You Can Have Half--Spanna
It was a quiet September day, cool but not cold, and everything should have been perfect. Should have, but wasn't. Because Tom Marin had decided it was time for him to meet his daughter's girlfriend. Hanna had tried to protest, pointing out that he'd already met Spencer. She had reminded her mom that he hadn't visited her in jail or in the hospital once, so why should she have to go see him? Voices had been raised, tears had been shed, and it wasn't until Spencer had laid a reassuring hand on Hanna's that the blonde agreed.
Which was how the two girls found themselves sitting at a table with Tom, Isabel, and Kate. When Hanna had seen the two women, she'd wanted to walk out then and there, but Spencer had quietly reminded her that it was just one dinner, and she’d be there the entire time.
A half hour into dinner, Tom had already bragged about Kate going to Dartmouth three times, and made quips about Hanna's weight twice. Spencer could tell her girlfriend was near tears, and she wanted to kill both Tom and Ashley Marin. How dare Tom treat his daughter this way? How dare Ashley force Hanna to do this dinner? After Tom's cruel remark about Hanna being his 'little piggy', she had only ordered a salad and water, and refused to touch the bread. She had picked at the salad, her eyes darting around to everyone else's plates. Finally Spencer had had enough. She knew that Hanna was hungry, she hadn't eaten since breakfast, and she didn't need to worry about what her asshole dad thought.
"This sandwich is so good, but I had a huge lunch. Do you want to share? You can have half," she offered. Hanna's eyes widened.
"S-sure," she said. Spencer smiled widely and transferred half of her sandwich to Hanna's plate. To her delight, Hanna took a bite. Spencer reached for her girlfriend's hand under the table and wasn't surprised to find it shaking.
“So, Spencer, where will you be going this fall?” Isabel asked politely.
“Oh, uh, Georgetown. In DC,” she said. Tom nodded.
“Good school,” he said.
“What about you, Hanna?” Isabel asked. Spencer had to give the woman credit. She was trying harder to make conversation than Tom.
“I, um, haven’t decided yet,” Hanna admitted. “I'm waiting a semester to start.”
Spencer turned to her girlfriend, questions in her eyes, but Hanna didn’t elaborate, and Spencer knew better than to ask in front of Tom. After that, the rest of the night passed quickly, if awkwardly. Still, the check couldn't come soon enough for anyone. Tom gave the two girls a nod and left with his family, not even hugging Hanna goodbye. Once they were out of sight, Hanna sat on a bench and burst into tears.
"Oh, baby," Spencer said softly, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend.
"Why am I never enough?" she sobbed. Spencer rubbed her back gently, trying to calm her down.
"He's the one who isn't enough," she said. Hanna didn’t respond.
“When did you decide you might wait a semester to start college?” Spencer asked carefully, reluctant to upset the girl further. Hanna sighed.
“When I realized no one wants to give a scholarship to an ex-criminal,” she said. Spencer rolled her eyes.
“That was overturned,” she reminded her. Hard to be an accessory to murder when the person you were accused of killing was alive.
“Doesn’t matter. I need money. Besides, I don’t even know where I want to go,” she said. Spencer thought for a moment before speaking.
“Come to DC with me. We’ll get an apartment,” she said. Hanna raised an eyebrow.
“Seriously?” she asked. Spencer nodded, and for the first time all day, Hanna smiled. For a while, the girls sat in a comfortable silence.
"Thanks for sharing your sandwich, by the way. That was really sweet of you," Hanna said a few minutes later. Spencer kissed the top of Hanna's head.
"I hate that he makes you feel like you can’t order dinner or eat in front of him," she said. Hanna shrugged.
"I guess he only really knew me as Hefty Hanna," she said. Spencer closed her eyes, willing herself not to go kill Ali for ever inventing that nickname.
"That's not true, and even if it was, it's no excuse," Spencer said, her voice tight. Hanna sighed.
"Are your parents home? Can we go over to your place?" she asked. Spencer nodded.
"Let's go home," she said, excited that in a few short months they might have a place of their own called ‘home’.