Invisible To Her Bully (Jessa and Noah) novel Chapter 294

Chapter 294

Jessa

Benny’s was louder than usual

Not in a chaotic, overwhelming way like a game night–but full. Packed with voices, laughter, plates clinking, music low in the background. The kind of noise that wrapped around you instead of pressing in on you.

It felt… warm.

Familiar.

And for the first time in a long time, not something I had to brace myself for.

“Okay, I’m just saying,” Mariah said, leaning back in the booth like she owned the place, “if we’re calling this a ‘last night‘ thing, I feel like there should be more dramatic energy.”

Jackson snorted across from her.

“We still have two months.”

She pointed at him.

“Exactly my point. So this isn’t technically the last anything.”

“Then stop calling it that,” he shot back.

“I like the vibe,” she said.

I smiled, sitting beside Noah, my shoulder lightly brushing his.

It was weird.

Not the bad kind.

Just… aware.

Aware of everything.

The table.

The people.

The way this moment felt like it mattered more than it would’ve a year ago.

“Food’s here,” one of the guys said as plates got dropped in front of us.

“Finally,” Jackson muttered. “I’m starving.”

“You’re always starving,” Noah said.

“Because I actually burn calories.”

“Oh, here we go,” Mariah groaned.

I laughed quietly, watching them go back and forth like it was second nature.

Because it was.

And maybe that was what made this feel so different.

Not the place.

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Not the night.

The people.

Us.

We weren’t the same group we were at the beginning of the year.

Not even close.

“Jess,” Noah said softly beside me.

I glanced at him.

“You okay?”

I nodded.

“Yeah.”

“You’ve been quiet.”

“I’m just… taking it in.”

He studied me for a second, then nodded like he understood.

And he did.

Because this wasn’t just dinner.

This was… a marker.

A moment where everything behind us and everything ahead of us kind of met in the middle.

Mariah popped a fry into her mouth, then pointed it at me.

“You’re thinking again.”

“I always think.”

“You’re overthinking.”

“That too.”

She smirked.

“Say it.”

I tilted my head.

“Say what?”

“Whatever speech is forming in your brain right now.”

Jackson groaned.

“Oh God, we’re doing speeches now?”

“You’re welcome to leave,” she shot back.

“I’m not leaving my food.”

“Then sit there and listen.”

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I shook my head, smiling despite myself.

“I don’t have a speech.”

“Liar.”

Noah nudged my arm gently.

“You kind of do,”

I sighed.

“Fine.”

Everyone went quiet.

Not completely–but enough.

Enough that I felt it.

The attention.

The moment.

And for once?

It didn’t make me want to disappear.

“I was just thinking…” I started, my fingers lightly tracing the edge of my glass, “how different everything is now.”

Jackson leaned back slightly.

“That’s deep.”

“Let her talk,” Mariah said, kicking him under the table.

He winced.

“I am talking.”

I laughed softly, then shook my head.

“No, I mean it. Think about the beginning of the year.”

Noah went still beside me.

Mariah’s expression shifted–subtle, but I caught it.

Because she knew where I was going.

“I couldn’t even walk into school without feeling like everyone was watching me,” I said. “Like everything I did was wrong somehow.”

Silence settled in a little more.

Not heavy.

Just… listening.

“And it started with Daniel,” I continued.

Jackson’s jaw tightened slightly at the name.

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Of course it did.

“It started with him pushing things just enough to make it hurt,” I said. “And me just… taking it.”

I let out a small breath.

“Not saying anything. Not doing anything. Just letting it happen like I deserved it.”

“You didn’t,” Mariah said immediately.

“I know that now,” I said.

That was the difference.

Back then?

I didn’t.

“And then…” I hesitated slightly, glancing between Noah and Jackson, “you two didn’t exactly help.”

Jackson let out a breath through his nose.

“Yeah,” he muttered.

Noah didn’t say anything.

But I could feel it–the tension in him.

“I’m not saying that to make you feel bad,” I added quickly. “I just… it’s part of it.”

Jackson nodded once.

“It is.”

“Noah and I were idiots,” he said bluntly.

Mariah smirked.

“Correction–you were idiots. Past tense.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

I smiled a little.

“But it’s true,” Noah said quietly.

I looked at him.

“I should’ve seen it sooner,” he added. “Both of us should have.”

Jackson nodded again.

“It took Daniel going too far,” he admitted. “That’s the part that still bothers me.”

“Yeah,” Noah said. “Same.”

I shook my head slightly.

“But that’s the thing,” I said. “It did go too far. And that’s what changed everything.”

Mariah leaned forward, elbows on the table.

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“You stood up,” she said.

I nodded.

“Yeah.”

And that moment-

That first moment where I didn’t stay quiet-

That changed everything.

“I didn’t think I could,” I admitted. “I really didn’t.”

“But you did,” Mariah said.

“I did.”

I smiled faintly.

“And once I did… it was like something shifted.”

“Because you realized you weren’t stuck,” Noah said.

I looked at him.

“Yeah.”

Exactly that.

“I spent so long thinking this place defined me,” I said. “Like if people here thought something about me, then it had to be

messes with your head like that,” Jackson muttered.

said. “But it doesn’t anymore.”

That part felt good to say.

Real.

Earned.

“Now I can walk into school and not care what people think,” I added. “Not because they stopped talking completely–but because it doesn’t matter.”

Mariah smiled.

“That’s growth.”

“That’s exhaustion,” I joked.

“That too.”

We laughed softly.

And for a second, it felt lighter again.

Like the past didn’t weigh as much as it used to.

“You’ve come a long way, Jess,” Jackson said.

I looked at him.

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“You really have,”

There wasn’t anything teasing in his voice,

No sarcasm.

Just… honest,

“Thanks.”

He nodded.

“And for the record–I’m still beating myself up a little for not stepping in sooner.”

“You don’t have to,” I said.

“I kind of do.”

“No,” I said gently. “Because if everything didn’t happen the way it did… I might not be who I am now.”

That made him pause.

“Same goes for you,” I added, glancing at Noah.

He held my gaze.

“Yeah,” he said quietly.