Sleepovers were the best, Jasmine had decided as she and Karyn lay amongst her plushies on her floofy bed, watching Young Frankenstein on her plasma screen. It was after dinner and both girls had changed into their pajamas by that point. Both young women had their feet up in the air to let their newly painted nails, green for Karyn and red for Jasmine, dry as they giggled through the classic comedy. Even though they were a regular occurrence for Jasmine, it felt novel since it was something she'd never experienced as Jon. Karyn was still something of a tomboy, having a natural love for the outdoors, but could always be enticed to participate in more traditionally girly activities by her BFF. Besides, they were safely ensconced in the Galenos mansion, who was going to see her?
For her part, Jasmine was super excited as her memories of her and Karyn's relationship dynamics came to her. It was a little bit of a shock to the former Jon to find she was the girlier of the two, but honestly she relished in being able to embrace her new gender. She was able to do things like keep her childhood stuffed animals, express her love of feminine colors like pink and purple, and take part in things like dance that she'd felt too awkward or embarrassed to do as Jon. It wasn't like she was suddenly a bad stereotype, shallow and obsessed with nothing but fashion, makeup, etc, but she did find she legitimately found both interesting methods of expression, and it was far more likely to catch the young Djinn in a skirt instead of pants. For that matter, Karyn was also much more likely to be seen in skirts and dresses in this world, with the influence of Jasmine as her BFF instead of Jon.
The two girls balanced each other out in a lot of ways, and if anything Jasmine felt even closer to the redhead now than she had before. That's not the only person I'm closer with, Jazz thought to herself as she smiled down at her left side. Opposite Karyn on the bed was Zoe, who had come to join the friends for the movie after the sisters put Melia to bed. (Their mothers were out on a date night, leaving Jasmine and Zoe in charge.) Zoe the Djinn was quite a bit different from Zoe the human, most obviously, aside from her different ethnic background, by no longer being a goth. It made sense when Jazz thought about it, most of the angst that led to the old Zoe becoming a goth in the first place stemmed from Roger Gibson, who was no longer a part of their life, past or present. Instead the freshman Djinn was surprisingly enough an athlete and the star of the girl's soccer team. Memories of screaming herself hoarse at her little sister's matches flowed into Jasmine, and she couldn't help but smile. Where the old Jon and Zoe had been growing apart for some time, here Jasmine and Zoe's sisterly bond was incredibly strong and it just made her giddy.
"What's got you all smiley?" Zoe asked as she looked up to see her older sister grinning down at her. "Just enjoying the movie, Wilder's hysterical," Jasmine covered. She was still surprised by the musical lilt of her own voice every time she talked, and knew she'd be testing it out the next time she was alone. She was trying hard not to let on that today was anything out of the ordinary, but today was basically the best one of her life, so could you blame her for being happy?
"Yeah, Mel's stuff after they stopped collaborating never quite measured up," Karyn opined as she readjusted her bra strap under her pajama top, unknowingly making the girl next to her blush. That was one thing that hadn't changed in the new world, Jasmine's crush on Karyn, if anything it had only grown deeper in this world where the girls were even closer. Unfortunately for the young Djinn, this was one aspect of her new reality that wasn't strictly an improvement, as any potential relationship was much more complicated now. First of all, she had no clue if Karyn was attracted to girls, as in both realities the redhead never talked to her seriously about a romantic interest. Spirits, for all she knew, Karyn wasn't romantically interested in either gender. Then there was the larger issue of her being a Djinn, while Karyn was a human.
It wasn't like relationships between Djinn and human's were forbidden, but they were largely considered to almost always end in heartbreak. It was simply a matter of differing lifespans; sad as it may be, Jasmine was going to live much longer than any human. Extending human's lifespan via magic was possible, but very difficult and the sort of wish she likely wouldn't be able to grant until her fifth century, long after Karyn would have past. Those considerations, in addition to worries of messing up their friendship, were what held the Djinn back from pursuing anything romantic with Karyn or any human for that matter.
Unfortunately, based on the memories she'd gotten so far, none of the handful of Djinni girls she'd met had made her heart beat quicken like Karyn did. Hell the only other person she'd ever felt this attracted to was... No, not going to admit that Jasmine chastised herself. The Djinn's attraction to a certain blonde cheerleader was an even deeper secret than her attraction to her best friend, since said best friend would likely be mad to find out she was crushing on her nemesis. Jasmine shook her head and snuggled closer to her stuffed narwhal, as on the screen Frau Blucher played the violin. So much of her life seemed better after Asteria's gift, an she would focus on that for tonight.
