She couldn't escape the watery depths. The waves pulled her under and then spit her back, sputtering and coughing, to the surface. Gabriela screamed for the second time and willed someone to hear her. She floundered in the water and struggled to keep her head above the surface, knowing no one would ever find her if she was below the water. Gabriella swam a few weak strokes in the direction of the bank on the side of the river. It was so far away and Gabriella knew she couldn't just hope to float that way. Gabriella screamed again this time in fright as something swished around her ankles.

"Oh god. Please hurry!" Gabriella cried, knowing no one could hear her. She wished for the millionth time that she could swim well enough to survive but she knew that she could only do a few strokes, barely enough to keep her head above the treacherous waves. Gabriella began to cry at the thought of death. She went under the waves again and her sobs began choking sounds as she gulped a mouthful of water. When she fought her way back to the surface Gabriella filled her lungs with air and then struggled in the direction of the shore. Right, left, right left. She instructed herself and lifted her arms, kicking her legs to her thoughts. A large wave came and she was under the waves once more. Gabriella didn't stop moving, she kicked and floundered forward, determination set in her features. I can do this. She thought.

"Troy!" she cried when she was on the surface again. "Oh god, please save me!" As she continued her struggle towards the shore Gabriella remembered the terrible fall down here.

Flashback

"Let's go for a walk, Troy." Gabriella suggested, getting off of her bed, and pressing her cell phone tighter to her ear.

"Okay but make sure Darbus doesn't see us leave." Troy answered from his hotel room on the floor below hers. The graduating class were on their trip for school and a lot of them, finding the tours boring, snuck out of the hotel and went shopping or sightseeing while the others were dragged along by Darbus to museums and such.

"I'll meet you in the lobby in a few minutes." Gabriella said, excitement lighting her face up. She heard Troy laugh.

"Alright. See ya Gabi."

"Bye." Gabriella giggled and flipped her phone onto the bed. "Taylor?" she asked.

"Yeah?" Taylor called from the bathroom.

"I'm going for a walk with Troy. Cover for me?" Gabriella pleaded, scraping her brown curls into a high ponytail.

"Sure thing girl, you did it for me. But be careful you don't get caught by Darbus. I don't want you to get sent home." Taylor warned, coming out of the bathroom, with a smile on her face.

"I know." Gabriella whispered a tremor running down her spine at the thought of breaking the rules. Taylor crossed the room and hugged her best friend.

"And don't forget to have fun." Taylor added.

"I'm with Troy I always have fun." She reminded Taylor. Taylor smiled.

"Go on then."

"Thanks Tay. I owe you!" Gabriella called as she ran out of the room before her friend could change her mind.

Gabriella skipped down to the lobby and grinned at the boy waiting for her. She kept an eye out for Darbus, but seeing no one but Troy, Gabriella relaxed and sauntered over to Troy.

"Ready to go?" Toy asked.

"Yeah!" Gabriella said, linking her hand with Troy's. The two of them exited the hotel and began to walk down the street, both of them letting their linked hands swing back and forth, feeling free.

"So where too?" Troy inquired.

"Hmmm. Well when we walked past that bridge…that was kind of cool. Let's go on that bridge. The one with that green top?" Gabriella told him

"The one we saw yesterday?" Troy clarified. Gabriella giggled.

"Yes."

"To the bridge we go!" Troy announced and the two of them walked faster, eager to get to their destination. People smiled at them as they got deeper into the city and Gabriella grinned back, completely at ease with Troy. The sun broke free of its cloud prison and Gabriella lifted her face skyward, letting the rays warm her face. Troy smiled at the content girl beside him and squeezed her hand. When Gabriella lowered her face to see where they were, the bridge loomed before them and Gabriella gasped, staring at its splendour. The silver of the bridge reflected sunlight and played little silver dots onto the dark grey water below. The green arms arched into the sky, hugging the road, where the cars zoomed by, oblivious to the sights around them. Gabriella slowed her pace at the base of the bridge and giggled at the boats, putting about in the water far below them. Troy pulled her on and Gabriella tore her eyes from the bridge and water to look at the Troy.

"Do you want to cross it?" she asked, her eyes shining. Troy smiled and nodded.

"Let's go halfway at least." He suggested. Gabriella grinned and then skipped onto the sidewalk that led up to the busy bridge. The sun disappeared behind the clouds again and the two of them looked up at the sky momentarily before continuing and their way. Troy and Gabriella weren't the only ones walking on the bridge, there were a crowd of people doing what they were.

"Look at that." Gabriella said, pointing to a sailboat below them.

"It looks so small." Troy muttered.

"I know." Gabriella giggled. They walked a few more paces before stopping and looking out over the river. Troy let go of Gabriella's hand and leaned over the rail to watch the sailboat go under the bridge.

"This was a good idea Gabs." Troy said, still watching below him. Gabriella smiled.

"It was wasn't it?"

Gabriella moved closer to the railing as a biker came behind them. The biker turned towards Gabriella and knocked her roughly in the back, knocking her off balance.

"Oh sorry!" the biker apologized. Gabriella barely heard him as she struggled to catch her balance. Troy turned towards the biker and smiled at him.

"Are you okay Gabs?" Troy asked, turning back towards Gabriella. It was to late. Gabriella screamed as her body leaned to far back, flipping over the railing and into the air.

"GABS!" Troy cried and reached for her. Gabriella stretched up to meet his hand but met only air. Troy bent farther over the rail, reaching for her, but Gabriella was already metres away from him, falling through the air.

"TROY!" she screeched as she fell. Troy watched with a horrified expression on his face, unable to do anything but watch as she fell down towards the murky water.

Gabriella pulled herself into diving position as she neared the water, bracing herself for the impact. It hit her roughly and Gabriella gasped in pain as she dived into the chilly water. It felt like a million needles had been sunk into her skin, piercing her and leaving harsh bruises. Gabriella floundered around in the water and began to panic. She couldn't swim. She looked up at the bridge, a dizzying height above her, but couldn't see Troy's face. He's gone to get help. Gabriella thought and tried to calm herself with that thought. Gabriella began to swim towards shore but waves kept sending her under the water, choking off her breathing.

End Of Flashback

She began to make progress in her strokes and they became stronger and surer. Gabriella breathed heavily as she struggled through the swells of water and tried to keep from screaming again in horror. She looked around her as she swam but now all the boats she had seen from the bridge were gone and the shore seemed miles away. Gabriella hoped Troy was doing something and fast. She didn't know how much longer she could hold up in the water. The coldness of it was making her weak.

"Gabi?" A loud voice boomed. Gabriella gasped and then coughed as water took over her again. She fought her way to the surface and saw a boat coming her way. "Gabs, these people are going to help you get out of the water. When they reach you, grab hold of the life saver thing." She heard Troy say. Gabriella looked wildly about her to find Troy but every new face was unfamiliar. Where was he? She changed her direction of view and then saw him on the distant shore with a megaphone. The boat chugged closer and Gabriella began to fear its large size. It was only a motor boat, but from where she was at, it looked huge. There was a flash of colour and a large fluorescent orange ring landed a few metres from her. Gabriella struggled towards it and managed to get a weak grip on it, shivering violently.

"Hold on tight." A voice yelled over the sound of the motor. Gabriella tightened her grip as best she could as they began to pull on the string attached to the life saver. Gabriella got closer to the boat and then screamed as the ring was lifted out of the water in one quick motion, bringing her with it. Strong hands grabbed her shoulders and lifted her over the edge of the boat, trying to clam her and she trembled. The boat began to move towards shore and Gabriella marvelled at the speed of the boat, covering the distance she had in less then a second. Between shivering from the cold, and trembling from fear, Gabriella was practically vibrating and she kept her eyes on Troy as they began to slow down the speed of the boat, nearing the shore. Troy had waded up to his waist and now kept going forward as Gabriella neared him. The engine was killed and Gabriella reached for Troy who had gotten to the side of the boat. She stumbled to her feet and almost fell over the side of the boat in her haste to get to him. Troy caught her arm and then helped her over the side of the boat and into his waiting arms.

"Hey Gabs. Please tell me you're alright." He breathed into her ear.

"I just want to go back to the hotel." She murmured, tears flowing freely down her face again.

"It's okay Brie, that's where we're going. You know we're going to get in trouble for this right?"

"I honestly don't care Troy. I'm just happy to be alive." Gabriella whispered.

"Don't ever scare me like that again Gabi." Troy mumbled. "I'm not letting go of your hand next time."

"Sounds like a plan Troy." Gabriella whimpered.

AN: So? What do you think? It's my very first one-shot ever. Oh and yes I knew that in High School Musical 2 Gabriella is a lifeguard so she can swim but let's just say that this story happened before HSM 2, before she learned how to swim, and what happened here, caused her to learn how to swim. How about that? Oh and if you want to see a picture of the bridge Gabriella fell off then it's in my profile…once I get it up. Thanks for reading. R&R I want to know if I did well or not!