Lelouch

The following week went by quickly and quietly. Milly kept giggling the whole time though, so I knew something was up. The two new transfer students just happened to be assigned into my class. I don't believe in coincidence, there's only luck. Everything happens for a reason, now it's up to me to play the cards I've been dealt. The entire week however, neither of them said anything to me, which is fine, but I felt as if they constantly watched me. Celia in particular tried her best in avoiding me, despite the fact that we sit right next to each other in homeroom.

We all lazed around the usual meeting table in the student council room when Milly burst through the doors. Her habitual grin seemed even wider than usual, but I'd not be the one to set off this atom bomb. Unfortunately, Suzaku chose to explode it, "What's got you in such a good mood, prez?"

She practically screamed, "We've got two new Council members!"

Great. Just Perfect.

Our president typically frightens off newbies, so an event like this is about as rare as Haley's Comet. Despite our prodding and poking, she wouldn't tell us anything about them. She only said that their welcoming party would be this Friday, and that she had 'something special' planned. I inwardly groaned, remembering her 'special dunk tank' at the festival. Knowing her, this new development couldn't be much better.

Eventually when Friday did roll around, my fears were confirmed. As we walked into the ball room preceding the council room I spied several large envelopes and bags. I saw streamers and party hats everywhere, and two green haired twins reclining at a table headed by our cheery blonde president. I put two and two together, "Our new members?"

Milly nodded, "But of course!" I chose to remain silent as she explained her plans. She used her best movie announcer voice, which was remarkable good, "Welcome, one and all!" I glanced around and found Gino and Anya lazing about, they're not on the council but show up so much they might as well be. "Today, to welcome our two new members, Celia and C.C., we will be holding the first ever Council scavenger hunt!"

Everyone clapped meekly. No enthusiasm necessary, "I will place you all into groups of three," I noticed Celia shift around uncomfortable at that, "and each group will take an envelope. Enclosed in these envelopes are your clues to the items! I'll call you all back in two hours, but if you get everything on the list first, you can come back and show me. Whoever has the most items on the list will win!"

"Win…What exactly prez?" Shirley asked.

"Good question! Each member of the winning group may ask for a favor from me!" She smiled.

"Not interested," I was about to turn around and walk away before Milly spoke up again.

"That's not everything, Lelouch," She held out a taunting finger, "If your team loses… One member from each team will have to do something I say." She winked.

I froze in place and faced her. She was good, "Alright then, name the groups."

"Okay! Group one: C.C., Suzaku, and Shirley!" I saw Celia's eyes sink down. No doubt she wanted to be in the same group as her sister, "Group two: Lelouch, Celia, and Anya!" My eyes moved to both my partners. Anya looked as emotionless as ever, and Celia tried to move her eyes everywhere but me. "Lastly, we have Rivalz, Kallen, and Gino!" I noticed that Nina was left out of the equation, but I didn't really care.

Gino's goofy smile rose just a little bit higher at the sound of his partners. We all scattered to meet up with our groups. I got Anya, the perpetual shut-in, and Celia, the shy heroine. Seems like a real talkative combination. I glanced over at Suzaku's group. Everyone seemed to be getting along well, and I could see Shirley looking longingly over at my group. She hadn't said a word to me since the incident, and I still haven't even thanked Celia for catching me. Perhaps while we're out today I'll have the chance. I don't just want to say it randomly; I need to time it right. Despite outward appearances, I do like to dramatize things. If I can make a good impression on the new girls, I suppose my life will go a little smoother. Especially with C.C., something about her gives me a bad premonition.

I decided to introduce myself to Celia, "Hello, my name is Lelouch Lamperouge." I held out a hand in what I thought was a friendly manner.

Celia held both her hands by her mouth in a defensive gesture, unsure how to respond, "…Celia Gottwald." She shook my hand cautiously, as if touching me could give her the plague.

I looked over at Anya, busily typing away at her cell phone, "Do you two know each other?"

Without looking up once she answered, "We're cousins."

I moved my sight back and forth between them, finding nothing in common besides the strange hair color. My puzzlement must've shown, "Umm… My dad's sister adopted her. She visits our estate from time to time," Celia elaborated.

It made sense. Afterward solving that mystery, I grabbed the envelope and tore it open. A slip of paper rested inside, with a simple phrase written down.

I capture the beautiful, the ugly, the embarrassing, the shameful, the living, and even the dead.

Could Milly make this any easier? It's a camera obviously. Everyone read that aloud, meaning Celia and Anya both heard it loud and clear. Afterward we shuffled into the hall, all the way down so no one could overhear us.

"My phone will suffice. It has a camera built in," Anya didn't even bother explaining the answer. Celia's eyes widened with sudden comprehension after she said that. Not exactly the quickest girl. I flipped the page over to find a rather cryptic list.

Offshore, Eligor, Gorgon, Power, Orthrus

I flashed the list to the both of them. It was a clue to the next item. "What is it supposed to mean?" Celia didn't understand it.

"With the exception of the first item, all the things listed are creatures from mythology. Eligor refers to the 72 demons of Goetia; Power is a class of angels in Christian lore, and Gorgon and Orthrus are both mentioned in Greek mythology," I deduced.

Anya nodded, "That could be a clue to the actual item itself. The location is mentioned in the words themselves." She took the paper from me and pulled out a pen. She circled the second letter in each word, f-l-o-o-r.

"Floor…? Oh! Since it's the second letter of each word, does that mean to go to the second floor?" Celia gathered. Perhaps she wasn't that hopeless after all.

"Yes. Now let's go," We casually strolled up the stairs only to find C.C.'s group snooping around. My guess is that C.C. was the one who figured out the list in their group. I looked at Suzaku; he seemed to be enjoying himself with the group. They went into a classroom, the World History classroom. Of course! Offshore, and the varying mythologies, it meant the histories of all the different places. I barged in the room right behind them.

When we all shuffled in, we noticed that several sheets of paper lay scattered on a front row desk. I examined them quickly. I open to few and close quickly, I feed on the light that others bring to me. Suzaku read it aloud, and as the words echoed into my mind, I formulated about four possibilities. I flipped the page over, "The roof…"

It clicked. "Celia, Anya, follow me," I stomped off, headed toward the roof. Being back on the roof gave me more of a headache than I needed, because from that first step the memories came flooding back. The embarrassing things that happened with Shirley… I subconsciously scowled, and only when I noticed Celia nervously shift away from me did I stop. "Sorry."

Wait, why was I apologizing? I didn't do anything wrong. Anya raised her eyebrow a fraction of a centimeter, or so I thought. It could have been my imagination for all I know. Instead of asking what I was apologizing for, she instead made a whimper-like noise which I assume to be her acknowledgement of my apology.

…

…

The mood was right. I glanced over my shoulder, watching her shuffle around like she was about to explode. I gritted my teeth, and without looking said, "Thanks for catching me the other day."

I guessed that she looked up from the ground, "I-It was nothing. Don't worry about it."

The timing was right, but something about the theatrics felt wrong. Ignoring my own idiocy, I moved over to a potted plant around the middle of the roof. There were three: One for each group. Anya understood it immediately, and Celia took a minute to put two and two together. The rest of the hunt went in a similar fashion, run around, find paper, find item. Occasionally we ran into the other groups, but it seemed we were well ahead of the both of them. Our last clue took us to the hallway right outside of the clubroom. It was a slip of paper cleverly hidden underneath the rug. This time, Anya grabbed it and read it aloud.

I am just two and two
I am warm, I am cold,
I am lawful, unlawful
A duty, a fault
I am often sold dear,
Good for nothing when bought;
An extraordinary boon,
and a matter of course,
and yielding with pleasure
When taken by force.

"Do either of you know what it is?" Celia asked.

Anya and I exchanged glances. No doubt she understood it, and I did as well. Milly is a devious, sly little vixen. I ignored her question, too embarrassed to answer, "How will we do this when we get back?"

"Leave it to me," Anya turned around, texting again.

"W-wait! What's the answer to the riddle?"

"You'll see soon enough," Anya didn't elaborate for her and I didn't particularly care to either.

She gave me the same dumbfounded look, bringing a finger up to her mouth in a thoughtful gesture. As we approached the room, from the other direction came Suzaku's group, led by none other than C.C. Upon seeing myself and Celia, her face twisted into a cruel smile. I didn't understand her drift nor cared to comprehend it. Anya effortlessly plowed through the door with her arm, and the five of us followed. Suzaku sped up next to me and whispered, "You know what the answer to the last riddle was?"

I nodded, "Yeah. The one: 'I am just two and two.' You didn't get it?"

He shook his head, "No and neither did Shirley. As soon as C.C. read it, she said we needed to come back, that the answer lies there." Judging from his response, the last clue must have led everyone to different places, but given the same result. We only found one slip of paper under that rug after all.

"Quiet down! Everyone's here," Milly demanded. Sure enough, Gino's group just casually waltzed in, Kallen looking several more shades red. "So, who would like to show everyone the last item?" Anya raised her hand, "Your group goes first then."

"…First?" Celia sounded confused.

Anya grabbed the back of my collar and dragged me in front of Celia. She practically threw me and I staggered not to fall on top of her. We faced each other and I suddenly realized what Anya meant by, 'leave it to me.' Before I could protest, she grabbed the back of our heads and pushed them together into one of the most, if not the most awkward kiss ever. Her grip tightened on the pressure points of our necks, so she maneuvered our mouths right on top of one another with no interference. Both of our eyes widened in shock at first, our reactions and muscles moving sporadically and mechanically. But after a few seconds everything softened up, and we both closed our eyes. It felt a bit cliché to do something like that, but when you're in a moment like that, things just sort of…happen. Anya held our necks for god knows how long; and we couldn't move at all without her grip tightening and threatening to strangle us. Damn her. Finally, she let go, and to my surprise it actually took another moment for us to pull away. I couldn't see her face right after as she hid it in her hair, but I'm sure it was the same deep scarlet as mine.

"T-t-the answer was…"

"A kiss!" Milly proclaimed.

A whirl of emotions rushed through me, first and foremost, rage. "Anya, what the hell did you do that for!"

"Shut up. I know you enjoyed it," she stated so matter-o-factly.

I flinched, trying to think of something to say. No good, any response would make things even more complicated. "Y-you…" I couldn't say anything coherent anyway, I was too flustered. That entire kiss threw me off balance.

Milly gave us both a warm smile, and Celia couldn't bring herself to look at me at all. "Who's next?"

"That would be us," Gino stood up, "Need a hand, miss?"

Kallen slapped it away, "I'm fine."

"Well then," not one to waste time, Gino went straight to business pecking his lips on hers. It was only a fraction as long as mine and Celia's, and afterward Gino was groveling on the ground, hands to his groin.

Suzaku flinched, "Critical hit to the nads…" To say the very least, it was expected; the amusement from that almost made up for Anya's attack.

"And last but not least…"

C.C. stood up, and started walking. She didn't walk to Suzaku as he was the only boy in their group. Instead, she walked directly in front of me. She grabbed my collar, and pulled me straight into her face, the force of the pull landing my lips on hers.

What. The. Hell.

My eyes felt like they were about to pop out of my head. She held me there for a few seconds before pulling away, a mischievous grin plastered across her face. My confusion and outrage evidently made her happy. "Why the hell did y-"

"Shut up," Anya interrupted before I could finish my sentence.

I wasn't so mad that my first two kisses were from two different people, or even that they were on two people that I'm not in love with. I was angry with the fact that it was forced on me; I had no control over the matter. They just up and did it without my consent. In this sequence, I was the pawn, and I can't accept that. I was about to vent my rage, but C.C. started talking before I had the chance, "Because I felt like it."

…

That was it. I'm going to slaughter her; both she and Anya for taking control of me like that. Damn it. I didn't need to see the rest of their spectacle. I stormed out of the room without another word, frustrated with everyone. But most of all, I was angry at myself for being played so easily.

Celia

…I just had my first kiss. And it wasn't at all what I'd imagined. Not that I picture that kind of stuff often. Think about it, a tall, dark prince, waiting to sweep you away and fall in love with you, a fairy-book kiss. Then look at mine. The tall dark prince was still there, but not any of those other sweet things. Instead, the Evil Witch forced us together. Well, Anya isn't really a witch… Anyway, so she grabbed out heads and pushed them together. At first everything seemed rigid and robotic, but after the initial impact, it felt…nice. For at least a second, I wasn't afraid like I usually am. I felt like I could do anything, and once it ended, subconsciously—I…I wanted more of that feeling.

Not that I'd ever voice an opinion like that. It's probably all just lust anyway; I'm about that age where my hormones go wild, right? A single kiss doesn't mean I'm betrothed to him. A scary thought passed through my head, being married to Lelouch. He's so cold and mean, and I don't think I could stand it.

But then again, today he was pretty sincere. On the roof he actually thanked me for catching him last week. I got too flustered to answer him properly, but I told him not to worry about it. I laughed in my mind, only the strong say lines like that. I'm nowhere near strong. I'm just a normal girl whose sister does everything for her. When this realization struck, I held my head down out of shame, not daring to look up. I hardly noticed Lelouch's sudden outburst until Anya yelled at him to shut up, because he liked it. To this I'm sure my face reddened up more than a ripe tomato. I turned away out of embarrassment.

Apparently the other two, Kallen and Gino went for a kiss, and somehow Gino ended up on the ground. The third kiss really shocked me, my sis stood up, not walking to Suzaku or Shirley, but instead to Lelouch. She gripped his collar tightly and brought him in. No hesitation. My heart jumped when she did that. Is that what it looked like for me to kiss him…? Could I do something like that on my own?

A new emotion stirred in me, one that I couldn't identify. I was sort of angry at my sister, and at the same time, wished to be in her spot. It couldn't be…Jealousy? No. Nonono…. I'm not…

I shook my head, mentally scolding myself for even thinking something like that. It's just hormones, Celia, no need to get the wrong idea. Still… I looked back at them, Lelouch now a mile away from C.C., looking like he just witnessed the end of the world. He was about to explode when Anya cut him off.

"Shut up."

And then my sister explained why she did, "Because I felt like it."

Something about that phrase… Ticked me off. It made me angry, but I didn't know why. Not so angry that I'd get made at her for it, but angry enough to have a little tinge of annoyance. As usual, I chose to just stand silently and observe. Lelouch stormed out the room without another word. I swear I could see steam rising out of his ears he was so mad. The mood died right then, and despite Milly's attempts to bring it back, Lelouch tore it up too far gone. In the end, she settled to reconvene in an hour while someone tries to bring Lelouch back.

The rescue personal originally consisted of Shirley, Gino, and Suzaku, but it was talked down into just the brown haired boy. When my sis and Lelouch kissed, I saw Shirley look like she was about to shoot her, so I knew even if she did show up, things probably wouldn't end well. I sighed and was about to sit down, when C.C. grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the room. She cuffed my mouth and whispered, "We're going to follow them."

For what reason, I did not know. But I complied and followed along. We stealthily trailed the rather slim man as he silently strode to the gym. We saw Lelouch sitting on the bleachers alone, and as Suzaku went in the front entrance, we snuck around back. When all the motion stopped, we were under the bleachers while the two of them sat on top. It seemed the perfect place to eavesdrop, or so I'd assume.

"Don't look so down, Lelouch, you just got to kiss two pretty girls," Suzaku joked.

"Tsk, that isn't the problem."

Wait; did he just call us pretty? I blushed. My sister gave me one of those, don't let it get to your head, looks.

"Then tell me what the problem is. Everyone's worried about you."

He laughed, "Like hell they are."

Suzaku ignored him, "So, what's up this time?"

"You know damn well what's up," His words betrayed his voice. He actually sounded relaxed.

"Doesn't mean you should just storm out," Suzaku gave his two cents, "Think you might've offended one of them."

He chuckled, "You mean the twins? I don't know them that well, but C.C. seems like she can take it."

Suzaku returned the laugh, "You're right, but what about Celia?"

My heart skipped again, "What about her?"

"Remember what Anya said? 'You enjoyed it.' Did you enjoy kissing her? Or C.C.?"

A long silence ensued. "…I don't know."

I heard a playful punch followed by an 'ouch.' "You are such an idiot."

"Like you're much better," Lelouch retorted.

From there my sister grabbed me and we made our getaway. I felt a little bad for eavesdropping, it was a private conversation after all, but I couldn't stop thinking about what he said. Anya's words resonated in my mind. You enjoyed it. Was it possible that… That he was interested in me? No, it can't be. I kept telling myself, it's just me going through a phase, that's all. Nothing more, nothing less. I don't need to get all emotional about it.

As if reading my thoughts, my sis poked me, "So, what did you think of your first kiss?"

My face instantly flushed red, "W-what do you mean?"

"I meant what I asked, did you like it?" I hesitated, not really sure how to answer, "I'm not going to tell anyone. You of all people should know that."

I tried lowering my head to let my hair hide my face, just like earlier. I don't think it masked my expression that well, especially since my sister can see through any façade. Wait, if she can see through anything, she should already know the answer to her question. When I voiced this she replied, "You're right, I do. But I want to hear it come from your own mouth."

After a suitable pause, I replied, "…It was…nice. Hard at first, but soft…It's hard to explain." She smiled empathetically. I needed to shove the spotlight on her, "Well…Wasn't that your first kiss too, sis?"

The empathy turned to mischievousness, "Who can say?"

Unreadable as ever. I sighed. "What did you think of it?"

Her face grew more serious as she looked off in a random direction, like she was in another world, "It was soft like you said…But cold. It was devoid of any emotion."

My sister could be an excellent poet; she really has a way with words, "Huh…"

We stood around in silence thinking about it for a few moments, "C'mon, let's get back to the council."

I nodded as she led me back to the room. We were met with questions as to where we went, but my sister expertly dodged them all, giving them a somewhat vague satisfaction. A couple minutes later, two girls walked into the room.

Something about them pricked at my memory. Long flowing pink hair and a small middle school student, it struck me then, they were the ones I saw the day Lelouch fell. Milly motioned them over to us. "Hello there! These are our two new council members!" She smiled.

"I'm C.C. and this is my sister," I wanted to interrupt her to introduce myself, but as usual, my confidence waned right as I was about to speak up, "Celia."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Nunnally!" The smaller girl beamed.

"And I'm Euphemia, but you can call me Euphy," She smiled, "We're both Lelouch's sisters."

Then it clicked, I remembered that Cornelia said she was Lelouch's sister, or half-sister rather. I wondered if they were his full blooded relatives, there's always the possibility that they weren't even related and just living together. I mentally shook myself. I don't need to play detective with Lelouch's family.

"It's nice to meet you two," My sister answered for the two of us.

I noticed Nunnally playing with her fingers rather awkwardly, "Umm… Which one of you was the one that saved Lelouch?"

My sister pointed to me, I jumped a little, "That would be my sister, Celia."

Nunnally bowed politely, "Thank you so much for saving my brother."

"Yes, we owe you for catching him, he would've been in a lot worse shape had you not caught him," Euphy added.

It was a little embarrassing having two strangers bowing to you. All eyes in the room made their way to us, making me feel self-conscious. "I-It was nothing, don't worry about it." Same reply I used when Lelouch thanked me. I can never come up with anything original, can I?

Nunnally grabbed my hand, "It wasn't 'nothing'! Without you, my brother might have died! We have to repay you!"

Her adamancy shone through, and Euphy spoke up, "Hey, why don't both of you come over to our place this Sunday? We can all go out to the mall together."

Nunnally turned and smiled, "That's a great idea! And you can have dinner with us too!"

From both of their bright smiles, neither of us had the heart to refuse. Well, I'm sure C.C. could weasel out of it if she truly wanted to. "Sounds like fun," My sister answered, "Then we'll see you all Sunday."

The rest of the party passed uneventfully, despite Lelouch's outburst. Lelouch arrived with Suzaku not too long after, and Anya was undeterred from his cold-shoulder. They didn't seem particularly close anyway. He made no effort to talk to either me or my sister, to which I was partially glad for. I didn't really want to talk to him after what just happened. Another hour or two later, they served cake for us. They didn't need to do this party for us, but it felt nice that they did it anyway. It wasn't something I'm used to, and the kindness from Nunnally and Euphy was definitely not expected. The four of us bonded well during the party, and by the time it ended, I wasn't so scared of going out with them on Sunday.

What I was afraid of, was going to the mall with Lelouch in tow.

Author's Note

I actually had 90% of this written a week ago. I've been really busy, my Birthday just passed, been doing a bunch of extracurricular stuff and getting ready for school to start up. And trust me, once school starts up, I won't be able to post these as often. So buckle down peoples, I won't be able to update as often. Anyway, read and enjoy.