Invisible To Her Bully (Jessa and Noah) novel Chapter 206

Chapter 206

Jessa

could feel it the second I walked into school.

Not hear it.

Feel it.

It was like the air shifted around me. Like the hallway the same hallway I’d walked through every day for years had decided to hold its breath.

Lockers still slammed. Someone laughed too loud down the hall. A teacher was already yelling about tardiness. Everything looked normal.

But it didn’t feel normal.

People stopped talking.

Or at least pretended to.

When I looked at them, they smiled. Or looked away. Or suddenly became very interested in their phones or the inspirational posters about “believing in yourself” that nobody had ever believed in.

Which somehow felt worse than hearing the whispers.

Because I knew.

They were still talking. Just not where I could hear them.

Mariah walked beside me, quiet for once, her coffee replaced by a bottle of water and her usual running

commentary replaced by a sharp, watchful silence. Her eyes were scanning faces like she was mentally putting people on a list.

“They’re being weird,” she muttered.

“Yeah,” I said softly. “That usually means they’re bored.”

She snorted. “Or cruel.”

That too.

I adjusted my backpack on my shoulder and tried to keep my posture normal. Tried not to shrink. Tried not to do the thing I’d spent years doing — making myself smaller so I’d take up less space in the world.

I refused to do that today.

—

My locker was halfway down the hall. Every step toward it felt louder than it should’ve been, like my shoes were echoing. I could practically feel eyes on my back.

Some of them curious.

Some of them judgmental.

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* 26 Bonu

Some of them… calculating.

I spun my locker combination, hands only shaking a little.

That’s when arms slid around my waist.

I startled a sharp inhale, my shoulders tensing and then instantly relaxed.

Noah.

He pulled me back against him like it was the most natural thing in the world, his arm solid and warm around my middle, his chin dipping near my hair.

“Morning,” he said, easy and warm, like there wasn’t a rumor tornado happening around us.

I turned my head and he kissed my temple.

Not rushed. Not dramatic.

Just… gentle.

My face immediately felt like it was on fire.

The good kind.

The kind that made my chest feel light and stupid and fluttery.

I laughed quietly. “You’re going to get us stared at.”

He smiled against my hair. “Already happening.”

I glanced around.

Yeah.

Definitely happening.

People weren’t even pretending not to look.

Down the hall, someone nudged their friend. A girl near the water fountain froze mid–sip. A guy by the math wing openly stared like he was watching a show.

Mariah, to her credit, did not say one single word.

Which told me everything.

She wasn’t teasing. She wasn’t making commentary. She wasn’t being sarcastic.

She was letting it happen.

Because she understood exactly what he was doing.

This wasn’t about being cute.

This was about being clear.

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A few lockers down, Jackson made a choking noise. “Okay, okay. Enough making out with my sister before I have to bleach my eyes.”

Noah laughed and loosened his hold, but didn’t move away completely.

Mariah walked over to Jackson, looked up at him with a very deliberate little smile, and kissed him on the cheek. “Good morning, Your Highness.”

He rolled his eyes, but his mouth twitched anyway. “Morning.“.

The normalcy of it of all of us standing there like this

felt surreal.

Good.

But surreal.

Like I’d stepped into someone else’s life for a second.

Noah finally let go of me and stepped back. “I’ve gotta hit my locker. I’ll be back to walk you to class.”

“Okay,” I said, trying not to sound as giddy as I felt.

Before he turned, he brushed his thumb lightly along my cheek, just under my eye.

Not dramatic. Not performative.

Just… intimate.

And then he turned around.

And that’s when he noticed everyone watching.

He slowed, then stopped, and glanced at Jackson. “You can always tell who’s in a relationship.”

Jackson smirked. “Yeah. The ones who aren’t are too busy staring at the ones who are.”

Noah snorted. “They really need to get a hobby. Or meet someone.”

Jackson laughed. “Preferably meet someone.”

Noah headed off, like nothing about this was strange or brave or terrifying.

Like this was just… normal.

I stood there for a second longer than necessary, my heart doing stupid things in my chest.

Mariah leaned in slightly. “That was extremely intentional.”

I swallowed. “Yeah.”

“And very effective.”

I nodded.

Because no one said anything.

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They just watched.

And somehow, that felt louder than any argument ever could be.

Jackson looked at me. “You okay?“.

“Yeah,” I said. And for once, I really meant it.

Because whatever they were saying behind my back?

He wasn’t hiding.

He wasn’t hesitating.

He wasn’t acting like this was temporary.

He was just… there.

With me.

And that mattered more than I could explain.

*+25 Bonus

The rest of the morning passed in a blur of sideways looks and fake smiles.

In English, the girl who sat behind me kept kicking my chair like she wanted to say something and didn’t have the courage.

In History, someone dropped a note on my desk that just said: Ignore them.

I didn’t know who it was from.

But I kept it.

Between classes, Noah found me again and walked me like he always did, his hand brushing mine, sometimes tangling our fingers together like it was the most normal thing in the world.

And every time he did, it felt like the hallway got a little quieter.

A little less sharp.

At lunch, things were… weird.

Not hostile.

Not friendly.

Just… observant.

Like everyone was waiting to see if we were going to disappear.

Or explode.

Or prove something.

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We sat with Jackson and Mariah and a couple of guys from the teain, and conversation stayed light homework, the game this weekend, Coach’s mood swings.

But I could feel it.

The watching.