Out-and-regretting-it comprehensive attendee Jayden Phillips turns his cast-iron plans for life upside-down by falling in love with private-school violinist Darren Peace, a sardonic boy with the craziest hair Jayden's ever seen.<br><br>But all is not what it seems, and Jayden's bullying problem becomes meaningless when he is confronted with what the music does to Darren. How do you stop a dangerous depression rooted in the same thing that makes someone what they are? Dark moods, blank apathy, and the undertow of self-loathing all simmer beneath Darren's dry and beautiful veneer, and Jayden feels powerless to stop them.<br><br>Then a mugging gone wrong takes the music forcibly away, and Jayden is finally given the chance to change Darren's life -- and, quite literally, his mind.

Vivaldi in the Dark

“I don’t like being called a fag,” he said calmly, tightening his grip when the boy choked and scratched at his arm. Panicking. “Next time I hear that word from you, you’d better be offering me a cigarette and a lighter. Got it?”


The boy wheezed and managed a shaky nod.


Jayden sounded panicky next to him, and the shop owner was hovering uncertainly. There’d be police called soon, and as fun as it would be to let the kid choke, Darren had better things to do with his evening than listen to Mother negotiate with a policeman. Or hear it all over again when he got home.


“You should give up the fags, by the way, makes you short of breath,” he advised coldly, getting an angry glare but no verbal (or physical) reply, before turning on his heel and following Jayden’s anxious tugging on his sleeve. He hadn’t even spilled his coffee. 


Chapter 6