Building a kingdom in the dark

Stephen R. Lee was your regular neighbour loser, staying in his house all day long and never leaving. He was practically an unknown entity living in the house next door. Owning a completely different life and universe from the ones of the families living near him; perhaps, this was the reason for which all of the parents living in the near 5 kilometers pretty much told their kids to avoid him. It's not like Stephen was a bad person, on the contrary; he probably was the best person in town.Not that he cared anyway, he had stopped doing that long time before moving in that apartment in the suburbs of that little city in Florida. Honestly, he found comfort in the dim light of his computer always doing something; he loved hearing the tv streaming God knows what was the first thing in the morning and the last thing before going to sleep. The constant mechanical noises in his room were more comforting than the constant chattering in the streets, more than all the conversations he ever had in his life; which weren't many anyway. Well, the good conversations with friends and all weren't many, the ones he had during school were plenty and each more miserable than the other. Still, Stephen was a respectable person. Or at least, he claimed to be a respectable member of the society. He had a job and friends, and a house which he refused to leave if not under particular circumstances. Alright, maybe his job wasn't the best. Who wants to work for their parents anyway, it's basically as if you were hired not because of your capabilities but because of your own genealogy. Thinking as it though, who would hire someone who refuses to show their face, show up in the office and prefers to have their salary neatly shipped to their house in cash. Maybe, it was better like that; to work under his parents. Instead, in matters of friends. He had plenty of them, virtually; obviously. Stephen had a little group of people he was pretty close with online. They played games together, and talked a lot. About how much life sucked and how interesting some new games were, sometimes they talked about their dreams. It was a pleasant relationship, that innocent intimacy that can exist only over the web; the tenderness of slowly building friendship from nothing but two profile pictures and interesting statuses. There were only two things Stephen couldn't achieve with his lifestyle, a healthy body (and mind; saying that he was mentally stable would have been a big, fat lie) and; a girlfriend. Now, he could've chased some sort of internet relationship but he didn't want something like that. He wanted a real girlfriend that would have loved him, hugged him and maybe held his hand. He didn't ask that much after all. Every year the same resolutions, to get out of his house and get a girlfriend. He failed that single task every time. Though, one day after one of his rare trips outside his house; he met a person. Meeting another human being wasn't actually a rare occurrence, it was probably impossible to literally meet no one in the hour or two where he left the house to go somewhere important. Like his parents house for Christmas, or the supermarket. Though, that person was special. Her name was Hannah and she was the prettiest girl she ever saw. Stephen was a romantic person, he believed that love at first glance existed exactly like the rain and the sun. Their relationship wasn't the case. The two just chatted for some minutes outside his house; she was new in town and probably still didn't really realize how creepy talking to him was. It was better like that anyway, the outcast and the girl, what a pretty story. They started dating, Hannah was enthusiastic about everything new and Stephen was happy with just seeing her smile.  Everything looked brighter when he was with her; happier than usual and so in love with the girl that he didn't think he could've been happier. One month, two and then a year; time flew by faster than usual, he went outside his house more often and started to lose that depressing aura he had. He wanted Hannah to marry him, this thought crossed his mind after almost two years of relationship. She didn't live that far away so they often met, so why not? In those years he had been the happiest he had been in ages, would asking her hand in marriage be too much? Stephen loved the winter, the cold weather made him so happy that he loved spending endless days and nights covered in a warm blanket, simulating the hugs he couldn't have. Sipping his hot warm drinks which were usually hot cocoa or alcohol. He didn't have a problem with it to be clea, though; at times, spending days in a blurried world and forgetting how miserable his life was. A delight, a pleasure he allowed himself to pursue. Once in a while, that's it.  When he was little, he always thought that if he had to propose to someone it would have been in winter, on a snowy day. Dropping on one knee, over a bridge; with snow falling all around them as he smiled softly, so excited yet scared for a rejection. This was how his marriage proposal would've been in his dreams. Stephen was a hopeless romantic, he believed that soulmates and red strings existed with his whole heart, and; he was so damn sure that Hannah was meant to be hers. Why waiting then? As he checked the weather for the whole month of December, he noticed that there was a high chance of snow in a few days, Stephen smiled, happy to have such an opportunity so near him. Before his usual thoughts could shatter that little of confidence he had in that moment, Stephen grabbed his jacket; it was a really pretty one, jet black with violet decorations on the back. A memory from his not so nice days of school. Stephen actually didn't dress like a normal person, mainly because he didn't really care about changing his style to something more normal and because his emo phase didn't really ever end. It just aged, like one of those fine italian wines or was it france? he couldn't really recall the correct phrase as Stephen was more a vodka person than a wine person. Not that it mattered anyway.  Stephen  probably had more black clothes than completed anime series in his watchlist, he just couldn't really be bothered to use any other color; also, black suited rather well with his black hairs and really really pale skin. Honestly, he did look a bit like a vampire, but he just couldn't help avoiding the sunlight and not dressing with colors that made him look more... alive. Also, Hannah didn't really mind which was great. With her soft pastel clothes and his depressing black ones they made such a cute pair, Stephen loved it; how her eyes shimmered when he found some cute light blue skirt for her and a good pair of blak earrings for him. Stephen liked dressing himself up honestly, he found it rather amusing despite all the time he would take to come out with a decent outfit. He often used the purple and black scheme as he liked the two colors a lot; matching a pair of black tight jeans along with a purple shirt, a dark jacket and a pair of earrings. Everything suited perfectly together and matched with the dark mood Stephen gave. Stephen walked out of his house, the cold wind messing up his dark hairs, as he shuddered; he smiled a bit and walked towards the nearest jewelry. The thought of getting a car had never been his interest, he never went out of town because he didn't actually have holidays to spend around. And, the thought of going around trapped in an iron box completely helpless and ready to crash on the nearest tree wasn't really an attractive idea after all. As the young man arrived at the shop, he looked around, scanning for the ring section. As he found it, he calmly walked towards it, acting as it definitely wasn't his first time in a jewel shop. And, he really didn't want to look suspicious, with his clothes someone could have taken him as a thief; it had never happened, yet, he really didn't want to explain to the police what he was doing. Thing is, he just attracted more attention from everyone around, his body acting as a magnet for the eyes of the few customers. Honestly, he did look a bit like a ghost, the sun slowly setting down behind him, and him just minding his own business as he glared at proposal rings. Just the usual. "Excuse me, could I help you?" a young fashionable woman appeared near him, studying the man's expression and movements. "...sure" Stephen mumbled, not knowing if being glad to be helped since his lack of knowledge in these things; or being annoyed because of his aversion for talking to strangers.  "What brings you here today sir?" the woman smiled calmly, as if he was dealing with a delinquent which had been so unlucky to get caught red handed. Thing is, that the boy wasn't a thief, but an awkward shy person. "well... I was searching for a ring for someone" He said as he looked back to the glass, trying to decide which one was prettier. Maybe, a necklace would have been better than a ring, at least, he knew a bit more of that stuff. "I see, what for may I ask?" the girl tone sent a shiver through the other spine. Her tone was calm, a little interested in the actual question but overall, fake. Was she testing him? Why though there was no reason, no logic explanation to- "...marriage... proposal" Stepen glanced away suddenly feeling so embarrassed. Why did he even leave his house? Couldn't he just go and buy something on the internet? "Oh I see! Then, we have in the store this type of ring which has this specific gem which..." the woman's words seemed to slowly disappear as Stephen found himself thinking of something else. Getting distracted, he randomly glanced at one of the multiple boxes on the counter, it was a fine model indeed; it had a single violet crystal on top of it and the shank was of something clear, maybe silver or white gold.  "What about this one?" Stephen asked as he glanced at the ring he was examining. The lady's eyes lost some of their interest as she heard him. Probably, he had either taken the least expensive ring or the crappiest.  "That one isn't really suggested for a proposal, it's rather plain looking and it also has a low value" she explained as she took the ring. "I would suggest one of these actually" the woman showed him two fancy looking boxes with two equally fancy rings inside. Why was it taking so long? Were jewelry appointments always like that? Stephen shuddered at the idea of having to return again to buy the marriage ring, and then more accessories... he couldn't really avoid it though.   "I'll take this one" Stephen said as he glanced to the one to the left as he smiled calmly, as he started to search for his wallet though, another problem rose. "What measure would you like the ring to be?" Stephen walked out of the store feeling completely drained, swearing to himself to forever avoid human company, he started to go home. He actually managed to buy a ring at the end, though, choosing a measurement was totally unnecessary in his opinion, why couldn't rings be all standard sized? Fact is, that he had to call her girlfriend, making up a lot of excuses for her sudden interest in knowing what measure she wanted her ring to be. So troublesome, and for what? he wasn't going to see what he had paid a good half of his salary to pay for a whole week, just barely enough time to pick it up and plan everything. Stephen played with the black box in his hands, it was rather little in contrast with what he imagined but it was better than nothing. As he dialed one of the few numbers on his phone, he smiled excited. It was a beautiful day, the snow was falling slowly from the sky painting everything white; the sky was calm as well, a perfect day indeed. "Hello?" A soft voice answered the call, it was a pleasant sound, something that reminded of the sound of a silver bell.  "Hey, want to meet up?" Stephen said calmly, measuring his voice so that it wouldn't appear more excited than it should be.  "Sure! Is the bridge alright?" Hannah asked cutely, her excitement was barely contained; it made the boy smile. "Yep! I'll be right there!" Stephen said, sounding happy as much as his girlfriend.  He hung up and grabbed his jacket, bursting outside smiling widely with the box in his pocket. Stephen was a careful person usually; he hated the thought of getting in an accident, getting hit by a car definitely wasn't his priority in most of the cases.  Honestly, Stephen wasn't someone that ran down the streets either, nor was he someone that crossed the street without thinking. But, this was normal and that wasn't a normal day at all.  As he ran down the street, he locked himself in front of the semaphore breathing quickly, pressing the button insistently he couldn't help but getting more and more nervous; what if he arrived late? As he thought about it, a cold shiver ran across his back; was it better to toss away his carefulness for once or arrive late at the most important day of his life for now? Stephen crossed the street quickly, almost running hoping to arrive alive on the other side of the street.  The street he had to cross was probably the bigger street in the city, it was a big four lane place in which all the cars of the twin passed at least twice a day; always extremely busy but not to the point to block the way. Another important thing of the street was that people ran on it, the police rarely controlled that street so every driver pretty much pressed over the accelerator without regrets. And, Stephen's luck had to run out at some point right? As he crossed the third lane, Stephen heard the loud sound of brakes blocking something going way too fast. Turning quickly towards the source of the sound; he was greeted by the towering figure of a car out of control. Honestly, getting hit didn't hurt as much as he thought; or maybe, it was just his brain being too busy with trying to process everything. As he flew back, he couldn't quite catch his breath; without quite realizing that he had been hit by a car, he tried to stand up before the world faded black.