PSA:THE BOLD PARAGRAPHS ARE MIND CONVERSATIONS, NORMAL ONES ARE JUST BETWEEN "" !

8 YEARS AGO

Marinette could not recall when had been the first time she had listened to his voice. Because, as far as Marinette remembered, the voice of a boy had been inside her mind.

It was something so natural and common to her that she couldn't call it a changing moment in her life, she couldn't write down a date and mark it as the beginning of the link she shared with him. For her, this bond was like learning how to speak or how to walk, something that happens without noticing, and when you do notice what you're doing it, it is already happening and it feels like it has always been a part of you.

What she did remember (quite well) was when people started thinking she was crazy.

She had only turned nine years old and she kept talking about " the boy inside her head ". Her parents that had always allowed her to talk about him had started to be annoyed by it too, they would tell her that she was old enough to stop playing with imaginary friends, that it was not healthy for her to keep doing this. That hurt more than the teasing at school. Because of that, she stopped talking about him and pretended that he had been an imaginary friend all along. No one bothered her after that.

It had been a lie, she wished it would have been but it wasn't like that, so, she learned how to pretend that a boy was not screaming inside her head. She learned how to have a poker face when the boy was telling her stories or painting landscapes with his words on her mind. She learned how to shut him down when he was being too loud, and she mastered the art to talk to him as she paid attention to real people's conversations.

She thought that at one point he was going to disappear, but he never did. He was inside her mind and he loved it. She spoke to him every day, and he became a precious friend to her.

She knew everything about him and at the same time, she knew nothing at all. As inexplicable as their communication bond was, they had mastered their own ways to use it, but no matter how hard they tried there were things that link didn't allow.

Revealing each others name was one of those things they had never been able to do, and they had tried multiple times in different ways. It never worked, it was like the connection between them got a mixed signal and they couldn't hear the other talking anymore.

So he was just boy, and she was just girl .

"Girl, are you there?" The sweet voice of her boy ringed in her head.

"I'm always here. Big reminder: YOU are the one inside my head!"

" YOU are in my head"He clapped back. She heard him giggle.

That was another strange thing between them.

Not only could she hear him loud and clear as if he was standing right next to her, she also could hear physical things like his laugh

"Whatever you say, boy. How's Prague?"

Boy was traveling again. He was always traveling.

She knew he was French just like her, but he never seemed to be in the city. While she went to school and helped from time to time in the bakery her parents owned, boy traveled with his family around the world because of his father's job. He was home-schooled, which sounded really cool but boy had assured her it was not.

Maybe not having classmates could be boring at times, but he was traveling! And all he said about those spectacular places made Marinette believe that he was exaggerating about school. It wasn't so cool as being a tourist, she was sure of that.

Boy would tell her the most amazing stories about all the cities and countries he visited. He would relate the excursions, describe the museums and the people and ever since she told him about her new obsession with clothes, he started describing every outfit that caught his attention.

"It's so cool! My mom bought tickets for a puppeteer show and it was amazing! I know you would have loved it. I told maman to take pictures of the dolls outfits so I can describe them to you later,"

"You still talk about me with your mom?" She asked confused. It had been months since the last time she had told a story about him to her parents, and when she found herself telling them about boy , she covered it up by telling them it was about a boy from school.

"Of course! Why not? Mommy likes you very much,"

"She doesn't think you are crazy?"

"Again with that, girl! No, she doesn't, she would never! Mommy is happy that I have such a good friend,"

"You are so lucky! My parents don't believe you exist and in school, everyone started to make fun of me… you are lucky you are home-schooled"

"I don't know about that, girl" He sighed, but he did not say more about the subject, "I'm very real, you know? Why don't you try to tell them all you know about me, once I told my mother all I knew about you, she only wanted to hear more. She loves you!"

"You think I haven't tried? My teachers said I have a "wild imagination", no one believed me… There were times when I've doubted myself" The last part of the sentence wasn't meant for him to hear but her mind was completely open and the thought reached him.

"I AM REAL!" Boy shouted "I can prove it,"

"How? Every time we try to give personal information our mind erases it is like intercepted mail or something"

"Mmm…"

"So I thought" Marinette sighed.

"I'll find a way! I'll find a way to show you that I'm a hundred percent real and then I'm going to find you"

"You want to find me?" It was not the first time he said that, but he sounded more determined than other times.

"You don't?"

"Of course, but since our mind connection happens to have stupid rules we don't know how to control, I don't know we could do it"

"We'll figure it out, no matter how long it takes us, we will find a way, girl"

"Promise?"

"Promise" He stated, " And once I find you, we'll get married!"

"What?!" Marinette jumped. She had been lying on the carpet but now she was sitting straight.

"I like you, girl, so much…"

"We are nine!"

"We don't have to marry right away! First, we become best friends, the best of friends, bigger best friends than we are now, then we go on out on dates and I give you flowers and then we marry! See? I got a plan and all"

"You want to marry me?"

"Maman says that love is about a strong connection between two people… isn't that what we have?" Marinette could feel herself blush. Stupid boy.

"I g-guess"

"And I like youuuuu" He sang "Marry me, girl. Let's make a pact to get married!"

"You are crazy!" She laughed, her heartwarming up at the possibility of having a destined love, just like Disney princess had!

"For you!" He replied "Say yes! Say you'll marry me one day"

"You have to find me first" She gushed, covering her mouth with her hand.

"You just wait, princess "

"Don't call me princess!"

"But you are practically my fiancé, girl "

She had never seen him but she could see the version she had imagined -guided by his description- of him pouting. Messy golden hair, big green eyes, a thin nose, and a slim face. Also, she couldn't forget, he was tall. "I'm tall, so tall, the tallest guy of my age, girl!"

"I'm just ' girl' , that's fine"

"No… I guess you are my girl- friend now"

"Marinette! Dinner's ready!" The call of her mother was her warning to come back to the real world, the not-so-fun world she was supposed to pay attention to.

"Okay, okay, I'm girlfriend"

"That makes me boyfriend!"

"Shut up, mom is going to ask questions if I don't go downstairs now. I'll talk to you later" she shouted her eyes, concentrating in closing the door. Thought it was never completely closed.

"I'll talk to you later, girlfriend"

That was the last thing she heard clearly, then his voice became whispers in the back of her mind.

xx