The Biker's Impossible Girl

Aurelia Voss had a special talent. Unfortunately, it was not a talent that she could proudly put on a resume. She had the amazing ability to turn simple situations into complicated disasters without even trying. Some people were naturally graceful. They walked confidently, made smart decisions, and always seemed to know what they were doing. Aurelia was not one of those people. She was the kind of person who would search for her phone while holding it in her hand, spend ten minutes looking for her glasses before realizing she was wearing them, and walk into a room only to forget why she entered in the first place. Her best friend, Lyra Bellamy, once told her that she wasn't unlucky. She was just a magnet for chaos. Aurelia disagreed. She believed she was simply "unexpected." Which was a nicer way of saying she was a walking accident. At twenty-one years old, Ria had accepted that embarrassing moments were part of her everyday life. She was childish, overly curious, and sometimes too trusting for her own good. She got excited over small things, laughed easily, and had a habit of saying whatever came into her mind before thinking about whether she should actually say it. But despite all of that, she had a heart that was impossible to dislike. Ria was the type of person who would help someone without expecting anything in return. She noticed when people were upset, remembered small details about others, and always tried to make people smile. Unfortunately, her kindness was often accompanied by questionable decisions. And today was about to become another example. "Aurelia, don't forget the groceries." Lyra's voice echoed in her mind as Ria walked down the street. "I won't forget." She had confidently said that earlier. The problem was... She already forgot half of the things she needed to buy. She stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and looked at the small paper in her hand. Milk. Eggs. Bread. She stared at the list. Then she looked at the bag she was carrying. Then back at the list. "Wait." Her eyebrows slowly pulled together. "Did I already buy these?" She checked the bag. She had snacks. Only snacks. A lot of snacks. Her expression turned guilty. "Okay..." She whispered to herself. "Maybe I got distracted." That was not surprising. Getting distracted was practically a daily activity for Aurelia Voss. She was about to turn around and return to the store when something caught her attention. A motorcycle. A huge black motorcycle parked outside a café. Ria stopped walking. Immediately, the grocery problem disappeared from her mind. The motorcycle looked expensive. Even someone who knew nothing about bikes could tell that. The design was sleek, the black paint looked flawless, and the entire thing carried an intimidating presence. Ria slowly stepped closer. "Wow." She looked at it with curiosity. She wasn't someone who knew anything about motorcycles. She couldn't explain the engine, the brand, or why certain bikes were considered special. But she knew one thing. This motorcycle looked cool. "Someone definitely spent a lot of money on this." She nodded to herself. Then she looked around. "The owner is probably scary." For some reason, she imagined a serious man wearing black clothes and always looking angry. "The type of person who doesn't laugh." She continued thinking. "The type who scares people just by staring." She paused. "Actually..." She looked at the motorcycle again. "That sounds exhausting." Aurelia didn't realize that her imagination was dangerously close to reality. Because the owner of the motorcycle was exactly the kind of person she had described. Although she didn't know that yet. Ria walked around the motorcycle, admiring it from a safe distance. She was careful. For once. She didn't touch it. She only looked. Which was already a big improvement. Unfortunately, her curiosity was stronger than her self-control. She noticed a small detail near the handle. "Is that part supposed to look like that?" She leaned slightly closer. She wasn't planning to touch it. Really. She wasn't. But then her bracelet got caught on something. Ria blinked. "Huh?" She looked down. Her bracelet was stuck. She gently pulled. Nothing happened. She frowned. "Seriously?" She tried again. Still nothing. "Why does everything fight me?" She looked around nervously. Nobody seemed to notice. "Okay." She took a deep breath. "I can fix this." That sentence alone had caused many problems in her life. Because whenever Aurelia said she could fix something... It usually meant things were about to get worse. She carefully pulled her bracelet again. A little harder this time. And then— A small scraping sound filled the air. Ria immediately froze. Slowly, she looked down. A tiny scratch appeared on the side of the motorcycle. Her eyes widened. Her entire face changed. "No." She whispered. "No, no, no." She looked at the scratch like it was a disaster. "I did not just do that." She looked around. Then she looked back. Unfortunately, the scratch was still there. Aurelia closed her eyes. "Okay." She whispered. "Don't panic." A few seconds passed. Then she opened her eyes. "I should probably panic a little." Because for the first time that day, Aurelia understood the seriousness of her situation. She had just damaged someone's expensive motorcycle. And judging by how expensive it looked... Aurelia was still staring at the scratch when a deep voice suddenly came from behind her. "Are you planning to leave?" Her entire body froze. For a few seconds, Ria didn't move. She slowly turned around, already knowing that whoever owned the motorcycle had finally arrived. And unfortunately... Her imagination was not far from reality. The man standing behind her looked exactly like someone who owned a motorcycle that expensive. He was tall, with a strong and intimidating presence that immediately changed the atmosphere around him. His raven-black hair was slightly messy, matching the cold expression on his sharp features. His steel-gray eyes looked calm, but there was something dangerous hidden behind them. The black leather jacket, dark clothing, and serious expression completed the image of someone people knew better than to annoy. Behind him stood several men wearing similar biker outfits, all watching her with curiosity. Ria stared at him. Then she looked at the motorcycle. Then back at him. Her brain was trying its best to connect the situation. Unfortunately, her brain was sometimes slow when she was nervous. "Oh." She finally said. "You own this." The man's expression didn't change. "Yes." Ria nodded slowly. "That explains why you're here." The man stared at her. "What?" She immediately realized how stupid her answer sounded. "I mean..." She pointed at the motorcycle. "You came because of this." A pause. "Not because you randomly appear behind strangers." One of the men behind him looked away, probably hiding a reaction. The cold man stepped closer. "What did you do?" Ria immediately became nervous. "I can explain." "Then explain." She opened her mouth. Nothing came out. Because honestly, even she knew the explanation sounded ridiculous. "My bracelet attacked your motorcycle." Silence. The man stared at her. Ria immediately regretted her words. "Okay." She nodded. "That sounded worse than I expected." The man looked at the scratch. "You damaged my bike." Ria lowered her head. "Yes." "Do you know how much that costs?" She looked at the motorcycle. Then at him. Then she slowly shook her head. "No." The honesty surprised him. Most people would have started making excuses. They would have blamed someone else or tried to avoid responsibility. But Aurelia Voss simply admitted her mistake. She was ridiculous. But she wasn't dishonest. "What is your name?" he asked. Ria looked up. "My name?" "Yes." "Why?" His eyes narrowed slightly. "Because I need to know who scratched my motorcycle." "Oh." She nodded. "That makes sense." She smiled awkwardly. "I'm Aurelia Voss. But everyone calls me Ria." The man looked at her. "Zephyr Kael Draven." Ria repeated his name carefully. "That's actually a really cool name." She paused. "But..." His expression remained unchanged. "But what?" She looked at him seriously. "I think Zebra Dragon sounds cooler." The silence that followed was immediate. The men behind Zephyr suddenly became very interested in anything except the conversation happening in front of them. Zephyr stared at her. "What did you call me?" Ria blinked. "Zephyr." "No." She thought for a moment. "Dragon?" "No." "Zebra?" His jaw tightened slightly. "It's Draven." "Sorry." A few seconds passed. Then she smiled. "Mr. Zebra Dragon." One of the men behind him covered his mouth. Ria looked at him. "Are you okay?" The man cleared his throat. "I'm fine." Ria looked between them. "You two are close." Zephyr glanced at her. "Why would you think that?" "Because he can tease you and still survive." For a moment, nobody answered. Because she was right. Cassian Roe Mercer was one of the few people who could speak honestly around Zephyr. And somehow, Ria noticed that immediately. "How much is the repair?" Ria asked. Zephyr looked at her. "You can pay?" She immediately nodded. "Of course." She confidently reached into her bag. Then she stopped. Slowly, her confidence disappeared. Zephyr noticed. "What?" Ria looked inside her wallet. Then at him. "My money is gone." Cassian raised an eyebrow. "Gone?" She nodded sadly. "Yes." "How?" Ria looked embarrassed. "Snacks." There was a moment of silence. Zephyr stared at her. "You spent your money on snacks?" Ria winced. "When you say it like that, it sounds irresponsible." "It is irresponsible." She sighed. "You're very honest." "I don't lie." "That must be tiring." Zephyr looked at her. "What?" "Being serious all the time." For some reason, that answer stayed in his mind. Nobody talked to him like that. People usually saw his reputation first. They saw the biker leader. The dangerous man. The person they should avoid. But Aurelia Voss? She only saw a serious person who probably needed to relax. And somehow, that annoyed him. Because she couldn't immediately pay for the damage, Zephyr decided to bring her to the Nocturne Ravens clubhouse. Ria expected something terrifying. A dark place. A dangerous hideout. A location where villains gathered. Instead, she found a large building filled with motorcycles, tools, and people working seriously. She looked around. "This is..." She paused. "Actually normal." Cassian looked at her. "What did you expect?" Ria thought carefully. "Honestly?" "Yes." "Something more dramatic." Zephyr looked at her. "Why?" "Because everyone talks about bikers like they're scary." She glanced around. "But you're just people fixing motorcycles." Cassian smiled. "She's not wrong." Zephyr ignored him. Before leaving, Ria suddenly remembered something. "Oh." She opened her bag. Zephyr immediately became suspicious. "What are you doing?" "Helping." "That's usually a bad sign." Ria ignored him and pulled out a small sticker. A pink Barbie sticker. Cassian looked confused. "Why do you have that?" "Emergency." "Emergency?" "Yes." She nodded seriously. "You never know when you need decoration." Before Zephyr could stop her, she carefully placed the sticker over the scratch. Everyone went silent. Zephyr looked at his motorcycle. Then at the pink Barbie sticker. Then back at Ria. "What did you do?" Ria smiled proudly. "I fixed it." "You covered my motorcycle with Barbie." She nodded. "Yes." "Why?" She looked at the sticker. "Because now the scratch is hidden." Zephyr stared. "And?" "And it looks happier." He couldn't believe this girl. She had scratched his motorcycle. Failed to pay for the damage. And somehow thought adding a Barbie sticker was a reasonable solution. It should have annoyed him. It did annoy him. But when he saw how proud and satisfied she looked... He couldn't bring himself to remove it immediately. "Leave it." Ria's eyes widened. "Really?" "Just for now." Her smile became brighter. "I knew you liked it." "I don't." "You do." "I don't." "You secretly think Barbie makes your motorcycle cooler." Zephyr looked away. "Impossible." But he didn't remove it. And that was enough for Ria.