What Difference Does It Make?

By: Riley

Summary – A two year age difference isn't a big deal. To a girl it makes things more exciting. To a guy, it makes things that much more nerve-wracking. Either way, it's cute. Jo/OC and Stephanie/OC two-shot.

.:1 - Jo:.

Patrick Jackson-McGuire found it cute how Jo Taylor always thought that she was cute. But really, she wasn't cute. At all. At least that's what he was trying to convince himself. It would make things less nerve-wracking for him.

Jo Taylor found it cute how nervous Patrick was around her. It was refreshing to see, as opposed to guys who were so confident that it bordered on being arrogant. It was something that really excited her.

But it was their first honest-to-god-date, so of course things were going to be nerve-wracking and exciting. The smells and sounds of the fair wafted around them. The lights from the rides and booths added to the ambience.

"I am soooooo going to get you next time," Jo giggled, playfully smacking at his shoulder, as she let go of the air hockey mallet. She then grabbed onto his arm and the two started to walk through the fair, looking for something else to do.

He cringed, not from her insignificant hit, but because the mere knowing of her touching him in the slightest made his insides coil with excitement. "You won't," he said with confidence, his eyes narrowing, playfully trying to put fear in her.

She didn't back away from him; she didn't even notice his attempt at making her run away. She just smiled at him, resting her head on his shoulder as the two of them continued to move through the crowd of the fair. He tried not to look at the people that gawked when they passed them. He briefly wondered if she noticed.

Jo did notice the stares that they got, but she didn't care. She knew about all of the rumors that went around about their relationship. How it was weird that she was going out with someone that was two years younger than her (three depending on the time of year) and whether or not she went out with Kendall just to dump him for Patrick. That was the one that she heard the most; the fact that she was a bitch because she dumped Kendall for someone that was one of his best friends and had worked with for the past two years. But that wasn't her fault that was just how things played out for them. She had to admit, though, that there were times that she wondered about their age difference.

Her father had looked at her funny when she told him about her boyfriend. Then he went and did that CIA thing, demanding to know everything about him. She didn't mind talking about him, she minded the looks. There was nothing wrong about dating someone who was a couple of year's difference in age. She was eighteen and he was sixteen. Besides, he was more mature than other guys she had known. Sure, he could get wrapped up in one of Big Time Rush's schemes at the drop of a hat, but he was as serious and work driven than anyone else she had ever known. But that was something she liked about him; he easily made her laugh, much harder than anyone else could, he made her feel happy and she never second guessed herself around him, like she did with Kendall, he made everything exciting for her.

"Does that every bother you sometimes?" The words came out of Jo's mouth before she could stop them.

"What?" Patrick asked. He tilted his head down and looked at her with his dark blue eyes.

"The rumors and stuff." Jo lifted her head from his shoulder and frowned a bit as she looked ahead of them. "I mean, the fact that people care so much that you're two years younger than I am."

"No, not really." Patrick looked away from her.

Jo stopped and stepped in front of him, crossing her arms over her chest. Every time she tried to catch his eye he would skillfully look away from her. Finally, she narrowed her eyes at him, not exactly in a glare, but it was enough so that she had his undivided attention. "You listen to the comments don't you?"

"It's not that." Patrick licked his snakebite piercings, one of his nervous habits. He ran a hand through his hair, being careful not to mess up the spikes. She smiled a little, noticing the habit that he had picked up from James.

"Then what is it?" Jo pressed.

Patrick tilted his head back and looked at the sky, stalling for time. When he realized that Jo wasn't going to let the matter drop, he started speaking quickly. "It's just…sometimes you make me so nervous that I don't know what to do. I can't act normally around you, but I can. And then there's that nagging thought about what Robert kept telling us; how we're worthless, useless, and that no one would want us and sometimes I just can't help but wonder-"

"That I'll just dump you to go out with someone else?" Jo demanded, her eyes flashing. "Maybe James? He could be someone that I'd move on to next, or maybe Carlos. I'm not that above mercilessly dumping someone, maybe I'll steal someone's boyfriend to."

Patrick's eyes blazed with anger. "Don't put words in my mouth," he snapped. "That's not what I meant."

"So what did you mean?" Jo scowled before turning on her heel and storming away from him. Patrick looked bewildered for a moment, squinting one of his eyes as he watched her walk away. He then threw his hands into the air before following her. He caught up to her and turned her around, noticing that tears were welled up in her eyes.

"Stop running," He said with a sigh. "Stop crying." He grabbed the bottom of his shirt and wiped her tears away. "Good," he said gently.

The two of them jumped as there was a clap of thunder. Then it started to rain. The lights and the rain mixed, which made the pavement glitter and shine. The rain was cold like ice and their soon became soaked to the bone. Jo grabbed each of her shoulders as she shivered.

Patrick pushed his black/blonde hair off of his forehead, but the spikes had wilted and stuck there. He stood close to her and held her hands. She tilted her head up and her brown eyes bored into his blue ones.

He kissed her.

Their first kiss. Jo put her arms around his neck and they kissed more. Gently they pulled away. The two looked at each other and smiled. Then they walked back to the parking lot to get into Jo's car so they could wait out the rain.

Holding hands.

It wasn't so weird anymore.

A/N: So this was the first one of the two-shot. I always thought that Patrick would be shyer around Jo than any other girl, just because she's older than him. I hope I kept Jo in character, even though Rhu and I write her differently from the personality on the show, I thought that having a little bit of the personality from the show mixed in would work too. I don't know why in the one-shots I write for PatrickxJo there's always an emphasis on them holding hands, I just noticed it.

I'll have the NoahxStephanie one up soon. Oh and this was re-titled from my original title idea, Miles Apart.

Cheers,

-Riles