A/N: A bit long like the last one. But I wanted to fit both sides into one chapter, hence the title. Thanks again for the suggestions, especially Padfoot Starfyre! I put a few of them in this one (enigma, eye, elude), so as to not leave out too many of your ideas, haha!

Anyway, please read and review; it puts a smile on my face to know that people enjoy my story. Thanks a lot!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

.*.*.*.

E is for Equilibrium

n. 1) a state in which opposing forces or influences are balanced

.*.*.*.

Together, they formed equilibrium.

Two parts of a whole.

.*.*.*.

"Hm. Interesting."

Ayuzawa Suzuna was an enigma.

He knew this from the moment he met her, never being able to get pass those subtle shifts in her undeniably pretty features—whether it was a small twist of the lips, a raised eyebrow, a wrinkle of the nose—especially those large, clear, and completely unreadable amber eyes that captured his own and always made him lose his train of thought.

He hated it when that happened.

Losing control.

It was almost as if she did it on purpose, putting on a mask and letting things slip just to make him stop and wonder if he really did see it at all.

Everyone knew that she was the exact opposite of her older sister. Serene, composed, and able to remain passive even when insulted or in danger. She was so unlike Misaki whose temper flared at the smallest comment directed at her self-proclaimed leadership role.

He envied her ability to be so cool, calm and collected.

Compared to her, he realized that he was an open book. She managed to pull on his strings every chance she got. Denial, defiance, distress, she saw through each one of them so simply and effortlessly twirled him around her finger.

She was ripping him apart at the seams; madness engulfed him.

And the worst part was, perhaps, that he found he didn't mind it all that much.

"Something is bothering you," she said in that calm, quiet voice of hers and he could only wonder how she'd seen through his well-played façade.

"Eh? What are you talking about?"

Denial was his forté.

"You seem troubled. Do you want to talk about it?"

Of course he didn't.

"…No. Nothing is bothering me."

The lie slipped from his lips with ease.

He was sure it would fool anyone.

She stared at him with that same undecipherable expression that may have contained perhaps a hint of compassion and nodded.

"Okay, Hyōdō-kun."

Tea-colored eyes dimmed.

Perceptiveness.

She already knows, doesn't she?

"And then I—eh—what are you smiling at?" he muttered through clenched teeth as he looked to her.

Her smile was elusive as always and he desperately wished he could understand why her lips curled up at the most peculiar moments in their conversations. She only gazed back at him, unfazed by his accusing glare, her smirk ever so certain.

"You," she said simply.

"Me?"

Disbelief laced his voice.

"Hyōdō-kun's eyes change color when he blushes. It's interesting to see."

"Wha-? Don't be stupid, Suzuna!"

But the pure rarity of her laugh only sent a shiver up his spine, making him flush even harder.

Dammit.

"You won a whole box of cantaloupes?"

A blank stare.

He truly couldn't tell whether she was joking or not.

"Yes. They came yesterday, but there are too many for me to eat alone."

"…I find that hard to believe."

Her lips had twitched at the comment, displaying an unusual amount of irritation, but she concealed it well with a small smile.

A smile that he managed to see through.

"Fine! If you're asking me to come, I'll come!" he replied with a goaded sigh, crossing his arms. "But only if you try on the dresses I made last night, Suzuna!"

Her smile became genuine.

"Deal."

He could not stop the thoughts that whizzed through his head.

Ugh.

Why does she have to be so cute?

"Why do you do that, Suzuna?"

"Hm? Do what?"

"You know. Act so emotionless all of the time."

"I do that?"

"Yes! You're doing it right now!"

"Am I?"

"Gah! Forget it!"

"What's the matter?"

"I just can't win with you!"

"…Hyōdō-kun?"

"What?"

"It's because I'm scared."

A blink.

"…What?"

Her eyes met his, amber slicing into cobalt. A fluttery feeling arose in his chest and he found it more and more difficult to focus on anything except the hypnotizing sea of honey in her eyes. Her words echoed in his mind, clear and quiet like her voice.

She was scared?

Of what?

"Never mind. See you tomorrow, Hyōdō-kun."

He was left with the memory of that calm, inscrutable gaze as he watched her leave.

I'll never understand her.

It was becoming increasingly less difficult to see what she was thinking, but he often forgot the fact that he probably seemed very strange each time he paused in the middle of a conversation to observe her apathetic mask.

He uttered out something just to test the waters.

To his satisfaction, he saw the momentary lapse in the girl's expression in which her amber eyes had widened and a barely visible hue of pink colored her cheeks.

He smirked.

The shift was only for a second before she shook of the surprise away and returned his gaze with a curious one, eyes dimming back to soft tea color.

"You're teasing me, aren't you, Hyōdō-kun?"

"Of course not."

"Liar."

He noticed that his suave, cocky grin had made her turn her face away for the first time.

Finally.

Success.

He glanced up from the bench, hands stuffed in his pockets.

The streetlight illuminated her petite figure in the darkness.

"Why are you wearing that?"

Quirking an eyebrow at her, he gestured to her jacket, flattering blouse, and wispy white skirt, noting the way it seemed to hang off of her developing hips and flutter between her long, slender legs. The thought made him feel unusually hot, even in this chilly weather, and he gazed down at her sandals instead.

"I thought that you liked this sort of clothing," she said.

He flushed, scowling. "B-But you're making it seem like we're on a date or something!"

Crap. What am I saying?

"Aren't we?"

"Of course not, stupid!"

"Oh? Should I change into something else, then?"

"Gah, no! I mean, erm, your appearance—you look prett—not ugly, for once, okay?"

A quiet laugh sounded from in front of him he raised his head to see her holding a hand over her mouth in an attempt to conceal her grin. As rare as it was to see her smile, she never seemed to hold back when she truly found something funny and it flustered him to no end, partly because she looked so damn cute giggling like that.

He hated it when she teased him like that.

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing," she murmured, a shadow of amusement still lingering on her lips. She moved down to sit beside him on the bench before he could protest. "But don't you think that there's more to someone besides their appearance?"

Scooting away, he slouched into the collar of his coat. "Not really."

"You're saying that what you see on the surface is enough? You can figure out someone just like that?"

He furrowed his eyebrows and craned his head to look at her.

"Human beings are pretty easy to read."

"Anyone?"

She was giving him that usual poker-faced stare with the big amber eyes that somehow always made him fall silent. A slight breeze sent a shiver up his spine as he sat there, trying to find any sign of emotion in those hypnotizing tea-colored pools.

After a moment, it became too much for him and so he forced himself to look away. She only continued to watch him, clearly not deterred by his discomfort.

"Hm?"

"Okay, not anyone!" he growled, muscles tense. "I can never tell what you're thinking, Suzuna! Is that what you want to hear?"

"Is that what I want to hear…?"

Her words were a whisper and yet he heard them with ease. They were not directed at him, no, rather, she was looking down into her lap and asking herself. He simply waited.

"No."

Fingers grasped the fabric of his coat and he turned to her with inquisitive eyes.

"I want you to see me."

"S-Suzu… na…?"

She closed her eyes.

He watched her with a weary expression, unable to decipher her blank look. He felt his face heat up when she moved closer to him, resting her palm on his knee and gently leaning her body against his own.

Frozen with anxiety, he eventually managed to choke out words.

"What… are you doing… Suzuna?" he asked, ashamed with the way his voice cracked because of the stress. He felt awkward with her so close and didn't know whether to push her off or just sit there; his fingers picked at the insides of his pockets as anxiety gripped his sides.

"Nothing in particular."

To his surprise, she shivered ever so slightly and pulled her jacket close around her thin frame.

He pushed down the impulse to fidget.

"…Are you cold?"

A tiny smile graced the girl's lips, one that made her companion's stomach flutter involuntarily. It was a genuine one and she rarely used it around anyone other than him, but he could sense a hint of mischievousness in it and knew that she was doing it on purpose.

"Yes."

He gulped. Hesitantly, as if afraid he may burn himself from touching her, he grazed her back with his arm, only to pull back out of panic. All the while he thought of how bad he was with affection and wanted desperately to just jump up and run, despite the fact that somewhere deep inside him, he, reluctantly, liked this contact.

It sickened him.

How could he feel so strongly for one person? Unless it was out of spite, he had no reason for it.

He wanted to hate her. He really did.

But she never seemed to let it happen.

The girl beside him relented easily, leaning her head in close enough that he could smell the cherry blossom fragrance in her soft, black, hair. He had the sudden, strange urge to run his fingers through it and immediately felt stupid, turning his head away to rid his mind of such thoughts.

He yanked his shoulder quickly out from under her.

"This is dumb. We're supposed to be at my aunt's dinner party—and you better not forget that this is definitely not a date or anything lame like that, okay?" he muttered, voice cold but face aflame, half-expecting her to protest and get irritated by his lack of sociability. Instead, he tentatively turned back to face her only to find his friend smiling gently, eyebrows slightly raised in that inquisitive way of hers.

"Yes," she repeated calmly, but this time, he couldn't interpret the expression in her face and voice. It bothered him, when she was like this, but at the same time, he only wanted to get closer and just find out what she was thinking.

"I'm only required to bring one person, along. That's it," he reassured and it was directed more himself than to her.

"I understand."

"If anyone asks you, just say—"

"Let's go, Hyōdō-kun."

She softly grasped his arm and pulled him up, and he yielded to her touch, still in a slight trance from her previous deep and unreadable, soul-searching gaze. He stumbled behind her and pulled free from her grip, closing his open mouth, and stood straight as he watched her walk on a few paces ahead of him. Her gait was steady and her dark pigtails blew lightly in the gust of wind but it did nothing to help him understand her or her actions.

Why did she lean on him like that if she didn't care that they weren't on a date?

After a few moments, he let out a breath of defeat.

Dammit.

It was of no use.

Ayuzawa Suzuna was an enigma—she puzzled him.

"Oi, wait up! You can't just walk off by yourself, dummy!"

"You're so slow, Tsundere-kun!"

"Why, you—! Get back here!"

But it was his desire to solve the riddle behind those lovely amber eyes that had finally pushed him to walk up alongside the mysterious girl in the darkness of the night.

"What's interesting? Are you messing with me?"

.*.*.*.

Together, they formed equilibrium.

Two parts of a whole.

.*.*.*.

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

Hyōdō Aoi was expressive.

It was almost like watching a film in which one could tell what the main character was thinking from the way their expressions shifted at the slightest of things. Each turn of events resulted in a new emotion, a new feeling that appeared in the smallest areas of his undeniablyhandsome facial features that somehow managed to make her chest tighten, an involuntary action she didn't quite understand.

She always wondered why she felt so… jumpy around him. A thousand flutters erupted in her stomach, heartbeat racing, body heating up.

Not that anyone ever noticed; her reactions were always subtle.

Unlike his.

Suzuna could see that Aoi desperately tried to remain stagnant and stubborn around her, often turning his face away when he was angry or embarrassed to hide the tell-tale curves of his lips.

She envied his ability to be so passionate and full of emotions.

It always intrigued and impressed Suzuna how easily he could go from emotion to emotion. He never bored her, even when he appeared to be calm, as that glint of fiery expression always shone through his deep cobalt eyes, regardless of the amount of effort he put in hiding it.

However.

For him.

She played along, anyway.

"Let's walk home together today, Hyōdō-kun."

She presented the idea in her usual fashion; pokerfaced.

He froze at her words, eyes suddenly widening in realization. Behind a flurry of hands trying to jam the books into his bag as well as a glower that somehow found its way onto his features, she could see that he was avoiding her gaze.

"Sure," he offhandedly replied.

His eyebrows were pushed together in a restless, almost angry, manner, the ends of his mouth pulled down into an obvious scowl, teeth digging into his bottom lip. Anger… or nervousness, perhaps?

But why?

A questioning tilt of the head.

What does this mean?

Tea-colored eyes stared at nothing in particular. It was one of those rare moments. Deep thought, inattentive stance, fingers and palm curled under her chin as she watched the window from her seat.

"Hey."

No response.

A hand blurred before her eyes. She looked up and gave him her attention.

"You okay?" Concern was visible in every crevice of his face, whether he cared to admit it or not.

Hesitation. "Yes."

"Are you sure?"

The suspicious glint in those expressive eyes somehow made her feel uneasy. He seemed to be assessing her, trying to get past the emotionless mask she wore. Her chest fluttered with an odd emotion. How could he have possibly noticed?

She faked a smile.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

He didn't look convinced.

Please don't make me—

I'm afraid to say it.

"…Maybe you can show me any new dresses you've made this week?" she offered mildly, on a walk home from school, only wanting to erase the frown that permanently creased his mouth.

Instantly, he jerked his head up again with excitement twinkling in those deep cobalt eyes and his frown curved into something of a smile. At this, the girl could feel her heart skip a beat, as another strange sensation coursed through her veins.

Those lips.

He was grinning at her, truly grinning.

And it was absolutely dazzling.

"Seriously? You actually want to see them?"

She could only nod. He had taken her breath away.

"Great! Let's go, now!"

She tensed.

"Hyōdō-kun, you're…"

"Eh? What did you say, Suzuna?"

She looked down. He followed suit.

His incredible smile did not falter until he realized that he had once again grasped her hand on impulse. Pulling it away, he whipped his head to the side and flushed. "S-Sorry."

His warmth vanished. She wished she hadn't said anything.

"It's alright."

No. It's not.

Smile for me again.

"You're tired."

"No, I'm not."

"You were yawning."

"No, I wasn't."

"You want to go to sleep."

"No, I don't!"

His nostrils flared, droopy cobalt eyes flashing with passion. Even amid the dark circles than lined his lower lids and the blatant exhaustion seeping from those too-tired-to-frown lips, he somehow managed to have enough energy to argue with her.

"Here."

She slid his homework towards herself and picked up a pencil.

"I'll do it. Take a break."

His eyebrows furrowed for only a moment before he sighed, resting his head on his arms crossed across the desk. Eyelids growing heavy, he wasted no time in shutting himself off. She almost heard it—she wanted to hear it—she needed to hear it.

"Thanks, Suzuna."

A sercetive smile had crossed his features as he whispered the words.

Yes. She was sure she heard it.

No, problem, Hyōdō-kun.

Concentration was etched across his face and his pencil never left the paper, arm sweeping dramatically and skillfully. His knuckles turned white from the pressure and passion he put in his work, sketching another brilliant design.

"Are you done?"

Interruption; blinking surprise.

A growl.

"No. Leave me alone."

"Why?"

His scowl grew.

"You're annoying."

Knowing that she was the one to cause the glower that sat on his lips, she tried a different approach and smiled in that way of hers; the one he didn't understand—the one he hated. At once, his angry features shifted—wide cobalt eyes, a slightly open mouth, red heat spreading across his cheeks.

Such a tease.

She realized that she liked this expression of his the most.

Perfect.

"Did you hear about the 70% off sale at the supermarket after school?"

He had only stared at her, raising an eyebrow as he ate from his bento. The two sat together in the bustling classroom during lunch break. It was becoming a regular thing and despite his continuous reminders to her that he didn't sit with her because he enjoyed it or anything, she didn't mind.

That was it.

She never minded.

"Of course, not," he spoke in an uninterested manner. "That sounds boring. Besides, who cares?"

His expression was that of carelessness, eyes half-lidded and lips pressed into a line. She ignored the words that left his mouth—no; she accepted them but she did not linger on them. He was hardly truthful and she was aware of that.

But his eyes never lied.

They were blazing as they spoke.

I care.

"Come with me."

The chopsticks stopped inches away from his open mouth, rice hanging from between the tips of the wooden rods. She realized she was being too direct. Normally, she'd have asked politely and nodded when he refused, but at that moment, impulse got the better of her quiet level-headedness and before she knew it, she had already uttered the words.

"What do you mean?"

There was hesitance; she could see it in his face, hear it in his voice. There was an air of suspicion, discomfort, surprise.

I mean what I say. I always mean what I say.

"After school," she said with a blank look. "Let's go to the supermarket, Hyōdō-kun. You may be able to find something there to suit your needs, too."

"Stop telling me what to do," he griped, chewing on the rice that had previously been stopped from entering his mouth. "I'll go where I want, when I want to."

"But, it's a one-time sale," she continued, and although she felt desperation, she concealed it well with her emotionless tone. "Surely, Hyōdō-kun doesn't want to miss out on something like that."

A snort. "Don't compare me with the likes of you, Suzuna. We're two completely different people with completely different interests."

She nodded.

And?

"And?"

His jaw tightened, teeth visible behind frowning lips. She sensed frustration and wondered if she was being overly pushy. It wasn't her fault. She knew they were completely different. But from the moment they met, she was drawn to him.

Her heart was beating mercilessly fast in her chest. Why was she always so persistent around him?

Adamant, yes. Unwavering, of course. Resolute, without a doubt.

But, persistent?

It was unlike her.

"You—"

"Does Hyōdō-kun hate me?"

He froze again, obviously not expecting a comment like that. She was watching him fixedly with large tea-colored eyes, keen, absorbed. To her surprise, his eyes widened in an almost anxious manner. At once, he waved his hands in front of him, nostrils flaring, cobalt fire flickering.

"N-No! I mean, yes! Wait, no, I mean," he frantically spoke, unsure of himself. "It's…"

It's what?

What is it?

"Hyō—"

"It's not like I hate you, Suzuna!"

She blinked as he blushed heavily, crossing his arms and closing his tell-tale eyes. "Jeez! You really are an idiot, sometimes!"

"I don't understand."

He rolled his eyes. The flush was slowly increasing across his cheekbones and she couldn't help but marvel at how cute he could be at times. The impulse to laugh wracked her insides but she managed to keep an aura of solemnity—she was almost there, just a little more of a push was needed.

"But, it's not like I like you either, so don't even think about it for a second," he grumbled. A sigh escaped his lips. "You're simply someone I associate it with because…"

"Because?"

She was anticipating his usual reaction; a comment on her obnoxiousness, a demand to end the conversation, a disgusted turn of the head, something along those lines.

"Because you're similar to me."

Not anything like that.

His cobalt eyes locked with her amber ones, face slowly losing its flushed appearance, mouth pressed into a stern line. She noticed the way his brow crinkled, ever so slightly; nervousness. The way he visibly swallowed, the way he tensed from the atmosphere he had created. Heartbeat quickening, she simply stared at him.

Deciphering him.

He was serious.

Her mouth twisted up into an impish grin.

"I recall you saying that 'we're two completely different people'."

The color returned to him. Aggravation. "W-We are! I'm just… thinking of something different, okay?"

She was going to question him when something in the way he was breathless stopped her. He was trying to make her understand; she paused to listen.

"We are different, that's right. But, at the same time, we're similar. Eh, it's hard to explain. I guess you could say that we're both weird in our own ways, you know? I'm the guy with the girly hobbies and you're the, erm, robot."

She didn't even mind that fact that he had called her a robot. All she could think about was how right he was—they were similar in that way, weren't they? Upon seeing how flustered her friend was, she nodded her head understandingly.

"Yes. I agree."

He glowered. "That's fantastic."

The bell suddenly rang, interrupting her from the thoughts she wished to voice, and he seemed relieved to finally be away from her.

"Um, so you know," he muttered as he cleaned up his area and stood up. "I… I don't hate you, okay, Suzuna? I was just being—I don't know—just… never mind, forget it. I know I say it a lot, but I don't really hate you that much."

His face had reddened from his stubborn confession and his eyes were kept downcast as he hurried towards the door. The bento was thrown into the trash, his uniform straightened. However, despite the calmness of his stance, she could tell that his ears were on fire from her view of the back of his head. Wide tea-colored eyes slowly returned to their original size. She was aware of the hint of pink covering her own cheeks.

Ah, so, he really didn't hate her, even though he always told her that?

After a few moments, she let a silly smile dance across her features.

Remarkable.

It was beyond her understanding.

Hyōdō Aoi was expressive—he fascinated her.

"So, is that a yes to the supermarket?"

"Gah, fine! Just leave me alone!"

"Whatever you say."

But it was her desire to bring out the truth behind those fiery cobalt eyes that had finally pushed her to walk up alongside the hot-headed boy in the luster of the day.

"Is it dumb? I actually find it kind of nice."

.*.*.*.

The hidden; the revealed. The quiet; the loud. The honest; the liar.

Together, they formed equilibrium.

Two parts of a whole.

The enigma.

And.

The expressive.