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

“Got any of those oatmeal cookie things again?” Darren asked.


“Um, sure, I think so. Shortbread,” Jayden corrected over his shoulder, rummaging through the biscuit tin. He heard Darren open the fridge and the gentle clink of cans. “I swear you’re like a dustbin.”


“Mother’s fault,” Darren retorted. “Her idea of a snack is carrot sticks. I think I’m accidentally vegetarian six days out of seven.”


“Nut,” Darren said and grinned when Jayden flushed again. “Yeah. Something about her granddad having a heart attack. I dunno, I was about two when he died.” He sneaked a finger of the shortbread away from Jayden’s hands, and by the blissful expression on his face when he bit into the shortbread, Jayden didn’t believe that he was too bothered about the prospect of a heart attack now


“I think you’ll live,” he said airily, retrieving his own can from the fridge. Darren cracked his own open noisily behind him. “The coffee might kill you, though.”


Chapter 50