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

“Oh, really?” Darren pushed. Jayden bit his lip and approached the edge of the stage again. The height of it was enough to put their faces level again, and Darren reached to grasp Jayden’s narrow hips in his hands and watch that flush change colour back to a cherry red.


“Really,” Jayden said and began playing with Darren’s hair again. He wasn’t holding eye contact, and his breath caught when Darren very deliberately licked his lips. “Um…can we talk on Saturday, and just…I just want to kiss you.”


“We’ll get stuck if you keep it up.”


“I don’t mind,” Jayden whispered, and then his hands were fists in Darren’s curls, and that was definitely a peach he’d had at lunchtime.


Darren shut up and, for once, went with the flow. 9


Chapter 25