𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐓𝐒. 𝙨𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙩

Warrior

Her stomach was still rumbling when she entered the car. She was not really sure which food had prompted this morning of throwing up, only that it was definitely food poisoning. Some years earlier while on vacation with her family, she had eaten some not so fresh seafood and consequently spent the rest of their time there in the bathroom. So she knew.

And although Lili felt horrible, there was no time for calling in sick today. This photoshoot was to big to be rescheduled and although she didn't trust her stomach to keep in any food, she was positive she could make it through. She had survived longer days on the Riverdale set feeling a lot worse. And all that with an overprotective and worried Cole by her side who had acted like she'd break into little pieces if she did as much as getting up from a chair.

It was funny. They both never minded going to work sick, but as soon as the other one got sick, they were all over them, her talking him down, trying to convince him that he needed to stay home, him (having already given up on talking her out of things), hovering around her on set like she was a fragile little puppy.

Lili smiled a little. She didn't know where all this fierce protectiveness had come from so suddenly, only that it was there and that she was, admittedly, confused by it.

They'd talked about it more than once, both coming to the same conclusion: They had always been highly protective about their families, but never about a significant other. And neither had an idea where it suddenly came from.

"Its like a switch clicking over." Cole had said. "And most of the time it takes like a minute or two and then I think: 'Calm down, you are acting like a total caveman. She can take care of herself'. But what it comes down to, I guess is that I hate seeing you hurt. Doesn't matter if mentally or physically. I just hate it."

And he was right about that. In the time they had been together, she'd maybe seen him truly hurt 2 or 3 times. But when it had happened, it had been awful. The way his face dropped a little, while he tried to contain his emotions, the way he started breathing harder and started tugging his hair with such a force, she'd almost feared he'd pull some out of his skull.

Just thinking about it sent a cold shiver down her spine and she shook her head to drive the thought out of her head. Everything had turned out to be okay in the end and they had always managed to find a solution to every problem, no matter how big it had seemed at first glance.

It was another thing she loved about their relationship. With every day it just felt like they were getting closer, becoming a team, communicating with as much as a pointed look. And every bump in the road, every obstacle they had overcome, had only made them stronger.

She sighed a little, when she got onto the freeway and already saw the end of a huge traffic jam approaching. Thank god, she had gotten up early, predicting that L. A.'s traffic wouldn't do her any favor. Stopping the car, she pulled her phone out, checking her messages and snapping a pic for her Instagram. After that she plugged it in, opened SpotiFy and turned up the volume. If she was going to be stuck in traffic, at least she was going to be stuck with good music.

Drumming her fingers on the steering wheel and humming along to the music, Lili looked out the window, among all the cars and decided to pass the time she was stuck here with a little game she and her sisters had always played during long drives. One of them had pointed out a car and the others had to imagine which kind of person drove it. She'd always been rather good at it.

Her view drifted to a green MiniVan right in front of her. Through the back window she could see the heads of two blond kids, bouncing up and down in their seats, obviously very impatient. Whoever the driver was, they were definitely either exhausted or annoyed by now. Judging by the kids age and assuming that a parent drove the car, the driver should be in his or her mid-30's, maybe a little younger. Through the back window she couldn't make out if the person in the driver's seat had short or long hair, but if the parent driving could be compared to hers even just a little, it was most likely the dad. A mom would have turned around and silenced her kids with as much as a pointed stare. Well, at least her's would have.

The ring of her phone shook her from her thoughts. She grinned when she looked down at the caller ID.

Taking the call and putting it on speaker she said: "Hi babe."

"Hi." Cole greeted back. Lili raised her eyebrows. He sounded a little weak, almost as if he'd just woken up or just...

"Oh god, please tell me, you don't have food poisoning too." she exclaimed.

He chuckled lightly. "We should have skipped the Sushi maybe. I'm having the vague suspicion that the salmon wasn't as fresh as it should have been."

She sighed. "Great. Well at least we now know where we are not going to eat again any time soon. You got anything on your scedule today?"

"No. But you're on your way to a photo shoot, right?"

"Yeah, but I'm stuck on the freeway, playing 'Who is the driver?' with myself. You know, the game you are always losing?"

He scoffed: "I'm losing because you are making up your own score system and you change it like it suits you."

"I'm not, you're just a sore loser, Sprouse."

She heard him take a breath to answer, but then he mumbled: "Shit, one sec." and she heard the phone drop and his fast footsteps. About five minutes, and two Ariana Grande songs later, he was back.

"I'm sorry, that Salmon wanted to say hi again. Seriously babe, how are you up and walking? I'm pretty sure I'm not going to leave the house today." Lili smiled a little to herself.

"Guess I'm just to responsible for my own good."

"No, you are a warrior babe."