Bad Habit// C.H.

Separated

Summer was over, school had begun. It was Senior year for Briar Harrison and she wasn't too excited,she expected it to be just as lame as the past three years had been. Briar was at her kitchen table eating breakfast with her mother when she heard a car horn.

"Well ma, that's my cue. Ashlynn wanted to pick me up for the first day." 

Mrs. Harrison looked up from the morning paper. "Okay honey, have a great day. And don't forget that Dad wants you home for dinner tonight. He feels like you been spending a lot of time away from home recently."

"Got it mom, is Ren gonna be here ?" Briar asked standing up grabbing her bag off the back of her chair.

"Yes ma'am. Your father and I want both of our children to be here at the same time."  

Ren was Briar's younger brother, he was a junior and kind of a jerk. Briar and Ren never got along, not even as children. They always fought for their parents attention until one day Briar just gave up. When Ren then began to get all of the attention he realized he didn't want it, Ren wasn't exactly an angel. He did things he didn't want his parents to know about. He slept around, went to a ton of parties where he got drunk at, and started a lot of fights. 

The Harrison parents didn't know any of that about their son.He was gone a lot doing god knows what but his parents assumed he was with his friends because that's what he told them every time he came home late. Briar on the other hand spent her time at the library, sitting by a lake, taking walks or going on drives in her car. Briar went to a party very rarely, only when Ashlynn would beg her to go.

Ashlynn Gelsey had been friends with Briar since freshman year, they were total opposites but their friendship worked. Ashlynn was risky and dangerous, kind of like Ren. Briar was calm, collected and quiet. She was comfortable being by herself and enjoyed quietness.

"Are you excited for Senior year ?" Ashlynn asked energetically as Briar got in her car.

"It won't be any different." 

"Well it would be if you did things rather than read books and sit by a stupid lake, high school is so much better when you have fun ."  Ashlynn said putting the car in drive.

"Oh yeah because getting drunk at parties and embarrassing yourself by hooking up with a different football player every weekend is a lot of fun." Briar sarcastically said.

"You can be a real bitch sometimes you know that, besides that football player thing happened like two years ago stop bringing it up." Ashlynn smiled at Briar.

"This year will be different, I won't let you exclude yourself."  Ashlynn promised.

-At School-

Ashlynn pulled into the school parking lot and drove around trying to find a parking spot. 

"They should have Senior parking spaces." She groaned as she pulled into a space far away from the school doors.

"That would be nice." Briar agreed. The two girls got out of the car and headed toward the school. Ashlynn was ecstatic and Briar was bracing herself. 

The hallways were busy with freshman that were freaking out, stoned sophomores, juniors that were stressed out and seniors that were messing around already trying to make the year memorable. It was like a fun house at a carnival. 

"What number is your locker Ms. Harrison ?" Ashlynn teased.

"The one right next to yours. 276." Briar smiled. Every year since they were freshman their lockers were right next to  each other because the order was by last name alphabetically. Luckily for them there was no last name between Gelsey and Harrison for the past three years. 

"That's weird. I've got 274." Ashlynn said confused.

The best friends got to their lockers, skeptical because they weren't next to each other. 

"I wonder who's between us." 

"Someone new obviously." Briar said putting her books in her locker.

"Well yeah I know that but is it a boy or a girl. Are they seniors like us?" Ashlynn asked a little worried. " Can we stay here and wait to see who it is ?"

Briar sighed. "No let's go to first hour, we have an entire year to get to know the person between us."