can't say it was better written... Haha. Anyhoo, I still don't, and never will, own Bridge to Terabithia. Book or Movie. And once again, please review, cause all it'll do is help me. (Hopefully, that is.)
ALSO!, I have been blessed with such a keen and critical reader, Sharkie, to have picked out many of my faults. I do hope to review them in much more detail as new chapters emerge, so I don't have Sharkie counting 15 'finally's so precisely. Haha, thanks again!
But do enjoy the story!
~Kinger
Leslie followed Jess and May Belle off the bus, hoping to get the chance to ask Jess to hang out with her for the afternoon. But Jess didn't even look back as he quickly walked off with May Belle towards their house. Disappointed that Jess shunned her again, Leslie trudged down the dirt road that led to her driveway.
She climbed up the two steps that lead to her porch and turned to sit on the swing seat that hung from the roof over it. Leslie dropped her shoulder bag at her feet and kicked off the wooden planks, feeling the gentle wind caress her face. She couldn't help but smile as it tickled her, and soon she burst into a small laugh.
"Leslie? Is that you dear?" A woman called from the screen door.
"Yeah, Judy. It's just me." Leslie called back, smothering her laughter so Judy wouldn't be too suspicious. She also noticed how she was different, yet again, from most other kids. She called her mother, Judy, and her father, Bill, instead of just calling them Mom and Dad. But she wasn't about to change that for anyone, so pushed that thought out of her head.
"So are you done with your novel?" Leslie asked, trying hard to sound enthusiastic for Judy's sake.
"No, not yet... Ol' writer's block decided to pay me a visit, so I'm gonna take a little break for now." Judy sighed, but smiled warmly at Leslie and walked over to sit by her on the seat.
"But more importantly, how was your day at school?" Judy prodded, eyeing Leslie with raised brows. It wasn't until a few weeks before they left their home in Arlington had she and Bill been called to a parent teacher conference, where Leslie's teacher informed them that she was always alone. Both parents felt a cloud of weight slowly fall upon them, as they thought of themselves as terrible parents. How had they not seen their only daughter always alone?
They both tried hard to help their daughter out, but her eccentric personality always deterred the other kids away from her. Together, they were almost forced to watch their only daughter wallowing in a sea of despair beneath her bright attitude. But there was one night, that tore the hearts out of Judy and Bill completely.
When they walked into Leslie's room to check on her, they heard her mumbling in her sleep, repeating the same phrase over and over.
"Let me die… Let me die…" Leslie breathed softly in her sleep, her mouth quivering as she uttered the words. Judy had to clasp her mouth shut before she dashed out of the room and cried her eyes out. Bill too, was shaken by their daughter's unconscious thoughts, and cried alongside his wife.
That very night, Bill proposed the idea to move out into the country, hoping to give Leslie a fresh new start to make friends. Judy agreed without an argument, and they agreed to share their ideas with Leslie the next morning.
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"Leslie?" Judy called up the stairs, "Where are you? Your father and I want to talk to you about something."
Alarmed, Leslie shot off her comfy bed and swiped her cell off the desk on the other side of the room. Frantically thinking of whom to call, she pushed 1 on the pad and hit the call button. Without realizing she had called her own voicemail, she dashed back to her bed and laid herself down, phone to ear.
"You have no new messages in your mailbox." The automaton voice informed her.
"Yeah, alright. I'll see you tomorrow, uhh, Sarah." Leslie replied into the receiver just as her parents walked in. Leslie glanced at them and hung up on the instructing voice, straightening herself up on the bed.
"Oh, hi Bill! Hi Judy!" Leslie greeted cheerfully, smiling as pleasantly as she could.
"It's okay Leslie, you don't have to put on a show for us you know," Bill said soothingly, sitting down on Leslie's left.
"Oh Leslie, why didn't you tell us what's been going on?!" Judy cried, tears streaming down her face as she rushed over to hug her daughter.
Leslie just sat there, mouth agape, as she felt her mom's sobbing body shaking her own.
"B-b-but how did you…" Leslie stammered, trying to stop her own shaking heart that matched her mother's.
"We met with your teacher a week ago…," Bill told her, gently rubbing her back and Judy's arm that clung to Leslie.
"Oh…," was all Leslie managed to say before tears brimmed her eyes and misted her sight. Together, they sat there on Leslie's bed for hours, comforting each other, and talking over the plan to move. Leslie accepted it, not leaving much behind except the room she had grown to love. It was her haven, and the one place that accepted her fully for who she was. That, and her parents, who were coming with her anyways.
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"It was alright… But I think I've made a friend!" Leslie chirped, smiling at the memory of Jess saving her from Janice Avery and her posse.
"Oh that's wonderful, Leslie!" Judy responded, but was lost on Leslie, as she was absorbed in her own thoughts.
I wonder if he'll want to play outside today…, Leslie pondered, Or he might still be angry at me for bothering him again… But her high spirits would not be shattered by a shadow of doubt.
"Hey Judy, would it be alright if I went over to his house?" Leslie asked suddenly, turning to face her mother.
"Wha? Who's this his house?" Judy stumbled over her words before her daughter leapt off the seat, causing it to swing violently.
"Be back by dinner!" Leslie called over her shoulder before running off towards the dirt road and turned to head farther down it.
Bill poked his head out the screen door and looked around but all he saw was his wife laughing on the swing seat with Leslie's bag on the floor.
"What's goin' on here?" Bill asked accusingly, but couldn't help grinning a little.
Stifling her laughter, Judy replied indifferently, "Oh nothing, Bill. Just that our Leslie's found a friend is all."
"Oh okay…," Bill said, about to go back in. As he was about to shut the door, he finally registered his wife's words and nearly tore the door down on his way back out. "Wait, what'd you just say?!"
Try though she might, Judy couldn't resist it anymore and burst out laughing, Bill just staring at her in surprise. But not long after, Bill too joined in and took the seat next to his wife, and together they swung there, laughing and reveling in Leslie's new hope.
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Leslie wondered how many times she'd have to knock before someone answered the door, but wouldn't give up until someone did. Preferably Jess of course, but anyone else would do too.
After her fifth knock, May Belle finally opened the door, smiling brightly with little black holes in between her teeth.
"Hi, Leslie!" May Belle cried, bouncing up and down.
"Hey, May Belle. Is Jess home?" Leslie asked kindly, hoping May Belle wouldn't be upset that she hadn't come to see her.
"Yup! He's just in his room being his big meanie self." May Belle replied, a small frown appearing on her face.
"Well then we should try to cheer him up, right?" Leslie smiled, as May Belle's frown literally turned upside down.
"Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!" May Belle yelled excitedly, as she took Leslie's hand and dragged her into the house and up the stairs with unfathomable strength for her size.
"Who's she?" Ellie spat from the bean chair in front of the T.V., but didn't receive an answer as Leslie and May Belle reached the room that she and Jess shared.
"Jess! Jess!" May Belle called ecstatically.
"Go away, May Belle. I don't want to play barbies with you." Jess replied from behind his curtain that made a makeshift wall from May Belle's area. There was a definite tinge of annoyance in his voice, but Leslie planned to change all that.
Leslie silently crept up to the curtain, and timidly reached her hand out for it. The shadow of doubt she banished before came back with a vengeance as she contemplated what would ensue if he got angry with her for intruding. He wouldn't talk to her anymore, and would probably ignore her for good as well.
Well then, I guess there's nothing to lose…, she told herself, and slowly drew the curtain back. There, lying on his bed looking up at her with saucer-sized eyes was Jess. He had a stub of black pastel in his hands, and a half-finished drawing resting on his pillow.
"Wha-what're you doing here?" He gasped in surprise, shock overwhelming his entire body.
"Hey, Jess! I was just wonderin' if you wanted to go outside and play or somethin'." Leslie chirped. So far so good! He hasn't yelled at me yet or kicked me out…
"Why are you here?!" He said louder, the anger building up inside.
"Like I said, slow poke! To see if you wanted to come outside." Leslie restated firmly, not giving up on her hope.
"Hey dork, Mom says you have to go rake the lawn now," a girl said from behind them. Leslie turned around to see a girl leaning against the doorframe with a smug expression on her face.
"But that's your chore! I'm not gonna do it for ya!" Jess fired back angrily.
"Mom says," she replied snidely, grinning impishly to complete the whole ideal look of evil.
"We'll see about that…" Jess mumbled angrily to himself as he got off his bed and stalked out the door, bumping into Brenda's shoulder roughly as he passed her.
Leslie and May Belle followed Jess carefully, avoiding Brenda as well, on their way out. Leslie was a bit frightened by Jess' fury, and hoped she could never make him that angry with her.
"Mom, I'm not going to do Brenda's chore for her." Jess said bluntly, the anger vacant from his tone; Leslie guessed he didn't want to be in real trouble.
"Oh, she said that you would since you had nothing to do…" Mary Aarons replied over her shoulder, intently focused on some soup she was making at the stove.
"Well…," Jess stalled, hoping something would come to him.
"Well, I say if you have nothing to do, then just hop to it." His mom answered brusquely, carefully adding certain amounts of spices into the soup pot.
"I..I…," Jess stammered, thinking of anything he could possibly say to get out of it. And then it all suddenly came together in his mind that it almost made him smile. "Well, I already had plans to hang out with my friend, Leslie..."
"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Aarons." Leslie greeted politely, walking over to Jess to stand next to him.
Mary Aarons was so startled by the girl's voice that she almost dropped the ladle she was using into the pot of chicken soup. She quickly placed it aside and wiped her hands on a towel before turning around to greet her son's new friend.
Never before, had Jess brought home a friend, much less a girl to their house. And while Mary Aarons did empathize with her son, she was just too busy taking care of the needy baby and the others to do much about it.
"Oh hello! It's quite a surprise to see you here, uh…." Mrs. Aarons said hastily, forgetting the name her son told her.
"Leslie. Leslie Burke. We live just down the road from here, so I guess that makes us neighbors!" She replied, peachy as ever.
"Oh right, right. You must be the family that moved into the old Perkin's place!"
"That's the one!"
"Well Leslie and I already made plans, so tell Brenda she'll have to rake the lawn today." Jess interrupted, reaching for Leslie's shoulder.
"Well alright you two, just be back before dinner, Jess. And May Belle, honey, do you think you can help me out in the kitchen a while? I could do with a few more helpers around here…" Mrs. Aarons droned on, not taking no for an answer from a whining May Belle.
"C'mon Leslie, we gotta get out while we still can!" Jess whispered under his breath. Leslie giggled, and said goodbye to Mrs. Aarons before letting Jess walk her out. She was elated he had decided to go outside with her, even if it was just an excuse. But she wasn't going to let him off the hook that easy.
"So uh, what exactly you have in mind before?" Jess asked confused, having never played with anyone but May Belle, and Joyce Ann, who was still just a baby.
They slowly made their way to the end of his driveway, Jess turning into an emotional wreck each step. He hadn't actually planned on staying with Leslie after he made it out of the house, but decided that would be far too rude to do to anyone. He also felt a little funny, being asked to hang out, and having a girl in his room that wasn't his sister. And what exactly did she have in mind anyways? All these confusing thoughts circled around his head and tormented him until Leslie finally broke the silence.
"Well I think I'll give you a rematch. On your mark, get set, GO!" She yelled, but it wasn't until she was a good twenty feet from Jess, did he realize what she meant.
He smiled to himself for the first time in ages, and took off at a full sprint, pounding the ground with 11 years of fury. But when he caught up to Leslie, she broke into her own graceful sprint and once again left him in the dust.
They ran for a few miles until they hit the end of the path which was marked by a large old tree. As they both panted for air, Leslie began wandering around the area to see what it held. Not too far from the tree, there was an aged, yellow rope hanging down from a sturdy tree on the bank.
"Hey Jess! Come here!" Leslie called, looking around for a stick to pull the rope in.
"What is it, Leslie?" Jess called back, slowly making his way over to her, still exhausted from the run. When Leslie came into view again, she was perched atop an old tree that fell over, holding the rope that had been there for ages.
"Wait! Don't swing on it, Leslie!" Jess yelled, but was too late when Leslie took a leap and swung across smoothly and disappeared into the dense foliage on the other side. Panic struck Jess like never before, as he never really had to worry about anyone else but himself and occasionally May Belle.
"Leslie? LESLIE?!" He yelled over and over again, wondering where she could've gone. The rope was swinging back and forth still and Jess picked up the stick Leslie laid against the launch log, and brought the rope in. He heaved himself up atop the launch log and held the rope with white knuckles.
With all the rain Lark Creek has had in the past few weeks, the river below him was moving rapidly, and could easily sweep Jess or Leslie downstream. But Jess tried hard to forget the dangers of the water; he had to find Leslie, and that was all that mattered.
With a deep breath, Jess jumped forward and felt the wind surging past his face. Jess was lost in the excitement that he missed his first chance to jump off as the rope swung him back to where he started. He berated himself before the rope finally took him back to the other bank and he jumped into the foliage, immediately disappearing beneath its green shelter.
He climbed the slope up until he reached the top and looked back at the rope which was still swaying to and fro.
"Leslie?!" Jess tried again, hoping she didn't get too far out yet. He looked in all directions, but all he saw was living, dead, and decaying trees. Still no Leslie.
Jess ventured a little deeper in, constantly looking back to make sure he saw the old rope at all times, and called out her name again. There was the crunch of twigs breaking and a sliver of movement in the large ferns to his left. Jess started to panic a little, hoping there weren't any insane killers hiding out in these parts of the woods, when out of nowhere, he was tackled to the ground from behind.
Jess fell to the ground in a daze, a body sitting on his back, giggling out of control. He managed to roll the person off and was ready to slug the person when a lock of blonde hair tickled his face, and a pair of sea-green eyes stared right into his. Leslie's head almost smashed into his, had she not stuck her arms out on either side of Jess' body to keep herself up.
"That was for being rude to me earlier, Jess Aarons!" Leslie said sharply, but broke off into laughter as Jess' face changed from rage to surprise in zero seconds.
"Leslie!" Jess choked, uncomfortable with her face so close to his. He could feel her warm breath brush against his face as she laughed. Leslie hastily picked herself up and offered him a hand. Jess took it smiling timidly; having a friend was something he'd have to get used to.
"C'mon Leslie, we should start heading back. Who knows what else is out in these woods…," Jess whispered, still feeling uneasy about the woods.
"No wait, Jess! I think I see something…" Leslie said, her voice drifting off. She wandered a bit farther into the woods, scanning the trees over and over until she found it again at last. Not too far out, there were the remains of an old dilapidated tree house still standing high atop between two sturdy-looking trees.
"Look! C'mon Jess, let's go check it out!" Leslie yelled behind her as she was already running towards it.
"Wait up, Leslie!" Jess called out, but didn't think she heard him. He watched in shock and mild horror as Leslie didn't even hesitate before climbing up the branches that led up to the tree fort.
"Leslie! You shouldn't go up there! Who knows how longs it's been up there!" Jess cried out worriedly, hoping the tree fort could withstand her weight. Why is it that one of my only friend's has to be so dangerous?!, Jess bemoaned to himself.
Leslie looked back at Jess running towards her, and smiled at him before setting her foot on the porch of the tree fort. She tested her weight on it a few times before confidently placing the other in front. Leslie grinned at the stupefied Jess, who was frozen in place on the ground, looking about ready to go into a coma.
He cares about me!, she thought happily as she beckoned for him to come join her upon the fort. Or soon to be, their, tree fort. But Jess didn't move from his place, and looked at her with terrified eyes.
"Jess… It's okay, see?" Leslie reassured as she hopped up and down lightly on the planks of wood. With each creak, a snap followed in Jess' mind, with Leslie falling through. After she stopped jumping, she walked all around the tree fort to prove to him it was still strong enough to carry them both.
Slowly, Jess made himself inch closer to the branches that led up to the fort and climbed his way up to Leslie. She reached her arm out and helped him up, spinning around once in glee.
"Isn't this awesome, Jess? It's ours! A place for just you and me, where we can hang out and stuff, you know?" Leslie babbled on, but Jess was lost in his own thoughts about how beautiful everything looked from up here.
When Jess turned his eyes back to Leslie, who was just staring at him with a smile, he couldn't help but notice how pretty she looked. He found himself lost in her sea-green eyes, as if they had known each other for years, and were at long last, reuniting.
"I'm sorry about before…," Jess said quietly, finally managing to pull his eyes away from hers. It was kinda scary to him, to be lost in her eyes, and made himself promise to avoid it from happening again. After all, she probably thought it was creepy anyways.
Leslie felt a little hurt when he abruptly looked away, but sighed and answered him, hoping to relieve him of his guilt. "It's alright Jess. Anyways, we'd best start heading back now." Her voice drifted off, as Jess slowly began his way down.
Maybe he doesn't like me at all…
NO! NO! NO! You're just over thinking it, is all!
Then why'd he look away?
He's a guy! Guys do weird things!
Leslie's mind waged a civil war as she numbly started her climb down.
Looking away isn't really a weird thing you know…
He's just embarrassed! NOW CLIMB DOWN AND WALK NEXT TO HIM!
Yeah, embarrassed to be with cave–
CLIMB!
But it was too late, as Leslie unknowingly stepped on a small branch that immediately gave way. Before she knew it, she was falling down with her arms flailing out in futility.
The wind was knocked out of her as she hit something soft first, but knocked it to the ground with her. Her heart pounding, she gently stretched her arms and legs to see if anything was broken. A muffled sound came from beneath her that startled her and made her jumped up and looked at the spot where she fell.
There, on the ground was a crumpled Jess, who was having a difficult time breathing.
"JESS!" Leslie screamed, before rushing to his side to check from broken ribs. She ran her fingers gently over his chest, but all his bones seemed to be intact.
"Are you okay?!" Leslie desperately asked, watching in horror as he sucked in air. He nodded his head slightly, but closed his eyes and his head went limp.
"Jess?" She called, gently nudging his shoulder. "Jess?" She tried again, pushing him a little harder. "This isn't funny Jess! Answer me!" Her voice pleaded, hoping for his sake he wasn't joking around. Leslie sat there defeated, a tear streaking down her cheek. Please be okay, Jess. Please…