Oz first noticed Willow at a school dance long before they started dating. In a sea of girls dressed to impress, Oz's eyes found the shy girl in the Eskimo costume. He ran into her again when she was in another costume - in the hallway at school on Halloween, they literally bumped into each other. Oz quickly apologized, not knowing that the girl under the ghost sheet was the same little Eskimo he'd been hoping to find again. Later that night, after Willow took off the sheet, Oz saw her crossing the street in the leather miniskirt Buffy lent her - she definitely had his attention, and he definitely wanted to meet her.

Soon after was Sunnydale High's career fair. Willow was dismayed not to have been assigned to a career seminar until two men in suits escorted her into an area set aside for recruiters from an elite computer company. The only other student there was Oz. For a moment, he appeared overjoyed to finally run into her, but he quickly reclaimed his inner cool and offered her a canape. The next day, while the fair was still in progress, Buffy was attacked. The assassin fired a gun into the crowd, and Oz pushed Willow out of the way, taking a bullet in the arm. She tried to thank him later, but he turned the conversation towards animal crackers - and Willow's sweet smile.

Several episodes later, he asked her out, and Willow suggested he come to Buffy's surprise birthday party. Buffy made a grand entrance, crashing through the window with a vampire that was soon reduced to dust. Oz took a moment to make sure he wasn't the only one who saw that, and Xander explained that vampires were real. Willow was concerned that Oz would be upset by this, but Oz took the news in stride, insisting that it actually explained a lot.

Then came the werewolf attacks. The gang all tried to sleuth out the werewolf until Oz awoke naked in a field one morning with no memory of how he got there. A phone call confirmed that a young cousin who had bit his finger was in fact a werewolf, which meant that Oz had been infected. He tried to chain himself up so as not to hurt anyone, but Willow chose that moment to invite herself over to express her frustration that their budding relationship wasn't progressing anywhere. Oz transformed, and Willow ran for help. He was subdued and locked in the library book cage until morning, after which he spoke to Willow. He told her he would understand if she didn't want to see him anymore, but she insisted that she'd still like to. Then she decided to carpe the damn diem already and kissed him. And Oz mused to himself that he was in love.

During this time, however, Willow still hadn't let go of her feelings for Xander. She asked Oz if he wanted to make out one evening, but since he could tell she wanted to make Xander jealous, he said he'd rather wait. Then she was attacked in the Library and left unconscious. Xander held her hand and told her he loved her, but when she woke from her coma, the first word on her lips was "Oz...".

Unfortunately, because Sunnydale is the capital city of horrible timing, Willow and Xander found they actually did have feelings for each other. They began playing footsie under the table and stealing kisses, all the while feeling guilty for deceiving the partners they were crazy about. Then, captured by Spike and thinking they were about to die, they held each other and kissed, not knowing that Oz and Cordelia had come to their rescue. Oz broke up with Willow, but her sincere remorse convinced him to give her another chance. She offered to go to bed with him to prove her feelings, but as with her first offer to make out, he preferred to wait until a better time. That better time came just before graduation. In the middle of so much fear and uncertainty, Willow felt a little guilty for being so happy, but they got each other through a very scary time. They survived high school.

Next step: college. One night on campus, Oz and another young woman noticed each other in passing, seeming to recognize something in each other. Then one morning, they woke up together, naked and covered in scratches. It turned out that she, Verucca, was a werewolf too. She tried to draw out Oz's inner wolf, aghast that he would lock himself in a cage, rather than enjoy the power of his lycanthropy. In a misguided attempt to keep Verucca from running free the next night, he enticed her into his cage to spend the night with him. Willow arrived in the morning with coffee, and her heart shattered at the sight of them together.

The third night, Verucca came after Willow, but Oz arrived before Verucca could attack her. Transformed, Oz and Verucca fought to the death. He ripped her throat out, and then he advanced on Willow. Buffy saved her, but Willow began to wish she hadn't. Distraught that he had lost control so completely, Oz left town, hoping to find a way to control the beast inside him. Willow sank into a deep depression. Then soon after meeting a young woman named Tara, her spirits began to improve. Oz returned soon after, hoping to be with Willow again, but the realization that she and Tara were together proved too much for his new self-control. He transformed and attacked Tara, then had to be rescued from The Initiative. He and Willow confirmed that they would always care deeply for each other, always be in each other's hearts, but their relationship was over. Oz left town.

Pivotal Episodes:
Inca Mummy Girl, Halloween, What's My Line I/II, Innocence, Phases, Becoming II, Lovers Walk, Amends, Becoming I, Wild At Heart, New Moon Rising

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