Knowing Me, Knowing You

That's Me

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"Oh, my gosh, hi!" Carter exclaimed as she jumped up to hug Xander.

He quickly hugged her back before pulling back to take in her whole outfit. "Wow," he murmured. "This is one costume even ABBA wouldn't mind paying taxes on.* You look beautiful, Carter."

She blushed. "Thank you. So do you."

Xander smiled bashfully down at his clothes. Once he cornered Jacob at the party, he instantly asked to switch clothes. If he was going to go to an ABBA cover band concert, he wanted to fit in with the crowd. It was supposed to be a fun night, and wearing black jeans and t-shirt with a Hawaiian shirt didn't seem to fit with the theme. But with Jacob wearing a sparkly blue and purple bomber jacket and heeled boots that matched Carter's silver ones, he figured it would be enough to fit in somewhat. The smile on Carter's face made him ten times more grateful to Jacob than he had been.

"Why didn't you tell me you about this concert?" he asked.

Carter's face instantly dropped, and she stared at the dancefloor. She was embarassed she didn't tell him sooner. She wanted to last weekend when he came over for a surprise visit. Carter wanted to bring the concert up and ask him to go with her, but when he told her he promised to go to Brent's party, she didn't want to make him feel bad. She did plan on telling him Monday once she saw him, but when she saw how upset he was, she regretted it.

"I'm sorry. It wasn't because I didn't want you here, I swear."

"I know. We're ABBA buddies. We're ABBAtars. I'm just sad you didn't tell me."

"You said you already had plans, and I didn't want to make you feel bad."

"Screw the party," he chuckled as he reached out to ruffle her hair. "I'd choose spending time with you over them any day."

"Really?" Carter whispered, staring up at him bashfully.

"Any. Day." He pulled back with a smirk and took her hand, twirling her. "Being here with you beats being out with them. If you would have told me, I would have canceled and come straight here."

"I didn't want to make you break a promise."

"Oh, it's a stupid high school party. There will be a million of those this year. Seeing a cover band of our favorite band is ten times better, and I'd cancel whatever plans I would have had to be here with you."

"Even if you had to go to a funeral?" she quipped.

He shrugged. "Depends on who died, honestly, and how badly I needed to be there." He placed his arms on Carter's waist and pulled them closer. "Besides, the entire time I was at that party, all I wanted was to be hanging out with you instead."

"I mean that much to you, do I?" she smirked.

"You mean more to me than you could ever know," he stated, his eyes glimmering in hope.

Carter stared back, getting lost in his eyes. Had they always been that shiny? How about that green? Carter knew they were green, but gazing into his eyes under the strobe lights reflecting off multiple disco balls made them greener than she had ever seen them. It was hypnotizing.

The music faded, and the crowd began to cheer. Carter and Xander looked away and quickly joined the group in shouting. "Ladies and gentleman, all you ABBA fans. Tonight, you will all become Dancing Queens as you to dance to the lovely and talented Super Troupers!"

Everyone screamed as the band walked on stage, waving to their audience. The pianist dressed like Benny, the guitarist like Bjorn. The drummer dressed like Frida, and the lead singer dressed like Agnetha. She had a beautiful voice, making her the obvious choice to lead the band. They kicked off the night singing Dancing Queen.

Xander stepped back and outstretched his hand to Carter. Laughing, she took his hand and allowed him to spin her again. They grabbed each other's hands and pulled the other closer. They pressed their stomachs against each other's, and Carter wrapped her arms around his neck. He giggled gleefully as he began to sway, pulling away while still holding her hands.

As she danced with Xander, Carter regretted not telling him. While she didn't regret meeting the group of people who liked her costume and wanted to check out more of her designs or the stranger at the bar who made her feel more comfortable with accepting who she was, she wished she could have shown up to the concert with Xander. They'd both strut in, hand in hand, as though they owned the place. The two would be the power couple of the night.

And what Xander said was right. She would have much rather have spent the night with him than be at the concert alone with some random strangers she knew she wouldn't keep in contact with. Spending the night with her best friend was ten times better. Out of all the ABBA memories they'd shared thus far, this was her favorite.

After Dancing Queen, the band played Take A Chance On Me, Mamma Mia (which everyone screamed whenever the lyrics Mama Mia were mentioned), As Good As New, Does Your Mother Know, and Rock Me. Once the Super Troupers played the opening notes to Tiger, Carter screamed loudly.

"I am behind you. I always find you. I am the tiger!" Carter scream sang into Xander's phone, who began recording her midway through the song. She made claws with her fingers and strutted closer to him before spinning away.

She laughed as the song ended, but she quickly frowned. "You're not going to post that video, are you?"

"No way," he smirked. "This is for me."

"You sound almost perverted as you say that," she teased. "You better not be."

"No," he assured her, completely serious. "This is a night for us. I want to remember it."

"Then let's take a picture." Carter reached for her back pocket, thinking her phone was going to be there, but it wasn't. The costume didn't leave room for pockets, so she had to stick her phone in her cleavage. With Xander staring at her, she didn't feel like reaching in. She shrugged her shoulders and lifted Xander's hand, holding his phone, up. "That way we really can remember the night."

Smiling wide, Xander snapped a multitude of pictures, ranging from goofy faces to the one of them smiling at the camera and then each other. "Do you care if I post these? I know you want to keep your ABBA fan status a secret, but it's such a cute photo."

"Sure. It's not like anyone is going to know where we are. And even if they figure it out, it doesn't matter. We can just kick their ass."

Xander laughed as he reached out and held Carter's hand. As he posted the pictures, Carter stared at their entwined hands with a blush. What Ryan mentioned about how Xander never held hands with anyone came to mind, and as she gazed back up to his smiling face, she felt very special.

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