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

“No problem,” he said. “He’s a great kid. He’s more than a violinist with crazy hair, and…I’m glad someone can see that.”


Jayden slipped his hand back into Darren’s and hoped desperately that he’d heard every word


It was cold, but there was a pleasant kind of haze around his thoughts, so he didn’t mind. He felt insulated. Cocooned. Kind of safe.


Except that with every blip, the haze was punctured like a bubble. Oh, it rebuilt itself in the quiet quickly enough, but it was punctured all the same, and it was jarring. Blip, peace. Blip, peace. Blip, peace.


The word formed in the darkness almost lazily, uncurling itself like a smug cat. Mop on the piano. And once the thought was there, it wouldn’t go away. Blip, blip, blip. It was bloody annoying. Maybe if he worked up the energy to ask, someone would turn it off, and then he could go back to sleep. Sleep was a good idea. Sleep was awesome


Chapter 92