Invisible To Her Bully (Jessa and Noah) novel Chapter 140

Jessa

By the time we reached my bedroom, Mariah had already shed her backpack and snapped her fingers like a director calling “action.”

“Lose the hoodie,” she ordered. “We are date–prepping.”

I didn’t move. “Is it… actually a date?”

She looked at me like I’d asked if water was wet.

“He literally asked you to go out, alone, after practice. That’s the definition of a date.”

“But what if he just… meant hanging out?” I tugged at my ponytail anxiously. “Like, you know… casual.”

“You know what else is casual?” she said, grabbing my makeup bag. “Denial.”

I dropped onto the edge of my bed. “It’s just–I don’t want to assume and look stupid.”

Mariah paused, softened. “You wouldn’t look stupid. You’d look like a girl going on a date with a boy who likes her.”

My chest did a weird flutter thing. “You’re really sure he likes me?”

She popped open a compact and shook her head. “Girl, if he stared at you any harder at lunch, he would’ve burned a hole through your pretty little soul.”

I laughed nervously. “Yeah, well. A tiny part of me still thinks maybe it’s some… long con prank.”

Mariah froze with my blush brush midair. “Jess.”

“I know,” I whispered quickly. “I know. It sounds stupid.”

“It’s trauma,” she corrected gently, sitting beside me. “Not stupidity. But it’s also not reality. This isn’t eighth grade. He’s not the boy calling you ‘Mini Lombardi‘ anymore.”

“Yeah…” I exhaled slowly. “But that girl in my head? The one who hid behind lockers hoping no one noticed her? She’s very loud today.”

Mariah squeezed my knee. “Then let me drown her out for you.”

I smiled a little. “You make that sound violent.”

“It is,” she said cheerfully. “Internal bully execution.”

A breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding loosened.

She stood again, snapping back into glam–general mode.

“Okay, operation Romance–Glow. We need soft hair, glowy skin, and a look that says, ‘Yes, I know I’m adorable, thanks for noticing.“”

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Chapter 140

+25 BONUS

She pointed at my bathroom. “Shower. Shampoo the anxiety out.”

I rolled my eyes, but I obeyed.

–~

The hot water helped grounding, steadying.

When I returned, towel wrapped around me, Mariah had already laid out my red sweater and the cute dark jeans that didn’t fight my hips. She was lining up brushes like weapons.

“You’re terrifying,” I said.

“I’m powerful,” she corrected.

She dried and curled my hair with precision. No ‘trying too hard‘ ringlets – just soft, pretty waves. “See? Romantic heroine chic.”

“Romantic heroine has anxiety,” I muttered.

“Most good ones do,” she shot back. “Tilt your face.”

Concealer. Soft blush. A natural lip gloss. Highlight that made my cheekbones look like they had ambitions.

I studied myself in the mirror. Not perfect. Not airbrushed. But… glowing. More me than I expected. A version of me who didn’t feel like a background character.

“You look like a girl someone falls for,” Mariah whispered behind me.

I swallowed hard. “Do you think he’ll really pay?”

She blinked. “Huh?”

“You said dates mean he pays. So if he pays… it’s real.”

“Oh my god.” She face–palmed. “Yes. It counts even if he pays with pocket lint and hopes.”

I laughed despite the nervous knot in my stomach. “Okay. Valid.”

She gave my hair one final fluff and stepped back dramatically. “Reveal time.”

The red sweater slid over me like confidence borrowed from someone braver. I smoothed it over my waist, took in the soft curl of my hair, the faint shimmer on my cheek.

I didn’t look like a girl waiting to be ignored.

I looked like a girl who might be seen.

Mariah softened again. “Hey. Does it feel good? Like you?”

I nodded slowly. “It… does.”

She exhaled like she’d been nervous too. “Good. Then he’s doomed.”

I laughed again – nervous but real.

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Chapter 140

Then a thought struck me, sharp and sudden. “…Marlah?”

“Yeah?”

“So… you and Jackson.”

She blinked, mascara wand freezing in her hand. “Oh. That.”

+25 BONUS

“You don’t have to tell me anything,” I rushed. “It’s just he’s my brother, and I saw the way he looked at you in the parking lot and-”

Mariah sank down onto my bed beside me, suddenly quiet. “I wish I had an answer.”

“You don’t?”

She shook her head, voice small and honest – a rare sight. “I like him. I do. And I think he likes me too. But I don’t know what we are. And I don’t want to assume and get crushed.”

I blinked. “That sounds familiar.”

“Right?” she laughed weakly. “Look at us. Two confident–ish girlies pretending we’re fearless while screaming inside.”

“Yes.”

We headed downstairs. My palms were sweating. My pulse felt like I’d gulped electricity.

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