Author's Note: Hm---after that really long horribly written Christmas oneshot passes me by, I'll be fine. I'm crossing my fingers very tightly. I really hope this chapter won't disappoint, but out of all the chapters I have written, this one is the one I'm deathly afraid of. I loved writing it, but it's jumbled up in the mess of my story. Enjoy? Always, schoolgirl 101

Chapter 24: A Dream

"She's not Lexi Troy. The way you look at Gabriella doesn't even compare to the way you look at Lexi. I can't believe I was so stupid and I didn't even realize it." Chad paused.

"You love her Troy."

He nervously paced outside the door. He wasn't sure if he wanted to go in and talk to her. He wanted to avoid her, but speaking with Chad, he knew he had too. He stared at the circular white button before hesitantly pushing it.

Ding dong.

Damn. He should have done this sooner. But once again, he had to wait until the last moment to do so.

"Hello Troy," the voice smiled. "Come in---come in. It's quite late for you to be traveling around the neighborhood, isn't it?"

Troy smiled lightly. "Yeah. I'm sorry. But I really needed to speak to---"

"Oh! Of course. Go right on up. She's up in her room texting or what not. I have no idea what teenagers do these days," the woman tossed her hand up in the air and laughed.

"Thank you," Troy replied before running up the stairs. He looked towards the door and wasn't sure if he should knock. It was probably the polite thing to do.

Knock knock.

"Come in mom!" the sweet voice yelled.

Troy smirked lightly and opened the door. "Hey," he said as he looked towards her.

She turned quickly from her computer chair and looked down at her camisole and pair of boy shorts and blushed. "Damn. Troy. Oh, hey!" she giggled and looked away. "What are you doing here?"

Troy tapped his foot on the soft carpet and clasped his hands together. "I was making my way around town, and I---we---sort of need to talk."

"You couldn't wait until school?" she teased and tossed her hair behind her shoulder. It was like she was showing Troy more of her skin and he fidgeted. "Listen," he started off. "This couldn't wait. I need to tell you that---"

"Yes?" she smiled and took walked towards him throwing her arms around his neck.

"I can't do this," he said and took a step away from her.

She stared at him confusion written on her face. "What do you mean 'can't do this?' I thought this was going to work out between us."

"I thought it was going to also, but now, I'm doubting myself, and I think---I know---that what we have isn't right for me," Troy said as he struggled for the right words.

"Did I do something wrong Troy?" her lip trembled.

"No. I just---I---we---I---I want to break up with you Lexi."

"Troy---" she stared at him in shock. "I thought you liked me."

"I did like you. But I guess it was the short-lived kind of like? Lexi---it's not you. I mean, you're great for any other guy, just not me," Troy said as he scratched the back of his neck.

Damn him and his manners. Why did he suddenly feel guilty that he was hurting her? Why did he care? Where went all the not caring about Lexi go?

He watched her carefully as her tear-filled eyes slowly turned a shade darker. She looked at him angrily. "Bensen was right!" she yelled. "You're cheating on me! With Gabriella---oh my effing---that slut!" she screamed.

She raised her hand and slapped Troy hard across the face. "I don't believe it!!! And here I was being the loyal and faithful girlfriend, and you want Montez? Does she have something that I don't have?!?!" she screamed.

"Then why are you with her Troy?!?! Do you just like her?! Or does she have something that I don't have? Does she treat you in a way that I can't?!?!" Gabriella screamed at Troy.

Troy seemed taken back at her response. She reached her hand once again towards his face and slapped him once more. Troy took a step back. "I'm sorry all right?" he stated. "I didn't even realize I was cheating on you until it happened."

"You act like cheating on me doesn't even matter to you!" she yelled. "That slut is going to pay! I always thought that you two had something for each other. I just thought you would be smart and get over that concept," she said angrily to Troy. "We were happy. We were actually a couple until you ruined it." She reached her hand once more towards his face.

Troy grabbed her hand. "If you try that one more time," Troy warned and pushed Lexi's hand away. "I came here to tell you the truth, and I'm sorry if the truth hurts. I can't go on living like this with you."

"We haven't even been dating for a month yet!!!!" she exclaimed. "What?! You suddenly get some freakin' light bulb in your head and it tells you that you like that slut! Haven't you and Gabriella been friends for forever, and now, in the spur of the moment, you realize that you like her?! What about me Troy?! Have you even thought how this was going to make me feel?"

"We've been so close, it feels so right to take what we have and turn it into something that could be so much more. This feeling Troy---this has felt like a spur, but I really don't think it was. I was like a dormant volcano just waiting to erupt."

"Look," Troy said seriously. "I came here to tell you, and that's all I can say. I'm sorry that I was unfaithful, and I couldn't treat you right, okay? You can blow up at me all you want, but that's not going to change the way I feel about Gabriella. And if you dare call her a slut one more time Lexi, you will get it."

"S L U T," she smirked.

Troy stared at her with outrage and took a step towards her. He brought his face closer towards her ear. He wondered if he was going to curse himself for what he was going to say next. "You know---you were right. And Gabriella was wrong."

She looked at him in shock and her lips curled up into a smile. "Really?" she asked.

"Yeah. Gabriella told me that you had something she never could have. And you said the same thing. But look who ends up being right? You," Troy smirked.

"And what am I right about?" she grinned.

"You were right when you said Gabriella had something you didn't have."

"And what does Gabriella have that I don't have?"

"Gabriella has my love."

And then, Troy disappeared.

Troy groaned in frustration as his car stood parked towards the oh-so familiar house. Was Lexi cursing him, and was that why it all of sudden started to pour when he left her house? Troy squinted and looked up into the sky. He saw a flash of light and then heard a loud uproar of thunder in the air. "Damn," he muttered. "Thunder and lightning."

He wondered if he should just go back home. But Troy knew he needed to see her before he left. He had to tell her.

He tapped the steering wheel before making his decision. He grabbed the car keys and opened the door quickly. The cold rain hammered on his body and he quickly locked the car door before racing towards the white fence gate. He opened the gate and ran towards the tree. At least it gave him some type of shelter.

He rubbed the goosebumps on his arms and a soft smile appeared on his face. He remembered Gabriella reading off to him the percentages of getting struck by a lightning bolt. Apparently, getting struck by lightning when climbing up a tree was five times as high than when walking normally outside. Or---that was what Gabriella had told him. Was he going to climb up that tree in the lightning? Damn right he was.

He was careful to take short and easy steps. He didn't want to risk falling. Then he would never be able to tell her. He carefully grabbed onto the branch and pushed himself up the tree. He was glad that his long years of tree climbing had actually paid off. He never knew that one day, climbing a tree would be so important to him. He flung himself over and landed in a soft thud on her balcony. His brown hair clung to his skin and he tried to move it out of his eyes.

His red and white East High jacket was sticking to his cold skin and he shifted at the uncomfortable position. He peered carefully inside the room, but couldn't see anything. The only thing he could make-out was the small photo frame of Gabriella and himself nearest the balcony. Their faces were barely seen against the soft moonlight. Troy shivered and buried his face into his wet jacket.

His hand trembled as he reached towards the glass doors and tapped lightly. "Gabriella," he whispered quietly.

He knew perfectly well that he couldn't hear her. He hoped that some force would draw her towards him. His cobalt blue eyes flashed towards the lightning and he shivered. He tapped one more time on the glass doors. "Gabriella..."

He gulped and looked down. He looked sadly at the door. She wasn't going to come out for him. He would have to wait. He groaned quietly and put a hand on the back of his neck. He could wait for her until the next morning. He really didn't feel like going home. He wondered if she would yell at him knowing that he had been sleeping out in the rain. He would probably catch a cold.

Boom!

Troy jumped and took a giant step back.

Crash.

"Damn. That was the second potted plant," he muttered. Why was Troy Bolton afraid of thunder? No---he wasn't---it was just the surprise that overcame him. He didn't see it coming. He tried to peer at the broken pieces and wondered if it would hurt his hands if he tried to put them in a neat pile. He looked towards the dirt and the flower and decided it was best to leave it there. If he got cut, he wouldn't have anything to clean it with.

"Troy?" a voice said groggily from behind him.

Troy turned quickly around and stared at her exhausted face. She looked so beautiful. He had never seen anything more breathtaking his life. The smoothness he saw, the gentleness he almost felt, this beauty he looked upon---so perfect. The feature was so comforting, peaceful, tranquil.

"Troy, what are you doing her---"

He walked over towards her and captured her lips in a soft kiss. She responded and allowed her lips to brush against his. He smiled and reluctantly withdrew back. "I'm here because I needed to tell you something," he said quietly.

She looked up into his eyes and placed a small hand on his face.

"Gabriella, I love you."

She pulled herself into a dream where the rain poured and thunder hit and her Troy stood outside telling her that she loved him with all his heart. She blinked and looked back into the sky. The rain was pouring, the thunder was clapping, and the lightning was shooting across the sky. She cried.

It wasn't a dream.

It was real.