Keeping him up was easy. The members of the frat were pretty strong and were able to hold him almost straight up. Everyone began to crowd around as it is always very exciting to see a keg stand. He was given the hose and he took it in his mouth. He gave it his best but he was not able to last more than 10 seconds before he began to sputter and cough up beer. He lost his balance, but the brothers holding him were able to steady him. Someone accidentally tugged the polo shirt up and over in the confusion. The freshman yelped and pulled it down. It was too late. People could see the Blue Lock on his back. A few gasps were heard, but other than that, it was totally silent. He looked scared out of his mind and was about to run away. The leader put a gentle hand on his shoulder and said "It's okay. Sigma Alpha Rho is a great place on campus. We're brothers here and it doesn't matter whether you are a Lock or a Key." The others in the crowd took a bit, but eventually clapped him on the back and cheered him on for his good work on the keg stand. It was still pretty tense for him.
Letting that he was now exposed sink in was secondary to the party continuing. The show must go on after awhile. After a couple of other members got their turn, people began to lose interest and dispersed. William wanted to check on the freshman. As a Key, it might have been slightly different life. but he knew how it felt to have people look at you different. Things were not that hard for him. William was open about the fact that he was a Key, but did not need to flaunt it everywhere. Living a life that would allow him to be under the radar was no longer possible for the freshman. William went after him when he left and was able to get him to listen for a bit. He was still a bit unsteady, but the shock and the reveal seemed to sober him up quite a bit. "Listen. I'm not that way so don't ask! Please!" he begged. William felt bad for him and said "I'm not here for that. I'm a Key and I like my freedom. I just wanted to make sure that you're okay." He seemed very disbelieving at first, but he opened up as time went on. It probably had quite a bit to do with the high amount of alcohol in his system.
Inciting and upsetting the freshman was not really what he wanted to do. He just wanted to understand his situation. "As long as you know what you're doing, you're going to be fine. Oliver and I can be there for you if you need some help." he calmed down and it seemed that they were now cool. His name was Jeremy. They returned to the party at large and hung out together. Chad then came over and asked to talk to Jeremy for a bit. Jeremy nodded and went with him. Something felt off to William for some reason. He tried to group back up with Oliver and his friends. William found his friends, but they could not find Oliver either. Some of the other partygoers came to congratulate him before leaving. The party was winding down and Oliver was still nowhere to be seen. "Did you check all the rooms?" he asked. "Yeah. We looked all over the party." one of them responded over the bass of the loud music. That left upstairs where some of the fraternity members slept. William's bad feeling was getting even worse. "I'm checking upstairs." he said. They both nodded and covered for him.
