Author's Note: I really don't know what to say about this, I have no idea where this idea came from or where it will go, the only thing I know for sure is that I will leave this at one chapter until I finish "Fairy Tales" no matter how much you beg for a new chapter, simply because I have too many fics I'm working on right now. I just need to get this one out there.

Warning: AU, as such there's like to be OOCness, and knowing me it will likely play out to be Freddy/Nancy in the later chapters.Disclaimer: -sarcasm- Clearly I own ANOES 2010 -sighs-

Innocent but Proven Guilty

Freddy Krueger was celebrating.

He slipped out the door of his favorite bar in all of Springwood with a grin on his face. He'd thought he'd never recover from the trauma he'd received after his nervous breakdown. Seven years in therapy were finally paying off. His smile got bigger.

After moving to a small town at the suggestion of his therapist, with no background, no job, no friends and starting fresh, Freddy never thought he'd make it. Especially since the only place he could afford to stay was in the basement of the preschool he's managed to get a job at. Gardening had been a hobby before, but he hadn't ever thought he could make a living off it, and he certainly didn't expect to get along so well with the students, he'd assumed seeing kids would cause a relapse. He was surprised to find interacting with the children actually helped him recover.

Helped him enough that the teachers noticed.

A few of them approached him earlier that day as he was saying good-bye to the kids as they got on the bus or climbed in the car with their parents. They handed him a check and told them about the deal they'd made with the principal and other people higher up the food chain of preschool working. They'd all pitched in and donated enough money to pay for him to get into the local college so he could get a degree for teaching at a preschool.

"You're better with the kids than most of us put together." Alison Holly, one of the teachers had told him with a smile and a wink.

Freddy added a little skip to his walk. He'd only been in Springwood a few months but already things were working out better than they had in his hometown Elk Groove. He had a steady job, he was going to college to get a career and, if he played his cards right with Miss Holly, a girlfriend.

But just when it seemed to be the night of his life, fate intervened.

At first it was just one man, then two. Freddy was still smiling when he faced them. He wasn't going to let a few ill-mannered men put him out of his good mood.

"We heard about what's been going on at the preschool." One of them said.

"Really?" Freddy replied with a bit of a laugh, "How lucky can a man get right?"

"Lucky?" The other said, "Jesus Christ! You're proud of yourself!"

Now Freddy was starting to get confused, "Uh, yeah…why shouldn't I be?" He started noticing other people gathering around him, men and women. He began getting nervous. Stay calm. He ordered himself, stay calm.

"You sick fuck!" The first man cried throwing a fist that hit Freddy across the cheek.

"Ow!" Freddy put a hand to his face, he'd have a bruise there in the morning, "What was that for!" he snapped, mentally he kicked himself and begged not to lose his temper.

"Don't give me that you bastard!" The man roared throwing another punch which Freddy managed to evade. "I know what you've been doing to my little girl!"

"I'm a gardener!" Freddy shouted back, "Is it a crime to play with the kids when they're outside with me!"

"I bet you think playing with kids is fun, you sicko!" A woman shouted, as she stomped toward him "I can't believe God lets people like you live!"

Freddy looked at her and cocked his head, replaying what she had said, "Okay…now I really don't know what you talking about." He looked around at the gathering mob, and began connecting the dots "Look, I don't know what's going on here, but I can assure you, you've got the wrong man."

"Don't play innocent! " The woman slapped him, "You should burn, you bastard, burn in Hell." She was crying now. The group gathered in close, all of them shouting and reaching for him like they planned to tear him apart.

Freddy ducked around their clasping limps, struggled out of the grips of people who did managed to get hold of him, and at last pushed his way out of the center of the group. Instinct told him to run so he did. His heart was racing, and in the back of his mind he could feel darkness swelling up. Even as he ran Freddy tried to tell himself to relax. This was just a misunderstanding, once these people calmed down they could talk it out and get to the bottom of it.

He was used to running, Hell, half his life was spent running. Freddy kept ahead of the angry mob and only stopped when he'd lost them. He gasped big gulps of air and started counting, so that he wouldn't panic and have another attack, if he lost his cool he could have a relapse again and end up in another few years of therapy.

Not when I've come so far… He thought decisively, thinking of the college degree, the job, career, and love life that could be his, I will not throw all that away!

Being good at running also gave him a quick recovery time, Freddy was calm and fresh when he heard the honking cars. Oh God! He had to start running again to keep from being run down. Once again he had to remind himself not to panic, not to let his fear over come him as he ran.

The cars were catching up. Ahead Freddy could see a few abandoned buildings that if he could just make it to he could blockade himself in until they'd all calmed enough to hear him out.

They thought he was doing something awful to their children, God above they thought he was molesting them, Freddy had figured out as he closed the door to his hideout behind him. Impossible! He loved the children as if they were his own, I did with them only what he would have done with his daughter before she-

"Stop." He muttered, Don't go there…

He heard the cars screech to a halt and doors slam. "Krueger!" One of them yelled, "Come on out you bastard."

Freddy yelled from behind the door, forgetting about staying calm as he tried to claim his innocence, but the outraged parents would not relent, would not listen. There was no were else to run. In his attempt to hide, Freddy realized he had only succeeded in trapping himself. No way out…

"This is for my son!" a man shouted as a flaming can of gasoline crashed through the window. The flames spread quickly as it lit the room ablaze. Surrounded by fire Freddy could only panic and scream. He tried to evade the inferno, but there was no escape and at last with a searing pain the flames engulfed him.

Freddy's life flashed before his eyes. The orphanage, his drunk foster father, all the horrible memories of his childhood. Then the happiness and acceptance he'd felt when he'd met, and later married a wonderful young woman from out of town. His life turned around after that. They had a beautiful daughter together…

And in one horrible accident it had all taken away.

Now, with the shattered pieces of his life final being put back together, it was being destroyed again! At first Freddy only despaired. Why would these parents think he would do such awful things to the children he adored so much? Who would tell them that?

Freddy banged on the door, screaming to be let out, and managed to break down the door. As he ran outside crying out in agony, it dawned on him that the children must have been playing rough, their parents must have asked questions, they must have lied to keep from getting in trouble.

They lied.

He collapsed on his knees, and a fire burned inside him, one that was much hotter than the one consuming him. Rage. Pure, unadulterated rage. Fucking brats! The thoughts roared in his head, but they could not escape his burning throat as anything more than wordless screams.

They'll pay for this! They'll all pay for this!

The world around him started to grow dark, but the fire within him did not go out even when the flames eating his body died out. He wandered in darkness for what seemed an eternity, his anger burning until it seemed that there was nothing left of the man he had once been.

Outside the darkness his eternity was mere moments to the crowd of parents. The face of one woman stood out amongst them, one who wore an expression of guilt, because she was not entirely convinced of the man's guilt. Another face stood out as well, this one belonging to a man. His expression differed from hers.

He stood in the back with his arms crossed, a smug smirk playing across his countenance. While there were other parents who bore shaky smiles, they were sure they had done the right thing, this man however smiled because murder was not the only crime he was getting away with as this man burned.

As this innocent man burned.

He smiled behind the others, he'd planted all kinds of evidence to label the gardener known as Freddy Krueger as guilty, but it appeared that it was not needed. The love a parent could have for their children clouded minds. Once rumor got out that this newcomer had done unmentionable things to their kids, evidence was unneeded, they wanted him to burn and so he did.

And the truth with him…

Author's End Note: Kay, I'll continue this someday, I just needed to get this out of my head until I finish Fairy Tales or something else that will put less on my plate.