Remnant's Greatest Cheerleader

"Hello yourself," Sun replied. He and Blake hadn't been dating very long (this was technically their first date if you didn't count stalking organized crime syndicates), but most girls got upset when their boyfriends stared at other girls. Of course, Blake was literally holding naked Ruby up for his viewing pleasure, so maybe she was just the coolest girl on the planet. "So what's the deal here? Not that I'm complaining."

"Um," Ruby said, blushing red. "See, I uh did a thing where I said something and then I … uh, let me start over. Um, Blake?"

"She said she'd go naked if Weiss didn't get a date," Blake said. "And Weiss didn't get a date."

"Huh," Sun said. Dust that naked girl was cute. His tail was wrapping around his own ankle, which he hoped the girls wouldn't understand, but to make things worse, his boner was forming a tent in his pants, which he knew they would. "Why didn't you just go with Weiss then, you know, as a friend date?"

Ruby opened her mouth then closed again and hung her head. "I am dumb. I am really, really dumb."

"Ah, don't worry about it," Sun said, trying to sound casual. "But I gotta say, you girls make up the coolest team I have ever met. Seriously."

"Really?"

"Absolutely. I don't know anyone who would even try something like this, and if I did, my teammates would beat me **** and tie me up in my room until it was over, so Ruby? Major cajones, and Blake? Top notch moral support."

"Yes," Blake said, still with her arms wrapped around Ruby. Ruby had stopped trying to get away, but it still looked totally hot. "I am doing this for purely altruistic reasons."

"What are cajones?" Ruby asked.

"Uh, not sure." Was it a euphemism for testicles? "I think it means you got guts." Idiomatically, at least.

"Oh. Thanks, but actually I don't think I can do this. I didn't really know what I was getting into when I walked out my room, and I can barely handle you looking at me, let alone the whole school."

"What? You can't turn back now! You're just a few minutes away from doing something so crazy, they'll be talking about it for years!"

Ruby let out a whimper, and Blake shot him a look. He didn't really understand what Blake's objective was in all this, but she was actively preventing Ruby from covering up or running away, so she must have wanted her to go through with it. Well, if his lady wanted public indecency, then his lady was getting public indecency.

"Okay, let's put it like this," Sun said, stepping closer. "You look great. Seriously, if I told you how great you're looking right now, Blake would slap me, and she'd done an incredible job of not slapping me so far. The moment you step into the dance hall, everyone is going to stop what they're doing and look at you. Some might be jealous, some might laugh, and I guarantee you some of them will take pictures."

"Oh no."

"But no matter what happens, you'll walk away tonight knowing that you have something that none of those losers can only dream about."

"Undying shame?"

"Try again."

"Ca … calzones?"

"Cajones."

"Cajones."

"Exactly. And when we all graduate and you're a full fledged Huntress, what will be more important? A flawless and boring reputation? Or knowing that you have what it takes to complete your mission no matter what?"

Ruby looked up at him, still nervous, but more open. "You really think so?"

What Sun thought was more along the lines of, Don'tgrabhertitsdon'tgrabhertitsdon'tgrabhertits, but instead he said, "I know so."

She took a deep breath. "Right! So, on to the party." Blake flashed him a million dollar smile and let go of her, and Ruby didn't try to cover up as they walked to the dance hall.

"One more thing," Sun said along the way. "You're going to feel nervous. That's unavoidable. You're not giving into your nervousness, which is great, but it's not enough. You gotta hide it. Bury it in so much confidence that everyone will be so awed at you, they'll wish they came here naked! That means you can't hide in the corner or behind the punch bowel, you can't cover yourself, you gotta be bold and smile a lot."

"Okay." She grinned at him. So cute!

"So when we open up the doors, I want you to yell out, 'I'm naked and here to party!'"

Ruby giggled. "What?"

"You heard me! 'I'm naked and here to party!'"

"I'm naked and here to party."

"Louder!"

"I'm naked and here to party!" She nearly fell over giggling.

"Perfect! Just like that!"

They reached the doors to the dance hall, and Ruby felt all wobbly in her stomach like she was about to enter the final dungeon of a video game. Sun and Blake opened the doors wide for her, looking all the world like part of her entourage. For the moment, she could see the other party members, her classmates and students from other schools, and they hadn't noticed that the newest newcomer was completely nude.

She took a deep breath and tried not to think about what she was doing. "I'm naked …"