CHAPTER 85: BIKER MISCONCEPTION

"W..Who are you?"

It was the first thing Rosa said, and Everlearn watched her smirk fade as she unconsciously stepped back in surprise.

The person before her wasn’t anything like the one she had expected at all.

’A twin?’ Rosa thought.

’No. He looks older. A friend, maybe, but why so similar?’

"It’s me. Everlearn."

Everlearn replied, and she stared at him in disbelief.

The voice.

It was the same Everlearn she knew, yet it conflicted so much.

"How... how did you?"

"What?"

"You grew older?"

She finished, and he shrugged helplessly, stepping out and shutting the door.

"Just some side effects of fusion..."

He replied, as her brows furrowed, but then they widened, looking at his chest and feeling the resonation.

"Finally fused with a Core. Congrats..."

She said to him before handing him the helmet.

"A ride around the academy?" Everlearn asked as both reached for the elevator.

"No... I’ve got a special place."

_______________

VROOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

The roar of a blazing engine echoed across the snowy landscape.

its source?

A tron powerbike, blazing with incredible speed.

Upon it, two figures sat, their features hidden beneath the helmets.

"Hey, you okay?"

Rosa’s words rang out within his helmet, a feature that aided communication while riding.

Everlearn looked at the snow weaving past along with the storm behind them, and he replied,

"Surprisingly, I am."

He replied, hearing her giggle echo in response.

The last time Everlearn had ridden on the bike, he had felt nauseous from the world being so blurry and everything weaving past so fast.

But in this snowy terrain, all there was was snow.

And though they moved fast, everything was still clear to his sight.

"Well then, let’s take things up a notch..." Rosa said, her hands flipping a cap by the bike’s center and pressing the button.

A crimson light blinked from the dashboard as her hands held the grip tightly.

After the third blink,

THROOOOM!

A sudden misfiring sound as the bike slowed down, then,

BLIIITZZZZZZZZ!

It shot forward at incredible speed, but it had not moved for 10 seconds when the tires hit a snow-covered ramp, launching them high into the air.

For a moment, Everlearn watched Rosa sit upright, spreading her arms wide as if to embrace the air, her face turned toward the sky.

It was relieving to Rosa.

Riding, and everything about it.

The roar of the engine was a sound she had fallen in love with ever since she was little, but what’s more was the breeze, the freedom, the feeling of everything slowing down as you go at such speed.

Almost like you were moving faster than the world could catch up, and you now had all the time in the world.

’The sky is so beautiful too...’

She could see the blinking starlights beneath the dark sky, and a couple of shooting stars flashing by with speed, leaving her in awe.

But then her attention quickly focused back as she watched the bike already close to the ground.

Her hands quickly gripped, but the tires slammed onto the ground, making them slip.

In the next instant, the tron bike took a sudden, dangerous turn, the resulting force sending them immediately flying off the bike.

"I... I lost focus!?"

It occurred to Rosa, who was roughly thrown through the air, but just before she slammed into the snow, a sudden realization hit, making her face beneath the helmet turn pale.

’No, Everlearn!’

A shadow suddenly cast over her, and both of them were sent tumbling for a couple of minutes before they came to a screeching stop.

Silence reigned; the only thing she heard was the heartbeat that beat so firmly.

She was wrapped together within the embrace of something warm.

Something so... comforting.

But in the next moment, her eyes shot open as she found herself held tightly around his chest.

"Hey, are you?"

She asked, sitting up hurriedly and taking off her helmet.

Everlearn’s hands also reached for his helmet, pulling it off, as an exhale of smoky white air left his lips.

"I... I’m so sorry. I,"

"Now that was fun..." he said, sitting up with a grin on his lips.

Rosa paused for a moment before laughter burst from her, and she fell onto her back.

At that moment, when they had crashed, her heart had almost spun out of her ribs.

Yet when she expected pain, it never came at all, only peace.

Whatever that moment was, it was...great.

"Is your bike okay, though?" Everlearn asked, turning to the distance.

Rosa brought out her device and tapped, as a light shone from the distance, the engine whirring softly.

"No scratch,"

She answered, looking at the scanning app for the tron bike, and she couldn’t find any errors.

Silence descended for a while before Rosa sat up, whispering,

"I’m sorry."

"For what?" he asked, turning to her.

"For saying I wanted us to come for a ride."

"This ought to be about apologizing to you, and yet... I made it about myself."

"Asking for a ride that benefits only me, instead of what you want..."

She mused silently as Everlearn’s brow creased slightly.

"It’s selfish," she muttered, and he hummed before shrugging it off.

"At least I understand a new thing about you bikers, something that just changes everything I know about them..."

He answered, and she raised her head to him.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I’ve always thought bikers were death-courting idiots for as long as I could remember."

He said, and Rosa paused.

"Why would anyone with a good brain on their shoulders be blitzing with such speed, without anything holding them to the bike?

"A flying car has seatbelts, airbags, and ejection protocols in case of accidents."

"And yet, you idiots, in your ordinary shirts and trousers, will be blitzing past at three times the speed of the same car, with nothing but a helmet on?"

"If that’s not idiocy, what else can it be called?"

He said, as she smiled wryly.

"But now... I see it might be more than them, just be more than you all being dreamless fools or adrenaline slaves."

"Though the world blitzed so fast, your heart was quiet during the ride, like that of someone taking a soft nap."

"And you spread your arms apart in the air as if you wanted to hug the world, but I can sense... You must have felt really free back then."

"Whatever it is, I wouldn’t have known if you never proposed a ride, so..."

"I think it’s fine..."

_______

A/N:

If you’ve enjoyed the story so far, please consider supporting the novel by voting with Golden Tickets and Power Stones, or even sending a Gift if it’s been worth the journey!

Your support helps the book gain more visibility on the Webnovel app and motivates me to keep creating more Chapters for you all.

In and Out_SnowySmoos