Invisible To Her Bully (Jessa and Noah) novel Chapter 262

Chapter 262

Noah

Benny’s was louder than usual.

That was saying something, because Benny’s was always loud after a game. But tonight felt like someone had turned the volume up on everything–voices, laughter, plates clattering, the jukebox humming something old and scratchy in the background.

Maybe it was because it was the last one.

The last game.

The last time half the people in this restaurant would be here for the same reason.

Jackson and I pushed through the door together, a blast of warm air and the smell of grease and fries hitting us after the cold outside.

“Finally,” Shane shouted from across the room. “Look who decided to show up.”

“Coach held us,” Jackson called back.

“That’s because he likes me more than you,” I added.

“Keep dreaming,” Jackson muttered.

My eyes scanned the room automatically.

And there she was.

Jess.

She was sitting in the booth with Mariah, leaning slightly toward the table, listening to something Mariah was saying. The second she saw me, her face lit up in that quiet way she had–not dramatic, not loud, just… warm.

Like I was exactly who she was waiting for.

That still messed with my head a little,

I slid into the booth beside her.

“Hey,” I said softly.

“Hey,” she said back.

I kissed her temple without even thinking about it.

It had become… natural.

Across from us, Mariah snorted.

“Oh good,” she said. “You’re alive.”

Jackson dropped into the seat beside her. “Barely ”

Mariah smirked. “Try getting tackled by gossip and 1*

“Fair,” he admitted.

m for two months.”

Shane and two other guys squeezed into the end of the booth, and suddenly the whole table was packed shoulder to shoulder.

Food started appearing–fries, burgers, milkshakes. Benny himself walked by and slapped Jackson’s shoulder like he’d personally coached the winning play.

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“Last one, huh?” he said.

Jackson nodded.

“Hell of a way to go out,” Benny added.

Then he moved on.

For a second, nobody said anything.

It was weird.

Because normally the table never shut up.

Then Shane broke it.

“Okay,” he said loudly. “Important question.”

Jackson sighed. “I already don’t like where this is going.”

“What are we supposed to do on Fridays now?”

That got a laugh.

“No practice,” someone said.

“No games.”

“No excuses to eat like this,” Mariah added, holding up a fry.

“Speak for yourself,” Jackson said.

The conversation exploded from there–guys replaying plays from the game, arguing over who deserved credit for the final drive, Mariah roasting half the team for their haircuts.

Jess mostly listened, smiling quietly.

But every once in a while she’d lean into me slightly, like the booth was crowded and I was just the easiest place to settle.

And every time she did it, I felt that strange mix of calm and electricity.

Like something important had shifted between us.

Shane wiped ketchup off his fingers.

“So what happens now?” he said suddenly.

The table quieted a little.

“What do you mean?” Jackson asked.

“I mean… football’s over,” Shane said. “High school’s almost over”

He gestured around.

“This whole thing.”

That landed heavier than anyone expected.

Jackson leaned back slightly, exhaling.

“College,” he said.

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“Yeah,” Shane said. “But we’re not all going to the same place.”

Someone at the end of the table groaned. “Don’t remind me.”

Jackson looked down at the table for a second, then shook his head.

“You realize,” he said slowly, “we’ve been doing this together since we were like ten.”

That was true.

Pop Warner.

Middle school.

High school.

Same team.

Same locker room.

Same stupid arguments over who forgot the playbook.

“And in six months,” Jackson went on, “we might all be in different states.”

The table went quiet again.

Not sad.

Just… aware.

Because he wasn’t wrong.

Shane pointed at me. “You’re still looking at a couple schools out west, right?”

“Maybe,” I said.

Mariah raised an eyebrow.

“Out West?”

Jess’s head tilted slightly toward me.

Not alarmed.

Just listening.

Jackson nudged me. “You didn’t tell them that?”

“I didn’t say I was going,” I said.

“Yet,” he added.

I shrugged.

There were a few conversations happening at once now guys comparing ofters, talking about visits, arguing about weather in different states.

But my brain had latched onto something else.

Jess was tracing circles in condensation on her glass.

Listening.

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Quiet.

And it hit me.

Harder than anything tonight had.

We had just become a couple.

Like… really a couple.

Public. Real. Solid.

And there was a good chance…

In six months we might not even live in the same place.

The thought dropped into my chest like a rock.

Jess glanced up at me.

“You okay?” she asked quietly.

“Yeah,” I said automatically.

She studied my face for a second.

“You look like you’re thinking.”

I huffed softly. “That obvious?”

“A little.”

Across the table, Mariah leaned in like a shark sensing blood.

“What are we overthinking now?”

“Nothing,” I said.

Jess nudged my arm gently. “No, tell me.”

Thesitated.

Because saying it out loud made it real.

But I did anyway,

“I was just realizing something.”

“What?”

“We just became a couple.”

Mariah snorted. “Congratulations on noticing.”

“Let him finish,” Jess said.

I met her eyes.

“And there’s a pretty good chance we won’t even be at the same university next year.”

The table quieted a little again.

Jess blinked.

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Then she nodded slowly.

“Yeah,” she said.

That surprised me.

“You already thought about that?” I asked.

“A little.”

Mariah sat back, watching both of us like she was front row at a movie.

“So you’re having the ‘future panic‘ talk now,” she said.

Jackson pointed at her. “Don’t start.”

“I’m not,” she said innocently.

Jess’s hand rested lightly on the table near mine.

Not dramatic.

Just there.

“I don’t know where I’m going yet either,” she said.

“That’s different.”

“Why?”

“You’re not tied to football.”

“True.”

I rubbed the back of my neck.

“What if we end up like… two thousand miles apart?”

Jess shrugged slightly.

“Then we’ll figure it out.”