His Equal

Rose Tinted Glasses

I was finishing up the editing for the photos I took of Asano. I smiled, thinking about how he reacted to me knowing about his little crush on my friend, Sakura. I won't lie, most people wouldn't really notice it, but if you've been behind the scenes watching people all your life, you tend to pick up on a thing or two.

Honestly, just the way he straight up glared at her, and refused to talk to her was a dead giveaway for me. All thanks to some little psychological trick I learned from junior high. If a boy likes you, he's going to be mean to you. Course, that just depends on the type of guy, but it fit Asano perfectly.

His dad was a hardcore instructor, from what I've heard from the students who were here last school year in the junior high. If he's strict while teaching, just imagine what his home life is like. He can't show his emotions, otherwise it will be shown as a weakness. Just a simple inference from what I could work with. 

I soon finished working on the photos, and made my way down to the newspaper club. They wanted to do an article on Asano, since he is what the student body considers to be a model student. I shook my head, chuckling at the thought. If only they could see through those rose tinted glasses they wore.

I slid the door open, walking inside the club room to see Asano inside, sitting through what I assumed was his interview. I thought they did that already, guess not. He glanced up and looked at me, his eyebrows furrowing at the sight of me. I winked at him, walking over to Haruka, handing her the photos.

"Here are the pictures from the shoot. You can take your pick of whatever you want, then I'll just keep the rest of them so the yearbook club can decide which ones they want to use."

"Thanks Asuka, these look fantastic! We'll let you know when you can pick up the photos, really just depends how the final version of the interview turns out. I'm glad that you got a good variety on these photos!"

I grinned, hearing what Haruka said. Feels good to be complimented on some photos every once awhile.

"Thanks, now I gotta head over to the music room, gotta take some pictures of the guys in their doing what they do best. See you around Haruka, and see you around, Mr. Asano!"

I grinned, leaving the room heading down the the music room. I wonder if Sakura is in the music room today? I grabbed my camera from the photography room, heading down towards the music room. 

"Teruhashi, wait would you?"

I turned around, to see Asano standing behind me with his hand on his waist, and he still had that same expression on his face. Is he in a bad mood? I really don't have the time to deal with people and their moods, I have to take pictures for the yearbook club.

"What can I do for ya, Asano? Might want to make it quick, I have to get some pictures for the yearbook club."

"Will you keep what you know, a secret?"

"Oh, your thing for my friend? Well, why should I?"

"Because you wouldn't want to ruin your friend's happiness. You wouldn't want to see her frustrated, which could lead her to fall behind in the curriculum. Can't tell what would happen after that."

I grinned, seeing how desperate he was. He gives me reasons to worry about Sakura, but he never once mentions anything about himself. Smart play, but definitely needs to work on his poker face around me. I shook my head, chuckling at Asano.

"You really don't want me to tell her, do you? If you had just mentioned one reason about yourself, I would've just done that. It's boring watching people sacrifice their emotional happiness, just to keep the balance in things. Way too predictable."

Asano's eyes widened, and it made me happy seeing a reaction out of him besides him just moving his eyebrows. Maybe, someone can break that barrier that has been built up. Now that would be interesting to see.

"How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"See through people. You do it so easily, and most people don't question it. I've been watching you for weeks, just to see you do it without mentioning it to other people. They don't even think about it, bit odd, don't you think?"

I shrugged my shoulders, finding it slightly funny that he went as far as to watch me at school. He must really be frustrated with me, if he went that far.

"It's not odd, cause people live in their own world. They see the world through a pair of rose tinted glasses, which makes things easier for me usually. I'm just the photographer, so I have to have a clear lens just to see the people I take photos of. I see all the beautiful, the ugly, the dumb, and the manipulative. Don't you see it too, Asano?"

He stared at me, not saying a single word. But the way his eyes were staring at me, searching for something, let me know that he wasn't quite sure what to say to that. It's obvious that he can see it, he's in the top fifty academically. He's a smart guy, so there really isn't a way that he can't see what I see. 

I smiled at him, taking a picture of his expression, not used to seeing something like that. He was dumbfounded, confused, and it was something I wanted to remember. That will go in my personal stash of photos, since that face is such a rare sight to see.

"Why did you just take a picture of me?"

"Because I saw something that most people won't get the chance to see. Seeing the real version of you, that's what a photographer strives to find. You're starting to become more humane, which is something you will probably hate. But that's gold for someone like me, someone who just wants to bring out the authentic version of a person. Hopefully, I get to see more of that. Have a good day, Asano!"

I walked away, and I looked at the photo I took of him, smiling at the sight. His eyes were slightly wide, jaw slack, and his hands weren't clenched like they usually would be. He wasn't as tense as he would be, which is something rare. I'm glad I got to see that, this is definitely a treasure. Shame, that he doesn't let his real self show that often.