Invisible To Her Bully (Jessa and Noah) novel Chapter 133

Chapter 133

Jackson

The bell rang, echoing down the hallway like a buzzer signaling the end of a bad play.

Lunch had been weird. Again..

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I wasn’t even sure why we were all still sitting together–maybe out of habit. But the second someone mentioned Homecoming, it felt like the air got sucked right out of the cafeteria. Noah had gone quiet, Jessa had looked like she wanted to disappear, and I’d just sat there trying to pretend I didn’t notice the awkward tension crackling between them.

Now we were heading to our next class, and I couldn’t take it anymore.

I shot Noah a look as we cut through the crowd of students. “Alright, man, what’s going on with you?”

He blinked. “What?”

“Don’t ‘what‘ me. You’ve been weird all day. And don’t tell me it’s nothing, because it’s definitely something.”

He shoved his hands into his pockets, walking a little faster like he could outpace the conversation. “Just tired, I guess,”

“Bullshit,” I said flatly. “You were fine at lunch yesterday, and now you look like you’re thinking about punching someone again.”

That got me a smirk, the first real one I’d seen from him all day. “Tempting,” he muttered.

We moved past the vending machines and into the stairwell, the crowd thinning. I waited until we had a little space, then stopped.

“Okay,” I said. “Spill

lot. What haphane texted me after practice yesterday. Said he saw you and Daniel out by the parking

Noah groaned. “You really don’t let anything go, do you?”

“Not when it’s got your name attached.”

He rubbed the back of his neck, hesitating before answering. “He cornered me, alright? Wanted to run his mouth. Said some crap about me and Jessa.”

My stomach sank “What kind of crap?”

“The kind that makes you want to put someone through a locker,” he said dryly. Then his tone shifted- quieter, heavier. “He said I’m screwing up my chances. That if I actually care about football, about going pro one day, I need to think about my image. That being with your sister doesn’t exactly… look good.”

My jaw clenched so hard I thought I might crack a tooth. “He said that to your face?”

“Yeah.” Noah kicked at the base of the railing. “Said scouts notice things. Who you hang out with, who you’re seen with. That people talk.”

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Chapter 133

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“People always talk,” I said through my teeth.

“Yeah, but Daniel’s not wrong about how this town works,” Noah muttered. “Ridgeville lives off gossip. One rumor and suddenly I’m a distraction, not a player.”

I stared at him, caught between understanding and disbelief. “So what, you think he’s right?”

“No,” he snapped, then sighed. “But it got in my head, alright? I like her, Jack. I really like her. But the way people twist things–it messes with you.”

He looked frustrated, like saying it out loud cost him something.

I leaned against the wall. “You could’ve told me what he said.”

“Yeah, because that always goes well,” he shot back, half a laugh but with no humor behind it. “You’d have hunted him down, and we’d both be sitting in Coach’s office right now explaining why one of us broke Daniel’s jaw,”

I didn’t argue. He wasn’t wrong.

Then he said, “You know, she told us at lunch she’s never been to Homecoming.

I nodded. “Yeah, I heard.”

I frowned. “Yeah? So what?”

That landed harder than I wanted it to. I blew out a breath. “Homecoming’s never been a big deal for me. Never has been. I figured she didn’t care either.”

I rubbed my hand along the railing. “I don’t get it. When we were little, she used to talk about dances and dresses. Then she just… stopped. I figured she grew out of it.”

Noah gave a small, knowing laugh. “She didn’t grow out of it, man. She just learned to stop expecting it.”

That stung – because I knew he was right again.

Something about the honesty in his voice made me believe him even if it still felt weird as hell hearing it.

“I know you and I joke about a lot,” I said, “but this isn’t a joke. You care about her, that’s fine – just don’t hurt her. She’s been through enough.

He nodded once. “I wouldn’t.”

“I’m serious, man. I’ll back off, but if you screw this up-”

“I get it,” he said, cutting me off gently. “I wouldn’t.”

We rounded the corner, the classroom door in sight. I glanced at him. “You gonna ask her to Homecoming?”

He didn’t answer right away. “I’m thinking about it.”

“Good,” I said, though my tone came out gruffer than I meant.

He smirked. “That sound like approval?”

“Don’t push it.”

That finally got a real laugh out of him, the kind that made him sound like the same kid I’d been playing football with since we were ten.

He pulled the classroom door open, motioning for me to go first. “You know,” he said, “for someone who doesn’t care about Homecoming, you sure have a lot of opinions.”

I shot him a look. “Shut up.“‘

He chuckled, falling into step beside me as we walked down the aisle toward the back.

The teacher started the lesson, but I wasn’t really listening. My mind kept circling back to what Noah said – about Daniel, about Jessa, about the way people look at things in this town.

Maybe Daniel wasn’t wrong about one thing: people here do judge by appearances. But for the first time, I wasn’t worried about how it looked for me or for Noah.

I was worried about how it felt for Jessa- and how, somewhere along the line, I stopped paying attention to the things that mattered most.