Knowing from experience that the beautiful blondes of his town congregated there, Jackson entered the Starbucks. He was specifically after blondes, as neither brown nor black hair pleased his eye. The shopkeeper’s bell rung upon his arrival, which Jackson chose to interpret as the starting of his conquest.
Acting naturally, he got in line for the register, his order already in mind. When it was his turn, Jackson chose a combination of many ingredients to go in a Frappuccino. Order being prepared, Jackson made his way to a table, taking time to search the building with the sweep of his eyes for potential candidates.
No one.
Jackson sat at a table in a corner with a nearly undetectable frown, annoyed at the lack of options. Within the Starbucks were a few elderly people, a married couple with their kids, and teens way too young for him. There was a blonde around his age, but her looks just weren’t worth the trouble.
Though there was no one at his standard, Jackson didn’t give up hope and chose to wait for new people to arrive after his drink was ready. He kept a nonchalant demeanor as he played a game on his phone and slowly slipped his Frappuccino.
Eventually, enough time passed that Jackson’s patient wore out, and he decided to make do with what he had available—the okay-looking blonde hadn’t left yet and could make for an easy triumph.
Then, just as he thought to make his way to her, the shopkeeper’s bell rang again.
……
Sophia and Margaret were on their way to Starbucks when Margaret finally let out that she’d broken up with her boyfriend, whom Sophia was under the impression was perfect for her friend. When asked why, Margaret told a tale of how she was put off by how her boyfriend’s behavior and attitude changed so much, became so aggressive, when he began to lose in a video game. Margaret immediately hated it because she was initially attracted to him because of his often peaceful manner.
Sophia couldn’t believe her ears at first and just assumed she was being messed with…but Margaret went on, listing personality traits in her boyfriend she couldn’t stand. Even after they entered the Starbucks did Margaret continue, embarrassing Sophia when she got into the more…personal reasons.
At some point after the two entered the establishment, a man approached the two women with a smile on his face—a brilliant smile. Sophia noticed that when Margaret caught sight of the handsome man, her eyes widened and the pitch of her voice changed slightly, becoming higher. Turned out that Margaret was not joking about dumping her boyfriend.
When the man was within conversation range he introduced himself to them as Jackson. At that moment, Jackson’s and Sophia’s eye met, sending shivers down their spines. They instantly understood from the interaction that their encounter was fated.
Jackson began his move, gesturing to his drink and speaking of how he knew there are tons of variables regarding coffee but had barely any knowledge on what the variables changed in the drink, causing him to simply try them out in different combinations. He gave the examples of “tall”, “triple”, “half-caff”, “half sweet”, and “no foam”.
The man’s intent to flirt would be clear to even a blind person, but it didn’t matter because he was hot. Margaret happily began an explanation of different coffee terms, using a higher pitch in her voice, shifting her body weight in just the right way, and brushing her long, brown hair behind her ear.
On the other hand, Sophia…wanted nothing to do with Jackson. The two had never met and Sophia knew nothing of him, but the shiver she felt go down her spine when their eyes met left her with a horrible impression. She couldn’t quite place the idea, but she somehow knew that Jackson was bad news.
When Margaret’s explanation of the coffee terms ended, she tried continuing the conversation with questions, but Sophia exclaimed that she’d forgotten something important and grabbed Margaret’s arm to pull her out the store. Immediately, Jackson politely asked to know if it while Margaret protested, saying if it didn’t involve her then she could stay to have her coffee.
—————-
Too tired to write the rest. Basically, Jackson is a serial killer and Sophia’s danger sense went wild, allowing her to stall for time as she tried to leave (taking her friend with her) without sounding crazy. It was supposed to end with police raid to capture Jackson.
