Title: Count On It

A/N: Spoiler for 1x03

‘Mick trusts me,’ she says to herself as she leans against her doorway. Mick came all the way there, in daylight, to tell her how he became a vampire and to show that he trusts her. While Beth’s mind processes what just happened, her legs start walking her out of the apartment, first slowly and then to a sprint.

Mick takes the first step down the stairs when suddenly he hears his name. He turns around to find Beth jogging down the hallway and admires how her blonde hair shimmers as the sun’s rays hit her from the nearby windows, ‘Knowing Beth, she probably thought of more questions to bug me with,’ he thinks to himself with a joking smile.

Beth stops a foot in front of him and takes in the fact that he nearly always wears black, except for the occasional beige or brown piece of clothing. ‘Why am I thinking about that?’ her inner voice kicks in.

Beth watches him remove his sunglasses and is suddenly aware of his dark green eyes beaming down at her. She never realized how pleasant his eyes are and suddenly finds herself hypnotized by them.

“See something you like,” Beth snaps out of her reverie at the sound of his comment.

She sticks her tongue out at him in a child-like manner and replies, “Don’t kid yourself Mick.”

He acts hurt but continues on with the conversation as he leans against the banister, “What did you want to talk about?”

She remembers that there was a purpose to her following him and answers his question, “I…just wanted to say that…I trust you too…and that whenever you’re around I feel safe. I could never see you as a monster Mick. You should know that in the last couple of weeks, you’ve become a true friend of mine…So, I’ve basically got your back,” she smiles up at him and is relieved to see him smile back.

“That’s good to hear, thanks,” he says with a nod, not really sure what to reply, but grateful that she now understands him, “I’ll see you around.”

He turns and takes one step down and suddenly feels her hand grab his arm, “Wait.” He turns around, this time she’s at eye level with him. He sees her mouth open and close as if to say something but nothing ever comes out, instead she moves forward and wraps her arms around his shoulders. Unlike the first hug, he reacts instantly and brings his arms around her waist to tighten the hug. For a couple of moments, he rests his head against the crook of her neck, breathing in her sweet aroma. He feels her mimicking the same actions and feels her heartbeat quicken with excitement. He decides to end the hug before she does something that she’ll regret or before he loses control of his animal instincts.

He takes one step down and she moves back on the landing, “See you around, right?” she says in a questioning tone and a smirk in her eyes.

“You can count on it.”