The Grill: Matt and Bonnie have a heart-to-heart about Elena's well-being, but Bonnie refuses to get involved in their tattered relationship. She advises Matt to give it more time as it's only been four months since Elena's parents died. Just then, Elena walks in with Stefan. Caroline's talking to a pool-cue wielding Tyler, who, for just a moment, looks like the love child of Eric Balfour and Zach Braff. I don't know who looks more disappointed to see Elena and Stefan together -- Caroline or Matt. But Matt surprises me (pleasantly) when he introduces himself (sans attitude) to Stefan and tries to be civil toward Elena, too. Later, Stefan sits with Caroline, Bonnie and Elena, who are pumping him for information. Bonnie's psychic or thinks she is, so she makes a knowing face as she looks from him to Elena, after he reveals his parents are deceased. Elena apologizes for his loss and asks if he has any siblings. Stefan says, "None that I talk to," and explains that he lives with his uncle. The girls convince him to come to the back-to-school party tomorrow night at the Falls. And we cut to...

Mossy Manse: Hello, Salty Goodness. We're treated to a quick shot of Stefan's shirtless self, before Zach (Chris William Martin) rudely bursts in. Talk about buzzkills. I expected Zach to be the uncle to whom Stefan was referring, and he will probably be passed off as such, but Zach refers to Stefan as his uncle. Confronting Stefan with the startling newspaper headlines of a local animal attack, he upbraids him for not having himself under control, and feeding off humans, again (Darren and Brooke). Stefan denies it, but Zach's not buying, and tells Stefan it was a mistake for him to return. "Please Uncle Stefan. Mystic Falls is a different place now. It's been quiet for years, but there are people who still remember." He wants to know why Stefan chose now to return, but Stefan asserts that he doesn't have to explain himself. Once Zach leaves, Stefan moseys over to his bookcase crammed full of his vampire diaries and removes a well-worn journal. He opens it to reveal a sepia tinged picture (daguerreotype? tintype?) of Elena, but her hair is curly. Then we see the handwritten caption on the page below. "Katherine 1864." COMMERCIAL!

Mystic Falls High; History Class: The Battle of Willow Creek. The teacher asks who knows how many causalities there were, then browbeats Bonnie for playing the cute card when she doesn't know the answer. Next, he asks Matt if he'd like to shed his dumb jock image. When Matt declines, the teacher sets his sights on Elena. She doesn't know the answer either, so the teacher says, "I was willing to be lenient last year, for obvious reasons, Elena, but the personal excuses ended with summer break." Oh, all the way from late May to September -- with the summer off? How generous of you, asshat. Stefan breaks in and answers that there were 346 casualties in the battle, not including civilians. The teacher is impressed, but contradicts Stefan -- saying there were no civilian casualties. Stefan corrects him -- there were 27. Stefan says, "The Confederate soldiers -- they fired on the church, believing it to be housing weapons. They were wrong. It was a night of great loss. The founders' archives are housed in civic hall if you'd like to brush up on your facts, Mr. Tanner." The class enjoys Mr. Tanner's comeuppance, and we cut to....