I should be studying for finals. But, I guess when I'm in the mood for writing, I shouldn't deny it. I hope you guys like the chapter. This is also a really short chapter, not like my chapters are so long anyway. But, I hope what happens in this chapter is worth it.

Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical.

Chapter Three: The Daredevil

My dream was so terribly cliché that I hated my brain for thinking it up while I was sleeping. Of all the shadowy things about Troy, I had to dream something up about his bike. What I hate most of all is that even now as I let myself be pulled back into the dream, those same feelings of utter excitement overwhelm me. I can't believe I have submitted myself to be caught in the whirlwind of mysterious boy and his bike.

But, I can't help it.

I remember him patting the seat behind him with a smirk on his lips that matched the one that Emily always gives me. His eyes sparkled playfully. His hair was as divine as usual. I don't know what product Troy uses to make that little front part of his hair curl up so easily; but God, please grant him a lifetime's worth of it. The time between me getting on the motorcycle, he starting it and us zipping off is hazy. I don't know where we are going. I'm not concentrated on the road. All I remember next is my arms around him, hair whipping around frantically and my cheek pressed against his firm back. As Troy speeds up and races down the streets, my heart begins to fly. Out of the corner of my eye, I see his head turn and glance at me. His lips curve in a warming smile. Suddenly, I'm embarrassingly aware of how tight I'm holding onto him. I'm surprised he hasn't keeled over from lack of oxygen.

"Oh, sorry" I say and bite my lip as I loosen the grip I have around his chest and lift my head up from his back.

"It's alright" he says back, not looking at me. "I don't mind"

I don't resume the same position. Instead, I start to reach for the handle that's behind me. I begin to look around to see where we are going. I don't recognize this place. Almost immediately, Troy accelerates to an impossible, lightning speed. I shriek. The last thing I remember from the dream was his low chuckle and my arms wrapped around Troy in that same deathly grip again.

Instantly, I'm on my bed again. Sometime in my sleep, I kicked the bed sheets off of me and now that I'm aware of it, the cool morning air is starting to fall over me. With swift movements, I envelop myself into them again, turn over and close my eyes. Slumber is nagging at my eyes and I surrender to it fully without a question. It's Saturday and I am desperate to continue my ride with Troy Bolton.

The high that Troy and his motorcycle gave me stayed with me through the next two weeks. Every time I see that bike rolling through the East High parking lot I have to tell myself to not stare at it or him too long. When I do look away, my heart is racing. I prayed that Andrew doesn't notice anything. He never did. He was too busy looking at Emily.

Strangely, whenever I thought about Troy I felt like I was cheating on Andrew. It's strange because even without counting when Andrew and I have been in my incredibly teenage-stereotypical fantasies, we've still been more intimate than Troy and I in one dream. Yet, I still feel like I'm doing something sinfully wrong. What's more, and this could be hilarious also, is that there's more a chance that neither Andrew nor Troy have thought about me twice since my dream.

Today is Thursday and I'm seriously starting to get tired of myself. My thoughts have driven me wild. Last night, my attention was so far away that I only finished all my homework at four in the morning. I suffer the consequences now in Psychology as Will lectures and I'm starting to doze off. One moment, I'm lucid and vibrant but then, I am no longer aware of where I am.

"Gabriella". My eyes pop open. Will is looking at me with a smirk on his lips. I forgot how heart-melting his smile is. "Can you tell us what part of the brain is responsible for vision?"

I clear my throat. "Um, the occipital lobe?" I say as if it's a question although I know the answer is correct.

He raises his eyebrows. "Right"

I breathe. Will continues his lecture on déjà vu but my heart's still pounding through my ears so I can't hear a word. I look around and it seems like no one noticed me. Then, my eyes catch Emily's and she is grinning from ear to ear. I sigh. I guess I'm okay with only her knowing I feel asleep in what is my most interesting class this year.

The rest of class I catch a few words of Will's lecture but most of the time I'm still just trying to stay awake.

When Emily and I are the last ones to leave the classroom at the end of the day Will tells me, "I don't want to know what you high schoolers are doing up late on weeknight but you better get some extra sleep tonight, Gabriella. Who else is going to answer all my questions correctly?"

He gives me a friendly wink and allows me to leave without detention.

"Wow. Only you would get away with that" says Emily once we're outside.

"I guess" I reply.

Andrew joins us. He starts to ramble about the first football game of the season that's tomorrow. Emily gushes about how she's excited to go. I'm still completely out of it so I can't stop them from kindling a friendly conversation. I remember my bed at home and all I want to do is climb into it.

Outside the school, we bid her goodbye and she disappears. Andrew is approached by his friends and I have to wait by his side until they leave so we can go home. In the meantime, Emily returns. There's a concerned look on her face.

"I can't find my brother" says she. I bite my lip, not knowing what to say. "Can you help me look for him?"

I look up at Andrew and back at her. He's talking about the game again with his friends. This will be awhile.

"Yeah, sure"

We walk back into the school again and it has been emptied. Only a few circles of people are left in the hallways.

"Where's his last class?" I ask.

"AP Biology, but I don't know where that is"

"I do" I reply and lead her up the stairs to the second floor. AP Biology is the only class I don't have with Emily.

We reach the class but Troy is nowhere to be found. She says the words I dread. "Can we split up? Maybe we can find him sooner ".

I want to ask her why she's in such a hurry but I don't. I agree reluctantly and explore another wing of the school, secretly hoping that I'm not the one that finds Troy first. I don't know what I would say or if I can even look him in the eye at this point. My breath quickens and my palms get sweaty as I enter a part of the school where I can only hear my footsteps.

I reach two doors that have a sign on them that says "Rooftop" in red letters. I think for a second. There's a very low chance that he's going to be up there. But, what do I know? It doesn't hurt to look. Slowly, I push open the door and a stair case greets me. I don't scurry up them. I just take them one at a time, praying that he's not up here with each.

Once I reach the end of the stairs, for a moment I forget what I came up here for. I find myself in a small greenhouse. There are two steps to my right where the rest of the roof is. I scan the place in awe, wondering why I have never been up here before. Then, my eyes fall on him.

Troy can't see me and it doesn't look like he heard me come up. I walk forward until I'm just a few feet behind him. The sun is blazing on me and I feel its rays wash over me. He is standing on the high ledge of the roof looking out. There's a weak breeze rippling through his hair. His hands are poised at his sides, in loose fists as if he is nervous. He leans forward almost as if he was nudged slightly from the back. It hits me abruptly. Troy is standing on the ledge of a high school roof just before a 200 feet drop. That couldn't be a good thing. A quick shot of adrenaline reaches my brain.

"What are you doing?" I scream. My hand is in his immediately and I lurch us both back with all my strength, pulling our bodies down to the hot cement beneath us.

"Oof!" he grunts as he hits the ground. After a second, what urged me to pull Troy down is gone and all I'm left with his breathlessness. I have to manually put the pieces together in my head to comprehend what just happened. I look up at Troy and realize he's staring at me. I remember again.

"Fuck" I swear and let my head fall. I close my eyes for a second and then look up at him feebly. "Please tell me you weren't about to jump"

"What? No!"

My head falls again in relief. "Thank God"

We're both in silence for a while before he asks me, "Why are you up here?"

"Emily" I answer. He scrunches his eyebrows together in confusion.

As if on cue the school intercom crackles on and a voice says, "Will Troy Bolton please come down to the front office? Troy Bolton? Your sister is looking for you"

His mouth forms in the shape of an 'o' and He looks away.

I get up, finally and look down to see scratches on my knees. It was a bad idea to wear a skirt today. Troy is on his feet again too.

"You seriously freaked me out. What were you doing on the ledge?" I ask.

He shrugs. "Just standing, I guess"

"Standing?"

He nods. "Wanna try?"

For a moment, I can't believe he's asking. Stand inches away from a hundred feet plummet to certain pain? No thank you. But then, I think of my dream. I remember the high of the motorcycle and wonder if this would come close.

Troy's on top of it again and his hand is stretched towards mine. Fearlessly, I take it and climb up to him. I regret coming up straightaway.

"Oh my god" I gasp. Inside my shoes, my toes curl in fear and I tighten my grip on Troy's hand. The dream is forgotten. My desire for that high is miniscule. I want to jump down but I'm frozen.

"Don't look down" says Troy to me like it was an obvious fact. I lift my head up and breathe out slowly.

Gradually, the 'I'm standing on top of the world' feeling began to set in. I can see the vast expanse of neighborhoods around the school, the sun, clouds and what little nature there is left in the suburbs of Albuquerque. There are people everywhere, probably caught up in their daily schedule. But for me, there was no clock ticking anymore and everything was in a standstill.

"I think now would be an appropriate time to talk about what my sister might have told you" Troy steals my moment away. My stomach drops. What a malicious way to corner people. I felt as if I was handcuffed, prisoned and now taken for interrogation.

I look at Troy and find his soft gaze ten times more powerful than Emily's ever was.

"It's not true" he says.

I wait a moment. I'm more aware of standing on the ledge right now than what Troy is telling me. Without thinking I say, "So you don't love me?" like some sad puppy. Ugh. I want to hide my eyes with my palm but I'm still frozen. Out of all the things I could've said, that is what I choose?

Troy's eyes widen. "Is that what she told you!"

As if he wasn't paralyzed with fear like I was, Troy easily turns around and jumps the three feet off the ledge and onto the rooftop again. He gives me hand down. When he doesn't elaborate, I want to know more.

"Is that not what you expected?" I ask. I pick up my bag off the ground as he does his. He answers me as we walk to the exit of the rooftop.

"Well, Em usually tells people…less crazy things" he uses a nickname for her. "But I guess I shouldn't have expected less because if you haven't noticed, my sister is really crazy"

We've reached the staircase now and descend down it. There's a tug at my heart. I know that after what I just said, I should hold my tongue down but maybe it's because of Troy and standing on that ledge; I just couldn't.

"Wait!" I cry before he pushes the door open. I squeeze myself between him and the door. I reach behind me and hold the door closed while I face forward. As I gaze up at him, the past couple of weeks rush back to me. All that time I spent thinking about Troy and if he really liked me or not, I didn't want to accept that all of it was a waste. In another second, I feel the reality of the situation creep up on me. Troy is more close to me than I calculated. I can feel his cool breath on my face. He's waiting for me to speak but the strength of his eyes makes me mute. I can feel thousands of sparks burst in my head.

"Is it still not true?" I whisper ever so quietly.

His eyes soften, like when a frozen river starts to flow again in the Spring. I can't read what's going on behind them but for now, I'm okay swimming in that river. He let's go of the door and puts a thumb through the strap of his backpack.

"Why are you so curious, Ella?" says Troy playfully. My mouth drops and I'm speechless. Not because I really don't know why I am so curious but because I'm taken at how smoothly my name comes out of his mouth. Ella. No one calls me Ella. Andrew sticks to 'Brie' usually and my mothers favor 'Gabi'.

I look away nervously and stutter, "I..uh-"

Troy chuckles. My eyes are back in his. "I kind of have other things to worry about" he answers me at last. His lips are still curved. Troy looks down my body carefully and promptly I can feel blood rushing to my cheeks.

When his eyes reach mine again, his luscious voice rings, "But I'll keep the option open".