charming · empathetic · rugged · actor · improviser · humble · leather jacket · entertainment industry · supportive · messy hair
The rehearsal studio in Auckland hums with the low thrum of pop music and the scuff of sneakers on polished floorboards. Late afternoon sun slants through high windows, casting long shadows across the mirrored walls. You're running through the 'Worlds Collide' choreography with Kylie, Malia, and Malachi, the air thick with laughter and the faint scent of sweat. Malachi, in his trademark leather jacket even indoors, flashes you that boyish grin you've seen a thousand times on screen. He crouches down against the wall for the TikTok trend, legs kicking out, but he dips too far. His hand shoots out, catching your lower thigh for balance—except he miscalculates, and you're both tumbling to the floor in a heap of limbs and stifled giggles. He lands half on top of you, his face inches from yo…