“What she needs right now is a calming influence,” Lelouch said. He stared towards Shirley with a surprising degree of tenderness from someone known in the school for being an aloof, slightly arrogant intellectual. “It’s funny. I never noticed how she felt about me before. Now that I know, it’s all I can think about. Even though it might be dangerous… I can’t bring myself to leave her alone.”

Sophie gasped, and she swallowed automatically. It seemed so romantic! Lelouch was, if but for a moment in her mind’s eye a dashing, brave Prince rushing to the rescue of his beloved Princess! He was going to save her, protect her from the fearsome dragon, even though that dragon existed as a product of her own subconscious! It was so strangely sweet, which fit rather nicely to the completely outrageous situation they had found themselves in.

Which, of course, was the impression Lelouch intended her to have. Not that Sophie would ever realise this particular fact…

“I think I can help her keep control when I’m around… But I can’t be with her all the time,” Lelouch continued. “This is where you come in.”

“Me?” Sophie blinked, the spell of a perfect real life romantic yarn untangling before her very eyes broken so that she was forced to again contend with reality. “I don’t understand. What do you want me to do?”

“Do what you can to keep her from getting stressed out,” Lelouch said. “You’re her friend, and you live with her. One of us is almost certainly going to be around to keep a close eye on her, right? Don’t make it too obvious what you’re doing, or it might have the opposite effect. Try to keep her life normal. If she learns how to control the spirit correctly, then there might not be any issue at all.”

“B-But surely we should get her help!”

“Help?” Lelouch turned towards her, and Sophie recoiled. “The kind of help that would lock her away, and treat her like a wild and dangerous criminal? No, Sophie! If we care about Shirley at all then it must fall to us to take care of her! If anyone else finds out, can you imagine what they might do to her? Please… Don’t make me beg you. For her sake, it has to be the two of us. Nobody else can know about this. If you care about her at all, then nobody else can ever know.”

How could she not be moved by this? How could her eyes stand a chance of remaining dry in the face of such passionate devotion? Sophie wiped a tear from her cheek, and nodded. “Alright,” she said. “I won’t tell a soul. If you really think this is the best way…”

“I’m certain of it,” Lelouch said. “If you will excuse me, it would hardly be appropriate for me to stay in a girl’s dorm room while its occupants slept.”

“Sleep? How can I *yawn* sleep now? I have to… Uh…” Huh. So weird. There were little black spots in her vision, almost as though the already dark room was fading away.

“See what I mean?” Lelouch said. “I bet you’re so tired, your vision is starting to fade. It must be like things around you are becoming invisible, right? It is a classic sign of physical and mental exhaustion.”

It was? Sophie wobbled on her feet. Maybe now that she was sure Shirley was safe - sort of - maybe she really should turn in. It was getting so hard to see anything at all.

“There, there. You’re going to be asleep soon enough, no matter what you think at this rate.” Lelouch said, gently guiding her towards her own bed. “You’ve been a good friend, and that’s what she needs right now. People like us. People that care about her… But also, people that are well rested.”

“I… *yawn* I suppose you’re *yawn*...”

“Of course I’m right,” said Shirley’s prince as the shadows swallowed the rest of the room. “You rest for now. I have a phone call to make…”

As she heard him leave the room, she surrendered to sleep feeling comforted by the fact that this little cog might not be so insignificant after all. In a way, she had a purpose. It almost felt like destiny, in a way. A purpose that meant something. Supporting her friend and her bright, shining prince. She could see it so easily. The two of them, working together… Those two could change the world.

-Lulu's Bizarre Rebellion Chapter 13(a)