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

He found himself scared, and he didn’t like it in the slightest.


He switched his TV on—a hand-me-down from his cousin the previous Christmas—and turned down the sound low on some unrecognisable film on BBC 2. By the time he turned back to the bed, Darren had finished changing and stood twisting his balled-up socks in both hands, staring blankly off into space.


“Here.” Jayden took the socks and dropped them, tugging on the hem of Darren’s T-shirt. “This too. Trust me.”


He had expected some resistance. He almost wanted it. But Darren shrugged out of that too, and when Jayden slid his arms around Darren’s waist and pulled, he went into the hug almost…heavily. Like he was being dragged. When he dropped his head onto Jayden’s shoulder, he dropped half his weight too, and suddenly it just up to Jayden to keep them standing.


Chapter 80