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

“Sorry,” Darren said, once Ethan had let go and bounced back to Paul for coffee. “He’s kind of an octopus.”


“We went to Dublin with Paul’s parents when we were fourteen. I had to share a bed with him in the hotel,” Darren said and shuddered. “Seriously, I’ve never been cuddled that much in my whole life.”


“Yeah but you’re gay, you’re into that sort of thing,” Paul pointed out. “MARISSA!” he bellowed into the back room; Ethan joined them at the table, curling his impossibly long legs up under the chair. He was good-looking, in a Home Counties toff sort of way, Jayden supposed. He’d probably be, like, the fair Hugh Grant in a few years.


“So you’re Darren’s boyfriend?” he demanded.


“You missed that part of the conversation. Jesus, catch up,” Darren rolled his eyes.


“Have you had sex yet?” Ethan demanded.


Chapter 55