Book Punks in Love | Michael Clifford (2 Viewers)

Chapter 1

The girls of Precious Maniac belted their hearts out during recording for their upcoming debut album. Carly Bryan was the frontwoman, so she was doing most of the singing, but they all had lines in this particular song, “Playing With Fire”. The song would serve as the second single off this album, which they’ve entitled “Punk Revolution”. There would also be twelve other tracks, plus three bonus tracks.

“And that’s a wrap!” Tommy Peters, their recording engineer, concluded when the song finished. “Great job, girls! Now, let’s hear it back to make sure we like it.”

The girls listened to the song they’d just recorded, and all five members were very satisfied with the outcome.

“Well, it sounds good, and it feels good,” Carly commented.

“Like 5SOS!” Isabel Colbert, who plays keys for the band, chimed in. “It has to sound good and feel good, like their second album.”

“I agree, a thousand percent,” Tommy said. “Now, tomorrow, I think we should work on your song ‘I Don’t Know Her’. Does that sound good? Feel good?” Tommy smirked wittily after he added the last part.

Isabel giggled. “Yeah, sounds good to me. What about y’all?”

All four of her bandmates agreed. After the discussion ended, they all went home.

When she got home, Carly found her boyfriend Zach teaching their four-year-old twins how to play drums like their father. She laughed at this, knowing little Lennix didn’t really have enough brain capacity yet to understand this. But then again, she herself first got into playing music at age three, so who was she to judge?

The band Zach drums for is a metal outfit called Screaming Mimis. They came onto the rock scene at just about the same time as Precious Maniac. In fact, it was a photoshoot with Rock Sound Magazine that brought them together. Screaming Mimis were to be on the cover, while Precious Maniac were being interviewed ahead of their first opening gig.

“Hey, y’all!” Carly acknowledged the twins. “Is Daddy teaching you the drums?”

“Uh-huh!” Lennix chirped. “I want to be a drummer when I grow up.”

Joplin was irritated by this statement. “No, I’m the drummer!”

“Are not!” Lennix argued.

“Am so!”

“Girls, girls!” Carly shouted in the midst of their quarreling. “Don’t make me separate you!”

“But she said—” Joplin started to say before Zach cut her off.

“Alright, this lesson is over,” he said. “Go to your room right now!”

“And stay there until we say dinner’s ready!” Carly added.

As Lennix and Joplin stomped upstairs to their rooms, Zach heaved a sigh of relief that they were out of sight. “I knew they were going to be trouble from the moment we found out about their being twins.” He changed the subject. “So, how was the studio?”

“It was productive,” Carly said confidently. “We got a lot done. My OB appointment went well, too. She’s still cooking!”

Before the recording session, Carly had had her 36-week pregnancy ultrasound. The doctor, Dr. Kearns, had found that everything looked normal, and Carly could go ahead with her desired VBAC. The twins had been delivered via C-section because Joplin was in the breech position, and they couldn’t turn her around.

“Great! Man, I can’t wait to hear your killer voice on the new record. When are you releasing it?”

“Not until mid-December.”

“That will be the best early Christmas present ever for me… well, besides the baby, that is.” Zach gazed longingly at his beautiful girlfriend. He looked her straight in the big hazel eyes and brushed some stray pink dyed hair out of her face. Then, he leaned in, cupped her chin in his hand, and was about to kiss her when her cell phone rang.

“Hold that thought,” Carly said, gently pushing him away. She then answered the phone with, “This is Carly Bryan.”

“Hey, it’s Kat!” Kathryn Darnell greeted her enthusiastically. “How was the studio today?”

“It was good. I think Liv is coming out of her shell a bit.”

Carly was referring to Olivia Mann, the drummer of Precious Maniac. She wasn’t their original drummer, as the old one was forced to quit due to an old tennis injury that had resurfaced. “Punk Revolution” will be their first album with Olivia on the drums.

“Good, good,” Kat said. “So, I just got off the phone with a man by the name of Ben Evans; he’s the manager of 5 Seconds of Summer.”

Carly was ready to flip out. Was this an opportunity to open for her favorite band? But she knew she shouldn’t jump to conclusions, so she tried to remain calm. It could be anything, after all.

“Yeah?” Carly chose to say. “What did he say?”

“He says they’re looking for an opening act for their upcoming tour. Would you girls like to go?”

“Would we ever!” Carly gushed. “Oh, my God, this is great! Of course, I can’t speak for the rest of the band.”

“Of course,” Kat agreed. “Why don’t you discuss it with them and get back to me? And tell the girls their Aunt Kat said hi.”

“I sure will!”

After she ended the call, Carly opened up the Precious Maniac group chat and started typing. The following conversation ensued:

Carly: OMG y’all, guess what?!
Isabel: Does it have anything to do with 5SOS?
Lauren (guitarist): OMG wouldn’t it actually be so sick if we opened up for them?
Lauren: I was just thinking about that today, actually.
Carly: Well, as a matter of fact… (winking emoji)
Lauren: No, wait – actually???
Tina (bassist): You can’t be serious!
Isabel: You’re kidding!
Olivia: I don’t know, guys. What if…
Carly: You’re borrowing trouble, Liv. We ARE going to open for them – it’s practically set in stone!
Olivia: Practically? (suspicious emoji)
Lauren: Olivia, this is a dream come true for us! I promise, they’re a fun bunch. You’ve seen their little tour diaries!
Carly: Okay, so we’ve all agreed, right?
Lauren: You’ve got my vote!
Tina: Sounds great!
Olivia: Okay, but you better not be lying.
Isabel: I’m so in!

@TrinityJade @Lord_Angelslayer chansdeluluwifey (what is her username now???) joy_senhou (same) @AgustHyune @Harmony_Starz @rayhere (if she ever comes back )

Chapter 2

The following Wednesday was Precious Maniac’s first meeting with 5 Seconds of Summer. Carly had been having contractions all morning leading up to this, but according to her tracker, they weren’t nearly bad enough for the hospital yet.

When the girls got to the meeting place, the guys were already waiting for them outside. Isabel squealed when she saw them.

“Oh, my gosh, 5SOS!” she exclaimed as she and her bandmates approached. “We’re huge fans!”

“It’s really an honor to be opening for you,” Carly added.

“Why, thank you,” Michael said as the nine of them shook hands. When Michael shook Carly’s hand, he held it tightly and gave her a wink and a flirty smile.

“I have a boyfriend,” Carly said, gently pushing his hand away.

“Well, a bloke can look, can he not?” Michael countered.

They walked inside the building, up a flight of stairs, and into a large conference room. The table was long and made of oak, and it was big enough to comfortably seat twelve people. Surrounding the table were twelve comfy-looking, black swivel chairs. The guys sat on the side closer to the door, while the girls sat opposite them.

“So, first things first; why don’t you introduce yourselves?” Luke Hemmings prompted.

“I’m Carly, the lead singer,” Carly said. “I’m 37 weeks pregnant with my third daughter.”

“Aw, how precious!” Ashton Irwin remarked, unwittingly making a pun out of the girls’ band name and causing everybody else to laugh. “What?”

“Well, for starters,” Isabel said, “we’re called Precious Maniac. You just made a pun out of our name!”

Ashton nodded. “Ah, right. Gotcha. Carry on; who’s next?”

The other girls went around the room making their introductions, and then Carly started cramping again. She tried to hide it for the longest time, constantly shifting positions and holding her breath to hopefully keep the baby inside just a little bit longer. But by the end of the meeting, Carly was sweating profusely from holding in her contractions.

“What’s wrong, Carly?” Michael asked with concern in his voice. “Do you need to use the loo?”

“Uh…” Carly breathed. “Yes!”

Of course, she was lying through her teeth. Her bandmates could all see it in her eyes.

“She’s in labor,” Isabel said truthfully to Michael. “My dad is an OB, and he’s taught me everything I know about childbirth.”

“Must… finish… meeting!” Carly breathed.

“More like, must call Zach.”

“He’s… in… band… rehearsals!” Carly argued.

Screaming Mimis are also getting ready to tour, but theirs is a smaller-scale west coast gig to promote their second album. They’ll go on a bigger tour in the summer.

“Carls, any good man would drop everything when his girl is in labor. I’m calling Zach and taking you to the hospital. Let’s go!”

As Carly was escorted out of the building by Isabel and Lauren, Michael gave her another wink. “Congrats, darling,” he said flirtatiously.


At the hospital, it was determined that Carly was six centimeters dilated and almost fully effaced, so they admitted her right away and gave her an epidural for the pain. Once she settled into bed after the epidural was put in, Carly called her parents while Isabel called Zach.

It was her dad, Darrell, who answered the call.

“Hey, Dad,” Carly said. “Guess where I am?” She asked the question in a singsong voice. “I’ll give you a hint: I’m not working right now, but I am laboring.”

Darrell immediately got the hint. “No way… you’re serious?! You’re at the hospital?!”

“Yep! I went into labor during that meeting with 5SOS. I tried to hold it in, but it was no use; I HAD to come here.”

Darrell chuckled. “Well, labor isn’t like needing to use the bathroom. When it’s time, it’s time. How far along are you?”

“Six centimeters and fully effaced. The nurse said there’s like a six-hour window between now and delivery time.” Carly shed a tear. “I can’t believe it, Dad; three girls!”

“I know! Call us whenever you give birth, will you?”

“You’ll be the first to know.”

Carly and Isabel ended their calls at about the same exact time.

“He’s on his way,” Isabel reported. “He should be here within the hour.”

“Great!” Carly said with a smile. “I can’t wait to see him.” Lauren gave Carly a displeasing look. “What?”

“You know, I do like Zach being your boyfriend, but compared to Michael… I think Michael would be even better for you.”

Carly dropped her jaw. “You did not just say that! What do you even mean, Michael is better?”

“Well, for starters, he was being incredibly sweet on you at the meeting,” Isabel said. “I think he might have a crush.”

“I’m not breaking up with Zach to get with Michael! I’ll admit that Zach’s band isn’t really my cup of tea, but he loves me, and I love him!”

“Well, think about it. Talk it over with Zach when he gets here and then decide.”


Zach and his bandmates were almost done rehearsing for the day when he got the call from Isabel. Carly was officially in labor, and he knew he needed to act fast if he wanted to catch the birth.

“I’ll be there within the hour,” he had said to Isabel. Then, they quickly wrapped up their session so Zach could go and see Carly.

When he got to the hospital 45 minutes later, Zach asked the receptionist where Carly’s room was located. When he got Room 428 as his answer, he dashed towards the elevator and rode it to the fourth floor. As soon as the door opened and he walked out, he accidentally bumped into a young woman in his rush.

“Oh, sorry,” Zach apologized. “I was trying to get to my laboring girlfriend.”

When the woman turned to face him, he was struck with the realization that this was a girlfriend he’d had in high school.

“Oh, my God, Zach Wheatley?!” she exclaimed. “I can’t believe you’re here! It’s me, Lindsay Taylor from high school!”

Lindsay hadn’t changed one bit, and from the looks of it, she was still single. Not that it mattered to Zach, though; he had a girlfriend and almost three kids, for Christ’s sake! But Lindsay still had the same wavy brown hair she had in school. It was cut slightly shorter than he remembered, but it was her smiling face that sparked the memory.

“Oh, my God, it’s you!” Zach cried, throwing his arms around Lindsay. “I haven’t seen you since I dropped out for the band!”

“I know! We should catch up over dinner tonight.”

Zach looked at his watch. Five whole minutes had transpired since he arrived at Carly’s floor, meaning he had been delayed by that long, talking to Lindsay.

“Uh… yeah, we can do that. But listen, I have to get to my girlfriend before she has this baby of hers.”

“Okay. Do you still have the same number?”

“Nah, I changed it when I moved here.”

Zach quickly dictated his number to Lindsay, and they parted ways.

dark_tranquility said:

“Aw, how precious!” Ashton Irwin remarked, unwittingly making a pun out of the girls’ band name and causing everybody else to laugh. “What?”

“Well, for starters,” Isabel said, “we’re called Precious Maniac. You just made a pun out of our name!”

Ashton nodded. “Ah, right. Gotcha. Carry on; who’s next?”

The other girls went around the room making their introductions, and then Carly started cramping again. She tried to hide it for the longest time, constantly shifting positions and holding her breath to hopefully keep the baby inside just a little bit longer. But by the end of the meeting, Carly was sweating profusely from holding in her contractions.

“What’s wrong, Carly?” Michael asked with concern in his voice. “Do you need to use the loo?”

“Uh…” Carly breathed. “Yes!”

Of course, she was lying through her teeth. Her bandmates could all see it in her eyes.

“She’s in labor,” Isabel said truthfully to Michael. “My dad is an OB, and he’s taught me everything I know about childbirth.”

“Must… finish… meeting!” Carly breathed.

I feel this part as memorable
Lying through her teeth I mean
Bandmates sussed it out

Click to expand...

yep they sure did!