Why can I do this but not make direct eye contact?

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I've noticed every once in awhile I'll see someone with beautiful eyes and I become almost entranced in looking at them. It's not a direct thing. What I mean is I'll notice somebodies eyes from a different position so we aren't speaking and usually and luckily they never notice I'm staring, but sometimes I don't even notice I'm doing this for quite some time. It's almost like a weird trance I fall into. I find it weird. It's usually something that happens when I see someone who's eyes appear to look metallic or eyes that look almost like they are glowing. I guess it's just so different I find them fascinating. If I could freeze time and not get noticed for staring for prolonged amounts of time I could probably stare at their eyes for quite awhile. Although when I notice I start doing this I quickly make myself look away so I don't get noticed.

I guess why I find this weird is I can't make eye contact with anybody directly, but I can study their eyes when they don't know I'm looking at them and they don't make contact with my eyes directly. I noticed because a couple of times I've been noticed staring and as soon as their eyes meet mine I glance away in fear.

Why can I look at eyes under certain circumstances, but not in direct eye contact?

Is this weird or am I alone in this occurrence?

Same here.

I can look at someone's eye(s) just to study their colour and patterns but when I have to make eye contact I try my best (I improved) but have to think about it and it's uncomfortable.

The way I see them is also totally different, when I look at an eye to study it, I see deeply into it, I mean, I really feel close to the eye and all the patterns, the shape and the colour, they are pretty clear to me but when I look at an eye for social means, I see a basic colour and something which is more blurry, I cannot see the details or anything, they are just "eyes".

Because you think visually. While you are thinking you simply cant look in someones eyes because it distracts you.

Direct eye contact involves the other person looking back at you. It's confrontational, as opposed to just staring at pretty coloured orbs.

I'm fine when I'm looking at eyes that aren't looking at me, if that person looks at me I immediately look away.

Someone staring into my eyes feels extremely aggressive, and I'll have a "Fight or Flight" response to them doing it.

Looking into someone's eyes when they are not looking back makes them not seem to be aggressively attacking me. So there is no emotional component to doing this.

Maybe because it's too hard to organize looking at someone while processing their words, thinking of your own responses and responding. All while being seen.