Thank you to all who read the first chapter. I appreciate the comments/suggestions. It always helps to have feedback.

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Bridge to Terabithia

Chapter 2

By the end of the week Jess's knee was noticeably better. His limp was gone as well as the pain that accompanied it. His father said it was the gift of youth which Jess could hardly argue with. To his own surprise he found himself springing out of bed early Friday morning ready to tackle another run. Jess wasn't sure why he suddenly found a new desire to run but he was happy for the feeling nonetheless. Perhaps it was Kyle's incessant badgering to have a running partner to help him train for boot camp. Kyle's enthusiasm to train was infectious. It reminded him a bit of how zealous he and Leslie used to approach running. The first year they tried out for cross-country they practically ran circles around their teammates. It was never a chore for them, never a task to be completed, running was just fun. Jess lost that somewhere along the way and he wanted to get it back.

He did some light stretching just outside his house. Jess knew he should probably wait at least another couple days to let his knee rest up but he couldn't wait. He glanced over at Leslie's bedroom window and was surprised to see her light on. Leslie was a notoriously difficult person to wake up in the morning. Jess had to literally drag her out of bed on occasion to ensure they were not late for school. When he first asked if she would join him for his morning runs he thought for sure she would turn him down flat. Yet, she eagerly accepted and Jess was ecstatic. He could only wonder what she was doing up so early. Perhaps she was going for a run?

"Stop it Jess" he scolded himself. "She's not thinking about you so what're you doing thinking about her?" He zipped up his hooded sweatshirt and began a light jog down the old dirt road. He quickly picked up his pace and was soon through the old wooden gate and into the rolling fields where he met disaster only a few days before. Jess was more sure footed this time and swiftly worked his way down a slippery slope and dug in to fight his way up an equally slippery incline. Jess pressed on at a furious pace as the sweat began to drench the cotton sweatshirt. It wasn't long before he found himself in a very familiar place. He slowed down to a jog and eventually stopped. Breathing heavily he looked around hoping he would see it. It wasn't long before he did. Like the ruins of an old forgotten ghost town the enchanted rope still hung as it always had.

Leslie couldn't believe she was getting up so early. It was still dark outside. Normally she would be tucked away in bed until the last possible moment. Yet, here she was lacing up her running shoes and preparing to voluntarily go out into the cold, frosty morning. She pulled her Lark Creek High School track suit out of a drawer and rummaged for her gloves. After putting her hair up she was ready to go. Leslie quietly made her way downstairs. She passed through the gold room on her way and stopped. There was always a sense of longing whenever she was in the room. The happy memories of its creation were dampened by the absence of someone special. On the mantle piece rested a picture of her and Jess. They were twelve years old and best friends. Propped up against a wall they ate popcorn and laughed happy just to be in each others company. Bill took the picture after they finished painting the gold room. It was a treasured memory, one she thought of often. Leslie sighed and continued on her way out of the warm, cozy house and into the frosty, dark morning.

She ran down the old familiar dirt road as the icy wind whipped across her face. The first rays of sunlight were just becoming visible as she reached the end of the road and crossed through the open gate. It was the first time in a long time that Leslie had been so close to Terabithia. For a moment she was quite impressed with how fast she was making the run. Of course once Leslie realized she had grown significantly since the last time she visited she just felt stupid.

"Taller, stronger, it's only natural you'd be faster Leslie" she said to herself rolling her eyes. She continued on feeling better, more alive the closer she got to her former kingdom. In her mind she imagined she was again racing Jess to the enchanted rope. She won every race until Jess had a growth spurt. Even then she gave him a run for his money. In the distance she could see the ravine. To her shock and surprise Leslie could see a lone figure sitting not far from the edge. The person appeared to be staring at the rope almost as if meditating. She took a few steps closer in hopes of seeing who it was. After all it was still the gateway to Terabithia, their kingdom. Even a prolonged absence did nothing to dissuade her sense of ownership of that particular piece of the forest. Leslie peered closely at the figure trying desperately to see who it was. Then like a sudden clap of thunder she knew who it was.

"Jess?" she said under her breath in surprise. She was frozen in place as she watched him. He made little movement other than occasionally looking across the creek to the other side. His shoulders were slumped forward and he had that adorable "hound dog" expression of his. Leslie was flooded with memories of flying across the creek into Terabithia with her king and ever faithful Prince Terrin close on her heels. Anything was possible in Terabithia. As king and queen Leslie and Jess defeated the dark master time and time again. Trolls, squogres, and all manners of evil were no match for the duo. Jess and Leslie were inseparable and nothing could crush them. At least that is what they thought.

Leslie sighed as she knelt down in the cover of a tree. It seemed they could fight and defeat any enemy as king and queen. Yet, as Jess Aarons and Leslie Burke they became victim to the universal experience of growing up. Time managed to do what the dark master never could, it separated the inseparable. Leslie felt a deep sadness overcome her as she looked again to Jess. Why did things change? Were they really that much different then when they first met? She was still Leslie Burke, the weird girl with no TV. Well, that wasn't entirely true. Her parents finally purchased a television and even a DVD player. They rarely watched it and Leslie only turned it on when her friends were over. Of course she did watch it a lot with her boyfriend, before they broke up that is. Jason Simms liked television more than anyone she knew, including Jess. He seemed to go into a different world once the remote was in hand. To her chagrin he never seemed to tire of flipping constantly through the channels. Leslie once joked to her parents that television was probably a more reliable form of birth control than the pill. Neither Bill nor Judy found the remark funny but Leslie was certain that not long afterwards her parents spoke about getting cable.

Of course with Jess there was never a need for television. They always managed to entertain themselves. More importantly they talked to one another. Leslie missed those talks more than anything. With Jess she never felt afraid to tell him anything. She confided in him and he confided in her. Leslie had several close friends but she would never speak to them about the kind of things she trusted Jess with. Yet, they were now only separated by a couple hundred feet at the doorway to Terabithia. Ironically, they couldn't have been further apart. Leslie couldn't even bring herself to walk over to him. Instead, she quietly slipped away and began a slow, depressing run home.

"Any plans this weekend Jess?" Kyle asked as he sat down in the seat across from his friend. Neither Jess nor Kyle had a car. So, while many of their peers began driving to school they found themselves stuck on the same old bus they had been riding for years. Jess found it humiliating whereas Kyle often saw it as an opportunity to catch up on sleep.

"Outside of my dad's list of chores and homework?" he said with a laugh.

"Another one of those weekends huh?" Kyle replied. "Well, take a look at this" he said handing Jess a piece of paper. It was a brightly colored flyer advertising something Jess had heard about.

"The Lark Creek 10K, 5K and fun run" he read aloud. As Jess read over the information he noticed a familiar blue sedan pass by the bus. He knew who the car belonged to and who was in it. Once the car was out of sight he turned his attention back to the flyer.

"I take it this is part of your preparation program for boot camp?" Jess said handing the flyer back to Kyle.

"That's right" he said carefully folding the piece of paper and placing it in his backpack.

"You remember that you still got a year before you can even join" Jess said as he glanced back out the window. "You've got plenty of time to get ready."

"It pays to have goals Jess" Kyle replied. "Besides this'll help you too." Now Jess was intrigued. He knew there had to be a reason Kyle showed him the flyer.

"How is you running a race gonna help me?" Jess asked.

"You're gonna run it with me" Kyle said coolly. Jess laughed.

"I'm gonna run it with you?" he asked still laughing.

"You and somebody else actually" Kyle added. Seeing that his friend was confused Kyle figured he should explain. "We can register as a team but we need a third person. The rules require at least three people to qualify as a team." Jess gave Kyle an odd glance.

"Why would I want to do this Kyle?" he asked. "You're the one joining the Marines."

"Because you need a goal Jess and I need someone to help me become a better runner" Kyle explained. "I know you're still bummed about having to leave cross-country. Well, you don't have to be on the cross-country team to run a race." Jess had to admit he was intrigued. Running was a passion he was trying to re-discover. Since quitting the team he had lost the only thing that gave him any way to cope with losing Leslie.

"Well when is the race?" Jess asked.

"Four weeks from tomorrow" Kyle replied. "All we gotta do is find a third person and we're all set. But we gotta find this person soon. The registration deadline is next week." Jess pondered the idea for another moment. It might be a good idea to have something to shoot for. As it was he felt like he was simply going through the motions everyday. Kyle was right he did need a goal. Jess needed something to break him out of the "funk" he was in.

"Well, who are we gonna get to join our team?" Jess asked after making his decision.

Kyle just smiled.

Leslie could hardly stay awake as Mrs. Stanners, her English teacher, was preaching the literary genius of A Tale of Two Cities. Though she finished the book the night before Leslie remembered little and at the moment didn't care. She wanted to sleep or at least be allowed a shot of espresso. Since neither was going to happen she did the best she could to stay awake. Wondering if anybody else was having trouble surviving the lecture Leslie scanned the classroom. Two rows away she spied Kyle Travis studying something very intently. It was obvious from his closed copy of A Tale of Two Cities that whatever held his attention wasn't the assignment at hand. She could only wonder what he was doing.

Kyle was always working on some kind of project. Back in the 7th grade he spent roughly an hour every day writing a story based on her, Jess and himself. It was a western with each of them occupying a role befitting their personality. Jess was a US Marshall, Kyle a soldier and Leslie an actress that wins the heart of the stoic lawman. Leslie wasn't sure why Kyle pegged her as an actress but she loved the romance angle he added. Though embarrassed, Jess didn't seem to mind either. By the end of the school year Kyle filled several notebooks and produced his own little "novel". He typed it up, saved it to a couple flash drives and gave them to Jess and Leslie.

"Kyle" Mrs. Stanners said with an authoritative tone. "What character said, 'It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known.'

Kyle looked up from his desk and answered quickly,

"Sydney Carton as he was going to his death at the guillotine" Leslie smiled. She had to admit to being impressed. She knew Mrs. Stanners was trying to embarrass Kyle as an example to the other students to pay attention. "Oh, it was also said by Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. In fact, the book features prominently in the movie. It starts when Mr. Spock gives…"

"That is enough Mr. Travis" Mrs. Stanners scolded. The tall, thin woman with granny glasses hated to be upstaged by a student. Leslie, of course knew that Kyle had no intention of trying to embarrass his teacher. His Star Trek analogy was sincere albeit funny. Regardless, it put an end to the lecture and gave Leslie a much needed jolt to wake her up.

Relieved that it was time for lunch Leslie gathered up her books and began to make her way to the cafeteria. Not being very fond of the cafeteria diet Leslie routinely brought her own lunch. She bypassed the line and headed directly for a table. It was the first few minutes of lunch that she enjoyed the most. Before her friends showed up she had the table to herself and a moment or two of peace and quiet. At least as much peace and quiet as can be found in a high school cafeteria. No sooner had she bit into her sandwich then she felt the jolt of somebody joining her at the table. It was most likely Megan she was generally the first to arrive after Leslie. Looking up she was surprised to see Kyle digging furiously through his backpack. Having secured whatever it was he was looking for he turned his attention to his friend.

"Hi Leslie" he said with that big smile of his.

"Hey Kyle" she said after hastily swallowing a piece of sandwich. "You joining me for lunch?" she asked rather pleased to see him.

"I would be happy too" he said smiling. "But I'm not sure the six-pack would welcome 'skinny jarhead guy" he said pointing to his hair. Leslie was about to say something but Kyle waved her off. "It's okay Leslie it doesn't bother me. It would be more grief for you than me anyway and I'm not here to cause you grief." Leslie hated and loathed the term "six-pack". It was the name given to her and five of her friends that generally sat together, hung out after school together, basically did everything together. Rumor was that the name apparently had less to do with their physical number and more with their affinity for alcohol. Anyone that knew Leslie Burke generally dismissed the notion of her being a drinker but the name stuck nonetheless.

"Kyle, you can sit with me anytime" she said. Though she meant it Leslie knew Kyle would never take her up on the offer. He wasn't intimidated by the six-pack like Jess was. Perhaps intimidated was the wrong word…he didn't hate the six-pack like Jess did. He just had an acute understanding of high school hierarchy.

"Leslie, I want to ask a favor" he said as he handed her the same flyer Jess read over earlier that day. "No worries if you can't or don't want to do it. You've got a much heavier school load then I do. I want to register a team for the race and I need at least three people" he said. "All I ask is you think it over. No answer necessary right now" he added as he cautiously scanned the cafeteria. "If you could just let me know by Monday, okay? Thanks Leslie." With that Kyle sprang up and was gone in a flash. Leslie quickly saw why he made such an abrupt exit. Coming around the corner were two members of the six-pack. Leslie hated herself for feeling relieved that Kyle was gone.

Jess was happy to see the week come to an end as he got off the school bus. He walked a few feet then stopped. He could hear the distinctive sound of voices but in particular Leslie's. Just through the trees he saw her and a couple others. It appeared to be Megan Dunlap and Jason Simms, two members of the illustrious six-pack. The sight of Simms made Jess's stomach turn and he quickly moved in the direction of his house. If there was someone Jess truly loathed it was Jason Simms. Scott Hoager had more redeeming qualities than Simms, at least in Jess's opinion. Jess could feel his blood beginning to boil. It was like someone flipped a switch and he just became enraged. He threw his backpack onto the front porch then turned around. He had to do something to work out his anger. Jess made his way back to the dirt road and burst into a full on sprint. Any lingering pain in his knee was gone as he pushed himself as hard as he could. In his mind all he could see was Leslie, Jason and her other friends. It was like pouring gas on a fire. It only incensed him more. His lungs began to burn as his body began to tire. He had no intentions of quitting, however. Once through the wooden gate Jess pushed himself even harder uphill and down never letting up until he saw it come into view. Just as he had left it that very morning the enchanted rope was waiting silently. This time without hesitation Jess ran to it, found a stick and reached out for the rope. Once he secured his grip he immediately launched himself across the creek.