I.L.Y.F (A Shane McCutcheon Fan Fiction)

Chapter 1: Prologue

Ell was new to LA. She was a student studying for her Graduate degree, hoping to pursue a PhD and become a Professor. She could have gone anywhere she liked but she chose LA and UCLA for a reason. She was hoping to find herself, her people, and her calling. Ell came from a mid-sized city. Growing up gay in a place where there was no accessible community was tough, that was what made her choose West Hollywood as her place of residents. She was looking for community, a place where she could unapologetically be herself. So far her search for "her people" hadn't gone according to plan. It was a surprisingly tight-knit community with little room for outsiders in LA.

    When she wasn't studying, or attending class Ell worked in the LA Records Centre. She catalogued, organized and helped people access the information they were looking for. It wasn't the most exciting job but it was a job nonetheless. It was here, working at this boring job, that she met Alice. One day a cute girl with short blonde hair walked in and approached Ell.
"Hi I'm Alice."
The girl introduced herself and held out her hand.
"Oh hi I'm Ell, what can I do for you."
Ell replied, looking up from her work and shaking Alice's hand.
"Well I'm from LA Magazine and I'm working on a story about this bar, I wanted to trace back its history as a gay bar and need access to some archives."
"Alrighty then right this way."
    Ell helped Alice with the archives she needed and the two got to talking. They had a lot in common and seemed to really hit it off.
"Well thanks so much for the help, I really appreciate it."
"Oh of course, that's what I'm here for."
"Listen I know you're new to LA, I'd love to show you some of my favourite spots. There are lots of good girl bars around here. Here's my number."
Alice handed Ell a small piece of paper with her number on it.
"Oh and uh"
Ell grabbed a sticky note and scribbled down her own number.
"Here's mine."
She smiled, handing the sticky note to Alice.

    A few days later Ell got a call. It was Alice. She invited her out to lunch at this cafe just down the street from her apartment called The Planet. Ell was excited she had made a new friend and eagerly accepted the offer. The next day she met Alice for lunch. They talked more about Alice's story, and got to know each other a little bit.
"Ya know you'd fit in great with my friends."
Alice said.
"Really?"
"Yeah you and my one friend Shane would totally hit it off. You guys are a lot alike, and you and Dana, you totally have the same sense of humour. Oh and you'd have great conversations with Bette and Tina. They're smart like you, especially Bette."
"Well you'll have to introduce me sometime."
"Yeah for sure."

    After that lunch Ell felt like she was finally starting to like LA, maybe she would meet more cool people like Alice and make more friends. She was looking forward to meeting Alice's friends too; they sounded really cool. It felt good to know her people were out there; she just had to find them. Slowly but surely she would establish herself here, she just had to be patient.