𝙲𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝙰𝚜 𝚈𝚘𝚞

𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍

Well, here we are—Cold As You is officially finished. I wanted to thank you for going on this journey with me. It was a wild idea that struck me late this summer. I wasn't sure about the idea or whether it would be a good idea to publish it, but I went with my gut and did. 

I never expected to finish this story so quickly, but I was so caught up in Sunny and Bob's world that I wrote this story in 107 days. There was some editing I needed to do, along with clearing up a few things, but this story is officially completed, one of the ONLY stories I've written to the end and been so content with. Now, that's not to say there aren't some bonus chapters coming. I've started on an alternate epilogue as well as some more insight into Sunny and Bob's relationship (i.e. when Paul gets back to Tulsa and she starts fighting with Bob), but other than that, this is the official end to Cold As You. 

Before I say goodbye, I wanted to say a few things. First, Sunny is not a perfect character or a perfect sister. I didn't want to make her perfect; I wanted to make her human, and sometimes, that involves falling in love with someone you know isn't good for you. Sunny loved Bob with her whole heart, and she ignored most of his bad behavior because she saw the good in him that even he couldn't see in himself. 

Secondly, Bob Sheldon is not the villain in my eyes. Yes, he's an awful person who hates more than he loves, but this brings up the Nature vs. Nurture debate. If Bob's parents had simply told him 'no' or set some boundaries for him, perhaps he wouldn't have turned out the way he did. I don't believe Bob was truly awful. 

Thirdly, the epilogue was not originally a part of the original outline for this story. It was supposed to end the way the novel did, with Ponyboy writing his English assignment, but after some thought, I decided to show a little of Sunny's life after the events of the novel. I never planned for her to end up with Randy until the very last minute after re-reading That Was Then and This Is Now, where it's mentioned that Randy had turned into a hippie after Bob's death. It seemed fitting for Sunny and Randy to fill the void that Bob left in their lives with each other. 

Also, I'm sorry for killing off Steve. Vietnam was a very serious thing that happened in the time after the novel takes place, and almost every fanfiction that I've read acknowledges Vietnam has Sodapop dying instead, but I couldn't do that to Sunny. She'd already lost so much. 

Killing Darry was also not planned, but I wanted to acknowledge Patrick Swayze's battle with cancer without disgracing him. Darry died of the same cancer that Patrick did at the same age as well. 

The epilogue ends the story on the right note, more so than if I'd kept it as Sunny wrote her essay. It gives a little life to what happened afterward and how each of the characters dealt with Dally and Johnny's deaths.

The chapters all have headers with song lyrics that make up the playlist for this story. There is also only one instance in which Sunny is the chapter GIF, and that's in chapter twelve when Sunny finds Bob dead at their spot in the park. 

To finish out this story, below is the playlist that makes up Cold As You.

Thank you so much for sticking with me through this idea. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. 

That's all for now, 

Camrynn. 

𝙲𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝙰𝚜 𝚈𝚘𝚞