Title: Everything You Want
Author: Karen U
E-mail: ksu2@juno.com
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss Whedon, the WB, and Fox; the song
"Everything You Want" belongs to Vertical Horizon
Summary: Oz is back, but Willow wants someone else
Spoilers: Wild at Heart

Percy West watched as Willow Rosenberg sat quietly by Daniel ‘Oz’ Osbourne.
He didn’t understand her. Why had she taken Oz back? Percy knew that Oz
had cheated on the redhead, then taken off on her. He didn’t deserve her
forgiveness. In Percy’s humble opinion, the guitar player deserved to be
beaten to a bloody pulp.

Sighing softly, Percy tried to rein in his anger, but it was difficult. It
just hurt so much to see Willow wasting herself on that idiot.

< Somewhere there’s speaking
It’s already coming in
Oh, and it’s rising
At the back of your mind >

Oz sighed contentedly as he sat beside his girlfriend. He was back with
Willow.

And Willow was where she belonged.

It had taken several hours to convince her of that, but Oz had finally
prevailed, and Willow was his.

She had broken up with that stupid jock Percy West and come back to him.

Life was good.

Or, it would be, if Willow wasn’t so damn unhappy.

< You never could get it
Unless you were fed it
Now you’re here
And you don’t know why >

Willow tried not to fidget at she sat beside her boyfriend.

Her boyfriend. Did he really deserve to be called that?

He had cheated on her. Sure, she’d cheated on him, too. But her kissing
Xander - the boy she’d loved forever - was far different from Oz having sex
with some girl he’d barely known a week. And then, when he’d come back, he
had expected her to be right there waiting for him.

And she’d let him talk his way right back into her life.

Maybe she needed to have her head examined.

< But under skinned knees
And the skidmarks
Past the places
Where you used to learn >

Percy shifted his position, his eyes never leaving Willow. She looked so
beautiful, so young, so innocent.

So sad.

Percy shook his head. Only a month ago, he had been making her smile.

Now he wondered if she’d ever smile again.

< You howl and listen
Listen and wait for the
Echoes of angels
That won’t return >

Willow forced herself to listen to the conversation Oz and Devon were
having, then tuned the men back out. Music. Again. It was just like the
conversations she’d interrupted between Oz and Veruca so very long ago.
Except, of course, Oz and Devon weren’t going to go off and have sex later.

At least, she didn’t think they were.

< He’s everything you want
He’s everything you need
He’s everything inside of you
That you wish you could be >

She knew Percy was watching her. She could feel his eyes on her, and she
longed to search him out in the crowd. It hurt to remember how she had told
him goodbye. She had thrown away the four months they had spent together
just to please Oz and her friends.

She was such a fool.

< He says all the right things
At exactly the right time
But he means nothing to you
And you don’t know why >

Willow shifted in her seat again, trying to resist the urge to just get up
and leave. She didn’t really think the men would notice. Hell, they
probably wouldn’t notice if she stood up, took off all of her clothes, and
did the salsa.

With a deep sigh, Willow let herself think about Percy.

She had to allow herself that much.

< You’re waiting for someone
To put you together
You’re waiting for someone
To push you away >

Percy had been there for her. He had been so patient, so kind, while she
got through her Oz issues. He had held her while she cried. He had given
her flowers, taken her for walks... she never would have believed it, but
Percy West had turned out to be quite the romantic.

And he loved her.

< There’s always another
Wound to discover
There’s always something more
You’d wish he’d say >

Oz didn’t say he loved her. At least, not anymore.

His words usually fell along the lines of “I need you” and “You belong with
me.”

He never even asked if he was what she needed. All that mattered to him was
that she was what he needed.

And how the hell did he know who she belonged with anyway?

< He’s everything you want
He’s everything you need
He’s everything inside of you
That you wish you could be >

Giving up on even pretending to pay attention to the conversation Devon and
Oz were engrossed in, Willow finally allowed herself to look for Percy. She
found him immediately, and their eyes locked. He looked so alone, as alone
as she felt, and she had to bite her lip to keep from crying. She wanted so
badly to go over to him, but she knew she couldn’t.

Good Lord, she missed him.

< He says all the right things
At exactly the right time
But he means nothing to you
And you don’t know why >

Percy quietly cursed when he saw the way Willow’s eyes were glistening. He
knew she was near tears, but no one else even noticed it. Her boyfriend was
completely oblivious to the redhead’s distress.

Percy watched silently as Willow leaned in and appeared to make excuses to
the musicians, then left.

Without hesitation, Percy followed her.

< But you’ll just sit tight
And watch it unwind
It’s only what
You’re asking for >

Willow made her way slowly back to the dorm, surreptitiously wiping the
tears from her eyes. It was just too much. Falling for Percy, then having
Oz show up again, practically demanding his spot in her life back.

And her friends.

They had reminded Willow of how much she had hurt when Oz had left, of how
much she had wanted him back. They said this was the perfect opportunity to
have what she wanted. Oz.

They never seemed to notice that she had stopped wanting him.

< And you’ll be just fine
With all of your time
It’s only what
You’re waiting for >

Willow entered the dorm room she shared with Buffy, grateful that it was
empty. She didn’t think she could stand seeing her friend right this
moment, especially since all Buffy seemed to be able to do lately was gush
about Riley. It wasn’t that Willow begrudged her friend happiness.

It was just hard to take when she herself was so unhappy.

< Out of the island
Into the highway
Past the places where
You might have turned >

Willow opened the her desk drawer and pulled out the photograph she kept
hidden. It had been taken two months earlier, more than a month before Oz
had returned and sent her world spinning. In it, she and Percy had their
arms around each other, and they were at the beach. Anya had gotten a
camera just the day before, and she had been anxious to use it. There were
probably five or six rolls of that day. God, it had been a wonderful day.

A tear dropped on the picture as Willow began to cry in earnest.

< You never did notice
That you still hide away
The anger of angels
That won’t return >

Percy stopped outside Willow’s door, suddenly indecisive. Did he really
want to take this chance? Did he really want to put himself out there on
the line again, only to be rejected? But what if he wasn’t rejected? He
knew Willow wasn’t happy, and he loved her. And he knew she loved him.

Taking a deep breath, Percy raised his fist and knocked.

< He’s everything you want
He’s everything you need
He’s everything inside of you
That you wish you could be >

Willow opened the door slowly, and her jaw dropped in surprise when she saw
who was at the door.

“Percy? What are you doing here?”

“I had to see you. Can I come in?”

Silently, Willow stepped back, allowing him entrance.

< He says all the right things
At exactly the right time
But he means nothing to you
And you don’t know why >

“I love you.”

Willow closed her eyes, savoring the words that came from Percy’s lips. He
loved her. And she loved him. She opened her eyes slowly, then lifted her
hand to his cheek.

“I love you, too,” she confessed, preparing herself for the guilt that was
sure to accompany those words.

It never came.

She had tried to love Oz again, but love’s not something that can be forced.
She didn’t love the werewolf anymore, and it was useless to stay with him.
She didn’t want him anymore.

She wanted Percy.

With a soft smile, she drew Percy to her and kissed him.

< I am everything you want
I am everything you need
I am everything inside of you
That you wish you could be >

Oz walked down the hallway, headed for Willow’s dorm room. He and Devon had
finished their conversation, and he only had a few hours left before he had
to be at the Bronze. The Dingoes were booked there for the entire week. He
knew Willow wouldn’t mind spending her evenings at the Bronze.

She never had before.

< I say all the right things
At exactly the right time
But I mean nothing to you
And I don’t know why >

Oz opened the door, fully expecting to see Willow studying like she was
supposed to be. Instead, he found her in bed.

Having sex.

With Percy West.

As silently as he had entered, Oz stepped back out of the room and shut the
door, then slumped to the ground and covered his face in his hands.

He wished he had never come back to Sunnydale.

After a moment, he stood and walked away, knowing he was doing much more
than walking away from Willow’s room.

He was walking away from Willow.

< And I don’t know ...
Why...
Why...
And I don’t know... >

The End