The Otherworlders Academy - An Original Teen Fantasy

Ep. 3.20 (R) - Sorry, My Hands Are Tied

A/N - I'm a week or two behind on my replies to comments, but I hope to catch up this weekend! 😁

Also, there's a glitch happening (I know on the WP Web version and I think also on the App) where pages are getting cut off and it looks as if the scene ends abruptly. It's super frustrating, but I wanted to let y'all know. If a chapter seems super-short or stops mid-scene, just refresh the page and you'll get the whole chapter.

Previously on "The Otherworlders" - Master Liu leads Fiona and Sebastian to an underground, makeshift Donor Feeding Room. Fiona is nervous but Sebastian reassures her it's no big deal since he's an old hat at this (but he doesn't talk about that part).

Fiona is stunned when she sees her donor, Marcus, a gorgeous young Shifter who looks like he just stepped out of the pages of GQ. Fiona asks if they can talk a bit before they get to the feeding and Marcus is glad to oblige. He shares some of the history of Live Feeding that he learned from his orientation with Master Liu. They also discussed his motivation for donating blood.

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A young man about seventeen, with tousled blond hair, a rosy complexion with light freckles dappling his skin, and tortoiseshell glasses walks into the room where Aidan has been left to consider his options.

Aidan, who'd just been wriggling in his chair, straining against the zip ties binding his hands in an attempt to escape, abruptly stops and instead looks up at the ceiling and begins to whistle, casually, as if he's just sitting there chilling, with nothing better to do and all the time in the world.

Avoiding eye contact, the young man walks over and puts a glass of water with a straw in it and a small bowl of fruit on the empty table next to Aidan.

When he spots Aidan's split lip and sees the zip ties restraining his hands, the young man frowns.

Quickly, he straightens. And at first, it looks like he's going to turn around and leave. But instead, he begins to slowly pace in front of Aidan, and then after a moment, he reconsiders, pulls up a chair, and sits down next him.

"I'm Stephen." he says, instinctively thrusting out his arm to shake Aidan's hand. And when he realizes, of course, that's not possible, he apologizes. "Oh, yeah, right... Sorry, but I can't untie you."

Aidan shrugs, feigning a casual demeanor he doesn't really feel. "Eh... It's fine. Don't worry about it," he says coolly. "I've had worse greetings before."

Stephen's mouth quirks into a subtle smile.

A long beat of silence passes between them before Stephen reaches for the glass of water and holds it up in front of Aidan, positioning the straw so that he can take a sip.

Aidan leans forward and sucks on the straw for a long time, taking a few big gulps, then he pulls back and swallows, assessing Stephen with a curious gaze. "Thanks," he says.

"Sure. No problem," Stephen replies as he sets the glass back on the table.

After another beat of silence, Aidan quirks a brow. "So, what's your story?"

"Huh?" Stephen straightens, surprised by the question. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," Aidan says. "You don't strike me as the henchmen type, and you're certainly not the evil minion, so..." He lifts a casual shoulder. "What's your deal?"

Stephen chuckles lightly. "What's my deal?" he says, parroting Aidan's question. He gives him a fragile smile. "There is no deal," he says, then shrugs. "I'm just a nobody."

"Well, that can't be true," Aidan replies with a tilt of his head. "They sent you in here, with more than just fruit and water. They sent you in with an agenda, didn't they? Clearly, that means you're someone."