Invisible To Her Bully (Jessa and Noah) novel Chapter 127

Jessa

By the time lunch rolled around, I was starving but also kind of nervous.

Word had definitely spread about me and Noal. You didn’t need to be psychic to feel the stares following us down the hallways all morning. A week ago, everyone was whispering about Daniel getting kneed in the balls; now it was about the “chubby twin” catching the attention of one of Ridgeville’s star players.

I tried to pretend I didn’t care. But when Noah showed up beside me in the cafeteria line, all calm and casual, holding his tray like nothing was different, my stomach did this ridiculous flip.

“You want to sit together?” he asked, voice low but steady.

I blinked up at him, a little caught off guard. “Here? At lunch?”

He smirked. “That’s usually where lunch happens.”

“Very funny,” I said, rolling my eyes to hide how warm my face suddenly felt.

Mariah, already in line behind us, raised an eyebrow and said, “Yes, he means here. With us. You two might as well stop pretending you’re allergic to each other.”

I shot her a look, but she only grinned wider, grabbing her fries as we reached the end of the line.

Noah and I carried our trays toward the table Mariah and I usually sat at–near the windows, away from the chaos of the center tables. I figured it would be just the three of us.

Except the next thing I knew, Jackson dropped his tray across from me with a loud thud, followed by Shane and two more guys from the football team.

The entire table went quiet.

It was like every fork, every voice, every laugh around us just… stopped. I could practically hear the collective gasp of half the cafeteria watching the quarterback, his co–captain, and a handful of Ridgeville players sit down

next to me.

Jackson started unwrapping his sandwich, trying to act normal. Noah shifted beside me. Mariah was stabbing her salad like it had personally offended her. No one was saying a word.

Finally, Mariah looked up, exhaled loudly, and said, “Good Lord. Stop acting like we’re all strangers in a doctor’s waiting room. We’ve literally known each other since kindergarten.”

Shane choked back a laugh, glancing between us. “She’s not wrong

“Seriously,” Mariah went on. “Noah likes Jessa. Big whoop. Move on.”

I dropped my gaze to my food, my heart pounding. Noah reached under the table, brushing his fingers against mine for just a second–so subtle I wasn’t sure anyone noticed. But I felt it.

Jackson was the first to speak after that, his tone dry. “You really don’t hold back, do you?”

1/4

Chapter 127

“Not v

when it’s this awkward,” Mariah said, shrugging

+25 BONUS

Shane leaned back in his chair. “It’s not Noah and Jessa making it awkward,” he said, jerking his chin toward at table a few rows over. “It’s him.”

We all followed his gaze. Daniel.

He was sitting with a few guys from the soccer team, but his attention was locked squarely on us–on me and Noah, specifically. His expression wasn’t subtle. The glare was sharp enough to cut glass.

Jackson sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah. He’s a problem.‘

“Why’s he still even around?” Shane muttered. “Didn’t Coach chew everyone out last week?”

“He did,” Jackson said. “But Coach can’t bench someone for being an idiot off the field.”

The group fell quiet again. I could feel Daniel’s stare still burning into me, but I forced myself to ignore it. I wasn’t going to let him take away the one thing that had started feeling good again.

Mariah caught my eye from across the table and gave a tiny shake of her head, like don’t even give him the satisfaction.

So I didn’t.

Instead, I turned to Noah, trying to sound casual. “You’re really okay sitting here? People are… definitely staring.”

He grinned slightly, taking a bite of his burger. “Let them stare. I’ve been stared at for worse things.”

Jackson snorted. “That’s debatable.”

Mariah smacked his arm lightly. “Be nice.”

“Hey,

I am nice,” Jackson said, leaning back in his chair. “This is me being nice.”

For the first time since everything blew up online, the cafeteria didn’t feel like a spotlight aimed directly at me. It just felt like… lunch.

Mariah leaned toward me, voice low. “See? Told you the world wouldn’t end.”

Something was definitely going on.

When Jackson looked up, I caught him watching her with this small grin–one that didn’t match his usual confident smirk. It was softer. Real.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about it yet. Jackson and Mariah? The idea was weird, but also… kind of sweet. She’d always been one of the few people who could handle his ego.

I looked up at him. “Yeah. Why?”

“You’ve been staring at them for like five minutes.”

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