Mine

By Ella Masanque

A re-written one-shot from my fan fiction account, hope you guys enjoy!

(^^)

Hayden Duke is a territorial kind of guy. Anything that was considered his was his alone.

Fact of the matter was: Hayden Duke didn't do sharing. It was just one of those things he had. Kind of like Jared's roving eye. He couldn't really help it; it was just something that came with the package.

When people think of Hayden Duke, they associate him with the words: Jerk, Dick, Douche, and other names within those meanings.

He was fiercely protective of what was his and that included his friends, family, his place on the school soccer team, the famed heir of the Duke family, and all his chosen seats for every class as well the cafeteria.

Even though lunch was a squished affair, Hayden walked calmly towards his usual seat, left empty as it always was when he was there. He watched in amusement as everyone else was forced to make do with whatever seat they could get their hands on. Today was one of those days where the rain pelted down from the heavens with ice cold water, covering the skies with dark, heavy, ominous clouds. The sun hadn't peeked out as it usually did in the morning, so the look of a dreary evening cast over and remained the entire Tuesday.

Normally some people would choose to eat outside, but due to the uncooperative weather that day, everyone was forced to squeeze themselves into the lunch tables like sardines. No one was spared an empty seat, and despite people's cliques and preferences, enemies were forced to sit next to enemies, that is, if they could find a place to sit.

His usual posse arrived at the table a few minutes after he did, taking their seats around him and starting conversation as if the chaos surrounding them was nothing.

Hayden smirked. To be honest, it was nothing.

The rest of the student body that didn't have a reputation like that of Hayden and his group, were forced to fight for seats and looked brainless in so doing. His group, consisting of Eric Grace, Chloe Santos, Jared Dawn and a few jocks, were periodically making small-talk and watching the rest of the teenage population run around like chickens with their heads cut off.

Conversation at the table was limited at best. The jocks in his group were only interested in getting girls, talking about the latest game or wondering if they should get another serving of lunch before the next class started. Chloe was the only one speaking on her side of the table while Eric tried to claim his spot beside her. Jared, not a regular at their table, looked severely bored with the lack of conversation but didn't look like he was willing to hear anything anyone at present had to offer.

Deciding to spare the blonde, Hayden asked, "What's the matter Dawn? Got suspended from prefect duties?"

"As if Duke," Jared claimed with a smirk, "I just don't have lunch shift today, thank god for that. With all this chaos going on, I don't want to be the one having to deal with the Joker."

Leaning back casually in his chair to view the 'Joker's' usual table, Hayden watched as Blair Knight, nicknamed 'Joker' from across the cafeteria, plucked her iPod ear-pieces out of their respective places and leaned back in her seat just as he did. She seemed ignorant of his stare as she jokingly stole a muffin from her best friend Daphne Conner, and laughed as Jane Dawn, her other best friend, reprimanded her.

From across the cafeteria, Blair laughed.

He rarely liked to admit liking anything, and the thought of him liking Blair Knight made him wish he had more taste for Chloe, or one of her equally brainless friends. His face twisted at the thought.

Why would he have either their attentions or overdone affections on him, when he could have Blair's blind hate instead?

Hayden smirked. Baiting the biggest troublemaker Ashgrove Prep ever knew was probably the most fun since he grew out of chasing the freshmen girls' skirts. She was a whole new game for him to play, and he'd admit it to anyone who asked; he found it enjoyable. He'd never been glared at his entire career at Ashgrove, and she not only glared, but she insulted too.

His first thought was: She's a temperamental bitch. But then Hayden noted, after much scrutinizing of her actions and reactions with other people, that maybe she just didn't like him. It didn't matter then. He's had people dislike him before, but she was the only one who made sure that he knew it.

If their daily fights and screaming matches were to be put in account, it would seem that she liked playing their little game too. Not that he'd admit it to anyone, but he was inwardly glad that Blair only fought with him.

Blair Knight was his game and his game alone. And that, he supposed was the start of a whole new territorial phase.

Hayden raised a brow as two guys, sophomores, took the empty seats remaining at their table. He snorted. They looked like wannabe gangsters with their barely-on-their-heads identical black beanies, their lowly set jeans and their outrageously large cash sign necklaces hung over their chests like bibs. No lunch-rays, no book-bags, just their big colorful sneakers which they set on the table while the rocked on the chairs.

Idiots; was his first thought as he watched Jane quickly grab her things off the table and Daphne smile uneasily meanwhile Blair merely arched a brow at them in question.

The scene played out quite comically at first, with one of the guys, a dirty-blonde, spit his gum out and attach it to Daphne's hair. Blair of course being the loudmouth that she was reprimanded them and demanded an apology to the red head. The distance from their table to Hayden's was too out of earshot to hear anything more, but Blair was starting to look incredibly pissed. Hayden's possessive nature was quipped then as he could see the fight that was just waiting to happen.

Blair only ever fought him and that wasn't going to change for anyone.

His jaw set, he stood from the table abruptly eliciting confused looks from everyone in his table. Stalking over to the Joker's, the rowdy crowd of teenagers still fighting for seats unconsciously parted like the sea, creating a direct path for him to follow. It was as if they could feel the anger boiling just below the surface of his cobalt eyes, and moved away in fear of being caught in the torrent.

Upon reaching the table, Hayden analyzed the situation with surprising speed.

Jane was trying to help Daphne get rid of the dull pink gum that one of the wannabes attached in her air, Daphne trying not to swear when Jane hissed that they needed to cut it off, while Blair was being held rather tightly against said wannabe.

It wasn't that she wanted the guy to touch her, as if that would ever be the case. It was more like; she couldn't fight for herself.

Any guy, who'd tried to put the moves on Blair Knight previous to finding out about her short fuse, was delivered directly to the infirmary for black eyes and squished groins. However due to a practice session in preparation for an archery competition gone wrong, Blair had received an injury to one of her hands.

The bandages she had to wear were removed scarcely a week ago, and it was obvious she was still in some sort of pain.

Gritting his teeth, he grabbed the wannabe by the shoulder, spun him around and bruised his face. The contact of Hayden's fist and the guy's face was almost earth shattering, though there was no blood or broken bones to speak of it. The buzz in the cafeteria seemed to silence as the sound of impact seemed to echo, Blair clutched her painful hand and stared open mouthed at the groaning wannabe sophomore gangster, lying helplessly on the floor. "What the…why'd you," she looked confused, her mouth still hanging on its hinge.

"Shut your mouth Knight," Hayden stated coolly, as if to get back on normal ground, "you'll catch flies with that stink breath of yours."

Blair seemed to snap out her momentary daze and then looked back at him with a severe glare. "What the hell did you do that for?"

"Well it was obvious you can't handle yourself as well as you think you can."

"I had everything under control before you showed up!"

"Yeah, of course you did," Hayden stated with a sardonic eye roll with those amazing green eyes people often complimented him on. "But let's face it, if I hadn't stepped in you'd be in worse pain right now." Her eyes widened only a bit as she looked down at her hand. A split second decision was reached, and she raised her chin defiantly and said, "I don't need your help."

He shrugged. "It isn't my fault you're an ungrateful bitch."

She clicked her tongue at him. "And it isn't my fault that you're a violent douche."

Hayden snorted. "Says the girl who sent five guys to the infirmary on her first day," he reminded, getting her face to redden in anger. "Jerk," she accused in a hiss.

"Know-it-all," he retorted back."Dickwad," Blair responded, stepping over the still groaning sophomore and crossing her arms in anger. "Bitch," that looks extremely hot for me when she's pissed, Hayden added his smirk widening. "Man-whore," I can't help it if I'm good looking.

"Selfish-brat."

"Douche," she stated, both teenagers standing in each other's personal space as they threw more insults at each other. "Loudmouth," Which doesn't really bother me, at least when she screams my name it'll keep the other losers away, he thought inhaling the sweet essence of vanilla and jasmine that emanated from her.

"Show-off," have you seen me? I can't help it if everyone needs to behold me.

"Wannabe."

"Never was," she threw back getting the onlookers to gap. But really, she was too into this argument to care about the bystanders, or the fact that she was now practically nose to nose with Hayden. He wasn't much effected either by the lack of distance and continued, "Over-sensitive," and smells really good to boot, he thought as the smell of her was beginning to lull the anger in him about almost having to share her.

"Conceited," again, have you seen me?

"Spoilt."

"Idiot."

"Arrogant." The space between them diminished slowly as they got closer and closer with each bad thing they called each other, but as if regaining their common sense, they stepped away from each other glaring.

"Attention whore."

"Half-wit."

"PMS," he sang almost innocently getting her to glower at him. "You're the most self-righteous jackass I've ever known," Blair sneered. "And you think I believe this shit about you just being a badass when it's obvious that you're just an attention-seeking little wannabe."

"You're an idiotic, narcissistic douche-bag with no respect for anyone."

"You're talentless circus freak," there was an audible gasp from the crowd as it was well known that Blair Knight took her given gifts seriously. The teachers and prefects may see her as an inconvenience due to her prankster reputation, but even they couldn't deny that her skill at archery as well as her shooting and violin skills were far from just tolerable.

She'd been told, her entire life that she was never good enough compared to her perfect older brother Zane and then having a prodigy for a younger half sister only added to her failing self-esteem, and Hayden knew it all too well.

Blair was painfully fisting and un-fisting her hurt hand as she tried to gain patience, gritting her teeth for a moment as she replied, "You know what? Fighting with you is a waste of time."

Now that one hurt.

The only reason, the only way that Blair was ever his was when they fought. And now she was saying that it was all a waste of time?

"I like you, how's that for a waste of time!"

A pregnant silence ensued.

There was an incessant murmur rising up from among the crowd and Blair blinked a few times while Hayden blinked as well. Obviously not believing what he said out loud.

"Wait," Blair managed to utter, "what did you just say?" Someone who was recording the argument replayed what they had of the last ten seconds: "I like you, how's that for a waste of time!"

The murmurs around them got louder.

"You know, most guys tell a girl they like them with flowers and chocolates and all that lame normal girly crap," Blair stated, crossing her arms and looking up at him as casually as possible as if he's little confession did nothing to her erratically beating heart.

"I think we've established that you're far from normal," he stated with a smirk. "Why thank you every girl loves hearing that," she commented with irony as she couldn't help smiling up at him.

"Yeah, and every guy happens to like it when you call them quote a: 'narcissistic douche-bag'."

"Huh, guess we're not very normal," she said, feigning disappointment and shaking her head.

"No, I don't think we are."

Both seemed to notice that the attention previously on them had faded into who got the little scene on camera. The drone of everyone else's chatter about what they heard was quickly erasing the fact that both people in question still happened to be standing together.

"So…what now?" Blair asked. Hayden looked at her and then glanced around, his eyes fell on her again after a brief scan.

"Wanna get outta here?"

She raised a brow in question, her eyes sparkling teasingly. "Lunch at the Bell Tower?"

"You read my mind."

Without the crowd's notice, both teenagers disappeared out the cafeteria with Hayden's arm draped protectively over what was his. Inwardly he was grinning like an idiot.

A thought did come to mind though that damped his mood only a bit. What about the losers who didn't believe what just happened in there and still wanted to get at his Blair? Hmm…

The next day as Blair entered Ashgrove Prep, a huge sign hung on the wall met her gaze and caught her attention. Mainly because it had her picture on it with a huge caption that read:

BLAIR KNIGHT

PROPERTY OF HAYDEN DUKE

She is mine.

Put that in your juice box and suck it.

FINIS