Malcolm didn’t actually think he’d end up here. There wasn’t anything wrong with reality TV, but it wasn’t his thing. His older sisters, though, they all loved it. Malcolm had grown up sitting with them in the living room as their mom did their hair, whatever reality show that caught their attention on full blast.

Love Fairy was their favorite. The whole point was to couple up and find love without getting voted off the island by the other contestants. It sounded boring, but they liked the drama of it all. Malcolm liked seeing what crazy challenge the contestants were forced to do. They looked humiliating, like a train crash he couldn’t turn away from.

His sisters wanted to be on the show, not Malcolm. He wasn’t cut out for reality TV. Except when they started auditions for Love Fairy, they dragged him along.

Which, sure, that was fine. There was no chance Malcolm was getting picked. His sisters told him he was tall, but Malcolm knew height didn’t really matter on these shows. Plenty of short dudes made it on. The only thing he needed to be was flirty and confident and extroverted; Malcolm was none of those things. Even in line during the auditions he felt out of place. These people looked straight off of magazines. Not that Malcolm thought he was ugly, he just wasn’t a model.

He only got to talk to one new person, and he hadn’t even gotten a name.

It was a month and a half later that he got a callback wanting him on the show. He’d been incredibly tempted to decline. He had just graduated, was finally working at his dad’s tattoo shop instead of fast food, and he didn’t want to find love on a show. Malcolm fully believed he’d bump into the love of his life naturally, not on an app or on Love Fairy where they’d exploit his relationship for views.

His sisters had other plans. It’d be good exposure for dad’s shop, and the worst that could happen is him going on early, or he could win and that was a lot of money, they’d all said. Malcolm did need to pay his loans off.

With very little pressure, he caved and agreed to be on the show. So here he was, awkwardly standing by the snack table and attempting to look like he was interested in whatever they were offering. Contestants had begun to file in, greeting each other and confirming what Malcolm feared.

They were all definitely not introverted. Malcolm could see his social battery dying as he watched them all chat. Meadow and Oscar, two other contestants, were nice at least. He thought about gluing himself to them and hoping for the best, but then he thought about the potential of him annoying them. Nope. Best to keep to himself.

He was about to shove another strangely shaped bread (he had no clue what he was eating) into his mouth when he saw you. You were the person from auditions! The single other person he’d talked to.

“Hey,” Malcolm said, moving towards you. “Do you remember me? I was in line behind you. It got really hot and I passed out and then you gave me a water bottle?” He cringed. Okay, not the best impression, but surely you couldn’t have forgotten that. Malcolm thought you were an angel when he’d opened his eyes, his sisters freaking out around him. God, he missed them. He couldn’t even contact them while he was on the island.