Lately, I've been quite busy, with Chemistry and Biology tests and labs due…

So without further ado, here's chapter two

(It rhymes by the way!)

By the way, this chapter is a bit boring because I'm mostly introducing characters.

R/R!

--

Lelouch walked slowly to the school, yawning and carrying his bag with his left hand and covering his mouth with his right. He was extremely tired. At 4:23 AM, his alarm clock rang for him to wake up and make breakfast and lunch for Charles. Charles left at 6:00 AM to work early, and Lelouch had no reason to sleep, so he just left the house and decided to walk slowly to school.

Lelouch tugged at his sleeves and pulled his collar up. He yawned again and rubbed his eyes.

It was 6:30, and school started at 7:15. It only takes twenty minutes to walk to school, and he was almost there. He decided to take the long way.

Walking in the park, he began to admire the cherry blossoms. The flowers were gently falling from the trees, and Lelouch stopped to stare at its magic. He let out a faint smile as he reached out his arm to catch the petals. It was going to be a new school year, and it was going to be his last year in Ashford Academy. He put his hand down and continued walking down the path. It was peaceful, and the sun just came out. Suddenly, his legs hurt – he was feeling tired from all that walking.

'My stamina really sucks,' he thought to himself as he sat on a nearby bench facing a man-made lake. There were some people walking through the park now. Children were holding the hands of their parents, dogs were being walked by loving owners, athletes were jogging with each other listening to their iPods…

Lelouch felt lonely. Actually, he had never really felt 'lonely' – he had always remembered being alone.

He looked up at the blue sky and sighed. Although Ashford Academy was like his home, not many people went near him. That was because he didn't want them to get involved in his already confusing life, and often tried to avoid them. This made people think he was 'snobby', 'too good for everybody else', and 'show-off', as some might say. He didn't mind, as long as he was away from his hellhole.

However, he had a better home inside the home. He smiled at the thought of it. It was the music room in Ashford Academy. There was a grand piano there, and rarely anybody goes to use it because they would rather hang out with friends in the mall. The only occasion of students even going near the small music building was during class or after school if there was a musical competition of some sort.

It was Lelouch's haven. Almost always unlocked and soundproof, he was able to express his feelings there. He had a musical talent that nobody, except maybe himself, knew. But what role did his talents play anyway?

He got up and decided to go to school. There's nothing wrong with arriving early, and it's always wrong to arrive late.

--

The vice-principal Viletta stood staring out of the staff room window, holding a cup of hot tea. She was looking at the students that were beginning to file into the school grounds, and she smiled. It was another year with the same old annoying students, and hopefully, the new students wouldn't become like them.

She rubbed her belly as she sipped from her cup. She recently found out she was three months pregnant, and whether she liked it or not, she was going to get fat in the middle. She had laughed at that fact when Ougi teased her about it as the rest of her would stay nice and lean.

"Viletta!"

Ougi walked into the staff room, holding a small stack of papers. He handed them to his wife after placing a gentle kiss on her lips.

"It's the student council events calendar. They want you to give them the 'okay' for it."

Viletta leafed through the pages, amused. "Maid cafes, huh? A school festival, a singing competition…"

Ougi laughed. "I'm guessing the student council really wants to slack this year. There's at least one event every month."

Viletta continued looking through the pages. "Oh my goodness, what are these kids planning to do this year? Especially those seniors – their major exams are coming up!"

Ding! Ding! Ding!

It was 7:05 AM, and in ten minutes, class would officially begin. Teachers began gathering their attendance lists and rushed out of the staff room. Some teachers lagged behind as they didn't see the point of getting to the classrooms early.

Viletta put down the events calendar and picked up another sheet, reading "CLASS 3C". So Ougi was assigned to one of the senior classes…She smiled, wondering how Ougi would react to the wild seniors he would be teaching for the school year.

--

Nunnally sat in the second row, all alone, in class 1B. The classroom had three columns of three desks next to each other in one column, and there were four rows. The cloak room was at the back of the classroom next to the class library.

Some girls were in the back row, chatting and twirling their hair and gossiping. They had their skirts worn especially higher and were wearing make-up and glittery hair accessories. Some guys had their Nintendo DSes out and were battling each other in Taiko, with others gathered around those in war and cheering for whoever was winning. Two nerdy-looking people with semi-bowl cuts were reading magazines about ecology in their desks, two girls were sharing earphones and listening to the newest discovered song by the window, and three people, one girl and two boys, were drawing on the classroom chalkboard. They were wearing similar red and black wristbands with chains. They seemed like delinquents, but not quite there yet. The girl had black choppy hair tied up with a red and white checkered ribbon and was rather short. One of the boys also had black hair gelled up and his ears pierced. The second boy had bleached orange hair and extraordinary green eyes. He had a nose ring.

The classroom suddenly became quiet. Nunnally looked around to see what the matter was, and she noticed the teacher standing by the door. She had long green hair tied up with a black and white ribbon and was wearing a white short-sleeved ruffled shirt with a black scarf tied around her neck. The black skirt she was wearing was at least six inches above her kneecap, and she had on black high heels. Some guys were whispering about how hot she looked as she entered the classroom with her attendance list and binders in her hands. She looked at the three delinquents in the front.

"Please take a seat," she told them coolly. They nodded as they found their seats quickly. The rest of the class sat down, the guys stopped their gaming, the nerds stopped reading, and the girls stopped listening to their music and found their seats next to Nunnally. The woman in the front stood tall as she looked at her class. She turned around and lifted up a piece of chalk delicately.

"My name is Miss C. I don't feel like being called anything else other than that."

She faced the class after writing her name and the date on the board. The students were mesmerized for some reason. They felt as if school and stress had already begun, and the conversion from play to work took place too soon.

"Welcome to Ashford Academy. It's going to be a stressful three years." She smirked, as if reading their minds. They would've groaned if it wasn't for her sadistic expression.

--

Lelouch sat in the back nearest to the window, looking outside at the courtyard. His class was explosive. The students were chatting constantly, as if this would be their last day together. It may be their last year, but certainly not the last day.

"Rivalz, you're in this class!"

Shirley was in front of Lelouch, extremely happy when she saw the familiar blue-haired teen enter. She was standing next to Milly. Milly grinned and waved at Rivalz, and he blushed.

"I wonder if Suzaku is in this class," Milly wondered as Rivalz walked towards them.

"Probably, since the school tends to put best friends into the same class for the last year," Rivalz concluded.

And just as predicted, Kururugi Suzaku appeared at the door, his bag swung over one shoulder. Some girls in the room squealed – Suzaku was the ladies' man. He was holding a piece of paper.

"I was assigned to 3A, but they decided to move me to 3C for some unknown reason."

It seemed like a random decision on the school's part, but Shirley, Milly, and Rivalz were nonetheless thrilled.

Lelouch rolled his eyes. Kururugi Suzaku was the last person he wanted to be in the same classroom with. He had an ego the size of Mount Everest and it was just as difficult to get respect from him as it was to climb the damned mountain. But then again, it was his own fault that he avoided the rest of the class. If they got too friendly with him, they might ask to visit his home, to go out with them during summer vacation to popular spots like the pool, the beach, or anywhere else that would expose his love from Charles.

He coughed slightly. Suzaku noticed Lelouch for the first time and looked at the skinny teen with eyes of dislike. He didn't really like Lelouch that much, but he tried to be as gentleman as he could towards him. It was the beginning of the year, and the last year they would be together in the same school, so why not get to know each other better?

"Lelouch vi Britannia," he said, attempting to smile. The atmosphere tensed a bit, and Shirley, Milly, and Rivalz looked nervously at Suzaku. "How was your summer?"

Lelouch glanced at Suzaku, ignored him, and turned away to look outside again.

"Oy!"

Lelouch looked at Suzaku, his eyes displaying no emotion while Suzaku's were burning.

"You won't even answer such a simple question?"

"It was horrible," Lelouch answered briskly. "Now leave me alone." He turned to look away again.

Suzaku wasn't going to give up. "My summer was-"

"I don't care; I never asked," Lelouch replied apathetically.

Suzaku slammed Lelouch's desk. Shirley and Milly winced, and Rivalz just watched the scene.

"I was just trying to be nice and start a conversation with you!"

"I never wanted to talk to you, Kururugi."

"It's polite to listen and respond to the one talking to you!"

"I'm impolite, and why the hell are you talking to me in the first place?"

Suzaku sat down next to Lelouch, and Lelouch scooted his chair closer to the window. Shirley, Milly, and Rivalz sat in front of them, watching the two.

There was a short silence.

"I think we started off in the wrong foot," Suzaku spoke, trying to calm down.

"Let's keep it that way."

Suzaku glared and stood up. "Alright. You're right. Fine. I tried, and everybody knows I did. I just can't get through the thick-skulled Lelouch vi Britannia."

"Finally, you realize the impossible."

Suzaku was going to retort, but Ougi stepped in and coughed loudly.

"Sit down!"

The students scattered like ants and sat down. Suzaku, looking awkward being the only one standing up, sat down again. Ougi had this aura of superiority; he could say two words and people would obey him (that is, if he looked serious about it). He walked to the front of the class and put his binders and books on the desk. "Since you are all seniors, let's be friends. Call me Ougi, and not Mr. Ougi, or whatever other ones you call teachers. Teacher Ougi? Hm…"

He was reciting a monologue.

"Perhaps, Ougi-sama sounds good…"

The class playfully booed, and Ougi winked. He picked up a book and looked around the class.

"I'm taking attendance, guys!"

Suzaku turned to look at Lelouch, annoyed. Why did he think he was so high and mighty all the time that nobody deserves to talk to him?

Unfortunately, Suzaku's paradigm was inaccurate and incomplete. It was understandable, however, since on the first day of school, Lelouch ignored him and everybody else, giving everybody the idea that he was prideful and full of himself.

Don't judge people too quickly.

That was Suzaku's mistake.

"Still pretending to ignore me, little prince?" he mocked. "Are you too good for the rest of us?"

Silence. Then a "Here."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"He just called my name. Pay attention, Kururugi. He'll call yours soon."

Suzaku wanted to hit that son-of-a-bitch. Really bad.

"Kururugi, Suzaku."

"Here!" he yelled, some anger seeping out with the word. He decided not to talk to Lelouch for the time being. That bastard always made him so pissed…

--

It was finally lunch and the students were eating in the classrooms. Milly had made a lot of food for her group of friends. There were omelettes, fried rice, meatballs, teriyaki chicken…

"Wow, Milly, this looks awesome!" Rivalz commented, his mouth watering.

Shirley nodded, agreeing. "You're amazing, Milly! I mean, I only made sandwiches…"

Rivalz sighed. "I know! I have some fried rice, but they can't compare to yours!"

Suzaku laughed as he pulled up a chair to sit with his friends. "We should pay you, Milly, and you could make our lunches for the whole year."

Milly blushed. "Oh, come on you guys…"

Lelouch got up from his seat, took his bag, and walked to the classroom door. Suzaku turned around to see where he was going. He knew he should invite Lelouch to eat with them. He tried to talk to him, but it just didn't work out. Being friends with a snob is impossible.

Lelouch exited the classroom, and Milly sighed. "I can't believe we're in his class again."

The gang nodded as they helped themselves to food.

"I mean, he thinks he's so great…" Shirley mumbled as she stuffed a meatball in her mouth. She chewed for a while. "He's so annoying…"

"I know! He's not like nagging-annoying, but more like 'I'm better than you' annoying," Milly said.

Suzaku snorted. Rivalz laughed. "It's so true," he said as he covered his mouth to prevent his rice from flying all over the place.

--

Nunnally felt out of place with all her classmates eating such delectable foods that she wouldn't buy with her allowance. Even the school cafeteria was quite expensive, although the portions were very reasonable.

She walked out of the classroom and wandered in the school, carrying her bag with her. She found herself in front of the staircase, and decided to go up onto the roof to eat. Many Ashford students prefer eating in the classroom or in the gardens, and very few eat up there. She knew that because the hallway leading to the roof was almost empty.

She climbed up the stairs, wondering how school would be like.

--

Lelouch entered the empty bathroom and leaned against the sink. He felt nauseas somehow. He covered his mouth as he took a few deep breaths. He didn't feel like eating anymore.

He lifted his hand off of his mouth and sighed. Just a couple more months…

He smiled grimly as he headed out of the bathroom. He needed some fresh air. Since he was on the third floor, he decided to go up to the rooftop. Who would be stupid enough to go for fresh air on busy ground floor when the roof was empty and only two floors up?

--

End of Chapter 2!

Sorry if it was boring, but I just wanted to show the friendly exchanges between Lelouch and Suzaku.

Oh yeah, I also don't want to call C.C. … C.C. So if there are any complaints about my changing of her name in the future, please do tell me. If you think it's fine, that's great, because C.C. isn't really a human name.

Thanks for reading guys!