All the characters aren't mine, except for June and Tater Tot. Also, if you must know, I'm in need of an editor. So if you're interested, just send me a message and we'll talk it out. Feel free to tell me what you think of this story, but please be mature. Enjoy.

I honestly couldn't remember the last time I was truly happy.

It was another Saturday night I was spending alone. But what did that matter anyways? I was alone virtually almost every day and every night. So much that the days and nights ran around in a continuous and undeciferable loop.

The days were filled with various menial tasks such as: college classes, work, doing stuff around the house, and huge spouts of doing absolutely nothing. You know, there's a saying that goes: "An idle mind is the devil's workshop". That would mean that a mind revving at full gear would be free from evil thoughts, right?

Well, not for me. Dark thoughts clouded my mind as I went day after day suffering in almost complete silence. I say almost because it is literally impossible to function in society without communication between people; if you can call my existence 'functioning'.

All of these thoughts accumulated at night, leaving me vunderable to bouts of depression and some severe anxiety episodes. This, in turn, left me with some unflattering scars on my left wrist, both of my hips, nails bit down to the nub with some skin torn off around the sides, and a very cynical outlook on the world.

It had been this way ever since I could remember. Now, I'm certain I was genuinely happy at one point. If I had to place a time, I would say it was sometime before the fourth grade.

I was just happy I had my own condo and job now.

My condo was my personal safe haven. It was a small grey building with white trim and a bright rede door. There were flowers in window boxes and in two tiny gardens I kept around my door. It didn't look like much, but it was home. However, it wasn't just my home; it was the home to my best friend and most loyal companion: Tater Tot.

Tater Tot, otherwise known as Tater, was the small pug I got with my first paycheck after I had paid my first set of bills. She had been donated to the local animal shelter after her breeder couldn't find a home for her. She had been the runt of the litter and had no value in the show dog circut. However, to me, she was priceless.

Currently, she laid in her favorite spot in the curve of my body as I stroked her behind her ears. Tonight was Toonami night and that meant instead of watching Family Guy, American Dad, and King of the Hill until we fell asleep, we would be watching Bleach, Naruto, One Piece, and InuYasha until we fell asleep.

"I wish they still played Deadman Wonderland." I told Tater, turning the volume up on the tv. She groaned in response, placing a paw on my breast. I smirked and kissed her nose playfully.

"No, Tater. You know you can't have any of my ice cream." I scolded her, putting another spoonful of my favorite ice cream in my mouth "It's got chocolate in it and you know that's a no-no for doggies."

Tater barked in protest, wagging her curly tail. I sighed and rolled my eyes. I swear Tater thinks she's human. She eats at the table with me, sleeps in my bed, and won't even go to the bathroom out in the open.

A thunderclap echoed through the sky followed by a waterfall of rain.

I loved days like these. It wasn't because I was simply depressed and was focused on hating anything good and light in the world; it was because for as long as I could remember I loved to curl up under a blanket with my dog and some ice cream while watching something on tv.

Tater curled up closer to me. She was not as big a fan of storms like these. Rainy days she loved, but throw some thunder and lightning in the mix and she turns into a frightened kitten.

"Here." I told her in a soothing voice, wrapping my blanket around her "I'm gonna go lay down some papers for you in the bathroom. Stay here and be good and maybe I'll bring you back a treat."

She whimpered in response, burying herself into the blanket until she was no longer visible. I smiled and patted the top of her head. Then, I stood up and walked down the hall.

I gazed ou the hallway window to my backyard. My vegetable and herb garden seemed to be just fine. However, my clay bird feeders may need to be replaced due to the high speed winds. I needed something else to do anyways.

As I continued to walk down the hall, I noticed the lights began to flicker on and off. It was the one thing I didn't like about storms as intense as this. I quickened my pace, stooping down only to grab a flashlight from the charger on the wall.

I turned it on, feeling a sense of relief rush through me. I hated the dark, always have. There was something about what could not be seen that freaked me out.

I made it to the bathroom after what seemed like ages. Next to the door was a stack of old newspapers that I often used as "potty paper" for Tater during nights like these. I was quite satisfied having trained her to make her way here without any prompting during stormy nights.

As I laid the paper down in the flickering lights, I felt an anxiety attack coming on. The possibility of a power outage was sending me into a tailspin. With no television to at least numb my mind from the emptiness that was my existence, then how else would I get through the night?

I glanced over at the sink where two clean razors used to lay.

I had long since given up self-harming. I had learned that if I had wanted to make a connection with people, then I had to make myself more approachable. That meant no fresh scabs on suspicious areas. However, despite having quit for at least a year, my progress at establishing any meaningful connections with anyone had been nonexistent. Perhaps it was the scars that still lingered or perhaps it was just cruel fate.

I finished laying down the papers and exited the bathroom. I noticed that the lights had completely stopped flickering and had turned off. Panicked, I rushed down the hall, keeping one hand on the wall for support. I followed the light of my flashlight until I reached the living room.

There, I saw the screen of the TV was nothing but blue. As I approached, I saw Tater standing at the base of the large device, wagging her tail. She seemed surprisingly curious considerig the storm that was still going on outside.

I knelt down next to her and placed her in my lap, cuddling her. I let her lick the side of my face happily as I inspected the screen.

I could see now that there was white lettering on the screen. As my eyes adjusted to the light, I could see what it said.

"Pick your program." It read. That unphased me, so I read on.

"Bleach, Naruto, InuYasha, Deadman Wonderland...hm...it seems as if they're letting me choose what show to watch." I reasoned, rubbing the back of Tater's neck "Which one do you want to watch?"

Tater barked happily in response. I smirked and kissed her head.

"I'm feeling like Naruto. You think that's ok?" I asked her. She whined happily and rubbed her head into my chest. I smiled and selected the Naruto program.

Almost instantaneously, everything went black and I felt myself falling into a black abyss.