Invisible To Her Bully (Jessa and Noah) novel Chapter 193

Chapter 103

Noah

By the time I stepped onto campus that morning, it felt like Ridgeville had decided to wake up loud.

Not literally no alarms or sirens but the looks were louder. The glances. The pauses in conversation that didn’t quite stop, just dipped low enough for me to notice. It wasn’t hostile. It wasn’t even mean, most of the

time.

It was curious.

Evaluating.

Like everyone had woken up and decided today was the day they were going to take stock of things.

And somehow, I was part of that inventory now.

I slid my hands into the pockets of my hoodie and made my way toward my locker, trying to ignore the fact that two freshmen I didn’t know were whispering and looking directly at me. Not at my jersey. Not at my size.

At me.

This was new.

Usually, when people noticed me, it was because of football. Because I was big. Because I blocked well. Because I stood next to Jackson on the field.

Now it felt like they were noticing me because of who I was choosing to stand next to off the field.

I found Jackson already at our lockers, leaning against the metal like he owned the hallway–which, honestly, wasn’t far off. Crown or no crown, quarterback energy didn’t turn off just because it was Monday morning.

“Morning, your majesty,” I muttered as I spun my lock.

He groaned immediately. “Don’t start.”

“Oh, I’m starting,” I said, grinning. “I heard three different people call you ‘King Lombardi‘ before first period. One of them bowed. I think he was joking. I’m not totally sure.”

F

Jackson slammed his locker shut and shot me a look. “I swear to God, if someone tries to hand me a scepter-

“You’ll what? Run another touchdown in protest?” I smirked.

He shook his head, rubbing his face. “This is why I hate this crap. It’s one stupid game, one stupid crown.”

“Hey,” I said lightly, “some people peak at homecoming. You’re allowed to enjoy it.”

“I don’t want to enjoy it,” he muttered. “I want everyone to forget it happened.”

“Good luck with that.”

A group of guys from the team passed us, and right on cue-

“All hail!” one of them called out. “Bow before the king!”

”

+26 Bonur

Jackson flipped him off without missing a beat.

“Real classy, Your Highness,” I added.

“Shut up,” he said, but there was a laugh buried under it.

Then I noticed it.

Mariah was standing a few lockers down, talking to Jessa. Her posture was casual, arms folded loosely, expression neutral–but I’d been around her long enough now to recognize that particular look.

Annoyed. Controlled. Smiling for the public.

Her eyes flicked toward Jackson just as another guy clapped him on the shoulder and said something about ” royal responsibilities.” The smile Mariah gave didn’t quite reach her eyes.

Jackson noticed too. I could tell by the way his jaw tightened for half a second before he forced a grin and said something back to the guys.

I leaned closer to him. “She’s not loving this.”

He sighed quietly, “Yeah, I know.”

“You okay?”

He hesitated, then shrugged. “It’s just… a lot. I didn’t ask for any of it. And I definitely didn’t ask for Tori to act like she won the Super Bowl.”

I snorted. “Man, she hugged you like she was afraid you’d vanish.”

“Exactly,” he said. “And Mariah saw.”

“Uh–huh.”

He glanced over at her again. This time, when their eyes met, Mariah lifted one brow. Not angry. Not dramatic.

Just… not amused.

Jackson winced. “I’ll talk to her later.”

“Good plan,” I said. “Preferably before she murders you with words.”

“That woman is terrifying,” he muttered.

“True love,” I replied solemnly.

We both laughed, but then my attention drifted down the hallway.

Because Jessa was walking toward us now.

She wasn’t rushing. She wasn’t hiding. She was just… moving through the space like she belonged there.

And yeah, people noticed.

I caught a few looks–some surprised, some curious, a few outright rude—but what stood out most was that

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Jessa didn’t shrink under them. Her shoulders were back. Her head was up.

She smiled when she saw me.

That smile still hit me like a punch to the chest.

“Hey,” she said softly when she reached us.

“Hey,” I replied, automatically stepping closer to her. Close enough that my shoulder brushed hers.

I felt her relax at the contact.

Jackson cleared his throat. “Morning.”

“Morning,” she said, then added, “Congratulations, Your Majesty.”

He rolled his eyes. “You too?”

She grinned. “Oh, absolutely. I’m milking this.”

“Fantastic,” he muttered.

Mariah joined us then, slipping into place beside Jackson. “Don’t let it go to your head,” she said sweetly. “I already have to deal with your ego on a normal day.

Jackson glanced at her. “You love it.”

“I tolerate it,” she corrected.

I bit back a laugh.

For a moment, we all just stood there–four people in the middle of a hallway that suddenly felt like it was watching us.

And I realized something.

This–this little group–felt solid.

Not perfect. Not easy. But real.

Which was more than I’d ever expected.

First period came and went. Then second. By lunch, the looks hadn’t stopped, but I was starting to tune them

out.

What I couldn’t tune out was the feeling that people were measuring me differently now.

Like they were waiting to see if I’d flinch.

I didn’t.

At lunch, I sat with Jessa and Mariah as usual. Jackson joined us, and within minutes, so did half the football

team.

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Jackson groaned. “I hate all of you.”

“Relax,” another chimed in. “This’ll blow over. Something else will trend by next week.”

“Yeah,” I said dryly. “Teen attention spans are short.”

Someone laughed. Someone else asked about the game coming up. Normal stuff.

But then-

“So, Carter,” Chris said, grinning. “You gonna start charging for autographs now that you’re dating the most talked–about girl in school?”

I raised a brow. “Jealous?”

“Deeply,” he said without missing a beat. “You got a girlfriend, Lombardi’s got a girlfriend… I’m out here alone like a chump.”

“Sounds like a you problem,” Jackson said.

Tori–sitting a few seats down–leaned over and said, “Maybe if you stopped talking about macros and bench reps, someone would go out with you.”

The table burst into laughter.

Chris held up his hands. “Wow. Attacked.”

I glanced at Jessa. She was smiling, but there was a tightness there too. The attention still weighed on her, even when it wasn’t cruel.

I leaned closer. “You okay?”

She nodded. “Yeah. Just… loud.”

I got that.

After lunch, as we were heading to class, she tugged lightly on my sleeve.

“Hey,” she said. “Can I ask you something?”

“Always.”

She hesitated. “Does this… bother you? All of it?”

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