One Wish, Broken || Nikki Freeman ||
The first time you saw Sam and Dean Winchester, you were standing outside a gas station looking half-crazed.
At least, that was how everyone else seemed to see you.
You had spent two days trying to get somebody—anybody, to listen. The police thought you were jealous. Nikki’s friends thought you were overreacting. The few people who had witnessed Nikki’s increasingly disturbing behavior either dismissed it as drugs, a mental breakdown, or relationship drama.
Nobody believed that a stupid novelty stick called a One Wish Willow had ruined everything.
Nobody except the two strangers leaning against a black Chevy Impala.
You barely noticed how intimidating they looked. The taller one had shaggy hair and sympathetic eyes. The other looked like he hadn’t smiled sincerely since who knows when.
“Please,” you said for what felt like the hundredth time. “I’m not making this up.”
The taller brother straightened slightly after over hearing you, he nudged the one next to him and soon they were walking over to you.
"We heard you were having issues." The taller one glanced around then crossed his arms over his chest. “Start from the beginning.”
You blinked. “You’re listening?”
“Sure.”
The relief hit so hard your knees almost buckled.
The taller brother offered a small smile. “I’m Sam by the way and thats Dean.”
"Good going smart ass, tell the girl who we are."
"I really don't think she's a treat Dean."
Dean looked you over, shrugged then nodded his head. "Yeah, you're right."
You didn’t know who they were, but at least they weren’t looking at you like you belonged in a psychiatric ward.
You took a shaky breath. “My girlfriend’s name is Nikki....and this guy named Bear...well everyone calls him that but any way....Bear…” You rubbed your face. “He’s been in love with her since they were kids. Everybody knows it. Well, Nikki didn’t feel the same way.”
Dean snorted. “That already sounds unhealthy.”
“Exactly.” You pointed dramatically toward downtown.
“Two days ago I saw him coming out of this weird occult shop carrying this thing called a One Wish Willow.”
Sam frowned. “A One Wish Willow?”
“Yeah.” You threw your hands into the air. “Supposedly you make a wish and break it and your wish comes true.”
Dean immediately grimaced. “Yeah, see, that’s already a problem."
“Right?” you exclaimed. “Has nobody seen Monkey’s Paw? Wishes never work out well.”
Sam looked interested now. “What happened after he bought it?”
You swallowed hard. “Everything changed.”The words came tumbling out.
You told them about Nikki suddenly abandoning years of feelings and attaching herself to Bear overnight. About the lies. The bizarre mood swings. The obsession.
The way she’d stared at Bear. The way she’d stopped acting like herself.The way she’d looked right through you when you begged her to talk.
By the time you finished, your throat hurt.
“I know Nikki,” you whispered. “I know her better than anyone.”
Your eyes burned. “She loves horror movies and bad pizza and cries whenever she sees injured animals. She hates clingy people. She literally once broke up with someone because they texted her thirty times in one day.”
You looked between them. “The woman following Bear around isn’t Nikki.”
Silence lingered.
Then Dean nodded. “We believe you.”
You stared. “What?”
“We believe you,” Dean repeated.
The simple statement nearly made you cry, your lip trembling.
Sam stepped closer to you, his hand placing its self gently on your shoulder. “We’ve dealt with cursed objects before.”
Your head snapped up. “You have?”
Dean smirked. “More or less...it's kinda out thing.”
Sam rolled his eyes. “We hunt monsters.”
You blinked. “...Mon..sters?”
“Monsters. Ghosts. Demons. Cursed objects.”
You stared for several seconds. "You're not....making fun of me are you...everyone already see's me as a lunatic."
Dean scoffed crossing his arms over his chest as he looked you down. "Lady....we wouldn't have approached you if we thought you were nuts. "
Sam then nudged his brother.Dean grumbled something under his breath.
Despite yourself, it was the first moment of normalcy you’d felt in days.
Then Sam’s expression grew serious again. “If this Willow is cursed, we need to find out where it came from.”
“Then let’s go.”
The crystal shop smelled like incense, old wood, and terrible decisions.
Dean took one step inside and immediately muttered, “Yep. Cursed.”
The owner proved remarkably unhelpful.Until Sam started asking very specific questions.
Eventually they learned enough.The One Wish Willows weren’t just novelty toys.That wish hollowed people out and replaced their free will with fixation.
When Sam explained it, your stomach dropped.
“So Nikki’s trapped inside her own head?”
Sam nodded grimly. “Most likely.”
Dean looked furious. “Great. So Prince Charming turned his crush into a supernatural hostage.”
Finding Bear turned out to be easy.Getting him to listen was another matter entirely.
The poor guy looked exhausted.
Haunted.
Terrified.
Which wasn’t surprising considering what had been happening around him.
The moment Sam explained the curse, Bear’s face lost all color.
“You believe me?”
“We believe you’re an idiot,” Dean corrected.
"Dean." Dam hissed.
"What...he is."
Bear looked like he might cry. “I didn’t mean for any of this.”
“No kidding.”
The guilt on Bear’s face was genuine and somehow that made everything worse.
Because he wasn’t evil.
Just desperate.
Lonely.
And stupid.Dangerously stupid.
“I just wanted her to love me,” he whispered.
Sam sighed. “That’s usually how these stories start.”
Breaking the curse proved harder than finding it.
By the time they tracked down the remaining fragments of the Willow, Nikki was barely herself anymore.
Not to mention actually getting the ritual to break the damn curse.
Watching it broke your heart.
One moment she would be screaming about Bear.
The next she’d be crying.
Then she’d look at you.
Really look at you.
And for a few seconds, Nikki would be there again.
Terrified.
Trapped.
Begging silently for help.
Every glimpse nearly destroyed you.
You refused to leave her side.
Even when Dean suggested standing back.Even when Sam warned things might get ugly.
You stayed.
Because Nikki had never abandoned you and you weren’t abandoning her.
Not now.
Not ever.
The final ritual took place in an abandoned warehouse outside town.
Ancient symbols covered the floor.
Candles flickered.
Sam read from a weathered book.
Dean stood ready with a shotgun loaded with rock salt because apparently that was just a normal Tuesday for him.
You held Nikki’s trembling hand, she was tied to a chair. “Come back to me,” you whispered.
Her grip tightened, tars rolled down her face.
The curse fought.
The warehouse shook.
The remaining Willow fragments cracked while Sam read the incantation.
For a terrifying second Nikki screamed, the flames grew then everything went silent.
The candles extinguished simultaneously.
And Nikki slumped forward in the chair, the chains holding her.
"Nikki!" You knelt down, frantic.“Nikki?”
Her eyes opened.
Not obsessed.
Not distant.
No longer glossed over.
Just Nikki.
The real Nikki.
Confused.
Exhausted.
Alive.
The moment she recognized you, she started crying. "Oh God.”
Sam moved close undoing the chains as she wrapped her arms tightly around you.
You hugged her so tightly neither of you could breathe. "I’ve got you.”
“I couldn’t stop it.”
“I know.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
Nikki buried her face against your shoulder.And for the first time in days, you felt her truly there.
Dean cleared out his throat holding a flask. "I'm just gonna..." the man tossed holy water on you both and seeing nothing happen he nodded his head.
"See all good."
You and Nikki blinked.
A few minutes later, Dean found Bear sitting against a wall looking absolutely miserable.
The guy looked like he’d aged ten years.
Bear glanced up. “I ruined everything.”
Dean stared at him. “You did.”
Bear nodded. “I know.”
Dean stared another second, then punched him square in the nose.
Bear's head jerked back with a yelp.
You jumped. “Damn.”
Dean flexed his hand. “That’s for supernatural stalking...and being a creepy weirdo.”
Sam sighed. “Dean.”
“What? He earned it.”
Bear groaned as he held his nose. "I probably did.”
Dean pointed at him.
Bear closed his eyes. "I did."
“Exactly.”
The next morning, the town felt different.
Lighter.
Like a storm had finally passed.
Nikki sat beside you outside the music store, her hand wrapped securely around yours.Neither of you wanted to let go.
Across the street, the Impala’s engine rumbled to life.
Sam climbed into the passenger seat as Dean leaned against the driver’s door. “Try not to get cursed again."
You laughed. “We'll do our best.”
Nikki smiled. “Thanks for saving me.”
Dean shrugged. “Part of the job.”
Sam offered a small wave. “Take care of each other.”
“We will.”
The brothers climbed into the car.Moments later the Impala rolled down the street and disappeared around a corner.
Gone as suddenly as they’d arrived.
You watched until the black car vanished from sight.
Then Nikki squeezed your hand.When you looked at her, she was smiling.
A real smile.
Not forced.
Not cursed.
Just Nikki.
The woman you loved.
And after everything that had happened, that was more than enough.