keith was already in "freeze" mode when della asked that questioned, because there's no way he could enter into "fight" when della is stronger then him and already overpowering him in this scene, nor "flight" cuz he's trapped or "fawn" cuz della was already riled up and not ready to listen to logic, what makes you think that his brain would be able to quickly process that question and think about an appropriate response when he's scared of what della is going to do? it's easy to think about how smart and quick-witted you can be when you've got you're not experiencing something in the moment and you've got your wits together, but no one can outrun basic survival instincts.
I say as much as a do because this way of thinking is so damaging and leads to victim blaming. it's not keith's fault he's stuck in lizard-brain mode, would you call a possum stupid for playing dead when that's what their brain thinks is genuinely best for survival

Olay that annoyed the hell out of me. Why does every mf bottom insist on screaming “hold on~!!” Or “wait, i can explain!!!” INSTEAD OF JUST SAYING IT RIGHT OUT. How hard was it to say “no we didn’t date and we didn’t fuck” instead of looking at ur partner all dazed like an idiot. BL logic will be the death of me i swear still love keith tho