Peter closed his eyes; he couldn't help but feel nervous. If this whole thing blew up in their faces, there could be some hell to pay for sure. Peter wasn't exactly sure how Ben and May would take all information if the truth came out all at once.
"I just remembered, what about clothes?", Jasmine asked. "I might need to be wearing something more... er, modern?". Jean replied, "I can do something about the top and the shoes...The pants are sort of modern in a way already.", with a nod.
Peter exhaled deeply, "Okay...Let's do this...", and Gwen smiled, squeezed his shoulder, and Jean glanced at Jasmine who then went to curl up in her cat body, in her cat bed, closing her eyes, and Jean narrowed her eyes as Jasmine's spirit human form came forward from her cat body, solidifying up very much as possible, with Jean using one of her hands telepathically to stretch Jasmine's top into a full long-sleeved top, with a bit more cover for her cleavage, her curled shoes becoming golden and blue Skechers with tiger striped socks.
Jasmine widened her eyes in amazement as she looked over herself in the mirror, and Gwen whistled, "Not bad, Jean...Uh, should we lose the jewel headband?", and Jean blinked, "Right...Is that okay, Jasmine?", knowing that it was a symbol of royalty.
Jasmine exhaled, looking at her jewel headband, and licked her lips, "C-can you change it into a necklace?", and Jean smiled, "That, I can do.", and flicked her hands to take the jewel headband off Jasmine's hair/head, and with a flash, it changed into a necklace; golden metallic with a blue gemstone, less bold and sparkly, but still nice.
"Obviously it's more of a mental projection, I can't actually use my powers in the form of material alchemy, per se." Jean rubbed the back of her neck.
"Okay... so, um... Jasmine...", Peter cleared his throat. "Any way you want to do this?", he asked as Jasmine thought for a moment.
"Well, maybe I could knock at the back door; perhaps imply I forgot something? I think it would look a bit better than me hiding out in your room to May and Ben...", Jasmine suggested.
Peter nodded, "That makes sense...And you look amazing, Jasmine...", and Jasmine blushed, smiling at him, "Thank you, Peter. I can say that I forgot my coat...which is technically true...", glancing at her sleeping cat body.
Gwen nodded, "Great...Okay, we can do this, guys...If they ask, which would happen obviously, I and Jean met Jasmine many months ago after seeing a request for a tutor in different things by the school, telling us that Jasmine is homeschooled, and would want tutoring to be sure before she would be ready to go into public school...like grades or something for the record since she moved here from Saudi Arabia with her father years ago, and then something happened for her to be an orphan, like a robbery gone wrong or whatever.".
Jasmine sighed deeply, "And you guys introduced me to Peter two months ago, and so we became friends the first month, and then things changed for us to become girlfriend and boyfriend...And the robbery gone wrong description sounds right as Jafar robbed my life, home, and body...".
Peter went to hug her, kissing her on the lips, "Hey, it's gonna be okay...You heard Gwen, we can do this...I'll see you at the back door in a couple of minutes, alright?".
"Yeah... Gwen, mind giving me a hand there then?", Jasmine asked as Gwen reached over to grab her. "Got it, I'll be right back.", Gwen chuckled.
Jean telepathically opened the window, and Gwen gently picked up Jasmine, zoomed out steady, and placed Jasmine near a tree, kissing Jasmine's cheek, "You got this, girl.", before zooming back into Peter's room, and the window then got closed again.
Peter grabbed a board game from one of his closets, and replied, "Just in case.", before heading out, with Jean replying, "You know I am one of the best winners ever at Scrabble!".
Gwen laughed, "Oh, really? I thought I outsmarted you last time. Come on, Pete, back me up here!", as they headed downstairs, and Peter chuckled, "I lost count, Gwen. But I think I was tied with you.".
Ben and May chuckled, hearing the familiar sound of laughter before hearing a knock on the back door, and Peter called out, "I'll get it, Uncle Ben, Aunt May!", handing the game to Gwen.
"Be quick with it, Peter! Don't want us to catch our death from the cold out there!", Ben called out as Peter chuckled.
"I'll be quick!", Peter shouted back before he reached the back door and took a deep breath. "Come on, Peter... just act natural.", he whispered to himself.
Peter then opened the back door, looking a bit surprised at Jasmine, "J-Jasmine...Hey, what's up?", and Jasmine embarrassedly fiddled with her necklace, "I forgot my coat, Peter...Can I come in? It's cold...", inwardly glad that her spirit form isn't bothered by the cold anyway.
"Oh, gosh, you gotta be freezing! Come in, come in...", Peter nodded, waving her in, closing the door behind her, and Jasmine rubbed her hands together, "Thank you, Peter...", with a small smile, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything...".
"Oh, no, course not, Jasmine...You'd never be that rude...But...um...c-can you stay for a while? My folks are home... And well, didn't you say that we have to tell them sooner or later?", Peter smiled sheepishly...
Jasmine widened her eyes in slight surprise, "Oh...Well, I guess I can...My curfew isn't until 10, anyway...And yeah, you're right...", playing along, brushing a stray bang over her ear nervously, and Peter smiled, kissing her on the cheek, "You're gonna be great...They will love you...Come on...".
Peter took her hand gently, and Jasmine smiled shyly as they walked closer to the kitchen where Ben and May are obviously looking out at them in curiosity and awe.
Ben and May glanced at each other before Ben finally spoke. "So... um, Peter... who is this?", Ben asked as Peter took a deep breath.
"Aunt May, Uncle Ben... this is Jasmine.", Peter introduced, acting as if he had gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar, so to speak.
Jasmine smiled nervously, "Hello...My name is Jasmine. Please don't be mad at Peter, sir and madam... He's the most wonderful, sweetest, amazing man ever...It's my fault for telling him to wait...I was having a hard time coming out as bisexual among other things...".
Peter squeezed her hand, "Hey, it's not your fault, Jasmine...Who couldn't have a hard time for accepting themselves and coming out, hmm? You ain't alone in this world...", with a comforting smile.
May and Ben looked at each other for a moment before May smiled. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Jasmine. Let me go and get you something to drink.", she said as she walked a few steps to get past them as Ben looked at Peter.
"So, she was here earlier then, huh?", he smirked as Peter nodded, "Yes... I'm sorry...".
Ben smiled, "Well, it's very nice to meet you, young lady...Peter's very lucky to have you.", and Jasmine smiles warmly, "Actually, it's the reverse...", and Peter blushes, smiling lovingly at her.
Ben can see the obvious love between them between them, and smiles happily, "I can see that. Our boy deserves to be happy, and if you make him happy, Jasmine, I'd be glad to have you visit more often, that is, without sneaking and all...And no, I'm not mad at you, Peter...After all, you recently had that growth spurt and you were trying to figure out things, huh?".
Peter chuckles sheepishly, "More or less, yeah...", with a nod, and Jasmine giggles softly as May returns with a mug, "Here, some fresh hot chocolate. It must have been freezing out there!".
Jasmine smiles, taking it, "Thank you, ma'am.", and May tuts, "Oh, you can call me May, dear Jasmine. We got some appetizers already done...".
"Oh, I'd love to have some of your cooking, May...Peter tells me that you're the best cook that he has ever known.", Jasmine smiles warmly, and May laughs, "Peter, now you're buttering up the darling here! Why don't you two join the girls for the game, and we will call you up to eat soon?".
Peter smiles and nods, "Sure thing.", before smiling at Jasmine, "Ready to beat the others?", and Jasmine giggles, "Totally!", following him to the living room nearby.
May whispered to Ben, "Our boy is definitely in love with her...", and Ben smiles, "Yes, he is...And Jasmine looks like a good influence, thanks to him...I don't blame her for being nervous and shy especially when she cares very much about Peter, and that she is shaky about coming out...We will get to know her more at the table soon, Mayflower, don't worry.".
"I hope so... still...", May bit her lip as she was thinking. "Come on, May... I know that thought you're having. I'm sure Peter's going to wait if you're worried about them letting their hormones overtake them.", Ben chuckled as May pouted.
"Ben, we were once their age; sometimes it really can be hard to wait for the right time.", May reminded.
Ben chuckled wryly, "True...Still, you have to know that there's two more birthday years for Peter after this, maybe one year if the law of consent is right, and time goes fast with high school and his extracurricular activities. And we will ask about Jasmine's age...She couldn't be more than 16 or 17.".
May nodded, "That's my thought too...She's a beautiful young woman, Ben...I'm a bit jealous of her long hair...She must have taken a long time to grow that out...".
Ben chuckled, "I bet. Come on, let's finish up the entrees and decorate the cake a bit more...I know the bakery decorated it already, but I still need to find the candles.".
'Well, that went better than I thought.' Peter thought to himself while looking at Jean who was reading his mind. 'Of course, there are guests over so the chewing out may come after you all leave.', he joked.
'Yeah, hopefully not.', Jean messaged him back as she smiled. 'But it's nice to know that at least things seem to be going well right now, and that hopefully that's at least putting their suspicions to rest for the time being.'
Gwen thought to Peter, 'She's right. Everything is going to be alright, Peter. There will be questions and we have answers to some of the obvious questions.', as she fiddled with her letters on her board for the Scrabble game.
Jasmine responded, 'Like you said, we can do this.', having a smile as she played with her letters, and Peter nodded, and then chuckled, "Hey, no fair, Jean. That's six points for that long word. How did you know that one?".
Jean chuckled with a smirk, "Tiger, I may not be a brainiac like Gwen, but I'm heck as smart too.", and laughter ringed around the group as they played the game. Some minutes later, May called out, "Food is ready!".
"Be right there!", Peter shouted as he looked at Jasmine and then to Jean, "Uh, will she be alright eating anything?". Jean thought about it for a moment, "I'm not sure, actually... I mean... considering technically she's not here...".
Jasmine whispered, "If I focus on eating the love essence of the food which May would clearly have since she loves Peter and all, I should be able to appear as eating just fine.".
Gwen replied quietly, "We have no other choice, guys...Jean can't make them forget repeatedly each time Jasmine takes a bite of food, and May would be upset if she appears not to love the food after she and Peter especially knows that May's cooking is the best, which I and Jean agree on, pardoning my dad and Jean's folks.", with a nod.
Peter sighed deeply, nodding, "Alright. Signal me if you can't eat, Jasmine.", kissing her on the cheek, and Jasmine nodded with a smile, kissing him on the lips, "We can do this.", before getting up from her seat, and the others followed, heading to the dining table, where Peter politely pulled out a chair for Jasmine, and Jasmine giggled, smiling, sitting down, and scooted carefully as Peter pushed her gently near the table.
Ben and May glanced at each other with knowing smiles, remembering that romantic gesture, as Peter sat next to her, with Jean sitting next to Jasmine, and Gwen sat next to Jean.
May smiled warmly, "Jasmine, why don't you start the prayer? If it's a different religion, have at it for we aren't that close-minded like some people.", and Jasmine smiled shyly, "Really?".
Ben smiled, "You're a guest, since the other girls are practically friends of ours in this family, it's fair.", and Jasmine smiled brightly, "Thank you, sir, er, Ben.".
Ben nodded, and Jasmine took a deep breath, overjoyed to do this again as it felt like so long since she did this with her father back in Agrabah, and spoke, "Allah, bless this wonderful feast for us, and provide us with that which is even better. In the name of Allah, we thank you.", before smiling at Peter, "How was that?".
"That's fine.", Ben assured her. "Certainly not something we've really done before, but we certainly don't want to make you uncomfortable or drive you away... Peter would hate us forever.", he said as Peter started to blush, hearing that since Ben was admitting in a way how much Peter cares for her: of course, she already knows but they don't know that.
Jasmine smiled gently, "Thank you, Ben...", and Peter squeezed her hand, "You did great...Your father would be so proud of you...", and Jasmine nodded with a small smile, "I know he is...".
"Are you alright, Jasmine?", May asked in concern, and Jasmine replied, "I'm alright, May. That was the first time I was able to have a prayer like this without my father who isn't around anymore...".
Ben blinked in concern, "Oh, I apologize if I overstepped like that...", and Jasmine shook her head, "No, you haven't...I have healed from the loss thanks to the girls and Peter, even if it hurts sometimes...I won't let the loss stop me from enjoying life and being around people...", with a firm look.
Jean chuckled warmly, "Jasmine's stubborn, Ben and May, and don't tell her otherwise.", and Gwen nodded, "Yeah, Jazz is awesome and determined when she gets her sass on.".
Jasmine blushed with a wide smile, "Girls! You're making me blush with those compliments!", and Peter chuckled, "But they're right, Jasmine...I'm glad I got a wicked clever, sassy, brilliant woman.".
"Peter!", Jasmine giggled as Peter kissed her on the cheek, and Ben chuckled, "Well, let's eat, and talk along the way...".
"Good idea.", May smiled as the group enjoyed their meal. Thankfully it seemed like Jasmine was able to at least put up the ruse that she was indeed eating food and drinking liquids which certainly kept up appearances for May and Ben. Still, everyone but them had their eyes on the clock since they knew that Jasmine was 'going to have to head home' very soon.
"So, Jasmine, how old are you?", Ben asked curiously after finishing a bite, and Jasmine replied, "16. I am to turn 17 on March 20.", having to think on that part as she was used to the Arabic calendar, and learned about the English calendar when she discovered it in the first year here, and she knew that Arabian jasmine flowers bloom in early spring, and since March and so on is Spring, it is the best deduction she could do for her birthday.
May smiled warmly, "So, you're a sophomore or junior then.", and Jasmine shrugged, "I wouldn't know as I'm homeschooled...not that hard with tutors helping me out.", with a grin at Jean and Gwen.
"And you girls have been helping?", May asked as she turned her attention to the girls. "On and off.", Gwen said. "She does pretty well on her own, but it never hurts to get some extra help.".
Jean nodded, "Yep...We met her several months ago when we were called to the office, and so, we became her tutors when we heard that she is considering in going to high school, but things changed, and she is still hesitant to be in a large class.".
Jasmine nodded quietly, "I am a social person, yes, but I was raised...ah, with some strict rules through my childhood and all, through my father was not mean about it, he was trying to protect me and all...So, being homeschooled with tutors was the best compromise I could get with him, and now, being in a foster home, I am only staying until I turn 18, which is not long, gratefully, technically speaking...".
May blinked in surprise, "Y-you're an orphan? Your mother?", and Jasmine sighed deeply, "Died when I was 8. Her body was failing her at last upon using medicine and all after giving birth to me...It was a difficult birth, Father said, having been in labor for seven hours...I and Father was the only reason she kept fighting to live, to cherish us, to have happy memories...".
Peter wrapped his arm around her, rubbing her back, kissing her on the cheek, and Jasmine gave him a small smile in a way of thanking him.