Hey buddy, the guys above me have given you a lot of good advice of ridding your AA. However, I know that when I first started the main fear, for me, was not rejection DIRECTLY, but rejection because I had no steps to follow, it felt as if I had just been chucked in at the deep end. Although I suggest that is GOOD, as you overcome your fear of rejection (turns out it isn't that bad after all!).
Here are a few steps to have in mind when opening and conversing shortly after with the set:
1) 3 SECOND RULE. (There are some people over there, let's go say hi.)
2) Don't walk DIRECTLY at them, almost walk past then turn and say 'Hey guys!' , they'll look at you quizically in which you then spill out your opener. I suggest having two canned openers to use a main one and a reserve. Perhaps go for a situational one and if you don't have one by the time you've reached the set - use a canned one.
3) Give a time constraint
4) Do the opener
5) ROUTE the opener. (This means telling them why you asked, so you don't look like a weirdo or someone doing a survey. E.g. 'I'm asking because my friend is in this situation.'
6) Talk a little longer around the subject of your opener
7) When you feel the conversation is going to die, turn away as if you were leaving, maybe say I better be off or something, and then turn back and ask 'How do you guys all know each other?'

Get into a good conversation with them, still bodyrocking a little.
9) Tell a DHV story. At the climax of your story, leave them at a cliffhanger and lock-in. For example, if they are all sitting down, say you've been on your feet all day and must take a seat, then sit down and you should all be looking at you in anticipation of you finishing your story. Finish your story
10) Start gaming your target directly, do some routines etc. Start kino escalating.
11) Isolate your target, continue to kino-escalate and then K-CLOSE.
From there you can go for a #-close and arrange a day 2 later on or continue on with this girl and see if you can get a f-close out of it.
Hope that helps in some way
Hood.