Sweet Girl

Desire to Please

Stevie swept through the rail in her closet, turning the pages of her flair from over the years. She cast a gap in between the slithers of black garments and pulled out her shoulder-less sheer long-sleeve. She examined it before slicing it off of the hanger and laying it on the chair beside her dresser.
She folded the door back on her second closet and fished out her crimson, snakeskin leggings.
She put her thumb to her lips, considering dressing less eccentrically, if she were going out in public. She was cautious about fans approaching her, after all, it was unbeknownst to Bella that these prospective strangers wouldn't hurt her.
Sighing, she cast the leggings back into the closet, leaving them resting on a pile of clothes she'd been yet to hang for weeks.

"What do you think? Pants or a skirt?" she turned to Bella, forgetting that she wouldn't answer. She clipped her forehead with her palm and turned back to the closet.

She waded through the sheets of pants and skirts, mildly frustrated that none of them seemed to jump out and cry for her to use them. She closed her eyes and blindly dragged a hanger off of the rail. Feeling a stretching cotton blend, she opened her eyes, finding a simple pair of charcoal leggings held in front of her. She nodded to herself and threw them over the back of the chair.

Trying not to feel self-conscious in front of a small child, and trying to maintain her innocence, by refraining from asking her to look elsewhere, she stepped out of her nightgown, as casually as she could. She scrunched it up and tucked it under her pillow.
Bella wondered why Stevie felt the need to hide her clothes under a pillow. Maybe somebody came to steal them, maybe the clothes would escape?
She turned her head to the mammoth closet to her right. An urge to climb under the clothes and bury herself in Stevie's endless collection of black dresses, pumped through the pipes in her brain.
Unsure of the boundaries, she crept over to the closet while Stevie dressed. She folded herself into a small opening, underneath the dresses, ruffling the bottoms of them with her tiny palm as she sat underneath them. She leant back, inhaling the must-clouded fragrance she'd become familiar with. She closed her eyes, sat upon some recycled t-shirts which Stevie never minded leaving there.

"Honey?" A worried voice called from behind the closet door.
"Bella, where are you?"
She froze, expecting Stevie to be angry, finding her creasing her clothes. She stayed in place, clutching the lace hem of a dress she was yet to see.
"Bella?" Stevie shouted, from the staircase.

Stevie's lungs contracted. Her eyes darted across the hallway, from the bathroom, to the guest bedroom. She rushed into Bella's room, only to find the same sight as in her own.
She scurried across the hallway, cupping her hand over her mouth, feeling her breath hitting her palm faster.
"Fuck! Bella!" She shouted, starting to lose sensation in her feet as they stomped back down the hall.
She rushed back to her bedroom, in a fleet of wonder if she'd just glanced over her before.

She burst back into her bedroom and dropped to look under her bed. Feeling her breathing becoming shallower, she grabbed her chest.

Bella tucked her head into her knees, feeling her heart bashing against her legs.

Stevie jumped, hearing a whimper slipping from her closet.
Bewildered, she flung the door open and finally let herself breathe when she noticed two feet poking out from underneath her dresses.

"Oh my goodness." She separated the garments.
Bella sat, grasping her knees, her face soaked in a pink blush.
"What were you doing, huh? You scared me." She whispered, lifting Bella out as her heart tried to jump into her throat.

Relieved that Stevie wasn't currently screaming at her, Bella buried her face in Stevie's chest.
"Alright, now" Stevie hushed, stroking her hair.
"What did you do that for, hm?" Stevie giggled, bringing Bella forward to wipe her tears. Her laugh mellowed her heartbeat slightly, allowing her hands to regain dexterity after rattling with fear.
"Did you wanna play hide and seek?" She asked, flicking the salty droplets on Bella's cheeks with the thumb.
Bella shook her head.
"Did you wanna see my clothes? I can show you them, later?" Stevie asked, swaying Bella in her arms.
She didn't reply. She snuggled into Stevie, hoping she wouldn't be reprimanded. She inhaled deeply, feeling the comforting presence of Stevie's hand on her back and the now familiar sound of air blowing between her teeth as she hushed.