A/N: please take like two seconds to look at the gif to the side to see Scar (Max Irons) telling Ben Barnes "I have the key to your heart". I swear I've seen Dorian Gray so many times and didn't even realize Max Irons was in it! The gif has nothing to do with this chapter but I thought it was hot. GOSH!

•

Maybe you should learn to love him

Like the way you wanna be loved

Chapter 09 ~ Gold Rush

Scar Patterson

My bed felt softer than usual.

I turned over to my side and nuzzled my face into my warm pillow and outstretched my arms, only to be greeted by another body. My eyes snapped open at that very instant and when I saw the familiar blond disheveled hair, I scrambled out of bed and toppled to the floor with a giant thud.

The commotion had caused Jamie to stir in his sleep and eventually wake up with a confused expression on his face as he looked down at me. "What.. Are you ... Doing?" His eyes were still halfway closed.

I peeped up at him from the floor and saw that he was shirtless with his bottom half wrapped in my sheets. "Oh my god!" I struggled to stand to my feet and was surprised to see that I, too, was shirtless. "Dude..." I met his lazy gaze. "We didn't...please...tell me I'm still a butt virgin."

Jamie stared at me for what seemed like forever before he sighed and buried his head into the sheets. "We didn't have sex," he mumbled into the pillow.

I let out a large sigh of relief, but I still couldn't help but wonder why he was in my bed. "Why are you here?"

He popped his head up, his eyes fully open now with any trace of sleepiness completely gone. "What do you mean why am I here? You were drunk last night and I took you home."

I opened my dresser and searched for a shirt to cover myself. There was something undeniably weird about two guys sleeping together with no shirts on. "So?" I inquired. "That didn't mean you have to stay here, let alone sleep in my bed beside me with no clothes on."

He sat up abruptly and studied me with a perplexed look on his face. He scratched the back of his head before saying, "Do you remember anything from last night?"

"I remember punching that traitor in the face and making his nose bleed, which by the way, I'm totally going to finish today." I pulled my new shirt over my head and flashed him a quick smile.

I was fuming and I couldn't wait until I saw Trey again so I can finish what I started. He might not have understood it, but he knew I was in love with Francesca. What he did last night was the ultimate betrayal.

Jamie's confused expression still didn't fade. "You don't remember anything else?"

I suddenly became annoyed with his presence. There was a certain amount of exposure to Jamie that I could take, and he was definitely pushing the limit. "Can you leave?" I questioned all of a sudden. "Not to be rude or anything, but you're sleeping in my bed which I'll probably have to burn now."

He quickly inched off the bed and picked up his shirt from the floor, sliding it over his bare chest. "Wow," he breathed out in disbelief. "I didn't ask to be in your stupid bed, asshole. You practically begged me to."

I whipped around quickly. "What?"

"Nothing," he muttered under his breath and continued to fix his clothes. Honestly, it was the first time I've seen him serious. Normally he'd have a teasing grin on his face, but now his cocky smile was nowhere to be seen. It sorta bothered me that he wasn't smiling because I had gotten so used to it. He was halfway out the door when I stopped him.

"Wait."

He glanced over his shoulder. "What?"

I couldn't believe I was actually attempting to apologize. "That was mean, I'm sorry. You can stick around for breakfast, or something." I rubbed the back of my neck in search for the right words to say. "Well, I can't really cook. Maybe Amy can make you something if you'd like and I can give you a ride to school."

Somehow, I had gotten him to smile. He glanced down at the floor momentarily, still smiling, before shaking his head. "I'm good, Scar. I understand I've overstepped some boundaries by climbing into bed with you. Totally unprofessional. Won't happen again." Jamie turned to the door again, fully intent on leaving.

"Look, I don't mean to be mean. I should be thanking you for saving my ass last night," I admitted truthfully. I didn't remember much from the previous night other than a sip too many and Francesca making out with Trey. Knowing that my rage would have impelled me to do something drastic, I was actually glad Jamie was there to look out for me. "Come on, I'll drive you."

Jamie paused in the doorway, leaning his tall build on the door frame. "You're not seriously thinking of going to school, are you? You're hungover and I still don't think it's healthy for you to see Francesca so soon."

I scoffed and dismissed his absurd notion with a wave of my hand. "Dude, I'm totally fine," I lied through gritted teeth. He raised an eyebrow which told me he knew I wasn't, but I didn't want him to give him the satisfaction. "Seriously, I am."

He crossed his arms against his chest and gave me a stern look. "You're too convincing, Patterson," he said with sarcasm coating his words. "Has anyone ever told you how much of a bad liar you are?"

It bothered me that he was able to see through my lies. In fact, I hated that he knew me enough to know when I was lying. We'd only known each other for a few days and he already knew more about me than I did about him.

"Okay," I sighed heavily, giving in. "What do you want me to do? Skip school? I care about my grades."

Jamie grinned widely. "Sure you do." He placed a hand in my shoulder and shrugged. "How about we just hang out today? Maybe it'll get your mind off the whole slutty girlfriend thing?"

I shot him a deadly glare, but his only response was a cheeky grin before he turned around, headed through the narrow hallway, and down the stairs. Almost immediately, Amy came stalking towards him with her pudgy arms folded against her chest and her lips pressed into a firm, thin line.

Her colorless eyes darted between us for a few moments before she spoke up. "Good morning to you both."

I rolled my eyes as soon as I descended the staircase. "Please go away, Amy."

She tapped her foot impatiently on the floor. "How was your night?" The question was directed towards me, based on her narrowed gaze.

Ignoring her question, I waltzed into the kitchen and tugged on the fridge door, pulling out a protein shake and screwing it open. I really wasn't in the mood to deal with Amy. Sure, I was testing the waters with this sibling bonding thing, but it didn't mean I was obliged to abide by it's rules every second of the day. I would lay off the fat jokes for now but she wasn't getting anything more than that.

But she kept her fixed gaze on me, indicating that she wanted to talk to me privately.

I cleared my throat. "Hey Jamie. Why don't you wait for me in the car?"

He gave us both a skeptical look before silently nodding and making his way to the front door.

Returning my gaze to my sister, I spat, "Why are you looking me that?"

Her gaze continued to narrow until her eyes were just two thin slots. "I know why you don't want me hanging out with Jamie," she proposed.

"I thought I told you it was because I didn't trust him."

"No," she snapped. "You don't want me hanging out with him because you want him all to yourself!"

My eyebrows pulled together in a frown. "What?" I slapped a hand over my forehead and lazily dragged it down my face while groaning. Just the thought of being more than acquaintances with Jamie made me sick to my stomach. It wasn't only because he was gay; it was also because he was beyond creepy.

"What the hell, Amy? Where did you get that from?" I brought my protein shake to my lips and took a large sip.

She smiled a coy smile. "Don't play dumb, Scar. I saw you guys cuddling."

The bile instantly rose in my throat at her words and I spurt out the protein shake. "What!"

She kept her composure. "I checked up on you during the night because I'm the good sister that I am and you were hugging him like he was softest thing in the world."

I took a deep breath. "I was sleeping. I had to be. You know how oblivious I get when I'm tired."

She cocked her head to the side, gazing at me curiously. "You were wide awake."

As if this day couldn't get any worse. I made a mental note to not get drunk anymore. Because apparently, I did unpredictable things when I was under the influence.

I sighed heavily and pushed past Amy. "Take the bus today. I can't give you a ride." As I made my way towards the front door, I could faintly hear Amy's questions and pleas but I ignored them all. Instead, I trudged to my orange Jeep and slid into the driver's seat, slamming the door behind me.

Jamie and I sat in silence for a brief moment before I snapped my attention to him, scowling. "Why didn't you tell me we were cuddling last night?" My voice was a bit louder than I intended it to be, but it didn't succeed in making Jamie feel intimidated. If anything, it made him smile.

"You didn't ask."

Growing frustrated, I slammed my fists down on the steering wheel. "What else did we do?"

Jamie's grin grew more menacing as he ignored my question and gazed out the window.

"Seriously?" I questioned, my voice rising. "What did you make me do?"

The corner of his lip tugged into a smug smirk. "I'll have you know that everything you did last night was completely voluntary, Patterson."

I stared blankly at him as I thought over the things I could have done. There was no way I could initiate anything sexual while I was drunk. There was just no way.

Sighing, I stuck the key into the ignition and turned the car on. "Well whatever we did, it changes nothing between us. I still don't like you and I'm not gay, so don't get any ideas."

Jamie leaned over and grinned at me. "You don't need to be gay for me to get ideas, Patterson."

My body stiffened at that moment. I had already thought over the possibility of Jamie fantasizing about me, but knowing it was true made me feel more queasy than I already did. "Just stop."

Jamie sunk back into his seat, but the smile never left his face. It was only when I was pulling out of the driveway, he answered my initial question. "We didn't do anything, Scar. If we did, trust me, I would take every opportunity to rub it in your face."

I rolled my eyes. "Great."

**

We drove around town for several minutes in search of a place to hang and let off steam, or so Jamie decided to call it. Honestly I'd rather walk into school and choke both Trey and Francesca to death. I wasn't in the mood for ice cream sundaes, which was what Jamie insisted that we get. The only reason I complied with his demands was because I owed him for helping me out last night.

Believe it or not, I wasn't a total asshole.

"What's your favorite ice cream?" Jamie asked me all of a sudden as he poked my stomach and glanced up at the menu.

I folded my arms against my chest and sighed. "Can you just order something so we can leave?"

He gazed into my eyes with his clear blue ones. I noticed his eyes seemed to be a different shade of blue everytime his emotion changed. When he was amused, they were a sky blue. When he was annoyed and itritated, they turned into a darker oceanic color. When he was genuinely happy, like right now, they were transparent almost.

"I want to know what your favorite ice cream is," he pressed.

A low groan bubbled in my throat. "I don't like ice cream," I said in a low, leveled voice. The truth was, I loved ice cream. Dad and I always came to this same ice cream shop after practices, but after he died I couldn't stand the thought of being here. I almost forgot the smell of the delicious creamery and now I had to sit through painful torture as I waited for Jamie to decide.

He smiled weakly at me before turning to the cashier. "Can I have two cones of birthday cake please? Three scoops each."

"Are you seriously going to eat two cones of ice cream?"

Jamie glanced back at me and smiled as the cashier handed him his order. "No," he corrected while handing me one of the cones. "You've been eyeing it ever since we got in here."

My brows knitted together as I glanced down at the colorful ice cream. It used to be my favorite every time Dad brought me here. I hadn't even noticed that my eyes were glued to that particular flavor. "You don't have to..."

"It's all good, Patterson." He licked the tip of his ice cream before making his way to one of the empty tables near the window.

I followed suit and took a seat opposite of him. For a while, we just licked our ice cream and stared at each other. His phone rang a couple times, but he never picked up. He would glance at the screen and let it ring. After the fourth time it happened, I decided to speak up about it. "Who are you avoiding?"

"Huh?" He seemed taken aback by my question. "Oh, it's just my sister."

"Jillian," I said as I recalled her name. "You two look really alike."

His lips pulled into the smallest of smiles. "That's because we're twins. But I'm older by five minutes so I take the title of the big brother who's overly protective."

I didn't know why, but that comment made me smile. "So if you're overly protective of her, why aren't you picking up the phone?" I swiped my tongue over the ice cream dripping down the sides of my cone as I gave him questioning look.

Jamie paused for a moment, staring at me like I've just asked the dumbest question ever. When he broke out of his stupor, he forced a laugh. "I think I have a pretty good idea of what she's going to say. And I'd like to delay that speech as much as possible."

"Why?" I found myself asking.

He pressed his lips tightly together and clenched his jaw. "What my sister and I talk about isn't really your business, now is it?" His eyes darkened when he brought them back to me and all the amusement left his face. He was definitely irritated by my prying.

That was what confused me. He was eager to pry into my life, find out my secrets and use them against me but I still knew next to nothing about him. The only thing I was really sure of was his sexuality, and that wasn't much of a secret.

"I don't have any friends," I said. "My teammates are just that - teammates. They're all a bunch of meatheads who only care about football. Most of them aren't even good people, so I don't consider them my friends. The only real friend I had was Trey, but it's obvious that's over, right? I hate to say this, but you're the only one I really have ... I guess."

He raised a brow. "Why are you telling me that?"

"It means that you're a good person and I don't think you'll ever do anything to hurt me like Trey did," I admitted truthfully. It was the first time I'd ever been really honest with my feelings. "So if we're friends now, then I want to know about you. It's not fair that you know all my secrets."

Jamie looked up at me with his mouth agape. It was the first time in the history of our relationship that he had nothing to say in response.

"Fine, I'll start." I finished up what was left of my ice cream and wiped my hands into a napkin. "That birthday cake ice cream is my favorite ice cream in the whole world." I sat back in my seat and gestured towards him to share. "Now it's your turn."

He continued to look at me with that shocked expression. "You've got to be kidding me."

"No, I'm not. Tell me something about yourself."

He thought it over for a moment, looking up at the ceiling and pretending to think. "I think that you're a neverending mystery, Scar. Just when I think I got you figured out, you turn around and surprise me."

Smiling smugly, I folded my arms against my chest. "Tell me something about yourself," I reiterated.

Jamie bit down on his bottom lip and let out a low chuckle. "Is Scar your real name?"

He was doing it again, trying to change the subject. I didn't see why it was so hard for him to open up.

When I didn't respond, he sighed. "When I was a kid, I liked to dress up like a princess."

I tried to hold in laugh. He couldn't be serious. When I glanced back at him and saw he was fiddling with his thumbs nervously, I burst out into full-on hysteria. Doubling over and clutching my stomach to contain the pain, I allowed the laughter to flow out of the back of my throat. "Oh god, that's just ... Wow!"

His cheeks flushed with color as he sunk down into his seat. "Thanks for being so considerate about my feelings." I continued to laugh and he rolled his eyes playfully before saying, "People at school say you got the nickname Scar from cheating death and having a scar on your back to prove it."

My laughter died down and I regained my composure. I almost laughed at the hilarious rumor about cheating death, but when I realized how ironic that sentence was, I fell silent. I did cheat death. I was in the car with Dad on that rainy night, but he died and I didn't.

"That's not true," I whispered softly. "Scar is short for Scarlet."

Jamie quirked a brow and just a few seconds later, he broke out into a grin. "Scarlet?" He questioned. "That's a girl's name."

I gulped. "It's a unisex name."

"No," he objected, shaking his head and laughing lightly. "I'm pretty sure it's a girl's name."

Sighing for the millionth time that day, I interlocked my fingers together and took a deep breath. "It was my Dad's name," I blurted out which made Jamie stop laughing altogether. "And he's dead, so I'd prefer to not be called that anymore."

"I'm so sor-"

"Yeah," I interrupted him as I let my eyes wander around the ice cream shop. I've recieved enough apologizes from sympathetic people to last a lifetime and I didn't need another one.

"How did he..."

"Car crash," I answered, short. After being asked so many times, it was easy to say it now. But it never got easier to think about that day, which I always thought about when people asked me about what happened. It was all my fault.

Jamie reached out and placed a hand on mine to comfort me but as soon as I felt the contact, he pulled it away when an unknown voice called his name.

"Jamie!" Soon, a short skinny boy with ruffled dark brown hair appeared in front of us. He wore a band tshirt that was way too tight on his torso and a pair of matching skinny jeans. His lips - as glossy as they were - were stretched into an elated grin. "Isn't this such a coincidence? My dad had to practically beg me to come here and now that you're here, I feel better."

Jamie groaned loudly.

The boy looked at me for a brief second then returned his attention to Jamie. "I'm horny," he announced, loudly enough for everyone in the shop to here. "Let's go somewhere private."

Jamie pinched the bridge of his nose in complete and utter frustration. "Can't you see I'm in the middle of something, Max?"

Max looked at me again, but this time it didn't seem like he was looking at me. It was like he was looking right through me and it made me feel very uncomfortable.