Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own the real thing…only in my dreams (hubba hubba)

Authors Note: So I did something stupid. You may have noticed an alert (if you have one for this story) that said new chapters were added when they weren't. That's because for some reason in Chapter 1 I said that Frankie had 2 months to go before she turned 18. That was really supposed to be 2 weeks. I blame lack of sleep (shakes fist at Krueger.) But I fixed it.

Also the movie references that I pointed out in Chapter 2. Yes, Scream was the reason for the "scary movies" line. I had to. Sue me. And the other was the guy in the Frankenstein costume working the funhouse. That's from an actual old 80's horror film called "Funhouse". The guys a scary mutant under the Frankenstein mask and it's creepy as hell. There more references to previous Nightmare films in this chapter because I find it fun working them in

For those asking the question is there going to be murders of the kids….of course there are! I'm changing the plot to suit my needs in so far as you've seen, but we can't have Freddy not killing people. Just wouldn't be right. You've been warned…things aren't going to be sweethearts and roses for Frankie and Freddy, not by a long shot. The more I love a character they must suffer. I'm sick that way (see my other fics if you don't believe me.) And I really love Freddy.

Also a quick thank you to EVERYONE who's reviewed and faved this story. I had no idea you'd like it! It makes me happy to see there are others out there like me who loves The Freddy. He needs a hug and a cookie damn it!

Chapter 3

The next day Frankie could barely concentrate at school. Senior year was a tough one in terms of classes. And while many of her friends were getting bummed by the amount of work that was involved, she was able to breeze through it. But her thoughts were troubled and she felt like something bad was waiting her just around the corner. Her lack of sleep wasn't helping.

By lunch time she was practically dragging herself to her locker, and then to the cafeteria to eat. It was a sunny day for once and she enjoyed the warmth of being outside. She could hear some of her fellow students who were standing nearby talking and it didn't take long for them to start discussing her like she was as deaf and dumb as Helen Keller.

"Did you see her yesterday in the locker room? It looked like she had gone a round with Mike Tyson."

"She said she tripped on a rock or something."

"That's not what I heard."

"What did you hear Tina?"

"I heard she goes to that S&M club downtown. You know the one that Grady said he saw Coach Schneider coming out of."

"I thought Schneider liked boys?"

"He likes anything in leather and a whip…but he prefers it to have a dick."

Frankie had had enough. They started laughing crazily while trading images that got more bizarre and gross as they went on. She walked back inside and headed to her locker for her afternoon classes pile of books.

The rest of the day wasn't much better, and Frankie found herself wishing it away so Friday would be there and she could spend her time with Freddy. He'd been talking more and more lately about when they would leave Springwood. And truthfully she hadn't been thinking about it. But today had made her realize just how much she really wanted to leave. There was nothing here for her except Freddy.

Frankie made it to the blessed sound of the dismissal bell and headed to her bike to ride home. She couldn't afford a car and had had to beg to even get a license for those rare times she got to drive. Her dad's profession allowed him spies everywhere on roads, so if by some miracle she did get to drive a car she'd be busted…in more ways than one.

When she got to where she'd left the bike chained up she found a small bouquet of roses in the milk crate she used as a basket. They were the same ones that had started blooming in the garden at Badham. She knew who'd left them there and she smiled, holding them close to her nose. They were from older bushes so they smelled even more amazing. "You're a hopeless romantic you big goof." She said to herself. He'd been careful enough to not leave them out in the open, but Frankie was still surprised that he'd done something like that. He really was getting impatient. She couldn't blame him, she was too.

She got lucky that night. Her dad was sullen and moody, but he wasn't violent. He'd even got pizza for dinner. Her luck stayed with her when he fell asleep, a can of PBR in his hand watching an old movie in the living room. Frankie quickly retreated into her room and went curled into bed.

The next day Frankie left early, finding her dad still asleep where she'd left him the night before. Her luck had held through the night as she had no bad dreams and had slept peacefully. The dreams of the past few days didn't show up, all of them the same scenario playing out in different settings. Freddy burning in front of her she unable to stop it…and her father's laughter mocking their joined screams.

School was just as tough though as the day before, maybe even worse with the knowledge that Freddy was waiting for her at the end of it. She felt an overwhelming need to see him, to know he was okay. It had been an awkward goodbye the last time.

When three o'clock came she nearly knocked down some of her fellow classmates in her haste to get to her bike. She peddled furiously to the factory, her thoughts only on the man she'd come to love and care about hoping he wasn't running late.

The fact that her thoughts were so focused on her goal was the reason she didn't notice the patrol car that had been hiding in an alleyway watching for speeders. The man behind the wheel was named Morris. The patrolman was a drinking buddy of Mark Jones and recognized his friend's daughter on sight, even though she was rocketing by him.

His beady brown eyes watched her go, his brows furrowing as he placed the coffee he'd been drinking in the cars cup holder. He was parked out in the far reaches of Springwood, the industrial area that was nearly deserted thanks to a tanking economy. There had been reports of street racers out here so he'd been the lucky guy to get this assignment of sitting on his ass and staring at empty fucking buildings. This new development though gave him something to do.

There was no reason Jones's daughter should be out there. There was nothing but random vagrants and rotting warehouse innards. But whatever she was heading to, it was obvious she was in a rush to get there. Morris decided that this might be a far more interesting assignment than just sitting there waiting for a non-existent speeder to show up. He got out of the car, locked the door and on foot followed the girl on the bike up the street.

When Frankie got to the factory she whipped around to the back. When she turned the corner her bike came to a screeching halt. There was a van parked there, one she'd never seen before. "What the…." She said softly, eyes wide.

"What do you think?" A voice asked from nearby her, causing her to nearly jump and fall off her bike.

"Argh! Freddy! Dude…you do not do that." She managed to not fall to the ground and got off the bike, leaning it against the metal wall.

Freddy couldn't help but chuckle. "Sorry…you are cute when you're scared."

"And you're twisted. What do I think about what?" She asked him.

He held out a hand. "Come on and I'll show you." Fred smiled at her and she couldn't help but grin back.

He gestured to the van which she saw was probably ten years old. It had some scratches and a few rust spots, but was in good shape. "This is our ticket out of here." He told her, opening the side door. Inside there was a thin carpet on the floor, the back had been retooled with a small bed, above which was a shelf for storage. There was even a small refrigerator that was wired into the electrical system and a wall unit that held a tiny television.

"Freddy, you bought this?" She was in shock as she climbed in and looked around. The passenger and drivers chairs only had a couple rips in the fabric.

"Yep, it's a surprise for your birthday…but I couldn't wait." He climbed in behind her and took a seat on the floor where she joined him. She looked a bit dazed. He took hold of her hand again, staring down at their laced fingers. He thought his work roughened skin looked like something monstrous compared to hers, so smooth and pale. But he wasn't letting go anytime soon. Fred's voice was soft, yet sure. "We're getting out of here Frankie. You and me. We'll leave right after midnight on your birthday." His thumb traced her knuckles. "I want you safe and away from him. I want us together where we don't have to worry anymore."

"Freddy, this is…this is amazing." Frankie felt tears prickling her eyes. It was really going to happen…somehow she'd always thought it wouldn't. "How did you…"

His thin lips quirked up in the corner. "I've been saving a while. And…well…I knew a guy." He laughed. "None of that matters though, what matters is we're getting the heck out of dodge and not looking back." Fred looked into her face, seeing the tears swirling around in her gaze. He touched her cheek and let his fingertips run along her temple, over the scar that was there just near her eye. "You're my girl Frankie, and I'll die before I let him touch you again."

"Fred don't say stuff like that." She told him, the words shaky.

"I mean it." His voice took on that harder edge, his eyes turning steel grey. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. Freddy rested his chin in her hair. He took a deep breath of the wildflower shampoo she used and closed his eyes.

She let him hold her, her head on his shoulder. She was always surprised by how solid he was, the years of working outdoors and manual labor having built up his slight form to compact walls of muscle. He may have looked small compared to men the size of her father, but it couldn't have been farther from the truth. The arms holding her were strong ones, and if ever he did take her dad on, it would be one hell of a fight.

Fred knew he'd do anything to make their escape out of Springwood a reality. He'd take on the whole god damn town, the entire police force that Mark Jones had on his side if need be. But he knew Frankie didn't want it that way. She didn't want him anywhere near her father. But Fred secretly wanted nothing more than to inflict every bruise, punch, and injury that the man had given to Frankie back on him ten times over.

He'd pondered it for a while, what he'd do to the man given the chance. The memory of that first time he'd seen Frankie with that black eye still made his blood boil. His arms tightened around her. "You're my girl Frankie…not his…you've never been his." He whispered against her ear, not even realizing he'd said it aloud.

"Freddy, I'll always be your girl." She told him looking up with shining eyes.

She was so lovely then it took his breath away. So young and pure…he didn't deserve her at all, and still didn't know how or why he'd won her. But she was his and no one would keep her from him for much longer. He leaned down and kissed her, not pausing to think about it, just simply needing to. He nearly laughed when he realized she was wearing Dr. Pepper lip gloss. She knew it was his favorite soda. She really was a little minx.

Then he felt her fingers curling around his neck, burrowing into his hair, her warm mouth opening just a bit beneath his, and he nearly pushed her back onto the floor of the van. Fred managed to drag himself away from her, leaning his forehead against hers. "Bad Frankie…bad."

"What did I do?" She asked, her own breath coming out in soft little pants that just made it that more difficult for him.

"Nuth…nothing. Now I think I've got snacks around here somewhere." Freddy let go of her, giving her a peck on the cheek before going to the front of the van of rummaging around his old duffle bag.

While he was doing that Frankie noticed a tattered legal pad sitting on the floor next to a pencil. She picked it up and looked at the sketch that was on it. "Hey Fred, what is this?" She asked him.

He walked back over carrying two Snickers bars and a bag of Lay's potato chips. Fridays always tended to be junk food days for them. And Freddy was a connoisseur of junk food. "Oh that…that's something I've been working on." He said handing her a candy bar.

"For what?" She asked, taking the Snickers and unwrapping it as he sat down next to her.

"It's just a tool idea." He told her, unwrapping his own chocolate. "I keep having problems with the shears for the bushes at the school. Trimming and stuff…thought this might be something that could be used instead. You can use it for other stuff too."

For some reason the sketch was making her skin crawl. But Frankie shook herself of the feeling. "Like ninja warfare? Are you actually making it?"

Freddy chewed and swallowed, raising an eyebrow at her first comment before answering. "I've started some of it. Probably no chance of finishing it though." He turned smiling and offering her the open bag of chips. "More important stuff to think about."

The uneasy feeling went away the minute she saw him smiling. She reached into the bag and pulled out a handful. They ate in companionable silence for a few minutes, staring out over the desolate scenery of dead factories and gutted buildings. The sun was starting to set. It was actually quite pretty in a lonely way.

"Fred?" Frankie's voice cut through the quiet.

"Yep?"

"Where do you want to go when we leave?" She asked him, as their legs dangled out the open van door.

"Oh I don't care Frankie as long as it's away from here." He tossed the candy bar wrapper into the front seat. "You have a place you want to head?" He asked.

She smiled, leaning her head back on his shoulder. "Nah, anywhere you are is home."

A nearly painful twist of emotion hit his chest at those words. Fred put his arm around her waist and gave her a squeeze, not trusting himself to talk, and placed a kiss on the top of her head.

Their time was over too quickly, as always. And Frankie nearly lost track again. If Freddy didn't remind her she would have been late getting home and then they'd be in trouble. They'd meet again on Monday and she'd bring one bag of clothes to stash. Then another bag on Wednesday and come Saturday night they'd be on the road and never looking back.

He hugged her tightly before she left and as always he had a hard time letting go. Thinking of her going back to the bastard's house was a lot of the problem. But Fred eventually did let her out of his arms. This time she gave him a quick kiss on the lips, surprising him. Then she dashed off on her bike. He'd wait as always, twenty minutes before leaving. He spent the time picking up the discarded wrappers and stashing them in a shopping bag.

Neither of them saw the patrol car pull away and the sickly satisfied smile on Morris's face.