Heyas everyone! I'm finally back with an update on this fic. Lol...I apologize for the long delay..there's been a lot of birthdays in my family this month, including my own; so I've been pretty busy. Lol Anyways, I'll keep this short by just saying that this chapter is told in Lulu's POV, which was both fun and difficult at the same time. Lol...It's hard to get into a deep character's head, but I'm still working on it. Lol..Here's chapter 2 minna...I hope u enjoy it...this takes place roughly 2 days after Kallen's POV.

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass, Kallen, or any of the impending Lelouch hotness you will see in this story...but I would love it if I did. -giggles-

-Masquerade- Chapter 2: The Butterfly Effect -

-Date: Beginning of May, Common Era 2017. Location: Ashford Academy -

-Lelouch's POV-

Did you ever have one of those days that left a bad taste in your mouth? Well...I've been “fortunate” enough to have been blessed with these kinds of days more frequently than ever. That recent attack on Cornelia's troops didn't go the way I'd hoped as I was prepared for absolute victory and got my first taste of utter defeat, which I never want to experience ever again. Of course, I wouldn't expect anyone to believe what I'm writing here to be the truth...after all, this is just one of those boring school personal diary assignments thought up by the teacher's here to test our creativity. So...for anyone who reads this, this information could be taken as either all truth or all lies. However, the reader should still beware, because whether this is the truth or a complete lie...certain pieces of information shall be left out as it is really nobody's business but my own and you can bet that I will most certainly write down something completely phony in the parts here about my personal life.

Now, since I brought this up, I'll say a few things about my background. Most people would never believe that I am, in fact; a prince and my younger sister Nunally, a princess...nor would they believe that a large portion of our family, including “dear ol' dad;” have declared us as dead...supposedly we were said to have gone missing during the war, but people who were smart enough knew what the real deal was. By being thrust into the realm of the living dead, and I use that term loosely; Nunnally and I have been able to lead normal lives and attend a very prestigious school...with the help of the Headmaster and his energetic daughter Millay, who also know our secret. The people who have befriended my sister and I are quite the characters, but that's what we love about them. I work with all of them both in class and on the student council where I serve as their Vice President...meaning...I'm usually in charge of all the organizing Millay can't do. Anyway, enough about my background. I'm sure you're just itching to know the juicy stuff...you know...the really important, classified stuff about my personal life. Well...I can't really divulge everything just yet, but I can mention a few little things to tide you over. To start, there have been problems bogging me down recently...the bulk of which come in the forms of three girls, the first being my friend and fellow student council member Shirley Fenette, the second being new student council member Kallen Stadtfeld...alias, unbeknownst to everyone else but myself; one of the most prized members of my group...the Black Knights, and finally...girl number three...C.C. ...the one who gave me my special power...the Geass. This geass she's given me is very essential in my plans for the future, but it also comes with a price, one of which resulted in my having to erase Shirley's entire memory of me...which was one of the most difficult and heart wrenching things I had to do. When I received this power, C.C. said to me: “The power of the king is a lonely power.”...and I accepted it because I am fully prepared for the consequences to come...I mean...it couldn't possibly get any worse than having to erase someone's memory, and it hopefully never will.

On an entirely different note, I has a strange, but informative dream last night in which the pizza loving C.C. was my psychiatrist and I was lying on her pizza shaped couch being questioned by her. They weren't weird questions, they were just ones about my past, but I found I was able to voice my opinions better as myself in this dreamworld instead of as the charismatic Zero. The first question she asked me was... if I could speak to my mother right now, what would I say? The answer I gave came flying out of my mouth as if it were second nature to me. I knew I didn't have to think about that one too much as I had always known what I would say to her, and the answer was: “ I love you and I'm sorry for being so weak. I'm taking good care of Nunnally, so don't worry.” The second question was similar to the first one, except this time I was asked what I would say to my father. That had me laughing for quite some time as both myself and Zero before my expression then went completely serious as I answered loudly: “Why!”... “Why didn't you protect mother!”... “Did you know about all of this!”... “Did you have a hand in it yourself!”... “Tell me...why don't you care!”... “Didn't you love her!” Now... in reference to myself personally, my comment to my father would be: “I don't take orders anymore...I give them and I'm no longer the weak little child I used to be...so be ready...wherever you are.” It was then came the tough questions to answer as C.C. asked me: 1.“What would you say to Suzaku about everything you've been through?”... 2.“How do you feel about the power I gave you and what do you have to say to me?”... 3. “Lastly...What is the real reason you won't tell Kallen who you really are?”... “Do you possibly have feelings for her?” To my misguided friend Suzaku, I would say: “Why do you fight for the very people that destroyed our country!”... “What is it you're really fighting for!”... “Why won't you listen to what I have to say!”... “Didn't you always used tell me everyone's opinions matter!” To C.C.: “You were right. The power of the king is lonely, but I will do whatever it takes to ensure that my sister can live in a peaceful world...so I appreciate what you have given me, even though I call you a bitch sometimes and even though it most certainly makes things very complicated now.”... “Also, your intense love for pizza is emptying my wallet...so let me know a few days in advance if you plan on ordering a shit load of it on my credit card the next time I'm not home.” Lastly, the reason I won't tell Kallen that I'm living a double life is because I will lose both her respect and trust if I do. It's important in our organization that certain things remain unsaid in order to ensure the success of our true goal. Frankly, part of me wouldn't mind if she knew. It would be nice to have someone else besides C.C. to talk to about things with out having to put up these false pretenses. Do I have feelings for her? That's just it...I'm not really sure I know or if I even have any. Well...actually, just the other day she confessed that she had feelings for her “boss,” which means she likes me...well...technically...she likes Zero, but since we're one in the same person, isn't that the same as a direct confession? Damn...I'm so confused! I wish these problems would just take care of themselves. It was then that I was awoken from my dream by Nunnally before I could even officially answer my own question.

Now...here I sit with the rest of my class, getting ready to go on our annual field trip. This time we're off to the Britannian Botanical Gardens to visit a butterfly sanctuary, then a flower exhibit, and after that we get to go off on our own for awhile. This is, of course; is a student council sponsored field trip, so it's my job to make sure the people are split up evenly...however, there's one problem with that. A few people are absent, so there will be two people who get stuck being a pair while others are in triples, that way everything balances out. Suddenly, a mischievous thought popped into my head...this is the perfect opportunity for me to find out more about Kallen's feelings for Zero. Just how far would she be willing to go for him? Once I find out the answer to that, then I'll decide whether or not I want her to know anything. However, I sense this plan of mine might be disrupted as Shirley is approaching. It's the funniest thing, but even after I erased her memory, she still seems to take a particular interest in me. I think I can tell how the rest of my day is going to go now. I guess it's time for me to put on my best smile and just face this the way I have been for the past few weeks now.

The red-haired girl stopped short right in front of me and asked in a curious voice with a sincere smile on her face: “Oh...you're back?”... “You were absent the other day.” ... "I hope you're feeling better.”

Heaving a heavy sigh, I stood up and replied with a small polite smile: “Oh yes...I'm back. It was just a little 24 hour bug. I'm fine now...thanks for asking.”

She still gazed at me with those worried eyes and then surprised me by pressing her forehead to mine: “Are you sure?”... “You don't look so good.”... “I mean...you look kind of pale and like you haven't been sleeping too well...or if any at all.”... “You just transferred here and you're already studying too much...that's not good for your health you know.”

I shook my head as I thought to myself: “That couldn't be farther from the truth. If you knew the real reason I haven't been sleeping...you'd never believe me in a thousand years.”... “For some reason this is starting to get to me.”... “Please...stop...just leave me alone!”... “You're what's really bothering me.” Instead of following the order that my conscience was giving me, all I managed to get out was a soft: “Enough...” and before I could even continue my sentence, I heard a calm voice from behind me say: “Ummm...the teacher and Millay-san said that you and I are going to be the pair group since the groups turned out to be uneven.” I backed slowly away from Shirley and turned around to come face to face with Kallen, who smiled over at Shirley and continued: “Sorry to interrupt your conversation, but may I speak to him alone for a minute?”

Shirley, who looked like a poor little lost rabbit; nodded reluctantly and headed back over to talk to Millay.

I heaved a heavy sigh of relief as my mental self replied: “Thank god for that. She really saved my ass on that one. I almost lost it in front of everyone.” I then laughed lightly and walked over to the window with Kallen: “Well...that was certainly awkward wasn't it?”... “Thank you for interjecting.”

The pink-haired girl nodded: “It's no problem. She was really taking that whole “I'm not talking to you” thing a bit too far...but she was right about one thing...” She then placed one of her soft hands on my forehead and the other on her own as she finished her statement: “You do feel a little feverish and you haven't slept...I can tell. Sometimes I'm up all night too and it's been happening to me a lot more recently these days...you know...with this war going on and all...who can sleep without worrying?”... “Anyway, you should try and get some rest on the bus...that's really all I came over here to say.”

Her face being so close to mine when she said this, I couldn't help but notice my heart silently skip a beat. Of course, I dismissed it right away, nodded, and then smiled politely as I slowly backed away from her: “Yeah...I think I'll do that. Thanks for the advice. You don't mind if I share the seat with you do you?”... “That way, I'll get some peace and quiet and not have Millay chattering in my ear the whole trip.”

She shook her head and sighed tiredly: “Whatever you wanna do is fine. I've got a lot on my mind, so I'll be wide awake the whole trip anyway.”

A half an hour then flew by and just like that, we were seated on our bus and I fell asleep about 15 minutes into the trip there. It seemed as if only little time had passed, when I felt Kallen nudge me to let me know we were there and also to say, with a slight embarrassed tone to her voice: “Ummm...your head is on my shoulder.”

I suddenly snapped up in my seat, now fully wide awake; and laughed as I apologized: “Sorry about that. I guess I was more tired then I thought.” I silently cursed myself out as we got off the bus for letting her see me at my most vulnerable state. I didn't like to use that particular trait of mine on girls unless the situation called for it, but it seems this time I slipped up in probably the most worst possible way.

The rest of the trip was...how should I put this... “interesting” to say the least. We were given a tour of the butterfly sanctuary, then saw the flower exhibit which, much to my relief; seemed to preoccupy Shirley enough so that she wouldn't come over and start asking me anymore questions about myself...and Kallen had wandered off on her own way before the designated time. It is now 1pm...our official free time to eat lunch and check out exhibits on our own that interest us. I decided to head back to the butterfly sanctuary and just hang out, maybe take a short nap under the trees since I had already eaten. Up until this point of the day Shirley, Millay, and their other girlfriends had been looking for me. No longer distracted by the beautiful flowers, they had decided to make a little bet amongst themselves just for fun. Apparently, whatever lucky lady can find and catch me first...they're supposed to kiss me. As if my nerves weren't on edge enough these days. I heaved a heavy sigh as I had finally managed to escape them and find a peaceful and perfect hiding place so I could finally rest comfortably...at least...I thought it was. As soon as I sat down under the shade of a large nearby tree among the mass amounts of red roses, I heard a voice mutter: “Hey...I was already here. Get your own tree...” I opened my eyes only to come face to face with Kallen once again, her baby blue eyes containing a sleepy look within them, which I found strangely appealing to me.

The rosy-haired girl heaved a heavy sigh and plopped down next to me: “Oh...it's just you. You still hiding from Shirley, Millay, and everyone?”... “I swear to god...those girls and their assinine bets...can't they think of a more productive way to spend their free time?”

No sooner then she had sat down next to me, then I found myself immediately shooting up as I heard the voices of Millay and Shirley fast approaching. I silently cursed myself out for not taking the opportunity to ask Kallen if she was telling me the truth about her feelings for Zero the other day.

Kallen, as if by instinct; jumped up along with me and muttered under her breath as she brushed a strand of hair away from her eyes: “I swear...those two never give up do they?”... “There's gotta be something you can do to get them off your back.”

I sighed heavily, for what seemed to be the hundredth time today; and shook my head: “If you know of anything...please tell me because I've tried everything.” The voices were now practically on top of us. She was right... I had to do something...but what? Well...it was at this desperate time that an idea struck me. Oddly enough, at the same moment I got this idea; a butterfly landed on my shoulder as if it were trying to tell me that what I was about to do was the right thing to do.

Kallen exclaimed in a hiss: “If you're going to do something...you'd better do it now!”...and as she attempted to shoo the butterfly away, I...in my frantic state; went forward with my idea and did the only thing left that I could think of. I snatched her hand and pulled her close to me in a tight hug...one of my arms snaking around her waist, while I trailed the fingers of my other hand across her delicate, porcelain-like face. Brushing her bangs from her shock filled baby blue eyes, I whispered with a small smile on my face: “I'm sorry.” and then I did something that will probably get me killed later...I brought my lips to hers in a sweet, lingering kiss.

Okies everyone...that's the end of chapter two. Lol...I thought that ending might come as a little bit of a shock to everyone since it's a little too soon to have Lulu doing that with Kallen...but trust me...there's a reason for it coming so early...but I'm not explaining why yet. Lol...poor Lulu just wants some sleep...will he ever get any? And will he ever get the chance to ask Kallen if she was lying about the feelings she has for her -cough- -cough- “boss” lol Also...what will Kallen's reaction be to this sudden... action of Lulu's? Lol...Well...I guess you'll just have to wait till the next chappie to find that out when it's Kallen's POV again. -giggles- Please press that little button on the bottom of the page that says review...I know you'll make Lulu and especially me...really happy if you do. Thanks and see you all next chapter! ttfn! -smiles-