A/N: I know, it's late. I'm terribly sorry, but I needed to finish school. I hope you guys enjoy it anyway. I don't know much about bands or playing instruments, so please ignore my lack of knowledge.

Disclaimer: "Danny Phantom" and all related logos, titles and characters are trademarks of Viacom International Inc. That means I don't own it, Butch Hartman is the creator of this awesome show.

However: Brad, Vivian, Robert, Michael, Alex, Vincent, Grace, Koos, John and Natasha are my OCs created specifically for this story. (pale-blue11 came up with the names for Alex and Grace. By the way, thanks for the help ^^) I own them, so don't use them without asking please!

Me: So what happens in this chapter?

Ember: Band rehearsal. What else?

Me: Yeah… but what happens on the band rehearsal?

Ember: Could you just stop bugging me and read the chapter already?!

Me: Fine. -_-

Band Rehearsal...

Unlike other evenings, diner was peaceful. Her mom and dad were chatting about their days and Amber was busy with Michael. He wasn't very interested in his diner and wanted to play rather than eat.

Michael was fourteen years younger than Amber. Nobody had expected her mother to get pregnant again after Amber stayed an only child for years. But then out of nowhere Michael was born. He was the unexpected but much wanted boy who made their family complete. Even though her parents spoiled him and often forgot Amber in their care for Michael she didn't have any harsh feelings towards him at all. The opposite was true. If Michael hadn't been there she would have gone crazy a long time ago. With him around her parents had something else on their mind then a daughter who couldn't do anything good in their eyes. And then there was the fact that she always had a soft spot for her baby brother. No matter how bad she felt, she would never act mean towards him if he didn't deserve it. And Michael didn't hide the fact that he adored his older sister. She would play with him, sing songs for him and cuddle him when he was afraid or sad. Their bond wasn't something you saw often, but neither of them had a problem with that.

So Amber would patiently feed Michael while trying to eat something herself too. And all the while her thoughts kept jumping from music to Brad and back to music. It was driving her crazy. She wasn't falling in love was she?

But she didn't have the time to think that through. As soon as diner ended she got up, ruffled Michael's hair, grabbed her guitar and headed off. The sun was down by now and it was colder than when she walked home from the park. But she didn't care, soon she would be too busy to notice the cold.

It was late in the afternoon when Brad finally came home. Knowing his parents were still working he walked to the kitchen, opened the fridge and gathered some chips and soda. He plumed down on the couch, dumping his food next to him, put on the TV and grabbed his cellphone. With a few fast clicks he dialed a number.

"Hey Adam! Guess what I did after school?"

"... … …"

"No, even better."

"... … …"

"Dude, you're not even trying! I hang out with that Amber girl."

"... … …"

"Yeah, she's even worse than you said. All rebellious and into music and shit."

"... … …"

"Yeah, I know. This better be worth it man, I almost died of boredom. She really expects me to listen!"

"... … …"

"Oh I don't know, I forgot half of it already. We just talked. But I need a favor, can you do that?"

"... … …"

"It's totally necessary! Listen: If I take her to our group tomorrow and introduce her, try not to be a total douchebag and keep yourself from making jokes about her alright? If I have to make her my girl that she'll have to like you. Or at least not hate you."

"... … …"

"Hey, I didn't ask for this! You wanted me to play this prank! I promise it'll be hilarious in the end. But first I need to wrap her around my finger, and she's playing hard to get."

"… … …"

"So I can count on you? Awesome man, see ya tomorrow!"

Satisfied Brad ended the call and turned his attention to the TV. Everything was going according to plan. He would get Amber McLain even faster than planned! Every idiot could see she was interested in him. Now he only had to make the right steps and she would be his to play with. He would show all those other jocks that he was capable of doing what they were incapable of: making Amber McLain fall in love. She might be playing hard to get, but he would crumble every wall she had set up for him.

To be honest, this was a challenge, and he loved challenges. If he could get her, he could get everyone. No matter how tough it would be to stay in his role of 'perfect boyfriend', he would do it.

Smiling smugly he grabbed some more chips and mumbled: "Watch out girl, because you're mine!"

The stars had come out and shone brightly by the time Amber reached the house where the rehearsal was. Without hesitating Amber walked into the garage. She only needed to look once to see who were already there and what needed to be done.

"Hi everyone!"

Her enthusiastic greet awkwardly hung in the air when only one person bothered to raise her head. Not that she cared. They had never been as enthusiast as she was. Good players, but very serious. Or maybe it was just because of their age. She was the youngest, everyone else was eighteen, nineteen and twenty. She was only seventeen.

Ignoring the lack of enthusiasm the others showed she got to work. She plugged her guitar in the amplifier and started tuning it.

There were already five other band members. In the back of the garage sat nineteen year old Alex with his drums, he didn't have much to do because it was his garage and the drums were already set up. Alex was a nice guy, although he came up with completely crazy ideas and sometimes annoyed everyone with trying out new rhythms while they were in the middle of a rehearsal.

Next to him stood Vincent, the lead guitarist and occasionally the saxophonist. He had both instruments with his this time, but his saxophone stood forgotten on the side while he was checking his guitar. He could play both instruments with great skill after years of lessons. His music teacher had made him start with the saxophone, but after a while he became interested in guitars and decided to learn that too. It turned out better than expected and now the guitar was his main instrument. Just like Alex he was nineteen years old.

On Alex' left and a little in front of him stood Grace with her keyboard. She was after Amber the youngest of them all, with just eighteen years old. She was also the one who spend the most time with Amber, and the one who had looked up at her when she came in. But right now, she was back to searching for the right song and music notes in her pile of papers. She couldn't work without them.

In the middle of this all was Koos, the band's bassist busy with putting down two microphones for John and Natasha, the vocalists. John was also the leader of the band and Natasha was his girlfriend. They were both twenty and although they could play a few songs on an acoustic guitar, they usually stuck to singing. Koos seemed to be the one who -apart from Alex- got here first. His bass was already plugged in and slung on his back. He nodded to her when he caught Amber's glance. As always he was calm and appeared to have everything under control.

Amber went back to her guitar. The nice mind-your-own-business atmosphere that hung in the garage calmed her down. It was just what she needed after this hectic day that seemed like a rollercoaster of emotions. Just when she finished the door opened again and John and Natasha appeared. Now everybody looked up and greeted them.

"Hey John, hi Natasha!"

John looked around and a smirk crept upon his face. "Good, you're all set-up I see. Does that mean we can start?"

He looked to each member of the band. Grace and Koos nodded while Vincent stuck up his thumb and Alex shouted "Alright! Let's get started!"

Amber couldn't help but grin at his enthusiasm and joined him. "Let's do this!"

The drums were the first to start, with the bass joining only a heartbeat later. Together they created the rhythm and the speed for the song and Amber tapped her foot on the seamless rhythm and the pulsing of the bass. On exactly the right moment she fell in with her shredding guitar, producing a melody over the beat. Her fingers danced across the strings of her beloved instrument, strumming it with more power as the song went on. Vincent created a different sound with his own guitar and together the melody was set. She noticed the keyboard joining, and Natasha and John starting to sing, but although she kept a close ear she couldn't help but getting lost in the music. For a few minutes she forgot everything around her and only focused on the music.

And then it was over and the sound faded away, leaving only her band behind in the garage. They had only played one number, but she already felt like she woke up fresh and full energy.

John looked up and signed to Alex, who tapped off again. Vincent picked up the melody and Grace joined him. Amber waited a little longer before she also threw herself into the mind spinning music. John started singing and Natasha backed him up as second voice. The beat speed up and Amber closed her eyes and let her fingers memorize the path on her guitar. She moved her head on the rhythm and this time she even forgot where she was. In her imagination she was standing on stage with her own band, in front of millions of people who all paid to see her play.

A/N: Pff, glad it's finally up! Hopefully you all enjoyed it. I really had a lot of trouble with writing this chapter. And that's why I'm asking you, the readers, for some advice and feedback. It would really help me. I love working on this story, puzzling it out, thinking about how it would have gone for Ember, but it's hard. And I try my hardest to make it as good as possible. I'm not a brilliant writer, English is not even my first language. But I try. And I rely on you reviewers to support me. Like I said before, I would love to hear your theories and maybe things I should throw into this. I will answer every single review I get, I always do. Just please people, please: give me some feedback.

Everyone who already reviewed: Amaris-the-Demon, shadowxdragon, pale-blue11, Delta 23: thank you guys SO much, it means a lot to me. You're amazing! :D