Stockholm

Stockholm Syndrome

noun

feelings of trust or affection felt in many cases of kidnapping or hostage-taking by a victim toward a captor.

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It was mid-November in the town of Wolfpine. The air was cold and dry, the leaves on nearly all the trees were in the beautiful shades of yellow, orange and red. The fallen leaves left the town looking like a picturesque Autumn dream only seen in Hallmark movies.

Bundled up and making his way with quick strides into the nearby Starbucks, Shiloh Lapierre pushed open the door to the establishment, grateful he decided to leave home a little earlier than usual.

He had forgotten his gloves at home and almost immediately after entering the coffee shop it began to lightly snow outside.

Shiloh made his way past the barista station quickly greeting his coworker Lynn before disappearing into the back room to get changed in his uniform and clock in.

Shiloh was grateful to have the part-time job but it bothered him that the shop was understaffed and has been since his sophomore year of high school. He was finally in his senior year and preparing to graduate soon but his manager showed no signs of wanting to hire any additional help.

On any given day there was guaranteed to be only one barista working, taking orders and making drinks while the manager seemed to always be slacking off in his office.

In all honesty, two baristas weren’t enough, especially during rush hour after school let out and every blonde within a 5-mile radius all craved a pumpkin spice frappe at the same time.

Donning the signature green apron, Shiloh gave himself a once over in the mirror before officially clocking in and heading towards the front of the coffee shop.

School had let out two hours earlier today so Shiloh was able to go home and get some rest before having to head to work. He usually worked 30 minutes after classes ended and dreaded having to see his annoying classmates all file into the shop expecting a discount on drinks because he happened to be in their math class or they’ve seen him around on campus before.

The shop was pretty quiet today however. It was a Thursday and there were less than ten customers in the shop. Lynn was leaning near one of the coffee machines with a bored expression on her face as she scrolled through what Shiloh could see was her Instagram feed.

Lynn was 3 years older than Shiloh and officially able to drink and go clubbing without a fake ID. She was a tall curvy woman with tan skin and dyed blue hair. She attended a college near Wolfpine and worked at the Starbucks to earn some extra spending money to fuel her budding party lifestyle. Her scholarships covered all her classes and a majority of her books.

While she looked like the typical party girl Lynn was quite down to earth and only ever actually let loose after exam week or during her breaks from school.

Shiloh was an average height boy who stood at 5′7. His clear olive skin had hints of pink from the warmth of the shop and his curly red hair was something that always caught the attention of strangers. He had almond shaped brown eyes, a slim small nose and full lips. He was thinner than most boys his age since he wasn’t involved in sports but he made up for that by being a great student.

Shiloh stood awkwardly at the front of the shop with Lynn waiting for any customers to walk in. The light sound of the music playing in the quiet shop filled the comfortable silence.

While waiting Shiloh glanced at some of the people that were occupying the little coffee shop.

A tall looking man with glasses sat at the front of the shop near the window typing quickly on his laptop, he seemed extremely focused as his eyes never left the screen.

Two girls sat together in the corner taking photos of their drinks and themselves holding their drinks or drinking from it.

An older gentleman was quietly reading a book near the entrance while sipping on a mug of coffee and lastly a small family of three sat off to the side a couple tables from the girls. The parents were talking and giggling while their toddler sipped on chocolate milk, his attention focused on the bright tablet screen in front of him.

“It’s been pretty slow today.” Lynn commented startling Shiloh who was still a little awkward around the woman. “It’s almost 4 and no one’s come in for about an hour now.”

Lynn pushed a lock of blue hair back behind her ear and looked up at Shiloh, her clear blue eyes making him feel a little uncomfortable as they seemed to look into his very soul.

Breaking eye contact with Lynn, Shiloh shrugged his shoulders, “Tomorrow’s game day for my school, so most of the students are probably preparing for that.” He said remembering how seriously Wolfpine High took their football games, especially the homecoming games.

Wolfpine itself was basically an academic town. Wolfpine was home to Wolfpine High School, famous for their undefeated football team and nationals winning soccer team. There were also two universities and a community college within the town. All within a ten to fifteen mile radius. Sports were a huge part of the town’s culture and a big money maker.

The town itself was also famous for the infamous Wolfpine Waterfall incident; where in the late 70s a group of nine college students went to Wolfpine falls to skinny dip in the middle of the night one summer. All but three students returned and the six that returned never spoke a word of whatever it was that happened at the waterfall. Most residents suspect an accident occurred and the students were afraid to speak about it while others suspect foul play. No bodies were discovered since that incident and many think it was just a hoax.

There were witnesses around that time that claimed the group was actually eight students not nine but only one missing persons report was filed before it was strangely rescinded and the reporter vanished. The whole incident was shrouded in mystery and everyone involved ended up leaving Wolfpine before the start of the 80s.

The jingling of the doorbell rang through the shop and both Shiloh and Lynn quietly groaned as a group of about seven girls waltzed in. Most were looking at their phones and giggling to each other while only two were looking at the menu or food display.

One face that immediately stood out in the crowd of girls to Shiloh was a long-haired brunette named Samantha Lansing. She was pretty to look at, she had a resemblance to Megan Fox but her attitude was absolute trash. Her father was the dean at one of the universities in town and she was cheer captain for the Wolfpine Lunas. She was, unfortunately, the stereotypical mean girl. Though it seemed she was doing it for show in order to maintain her position on the cheerleading team and within Wolfpine High’s social pecking order.

Samantha almost made eye contact with Shiloh but the redhead quickly glanced away before clearing his throat and plastering his award-winning ‘kill-me-now’ smile as he said, “Welcome to Starbucks, what can I get you?”

Samantha was the first to order, and boy was she snobby about it.

The burnetter ordered a grande salted caramel mocha frappe with almond milk instead of whole milk with a shot of espresso, two pumps of sugar, extra caramel drizzle on the top with caramel drizzle on the sides and caramel drizzle at the bottom on the cup. And she made sure to add emphasis that she would be dining in the shop meaning if her order wasn’t perfect she was going to rain hell on Lynn and Shiloh, but mostly Shiloh. After Shiloh repeated her order back to her and told her how much it was her glossy pink lips turned down in an unamused frown.

“Don’t you have a discount you could apply or something?” she snipped at him making some of the girls behind her giggle while one girl towards the end rolled her eyes.

“Do you have a rewards card with us?” Shiloh asked politely.

“Isn’t that like a coupon thing?” she asked, looking disgusted with the idea of using a coupon.

Before Shiloh could respond to her she simply pulled her card from her Louis Vuitton wallet and said, “Whatever I’ll just pay with this.” The card was a black card. Shiloh knew what the card met and with a bored expression asked her to swipe her card.

When Samantha didn’t receive the response she wanted from him she huffed a little, flipping her hair to the side before swiping her card. After confirming the purchase Shiloh printed the receipt and handed it to her. She snatched it from the boy before making her way to one of the tables near the window.

Her friends ordered their drinks giving Shiloh less hell than Samantha before they all flocked to where the popular brunette sat pulling tables and chairs so they could all sit together.

After the last order Shiloh started helping Lynn make some of the drinks when the bell rang again signifying another customer had arrived. Quickly telling the man at the register that he’ll be with him, Shiloh finished the drink he had in his hand before heading back to the register.

Shiloh could hear Lynn call out to Samantha and her friends that their drinks were ready and three of the girls stood and got everyone’s drinks.

Now focusing on the man in front of him Shiloh couldn’t help but be a bit stunned at the man.

He was a tall man with broad shoulders and beautiful dark eyes. His features had subtle Asian hints to it but he looked like he was probably mixed with Greek with his strong jaw line, attractive bone structure and nose. His bold brows and slicked back black hair made him look like a model straight out of a magazine or a gang member depending on who you were.

Blood rushed to Shiloh’s cheeks when the taller male gave him a small smile after he welcomed the stranger.

“Can I get a tall caffè misto with cinnamon please.” The deep rumbling of the man’s voice startled Shiloh since he wasn’t expecting to hear such a rich sound.

“Sure.” Shiloh said, noticing how Samantha and her friends were glancing towards the tall man pointing and whispering to each other. Lynn even looked interested in the man as she seemed to have moved closer to Shiloh. “Your name?” Shiloh asked knowing it wasn’t necessary to get his name since there was no one after him.

“Jaxson.” He said, his smile brightening a little and making Shiloh’s stomach flutter.

“Jaxson...” Shiloh repeated quietly to himself, “Do you want a mug or a to-go cup?”

“A mug is fine.” Jaxson answered before taking out his wallet preparing to pay for his drink. Shiloh told Jaxson his total before taking a crisp $50 from the man and returning his change. Jaxson didn’t bother counting his change before folding up the $45 dollar tip and dropping it into the tip jar in front of the register and smiled at Shiloh, making the boy’s heart skip a beat.

Suddenly getting the uncomfortable feeling of being watched, Shiloh glanced around the shop realizing that Samantha and her friends were basically glaring daggers at him for interacting with the attractive man.

Looking away, Shiloh sighed just wishing they’d leave the shop already.