"And at last I see the light
And it's like the fog has lifted
And at last I see the light
And it's like the sky is new
And it's warm and real and bright
And the world has somehow lifted
All at once everything is different
Now that I see you."
—I See the Light by Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After church, eating lunch, and going to Veronica Hanley's memorial that Dimitri  had made after she'd died at the north side of Terabithia (he'd also gone there before giving himself up to the police) as respect, Leslie and I immediately went to our tree house.

Yep, it was officially ours now.

Yesterday afternoon, Leslie, Sarah, Groban, Conrad and I had also gone to the police station as witnesses. The four of us had been shocked to learn that Conrad's dad was the town's sheriff. Sheriff Miller had scolded us, asking why we did such a dangerous thing.

Conrad had rolled his eyes. "Please, Pops. Just be thankful we solved the biggest mystery here in Lark Creek," he'd said, then glared to the person standing beside him. "Too bad I missed the shuckin' climax because of David Beckham Wannabe!"

Groban had scowled at him. "You're blaming me again, Miller? Why're you always blaming me?"

"Duh! Because it's the right thing to do!" Conrad had exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air in frustration. "If you didn't act cool and tough and then got lost in the first place, then we'd have—"

"For the love of God, SHUT UP, BOTH OF YOU!" Sarah had yelled, her voice rising several octaves. "We're inside the police station! Continue your World War Three after we're done being questioned and already outside!"

That had immediately shut the two up, but they hadn't stopped having their glaring contest, and then Sarah just sighed in exasperation. I'd been impressed she'd gotten to stop Groban and Conrad bickering with each other.

When I'd told Conrad that Dimitri would lend him his Stradivarius for safekeeping, he'd fainted right on the spot.

And, of course, our parents had been called to go to the police station, which meant more scolding for us, but they'd been also proud of our achievement.

Thank God.

Earlier, my dad and mom had informed Leslie and me that the five of us were featured on the front page of the Lark Creek Times, showing our picture taken at the police station.

Five Teenagers Solved the Mystery in the Alsons' Mansion After All These Years! the headline said.

Earlier at church, after the pastor had been done preaching, he congratulated the five of us and even called us "The Teenage Detectives of Lark Creek," and then we received a round of applause, which I thought was embarrassing. But Leslie and Conrad had stood up and bowed to them proudly. Typical for them to do that.

╪ ╪ ╪

Back to the tree house scene, I was drawing a castle that was beginning to bloom again in my sketchpad, while Leslie was rereading The Hunger Games, which she'd said before that the actor who played Peeta Mellark looked a lot like me.

Meh.

It was unusual for the two of us to be so quiet. Normally, we'd be chatting away about anything at all, jovial and smiling. But today, a proverbial storm cloud was overhead despite the sun shining over Terabithia.

Figuratively.

I was thinking, When will I confess my feelings to Leslie? Now? After one hour? Later in the evening at the front of her house?

But what if she rejected me? Argh! I didn't care anymore! But why was I still not saying anything?

Stupid fear of rejection.

As the seconds ticked by, all I still heard was my sketching on the paper and Leslie flipping the pages of her book. That was how silent the whole kingdom was. Even the birds, insects and other Terabithian creatures were deadly quiet, although I heard a bark from P.T. five miles away. Or maybe that was an exaggeration. But really, I should say something. Now.

Come what may.

I was about to say something, like how nice the weather was because the sun was dominating the sky at the moment (well, inside the tree house? Not so nice.), but Leslie beat me to it.

Unfortunately.

"I can't take this anymore!" she cried.

Startled, I looked up from my drawing with furrowed brows, but not before noticing a huge black stroke across the paper. Not that I blamed Leslie for the mislead stroke, though. I should draw it again some other time.

"Les, are you all right?" I asked the stupidest question on earth.

"No, I'm not!" she snapped, her patience breaking. Okay, at least someone was being honest around here, but I still didn't know what she was getting at.

"Is this about the front page of the newspaper?"

"Of course not! Please, Jess, let's not pretend anymore," she said, clearly defeated.

I was still confused. "Huh? What's not to pretend anymore? I don't understand, Les. Honest. What're you really talking about?"

Leslie's eyes gleamed, resulting in me to gulp nervously. "This silence!" she snapped again, making sharp gestures. She even thumped the palm of her hand down on the hardcover copy, hard.

I gaped at her. Uh-oh. This could only mean one thing: I was so dead meat. This wasn't Leslie. She never behaved like this.

Again, another awkward silence filled the inside of the tree house. Why couldn't I say something? I wanted to tell her everything right now: how I loved her with all of my heart. But my mouth was betraying me, even though there were already words hovering on the tip of my tongue.

Stupid mouth, wouldn't obey my brain to open up and say what I wanted to say to her.

Leslie slowly stood up while gazing at me. "You love Sarah Bradfield, don't you?" she asked with a snarl.

I almost choked on air. Wait, what?

"Answer me, Jesse!" Leslie spat, acid in her voice. Then she closed her eyes and seemed to be trying to push everything back down.

Now I also stood up while putting down my sketchpad on the floor, facing her. "What's really going on, Les? Tell me!"

"You want the truth, Jess? Fine!" Leslie exclaimed. "I love you!"

I froze, my eyes widening. Well, that was unexpected. I knew I should be doing jumping jacks after hearing her say that, but I frowned at what she'd said instead. Was she toying with me?

"What kind of joke is this, Les?" I asked calmly, but deep inside I was really confused. "You told me you were falling for Nigel Groban, but now I'm the one you love? This doesn't make any sense."

"Don't you get it, Jess? I was lying when I told you that I was falling for him, 'cause I thought you were in love with me but just too darn shy to admit it, so I said that for you to open up and could read between the lines!" Her voice was bitter, and it nearly made me wince. "But it was just all me, 'cause you said that I should go for Nigel! I thought you were going to confess if I told you that!"

Then I noticed the tears that began to form in Leslie's eyes, and they were like a slap to my face. My gut twisted at that. I didn't like seeing her like this. Face full of hurt, so...vulnerable...all because of me.

Why am I still not saying anything? Stupid Aarons!

"And because of how you answered, I concluded that you love Sarah Bradfield and not me!" she continued, still shouting. "I even saw you two hugging each other at Lance's birthday party, and you were even whispering to each other while the play was going on! How stupid of me to think that you love me, huh? You only love me as a best friend!"

For a while, I was frozen with shock as Leslie was gasping for air after her rant. Had I heard her right? Leslie loved me and not Groban? My queen loved me?

My breath hitched as my heart leapt. Even the insides of my stomach did a somersault. I would've had said something already, except that I was still kind of speechless.

We loved each other! Holy brown cow! It was just all a misunderstanding!

Leslie must have interpreted my silence the wrong way, because she said, "I knew it! You really love Sarah!" then ran away from the tree house at full speed.

Then I was snapped from my paralysis when I heard her land on the ground, the sound of her footsteps fading in the background. I instantly followed her. "Wait, Les! Let me explain!" I shouted the most cliché line in the world as I jumped down from the tree house.

We already reached the cow pasture, but Leslie still kept on running without looking back at me. Dang! I couldn't beat her like this. She was the fastest runner I'd ever known. I could only think of one solution to reach her.

I'm sorry, my queen.

I quickened my pace, pounced on Leslie, and we crashed unceremoniously to the ground. We rolled three times, and then I was lying on top of her.

We were now face-to-face as she shrieked, "Let go of me!"

I wasn't sure I could remember seeing her tough exterior crack this much.

I could feel my heart beating so fast, and I wondered if Leslie could hear it. I pinned her wrists above her head. "No! I'm not letting you go! Not anymore! We've been through so much already, Les. It was all a misunderstanding. I'm not gonna hold back any longer."

Leslie froze at my words, looking at me, bewildered. "W-what—"

I didn't let her continue as I leaned down and kissed her on the lips. I could practically feel a swarm of butterflies flying inside my stomach.

Her eyes widened in surprise, but after a moment I felt them closing. She kissed me back passionately. I let go of her wrists, and she ran a hand through my hair. I intertwined my hand with her free hand, realizing how our hands seemed to fit each other perfectly, like they were really meant to be together.

Leslie's lips were so gentle and soft, and I could taste the cherry lip gloss that she used. I could even feel her smile in our kiss. It wasn't big or obvious. Just a faint, secret smile, a flicker of excitement crossing her face, as if this was something she'd been waiting for her whole life.

This was real. This wasn't a dream anymore. I was kissing the woman whom I'd love forever and ever. It was everything I'd hoped for. All my love for her was spoken in our first kiss.

Then we separated our lips to gasp for air and leaned our foreheads against each other, our eyes still closed. I placed a palm on her cheek while she traced my jawline with her finger.

"Yes, Leslie, I love you, too," I whispered. "I was just too afraid to tell you. But now, I can't hold my feelings in any longe—"

I was interrupted when Leslie threw her arms around my neck, hugging me tightly. We sat up straight so that I could return her hug properly.

"I've waited for what seems like forever for you to say those words, Jess!" Leslie cried out happily after we'd removed each other from the hug. I wiped the tears from her eyes with my thumb. Sadly, I'd forgotten to bring a handkerchief again. "My last card is effective. Thank God!"

I knitted my brows in confusion. "Wait, what last card?"

"What I did earlier," she answered. "The drama—telling you that you love Sarah and not me. All acting just to encourage you to say those feelings that have been bottled inside of you for a long time already."

"You mean...you already know that I love you more than best friends?" I was shocked. Totally shocked. Had I been really that obvious?

Leslie laughed. "Well, duh!"

"So you telling me that you're falling for Groban was also your way for me to open up?" I clarified.

"Yep," she replied, popping the last letter.

Okay, mind blown.

I sheepishly ran a hand through my messy hair. "I'm sorry it took so long for me to confess to you, Leslie," I said. "I'm such a coward. Even when you already did something to give me the courage to confess, I took it the other way. I really thought you loved Groban when you said that. I mean, as your best friend, I should encourage—"

She held up a hand in front of me, implying she wanted me to stop. "I must admit that was a wrong move for me to make, Jess," Leslie said with a sigh. "Guess I was just really desperate that time to make sure you had feelings for me. I mean, I'm sure you really have feelings for me, but...I don't know. Sometimes, doubts appear in my mind." She smiled softly. "By the way, did you know that I fell for you since I first laid my eyes on you?"

"Y-you have? Then it's been five years..."

Leslie giggled. "Yes, you silly king. You really are dense, aren't you? I even said I was falling for Nigel, not love Nigel. They're different, Jess. I thought you'd catch on." Then she grinned slyly. "Do all guys have skulls as thick as rocks?"

I gave her a scowl. "Hey!"

She laughed freely, and I couldn't help joining in.

"Well, I totally fell in love with you last year. You remember that time when you fell on top of me? No pun intended." I batted my eyelashes at her. "But I didn't know I was really that charming for you, Les."

"Boys are really late when it comes to romantic feelings." Leslie rolled her eyes with a smile. "But don't let it go to your head, my king. You're still as dense as a rock."

Before I could protest, she kissed me and pulled me down with her to the ground. "Why are you so impulsive, my queen?" I mumbled while kissing her, and then leaned back a little to see her reaction.

Her slender eyebrows rose. "I'm impulsive most of the time, my king. And now..." She gave me a wicked grin, and my face fell. I had a hunch on what she was about to do.

Oh, no.

"Time for my revenge," Leslie continued. I didn't have the time to react, because she rolled me to the ground as quick as a ninja and tickled me mercilessly on my ribs while she was straddling my waist so that I could barely move. How she knew my ticklish spot, I had no idea.

I thought my hysterical laughter could be heard kilometers away. I felt so sorry for those people who could hear it, excluding Leslie. "How—d-did—y-y-you—know my —ticklish spot?" I managed to ask her while she was tickling me non-stop.

Leslie smirked. "I just guessed, Jesse. Hmm, I love it when you laugh like this. Maybe I should do this more often now, huh?"

"No!" I cried, then laughed out loud again as her fingers were stroking my poor ribs. I tried to use my hands to push her off of me, but I didn't have the proper leverage, and I was getting too weak from laughter. "Les! Stop! Stop!"

"Stop?" she repeated. "Stop tickling your ribs? Okay. How 'bout if I tickle you someplace else, like...right here!"

Leslie started digging into my stomach, and my eyes popped wide open. I started bucking off of the ground. But as she was still on top of me, I crashed right back to the ground. Up and down we went.

"Whoo-hoo! Ride 'em, cowboy! It's like we're at the rodeo!" she teased.

My body had a mind of its own, now, and I barely knew where I was. I went into silent laughter mode for a minute, and the only things that could be heard were the rustling of the leaves in the trees. It was a surreal moment.

"Do you want me to stop, Jess?" she asked. I couldn't reply. "I don't hear anything, so I guess not. Fine by me!"

Leslie was looking down at me with a grin like the Evil Queen from Snow White. She knew I was completely helpless now. "What's the matter, my king? Are your cute little abs ticklish? Hmm? Aw, so adorable."

I was dizzy and breathless and I couldn't stop smiling. She went back to my ribs, counting as she tickled each one, and I started laughing out loud again. Why, oh, why was I so ticklish? And why did I have a girlfriend who enjoyed torturing me?

I was starting to regret this new relationship already.

Then she kissed me again on the lips while tickling me softly, and I couldn't help but chuckle into her mouth. Now I was overwhelmed by two sensations at once.

This revenge of hers was more amazing than I'd thought.

I hope it'd never end.

╪ ╪ ╪

"You know that I was spying on you while you were tutoring Groban at Pizzalicious?" I clarified, surprised. We were now at the platform of the tree house. I was hugging Leslie from behind while we were sitting as I leaned to the wall, overlooking the forest.

She leaned back to my chest, sighing softly. "Yes, Jess. I saw your infamous running shoes while Nigel and I were in the restroom."

"Drat. I should've worn another pair." I frowned, realizing something. "Oh, snap! So that's why you were looking at me funny that early morning. You already knew I was lying with the greenhouse-and-household-chores excuse, and why you didn't bring up about your tutoring session with Groban because you already knew I was there."

"And so that you wouldn't add more lies," Leslie added.

I cringed. "Look, I'm so sorry, Les. But I really do want to confess to you about my lies when I already feel...braver."

Leslie giggled. "Well, be glad that I took the first step to confess, or else you'd still be a sitting duck right now."

"Ha-ha. Very funny, Leslie. Why are you so sneaky?"

Her head turned slightly to glance at me, raising an eyebrow. "You're sneakier, Jess. Spying at me and all."

"Well, you knew my lies all along," I countered, "and you pretended you don't know anything, so you're the sneakiest. And a great actress, too."

Leslie kissed me swiftly on the lips. "Remember the time when we were at the hill overlooking the school?" she asked, her eyes crinkling with good humor.

I nodded as I smelled her hair. "Yeah. What about it? And why do you always smell so good?"

"I told you you're a great actor, didn't I?" she replied. "And I always smell good just for you."

"Thank you," I said, then snorted. "Oh, right. The 'Princess Aurora' role."

She shook her head. "I was implying about your lies: how you almost let me believe that you don't care for me falling for Nigel." Leslie smiled gorgeously. "See? You really are a great actor."

I laughed. "Should this be our confession time, then?"

Leslie giggled again. "Okay. I always gaze at your face—you know, the painting you gave to me as a gift last year—before going to sleep and after waking up, grinning from ear to ear."

I pretended to be horrified. "Oh, my gosh! You're obsessed with me?"

She punched me playfully on the arm. "Your fault that you're such a wonderful artist."

I smiled at her. "I have a sketchbook that's full of my drawings of you." I also wanted to tell her how she made me cry after telling me she was falling for Groban, but thought this wasn't the right time yet.

"Now, look who's talking about being obsessed," Leslie teased, turning around in my arms to face me.

"Shut up," I deadpanned, causing her to laugh out loud.

"Can I see them?"

"Tomorrow," I answered while tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, and I noticed her cheeks go crimson a little. I still couldn't believe that I could make Leslie blush even with just a simple gesture.

"You'd better be. Oh, and Jess?"

"Hmm?"

"I was giving you signs that I loved you all along, you know," Leslie informed me.

"Yeah, yeah. I really am dense," I grudgingly admitted. "There. Happy?"

She listed while counting with her fingers, "Me inviting Nigel in our investigation to make you jealous—"

"That actually worked," I interrupted her.

But Leslie continued as if I hadn't spoken. "Me inviting you to come with me to Pizzalicous—"

"Well, best friends invite each other to eat, so I had no way of knowing—"

"Me sleeping beside you—"

"I thought that was just best-friend stuff—"

"And me agreeing immediately to go with you to Sarah's place, which I was glad you told me about it," Leslie finished. "Those are just one-fourth of the signs, by the way."

"Hey, you're not calling Sarah 'Bradfield' anymore," I realized with glee. They could be friends, after all.

"I already won, anyway," Leslie said with a laugh. "I concluded that she already admitted defeat when you were hugging her for comfort after she confessed to you that particular night."

My eyes widened. "How come you realized that she confessed to me that time?"

She smiled at me widely. "You know us girls; we always have our own ways to realize things."

I put my hands up in surrender. "Okay. I don't wanna know 'bout that." I paused. "Say, why did you blush when Groban, er, Nigel said sorry to you at the cafeteria?" I asked with interest, maybe also with a little bit of bitterness.

Her eyebrows scrunched up in the most adorable way. "Well, he was being a gentleman, and he looked cute, too. Why, were you jelly that time, Jess?"

My queen was teasing me! "Hey! You were also jealous whenever Sarah came near me."

"Fair enough," Leslie said, shrugging. "Now it's my turn to ask again." She gazed at me with sparkling eyes, and it still gave me butterflies. Okay, even she could make me feel this kind of stuff with her simple gestures. "Were you planning to kiss me that early morning?" she asked, barely being able to contain a smile.

I blushed furiously at her question. "W-w-what?"

"Just answer me, Jess." Leslie pouted for good measure.

"Y-yeah. I was a-about to," I stammered, "but you yawned—"

"Dang it!" she exclaimed while running her hands through her hair in frustration, and I still found her cute. "I was excited for it, but that freakin' yawn ruined the perfect moment! It came out of nowhere, I swear! I really, really regretted it. Ugh!"

I laughed, then kissed her on the lips for a moment. When I pulled away, Leslie put her arms around my neck while gazing at me with a seductive smile that it made me catch my breath. "Oh, but I want more, Jess," she said softly.

I smirked. "Really? You want more of my awesome, breathtaking kisses, Leslie?"

"Mmm-hmm." Leslie shifted, her nose touching the tip of mine.

"When we first met, I honestly had no idea that you'd be so important to me," I said randomly just to prolong the next kiss, grinning inwardly.

"Cut the cheesy lines already, Jesse." Leslie was getting impatient.

"So, you're my girlfriend now, right?"

"You should ask me first, dummy," she said, giggling.

"Okay. Um, Leslie Sophia Burke, do you want me to be your boyfriend and future husband?"

"Well, duh, Jesse Oliver Aarons!" Leslie rolled her eyes with a smile, and I couldn't help but chuckle at that.

Then I remembered something. "Will you tell me the password of the 'Jesse's Stolen Shots' folder now?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Nope. You still don't have a guess?"

Shaking my head lightly, I asked with puppy-dog eyes, "Please?"

Leslie pinched my cheeks. "How adorable. But, Jess, the password is already surrounding us!"

"Oh. So the password is 'terabithia,' but with numbers?"

Leslie was trying with all of her might not to laugh out loud, and I scowled. But before I could say anything, she put a finger against my mouth, making me arch my brows. "Just kiss me senseless already, my king."

I smiled. "As you wish, my queen." Slipping an arm around her shoulders, I drew her forward, lowered my head and brought my lips to hers.

And I swear, in that moment, we were infinite.

╪ ╪ ╪

It was already evening when I walked Leslie back to her house. As we came to her front door, I lightly grabbed her wrist. She turned to face me, and I was gazing at her emerald-green eyes. Yes, those eyes that'd always catch mine, that sparkle whenever she smiled, that never stopped making my heart beat whenever they landed on me, that could see everything and anything about me, and that never stopped throwing up my walls and making them crumble down.

We stared at each other. Time seemed to slow around us, the moonlight freezing everything into a cold, silent portrait. I wasn't even exaggerating. Let me tell you now that those things you read in romance novels are indeed real, as crappy as it sounds.

Leslie didn't move. Heart pounding, I gently brushed a strand of blonde hair from her eyes, and she in turn slid a cool hand up to my neck, soft fingers tracing my hairline. I shivered involuntarily, and she smiled at this.

Suddenly, we were kissing again, a light touch, but just enough for us to melt into each other. I put my hands on her hips as sparks made their way up and down my back, darting from my neck and electrifying my whole body. Then, we pulled away to breathe.

Leslie giggled and slowly backed away to the door, not wanting to leave but knowing she had to. She couldn't hold down a smile as she whispered, "Good night, Jess."

I'd managed to whisper, "Good night, Les," before she closed the door. Then I walked toward my house without dropping my smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  

I stole a line from Perks of Being a Wallflower somewhere in this chapter. Kinda haha! Did you see it?

For those who are wondering about the password thingie, it's in my JxL oneshot, Good Time, on FanFiction . net. Feel free to read it there. :3