67 Girlfriend Territory

Over the next couple weeks, Justin was in heaven. The girl of his dreams personally made him lunch every day.

When she showed up for their morning car pool she would hand him a brown paper bag and smilingly explain what was in it. Usually, it was a few different types of sandwiches but there were leftovers from her dinners sometimes too.

No matter what it was, he was over the moon. Each sack lunch felt like a priceless treasure until the day the bottom of the bag ripped and the container of spaghetti broke open on the cafeteria floor.

He stared helplessly at his lost lunch. The only thing salvageable was the now sauce-splattered plastic baggie filled with grapes. Mourning his loss, he bought a cheap burrito at the Mexican stall but it wasn't the same. Emily had spoiled him too much.

When they met up in the parking lot to go home she caught onto his mood right away and frowned. "What's up with you today?"

"My bag ripped and I lost my lunch," he said miserably. "I'm sorry. I'll replace your broken container."

Hesitating for just a moment, Emily reached out and ruffled his hair. "It's fine, don't worry about it! I've had bags rip before too. Once an apple fell out and rolled so far away into a crowd of people walking to class that it vanished forever."

Justin heard what she was saying but didn't process a word because holy cow she just touched his hair! Was he dreaming?! Other than the time he comforted her as she cried she had never voluntarily touched him. Heart hammering in his chest, he stiffly drove the car to the nearest store with kitchen items.

"I told you I didn't need a replacement," she protested as they parked.

"We need lunch boxes," he said firmly. "So it doesn't happen again."

Her mouth widened into an 'o' of surprise but she meekly followed him into the store. There were a surprising amount of lunch boxes to choose from. Some were made of fabric with zippers on them, others were plastic with latches. Some even had TV show or cartoon characters on them.

"I have an idea," Emily said mischievously. "What if we each pick the other person's lunch box?"

He tilted his head at her, confused. "What?"

"Come on, it's like a game! I have to try and pick one you'll like and you have to do the same for me. We have to take it seriously, not mess with each other so I won't pick a rainbow one for you or anything like that. Please? It'll be fun!"

She had never suggested anything like this before. It seemed almost like something couples would do. Had she and Brandon played a similar game?

Whatever her motivation, Justin was excited. Even if it was a rainbow lunch box he would accept it gladly because she chose it for him.

"Alright, I'm game."

After a few minutes of examining their options they showed each other their picks. Justin chose a fabric one covered in colorful flowers. Emily held up a metal one with a clasp that had a picture of a cat from a popular online comic sipping soda next to a burger and fries.

"Where did you even find that one?" he exclaimed with a snort. He had seen comics with that cat in them floating around on Blogr before. They were fairly funny.

"Hidden behind a whole bunch of plain black ones," she said proudly. "It's the only one."

She really took this game seriously, trying so hard to find him something cool. A lump formed in his throat. "Mine seems really lame by comparison."

Emily shook her head. "No way! I think it's cute."

As they made their way to the checkout Justin insisted on paying for hers since she wouldn't let him buy her a new plastic container. Eventually, she gave in to his persistence. In the car Emily thanked him again and said it would be easier for her to hold onto his lunch box. He agreed easily, thinking that this was the best time he ever had shopping for anything.

The next day at lunch time he admired his lunch box with a warm heart before sending a picture of it to both Sam and Alexa.

'I'm working, why are you showing me this?' was Alexa's response several minutes later.

'Because Emily picked it out for me and made the lunch inside it'

She replied immediately. 'Whaaaat? I'm gone for a few weeks and this happens?!'

'Right before school started she made me dinner as thanks for helping build her a website and found out I pretty much only ate take out and freezer meals so she offered to start packing me lunch. She sees me in the morning anyway when we ride together so she said it wasn't a big deal'

'Justin, this is a HUGE deal! A girl is going out of her way to make you food every day! That's girlfriend territory!'

Girlfriend territory? The game they played at the store…Alexa would probably think that was girlfriend territory too so he told her about it. A minute later he remembered the hair ruffling and sent another message. When it happened he had been too shocked to connect the dots but no girl had ever touched his hair before other than his mom.

'THAT IS ABSOLUTELY GIRLFRIEND TERRITORY. Geez, I didn't even finish my plan and she's all over you! I better finish it up fast so you two can be on your merry way'

Justin wavered. If Alexa was right and Emily really liked him, wouldn't it be better for him to come clean? If she did like him he didn't want her thinking he was in love with someone else.

'What exactly is the end of your plan?'

'I suppose it is about time I tell you. All I was going to do was make sure she saw me slapping you and walking away. I disappear, she comforts you, everything is hunky dory'

He was skeptical…and uneasy. Even if it worked Emily would still be under the impression that he liked Alexa. How was he supposed to move forward from there?

'I don't know about this, Alexa. I think I should tell her the truth'

'You can't after all the effort I put into this for you! You're the first person whose drama I've ever had a stake in! Think of how it could backfire on you'

It very well could. Wasn't that the exact reason he hadn't told her about being RoboCat and choosing to fade off into the abyss of the internet?

If he went along with Alexa's plan the whole debacle could end quietly. If he told the truth, what would Emily think of him? He really wasn't as good a person as she thought he was but if she knew that he didn't think his heart could take it.