{1980 – Off The Wall era}.

She wandered down the gravel path, her long, black hair floating gently on the calm breeze. It was Summer, yet she still felt numb and frozen, as if it were Winter. However, the cold feeling could be felt by more than just her skin – it touched her heart, leaving her constantly heartbroken, and in a state of depression.

She had no name. At birth, her parents left her in the forest, unknowing as to whether she would be found by another soul. The logic, to them, was that someone would walk through the forest one day, and find the girl, but that occurred only when she was a teen. She had grown up without being taught to talk, or to string a sentence together, and kept herself alive by eating and drinking anything that didn't scare her with its appearance. It was a wonder that she was still alive. She only learnt how to communicate properly once she was taken under passer-by, Blake Hardy's wing, three years previously.

At nineteen years old, she was told by Blake that it was time to go out into the big world by herself; to be the way she was before she met him. In the two years she knew him, he never gave her a name – the reason unknown. Being naïve and innocent, she agreed to leave, and so set off into the big, wide world once more to fend for herself.

She was now twenty years old, and had been somewhat okay up until now. Blake had given her money to start her out; she still had some left over. She had bought herself clothing, food and water, which helped to rid the malnutrition she had suffered from her poor diet as a child. The only problem she had now, was loneliness – which was what caused the cold, numb feeling to intoxicate her daily. It haunted her soul, causing her to cry often for her misfortune.

As she walked down the gravel path in the forest on this particular day, however, she spotted a young man walking the opposite way, towards her. This filled her with fright; the only human she had ever trusted was Blake, and he had taught her that she shouldn't trust anybody before getting to know them well enough.

In a panic, she darted the other way, which left the young man puzzled. He thought to himself, "Why did she just run away?", and gradually the curiosity got the better of him, resulting in him trying to find the girl again.

He followed the path speedily, but was unable to call for her because he didn't know her name. As he ran, goosebumps formed on his chocolate skin, whilst the breeze ran through his slick, subtle afro. Why am I feeling so cold all of a sudden? he wondered to himself, but brushed it off so he could focus on finding the girl.

Meanwhile, the girl reached a river; the water was trickling downstream elegantly, creating a gentle, calming sound that relaxed her. She decided to sit there a while, coming to the conclusion that the man was gone for good.

The man wasn't giving up. He came across the start of the river, before looking in the direction it flowed. In the distance, he saw a silhouette, of a person sitting by the water. He clambered over tree branches and stepped over tree trunks, until he reached the person – the girl that had run away from him.

"Excuse me." His voice was soft and mild, yet still possessed a subtle manliness, "Are you okay?"

The girl, shocked that he had found her, looked up at the man, her expression unreadable to him, "Yes." Her lack of words wasn't because she was being rude; rather, it was because she hadn't learnt enough words to hold a deep conversation yet.

"What's your name?" the man asked her, slowly walking closer to her.

"No name," she answered simply, shifting backwards a little with every step the man took towards her, "Your name?" Her voice was hoarse, as if she needed to clear her throat, but that was due to the low level of confidence she felt in talking to this human being.

"I'm Michael." He finally reached her, sitting on the tree trunk next to her, "But seriously ... what's your name?"

"No ... name ... " she repeated, her tone becoming sadder with each answer she gave.

"You have no name?" Michael frowned, his eyes meeting hers. His pupils seemed to dilate as he spoke, "Why?"

"I don't know." The girl's eyes began to fill with tears, but she raised her arm to her face, wiping the tears away with her fingers.

"Who are your parents?" Michael questioned, using his own fingers to help stop her tears, "And where are they?"

"I don't know." She quivered at Michael's touch, for it had been forever since she felt like someone cared. She hadn't seen Blake for over a year, "I don't know parents."

"You don't know your parents ... " Michael repeated, more for his benefit than for hers, "That's terrible ... I'm so sorry."

The girl shook her head, turning her head away from Michael's because she didn't know what to say to him. The fright she felt previously upon seeing him had vanished; she was starting to trust him a little more now, despite only knowing him a matter of minutes.

"So ... where do you live?" Michael asked her, standing up from the tree trunk, instead kneeling before her so he could regain eye contact, "Is it far from here?"

"No home," she told him. Her emotions began to show significantly; more fresh tears were clustering in her eyes now as they conversed.

"No identity ... no home ... How can this be?" Michael wondered aloud, feeling strong sympathy for the girl. He shook his head, coming out of the trance he appeared to have set himself in, before raising his arm to dry the tears from her face once more. It was then that he felt the need to ask her a more unique question, "So ... have you ever felt a hug?"

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion at this question, as she shook her head, "What is a hug?"

"A hug?" Michael started, "Well, a hug is nice. It helps to make people feel better. It makes them feel ... warm. Loved. Protected. Would you like a hug?"

The girl looked down at the kneeling Michael, nodding uncertainly in response to his question. He sat himself on the tree trunk once more, before opening his arms and pulling the girl into his embrace. He squeezed her tightly, so she could really feel the pleasure of a hug, and it worked; the girl smiled for the first time ever. They both soon pulled away; Michael looked down on her, their gazes meeting.

"And what about a kiss?" he suggested, "Have you ever felt a kiss before?"

Again, the girl shook her head to indicate she had never felt a kiss. Like with the hug, she asked, "What is a kiss?"

Michael snickered at this. He let out a sigh, finding the words to describe a kiss, "A kiss is ... well, it can be better than a hug sometimes. You can kiss someone anywhere – their cheek, their forehead, their neck ... or mostly their lips. Do you want to feel a kiss?"

The girl nodded once more, feeling a little more confident about the kiss than she did with the hug. Michael leant in towards her, planting a soft kiss upon her cheek. The girl gasped at this, leaving her lips slightly parted to breathe.

"That was a kiss on the cheek," Michael explained to her, "Would you like to feel a forehead kiss?"

"Yes," she replied, watching him move gradually closer to her. As his lips touched her forehead, a sense of warmth and protection invaded her – it was a feeling she had only ever felt once before, when she was with Blake.

Michael pulled away, finally saying, "That was a forehead kiss. Normally, kisses that are on the lips are the best. Would you like to feel that?"

The girl nodded, being unable to speak because she felt so safe in Michael's presence – especially after the forehead kiss. As Michael leant in towards the girl, even he felt slightly nervous. He hadn't kissed anyone before, but he knew how it was done.

Eventually, their lips touched, which caused the girl to shiver. To her, this was the best feeling to ever experience; she had never felt a kiss like this. As she kissed him back, she came to the conclusion that the cheek and forehead kisses were nothing compared to the one she was sharing with Michael now. Michael carefully ran his long fingers through her hair, which made her flinch initially, but then she got used to it, letting her tense body settle a little.

It was only a brief, simple kiss; nothing too serious at all, so their lips finally separated from one another's, leaving the girl breathless. Michael felt slightly pleased with himself, but didn't show this because it would've ruined the sweet atmosphere that currently surrounded them.

"That was nice," the girl stated almost silently, her pale cheeks gaining colour from her shyness.

"I'm glad you thought so," Michael answered sweetly, a mellow smile forming on his face, "Now, would you like me to give you a name?"

Her eyes lit up at this question. She nodded desperately, suddenly clinging harshly to his shirt. This caused Michael to chuckle, as he caressed her cheek. She felt the heat of his skin against the coldness of her own, but her concentration was completely on Michael's face whilst she waited for him to name her.

"How about ... Belle?" he suggested after much thought, "After all, belle means beautiful in French."

The girl beamed at Michael, "Yes!" She felt happier than she had ever felt in her entire life, so she hugged him gratefully.

"But you need a name that only I can call you," Michael added, his voice muffled because her body was pressed to his.

Belle eventually pulled away from him, her eyes widening in surprise, "I get another name too?"

Michael gave her a closed-mouth smile, resting his hand under her chin and tipping her head upwards, so he could have easier access to her lips, and could kiss them once more.

"Well ... not exactly. But I would like to call you ... mine."

"Mine?" Belle repeated, "Isn't Mine a funny name?"

Michael laughed at Belle's naïvety, "You're silly. I'm the only person on Earth that can call you that. Will you let me call you Mine?"

"Will I be allowed more kisses and hugs if I let you?" Belle questioned, genuinely believing he wanted this nickname for her.

Michael nodded, a high level of certainty in his expression, "You can have as many kisses and hugs as you like."

Belle grinned, "Okay. You can call me Mine."

Michael knew she hadn't caught on to what he was trying to suggest, but he let it slip anyway, instead changing the subject slightly, "Have you ever felt love, Belle?"

"No. What is love?"

"Love is the way you feel when someone or something is amazing to you. The kiss I gave you ... you loved that, didn't you?"

Belle took a moment to think about this, but once she got the idea, she responded, "Yeah. Can I feel that way about you, Michael?"

Michael brought Belle into his arms once again, pecking her forehead lightly, "Of course. And I'll feel that way about you, too."

Just with those words, the numb, frozen feeling the girl felt within her heart seemed to thaw out; the cold chill vanished in an instant.

And all because she finally knew love ...

~~

Probably not my best story, but I had this thought, "Imagine a girl with no name. Michael could call her "Mine".
It went from there. xD
I hope it didn't suck too badly. I literally wrote the entire thing in like an hour cos I wanted to get it all down on my drafts before I forgot it. xD