RIKER

Today's been nothing short of exhausting, and by the time I finally get home and settle into my room it feels like my head might explode. I'm usually collected in everything I do, needing to keep a straight head and stay focused on the goals ahead of me but when Robyn and Isla came to find me during lunch, that all went out the window. My only concern being Stevie, and for the first time in my entire life, I skipped school because my little sister needed me.

It taking everything in me not to go find Felix and punch him for hurting her.

"Riker?" Stevie asks quietly from the crack in my door.

"Hey Vee," I smile softly, turning on the couch set in front of my bed after grabbing my TV remote and pausing the movie on the screen.

"Can I come in?" She asks.

"Sure," I nod, and settle back into my seat. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," she nods and settles down next to me, bringing her feet up onto the edge of cushion as she rests her head on my shoulder. "What are you watching?"

"I'm not really sure," I tell her, ignoring the fact that she's clearly not okay as I start the movie again. "It's just something that came on. I wasn't really paying attention."

"Thinking about today?" She asks with a small smile on her lips. "I'm sorry I freaked out earlier."

"Considering your day, I don't blame you," I assure her before sighing, racking my fingers through my hair as I consider asking again. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"No," she shakes her head and lets out a long awaited breath. "I really wanted him to be better than the idiot guys you hear about. I wanted him to be the guy on the rooftop."

"The rooftop?" I ask.

She looks down at her fingers and lifts her head from my shoulder, "It's not important."

"It is," I argue. "Talk to me, Stevie. What's going on in that head of yours?"

"At his party on the weekend," she swallows. "He was really sweet to me and for the first time in my life, I felt like someone actually saw me for me and not some supporting character in the Luke Alexander show. Or Greyson show. Or...Riker show."

"What?" I frown, turning to get a better look at her as she talks. "What are you talking about?"

"I know it's so stupid, but everyone has always looked at me as someone's something. I'm the youngest and when I started at school, I was Greyson's sister, or yours, or Ike's. They looked at me and had all these premade labels for me. They tried to fit me into this box. Am athletic like Greyson? Or smart like you? Or creative like Isaac? They were always expecting something of me," she pours her heart out, struggling to find the right words without offending me. "And then there was Felix, and he looked at me as if all he saw was me. He just saw Stevie, or at least, I thought he did but maybe it was too good to be true."

"I didn't know you felt that way," I admit, seeing the broken look on her face as she pulls on her oversized hoodie sleeves. I never really thought about what it was like to be the youngest of four and the expectations that came with that. Sure, I had Greyson to be prejudged by but I had my own thing and Stevie does too, but I can only imagine what it's like to live up to three names. Four if you count our dad's.

"I've never really told anyone," she sighs. "It's dumb, I know."

"It's not," I shake my head. "Stevie, do you have any idea how brilliant you are? You're the most compassionate person I know, and you're sweet. Insanely smart, and creative and I have no doubt you could outrun me. You're nothing short of amazing."

She smiles softly as she avoids my eyes. "Was it insane of me to want him to like me? I thought maybe he did, but clearly I was just some kind of project."

"It's not insane," I sigh and move over, wrapping my arm around her shoulder. "I don't know if you know this or not, but guys are idiots."

She laughs as she leans into me.

"We say things and do things that make us look like complete assholes, but that doesn't mean you have to give up on us," I admit, not knowing why. "If you like Felix, don't shut him out just yet. Give him a chance to make it right."

"Says the guy that wanted to punch him earlier," she shakes her head. "Thank you, Riker."

"I love you, Vee."

"I love you too," she hums softly. "Can we watch this movie now?"

"Sure," I nod my head and lean back, my eyes settling on the television but I can't help glancing over at her to see the look of confusion on her face. I know she feels like she's in a rough space, and Felix is part of the problem. He said something stupid, and he's going to make it right.

When we get to school the next day, I make a beeline for my locker and study the halls as I put the combination in my lock to get my books. My head fuzzy from my conversation with Stevie the night before, knowing how truly broken up she is about the whole Felix situation.

"Why do you look like you have a plan?" Isaac asks when he stops next to me.

"What are you talking about?" I ask as I reach in for my physics book.

Isaac arches an eyebrow at me, "You're up to something. What is it?"

"Nothing," I shake my head. "Have you seen Felix?"

"Riker," he sighs. "You can't fix all of Stevie's problems for her."

"You're right," I nod. "But I can fix this one."

"Yeah? And what about next year when you're at Stanford and five hours away?" He asks. "I want to help her too, Rik but we have to let her fight her own battles."

"You didn't see her last night, Isaac," I frown. "Felix screwed up and they could both be missing something great because his head is up his ass. She's our little sister, and she needs us."

"And what exactly do you plan on doing?"

"Nothing major," I shrug. "Just a push in the right direction."

"If she ever finds out, she's going to kill you," he advises as I move away from our lockers and toward my classroom.

"Yeah, and who's going to tell her?" I question and he sighs.

"Fine, but if this goes south, that's on you," he points at me. "Don't screw it up more, Riker."

"I won't," I wave him off as I head into the science lab our physics class is being held in. I head for my lab station where I find Felix sitting, his head down and his eyes settled on the open textbook in front of him. "We need to talk."

"If you're going to punch me, just get it over with," he looks up and exhales. "I fucked up, I know."

"Yeah, you did and you're just lucky I'm not Greyson," I say as I sit in the stool next to him. "You need to fix this Felix. Make it up to her."

"And how exactly do I do that?" He asks. "She's not exactly talking to me."

"Do you blame her?" I question before sighing. "Look, I'm not your biggest fan right now either but she for some reason still cares."

He nods before sighing, "What do you suggest I do?"

"She's going to kill me if she ever finds out I tell you this, but she's a sucker for big gestures," I admit, sharing information that Stevie would definitely kill me for sharing. "She'll never admit it out loud, but if you can do something that proves you still care then you may have a chance. Make it hard for her to turn you away, and she'll let you back in. As long as you genuinely care, because I swear to god if I find out that you're only doing this for some stupid joke with your friends, I'll be the least of your worries."

"I do, Riker," he assures me. "I made a stupid mistake, but I do care about her."

"Good, then fix it," I tell him. "She deserves the best, Felix so I need you to promise me you'll treat her right. No matter how stubborn she is, or controlling. It's only because she cares, a little too much at times but it's what makes her Stevie."

He nods, "Why are you helping me?"

"Because she's my little sister and she likes you. She's too stubborn to go for the things she wants because she for some reasons thinks she deserves less than amazing things," I explain. "And because for whatever reason, you make her feel like she isn't living in my brother's reflections."

"I'll make it right, I promise."

"Good."

a/n;

When I went into writing this story, I thought Greyson was going to be my favorite brother. Turns out it's Riker, and this is one of the reasons why. I hope you enjoyed this bonus chapter, it's the last set in a different person perspective from the timeline of the book.

The rest are going to be set further in the future.

:)