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Ethnography: a sociological term on which Joshua was grading a paper. He smirked as he read it; it meant to study a specific group in society by becoming immersed in their culture.

As a Drifter, he often felt that was him. Both Joshua's were doing just that, ethnography. He wondered if Drifting was just the government's way of sending people to immerse in another culture.

He finished grading when he felt his brain pinch. It was as if Amelia had literally gotten her fingers and pinched every nerve in his head one by freaking one.

He could feel the intimacy, he felt the kisses on her neck, the roll of shivers down her spine.

Owen.

He shouldn't have been surprised: they were engaged, after all. They were together. But the coldness in which she was reacting to it was what got to Joshua. Surely when you loved someone intimacy should be warm, wanted, loved? This was anything but, he could feel it.

The jealousy rose, as much as he tried to keep it at bay. He was a volcano, and the moment he felt one more kiss, he exploded silently. Silent volcanos were the deadliest, and he was just that. Whether Owen was faking or not, Joshua was Fated to her, not him. His lips belonged elsewhere, anywhere but on Amelia's skin.

Joshua had his theory, but he was keeping very quiet. It wasn't his place to say anything.

The instant the feeling left; the volcano lay dormant another day. But Amelia was devastated. She also had Joshua on her brain.

Which was why he opened the door to his house before she even got the chance to press the doorbell ten minutes later.

"What happened?" Joshua asked.

He didn't bother to mention that when something was wrong, she constantly found herself seeking him.

She was crying, and he immediately closed the front door and faced her. He wasn't sure what her emotions were telling him to do: she was devastated, but she was also angry. But he couldn't do nothing, so Joshua opened his arms and pulled her into his chest.

She choked on a sob, and it forced tears into his eyes as she cried into his white t-shirt.

"Why?" she cried.

He kept quiet, pulled her tighter and kissed the top of her head. Her hair smelt like apples, just like her perfume, and it was as soft as a fluffy blanket. If she wasn't emotional, he would've pulled the hair out of its tie and ran his hands through it.

"What happened, Camellia?" The instant the nickname left his mouth, he regretted it. That's what he had called Emilia, not her.

"What did you just—?" She didn't finish the question; she didn't need to.

"She loves them too. I'm sorry, it just slipped out—"

"It must be confusing for you," she said. "I... something is going on. I don't understand it, Joshua, I..."

He gestured into the lounge and they both walked in there, hands threaded together like double-tied shoelaces.

They stood in the middle of the room, and she paced the length from the window to the door of the kitchen.

"You probably felt something happen, right? I could feel your jealousy," she said. He noticed she didn't look up at him the whole time.

"I did, I felt his lips on your skin. I... I couldn't help the emotion, Amelia, I'm sorry—"

"I don't care about that. I've been with him since I can remember, and like I said earlier, I could have hedged my bets that the strength of our connection was watered down because I've known him forever, but... it hit me earlier... at that moment... despite the Knot... he's not my Fated One. I don't think he ever has been."

The words left her mouth like the speed of lightning, and it took Joshua a moment or two to catch up. He watched her closely; she was still in the same outfit as earlier, her brown hair was coming out of her plait, her eyebrows were knitted together, and he could feel her confusion as she finally looked up at him.

"I don't know... it's like you appear in this world, in my life and you mess everything up—"

Joshua blanched. She was all over the place, and she was lashing out. Despite the Drifting and the hatred she felt for That Joshua, he could feel how very quickly they were both becoming safer with each other. She let loose on him, and he did with her.

He let her carry on. She walked up to him until there was barely any space. She was sizing him up, almost like they were about to fight.

"Everything was fine, it could have been fine if you'd just stayed away, not come here and taken over. I've known him all my life; he's never given me one reason to doubt him, but as soon as you turn up, boom. Everything implodes," she ranted.

He was a few inches taller than her; he assumed she was five foot two, and last he knew he was six feet. He hadn't noticed the difference before, not even when they kissed in his office. But as she confronted him, he looked down into her eyes and he felt the difference.

He felt her teen-like tantrum as she ranted. She was nineteen, a legal adult, but a teen inside. The age difference was obvious at that moment. It wasn't much; she was nineteen, and he'd technically had his birthday and 'turned' twenty-seven while he was in the other world. Though he didn't age, he still counted it.

"Can you not feel his emotions?" Joshua asked. He wasn't going to indulge her rant. They both knew she was just lashing out.

"No. I touch his Knot and feel nothing, I can never feel him. I thought I could, literally until you came, and I started feeling you—"

"That's because you've now felt what a real tether is like, Amelia. What we have is what being Fated is. What you thought you had wasn't it. You're probably attuned to everything because you've grown up together, know each other more than you know yourselves. That's not Fated. I couldn't tell you what the Knot means. I have my theory, but that's not for me to say, I'm not meeting him until tomorrow. But the bottom line is that, however you feel about it, you and Owen are not Fated."

"Did you do something? Is he a Drifter? What did you do?" she sneered.

Joshua chuckled and ran a hand through his hair. "If I had, you'd know about it, Amelia. You can essentially read me like a novel."

She shut up at that comment. He felt power over her for a brief moment, and he felt a twitch in his jeans.

"You're disgusting," she commented. Clearly, she felt the arousal at him shutting her up.

He rolled his eyes at her. "And you are a brat."

She took a step back and her mouth gaped open in shock. "Excuse me?"

He laughed as his arousal dissipated. "You storm in here claiming I've sabotaged something with your childhood sweetheart because you're not Fated. Have you actually researched, Amelia? Listened to me? It's a common thing to happen in the Segregated. Someone has faked their Knot so they can be with the person they loved before their Knot Ceremony. I've Declared myself here, or tried to, because I am Fated to you, but not once have you stopped to think your perfect Owen couldn't have sabotaged it himself!"

She glowered at him, took a step forward and hit his arm.

He chuckled. He could feel her anger, the power she tried to put into the slap, but it barely tickled him.

"You're just as arrogant as the Other Joshua is. You swan in, kiss me—"

"You kissed me," he countered.

"I hate you."

"You're lying." He folded his arms. He couldn't help it, but a smile washed over his face. She was frustrated, denying everything he said out of spite.

"You're wrong about Owen," she warned.

"Oh, really? Prove me wrong all you like, but the fact remains that we are Fated, Amelia. We both know it."

"Yeah, well... I don't like you."

"Whatever, Amelia." He rolled his eyes and gave up. It was going nowhere, so he turned away.

"Don't walk away from me, Joshua!"

She pulled at his arm as it dropped to his side, and the heat was overbearing. He stopped moving and she appeared in front of him.

"I hate that you swanned in and changed everything I've ever known. I hate how cocky you are, even this version of you. I hate that I can't... I hate how I can feel you all the time, and I hate that I'm drawn to you in every fucking way possible. I hate how you haven't done anything, yet you've stolen my whole life away from me. I hate that I don't mind it either," she ranted.

The tension was palpable, Joshua could feel it. Her breath fell in hard pants, her chest moved up and down. Their eyes met and the very minimal space between them danced with life while everything else around them dissolved into nothing.

"I hate how childish you're acting over this. I hate how I've travelled through fucking worlds to somewhere where you're so in denial, yet you still manage to have me twisted around your finger. I hate how in the one place we are Fated, you will do anything to sever it. I hate that you've run to me when you have an issue with your fiancé, yet you're so insistent he's done nothing wrong. I hate how much you hate me, Amelia." He moved his face a little closer. He looked at her lips as they parted just a little. "I hate how fucking in love I am with you."

She glanced at his lips, and he could feel her breath fall into his mouth. He wanted to cut the tension and do what was hanging in the air, but he wasn't going to. She had to make the first move; she was the one with the engagement ring on her finger.

"I hate how much I can't deny it any longer, because I think I'm falling in love with you," she whispered. "And I hate it."

He shook his head. He could feel the truth rolling off her like leaves in an autumn wind.

"Finally, some truth," he muttered.

Her eyes narrowed and her hands fell on his t-shirt. He looked down as she gathered the material in her fingers. He knew what she wanted, and he was teaching her a lesson by not giving in until she asked for it.

"You're treading a fine line," he warned.

"I know," she whispered. "I want this."

"You do now, but in a few hours, when we've gone there and you're back at home, you're going to hate me all over again," he said.

They both knew he was right.

"I can't stay away from you," she whispered. She pulled him closer to her. Another inch and his lips would be on hers. She knew exactly what she was doing, and it drove him wild.

"I will not be a side piece, Amelia," he warned. "I'm Fated to you. You either take me wholly, or you segregate yourself. I will not be second best. I'm all in, but I need you to be on the same page as me."

He felt everything in him strain: his want to kiss her, his want to whisk her up to his bedroom, his need to feel her lips and stamp his mark where Owen had kissed her earlier. Even his mind was straining against him, but his morals were winning the war.

She let him go and pouted.

He'd won, he'd gotten through to her.

"I need to confront him. Something isn't right," she finally said.

"I will help you work it out. Tomorrow, when we meet with him," he promised. "We will get to the bottom of it. But for now, you need to work out one thing, Amelia."

"What?"

"Do you love him?"

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Joshua adjusted his jumper. He felt uncomfortable as hell. She'd gone home the night before without another word, without touching him and they were both dissatisfied. But beneath the tether, he was satisfied. He'd put his stakes out there, he'd shown her what he was – or was not – willing to do. Everything hinged on her now, and part of that was how this meeting went.

She appeared from the staff member's door, just as if he was back in his original world, and it was a weird sight. Owen appeared behind her. Both of them looked miserable, as if they'd been arguing. Joshua knew something wasn't great; he could feel her stress and annoyance like a hole in his head.

"Joshua," Amelia greeted. "This is Owen. Owen, this is Joshua."

Joshua stood up as they both went to their seats. Owen met his gaze, and both men shook hands as if they were at a business meeting. Joshua noted how Amelia hadn't introduced Owen as her fiancé, nor had she introduced Joshua as her lecturer, or Fated One.

He was coloured intrigued by that fact.

"Hi," Joshua said.

Owen didn't respond, he just nodded and sat down opposite. Amelia quietly huffed and sat to the right as if she were the referee. Her nerves got replaced with awkwardness and they exchanged glances.

"So, this is the guy, huh? Trying to muscle in, right? Claiming to be her Fated One?" Owen taunted, looking to his girlfriend more than Joshua.

"Owen—"

"I'm not muscling into anything. You wanna see it? Go ahead," Joshua spoke up.

He could feel Amelia didn't know what to say, so though he knew interrupting her was rude, he could feel her appreciation for taking the reins on this one. He rolled his sleeve up to reveal his left wrist where the Knot Art sat.

Amelia produced her wrist as well. She wore a silver charm bracelet. The only one he noticed was the one with the dangling engagement ring as it slammed against the table below her arm. He scoffed internally.

"You think I'm making this up, Owen? Look at them," Amelia snapped.

Joshua felt the tension between the two nineteen-year-olds.

He saw the irony: they were adults in age, but the tension felt like he was watching some teen drama. But this wasn't even a ridiculous drama. For them, this was real life, this was an adult situation, and one that affected their very foundation.

Joshua tried to remain impartial. For all intents and purposes, he was a homewrecker.

Owen stared at both the Knot Arts before him, studying them. Joshua felt nothing as he looked at the boy before him; at first, they were wondering if the three of them were Fated in a three, but he knew it wasn't the case.

"I mean, I believe you have the same Knot. I'm not an idiot," Owen said. He was talking to Amelia, completely ignoring Joshua's existence.

He wanted to punch the twat for speaking to her that way. He hoped he wasn't like that every day, and it was just the tension of the situation.

"Come on then, show us yours, Owen," Joshua challenged.

Owen scoffed. "I have nothing to prove, mate—"

"Don't patronise me, I'm not here to 'steal your girl', I'm not here to punch the shit out of you, I'm here to show you that despite whatever the two of you have, I'm her Fated One. Clearly, something is going on, and we all know the law, so I think whatever decision Amelia makes, if it concerns potentially breaking the law, I deserve to see the Knot myself," Joshua challenged.

Owen fell silent. He felt Amelia's stress dissolve and her appreciation shone like the sun breaking through rain clouds.

"Fine." Owen sighed.

Joshua could see the discomfort on the boy's face as he undid the button on his shirt cuff and rolled the sleeve up.

He glanced at Amelia; he could feel her getting aroused, and it confused him. He expected to see her staring at her fiancé when he looked over, but the moment their eyes met, he felt the memories of their kiss in his office seep into his memories. She was thinking about it, about him, and it made the pull of her even more alluring.

I hate that I'm falling for him, I hate that I love him.

He wasn't sure whether it was his memory going strange, or whether he could hear her. But he wanted to kiss her right then. He wanted to take her away from this immature idiot and treat her like the queen she was.

But he couldn't.

So, he pulled his eyes away and onto his rival across the table.

"Here." Owen put his arm on the table.

The minute Joshua's eyes fell on Owen's Knot, he knew what had happened. He knew exactly what was going on. Everything became clear because he had seen it before among the Drifters. He'd seen photos of it, heard the stories.

But he knew Amelia wouldn't believe him. 

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