Author's Note: Happy Birthday, Jason! And according to Mr. Riordan, he's still sixteen because he's fictional or something like that. Whatever. Haha. It's funny, I just realized something. I started this 3-shot on Thalia's birthday, and now it's Jason's. Cool beans. Jason and I, "We are the jack-o-lanterns in July, setting fire to the sky." (Virtual cookie for whoever knows the reference.)

This story was fun, and thanks for all who read and reviewed. :)

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T LIVE IN SAN ANTONIO, AND I DON'T LIVE IN BOSTON. MY NAME'S NOT RICK. Actually, I'm not even a dude. So sorry to disappoint.

Enjoy!

Thalia grabs a speaker and takes the iPod from her brother's hand. Jason willingly complies, though confused, and Thalia starts the song again. As the guitar starts, Jason raises an eyebrow. "What are you doing?" he asks.

"We," she corrects, "are going to listen to this together."

Jason blinks, and then slowly, a smile spreads across his face.

"Are you ready, y'all, where you are?" Thalia asks with the singer. "Are you ready, y'all, where you are?"

Jason grins, repeating, "Are you ready, y'all, where you are?"

Together, they warn, "They're coming for you now…!"

Jason holds up a make-believe microphone and sings, "Na na na na na, na na na na na!" Thalia responds with a preat into her own pretend microphone: "Na na na na na, na na na na na!"

The siblings subconsciously agree on a call-and-response approach to the song's first verse, Jason holding his imaginary microphone to his lips and singing to his big sister while she interjects, meaning every word that comes out of his mouth.

(Right now!)

I hope you're ready for a firefight,

'Cuz the devil's got your number tonight.

(They say,)

We're never leaving this place alive,

But if we sing these words, we'll never die!

Jason feels an unbelievably strong connection to Thalia, and all of his feelings are poured into the lyrics. It's a connection he hasn't felt since he was a toddler, and he swears never to lose it. It's too valuable. This song was his tie to her. No, it wasn't just some loud, angry song with loud, angry words. It was something much bigger. It was a song that kept them together, despite years and years apart, in separate camps on opposite sides of the country. MCR was right; if we sing these words, we'll never die. Sure, maybe one of us will face a monster we can't beat. Thalia's been there, and so have I. But it wasn't physical death that scared him. It was the death of their connection. He feared more and more that maybe he would forget her eye color, or her haircut, or even the way her freckles looked on her nose.

But now, Jason knows he'll never forget what she looks like, not with that fierce look of sisterly love she's wearing right now.

Get off the ledge and drop the knife-

Not a victim of a victim's life,

(Because)

This ain't a room full of suicides.

We're believers, I believe tonight!

We could leave this world, leave it all behind.

We could steal this car if your folks don't mind.

We could live forever, if you've got the time.

Jason is almost overwhelmed with a powerful sense of security as the two siblings dance around their thundering cabin, head-banging, screaming notes that they both know they shouldn't even try to attempt to reach. It's a safe feeling that Jason lost the moment Thalia let go of his hand at the Wolf House in Sonoma Valley all those years ago. Nothing else matters to either of them right now. If someone were to walk in, right now, neither of them will care. All that matters is that the two of them are together, enjoying each other's company, living forever in a few minutes. Thalia throws an arm around her brother as she sings the "na-na-nas," Jason interjecting with, "If you save yourself tonight," taking over the interjections for the second verse, as well.

I'll tell you all how the story ends

Where the good guys die, and the bad guys win.

(Who cares?)

It ain't about all the friends you've made,

But the graffiti they write on your grave.

Thalia's most personal lines. They hit hard, very close to home. Thalia knows what it's like to lose to the bad guys. Slow, painful, waiting for death to finally take you. But it never comes, and instead you are transformed into another form of life, a pine tree, the same tree that continues to mark the entrance to Half-Blood Hill.

Unfortunately, she also knows what it's like to have a friend write graffiti all over her grave. Not literally, of course, but it would've been a lot less painful if Luke had simply spray-painted her tree with trash-talk. Thalia remembers the poison coursing through her, weakening her beyond the ability to hold the monsters back. She couldn't save anyone anymore. She felt like a failure, she felt betrayed. She felt worthless. Surprisingly, Jason joins her for the next stanza, seeming to understand "For all of us who've seen the light / Salute the dead and lead the fight."

Thalia lets a smile show through for him. He does know what it's like to see the light. She was there back in December when she thought she had lost her little brother for good. When Jason takes her hands in his, a warmth spreads through her. She feels secure, grounded. This is her purpose. She loves her brother. And even though the words belong to My Chemical Romance, they're coming from Jason's heart. It's okay, Thalia, he seems to say silently. I know. But we're leaders. We have to be. Everyone looks to us to lead, to save everyone. It's a heavy burden, but it's one we have to carry. Thalia agrees with a "Hail, hail!"

"Who gives a damn if we lose the war?" Jason asks.

Thalia responds, belting out the lyrics, "Let the walls come down; let the engines roar!" Let's just throw everything we got at them, bro, she tells him mentally. Let's show them what children of the lord of the sky are made of.

Again, they sing the chorus together:

We could leave this world, leave it all behind.

We could steal this car if your folks don't mind.

We could live forever, if you've got the time.

Oh, I'm the only friend that makes you cry.

You're a heart attack in black hair dye.

So just save yourself, and I'll hold them back tonight!

Jason playfully mocks Thalia's dark hair, brushing his hand over the choppy mess, pretending to steal her tiara. Thalia lets him get away with it.

They each warn each other quietly with the lyrics as the music temporarily grows softer:

Are y'all ready were you are?

(If you save yourself tonight...)

'Cuz they're coming for you...

At the same time, the two of them scream, "Can you save yourself tonight!?" And an air-guitar battle ensues at the solo.

Jason belts a "Right now!"

Thalia looks into her little brother's sky blue eyes and adds with all of her heart, "'Cuz I'll hold them back!" Never again will she let anything get in the way of protecting her baby brother. Never again.

We could leave this world, leave it all behind.

We could steal this car if your folks don't mind.

We could live forever, if you've got the time, you motherf***er!

One last time, the chorus comes out of both Graces' mouths, promising to leave the world behind, steal a car, and live forever. It's a promise Thalia hopes she can keep, and Jason does, too. He wouldn't mind just letting go of every trouble threatening to overwhelm him now. If he's with Thalia, then he's okay. And Jason lets out a chuckle as Thalia yells out the profanity. Yup. We're back in L.A., in that bedroom, listening to music. Nothing's changed, except for our ages and our experiences. We still love each other like we did when we were younger. She's still Thalia, Jason thinks to himself. I'm still her baby brother, Jason.

Jason belts the high note, failing to reach it, Thalia laughing good-naturedly. They both finish the song up together.

"Oh, you're the broken glass in the morning light," Jason tells her. Like shattered glass, Thalia may be a little broken, wearing her battle scars on her face, but she's beautiful anyway. She gives a wonderful display of colors that take your breath away if you look at her the right way.

Thalia tells her brother, "Be a burning star if it takes all night."

They both finish with, "So just save yourself, and I'll hold them back tonight!"

Letting the song come to an end with its na-na-nas and save-yourselves, the Graces scream the last line of the song together: "Can you save yourself tonight!?"

Thalia throws her arms around Jason, holding him tightly. "Man, I've missed you," she murmurs.

Jason hesitantly hugs her back, but when he does, that feeling of security washes away any doubts and reservations in his mind. "I've missed you, too," he whispers.

Thalia pulls away, taking back her tiara from her brother's hand, and he laughs. For the first time, the two of them feel like normal siblings. She sighs. "I wish you'd be around for your birthday, kid," she mutters. "I could try to make you something, get you a present."

Jason frowns, confused. Why wouldn't he be around for his birthday? "When's my birthday?" he asks, immediately hit with a wave of embarrassment. Is his life so abnormal that he can't even remember his birthday? His memories are returning, but trying to remember his birthday doesn't give him the same migraines that other missing memories give him. It's like that memory never existed in his mind.

Thalia stares at him for a moment, blinks, then places her tiara back onto her head. "That's right," she mutters, "you were too young to remember that when you left. July First."

Jason's knee-jerk reaction is a chuckle. "That's funny," he laughs. "The Kalends of July. The month named after Julius Caesar. The Romans would love that." He laughs again. "It's too bad I lost my weapon. It's name was Julius. Now that I think about it, it probably wasn't a coincidence."

Thalia lifts her eyebrows. "Probably not," she agrees. "But you'll be out questing or something, and not around for your birthday." She sighs. "I'm going to miss my little brother's Sweet Sixteen."

Jason gave her a sad smile. "That...sucks," he admits.

"Yeah, it does," Thalia agrees. "But, hey, I didn't get a Sweet Sixteen. Then again, I didn't want one. I probably would've plunged the world into the apocalypse. But, anyway, I'm going to get you something before you leave, alright?"

Jason doesn't understand what she means, but he nods anyway. Without meaning to, he yawns. He wonders what time it is.

"You tired?" Thalia asks. "I'll let you sleep, okay?"

Jason catches her by the arm before she leaves the cabin. "Hey, you don't have to leave. Actually...do you want to...you know..." He nods toward the row of niches, hoping she gets his unasked question.

A smile spreads across her face. "Well, technically, I'm not supposed to hang out with guys for too long," she tells him. When his face falls a little, she adds, "But since when do I follow rules?"

They both grin at each other now, and Thalia doesn't mind taking the niche above Jason's, as Jason doesn't mind giving her the blanket. Because even in Cabin One, on Long Island Sound, thousands of miles away from their old home in Los Angeles, the two of them felt ten and two again. If only Jason had a box of Legos to build a Lego House.

Thanks for all the love, you guys! I kind of want a piece of Jason's cornucopia cake. Happy birthday, Blonde Superman! I love you!

Thanks again!

~Mandi2341