One Wish Willow....Not this time || Nikki Freeman ||
A/n: Giving my girl a happy ending.
The first thing that caught your attention wasn’t Bear.
It was the box in his hand.
Bright red and white. Cheap cardboard. The kind of novelty junk sold in tourist shops and weird shops that sold other trinkets like that with ridiculous promises printed across the packaging.
A stupid little toy that supposedly granted a single wish when broken.
Most people would have laughed and thrown it away.
Unfortunately, Bear wasn’t most people.You had seen the way he’d looked at Nikki. The way his attention lingered too long.
The way he always seemed to be around whenever she was.
At first, you’d brushed it off. Maybe he was awkward. Maybe he had a crush he couldn’t let go of, you chalked it up to them being childhood friends and you didn't want to get in the way of that and then things got stranger.
Now he was sitting alone in his car with that thing in his hands like it was the most important object in the world.
Your stomach dropped as you tried to peer at what it was, though it clicked when you remembered what store he came out of and the realization hit you so hard you didn’t even remember crossing the parking lot.
One second you were staring.
Your palm slammed against the driver’s side window.
Bear nearly jumped out of his skin, his head whipped toward you.
You didn’t wait for him to roll the window down, no instead you yanked the door open yourself.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“What are you doing?” you repeated.
His grip tightened around the novelty toy. “It’s just a—”
“No.” You pointed directly at the box.“No, don’t give me that crap...nothing is ever just a toy from that fucking shop.
His expression shifted immediately.
The exact look you’d been waiting to see.Your jaw clenched, your nails dug into your palm. “You’re obsessed with her.”
Bear opened his mouth and nothing came out.That was enough of a answer for you.
“Nikki has a girlfriend in case you forgot Bear...Me! She introduced to me to you and the others."
Your laugh was humorless. "Jesus Christ....this is insane."
“Really?” you snapped. “Because from where I’m standing, it looks exactly like that.”
You leaned closer. "You watch her.....I'm not fucking blind Bear...is obvious."
His face reddened. “That’s not—”
“And now you’re sitting in your car holding some creepy-ass wishing toy like you’re about to make a wish about my girlfriend.”
The movement alone made your blood pressure spike.
“Oh my God.” You stared at him. “You actually were..that's insane! You don't mess with that shit.”
You laughed again, completely incredulous. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
The question hung in the air.
Bear swallowed hard. “I just wanted—”
“No.” You cut him off immediately.
His eyes narrowed slightly. “I love her.”
The words made your stomach twist, not because they were romantic.
There was something deeply unsettling about the way he said them.
Like Nikki was something he deserved.
Something he owned, some prize he can show off and flaunt.
You folded your arms. "No.”
His expression darkened for a moment, if you weren't paying attention you would have missed it entirely.
You pointed toward the toy. “People who love someone don’t stalk them...."
“They don’t hover around them.”
“They don’t sit in parking lots holding magic wish sticks hoping reality bends in their favor.”
Bear gritted his teeth. “You don’t understand.”
“Oh, I understand perfectly.”Your voice turned dangerously calm. “You are being a fucking weirdo.”
You stepped forward and snatched the box directly out of his hands.
Bear immediately reached for it. “Hey—”
“Nope.” You held it out of reach. “It’s mine now.”
He stared at you.You stared right back.Neither of you moved.
Finally, you shook your head. “Get over her....find someone else Bear..Nikki isn’t interested.”You started backing away from the car.“She isn’t leaving me." You stepped away from the car placing your hand on your hip. “And whatever fantasy you’ve built in your head?”
Bear’s eyes locked onto the toy.Almost desperately and that alone told you everything you needed to know as Bear rolled down his window.
“You’re seriously taking that?”
You didn’t even turn around. “Yep.”
“Then consider this an expensive lesson.”
You finally looked back, the expression on your face made him immediately regret asking. “The lesson where you stop obsessing over someone else’s girlfriend and go touch grass.”
You glanced down at the toy then scoffed, whether the stupid thing actually worked or not didn’t matter.
What mattered was Bear believed it might and people did dangerous things when they believed hard enough.
The parking lot stretched ahead as you slipped into your car to head toward Nikki’s apartment.
The toy box felt strangely heavy in your hand.You looked down again, at the smiling cartoon face printed on the packaging.
You rolled your eyes. "Fucking trash." Then promptly tossed the entire thing into the nearest dumpster.The box disappeared beneath a pile of garbage.
Later you stepped through Nikki’s front door.
She looked up from the couch, immediately smiling when she saw you.
The sight eased every ounce of tension in your body.
You crossed the room and dropped onto the couch beside her.
Nikki laughed as you immediately wrapped your arms around her. “Well hello to you too.”
You buried your face against her shoulder. “You’re never allowed to leave my sight.”
Nikki blinked. “What happened?”
You sighed. "Bear happened.”
Her smile vanished instantly, she tried to keep it though it faltered for a moment. “Oh.”
“Yeah....whatever it doesn't matter." You squeezed her tighter.
For a moment neither of you spoke. Then Nikki leaned her head against yours. "Thank you.”
You looked up. “For what?”
“For always protecting me.”
The anger you’d felt all afternoon melted away as you pressed a kiss to her temple. “Always.”
And somewhere across town, a discarded novelty toy sat forgotten in a dumpster.
Unable to take Nikki away from the person she actually loved.
