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…” Jayden stepped back, dropped his hands, and stuffed them in his pockets, feeling the heat rushing to his face. His mouth wasn’t numb anymore. It flickered and sparked, like a buzz on the surface. “I’ve…um…been wanting to do that for a while.”


“Sorry,” Jayden breathed, and turned to brush past him, hunching his shoulders against the cold and the embarrassment. Who did that? Who just grabbed a guy and planted one on him the minute he said he was gay? It was just so…so stupid!


“Hey!” Darren yelled, and Jayden paused. He could feel the shakes in his hands again. He was sweating unpleasantly despite the cold. To hell with it, he was bloody scared. “There’s an indie coffee shop on the corner of Market Square that does live music on Saturday evenings. Want to come with me?”


Chapter 22