Invisible To Her Bully Chapter 39

Jessa

By the time the last bell rang on Tuesday, I was more than ready to escape.

The day had been surprisingly… good.

Better than I expected after the chaos of the bonfire and the drama at lunch yesterday.

Today had felt almost normal.

No hallway showdowns. No Daniel running his mouth in my direction.

And — thankfully — no near-heart attacks from almost kissing Noah Carter under a sky full of sparks.

Of course, almost was doing a lot of heavy lifting there.

Because that moment?

It was still replaying in my mind on a constant loop, like my own personal highlight reel.

The way his hand brushed my hair back, the way his voice dropped to that low, husky tone that made my knees weak, and the way his face had been so close to mine I could’ve counted his eyelashes…

Yeah. Impossible to forget.

But today, at least, he’d kept his distance.

He’d been at lunch with Jackson and the rest of the team, laughing and loud as usual.

The only sign that last night had even happened was a single glance he shot me across the cafeteria — quick, intense, and gone in a heartbeat.

And, of course, my pulse went into full-blown panic mode like he’d just whispered my name instead of looking at me.

⸻

Mariah fell into step beside me as we left the building, practically bouncing with energy.

“Okay,” she announced, “tonight, we’re doing something fun. Something totally drama-free.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Define ‘fun.’”

Her grin widened. “The mall.”

I blinked. “The mall?”

“Yes! We’ll grab pretzels, hit a few stores, maybe try on stuff we have no intention of buying… Come on, Jessa. It’s been forever since we’ve done a real mall night.”

I hesitated. “It’s a school night.”

Mariah gave me a look like I’d just suggested joining a convent.

“Exactly why we need to go. You’ve been stuck in your head all day, and don’t even try to deny it.”

“I’m not stuck in my head,” I lied smoothly.

She arched a brow. “Uh-huh. And I totally didn’t see Noah looking at you during lunch like he wanted to —”

“Mariah!” My cheeks flamed as I swatted her arm. “Keep your voice down.”

She just laughed. “What? It’s not like half the school doesn’t already suspect something.”

I groaned, tugging my backpack higher on my shoulder. “There is nothing going on between me and Noah Carter.”

Mariah smirked knowingly. “Uh-huh. Tell yourself that if it helps you sleep at night.”

⸻

The mall wasn’t far from school, just a quick ten-minute drive. By the time we pulled into the parking lot, the sun was starting to dip low, casting everything in soft, golden light.

It felt… normal.

Not like last night with the crackling bonfire and the heavy tension between me and Noah.

Not like the cafeteria, where everyone always seemed to be watching and judging.

Just me and my best friend, walking into a place where the biggest decision we had to make was pretzel bites or cinnamon sticks.

“Snacks first,” Mariah declared the second we walked through the sliding doors. “Then shopping.”

I laughed. “You’ve got your priorities straight.”

“Obviously.”

We grabbed pretzels and sodas and found a bench near the fountain, talking about everything and nothing while we ate.

For the first time in days, I actually felt like a regular teenage girl instead of Jackson’s twin or the coach’s sister or the girl Daniel decided to humiliate in front of everyone.

Mariah leaned back, licking salt off her fingers. “Okay, so what are we hitting first — clothes or makeup?”

“Clothes,” I said immediately. “But I’m not buying anything.”

“You say that now,” she teased. “Wait until you see the new window displays.”

⸻

We’d just finished our pretzels and were heading toward our favorite store when Mariah froze mid-step.

“Ohhh no,” she muttered under her breath.

My stomach dropped. “What?”

She subtly tilted her chin toward the food court.

I followed her gaze — and my heart stopped.

Noah.

Standing with Jackson and a couple of the other guys from the team, holding a cup from the smoothie place like he had every right to look that good in a plain T-shirt and joggers.

It was unfair, really.

And then he looked up.

Right at me.

For one suspended moment, it felt like the whole mall went silent.

Like it was just me and him and that almost-kiss still hovering between us.

His eyes darkened slightly — a flicker of something I couldn’t quite name — before Jackson said something that made him glance away.

Mariah muttered a curse under her breath. “Of course he’s here. Because the universe lives to torture you.”

I swallowed hard, trying to play it cool. “It’s fine. Totally fine.”

“Uh-huh,” she said, clearly not believing me. “Want to bail? We can go the other way.”

I hesitated. A huge part of me wanted to turn around and run.

But another part… the reckless part… wanted to see if he’d come over.

“No,” I said finally, squaring my shoulders. “We’re here to shop. We’re shopping.”

Mariah grinned, looping her arm through mine. “That’s my girl.”

⸻

As we walked past, Noah’s gaze flicked to mine again — quick, sharp, and undeniably heated.

And just like that, my entire body felt like it had been plugged into an electric socket.

Hot and cold.

Always hot and cold.

And no matter how hard I tried, I knew I wasn’t going to stop thinking about him anytime soon.