Author's Note:
Hello readers,
This story takes place in an alternative universe where there is no Geass. The implications of this are huge, and I will further elaborate on it as the story continues. There are some references to the Code Geass storyline, though.
This story mostly centers on my favourite pairing in Code Geass, Lelouch Lamperouge and Shirley Fenette. This story will mostly be told through the perspective of these two characters, although it might be told in a supporting character's perspective from time to time. I know quite a number of Lelouch x Shirley fans say that they would definitely be together if Lelouch didn't get the geass, but I can assure you this story isn't going to be smooth sailing for them just because there is no geass. If you dislike the pairing, I strongly advise you to turn back right now.
Honestly, this is my first attempt in writing a fanfic. I also confess that I have close to zero exposure to literary works of romance (I'm more of a sci-fi/action/fantasy fan). However, I really wanted to write this is because I'm a huge Shirley fan and there's a lack of Lelouch x Shirley fanfics. Constructive criticism and reviews are most welcome.
The story will start off rather slow before speeding up, so please bear with the ponderous start. Things will start going full speed ahead in chapter four. The story will be mainly romance/drama with bits of humour and action. The story will also be relatively light-hearted in the earlier chapters compared to the later ones, so do expect a change of atmosphere once we get past the first ten chapters or so.
Disclaimer: In no way I have any ownership over Code Geass and its characters.
Chapter 1
First Day at Ashford
Sixteen-year-old Shirley Fenette sighed, tucking a strand of her waist-length orange hair behind her ear as she peered curiously from her family's car windows as it sped along the streets of Area 11, a country formerly known as Japan. Everything looked so foreign to her, and she longed for the more familiar streets of her hometown, Pendragon, the capital of the Holy Britannian Empire.
Her exhale did not escape the notice of her father, a brown-haired man near middle age, Joseph Fenette. Joseph glanced back at his adolescent daughter while driving. "Now, dear, I know you miss Pendragon and all of your friends back at the homeland, but I'm sure you can adapt to Area 11 soon enough," he tried for a reassuring smile at his daughter.
"It's okay, dad," Shirley gave her father a warm and sunny smile, knowing that he was trying to assure her. Her father's old company has closed down and he was unemployed for nearly a month before he managed to find a new job as a geologist. The problem was that it required him to move to Area 11, and his daughter and wife decided to move along with him, not wanting to be separated. Although they bought a new place in the Tokyo settlement, Shirley would be staying in the dormitory of her new school, Ashford Academy. Even now, she could tell that her father was still feeling a little guilty for relocating the family. "I'll just make new friends again, I'm good at that." She added, trying to ease her father's feelings.
Within minutes, they have arrived at the front gate of Ashford Academy. "It's beautiful." Shirley murmured, awestruck at the size and extravagance of the school. The exterior was a pristine white, and even the gate was polished. The stone path leading from the gate to the school buildings were lined with shrubs and trees. The plants were obviously greatly cared for as they were a healthy shade of green. All she needed was one look to know that Ashford Academy was far superior to her old high school in Pendragon. Shirley spent several seconds merely staring at the academy, admiring its beauty.
Joseph cleared his throat awkwardly. "Is there something wrong, Shirley? Your first class is supposed to start soon."
"Oh right. I totally forgot about that..." Shirley muttered bashfully to herself. Without further ado, she gathered her belongings and exited the car. Her parents followed suit, and the three of them turned to face the entrance of the academy. She slowly took a few steps forward, taking in the sights of the school again before a voice called out.
"Shirley," her mother, Mary Fenette, called out to her only child. "Have a good first day of school. Do keep in touch with us, alright?" she asked softly.
"No worries, mum, I'll write a letter to you guys every week," Shirley assured her mother, who smiled, remembering her daughter's fondness of writing letters even in this time and age. Shirley stepped forward to wrap her mother in a brief hug and then repeated the gesture with her father. "I'll be fine. I'm sure the first day will be great."
"Tell us all about it once it's over. We'll look forward to hearing from you." Joseph grinned and patted his daughter's back gently.
"I will. Goodbye." After exchanging their farewells, both Joseph and Mary returned to the vehicle. The orange-haired teen watched her parents' car speed off. She glanced at the school for the third time. She took a deep breath. "A new school. A new home. A new life." Shirley thought to herself as she strode towards Ashford Academy.
"Class 1D…" Shirley paused, glancing up at the signboard that hung outside of the classroom. She hesitated for a moment, and then she knocked slowly on the light blue metallic door before it slid open, revealing the room and the people inside it.
"Hello there," a short, middle-aged man with receding greying hair, who seemed to be the professor, spoke in a gruff voice, twirling a pencil idly with his right hand. "I suppose you're the new transfer student this class is expecting?" he asked, his eyebrows rose as he glanced at her.
"Hi, um, yes I am", Shirley replied. "This is class 1D, right?" she enquired, her fingers nervously fidgeting with the strap of her sling bag.
"Yes, it is. I'm Robert Jones, your history professor. You may call me Mr Jones," Mr Jones said in an uninterested voice. "Please enter and introduce yourself to the class."
Shirley followed the professor's instructions and walked into the classroom. She could feel the gaze of at least a dozen other students on her. She turned to face her new classmates, most of them with expressions which mirrored Mr Jones's disinterested tone. Nonetheless, she smiled and introduced herself, making sure to speak slightly louder than usual. "Hello, everyone. My name is Shirley Fenette. Nice to meet you all."
Dead silence and half-hearted waves were the only answer Shirley received. She frowned but supposed she could not blame them. Her new classmates might be a little slow to warm up to her, but she saw no reason to label them as unfriendly. Maybe this lesson in particular was so boring that they were feeling lethargic.
The professor raised a hand, pointing his pencil at one of the long tables near the back of the class, with three empty seats. "You may take a seat there," he announced monotonously.
"Thank you, Mr Jones," Shirley politely nodded. She noticed that some of the other girls in the class shot her some looks. "Jealousy?" She pondered. "Are the other seats unoccupied too?" she wondered aloud as she made her way to her seat.
"Hmmph," Mr Jones muttered. "Mister Lamperouge is most likely going to be late… again," his voice tinged with frustration. He waited for a moment for Shirley to take a seat before he cleared his throat and continued, "Now, class, please turn to page two hundred and sixteen of your textbook, we'll be looking at the conquest of Japan and the establishment of Area Elev-."
The professor was interrupted by the sound of the door sliding open again, announcing the entrance of another student. The effect was instantaneous. The male students generally remained sluggish, but whispers immediately broke out amongst the female students in the class. Shirley, who had her head down, was in the process of retrieving her textbook from her bag when she heard the outbreak of murmuring. Curiosity piqued, she looked up and froze instantly, her eyes enraptured by the newcomer.
The student was male, with almost silky raven black hair that was swept carelessly to one side of his angular, flawless face. He was tall and rather thin. Similarly to the other male students, he was dressed in the Ashford school uniform, but unlike them, he excluded an aura of magnetism and sophistication despite the utterly bored look on his face. His violet eyes swept across the room and he walked towards the table where Shirley was seated at. "He's so perfect!" one of the girls sighed dreamily.
Shirley found herself subconsciously nodding, agreeing with her.
"Yo, Lelouch!" an average looking male student with semi-long blue hair called out enthusiastically from the back of the room, his hand raised in greeting.
"Hello, Rivalz," the new arrival returned the greeting, smiling slightly.
Mr. Jones raised his eyebrows. Physical looks aside, he did not understand why this student, Lelouch Lamperouge, was so popular, especially among the girls in Ashford Academy. "What a surprise, you're on time. Scratch that, you actually attended another of my classes. That's the third history lesson you've attended this semester, Lelouch," he said, glaring at him.
"I don't see why you are always making a big fuss out of it, professor", Lelouch replied haughtily. "After all, I'm still scoring well enough on every assignment and test". Shirley frowned upon hearing such words coming from the seemingly 'perfect' guy.
"You will never achieve much in life with that cockiness, Lelouch," Mr. Jones admonished, his greying brows furrowing, forming an annoyed frown as Lelouch only smirked in reply as he stalked forward, pausing just before his table and cocked his head questioningly.
"Who's this?" Lelouch asked, looking at Shirley. Shirley nearly jumped out of her seat, wincing slightly as her thighs collided painfully with the bottom of table and almost lost her balance. Sniggers echoed through the room and Shirley felt a crimson tint growing on her face as she met Lelouch's bemused gaze and she extended her hand forward in a handshake.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Shirley Fenette. I'm a new transfer student here, it's my first day here," she rattled off, flushing as Lelouch took her hand and shook it.
There was a small pause, before Lelouch finally introduced himself. "Lelouch Lamperouge. I'd say it's nice to meet you, but honestly, you won't be seeing me around here much…"
"Shirley's going to be your partner for the history assignment due next week", Mr. Jones called out. "And I expect you to be around to help a new student, at the very least!". Lelouch scowled at his teacher, who was most likely trying to use Shirley's status as a new student as an excuse to get him to attend his classes.
Conflicting emotions arose within Shirley once the professor's words registered in her mind. Good looks aside, Lelouch did not seem like an ideal groupmate. From what she had just learnt from the conversation which took place between him and the professor, he was basically a truant, and an arrogant one too. Nevertheless, she reasoned that he might not be as bad as the professor made out to be. The least she could do was try. "Let's work hard to do well for this assignment, shall we?" Shirley flashed Lelouch her winning smile.
Lelouch glanced at her and snorted slightly. "Work hard?" he sneered. "Don't worry; I'll take care of it. I prefer to work alone."
Shirley blinked in surprise at Lelouch, who merely smirked again as he took a seat next to her. Her heart plummeted. "Is this the sort of person I'm going to be partnered with?" She could not help but stare incredulously at Lelouch. "Good first day of school indeed." She thought gloomily as Mr Jones resumed his class, droning on about the conquest of Area 11.
"What's on your mind?" a voice asked Shirley. Startled, Shirley almost dropped her purse as Sophie Wood, a petite girl of her age with long, light purple hair leaned forward. Sophie was also her roommate and fellow classmate. As Sophie was also a transfer student who had only joined the school two weeks ago, they became fast friends. They were leaving Omotensado Mall, where Sophie offered to bring Shirley to, to let her 'see the sights' of Area 11 during their lunch break.
"Just thinking about my history assignment", Shirley replied, scratching her head thoughtfully. "And how to complete it," she added. "Honestly, why do I have to be paired up with him of all people? He seems so frivolous and arrogant." Shirley thought.
"Oh, the history assignment next week?" Sophie chuckled. "You're so lucky to be partners with Lelouch. Half of the girls in the school would kill you if that meant they would work together with him!"
"How about you? Surely you're not one of them," Shirley could not help but jest. They shared a laugh, before Shirley's demeanour became soberer. "Seriously though, I have no idea what to do about it. He said he would do it himself, but he seems so frivolous and carefree, I wonder if he can even be relied on…", her words trailed off as they exited the mall and started walking back to Ashford Academy, pausing at a traffic light. Her vivid green eyes rested on a motorcycle with a sidecar attached to it. "Speak of the devil." Shirley thought as she identified the familiar occupants in Ashford Academy uniform. The driver was Rivalz, and the passenger in the sidecar was Lelouch.
"Just as we were talking about him." Sophie nodded at Lelouch. "He's probably returning from gambling. Rivalz always drives him to his gambling activities."
"Gambling?" Shirley asked distastefully as she observed them. Her impression of the lanky male dropped even further. A haughty truant who gambles often was definitely not someone she would want to be amiable with. Lelouch, as usual, was wearing a look of total disinterest. As she debated calling out to them for the sake of being friendly, the loud screech of tires grated on her ears. Instinctively, she took a step back from the road and winced as she witnessed a dark blue sports car sped forward and slammed into the back of a cream white sedan, which surged forward several feet before stopping. The resulting noise drew looks from all of the pedestrians around. The door of the dark blue automobile swung open, revealing a young, built male with short cropped brown hair. His eyes were obscured by a pair of sunglasses, but he radiated fury and indignation. The occupants of the sedan alighted, an elderly couple with confused expressions as they watched the young man strode angrily towards them.
"What's the matter with you people?!" the driver of the sports car yelled furiously, pointing at the aged couple. "Couldn't you get out of the way when you saw my car approaching? It's brand new! Now look at the damage!" he ranted on, gesturing hotly at the ruined front of his vehicle. "I demand compensation from you folks!" Shirley frowned in fierce disapproval. "From any way you look at it, it was his fault. The other car was stationary and simply waiting for the traffic light to turn green."
Clearly, the elderly couple was taken aback by the vehemence of the other man, especially because they did nothing wrong. "Ah, young man, I think there is a misunderstanding," the old man tried for an explanation. "We were just waiting for the traffic light to go green, there's no way we could hav-"
"No excuses!" the uncouth youth shouted. "You're trying to run away without compensating me, aren't you? Don't you dare attempt to escape without paying me!" Lelouch's eyes shifted from his phone to the commotion. He calmly removed his helmet and stood up from the sidecar, walking over to the tow truck in front of the motorcycle. Shirley's eyes widened in amazement as she watched Lelouch attach the tow to the sports car before returning to the motorcycle, his act unbeknownst to both parties and all the while maintaining his aloof expression.
A moment later, the traffic light changed from red to green. Apparently, the driver of the tow truck was either in a hurry or had enough of the commotion. He accelerated, pulling along the sports car with it. "Wait, wha-?" the man exclaimed. "What the hell?! That's my brand new sports car! Wait!" he protested as he ran after the tow truck.
Rivalz burst out laughing and looked at Lelouch, impressed. "That was genius, Lelouch", he grinned, giving Lelouch a thumbs up.
"Whatever. Let's just go back to school. Mr. Johnson would probably kick up a fuss just because we're a few minutes late again. I need to attend his class this week so that my attendance wouldn't be too low." Lelouch said dismissively as Rivalz obeyed, kicking the motorcycle to life as they sped back in the direction of Ashford Academy.
Shirley stared after them in a mixture of wonderment and curiosity. "Did he just…? Why would he do that anyway?" A spark of curiosity ignited in Shirley's mind. Lelouch did not seem like the kind of person to stand up for others to her since he always seemed so proud. "He didn't do it to boast or laugh. He looked so bored while doing it. I wonder what that guy is thinking."
"Let's return to Ashford, shall we?" Sophie asked Shirley, inadvertently interrupting her train of thought.
Shirley nodded. "Sure. I need to ask Lelouch a question", she blurted out. "For the history assignment," she hastily added, noting Sophie's confused look, as they started walking back to Ashford Academy. Hopefully, he would be a lot more cooperative this time.