Stockholm (boyxman)

Chapter I: Caffè Misto with Cinnamon

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 from almost all the trees were in the beautiful shades of yellow, orange and red. The leaves were falling off of the trees leaving the town looking like the perfect picture of Autumn.

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 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.

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 caramel 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 worked 30 minutes after classes ended and hated having to see his annoying classmates all file into the shop expecting a discount on drinks because happened to be in their math class or something.

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. 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 because her scholarships covered all her classes and then some.

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 in the shop already. A tall looking man with glasses sat at the front of the shop near the window typing quickly on his laptop. 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 laughing 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." She 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.