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

When he wasn’t under a spell, Darren hated them. When he was, he didn’t have the energy to hate them, but it all worked out the same. He was rendered useless, unable to feel anything properly or do anything correctly. His music jarred in the wrong places. His reactions were sluggish. And the only thing that simply would not be dislodged was the crippling, cruel knowledge that he was utterly, completely, and wholly pathetic for letting it happen.


Chapter 45