It was a painfully normal day, even for the likes of Victoria Hills. She had daydreamed about Supernatural through summer school she didn't really need, was annoyed by her criminally tall younger brother, and was not bemoaning her life's choices because she didn't have enough money to buy her dad a decent birthday present.

"Can you please cut me a deal, Annie?" Victoria begged. "His birthday is in two days! Where an I supposed to get $100 from?"

"I can't keep cutting you deals, Victor," Annie hissed at her from her station behind the counter. She flashed a grin at a passing customer, an elderly woman, then levelled a green-eyed glare at the girl in front of her. "I'll be fired. And how could I shave off $100 from a $120 watch?"

Victoria sighed. "I know, Annie." Victoria let her eyes travel over racks of candy and gum and magazines. "Maybe I should just get him some chocolate."

"Wait, what?" Annie said incredulously. "No way in hell am I going to let you do that." She slipped out from behind the counter and put her hands on her friend's shoulders. "Now you are going to go to the bargain bin, find something that looks extremely awesome, and I'm gonna ring it up for you."

Victoria nodded, looking at the ground. "I shouldn't have bought that sonic screwdriver. Or that Loki funko pop. Or-"

"Hey," Annie interrupted softly, holding Victoria's head in her hands. "It'll be fine, okay? You'll find something he'll love and everything'll be good. Got it?"

"I know that," Victoria huffed, rolling her eyes. "I thought I could make you pity me enough to buy it for me."

"You're such an asshole sometimes," Annie snapped, going back behind the counter. "I don't even know why I bother."

Victoria dramatically swept her braids from her face with a hand and leaned over the counter. "Because you love me."

"And I wish I didn't," was the mumbled reply.

"I'll be honest, it would be easier for you if you didn't," Victoria admitted. "But I sort of need you in my life, so I'm glad that's not gonna change." She patted Annie's cheek and smiled. "I'll be back soon."

Annie watched Victoria as she made her way to the bargain bin, carefully placing her feet on only the white tiles amidst the sea of tan and yellow. Because she likes to see the effect she has on them, Annie thought feeling a rush of fondness and hating herself for it. She grabbed a cloth and began to almost violently wipe down the counter. You're not forgiving her that easily this time. She's manipulating you because she knows how you feel about her, dumbass, and you're making it too easy –

"Found something," Victoria singsonged, somehow managing to skip and only have her feet touch the white tiles. She grinned, genuinely excited, and placed an oil lamp on the check-out counter between them. "It's perfect!"

Annie took one glance at Victoria's face and softened just a bit. "I thought your mom was the one who liked old-fashioned lamps."

"She is. I get dad this and he'll be so lost in memories of her that he won't even notice that I couldn't get the watch I was hinting that I might for the last month," Victoria finished, looking way too proud of herself.

Annie stared. "You're purposely going to force your dad to think about his dead wife on his birthday just so he will overlook the fact that you didn't get him a watch? Do you realize how cruel that is?"

Victoria waved a hand dismissively. "I'll just steer him into thinking positive thoughts, it'll be fine."

With a sigh, Annie picked up the lamp and checked the price sticker. "And you can't even afford this. You only have $20 dollars, this is $35.99."

A tentative smile formed on Victoria's face. "I was hoping you could help me out with that."

"No," Annie said immediately, shaking her head. "There's no way I'm going to help you with this. I'm angry at you and this is so many levels of wrong."

"Please, Ann?" Victoria begged softly, widening her brown eyes and clasping her chocolate hands together.

Annie turned away. "Victor – "

"Please?"

Annie held out for a few more moments before cracking. "I hate you," she said, ringing up the lamp as Victoria's face lit up in triumph. "I really do."

"You'll get over it," Victoria said dismissively, handing over a $20. Annie took it and opened up her own purse for another.

"You're a bad person," Annie admitted, bagging the lamp and handing it over.

Victoria grinned. "I never pretended otherwise," she said leaving the store and sliding into the passenger seat of an idling car.

"Get something good?" her younger brother Charles asked, shifting gears and driving out of the lot.

"I think so," Victoria answered. "What did you get dad for his birthday?"

Charles frowned. "Why?"

Victoria shrugged and stared out the window. "I thought that was how small talk worked, C."

"You don't have to make yourself uncomfortable for me, Victor. Your social reservoirs are probably drained; we can talk later."

A small but genuine smile tugged at the corners of Victoria's lips. "I think you might be my favorite person."

Charles huffed a chuckle. "Cause I'm willing to drive you around and I buy you your favorite candy?"

Lightning fast, Victoria turned to face her brother. "You did?"

Charles grinned as he pulled into the driveway of their house. "Left it on your bed. I noticed you were acting colder than usual, thought you might need a pick me up before you dove back into your – you know."

"Sociopathic tendencies?" Victoria finished, raising an eyebrow.

Charles ducked his head. "That's not what it's called-"

"Call it as it is, dear brother, I don't mind. I would, however, prefer not to have this conversation," Victoria said, leaving the car.

"You haven't been showing up at therapy!" Charles shouted after her.

"Fuck off, C!" Victoria shouted back, slamming the front door of the house behind her. Shopping bag in hand, Victoria went straight to her room and locked the door behind her.

Her room was small and comfy. The walls were painted black, but barely any black could be seen through the bookshelves lining the walls full of books, DVDs, and Funko Pops. A Sunnydale High beanbag sat in a corner with a book on top, and a bag of Jolly Ranchers lay on top of her Brakebills sheets. Victoria dropped the shopping bag on her bed before going to her beanbag and swiping the book off the top and slumping into it with a sigh. She dropped the book by the beanbag and took her laptop a lower shelf by her leg, continuing to watch Supernatural season 14.

It was 5 hours later when the knock came at her door. "You okay in there?" Charles asked.

Victoria paused the screen on Jack's burned out eyes and yanked her earbuds from her ears. "What do you want?"

"Just… you're okay, right?"

Attention already back on her screen, Victoria answered, "I'm fine."

"You bought dad a lamp, Victor, that's not fine."

Oh yeah, the lamp, Victoria thought, putting her laptop on the ground and going to her bed. She opened the bag of Jolly ranchers and popped a blue raspberry one in her mouth, sitting on her bed and grabbing the lamp from its bag. "I'll go tomorrow, okay? Promise. I'll talk and she can tell me how I'm supposed to feel and I won't do anything she'd disapprove of. Just go the fuck away. I can't right now."

Silence from behind the door. Then – "Good night,"

Victoria ignored it and studied the lamp instead. It was a greenish gray hand held oil lamp that, admittedly, looked a lot like the one in Aladdin. I bet Aladdin's was clean, Victoria thought sourly, staring hard at a smudge of dirt on the metal. Using the sleeve of her shirt, she wiped it clean and stared at it again.

I should find a bag to put it in, Victoria thought, turning the lamp over in her hands. And some tissue paper. Annie will buy that for me.

"Well, I've never been completely ignored before," and unfamiliar voice came from behind Victoria, causing her to stand and whirl around. On the other side of the bed stood a perfectly average boy with brown hair, brown eyes, and a vaguely hurt look on his face. "That's mean of you."

Victoria glanced to the window and back at the intruder. "Why are you here?"

The boy raised an eyebrow. "Why am I here? That's your first question?"

"Who you are and how you got in don't matter to me. You came here for a reason. Spit it out then get out. If I think you're lying or I don't like what you say, I'll scream."

The boy nodded. "That's fair. I'm the spirit of that lamp, come to grant you one wish," he said, pointing at the oil lamp on Victoria's bed. "Call me Spirit."

Victoria stared. "Do you think I'm stupid?"

Spirit grinned. "You're not screaming."

Victoria sat on the bed, eying Spirit warily. "Because despite myself, I'm curious. Prove it."

Spirit clapped his hand together and the air above his head exploded with tiny floating lights. They swarmed around his head before spreading out and spelling a word in the air.

"Magic?" Victoria read, awed. "I'm impressed. You the only one that exists?"

"Nope," Spirit said, popping the p. "We're a species. Inhabit all kinds of objects. So whatcha want?"

"Is there a catch?" Victoria asked.

"Not really. Just after the wish is granted, you'll forget me and if I determine you're not stable enough to handle your wish, I make you stable enough." Spirit shrugged. "Simple things, really."

"What do you mean by 'stable enough'?" Victoria asked. When Spirit opened his mouth to answer, she waved a hand. "Never mind. I know what I want."

"You sure?" Spirit asked. "No take backs or re-dos or – "

"Yeah, I'm sure," Victoria interrupted.

"So?"

"I wish for the ability to do what I want when I want even if it should be impossible considering all standards that can and cannot be thought of," Victoria said.

"Of course," Spirit said, snapping his fingers. Instantly Victoria fell back onto the bed, asleep. Above her head, her life began playing out, speeding through all her 18 years within a few minutes. Spirit frowned. "Oh dear," he said aloud.

Okay, so antisocial personality disorder has to go, he thought, waving a hand over the sleeping girl's head. Can't have limitless power without empathy. Can't have limitless power, period. Spirit looked at Victoria a moment. No family or friends. That'd just be messy. Spirit waved his hand again. "I think that's okay," he murmured.

Spirit rubbed his hands together, snapped his fingers, and disappeared, the entire room and Victoria disappearing with him.