Arista could feel her time running out. She'd spent the last two days doing everything she could to convince Damon of her growing affection for him, but he seemed so ridiculously oblivious. And all the while, she watched him antagonize his brother for the relationship with Elena. When she had free time, she helped Bonnie pour over old spell books, hoping to find a solution to this problem. Sitting on Bonnie's living room floor with a spell book, Arista jumped when she heard a chime. Digging out the phone Damon gave her, she checked her messages.

"I, uh, I have to go." Bonnie gave her a curious look as Arista began to clean up. "Damon is here, wants me to see something." Together, they packed the books away and Arista gave her friend a hug. "Thank you, Bonnie."

"Anytime, Arista. We'll get this figured out." They parted and Arista found Damon waiting in his car outside, smirk in place. She climbed into the car and gave him her best smile.

"Where are we off to, Damon?" He sped off.

"I need your opinion on something." She felt a small rush of excitement as he rounded a few less familiar corners. "It's a girl thing. What do you do when you really care for someone, but you really can't have them?" Panic rose in her chest as she worried he may have heard about the curse from someone. Automatically, she checked to make sure she still had legs, though she could feel them.

"Oh. Um, well...I guess you either have to tell them or let them out of your life." He snorted and she worried she may have said the wrong thing.

"What good is telling her? Is she suddenly going to be mine?" He sounded so bitter and it made her heart hurt. She glanced towards him.

"Not necessarily. But, perhaps you'll find that she returns your affections." Arista paused, looking out the window. "If she does not, however...well, you'll simply have to let her go." Silence reigned over the car and she could feel him looking at her.

"You make it sound as though I have no choice." His voice was quieter now.

"Most of us do not. Those who do are immensely lucky." Realizing he likely wasn't talking about her, Arista noted she may as well give up. If he already loved someone else, then her plan was for naught. Her hand itched to reach for her phone, to contact her friends and call off the efforts. Damon had fallen silent in the driver's seat, and it wasn't until they turned down his road that she realized they were headed back to his house. Rolling to a stop in front of the door, he turned the car off before facing her.

"Thanks for listening." Pressing her lips together, she gave a tight smile before getting out and heading inside quickly. Stefan gave her a quick greeting that she returned before escaping to her room, pressing her back to the door as she took in a shaky breath. Pulling out her phone, she sent messages to Bonnie and Caroline letting them know the plan was off. That only gave her a few more days of freedom before everything was taken from her. In the bathroom, she ran herself a bath, filling it with the scented salts Damon had insisted on getting her. Sinking below the water, she sighed as both girls began to message her back, attempting to be encouraging and continue the quest. With a sigh, she told them both to leave it alone, giving them each a new task to focus on. It was clear they weren't happy about it, but agreed to respect her wishes.

The next day, Arista told Damon she was busy before heading to meet with Caroline and Bonnie. Both girls gave her tight hugs when they saw her, and she did her best to keep her tears at bay.

"Now, now. It isn't quite goodbye yet." Pulling back, she gave her best smile. "Now, I trust you have looked into what I asked?" They both nodded, and Bonnie pulled her into the house. Sliding out a spell book, she opened to a page and pointed to the words.

"This will keep you from getting tracked for at least a day."

"And I found a place you can crash until...well, you know." Caroline gave her a sympathetic look and Arista nodded.

"Thank you, both of you. I wish it hadn't come to this." Bonnie pulled the book away, closing it and turning to face Arista fully.

"Are you sure we can't do anything to stop this happening?" They both looked so hopeful and concerned and Arista felt bad for her answer.

"I'm afraid not. As soon as he realizes I'm gone, please tell him." They both nodded, though Caroline looked more annoyed now. "Nicely, if possible."

"Of course." They spent the rest of the days with their planning and simply hanging out, and Arista could feel her heart breaking ever more at the friendship she knew she was going to lose. She wanted to rebel, to fight back, but how could one fight something as powerful as magic? When it was finally time to part ways, Caroline gave her a ride back to the boarding house. Damon caught her at the door, smirk in place as he tugged her towards the kitchen despite her protests. Her words died on her lips as she took in the set table with candles and the meal laid out.

"Do you like it?" His voice was pitched lower now, triggering a flutter in her stomach, and she could only nod mutely. With his hands on her shoulders, he gently guided her to a table and pulled out a seat for her. "I realized you probably haven't had a nice dinner in, well, a really long time." He sat across from her, and she could feel tears filling her eyes at the gesture. His smile faded fast, replaced with concern as he leaned forward. "Whoa, whoa, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing." She waved him off as she swiped at her eyes, doing her best to put a smile on her face. "It's just a nice gesture, that's all." It would be a gesture she carried in her memory for the rest of her days, even once all of this ridiculousness with Elizabeth was over. Though the concern didn't leave his gaze, he nodded, serving her plate and his own before trying to pull her into small talk. And as she ate, she did her best to live in the moment, not wanting to miss a second of this time.