Shirley walked quickly towards Lelouch's room intending to question him before her resolve dissipated. Her pace slowed the closer she got to his door, eventually grinding to a stop outside his door. Anxiety tied her stomach in knots as the thought of confronting him gnawed away at her. Steeling her nerve Shirley reached for the doorknob. I can do this!

The door suddenly opened before she could grasp the knob, bringing her face to face with Lelouch. He was wearing casual clothes and seemed in a hurry. "Oh, Shirley what are you doing here?"

"I uh, you see…" Shirley struggled with how to answer before being struck with inspiration. "Oh, remember what we talked about earlier?"

Lelouch was silent for a moment before responding. "You mean that schoolbook some girl dropped?"

Shirley looked away in embarrassment. "Yeah about that…the truth is it wasn't a book." She reached into her bag and held the blue I.D. card out in her hand for Lelouch to examine.

Lelouch grimaced and quickly grabbed for the card. Shirley dodged his attempt and stored it in her shirt's breast pocket. Her reasoning being that if Lelouch was the man she thought, he wouldn't dare attempt to retrieve it from there. "Care to explain what this is?"

Lelouch refused to meet her gaze, something he often did when he wanted to avoid a subject. "Shirley please, just give it back without asking questions."

Shirley would not be deterred. "No, you have to answer me. What is this about?"

After a momentary silence, he exhaled deeply and met her gaze. "Fine, you win. It's what it looks like. I obtained a fake I.D. to gain entrance to certain establishments."

"And?"

Lelouch stared at her blankly, "And what?"

Shirley's gaze shifted to a glare, "You think its okay to have something like this! Where did you get it anyway?"

Lelouch sighed again. "I have my contacts and anyway it's none your business, Shirley."

Shirley winced at the words, her gaze drifted to the floor between them. "None of my business? You're saying I'm just a bother to you?" Shirley's heart stopped and she began to turn away from Lelouch as if to leave without a word.

A hand abruptly grabbed hers, pulling her back. "No, that's not what I meant! You're very important to me!"

Shirley suddenly found her face very close to Lelouch's, his violet eyes staring deep into hers. Their proximity and his words jumpstarted her heart to a rapid pace, so much so it felt like it would burst from her chest. Shirley's mouth opened and closed as she struggled to form words. He's so close!

Lelouch seemed to become aware of the proximity and stepped back, letting go of her hand and breaking their gaze. "Listen Shirley you are a very dear friend to me. Nothing will change that. However, you need to let me do things my own way, okay?"

Shirley's mind drifted back to the subject at hand. She reached into her pocket and retrieved the fake I.D. "Okay Lulu, I understand. Here you go." She handed the card over to him without dispute. He gently accepted it before quickly placing it into his pocket.

"Well then, since that's settled, I must attend to an important matter-"

Shirley interrupted Lelouch before he could finish. "Just one last question though. Why did that girl have it?"

Lelouch barely hesitated before responding. "She is the willful and contemptible daughter of someone in my debt. She functioned as a courier, nothing more. I hope to never see her again."

Shirley carefully scrutinized his choice of words. She had only ever heard him use the word willful and contemptible when describing someone he especially didn't like. The rest of his statement was very dismissive, almost as if he said it purely to satisfy her. However, his answers almost matched the mysterious green haired girls perfectly. After several moments of silent contemplation, Shirley decided to believe him. If she ever saw the girl with Lelouch again, then she would revisit her suspicions.

Shirley smiled, "Okay Lulu, I believe you. Just do one thing for me okay?"

Lelouch returned her grin. "Of course, what is it?"

"Try not to do anything dangerous. You have a lot of people who care about you."

"Thank you, I'll keep that in mind."

After some parting words, Shirley returned to her dorm room, her steps far more upbeat than the previous days. There's nothing going on…and he said I'm a very dear friend!

Upon reaching her room Shirley immediately began writing the events in her diary. Eventually, her optimistic attitude made its way into the letter to her father. As she wrote, however, she began to dwell on the word 'friend' Lelouch had referred to her with. Maybe Father has an idea how to get closer to Lulu!

Hours later outside the school grounds Lelouch carefully made his back to Ashford Academy. A familiar young feminine figure stood casually near the gate, seemingly without a care in the world.

"C.C. what are you doing? I told you not to leave my room without my permission!"

The green haired girl dismissively ignored his scolding before responding. "Oh? I need your permission?"

Lelouch scowled, "After what happened with Shirley, yes you do. Do you know how much trouble that could have caused me?"

"Oh well. I'm sure you would have come up with some clever scheme to handle it."

"What were you doing with one of my fake I.D.s anyway?"

"I thought it would be fun to test you."

Lelouch raised an eyebrow. "Test me? For what purpose?"

"To see how you would handle people you care about finding out what you really are."

"I don't need to prove anything to you."

C.C. turned toward him with a grim expression. "If you have something you care about, you should keep it at a distance."

"Is that advice?"

C.C. looked away before responding. "Something to consider."

Lelouch pondered her words for a moment before responding. "I will achieve all of my goals and do so without involving those around me."

C.C. briefly glanced his way while sighing. "I see you have much to learn." She suddenly noticed Lelouch was carrying a box under his arm. "What's that?"

Lelouch held out the box for her as he answered. "It's the clothes I ordered for you. That way you're not strolling around in a straitjacket or an Ashford uniform all the time."

She took the box from him and inspected it. Inside was a wide assortment of outfits of varying styles. After briefly pausing, she responded in a monotone voice. "Very well, I will be your dress up doll."

Lelouch scowled at her obvious provocation. "Do what I say for once!"

C.C. smiled mischievously and hugged the box to her chest. "Alright, just this once. I am your accomplice after all."

Sighing as he motioned for C.C. to follow him, Lelouch made his way to the secret entrance he used to enter the academy unseen.

Upon reaching the entrance he questioned his companion. "C.C. I'm curious, why did you choose Shirley to give my I.D. to?"

"Don't you know? Isn't it obvious?"

Lelouch turned to face her. "What do you mean?"

"Your mother would be disappointed; you became a totally clueless guy."

"You never give a clear answer do you?" Lelouch dropped the inquiry and resumed walking. C.C. giggled and the sounds of her footsteps followed him.

End

Authors Note

Hello, this story started as a daydream I had about Shirley witnessing C.C. and Lelouch together. I was genuinely surprised at how popular it was. Sadly, I never intended it be a very long story. It couldn't be while still being faithful to the anime. Observant fans would notice the foreshadowing at the end of which would lead to the tragic events that would unfold in episodes 10-14. I thank all those who liked and reviewed the story; in the future, I may do more Code Geass stories.

FlammPanzer