The scene that unfolded two hours into their trip had single-handedly, been one of the funniest and most embarrassing moments of Beca's life.
The hilarity started when her boredom from ransacking railing after railing of clothes developed into a mischievous playfulness that saw Jesse parading up and down the aisle of a store in a series of god-awful frilly dresses that no amount of money could get her to wear.
She'd snuck up behind him as he admired a mannequin dressed in a sultry all sequin silver gown (he'd tried multiple times, even begged for her to just try it on which she point blank refused to but it didn't stop him from staring at it, imagining his girlfriend looking all sexy in it) and pulled a canary yellow dress over his head, double checking no staff were around.
Jesse whipped around to find Beca doubled over in a fit of laughter. Her hands rested on her knees as she took deep breaths to calm herself, spluttering a few times, before finally composing herself.
His eyes peaked above the itchy material as it got stuck on his shoulders, and Beca daren't pull it down further fearing the seams fall apart. His brown eyes glistened as he took a step closer to her body that shook with amusement.
"Jesse, what are you doing?" she eyed him warily. He stalked slowly closer to her, a small smirk dancing on his lips. "Jesse." she warned, barely a metre between them.
All of a sudden, he closed the short distance between them. His body raced into hers at a speed she was very unprepared for, the force knocked her over and she felt something hard against her head before she fell to the cold ground with Jesse sprawled all over her.
"Oh my god, what the fuck Jesse?" His head had landed in her ample chest, lucky for him, cushioning the fall. Beca shoved at his shoulder and he rolled off her (if you thought Jesse in a bright yellow dress was the embarrassing part, think again) only to hit the ankles of another mannequin, with his fist, that was precariously perched on the edge of a platform.
The sound of his knuckles making contact with the hollow plastic caught Beca's attention and she looked up just in time to see the figure in a long pale pink dress wobble ominously on its four inch heels.
Her eyes darted to Jesse who smiled giddily up at her, no clue what he'd just done. She stole a worried glace up at the still teetering mannequin and Jesse's eyes followed hers in confusion. Shit.
The near on six foot figure must have been caught in the path of the air conditioning bellowing above because just as Jesse grabbed Beca's hand and pulled her into his embrace, it lost its balance and headed straight for the floor where Beca had been seconds ago. She scrunched her eyes shut and buried her head in the scratchy fabric still around Jesse's neck and prepared herself for the crash.
It hit the ground so loud that a few passers-by glanced through the shop window. Fortunate for them, Jesse and Beca were hidden at the back corner of the store away from the curious eyes that would be sure to judge if they were to witness the catastrophe.
Jesse stood up with Beca still in his arms and pulled his head free from the frock. She stood there in awe at the mannequin lying face down in a puddle of fabric and audibly gasped. "I think we should go before anyone sees us."
His eyes met a monster of a woman over Beca's shoulder who stood with her hands on her hips and a face of thunder (he pictured smoke pouring out her ears and dismissed the thought when he felt a smile tug at his lips inappropriately). "Too late." Beca drew her gaze to the woman who looked about ready to rip their throats out.
"Are we running or-?" She started but Jesse had already taken her hand and began guiding them through the maze of railings.
They continued to weave through the mass body of people once they'd exited the shop, hoping that the scary lady never called security on them and just passed it off as an accident.
He stopped abruptly when they arrived at the food court, Beca bouncing off his hard back. She leant her weight onto the barrier of some café's seating area and pressed a hand to her chest where she thought she could feel her heart considering whether to jump out her chest.
"Did we just…?" She couldn't finish, the lack of oxygen at her brain affecting her ability to complete a coherent sentence.
"Yeah." He breathed panting just as hard.
"Fuck."
She looked over her shoulder to see Jesse smiling goofily down at her and a stupid smile graced her own lips too.
"That was kind of fun." He said as his shoulders shook lightly at the memory of Beca's horrified face when the mannequin began to topple.
"Never again. I don't feel like getting kicked out and ending up in prison for destruction of property…again." She narrowed her eyes when he laughed harder holding onto the barrier for support.
Beca let him laugh to himself for a moment, taking the time to look past all the glowing restaurant signs for any more shops she's likely to find a dress in. The shop they just ditched may have contained the perfect dress and now she'll never know because she definitely wasn't going back there and facing another set of handcuffs.
"Come on Jess, we're on a mission here!" She whined when she saw tears had formed in his eyes.
"Okay, okay, I'm fine." He wiped away the trails of tears and took the hand she was holding out for him. "Where to now?"
Her face twisted in concentration, trying to think back to that painful time she came with Stacie and Chloe. There was one place they went in and Beca could still remember the feel of the fabric as Chloe held out a dress for her to approve of. "There's this store where the girls went once, I'm trying to remember where about it is. I vaguely recall seeing a jewellery store by it so maybe we could start with that?" He nodded and they picked their way through the crowd that had formed around them while they recovered from their getaway.
Twenty minutes and three jewellery stores later, Beca spotted something. "There," she said pointing to an old fashioned sign that swung noisily every few seconds. "That looks like it!"
Jesse traced the line she drew with her index finger and he raised his eyebrows in shock. "Really? It doesn't look like your kind of shop." She shrugged against his shoulder and they made their way over to the vintage looking store.
"Stacie found something here so it's worth a shot." She ducked under the arm Jesse pushed the door open with and a bell sounded above them. He followed behind her, taking in the hundreds of dresses that lined every wall of the small store. There were even a few hanging from the painted ceiling and he wondered how on earth they were supposed to find a dress for Beca amongst the…well… princessiness of it all.
At the sound of the bell, a petite woman who looked well into her retirement years rounded the corner of possibly the stock room. She smiled at the two of them, her thick brimmed glasses slipping slightly down the bridge of her nose.
"Good afternoon my darlings, what can I help you with today?" The sweetness of her voice was on the verge of being over-friendly and Beca stood forward.
"I, uhmm," she stuttered much like Fat Amy did when faced with Aubrey's fusillade of questions. "I'm looking for a dress to wear to a wedding."
The old woman clapped her hands excitedly. "Ah, delightful! Come this way." She beckoned for them to follow her and Jesse shrugged weakly before placing a comforting hand on her lower back, encouraging her toward the woman.
"So, is this you're fiancé? He's very handsome, and you're very beautiful; I predict gorgeous children." She spoke quickly, the words tumbling from her lips so fast it was a miracle her teeth hadn't flown out.
Beca exchanged a worried look with Jesse, glad when he returned it, understanding the meaning behind the woman's words.
"Oh no I think you've got the wrong idea." Jesse said, rubbing a soothing hand against Beca's tense lower back. "We're not engaged." The woman visibly sighed and muttered something that sounded a lot like 'such a shame' to Beca's ears. "She's looking for a dress to wear to my brother's wedding this weekend." He corrected her.
Once again her eyes were bright and she sprang into action, taking off for a specific rack against the back wall. "Over here." She called when they never followed immediately. Taking a deep breath, Beca stepped away from Jesse's hand and immediately regretted it when she felt her shoulders begin to tense with worry that the strange old woman would have her in a wedding dress by the end of the day.