Knowing Me, Knowing You

Chiquitita

All night long, the scene kept replaying in Carter's head.

"I'll see you around...Tiger." 

Was she really going to be Xander Quinn's next conquest? Was she going to spend two weeks with him, all because they loved the same band? It seemed like a stupid excuse to date someone, but she didn't care quite as much. The only thing she liked about potentially spending two weeks with him was getting to fangirl over ABBA with someone.

No one, not even her parents, seemed to understand her love the band so much. Even Carter couldn't explain why she loved them. There was something about their lyrics that resonated with her. As simple as they were, it made her feel represented, like there was someone who understood just what she was thinking.

When Carter first heard the lyrics to Me and I, she felt understood. She was a contradiction to herself, but at the end of the day, she knew who she was. A freak. And everyone else in the world was one, too. And each time she heard Andante, Andante, she felt loved. Even if there was no one around to love her like that, she felt what could only be explained as love. Even if they didn't know it, ABBA loved her.

The only other person she knew who liked ABBA was her dad, and he was only a casual fan. No one else in her family liked them, and Dante could only tolerate their hits. Even if she wasn't Xander's conquest, he was going to be hers. She had to become better friends with the only other person in the whole school who seemed to actually like ABBA.

As she walked up to Dante outside the boy's locker room, she felt a hand tap her shoulder. Glancing back, she smiled at Xander.

"Hey, Tiger."

"Hey, Chiquitita."

Xander and Dante both stared at her with wide eyes. Without batting an eyelash, Carter turned back to Dante, hooked her arm in his, and led him down the hall.

Dante gaped at Carter, unable to process what he wanted to say for a few seconds. Carter stared at him expectantly, unsure of what he was getting at.

"I cannot believe you just said that to him."

"Why not? He started it."

"Still. I never thought I'd see the day when you'd actually flirt with someone."

Carter snorted. "I did not flirt with Xander."

Dante scoffed before staring at her in a deadpan. "He flirted at you, and you flirted back."

"Trust me, that was not flirting."

"Then why the hell did he call you Tiger, hmm?"

"Because I was singing that song yesterday, and he heard me."

"What does that have to do with you call him Chiquitita?"

"Tiger is the name of an ABBA song."

"And he recognized it?" he gasped.

"Yup," she smirked.

"Wow, love at first song, huh?"

"Fuck off."

"I'm serious, Car," he stated. Switching on the lights in the fashion room, he pushed her inside and shut the door. "That was him flirting with you, and you know it."

"Even if it was- Which it wasn't, because it was merely friendly-"

"Whatever."

"-why would he flirt with me? What about me, me," – she pointed at herself – "would turn him on enough to want to date me for two weeks?"