Percy finished his homework, but not because he was afraid of Evil Willow.
During a weekly tutoring session, Percy kissed Willow, revealing feelings he had been holding in a long time.
Pairings: Willow/Percy
Rating: T
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters/places or general concept. All of that belongs to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy Inc.

Skin Deep

Willow slammed her pen down on the fancy mahogany table and gave Percy an exasperated look. "Percy, you have to try at least." They had been going over her history notes for the upcoming test for almost two hours, and he was not absorbing any information. And they had not even started working on his project that was due in two days. She cursed Principal Snyder for thinking anyone – let alone her – could ever teach Percy anything about history. It was always "in one ear and out the other" with Sunnydale High's star basketball player.

They had begun their tutoring sessions in the school library, but he had suggested that his house might be better. Willow did not question his preference; she just assumed that maybe he worked better in a familiar atmosphere – there was no way the library was familiar to him; which was why she was sitting at his seemingly endless dining room table under a magnificent chandelier.

Percy West was seated beside her, leaning back so that he was only balanced on two legs. He chewed his pencil thoughtfully, his eyes glued to the table. "You know, I would, but I don't really want to," was his response.

Willow sighed heavily, running her hand through her firey hair. "I know you want me to do it all for you, Percy," she told him, "but I want you to learn. Don't you want to play basketball?"

He shrugged and continued to chew his pencil.

"Please, just try," she pleaded, putting emphasis on the word try. She taught like any teacher would; she would not give in to his games or his stubbornness. Willow would not stop until he was a history wiz, even though she knew the final result she wanted was far off into the horizon.

--

Please just try. Her words echoed for miles inside his head.

Percy wanted to try, he really did. Who wanted to fail a class? Who wanted to have to stop playing the sport they love to play? He sure didn't, but when he was around Willow, everything just seemed to freeze around them. History class did not matter, nor did basketball. All that mattered was making Willow his in the short time they had together.

It wasn't like they could date publicly; his popular status would be terminated. But they had enough alone time with their tutoring sessions that it could work. Which was why if Percy really tried, to his full potential, Willow would not need to come teach him any longer, and his opportunities would be minimal.

And now, as Willow stared at him – hard, pleading – with her breath-taking green eyes, he formulated a plan.

---

Willow pushed away from the table and stood up from her chair. Her feelings of hatred towards Percy were growing with every moment that passed. She could not stand how much he thought of himself, he was gorgeous, he didn't need to pass history. He didn't need to respect her and the time she was spending on him. There had been so many times she had walked out on him, frustrated, on the verge of tears, because his lack of effort burned away at everything she believed in.

Now, Willow gazed down at him, she was ready to give up. She would do his history report just so she wouldn't have to spend any more time with him. She was sick of this.

She was done.

--

"I'm going, Percy," Willow told him.

Percy flinched slightly, and turned away from her, closing his eyelids tight over his eyes, so he wouldn't cry. She had finally given up on him, he would never pass history now, but he still had a chance to make something happen. This was his last shot.

"Don't go, Willow," Percy whispered so quietly that he was not even sure she had heard him. "Please."

The muffled steps of her sock feet on the hardwood floor came to a halt. "Why?" she asked him. Her voice was so cold that he momentarily lost the faith he had in himself to fulfill what he was about to do.

Percy rose to his feet and approached Willow, his eyes locked with her's. "Just don't go," he told her. And then he kissed her.

--

Willow had only ever been kissed by her parents and Oz. Her parents' kisses were gentle and loving, Oz's were passionate, yet careful, but Percy's was unlike anything she had ever experienced.

There was so much emotion in this kiss, that he drove her backwards against his dining room's wall. His lips were so soft, and knew the route they needed to take with each movement. It was like he was telling her everything that was inside his mind at the same time; it was more powerful than any magic she had ever played with. Percy's kiss was like Heaven.

It took her too long to realize what she was doing was wrong in so many ways. She pressed her hands against his chest and pushed him away from her, their lips breaking apart. She panted, her eyes full of shock and bewilderment. "What are you doing?" she almost screamed, her voice cracking with confusion."Percy, this is not right, not even a little bit!"

Percy's face showed despair, like something he wanted was just out of reach. He shrugged his familiar "cool guy" shrug, like what happened did not even matter. And then he froze, eyes glued to the oatmeal-coloured carpet.

Willow stepped back once, twice, and then continued until she was out of his house. This was something she was hoping to never have felt, but Sunnydale's basketball star had ventured too far, and now she was running.

--

Percy watched her go, but did not chase after her. As soon as she had broken away from his kiss, he knew he had lost this fighting chance. And it did not hurt, he felt numb.

He was used to getting all he wanted; he had a rich dad and he was the most popular boy at Sunnydale High. Nobody ever told him rejected him, nobody ever told him no. He was used to feeling some kind of emotion, but now he felt nothing. It was as if he wasn't even there anymore; he was just a body and Percy was gone somewhere else, floating around in the atmosphere.

Percy tried to move, tried to release some feeling back into his blood stream, but he could not bring himself to do it. He had had so many opportunities to win Willow over, and he had waited too long. It was done, she had left running.

Why was he such an idiot? How could he have messed up the one thing that really mattered?

--

Percy had kissed her. Really kissed her.

Willow could not shake the thought or the painful memory.

Percy, the boy who had teased her, and lowered her self-esteem since kindergarten had kissed her, and really meant it. How long had she crushed on him? How many times had she written in her diary that she wished he would kiss her? And now that he had, really and finally had, it was all wrong.

She decided it was easiest to just forget. She could do that. Put that moment in time in the back corner of her head and leave it there forever. She could concentrate on school, friends, magic and Oz...

But his lips had felt so good against her's...

No, Willow would stop thinking of it. And she would tell nobody. No one could ever know.

She continued her route home, as the clouds in the sky overhead grew dark and grey and began thundering angrily. She just hoped she had not hurt Percy's feelings too much by leaving, not that it mattered anymore. She could not face him again, not even to improve his education.

Willow made it the rest of the way home without thinking about Percy once.

Maybe it was possible to just forget.

--

Percy would never forget her.

She was the one girl in his life that had really meant something. It wasn't just fake feelings so he could date the prettiest girl in the school; this was skin deep love, pulsing through his bloodstream. She was something he truly wanted – he needed – but it was not something he could have, for once in his life. Willow was the first girl who had ever turned him down, and that just made him want her more.

That night, he perched on his computer for hours throughout the night. He reread all the history notes Willow had photocopied for him, and researched his history project. Percy pushed himself harder and harder than ever before, concentrating on academics for the first time in his life. But this time, it was not for basketball, or even for the note. It was for Willow.

By 5:00AM, he was finished two projects, on both president Roosevelts.

By 5:00AM, he felt a certain accomplishment.

By 5:00AM, he knew he would pass history top of the class.

By 5:00AM, he knew that Willow would be proud. And that was all that mattered.