Author Note: Sorry it took so long!! This chapter contains some cheesy lines so bear with me. Also, for those who remember Esteban's "training" from the second story...you'll finally learn the truth behind the mystery. And for those who are fans for the other couples I subtly hint at, you may find out how they're evenings together went when I start my other trilogies...hehehe.
Of course, I don't own TSL, the characters, the songs, or the songs from High School Musical.
"Yeah, yeah. We'll be fine, mom," Zack spoke on the phone to his worried mother.
"Moseby already said we could use his name to get free room service. And our favorite movie is on tonight. It'll be no big deal. I'm telling you we'll be fine by ourselves. We do it all the time in Boston. I know. I know. This isn't Boston," Zack stopped talking to listen to what his mom had to say. "Okay. I'll tell them. Have a good time." Zack hung up the phone.
"I take is she was still worried about leaving the 3 of us alone," Bob asked.
"That's our mom for you," Cody replied.
Zack walked across the hall, followed by Cody and Bob, to the suite that Mr. Moseby,
Esteban and Lance was staying in.
"Hey guys. Mom just called and said they're at the salon. Apparently, London has ordered a limo to pick you all up so that you can meet then at the opera house."
"Miss London sure is going all out," Esteban said curiously.
"You know London. Image is everything," Moseby commented.
"Still, 3 hours in a salon seems a bit much," Bob pointed out.
"Heh, 3 hours in a salon is like 5 minutes to London," Moseby said knowingly.
"Mom could use 3 hours in a beauty salon," Zack joked and Cody and Bob laughed.
"Now, boys. You know that's not true. Your mother doesn't need improvement," Moseby semi-defended.
"Neither does Maddie," Esteban added dreamily.
The limo drive to the opera house seemed to last a lifetime for Esteban as he anticipated seeing Maddie, knowing she was actually his date.
For Maddie the wait for the limo seemed even longer, because she dreaded the idea of everyone thinking of her and Esteban as on a date. "At least I know Esteban doesn't count this as an actual date," she sighed and then added, "Maybe that's the problem."
She didn't have time to think about it before seeing the long, black stretch limousine pull around the corner. "Keep your cool," both Maddie and Esteban whispered to themselves simultaneously. However, both hearts melted as Esteban slowly stepped out of the limo while Maddie slowly made her way down the stairs of the opera house to meet him.
"You look…perfect," Maddie couldn't believe she had allowed the compliment slip.
"It's even better from my point of view," Esteban answered boldly, hoping Maddie would take a hint.
Instead she just blushed and stumbled for a reason to change the subject. She found it as Mr. Moseby stepped out of the limo. "Well, Mr. Moseby, you look incredibly handsome. Don't look now, but I think that very pretty woman to your left is checking you out."
Mr. Moseby turned his head to see Carey dressed in a breathtaking gown. He hurried over to meet her, leaving Esteban and Maddie alone yet again. This time there was an awkward silence. But it wasn't long before London broke it with a worried whine.
"Where's my date? You were supposed to pick up my friend Ben on the way here," London complained as Lance exited the limo followed by no one.
"London, I'm sorry. He called the hotel about an hour ago and said that he couldn't make it," Moseby tried to explain.
"Why didn't you call me? I could have done something about it. Now I'm dateless," London said hanging her head.
"Then, I guess that makes me dateless too."
"Huh?" confused by the familiarity of the voice, London quickly looked up to see Todd St. Mark standing before her.
"I figured you wouldn't mind if I brought someone else," Moseby added hastily, knowing it would be the last work he'd get in edgewise between them.
As planned, the night proceeded with everyone seemingly isolating themselves in groups of two. For Maddie and Esteban it meant spending more time alone together than they had done since before her graduation.
Esteban decide it was a perfect opportunity to bring up a sensitive subject. "Maddie, do you remember when you almost fell off that bridge."
"Of course, it still haunts me at times. Why?"
"I don't want to bring up bad memories, but I promised myself that I would one day tell you how I was the one in the helicopter with you that night."
"It has always puzzled me," Maddie admitted.
"This is going to sound very strange but it was because I was trained as a volunteer rescue worker."
"Why is that strange, Esteban? It's great to want to help people. I find it to be an admirable quality."
"I know, but that's not the strange part. You see it was because of a series of dreams that I had had about a year before."
"Dreams?" Maddie gulped, suddenly remembering her own strange series of dreams when she was younger.
"I know it doesn't make sense, but every night it was basically the same. You were in my dreams and you kept saying there was something I needed to do. You said it was important, a matter of life and death even. But even weirder, you would never tell me what it was I needed to do. Then one night, it finally came to me. In my dream you told me that I needed to become a volunteer rescue worker." Esteban paused then continued, "At the time I just figured it was just a weird way of my conscious telling me to help people. I had no idea it would result in me catching you before you fell from the side of a bridge."
"Wait so it was you who caught me?" Esteban nodded. "And all because of…"she didn't finish. Her heart was racing at the thought of the eerie coincidence. She began debating if she should tell him about her own strange series of dreams. I'll just delete the part at the very end she thought to herself. She opened her mouth to confess, but before she could the lights of the opera house went down and she knew it would have to wait. Of course it only meant she would have more time to second guess whether or not she should tell him at all.