#LESLIEBURKE… an independent, highly selective, & private blog for the character of LESLIE BURKE, from the novel & disney film BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA. written by kylie // 25+ // she/her // est. timezone. PLEASE DO NOT FOLLOW IF THE MUN IS UNDER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN.
A STUDY IN: courage and perseverance, discovering oneself, fairytale longing, the longing to be what you’re not, the impact of severe bullying, wearing kindness like a shield and using it like a sword, overcoming trauma, deep-set compassion, fighting for the greater good, being a small powerhouse of a human, & hating the given title of freak.
i think i want to revamp this blog a bit... change the theme to a simple one because that’s what’s calling to me right now. change the aesthetics up a bit. bear with me.
"Nice to meet you, Leslie.“ Gabriella’s smile couldn’t have been more sweet-fully genuine as she welcomed the new student to Forks High. It was always within Gabriella’s nature, of course, to treat everyone with warmth and kindness … but she personally knew exactly how it was like starting out at a new school and the nerves that followed. Even with the comfort of her adoptive siblings beside her, Gabriella wasn’t immune to the feelings of stress and nerves.
But perhaps she could help this girl to feel more at home just a bit sooner.
"Oh, yes, they’re all lovely.” Gabriella replied sincerely, her smile still shinning as strongly as it’d been when she first greeted the new student. “It’s not often we get new students here - being a small town and all - so a lot of the kids get very excited.” Such excitement would die down of course once the students accepted Leslie as one of their own, but she hoped it wouldn’t disrupt the girl’s time here. “So where did you move from?” Gabriella asked suddenly but nevertheless still with kindness. After all, she was genuinely interested.
she could feel her shoulders start to relax —- she was sure the tension leaving her body was noticeable, but she didn’t care. finally, she had finally met another student that was nice to her. it had only happened once before, and even then it didn’t get off to a nice start —- and she was still sad to leave that town, and that friend, behind. but she was hopeful that she would find new friends here, now that her conversation had started off miles better than expected.
❝ i moved here from lark creek —- it’s a small town, in virginia, close to the capital. ❞ she doubted the girl would have heard of lark creek, it wasn’t even on some maps, which was what held the appeal to her parents to move there in the first place. but after both her parents had come into long bouts of writers block, they decided it would be best to pack it up and move again, hoping new scenery would bring inspiration with it. ❝ i’ve lived in a lot of other places, though. my parents have this tendency to move every couple of years or so. before that it was pennsylvania. before that, hawaii. before that, maine. ❞
The girl’s nerves were undeniable: Gabriella didn’t need Jasper’s special ability to know that (her compassionate heart could feel it as if they were her own). She smiled warmly with gentle doe-eyes to match, an infectious laugh falling past her lips that wasn’t there to mock, but rather to help create a welcoming environment for the newcomer. Or at least … she hoped it would.
“I had a feeling that was the case …” Gabriella replied honestly, her tone kind as it always was, “It’s always easy to spot out the new arrivals here. –Forks is such a small town and our school is even smaller.” But it wasn’t a bad thing of course: Gabriella had always found the quiet little town to be very peaceful. She turned her focus back to the new girl again as she introduced herself, “My name is Gabriella.”
a small, timid smile appeared on her features —- no one ever bothered to stop and welcome her, or introduce themselves. she had experienced quite the opposite the few times her parents moved around, she was either flat out ignored or picked out as an easy target before her first day was over —- she was hoping for a change at forks, and she dared to let her hope grow as her first encounter soon let it be known that it was out of kindness, and not brutality.
❝ i’m leslie. —- ❞ she fidgeted for a moment with the strap of her backpack, and her eyes roamed around the room for a few brief seconds. her nerves were lessening up, but she was still anxious about how the rest of the day would go, how the rest of her classmates would act. all she could do was hope for the best, and if it goes terribly wrong, bet to be home schooled. ❝ so, um —- are the other kids here nice? ❞
it was no secret that the girl opposite her was nervous. the way rosalie saw it, there was two ways she could handle this. go back to her old ways and insist upon mocking her, making fun of her every chance she could get. or, look the opposite way - pretending she hadn’t noticed a thing. and why bother changing her newfound attitude already, when she was just starting to actually like this girl.
it was a wonder that this girl even left rosalie sit by her, after years and years of tormenting, name calling and bullying. for years, rosalie tried to tell herself she was a slytherin - it was how she was suppose to act. but the more she talked to others - listened to their opinions and beliefs, her own views began to change. still, many slytherin traits stayed with her. she would always be proud of her house - and she was determined to help give it a new reputation.
not an inch of rosalie was shaking as she silently gathered the materials needed for the day’s lesson. it was, however, blatantly obvious that leslie’s hands were shaking. the fact that the batty blonde’s hand kept inching towards her own drifted past rosalie’s senses - she thought it was just a coincidence. the proximity never bothered her, but she wasn’t about to put her hand closer still.
as each moment passed that the angelic blonde caught sight of leslie staring at her, she could feel the heat rise in her cheeks. an ever so slight blush laid upon her face as many thoughts passed through. could she have something stuck in her teeth? or was this girl bored? it was as if she didn’t want to believe that this routine happened every potions class. she didn’t want to open her eyes to the obvious facts - and she certainly took her sweet time putting the pieces of the puzzle together. still, every time she couldn’t help but return the smile back to the batty blonde.
‘ yeah, i suppose we can do that. ’
the smile that was returned to her was enough to send her over the moon. her heart swelled with premature hope, and her stomach felt like a thousand butterflies were fluttering away inside. she logically knew she shouldn’t let her thoughts, or feelings, get away from herself. there was no way this blonde goddess beside her would ever return her feelings, but that smile, and that agree to be her partner for today’s lesson, gave her an insurmountable amount of hope. she was crazy, and she knew it. but here she was anyway, clinging to anything that remotely gave her the feeling of a chance. of course, the fact that rosalie didn’t move her hand away helped. years of bullying had indeed given her one up - she knew exactly how to act, exactly how to keep her cool, to prevent herself from showing her feelings too much. for once, she was thankful for the experience. otherwise, she was sure she’d have made a grand fool of herself already, instead of the little moments she knew had slipped. it didn’t seem at all like rosalie knew the extent to leslie’s feelings, which simultaneously overjoyed and saddened her. she didn’t want to be the one to approach the subject, but she was terrified of rosalie finding out and ditching her altogether. that - she wasn’t sure she would be able to handle.
her cheeks were flooded with warmth, and no doubt there was a faint hint of pink to them. but in the dungeon lighting, it might be hard to notice. thank god. she knew she had kept silent for a slightly awkward amount of time, but she couldn’t help the fact that, often, words came at a loss to her when she was near rosalie. other times, she babbled on so much she felt like an idiot, and had herself convinced rosalie laughed at her after she was out of earshot. still, her pink lips turned up into a smile, and her eyes would forever shine gratefully when anyone accepted being her partner. they would never know how much it truly meant to her, especially when it was rosalie who had agreed.
‘ great, that’s great, yeah.. i’m not the greatest with potions, though. i hope that’s okay? ’
“I don’t think I’ve seen you around before. Are you new here?”
❝ yeah, i —- ❞ she paused, mentally telling herself not to freak out. this girl was just asking a question, that didn’t mean anything bad was doing to come from it. just because she had spent years of being bullied in the past didn’t mean this girl here was going to be mean. after all, she didn’t look mean. ❝ i just moved here, from virginia. it’s my first day. ❞
the hufflepuff’s were easy enough to get along with. It certainly was much better to spend Potions with them over the gryffindor’s. there was, however, a downfall. the endless taunts made by her fellow slytherin classmates thrown at leslie burke. in her younger years, rosalie certainly thought it was funny. at times, she would even join in. over the years, rosalie had slowly learned to view the world in a new light, and changed many of her views.
the blonde beauty couldn’t help but feel sorry for leslie. at times, rosalie would even stick for her, telling people not to call her ‘batty burke’. the feeling of pity had gotten so bad that rosalie had developed a habit of sitting next to the girl in potions, claiming all of the other seats had been taken. as silly as it was, the small gesture made rosalie feel good. that feeling was a nice change, and she was keen to not let it go away so quickly.
the shallow blonde was very much unaware of the feelings leslie held towards her, but they were not returned. not romantically. rosalie did, however, feel very welcomed around leslie, and often had a mood increase. the feeling was something rosalie often craved - a feeling she almost never got out of a fellow slytherin, let along her family.
it was with a final laugh that she turned away from pansy parkinson while walking into the dungeon. silently, rosalie scanned the room, determining she could easily get away with sitting next to her. with a smile etched upon her face, rosalie made her way towards the opposite wall, pulling out the seat across from the batty blonde.
‘ perfect day, yes. ’
Years. It had been years since the blonde opposite her had even uttered an insult her way. At times, Leslie would even push those years out of her mind - not wanting to view Rosalie in any dark light. Refusing to see anything bad about her. It was crazy, she was perfectly aware. But how could a person as beautiful as she was be mean in any way? Perhaps it was her changed ways that drew Leslie to her. Perhaps it was all the times Rosalie had defended her. Whatever it was, Leslie no longer wanted the feelings to be a mystery. As her hands found their place upon the table, it was with the slightest of movements that it made it’s way closer to Rosalie’s. Her goal was not to touch, but to be close. Close enough to feel that heat that always radiated off of her body when they were near. Close enough that she could feel that spark, jittery feeling. Close enough to make her heart beat very fast. At times, it was all she could do to not grab ahold of it right then and there. To stroke her fingers, entangle them in her own. Her eyes always found Rosalie’s face, and bounced away within seconds. It was something that happened continuously throughout her classes that she shared with Rosalie. It was always with great effort that she focused on her face for long periods of time, for she was afraid that it would somehow give away her secret. Give away her feelings she held for her. Slowly, a smile etched upon her face - small, but it was there.
‘ I heard we’re suppose to partner up today.. I was wondering, if maybe you would... want to partner up with me? ’
she awoke with a start —- and was completely confused as to what was going on. she had heard others talking, but wasn’t able to string together what they were saying —- the pain was too great for that. she wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but she had been in agonizing pain from the moment she landed after tripping on a tree branch. she could remember it fuzzily —- her hike; alone. tripping over a tree branch that had been hidden, tumbling over the side of the mountain, before blissfully passing out. she wasn’t sure where she was now, who the voices belonged to that she had been hearing, or why her throat burned so badly.
❝ mmm —- ❞ she croaked out, as she reached towards her throat, stopping short upon her amazement when she saw how fast her hand had moved. in fact, now that she was getting her bearings about her, she realized all her senses were... different. her vision was superb, unlike anything she had ever experienced. she could hear things going on far away, and when she realized she wasn’t breathing, she took in a breath only to find that she could smell things she had never noticed before. and then she caught sight of a man simply breathtaking.
❝ i don’t understand —- ❞ her eyes were scrunched up in confusion and she focused her gaze on the man before her. did he have anything to do with this? ❝ what’s going on? where am i? i don’t remember getting here... the last thing i remember is falling, and pain, and blacking out. and then more pain, and voices... ❞
she let her thoughts trail off. she was almost certain she was confusing the poor man, with her ramblings. but then, a sudden, horrid thought entered into her head. ❝ oh, no! don’t tell me i’ve been in another coma! the last one was terrible... ❞
it was leslie’s first day at lark creek. judy and bill were thrilled,
& had actually given themselves some hopes that leslie would make some friends in this new city. leslie, however, was far from excited.
❛ mom, do i HAVE to go? ❜
leslie asked, as she walked into the kitchen & slumped into a chair at the table.
❛ yes, sweetie. you know you HAVE to go. ❜
judy patiently replied, as she set down a plate filled with pancakes & eggs in front of her daughter.
❛ ugh, but mom… ❜
leslie groaned, as she threw her head down onto the table.
❛ what if they don’t LIKE me? ❜
the words came out as quiet as a whisper.
❛ they NEVER like me.. ❜
by now, leslie was playing with her eggs, pushing them from one side of the plate to the other with her fork, trying so desperately to keep the tears from spilling over.
❛ oh, BABY.. ❜
judy said, as she ran her hand over leslie’s head soothingly.
❛ that’s not true. you know that’s not true. why would you think that? ❜
❛ because, mom. all they ever do is laugh, & point. they make fun of me, they won’t let me sit beside them in the cafeteria, & i’m always the person who doesn’t get any of the invitations to anything. ❜
leslie sighed. no matter how hard she tried, she could never seem to make friends with the other kids. no one seemed to see the world the way she did. & she didn’t think it was very fair.
❛ come ON, les. with that kind of attitude, you won’t find any friends. you’ve just gotta keep your mind wide open. ❜
bill said, as he came into the kitchen & sat down beside leslie, using that oh-so-familiar line leslie had penned years ago.
❛ keeping my mind WIDE open doesn’t help make the other kids think i’m not weird. ❜
leslie said, laughing a little as she looked over at her dad.
❛ sometimes, it makes them think i’m even weirder…. ❜
there came that sigh again.
❛ for just once, i want to have a friend. a REAL friend! ❜
❛ you never know, kiddo. you might find one of those here. ❜
bill said, giving leslie a small, but gesturing nudge in the arm.
❛ besides. if you ever have any doubt, look at your old dad here. ❜
bill laughed, & pointed fingers on both hands at himself.
❛ being a tornado chaser turned writer isn’t something
most kids want to talk about. but i was
able to find some friends. sure, it took
a while, but it was all worth it when i found them! ❜
❛ yeah, dad, but you’re not a storm chaser anymore… ❜
leslie jokingly rolled her eyes, chuckling a bit.
❛ but being a writer isn’t always the
easiest way to make friends, either,
peachy pie. sometimes, they get
afraid that you’ll start writing about
them in a poor manner. ❜
judy pipped up, before continuing with her own breakfast.
❛ eat, peach. you’ll need your energy
for the big day ahead of you! ❜
❛ mom, you had plenty of friends back
home in pennsylvania… ❜
leslie said, picking on her mom
❛ aside from marjorie and rowan, i’ve never
really had any friends…. ❜
she couldn’t help but frown. it’s not like she wanted to,
because she knew that deep down, the subject did upset
her parents. no matter how much they tried to tell her it
wasn’t true.
❛ leslie, can you at least give it a TRY
before you start saying you have no
friends? with a negative attitude like
that, you won’t get any easily you know. ❜
bill said, pointing his fork at leslie.
❛ fine… i’ll give it an honest shot. but PLEASE… ❜
leslie said, looking up at her parents with pleading eyes.
Potions with the Slytherin’s was never an easy feat. Over the years, it had become easy enough to endure the endless taunts, finger pointing, and laughs. Of course, it was no secret that Leslie was on the odd side, for she was given the nickname ‘ Batty Burke ’. The taunting was easy enough to ignore. After months of reeling at the thought of ‘ Batty Burke ’, Leslie had soon learned that responding to it would set off her classmates. It was a slight joy, but a joy nonetheless.
However, it wasn’t just the taunting that made the tiny blonde reel at the thought of Potions. No. It meant she would have to spend a considerable amount of time with her. It was stupid. Leslie shouldn’t let herself get worked up over the thought of Rosalie. But how could she not? Rosalie was so perfect. So beautiful. Not to mention Rosalie was rather nice to her. The thought of spending all that time in the same room as this beautiful creature made Leslie’s stomach doflops.
Her feelings were innocent enough. At the beginning of their studies at Hogwarts, everything was normal. As the years went by, however, things started to change. Maybe it was envy at first. But quickly, it turned into a crush. A crush that deepened the day Leslie’s hand brushed against Rosalie’s. The feeling - that burning, heart racing feeling - was like nothing Leslie had ever felt before. Soon, she craved it like a drug.
Silently and trembling, Leslie sat awkwardly at her table, awaiting the arrival of the rest of the class. She wouldn’t let her eyes linger on the doorway, and wouldn’t dare look up to see if Rosalie had walked in yet. Absentmindedly, Leslie began chewing on her lip as she felt the blood rush to her cheeks. The anticipation was burning inside her - would Rosalie sit by her? The question barely made it’s way into her thoughts when she heard the scraping of a chair at her table.
