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Alienation was a term Joshua knew well. He'd learnt about it so much when he was a student, it was ingrained in his head. It was a term to describe the feelings of workers who thought they were treated as objects rather than individuals. Joshua scoffed whenever he coined the term because most people probably felt that in every workplace, ever. Most people felt like that when they heard about Fated Ones.

He felt it at that moment when he stared at the email Amelia sent him to say she'd see him before the lecture the next day. It was an emotionless email, but he knew she would've known by the tone of his that they couldn't discuss emotional topics via university email. He was still in a position of power to her, and while they were adults—

He didn't even know why he was thinking like that. He barely knew her, and it was clear she didn't like the prospect of being Fated to him.

He knew it was inappropriate in this place, anyway. He didn't belong there. This Amelia wasn't his.

Except she was. He had seen the Knot Art.

He made a scrawl on a notepad for when He got back, when He would take over.

It hurt him to see all the photos on the wall of a life he never really knew, to the life he should have had. He would come in, swoop a few days, a few weeks at best, and then have to return to a life he hated. The first time he visited, he was like a fish out of water, flapping desperately to try and figure out what to do. But then the first time he saw Amelia, he knew that he was where he belonged, this was where he needed to be.

He knew that eventually, she would figure out the man she ran out on earlier, and the man she would probably see in the morning was not the same man. She would find out there was something different and strange.

He loathed the idea. This was his life, the one he needed to be in. He loved that Emilia, but they weren't Fated to be. He was Fated to someone he loathed in that world, and he knew the only thing pulling him back was her.

It confused him the first time he woke up in another world. Everything was different, everyone was different. He didn't quite believe it, but it soon made sense why people didn't recognise him, why there was someone else doing his job in the coffee shop, why he was supposed to turn up and lecture university students on something he had only studied to graduate level.

It took him a long time to work out that he wasn't quite an enigma, he wasn't alone. The first time he ended up back in his world, he met with others like him. People whose Fated Ones had ended up not being in the same world as the Fated One who loved them. Some souls weren't meant for that world. Drifters, they'd called themselves. They had something in their genetics that allowed them to drift between one world and another. They were the same planets, same in almost every way, but they were different. Drifters were special because their Fated Ones could be in different worlds, but sometimes they ended up with two. Much like Joshua.

Drifters couldn't be so forever, eventually, they had to make a choice; did they swap and stay in their parallel world, or did they return home? But they could never meet with their counterpart to discuss the decision. One wrong turn and both versions of the one person could die, but if they chose right, they got a fresh start.

But Joshua didn't even have to deliberate. He knew where he belonged; in this world where his Knot Art matched with Amelia Nichols.

He just wondered what his counterpart was doing. He'd found enough scribbled notes before they switched worlds from him to know that in this world, he hadn't found his Fated One. Of course, Joshua had found a loophole where he could leave handwritten notes for That Joshua, and they could converse that way. That Joshua had left him enough notes during the years they'd been Drifting; he brushed up on some lectures, finished some essays, did some shopping... they had their life sorted.

Until now. Until the moment Joshua landed eyes on Amelia Nichols' Knot Art.

He felt it instantly, he needed her. His Emilia Nichols was his employee, she was no student. She was also his forbidden love, his affair, the one he wasn't Fated to be with, but the one he'd have a quick fumble with, a kiss, a promise to forever be with in secret. She'd done a degree in sociology and then, just like him, ended up working in ironically, the same coffee shop that her Fated One in this world worked in.

It was fate, Joshua thought. This was the world where he could be with her, forever, for real.

He scribbled down a note: Your student, Amelia Nichols, is my Fated One. I belong here.

Joshua thought of his Fated One at home: Charlotte. A woman who literally relocated herself to Ireland, so they didn't have to be together. He hated her, she hated him. They were the epitome of Fated Ones being bullshit.

He wondered whether That Joshua had found his Fated One in his world; that was all he had to hope on.

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Joshua was certainly feeling alienated the next day. He felt very much like an object rather than a human. Was he? He wondered.

He was a Drifter, a nobody who didn't technically belong where he was, but his soul definitely did. Because of Charlotte and the fact that he was a Drifter, Joshua never was sure he believed in the Fated Ones and Knot Art, but the moment he realised Amelia Nichols was his Pair, he knew it. He believed it; he was just born in the wrong world.

He couldn't deny the smashing around of his heart as the clock ticked. There was half an hour until the lecture started, and he was waiting for her. His hands shook as he tried to set up for the day; he wasn't qualified for this at all, but he had to because he didn't know when he would next go. If he planned on remaining in This World, he needed to get a grip of himself also. He'd have to brush up on his shit, maybe even look for a job he was qualified for.

Luckily That Joshua had left him all the notes he needed, but it still didn't make it any easier.

"Joshua?"

She appeared. Her brunette hair was pulled into a messy bun on her head, her makeup was still done, and she wore a beige jumper that was too baggy on her and dark blue jeans. She looked amazing; like an angel, but he couldn't tell her that. He might not be her real tutor, but he was to her. Plus, she was only nineteen, he was seven years older than her. He would be until he stopped Drifting.

That didn't stop their obvious connection, the fact they were Fated. He could see the trepidation and hatred through her dulled eyes, the way she was biting on her sleeve and the way her eyes narrowed when he smiled at her.

She hated him, and he knew it. Or rather, she hated That Joshua. He knew it was because he failed an essay of hers, he remembered feeling annoyed with Him when he saw why.

When he was leading the lectures, he never really interacted with her for fear of uncovering the feelings he possessed. If he saw it, he would have felt it.

His heartbeat was fierce, like an incinerator burning through old newspapers or wrapping paper after Christmas with a big family. His wrist was burning bright like fireworks on the fifth of November. It wasn't a bad burn, either, it was the shock and awe of something so beautiful, so wanted that kept it burning.

"Amelia," he whispered.

"I've been thinking about it a lot, and... this is impossible. Something about one of our tattoos is wrong. I have the same Knot Art as my fiancé, and as you. All three of us have the same Art. It's impossible, but here's the thing, I'm engaged to my Fated One, Joshua," she ranted.

He hated hearing it. He could tell her, he thought, he could tell her about the Drifters, how he was one of them. But it wouldn't matter, he knew, he could feel the hatred pouring through her.

Since their Fate was made clear, he'd been feeling more from her with every passing second. He wondered if it was because he accepted it, despite her rejection.

He wondered if she knew he was from another world, she'd be more willing to accept him.

"I know this is complicated," Joshua said. He had no idea where he was going with the speech. What could they do? Monogamy was absolutely a social construct, and most people believed in it, especially with Knot Art and whatever being a thing.

It was quite the predicament, but with her hatred, he had no chance, and he could see it.

Could he undo it, he pondered. He could give her better marks, but he didn't know if that would work at all.

"It's not complicated. I don't like you," she snapped.

"Oh, okay," he replied.

"You teach me, you mark my work, and we move on, that's what's going to happen here. I have my Fated One. From now on, we don't mention this—" She showed him her Knot.

It made him a little breathless. He wanted to touch it, to comfort her, to calm her down. But it wouldn't work, he knew that.

"I don't know what you expect of me, Amelia, because I didn't choose this Knot Art, and neither did you. But you know what the consequences could be—"

"I'm not defying the damn law, Joshua, I'm rejecting a second Fated One, but I'm not rejecting the other one, so I've not done anything wrong."

"I... don't know what to say, because I don't have any idea what the rules are here," Joshua said. He was speechless – he knew his Amelia had a little temper, but she was never this bad. It riled him up because he was in love with her, for all intents and purposes, she was the same. To look at, she was the same. But she was different. He wondered if it was because this was a different universe, or whether it was because of the situation.

"I've just made them," she snapped.

He sighed. "The problem I have here is that I can feel you, Amelia. I'm sure you get the same because we are Fated—"

"Unfortunately, I do."

He shook his head. This was pointless, he could see that. But he was in deep. It was complicated – he was Fated to this Amelia, but in love with his Amelia. Camellia Amelia, whose favourite flowers were camellias in both worlds, who lit up like a Christmas tree when she saw them. They were the same yet so, so different.

"Here's my plan; we ignore this, deal with the stupid tethered feelings and all that crap, and just continue as if we never saw it," she said.

He nodded; he didn't know what else to do. She had her heart set on this idea; he knew better than to argue with her. But he also knew the pull would take its toll on her; it did whenever he was at home dealing with the fallout of his own Fated One being known to him and in another country.

"Okay, we can do that," he agreed. He wanted to add, for now, but he knew better.

He knew she could feel his indifference and hatred of the idea, just like he could feel her hatred rolling off her like a wheel off a car.

"Good," she said simply. "Glad we could sort this out."

He didn't respond, just turned back to his laptop screen. The tension was so thick, it was like marzipan on a Christmas cake. A damn sharp knife would be needed to cut it, but it was doable. He resented her, he decided, because she didn't like him back. She was meant to see him and fall into his arms because they were Fated. He was meant to kiss her, make love to her, and they were meant to settle down and be Fated Ones in love forever.

She wasn't supposed to hate him, but she did, and because she did, he resented her back.

Either way, he was fucked. He fucked it up, and he hated himself for it.

Alienation: it wasn't just about employment, Joshua realised. He sure felt alienated in every aspect. He supposed that was the point, that was why he was a Drifter. He didn't belong anywhere.

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