Why I Fear Random Spontaneous Clothing Combustion Syndrome

 I have read this story on my list for a couple of months now and I just sort of felt in the mood for a naked story today, so if you've ever heard of spontaneous combustion syndrome this is basically that, but only it burns people's clothing away to nothing leaving them naked, so this is another one that uses sort of a weird speculative element to advance the story, and I think it works pretty well, so enjoy!

Why I Fear Random Spontaneous Clothing Combustion Syndrome
Emma had always been a shy and awkward woman, preferring the comfort and security of her own home to the unpredictable outside world. But over the past year, her reclusiveness had reached new heights.
    It started with the news reports. People all over the city, and eventually the world, were experiencing a bizarre phenomenon: spontaneous clothing combustion syndrome (SCCS). Without warning, their clothes would dissolve and ignite, leaving them naked and bewildered.
    At first, Emma thought it was just a prank or a hoax, but as the incidents continued to pile up, she realized it was all too real. The authorities were baffled, and the public was both fascinated and terrified.
    Every evening Emma would watch the nightly news, and find that the number of people experiencing spontaneous clothing combustion syndrome was increasing by the day, and scientists were baffled as to why or how this phenomenon occurred.
    It was a strange phenomenon, often compared to another similar phenomenon called spontaneous combustion syndrome, in which a person spontaneously ignited for no reason whatsoever, and sometimes their entire body would burn, but it would somehow still leave their clothing untouched.
    Spontaneous clothing combustion syndrome however was sort of like the opposite, the person's body would be left alone, but their clothing would start dissolving and igniting and burn right off of their body, dissolving into nothingness, literally burned right off of their body without leaving a single burn mark on the person's body. Scientists were assuring everybody that it was totally a safe phenomenon, you weren't in danger of being injured by the burning clothing, you were only in danger of being embarrassed by having your clothing dissolving public like that for everybody to see.
    It was actually became entertaining for a lot of people, because they would go out in public and if they stayed out long enough in a crowded place they would likely see at least one person's clothing igniting, and a lot of clothing stores actually liked this as well, because it meant people were always needing to buy new clothing. Plenty of people would upload videos to the Internet every day of people they caught whose clothing spontaneously combusted, and burned away into nothingness, leaving them naked and embarrassed in public.
    Emma's fear of SCCS became all-consuming. She stopped leaving her house, afraid that if she ventured out fully dressed, she would be the next victim. Her wardrobe gathered dust, and she took to living naked, feeling safer without the risk of her clothes igniting. It seemed one of the unique aspects of the phenomenon is that the clothing only ignited when it was touching human flesh, clothing that was left inside of a closet like that would not be in danger of spontaneously igniting and burning down the house, it seemed to be something about contact with human skin and the human body that caused the clothing to spontaneously combust and ignite, so scientists were sure that whatever was causing it had something to do with the clothing and the contact it made with the human body, something about the human body was causing the clothing to ignite, but they couldn't figure out why or what the cause was.
    As the months passed, Emma's life became increasingly isolated. She relied on delivery services for groceries and other essentials, and her only human interaction was through her computer screen.
    "Come on Emma, you can't live your entire life being an agoraphobic person just because you feel that your clothing might ignite," said her friend Lucy on the phone one day. "I mean the odds of your clothing igniting are relatively small, all things considered. Yes every day people witnessed this phenomenon occurring, but the odds of it happening on any given day to any given person is probably only about one in 1000, I would estimate, or at least that's what the scientists say anyway. You haven't been out of your house in months, are you really just going to let your life be destroyed because of your fear that your clothing is going to spontaneously combust?"
    "The scientists have also said that they sometimes feel it is a person who is nervous about their clothing igniting that might actually be the thing that causes their clothing to ignite in the first place, it seems like it happens more to nervous easily embarrassed people like myself, which is what makes the phenomenon even worse, it happens to the people who wouldn't want it to happen, the people who would want it to happen the least," Emma said shaking her head. "No I think that I feel nice and safe in my apartment building, I've sort of gotten used to being naked, but only on my own, I could never set foot outside like this, that would just be too embarrassing, nor would I want to take the chance of going outside and risk my clothing burning."
    "Suit yourself, but you're going to have a very lonely and isolated life if you're never going to set foot outside again, you know the authorities no longer penalize people for being naked in public, they realize this is a phenomenon that is increasingly widespread, and they can't penalize you if your clothing burns of its own accord like that, some are even considering this to be extremely liberating."
    "Well I don't know about you, but I know that I don't find it liberating, the possibility that my clothing is going to spontaneously ignite, no thanks, I would rather stay home forever than risk the possibility of that happening."
    Lucy hung up the phone, and she felt sad for Emma that she allowed her entire life to be dictated by fear of being rendered naked in public like that. Lucy went out almost every day, and she had never had her clothing ignite, nor did she ever particularly worry about that. She could understand how Emma might be afraid though, as it was nervous people who were more likely to cause their clothing to spontaneously combust, so then she would probably have a higher risk of that happening just because she was the kind of person who would worry about that happening.
    One day, while browsing through a social media platform, Emma stumbled upon a profile that caught her eye. His name was Max, and he was a freelance writer who worked from home, just like her. They started chatting, bonding over their shared love of literature and music.
    As they talked, Emma found herself feeling more and more at ease. Max was charming, witty, and kind, and she couldn't help but develop a crush on him.
    But then, disaster struck. Max suggested they meet up in person, and Emma's fear of SCCS came flooding back. She tried to brush it off, telling herself that the chances of it happening were slim, but she couldn't shake the feeling of dread.
    "Max it's not that I don't want to go out with you, I would really like to, but I don't think it's really safe to go out in the situation like this, you've heard about how the number of spontaneous clothing combustion has been going up rapidly every single day, it seems to be getting a lot worse rather than getting better," Emma said.
    "So you really spend all of your days at home completely naked just because you're afraid that your clothing is going to ignite," Max said. "It's kind of hot to think that I am talking to a naked woman on the phone right now, I almost want to ask what you are wearing!"
    Emma had to admit Max had a really good sense of humor about these things, but the possibility of being seen naked in public like that was rather frightening. She thought about inviting him over to her house but she didn't really like the idea of him seeing her naked like that on a first date.
    "Well, if you ever change your mind I will definitely be waiting for you, I don't think you can live your life in fear, just because there's a slim chance your clothing might ignite, and if it does the worst you can do is go home and buy some new clothing, no use crying over combusted clothing is what I always say," Max said. "But I understand that sometimes fears are not rational, and sometimes you can't but help but think that something is going to happen to you, even if the odds are against it. I had a friend or two who got afflicted by spontaneous clothing combustion, it was embarrassing for them for a while, but they managed to get home, and they bought new clothing and it never happened again. Sometimes in order to really enjoy life you have to take the risk of being embarrassed, but I realize it's not for everybody, so in the meantime I do enjoy talking with you regularly on the phone and on the computer."
    Emma eventually hung up after talking to Max for a little while longer. She knew that Max was right, the odds of her clothing igniting on any given day were probably only one in a thousand, but if she went out every day for a thousand days, that would mean that one of those days she was likely to experience the igniting of her clothing, and the fact that she actually worried about that she knew made it even more likely to happen.
    Emma continued to put off all social calls because of the possibility of her being the victim of spontaneous clothing combustion, it was apparently a growing fear among the population, with many other people starting to become agoraphobic the way she was just because of the possibility of their clothing igniting.
    One day however, Max sent her a message that made her heart skip a beat: "Hey, I'm feeling brave. Want to meet up at the park tomorrow?"
    Emma's palms began to sweat as she contemplated the risks. But then, she saw a photo of Max, standing naked in his backyard, a mischievous grin on his face. He had written a caption: "SCCS be damned! I'm not letting fear control my life."
    Emma had to admit that Max looked really attractive in that picture, really really attractive, he had everything out on display. She could admire his bravery for being able to send her a picture like that. But she still thought it was one thing to be naked in your backyard like that and send a picture, it was another thing to be walking around in public like that all day being seen by potentially thousands of people, being in proximity to all of these people who were getting to keep their clothing on without their clothing igniting.
    Emma's fear began to dissipate, replaced by a sense of admiration for Max's bravery. She decided to take a chance, agreeing to meet him at the park the next day. She had to admit that she was nervous but she was trying to meditate and do breathing exercises, and anything that would make her less nervous because she knew that it would just make it even more likely that her clothing would ignite.
    As she got dressed that day, Emma felt a sense of trepidation. What if SCCS struck? What if she ended up naked in public? It felt rather weird to be putting her clothing on for the first time in several months, she had forgotten how used to being naked around the house she had become. For a moment as she stood there looking at herself in the mirror with her clothing, she worried that she was going to spontaneously catch fire, but she knew that if she didn't go now that she would never overcome this fear. Again the odds were probably only one in a thousand of this happening to anybody on any given day, not especially high odds, but still a slim chance of that happening stuck in the back of her mind, and she hesitated briefly before taking a deep breath and opening the door.
    But as she walked to the park, she saw Max waiting for her, a smile on his face. And then, in an instant, Emma's clothes dissolved and ignited, leaving her standing naked before Max.
    As Emma stood there grabbing her disintegrating clothing and feeling it burn off around her body, as it continued to ignite until it had burned away into nothing, leaving her standing there covering herself with her hands and feeling utterly embarrassed and about ready to scream.
    She knew it, she knew that if she allowed herself to go out she would just get nervous and this is exactly what would happen. As she could see people standing all around her looking at her, she wanted to immediately go running home, but home was pretty far away, she was very far down town and she would have to walk home naked or catch a cab, and she didn't like the idea of hailing a cab while standing naked on the streets.
    As she continued standing there trying her best to cover herself up, and feeling the cool breeze blowing against her naked body, as the remnants of her clothing floated away and blowed away on the wind, she felt paralyzed with fear. She could see that everybody was looking at her, and she knew that there was no escaping from the situation. A couple of people were looking at her and smirking, and a couple of people were laughing and looking like they were taking out their phones to catch the latest incident of spontaneous clothing combustion syndrome, and that was when she looked at Max standing there smiling.
    As Max continued standing there smiling, Emma smiled back to him, and that was when she realized that it seemed as though his clothing was now igniting as well, burning all around his body as smoke came up and started blowing away with the breeze, eventually leaving him just as stark naked as she was.
    For a moment the two of them stood there saying and doing nothing, as people were all gathered around looking at them, but what are you supposed to say in a situation like this? Emma was totally at a loss for words, and it didn't look like Max was going to be saying anything either.
    To her surprise, Max didn't flinch. Instead, he took her hand, and together they walked through the park, naked and unafraid.
    As they continued walking through the park, both together mutually naked now, she found that Max would laugh from time to time, and that would make her laugh as well. Sure there were lots of people pointing at them, and a couple of people were laughing, but after spending all of that time completely naked in her apartment building she realized she had gotten used to it. She wasn't used to the idea of being naked in public, where everybody could see her, but she figured if she was that comfortable being naked in her home, and if Max was willing to continue walking with her in spite of the fact that he likewise had no clothing, she figured that she could grin and bear it, and she wasn't going to let it ruin her day. Her home was too far away for her to go home and get more clothing, and she had already lost one outfit, and she didn't want to risk being more nervous and destroying another, so they decided that they would continue walking in the park, feeling the sun and the breeze on their skin, and it actually felt quite nice to be out of the house for the first time in several months.
    As they strolled, Emma realized that SCCS was just a phenomenon, a quirk of the universe. But what truly mattered was the connection she had made with Max, a connection that went beyond clothes or fear.
    From that day on, Emma and Max faced the world together, naked and unafraid, their bond stronger than any phenomenon, and sometimes they could even smile and laugh as they saw other people walking around in public as their clothing dissolved around them, and think that they were missing out on a lot by not fully embracing the experience.

I guess the story was just sort of taking the idea of spontaneous combustion, where people just notice that they start combusting and igniting and burning away into nothingness, but sometimes their clothing and shoes and other things like that are completely unaffected, and I thought it would be kind of interesting if it was the opposite, where a person's clothing ignites and burns away into nothingness with no apparent cause whatsoever, leaving them embarrassed and naked in public, and how that would make a lot of people paranoid about going out in public, even if the odds of it happening to them were relatively slim.

In the end however she is forced to come out of her shell and take the risk, and naturally when she does she ends up getting naked when her clothing spontaneously ignites, as well as that of her boyfriend, because if it didn't there wouldn't be much of a story now would there?! But in the end they get over their embarrassment and are able to accept their naked situation, so it has sort of a happy ending I suppose.

This one includes naked in public, embarrassed nude female and embarrassed nude male and only ones naked.