XPLR | Colby Brock

Author's Note (Please Read!!)

Hello!

The Epilogue is below! I'll finish it off better than that. Even though that's a great way to end it :). I know you guys.

Wow. What an amazing experience this entire story has been.

I'm sure all of these updates and author's notes are starting to sound like a broken record, but this is the last time this record will be spun. In this story, at least.

XPLR has been a wild ride from start to finish. I've been putting off writing this author's note for days now, because it's hard for me to comprehend that it's over.

I went through a lot of changes since the first time I started writing this story. I was thirteen when I started this story in November of 2017, and I turned 15 the day the Epilogue was posted. Those are prime years for growing.

I moved into a school five times as big as the one I'd been going to before, I started high school for God's sake, that's enough in and of itself. Being in high school is hard, and my heart goes out to everyone who's in, is starting next year, or already finished and is having to work ten times harder in college.

The reason I brought all of that up was because it was hard for me. I struggled with my looks and my skills (I know I'm a good writer, but for a long time I wanted to be good at anything else). Ironically, people think I'm gay when I write a fan fiction with well over TWO million reads. A straight fan fiction. Up until the 97th chapter of XPLR, everything I wrote had romantic intention to it. It was always about Colby and Rose, and then it was about Rose.

No matter hard the eighth grade got, or freshman year got (I know how childish and immature that sounds), XPLR was always a constant. I could always count on this nice comments readers would leave for me, and the reason I started writing in the first place was so that I could disappear. I wouldn't be Drew anymore, I could sign on and I would be Deodee: Popular fan fiction author. And when I started writing, I could live in Rose's world. Or Enid's, or Marsha's (more on that later). The best part was that their world could be whatever I wanted it to.

It was an escape, and that's what I wanted to provide for everyone who read my story.

While it probably seems like I was looking for clout, considering there are so many chapters, that is simply not the case. I just wanted to write to write, and I know subconsciously I didn't want it to end.

And even when I was sad, this story kept me going. Seriously! When I was laying in my bed, thinking about killing myself, there was always a voice screaming in my head telling me, "If you die, who will keep writing XPLR???" So. Thank you for that. There's no un-awkward transition to get away from that. Let's just say, I love you guys.

So thank you, guys. Thank you for everything. In the past few months, once I finally opened my eyes, I realized how perfect writing was for me. I truly think this was what I was born to do, write for people.

And I swear, I will write for as long as I can. As long as you guys keep reading them, and I'm still having fun. And trust me, fan fiction will always be fun to write.

That brings me to my next announcement. Enough with the sappy stuff, right? You guys know the drill.

I wouldn't leave you guys to just read Sam Golbach story. Let's be honest, it's not going to be my best work. While it's out to be a mystery, I don't even know how it's going to end. But trust me that it will be satisfying.

Though, I am sorry to report, that the Sam and Colby respective stories is it for the trap house. I love those guys, trust me, but I don't find myself falling in love with anyone else. Not even Jake Webber, sorry, I know you guys would've loved to see that.

I love you, so much. This story, this achievement, is one I'll talk about forever. I might not include that it's a fan fiction though. You guys understand outsider judgement...

All my love, from now into the future,

Deodee