Chapter 3: Sarsaparilla

Seth walked back and forth. The decision to approach the girl was an internal battle with himself. He didn't know why it made him nervous; just the thought of saying the wrong thing to her threw him off balance.

He pondered for a minute, pacing back and forth behind the bar. The people and the dimness of the room surrounded him with near invisibility. At least she wouldn't see him acting like a basketcase.

"Yo."

Seth whipped his head around, only to find Eric standing behind him with his hands in his pockets, looking perfectly calm.

"What?" Seth snapped in annoyance. Eric had interrupted his train of thought.

"Go talk to her," Eric urged him gently, "Say hi or something. At least acknowledge her presence. She'll probably think that you're ignoring her if you don't say anything."

"Fine, fine! Okay!"

Seth threw his arms up and sighed in defeat.

Shaking his head and mumbling profanities at Eric, he walked over to the girl sitting by herself at the bar. He grabbed a seat next to her and ordered a bottle of beer. When the bartender gave him his beer, he paid for it and sipped from the bottle in silence.

He glanced sideways at the girl. She seemed to be deep in thought; Seth wondered what was on her mind. But her silence only made him more nervous. The unexplainable fear welled up inside of him again. He didn't know why he was feeling anxious, he only knew that she was the cause of it.

"Hey, Mr. Reiner," she suddenly spoke in her soft and quiet voice. It startled him a bit.

"Hey, Jessie," Seth said in reply.

She turned her head to smile at him. Feeling a little uneasy, Seth turned away and tried to hide the blush creeping on his cheeks. He hoped that she didn't notice it.

"I like the show so far," she stated quietly.

"Thanks," Seth mumbled into his drink.

For a while, no one spoke. Seth had a desirous urge to fill the uneasy void in the air. The relative tension between them was killing him, and making him feel much too nervous.

"What are you drinking? It's not beer, is it?" he blurted out.

She looked down at her bottle and shook her head slowly.

"I wish it was. It's just sarsaparilla."

He didn't say anything. He only looked at his own bottle.

"It's not beer," she stated with a grin. "I'm drinking root beer."

"I know what sarsaparilla is," said Seth. It came out sounding harsher and meaner than he meant it to.

"Oh..."

She looked down again, and didn't say anything more.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to sound cruel," Seth tried to apologize.

"No, it's okay."

Seth fidgeted with his beer bottle, feeling anxious to get away from the bar. The conversation was going nowhere.

"Hey, Mr. Reiner?" she asked him quietly, looking up into his eyes. Seth felt a chill running up and down his spine as he stared into their icy cold depths. They were a piercingly bright shade of gray.

"Yeah, Jessie?"

"Are you gonna sing 'Jessie's Song' tonight?" she asked shyly.

"Yeah, we always play your song whenever you attend our concerts."

She looked away from him. Now it was her turn to blush; Seth could see the pink tinge on her cheeks.

"Thanks, Mr. Reiner," she mumbled.

"No problem."

He took a long swig of his beer, draining it empty of its contents. Then he stood up and left for the stage.

His heart was racing wildly out of its own accord.